Qian Yu! Medicinal Herbs! Intention to Cooperate!

The next day.

Meng Nan went to find Qian Yu again.

"Auntie."

"About what happened yesterday—"

Meng Nan knew the future trajectory of the 'Zhou Shan incident,' but Qian Yu, as the person involved, was clearer on the specific details. Thus, he specifically came over today to find out more.

"It's fine."

"Don't worry, I didn't mention you."

Qian Yu thought Meng Nan was worried she wouldn't keep her word. Her expression darkened slightly, but she still responded.

This was a misunderstanding.

Meng Nan knew immediately that Qian Yu had misunderstood him.

He had a high opinion of her character. In both the first and second future timelines, Qian Yu's actions could be described as consistent with her words and deeds.

Time is the best touchstone.

If a person can remain steadfast under the test of time, then they are true.

Meng Nan quickly explained, "Auntie, you've misunderstood. I was worried that there might be someone behind Zhou Shan. His methods... hiss, I had nightmares last night! Do you think there might be some demon behind him? Otherwise, where would he have learned such evil arts?"

Meng Nan took a sharp breath, shivered, and put on a look of utter horror.

Qian Yu was taken in and realized she had wronged Meng Nan. She shook her head and said, "Zhou Shan is bold. A few years ago, he traveled extensively with a merchant caravan from the village. Outside of various tribes and villages, there are all sorts of strange beings. Perhaps he was misguided by someone and lost his mind."

Zhou Shan was already dead, and these were just speculations, making further investigation difficult.

With his death, all clues were severed.

The village chief and others wanted to pressure Zhou Shan's family to thoroughly investigate the matter, but Qian Yu dissuaded them. They only questioned them one by one. Zhou Shan's family were all ordinary people; only Zhou Shan himself had advanced to the Inner Qi Stage at the age of forty. His family members, seeing many True Qi Stage cultivators and even the village chief questioning them, were already terrified. None of them dared to be stubborn.

But indeed, no one knew who was behind Zhou Shan.

The matter seemed to be at an end.

"That's good then."

Meng Nan outwardly breathed a sigh of relief, but he knew that the secret behind Zhou Shan might be hidden in his son, 'Zhou Boren.' Zhou Boren left Yinlian Village in October and then advanced to the True Essence Stage in just four years. No one would believe that there wasn't something strange about this.

"Capture Zhou Boren, and everything will be clear."

Meng Nan thought to himself.

He wouldn't bring this up.

Seeing Qian Yu look at him, he brought up the other matter for which he had come today. "I heard that after advancing to the True Qi Stage in the village, everyone usually starts one or two businesses. Our village's medicinal herb business seems to have always been quite good. Auntie, are you interested? I have a few prescriptions here, obtained by my Dad from who knows where, for stopping bleeding, dispelling bruises, and mending bones and tendons. They're all good. If you're going into the medicinal herb business, I can source the goods from you and also help with sales. As my aunt, I trust you."

This was the main reason for Meng Nan's visit.

After returning from the end of his second life, Meng Nan only needed to cultivate for a while longer to complete the basic progress. After killing two more people, he could open the future timeline for the third time.

Then, in the future timeline, he would meticulously study the Alchemy Notes and research alchemy techniques. Upon his return, he would undoubtedly possess a certain level of alchemy ability.

However, to practice alchemy, one first needed to solve the problem of raw materials, which were medicinal herbs.

Second, there was the issue of selling the finished products.

These could not be accomplished hastily.

Therefore, he had to start preparing and laying the groundwork from this point onward.

In Yinlian Village, the two True Essence Stage cultivators were supreme, while the approximately twenty True Qi Stage cultivators below them were the figures holding real power. They controlled all the profitable businesses in Yinlian Village: grain, medicinal herbs, timber, and minerals. Even the furniture Meng Nan manufactured, if he wanted to sell it on a large scale, had to be affiliated with the caravans of the True Qi Stage cultivators.

The True Qi Stage cultivators earned money from these businesses to sustain their cultivation.

Otherwise, they would all be left with nothing.

If there were too many True Qi Stage cultivators in the village, and the profits were insufficient for distribution, some who didn't care for such meager profits would leave the village to seek opportunities elsewhere.

For example, in his second life, Zhao Xiaoshuang and Feng Ying encountered many Inner Qi Stage and True Qi Stage cultivators outside. Most of them were in similar situations.

With Tianlin Cave suppressing them from above, the various tribes and villages dared not attack each other, leaving them with no choice but to leave the village and seek a new path.

Yinlian Village had not reached that point yet. The output and profits of such a large village were enough for over a dozen or twenty True Qi Stage cultivators to cultivate normally.

However, in another twenty years or so, if the growth rate of True Qi Stage cultivators exceeded the population growth rate, and the village could no longer support them, the outflow would become common.

Meng Nan could guess a few possible outcomes for the eventual situation.

But that was too far in the future and didn't need to be considered for now.

Qian Yu had just advanced to the True Essence Stage and had not yet truly gotten involved in these businesses. According to the future timelines of his previous two lives, she eventually chose tea.

But the tea in Yinlian Village was mediocre, with few tea trees and poor varieties. The money Qian Yu could earn was only a small amount.

Meng Nan was now going to cultivate alchemy techniques. If Qian Yu could engage in the medicinal herb business, with her character and cultivation, coupled with Meng Nan's soon-to-be-surging alchemy standards, they would surely be able to quickly break into the market, accelerating both his and Qian Yu's cultivation progress, achieving a win-win situation.

"Medicinal herbs?"

Qian Yu frowned slightly. She had originally been thinking of tea. Although this wouldn't make a fortune, Yinlian Village had the foundation for it, and it was relatively hassle-free.

But if it were medicinal ingredients, there would be quite a few difficulties.

Competitors were one thing.

Others, such as sourcing and sales channels, were also problems.

Solving them one by one would be too much of a drain on energy.

"I've decided, let's forget about medicinal ingredients."

Qian Yu shook her head.

She refused outright.

Meng Nan heard this, thought for a moment, and then said, "How about this, Auntie, don't rush to decide for now. Please help me arrange a batch of medicinal ingredients with Captain Chen Jinbiao. After I refine the finished medicine and you've seen it, then you can make your decision. It'll take at most a month or two, it definitely won't delay you too much."

He could tell that Qian Yu didn't think highly of his ancestral medicinal recipes at all; she hadn't even bothered to ask about them.

In Yinlian Village, who didn't have a few folk remedies?

They weren't worth mentioning.

Furthermore, Meng Nan, a mere carpenter, wanting to switch careers to become a pharmacist was simply preposterous.

Qian Yu couldn't be bothered to ask.

But seeing Meng Nan acting so seriously and having said it to this extent, and considering his great contribution yesterday and his helpful nature, she figured helping him out wouldn't hurt.

"Alright."

"Write down a list for me later, and I'll go find Captain Chen."

Captain Chen Jinbiao.

He was also in the True Qi Stage and was in the medicinal ingredient business. However, medicinal ingredients, along with grain, minerals, and beast hides, were the four largest businesses in Yinlian Village and even in various other communities and villages. It was difficult for one person to monopolize them.

Currently, Chen Jinbiao wasn't the only one doing business with medicinal ingredients in Yinlian Village, but among the True Qi Stage cultivators involved in this business, Chen Jinbiao had the cleanest slate. Even looking twenty years ahead, he had no negative reviews or wicked deeds. Meng Nan hoped to deal with people like him as much as possible, even if it was through Qian Yu.

"Thank you, Auntie!"

Seeing Qian Yu agree, Meng Nan's face immediately broke into a smile. He reached into his bosom and pulled out a slip of paper, listing fifty-four types of medicinal ingredients, all materials needed to refine a blood-stopping and bruise-reducing agent.

As for other more valuable ingredients, like 'Qi Circulation Powder,' it was best to wait until Meng Nan was stronger.

For now, the priority was to explore and familiarize himself.