First Batch of Goods

Wang Yuliang and Hao Jiyong had not deceived him!

These ten flower-like girls were indeed all deft-handed, clever, and quick-witted—at the very least, far better than Song Ankang had imagined. They were nothing like the dull and stupid Tenant Farmers he had expected.

Or rather, perhaps only the ancient people in certain television dramas were dull and stupid. Real ancient people were not fools at all. When Chaoyun Manor's Tenant Farmers got to work in the fields, they were far more capable than Earth's city dwellers.

It was merely that their knowledge was limited, making them seem somewhat foolish in some people's eyes. In truth, within their own fields of expertise, they were smarter than anyone. When they looked at those self-righteous intellectuals, they probably thought they were fools too—unable to handle even basic farm work.

Certain television dramas on Earth had misled Song Ankang, leaving him with the preconceived notion that Chaoyun Manor's Tenant Farmers were generally foolish as well. That was why he had specifically instructed Wang Yuliang and Hao Jiyong to find some clever, quick-witted promising candidates.

Then Song Ankang discovered in astonishment that, in certain stages of processing Medicinal Herbs, these promising candidates were even more skilled than he was. Their learning speed and comprehension also exceeded his expectations.

Chaoyun Manor's main businesses were grain and Medicinal Herbs, so these girls were quite proficient at the basic processing of many herbs. They simply had not gone any deeper into it.

Thus, when it came to superficial processing, Song Ankang was far inferior to these girls. Even in more advanced processing, their comprehension and learning abilities were not much worse than his.

They simply did not understand the knowledge involved, much less the methods and techniques, so they appeared somewhat unfamiliar and flustered at the beginning.

The initial stage went rather smoothly. As the instruction went deeper, all sorts of problems began to arise. Fortunately, these girls all put their hearts into it, and not one of them loafed around, so their learning progress was not slow.

Moreover, these several types of Medicinal Herbs had been carefully selected by Song Ankang as basic herbs. Their deep processing was not particularly difficult; even ordinary people could master it with enough practice, let alone these carefully chosen girls.

The girls were earnest and focused, and every one of them was easy on the eyes. As they gathered around Song Ankang and studied diligently, it was not only pleasing to look at but also lifted his spirits. Song Ankang's enthusiasm for teaching rose as well.

At first, Song Ankang had each girl focus on processing a single basic herb, avoiding biting off more than they could chew. Thus, their progress was gratifying, far faster than he had expected.

After only one day, one of the girls had grasped the key points of deeply processing the basic herb she was responsible for and began practicing.

By the second day, more girls had mastered the deep processing of one basic herb. By the third day, all ten girls had mastered the methods and techniques for deeply processing one type of herb.

Song Ankang began having them practice on a large scale. There was no need to worry about wasting herbs; he could still afford such losses.

Nor did any of the girls intentionally ruin herbs or anything of the sort. They were exceptionally serious with every practice session, because they clearly understood that every damaged herb was solid, tangible copper coins.

If they ruined too many, they might lose this extra source of income. This year, they might even starve to death in the manor.

Chaoyun Manor's Tenant Farmers were generally simple and kind-hearted. There were basically no bad people among them. Someone like Hao Jimeng was already the limit, enough to overturn the expectations of most of Chaoyun Manor's Tenant Farmers.

Fortunately, evil met with evil retribution. Hao Jimeng had already been hacked to death by the Ningmen Association, his corpse hung near one of the Ningmen Association's gambling dens.

Even these stunningly beautiful girls had, at most, a few little thoughts of climbing the dragon and clinging to the phoenix. When it came to actual work, they remained exceptionally serious; they merely liked gathering around Song Ankang during their spare time.

The tactics of those green tea bitches from certain places on Earth were not something the girls here had mastered, nor would they do such things. Throwing Song Ankang a flirtatious glance was already the limit for them.

Even after leaving the workshop and returning home, these girls would still set aside plenty of time to practice. Without Medicinal Herbs, they practiced basic techniques and movements instead. All of them wanted to become proficient in the deep processing of the herbs they were responsible for as quickly as possible.

Because he was busy with the workshop, Song Ankang had grown somewhat lax in cultivation. However, this was necessary. Once the workshop got on the right track and could bring him a steady stream of wealth, Song Ankang could use it to buy vast amounts of cultivation resources. His improvement would instead become even faster.

Sharpening the knife did not delay chopping firewood; his present efforts were also for the sake of faster advancement later.

However, because he had to conceal his strength every day, the Heaven Concealing Earth Absorbing Art progressed at a rapid pace. He was drawing ever closer to Great Accomplishment in Form Concealment, and its side effects further promoted the improvement of Song Ankang's foundation and strength.

There was even less need to mention Treading Snow Without a Trace. Thanks to Song Ankang's laziness in this regard, Treading Snow Without a Trace had been soaring forward at breakneck speed.

Song Ankang had also gradually adapted to the pleasurable sensations brought by Treading Snow Without a Trace. He could endure them without revealing anything. At the current pace, he would need only around one month to cultivate Treading Snow Without a Trace to the Great Accomplishment Realm.

That might not sound particularly short, but one had to know that other martial artists cultivating Treading Snow Without a Trace, even those with exceptional Talent and Aptitude, generally needed several years to cultivate it to the Great Accomplishment stage. That showed just how fast Song Ankang's cultivation speed was.

Even Treading Snow Without a Trace at the Minor Accomplishment Realm could increase Song Ankang's speed severalfold, allowing him to roam freely throughout the Body Refining Great Realm. Even many First-rate Warriors could not compare.

His strength was steadily improving, and the progress of deep-processing Medicinal Herbs was equally gratifying.

In just a few short days, all ten girls had mastered the deep processing of the basic herbs they were responsible for. The first batch of qualified finished products had also been produced—ten portions of each type of herb.

Song Ankang brought these deeply processed basic herbs to Huachun Hall once more. This time, however, the person receiving him was not Pang Huachun, but Chen Fangshu, the person in charge of Huachun Hall in Tongxin Town.

Chen Fangshu had dignified features and a face as round as the full moon. She did not look like the manager of a medicine shop at all; instead, she resembled a virtuous wife and loving mother, which left Song Ankang slightly surprised.

"Manor Lord Song, you've arrived. Shopkeeper Pang has already told me about your affairs. Please, come inside and have a seat."

Chen Fangshu smiled as she led the way, instructing a maid to brew tea for Song Ankang. The group made their way to the reception hall.

Along the way, Song Ankang asked, "Has Shopkeeper Pang returned?"

"Yes. Shopkeeper Pang has many matters to handle in the capital. He occasionally comes down to inspect the branch halls. After meeting with Manor Lord Song, he returned the next day," Chen Fangshu replied.

Song Ankang nodded and placed the herbs that had been deeply processed over the past few days before Chen Fangshu. "Shopkeeper Chen, these are the gains of our Chaoyun Manor over the past few days. Please take a look at their quality. If they are acceptable, we will begin large-scale production."