Chapter 207: Chapter 187: You Are a Genius

Xiao Wan’er’s words reminded Chen Yi.

Now that the old master had agreed to the "Hundred Herbs Hall Expansion Charter," he really did need to start preparing.

After all, if he wanted to expand the Hundred Herbs Hall across all the prefectures and counties of Shu State, he needed to get a handle on many things beforehand: store locations, local customs, Noble Families, and other regional powers.

Even with the Xiao Family’s backing, the grunt work still had to be done by the people from Hundred Herbs Hall.

So, he would have to ship out either Wang Ji or Yan Sea.

Xiao Wan’er, oblivious to his thoughts, finished her instructions and began preparations to receive the day’s guests.

Of course, she was only responsible for outlining what needed to be done; Shen Huatang, along with Cui’er and Juan’er, would handle the actual tasks.

In a way, she and Chen Yi were quite in sync. Both were the type to be ’hands-off managers’.

However, there was someone in Jiaxing Garden with even more free time than Chen Yi and Xiao Wan’er: Shen Huatang’s senior martial sister, Xie Tingyun.

Ever since arriving at the Xiao Family estate, the renowned "Fairy Tingyun" of the Jianghu had completely transformed into "Tingyun the Foodie."

Besides her duties of standing night watch and protecting Xiao Wan’er, she spent most of her time each day looking for things to eat.

To say nothing of other delicacies, she alone drank more than half of the various tea beverages delivered from the Xiao Family Medicine Hall.

She was especially fond of the sweet and sour Mushroom Tea and was never without it—two bottles in the morning, two in the afternoon, and another two at night.

Aside from eating and drinking, she was never seen practicing her Martial Arts Cultivation.

At least, Chen Yi had never seen her do so, nor had he heard any related sounds or talk.

More often than not, what he heard was Shen Huatang "disciplining" Xie Tingyun.

Things like, "Senior Sister, if you keep this up, you’re going back to the Sect," or "Senior Sister, if you don’t stop, I’m telling Master."

Xie Tingyun let these words go in one ear and out the other. She would always agree but never change, continuing to do as she pleased.

’It was a real mystery how she’d managed to cultivate to the Fourth Grade Realm.’

Chen Yi, of course, didn’t press the issue, simply laughing it off.

None of it really mattered. As long as Xie Tingyun could protect Xiao Wan’er, everything else was a trivial detail.

It seemed, however, that Xie Tingyun also felt a little bad about her lazy behavior.

While Xiao Wan’er was busy giving instructions to Shen Huatang and the others, she took the initiative to approach him, speaking in a rather mysterious tone.

"Young Master, um, there’s something I’d like to ask your advice about."

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow, giving her a surprised look. "Go on," he said.

"Straight to the point, I like it," Xie Tingyun said, then lowered her voice to ask,

"Young Master, do you think... do you think that Hundred Herbs Hall could open a branch at the foot of Tian Mountain?"

"...That’s what you wanted to ask?"

Chen Yi instantly tossed aside his earlier assumption that she was looking for something to do.

Xie Tingyun blinked and grunted in affirmation.

"Tian Mountain is pretty far from Shu State, I know, and it’s not very populated... But, you’re a learned man. You know a lot. Is there a way?"

Chen Yi was exasperated. "This has nothing to do with me being a scholar. You said it yourself—there’s almost no one near Tian Mountain. If Hundred Herbs Hall opens a branch there, who are our customers going to be?"

"Me! And the rest of the Celestial Sect."

Perhaps sensing that wasn’t a very convincing number, Xie Tingyun added, "And we get a lot of visitors from other places, too."

"My apologies, Fairy Tingyun. I can’t think of a solution. You’ll have to ask someone more capable."

’Hundred Herbs Hall isn’t a charity, after all.’

Even if the goal was to expand all across the land, they still had to prioritize.

A place like the Western State, where Tian Mountain was located, was not only sparsely populated but also had poor transportation. He’d have to be a fool to send Wang Ji to open a Hundred Herbs Hall there.

With the same amount of effort, he could open several more branches in Jiao State or Jiangnan Prefecture and make a fortune.

But Xie Tingyun wasn’t ready to give up.

"Young Master, please, could you ask Shopkeeper Wang for me? Or that Boss Chen Yu? I’m being completely serious—I want to invite Hundred Herbs Hall to open a branch at Tian Mountain."

"Besides, I... *we* won’t let Hundred Herbs Hall make the trip for nothing. There are plenty of benefits."

Chen Yi gave her a wry smile. "Oh? Let’s hear them. What kind of benefits?"

’He hadn’t expected Xie Tingyun to be this fond of the tea beverages.’

’So fond she’d be this persistent.’

’He certainly didn’t mind hearing what terms this devoted tea enthusiast was prepared to offer.’

Xie Tingyun paused. She shot a furtive glance at Shen Huatang, and seeing that her junior sister wasn’t paying attention, she leaned in closer and whispered:

"The Celestial Sect can act as guards for Hundred Herbs Hall."

"I remember the last time I visited, Shopkeeper Wang hired a few Wandering Martial Artists. Compared to them, the disciples of our Celestial Sect are much stronger."

At her words, Chen Yi froze for a second. After a moment of thought, he looked at her with a peculiar expression.

’He had to admit, that was an offer he couldn’t refuse.’

For one thing, just as Xie Tingyun said, the guards Wang Ji had hired couldn’t compare to the disciples of the Celestial Sect in either strength or reputation.

For another, as Hundred Herbs Hall expanded, all the new branches in the various prefectures and counties would need guards.

This was especially true for escorting shipments of the core medicinal ingredients for the tea recipes, which required powerful experts to ensure their safety.

If they could enlist the help of the Celestial Sect’s disciples, it would be a huge boon for Hundred Herbs Hall.

And the price was merely opening one branch that was guaranteed to lose money.

But even if the entire Celestial Sect drank to their hearts’ content, how much silver could they possibly lose in a year?

Chen Yi did a quick mental calculation and arrived at a staggering figure—an estimated annual loss of one thousand taels of silver.

If the Celestial Sect provided a rent-free building, that number would be cut in half.

’Hmm... how should I put this?’

’He had never seen such a profitable deal in his life.’

Seeing him stay silent, Xie Tingyun grew anxious. "Young Master, what’s with that look? Dammit... I mean, are my terms not good?"