Chaoyun Manor's Hope

"That fast?!"

Chen Fangshu's bright eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the thoroughly processed medicinal herbs before her. "The apprentices in Huachun Hall's pharmacy generally need to study for several months, even years, before they can become official pharmacists' assistants and provide them with all kinds of processed medicinal herbs."

"I originally thought Chaoyun Manor would need at least a few months to manage this. I never expected you to produce the first batch of medicinal herbs after only a few days."

As she spoke, Chen Fangshu carefully inspected the processed medicinal herbs Song Ankang had brought. Before long, she was left dumbfounded again. "They all passed. Not a single one failed the standard. They can all be used directly to refine various medicinal pills. How did Manor Lord Song do this? This is incredible."

"As long as they passed." Song Ankang smiled. "Every pharmacy apprentice trained by Huachun Hall is proficient in processing several kinds of medicinal herbs, so naturally it takes a long time."

"But the apprentices trained by Chaoyun Manor are all watered-down versions. They are only skilled at processing a single medicinal herb, and these are merely basic medicinal herbs. It is perfectly normal for them to learn so quickly."

Chen Fangshu sighed. "Even so, it is remarkable. At the very least, Huachun Hall cannot do it. Manor Lord Song has pioneered a new model for processing medicinal herbs. Perhaps your name may even be recorded in the annals of history one day."

"You flatter me, Shopkeeper Chen. I only want to earn some money and help Chaoyun Manor survive this difficult time." Song Ankang smiled.

In fact, some pharmacies in the Xia Kingdom also used this model for processing medicinal herbs. Whenever certain medicinal pills were urgently needed, some pharmacies would temporarily hire many hands to specialize in processing a few specific herbs.

However, it had never formed a large-scale operation and only appeared occasionally, so it had not developed into an assembly-line operation. There was not even a concept of an assembly line.

What Song Ankang had done was not truly an innovation. He had merely gathered together the special practices that occasionally appeared in certain pharmacies and applied them to Chaoyun Manor.

For now, the results seemed quite good. But if others followed suit later, they could easily steal Chaoyun Manor's business.

Moreover, Huachun Hall had limited demand for these few basic medicinal herbs. If Chaoyun Manor expanded its scale, supply might exceed demand.

Thus, this modernized pseudo-assembly-line model was not as formidable as it appeared. Still, it was more than enough to solve the difficulties Chaoyun Manor currently faced.

Later, Chaoyun Manor would master the deep-processing methods for more medicinal herbs and gradually build up its scale. Once it had mastered enough methods for deeply processing medicinal herbs, Chaoyun Manor would no longer fear competition.

Just like a certain Kang Group on Earth, which had forced its way into the global top five hundred through contract manufacturing and created a miracle among contract manufacturers.

Chen Fangshu was quite satisfied with the medicinal herbs processed by Chaoyun Manor. She immediately purchased the entire batch in full according to their agreement. After deep processing, the price of these basic medicinal herbs had risen to roughly three times what it had been before.

The two then discussed the upcoming demand. Only then did Song Ankang return to Chaoyun Manor with Qiushi and Jiang Yunhe.

Inside Chaoyun Manor's processing workshop, ten young girls were waiting uneasily. Low murmurs echoed through the courtyard.

"Do you think the herbal powder and herbal liquid we processed can really be sold? What if Huachun Hall thinks our processed medicinal herbs are no good and refuses to buy them?"

"If that happens, the Manor Lord will suffer terrible losses. We only put in some labor, but the Manor Lord has invested so many medicinal herbs—at least several hundred plants."

"Let's hope those processed medicinal herbs can be sold smoothly. The Manor Lord said he would give us a tenth of the profits. Then our whole families will be able to survive this year."

"How can you think that way? I think we should not take a single coin from the profits of this first batch of processed medicinal herbs. Think about how many medicinal herbs we damaged while practicing these past few days. It was at least twice as much as the finished products. We made the Manor Lord lose so many herbs—how can we still have the nerve to take a share of the profits?"

"That's right. We should not take any profit from this first batch of processed medicinal herbs. It is already good enough that the Manor Lord did not make us pay for the losses. Who would still have the nerve to take money?"

It was not only the ten young girls inside the processing workshop. Many Tenant Farmers around the workshop were also watching this matter closely, especially the girls' relatives and friends. They waited uneasily, hoping for good news.

"Can processing those medicinal herbs really make them sell for more money? It just doesn't seem reliable. The Manor Lord isn't deceiving us, is he? Can our daughters really earn something extra?"

"You don't believe what the Manor Lord says? Our Manor Lord is the Capital's Foremost Filial Son, and he is deeply learned besides. They say he has the talent of a Jinshi Scholar. He definitely would not deceive us. Those processed medicinal herbs will surely sell."

"Isn't processing medicinal herbs work for the manor? Aside from farming, isn't it only natural for us to do more work for the manor? Which of us has not performed corvée labor before? Would the Manor Lord really pay us for this?"

"It is so late and they still have not returned. I wonder how the Manor Lord's negotiations with Huachun Hall went. I heard those girls damaged several hundred medicinal herbs just to process this batch. If they cannot even sell for a single copper coin, the Manor Lord will suffer enormous losses. This year will become even harder for us."

Because Chaoyun Manor had never done this kind of business before, and no one had heard of Tenant Farmers or villagers nearby doing such a thing, coupled with the well-known fact that pharmacy apprentices were extremely difficult to train, almost no one in Chaoyun Manor believed the processing workshop could achieve results. Most people held little hope, their faces filled with worry.

If Song Ankang had not been Chaoyun Manor's lord, with authority over every matter in the manor, and if what had been used during this period had not been last year's stored supplies, people would likely have opposed it long ago.

People always had all kinds of worries about matters they had never ventured into before, especially when this matter concerned the survival of many people in Chaoyun Manor.

Even on Earth, many people looked before and after when doing business, burdened by all kinds of concerns. That was when there was no danger to their lives, and failure merely meant losing money.

But things were different here. If they failed, even more people in Chaoyun Manor would have nothing to eat this year. By then, the number of Tenant Farmers who starved to death would exceed all imagination.

If this medicinal-herb processing business failed, at least a double-digit number of Tenant Farmers in Chaoyun Manor would die this year. It might even break into three digits.

Faced with such a major matter, not only Chaoyun Manor's Tenant Farmers, but even Song Ankang had to proceed with the utmost caution and did not dare make decisions lightly.

Are there any esteemed readers who have not added this to their collection yet? You have already read this far, so please add it to your collection. Thank you. O(∩_∩)O