Path of an Alchemist (3)

The market price for low-grade healing pills was between five to ten gold coins depending on the quality. However, a contract with the Misty Medicine Pavilion meant selling them at a slightly lower price – four to eight gold coins.

The Pavilion had the policy to buy the pills at 20% lower range from the market price to maintain their profit. 

As Liu Feng did a quick calculation, he realized, that the cost to buy supplies for 10 pills was worth 15 golds, and if he wanted to gain some profit, he had to produce at least 4 standard quality pills from them. Selling 4 low-grade pills to the Pavilion will give him 16 gold coins so the profit will be only 1 gold coin.

While not ideal, Liu Feng recognized this as a short-term burden with long-term benefits. He was confident that these minor arrangements would become insignificant as his skills grew.

Liu Feng additionally decided to buy five of the best low-grade and five of the standard low-grade Healing Pills offered by the pavilion with 75 gold coins. These, he reasoned, would serve as a crucial reference point to guide his alchemy journey, allowing him to compare his creations against the established standards.

With the basic knowledge and essential ingredients secured, he brought 100 pills worth of low-grade healing pill ingredients for a total of 150 gold coins. He concluded a hundred pills worth of ingredients was a good amount to start with.

Liu Feng still had to buy the final and the most crucial item, an alchemy cauldron. He was no stranger to the excessive cost of alchemy equipment. The cheapest cauldrons in the grand catalog started at a jaw-dropping price of 2,500 gold coins, while the best of the cauldrons in their collection had a price tag between 10,000 and 20,000 gold coins.

Manager Qing, noticing Liu Feng's gaze on the cheaper options interjected, "Might I suggest this one?", he gestured towards a cauldron priced at 3,000 gold coins. "It is of superior quality compared to the rest of the low-grade cauldrons, and the blacksmith who crafted it is a trusted associate of the pavilion."

Honestly, Liu Feng had no idea about the differences between any of the items listed in the catalog but he knew, like the alchemy pills, forged artifacts were also divided into low, middle, and high grades. 

Another unexpected piece of knowledge Liu Feng had learned was the widespread usage of the Alchemy Flame Array. Unlike the alchemy he knew from novels, these arrays were the key to igniting the flames necessary for the concoction process. This acted as a burner to the cauldron and it is controlled using the alchemist's Qi. While thinking about it deeply, he had to admit it made perfect sense. Begrudgingly, he decided to buy one.

However, the cost of these arrays was not small but considering the return, Liu Feng thought it was alright. A standard of such array one costs 100 gold coins and lasts for 30 hours of usage. 

Considering, that a batch of 10 lowgrade pills took somewhere around 20 minutes to refine, a single array could potentially handle 90 batches. So considering the amount of supply he brought, he decided to buy another one reluctantly. 

'It's literally like burning my money," he grumbled pulling a face in his mind. Nevertheless, another 200 gold coins were added to his evergrowing bill.

With the addition of the cauldron and the array, Liu Feng's bill grew to a total of 6,925 gold coins. Apart from these, he also brought some necessary items to complete his alchemy setup. Things like different sizes of mortar and pestle, wooden molds, heat resistance crucibles, tongs, and tightly sealed wooden containers were essential to complete an alchemist's workstation. Liu Feng brought all of these additional items with just 85 silver coins.

Thankfully, his golden token holder status came to the rescue, which delivered a sweet 10% discount. With some "polite" requests from Liu Feng, the final cost was brought down to 6220 gold coins. While not at the level of Mei Lin, Liu Feng was satisfied with his bargaining skills. 

Manager Qing assured him of delivery at the earliest to his designated address, with payment due upon arrival.

Finally exiting the Misty Medicine Pavilion, Liu Feng felt his pockets drained, but anticipation surged through his spirit. The road ahead was challenging, but he was confident in his ability to succeed.

***

A heavy weight settled on Zhang Yan's shoulders as he surveyed the once-bustling halls of the Zhang residence. The echoes of laughter and lively conversation had been replaced by a quiet loneliness. Most of the family businesses, once a source of lavish comfort, were now either confiscated or in the hands of others. The remaining businesses, barely brought in a measly 500 gold coins a month. After taxes and other expenses were deducted, the amount dwindled even further. The current Zhang household was just a shadow of their past glory.

Although the carelessness of Liu Feng made him spend several thousand gold coins in one go, for major families it was a significant amount of their monthly earnings. Unlike true isekai protagonists who effortlessly equate their usual currency to their new world money, Liu Feng remained unfamiliar with the true value of a gold coin currency. Fortunately, the Goddess of Fortune did not abandon him in this new world.

For the Zhang family, even a thousand gold coins represented their couple of months' income, while Liu Feng was casually carrying a few thousand gold coins in his pockets.

But the thought of repaying Liu Feng, the man who had saved their lives, still stayed in Zhang Yan's mind. When he suggested he could pass ownership of some business to Liu Feng, he brushed it off and even offered Zhang Yan a loan in return if needed. It was clear that Zhang Yan had no ability to repay Liu Feng for now.

Zhang Yan still could not stomach the idea of becoming a burden to his savior yet again but the bitter truth remained the same. Even families like the Suns and Lins once considered insignificant, were now rising in power in Gale City, and with the Chen family gone, the Hans held the most amount of power, while the Wei Family was steadily losing their influence.

An impulsive thought of abandoning everything and starting anew flickered across his mind. He was strong enough now to take care of himself so he could easily take his sister and follow Liu Feng on his journey. But the bond with his sister, Zhang Ling, held him back. His roots in the Gale city ran deep and abandoning it was not an option.

Another possibility of somehow contacting the Wu Family came into his thoughts. His knowledge of them was limited, just that his grandmother hailed from this powerful ancient family that ruled over different worlds. He suspected only the most influential figures in the vast Qin Empire, or perhaps even the entire Fallen Dragon continent, would possess the knowledge of them.

The recovery of the Wu Family Token gave him a sliver of hope in the back of his mind. Perhaps, just perhaps, this token held the key to establishing contact with them.

A spark of determination ignited within Zhang Yan. He focused on reviving the Zhang family for now. He meticulously tracked down distant branches of the family who had scattered across the Golden Cloud Kingdom. Letters of invitation were sent with a heartfelt plea to reunite their scattered lineage. Ceremonial graves were erected for his parents beside his grandparents within the Zhang family's ancestral grounds.

Next on his agenda was resuming his sister, Zhang Ling's, education. He had already contacted a scholar versed in literature and history, to resume her formal education that had been interrupted. But the truth was Zhang Ling, the sister, was not fond of such arrangements. While she possessed a natural talent for martial arts, surpassing Zhang Yan in their younger days, she hated studying. Although her aptitude for cultivation remained a mystery, Zhang Yan thought, she could very well possess a decent aptitude for cultivation.

Traditionally, children from influential families like theirs underwent aptitude testing between the ages of 12 and 15. But the unfortunate incident had robbed them of that opportunity.

Despite the allure of a cultivator's power, Zhang Yan thought it was best for her sister to avoid the bloody world of cultivation. It was an audacious journey paved with danger and he wanted her to avoid danger at all costs.

Lost in his thoughts, Zhang Yan was startled by the sudden intrusion of Butler Wei, bringing him back to the present moment.

***

Returning to the Zhang residence, Liu Feng encountered Old Gao. From him, Liu Feng learned that a sudden visitor was now meeting Zhang Yan and it was none other than the young lady of the Wei family, Wei Jing.

While Liu Feng was already familiar with the major families in Gale City, including the Han and Wei families, his conversation with Old Gao shed new light on the Weis.