Poverty Alleviation and Wealth Creation: Just One Step Away

"Uncle, I'm back."

As soon as he entered the Xiao Family Meeting Hall, Xiao Han saw a middle-aged man sitting in the central patriarch's seat, clutching some unknown object and grinning foolishly, utterly absorbed like an emperor doting on a favored consort.

Drawing closer, Xiao Han realized it was a ledger, filled with the massive profits the Xiao family had earned over the past half-month from selling medicinal pills.

Xiao Zhan seemed not to hear Xiao Han's voice, flipping through the ledger without pause.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem!!!"

Three heavy coughs jolted Xiao Zhan awake from his self-immersed world.

Looking up, he saw his nephew, the one who had turned the entire Xiao family's fortunes around, watching him with a helpless expression. Xiao Zhan gave an awkward smile, tucked the ledger into his Storage Ring, stood up, and gave Xiao Han a light hug.

"Good lad, I heard you were going out for ten days or half a month to train. I was just worrying about you and planning to send someone to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to find you. Didn't expect you back so soon. After all, you're the hope of our Xiao family's rise now—can't afford any mishaps."

Feeling the care from this man, who had been the kindest relative to him since arriving on the Douqi Continent, Xiao Han's nose stung and his eyes reddened.

"I know, Uncle."

People aren't made of wood or stone—who can be heartless?

In the four years since he'd crossed over, Xiao Zhan's concern for him wasn't meticulous in every detail, but at least in treatment, he, as a nephew, had fared better than Xiao Yan, his own son.

Back when he proposed the market reform plan, if Xiao Zhan hadn't argued fiercely and fought those stubborn old-timers to the end, Xiao Han's economic reform plan couldn't have been implemented so easily. After all, reforming the market ultimately stepped on a lot of people's toes.

As the saying goes, touching someone's interests is like killing their parents. Xiao Zhan not only argued for him, overriding objections to make his plan the Xiao family's development strategy, but also personally shielded him from those covert schemes.

Just as Xiao Han was moved, Xiao Zhan's next sentence broke his composure.

"Han'er, well, hehehe—the pills you refined for the family, only a fifth are left to sell. If you hadn't come back soon, I really would have sent someone to find you." Xiao Zhan, as he spoke, scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed.

Pills?

Damn!

No wonder he hugged me right away like I was a lifesaver—turns out he saw me as a pill-refining tool. What a waste of emotion.

Xiao Han's face darkened at this: "So everything Uncle just said was just coaxing a kid, huh?"

"No, no, no, your uncle was pouring out his true feelings just now," Xiao Zhan quickly tried to salvage, seeing his nephew was a bit angry.

"Really?"

Xiao Han's handsome face turned grim.

"Really, truer than Pure Gold."

Xiao Zhan kept smiling apologetically.

"Enough, let's talk business first."

Xiao Han walked over to a chair and sat down; Xiao Zhan hurriedly poured him a cup of tea.

Tap... tap... tap...

Gently lifting the teacup for a sip, Xiao Han tapped the table with his finger, then flicked it, withdrawing a sheet of paper from his Storage Ring, densely covered with medicinal herbs.

"Uncle, I've advanced to Second Grade Alchemist. Help me gather these refining materials, and our Xiao family's pill quality should be able to reach a new level."

"Gather materials, no problem... Wait!"

Xiao Zhan took the material list and nodded instinctively. But the next moment, he jerked his head up, staring at Xiao Han like he was a monster, utterly incredulous.

"Han'er... you... what did you say? You're already a Second Grade Alchemist?" Though Xiao Zhan knew nothing of alchemy, he understood that alchemist ranks weren't something you could advance so easily.

If everyone could break through so effortlessly, wouldn't high-grade alchemists be as common as cabbages on the street?

"Mm, a few days ago, I broke through by accident," Xiao Han said flatly, turning his gaze to Xiao Zhan. "Is there a problem?"

What do you mean, broke through by accident? And is there a problem? There's a huge problem, okay?! It's only been a little over a month since you started learning alchemy!

Unintentional showing off is the deadliest.

Though Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Han with utter speechlessness, his heart was blooming with joy. What astonishing alchemist talent was this? His nephew wasn't just a prodigy in cultivation—his alchemist talent was one in ten thousand, truly monstrous!

Thinking this, Xiao Zhan shook his head and laughed. "Nothing, just your uncle genuinely happy for you. I thought your alchemist talent was already impressive, but I never expected it to be this monstrous. I'd say even those genius youths from the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Guild can't match you, right?"

"Can't help it."

Xiao Han proudly lifted his chin at a 45-degree angle, speaking coolly: "Being stronger than any opponent is life's greatest annoyance."

"Han'er, with achievements like this now, I'm sure your father and mother would be proud to have a son like you." Gazing at Xiao Han with affection, Xiao Zhan let out a long sigh, thinking again of his elder brother and sister-in-law, who had died in an accident.

"Maybe."

A sad expression crossed Xiao Han's face, but his heart remained calm. After all, he'd been an orphan the moment he crossed over—he had no real feelings for the parents of this world. Instead, Xiao Zhan, though called uncle, had more often played the role of a father.

"By the way, Uncle,"

Xiao Han looked up, eyes sharp: "Over this half-month, the Jia Lie Family and the Aoba Family must have been crushed pretty badly, right?"

"Heh, crushed isn't even the word."

Xiao Zhan coldly cracked his knuckles, a series of crunching sounds echoing out. "Over this period, relying on the pills, we've pulled in a full ninety percent of the foot traffic. Their two families' markets have been running at a loss—they're about to go under."

"According to word from our undercover agent, before I revealed that our family has a high-grade Alchemist backing us, those two were planning a joint raid to ambush and kill our Xiao clansmen. But then they got word that I'd broken through to Dou Ling, scared them so badly they scrapped the idea and shrunk back into their clans, too afraid to show their faces."

Crack!

"Raid the Xiao family?"

Xiao Han's gaze turned icy. The armrest of his wooden chair instantly shattered in his grip, wood chips flying everywhere!

A thick murderous intent radiated from him. If those two families had actually raided the Xiao Clan, never mind anything else—a little girl like Qinglin, with no cultivation to speak of, would've been captured in the first move.

With Qinglin's looks, once caught, she'd face torment worse than death. Even though Xiao Xun'er and Old Man Yao were around, ensuring the Xiao Clan wouldn't fall, in Xiao Han's heart, he'd already sentenced those two families to death!

Slap!

A hand pressed lightly on Xiao Han's shoulder. It was Xiao Zhan, shaking his head at Xiao Han with a grave expression. "Let me handle this. Your task right now is to focus on training. No need to dirty your hands with this kind of thing."

"Alright."

Xiao Han suppressed the killing intent in his heart and broke into a smile.

With the matter of the Xiao Family Market and the two great families settled, Xiao Han went on to discuss with Xiao Zhan which types of pills sold best in the market. Just as Xiao Han had expected, recovery-type pills for Dou Qi and Healing Medicine were the most popular. Though emergency pills that temporarily boosted strength didn't sell as well as the other two, they were still flying off the shelves.

Only three types of pills—still not quite enough. After some thought, Xiao Han took out the pill formula booklet Old Man Yao had given him from his Storage Ring. Flipping through it, he settled on a few First Grade Pills and Two-Grade Pills that had low material costs but decent effects.

Then Xiao Han pulled out his self-made Charcoal Pen and scribbled down the ingredients in a flurry. He handed three of the Storage Rings he'd taken as Spoils from those bandits to Xiao Zhan, telling him to send people to gather the materials.

After finishing all that, Xiao Han stretched lazily and left. He hadn't seen his cute little Maid in ages, and he couldn't wait to properly "dote" on Qinglin.

Passing one Separate Courtyard after another, Xiao Han spotted his own little courtyard from afar, set far away from the Xiao Clan Territory.

But for some reason, looking at it from this distance, his courtyard seemed to have changed somehow.

Pfft!!!

As he got closer, Xiao Han nearly spat out his drink.

What the hell!

Who painted my walls?! Why are they this ghostly white?!

And my gate? Where's my pitch-black double door gone?

The originally worn-down courtyard walls had been coated with fresh paint, looking brand new. The black gate, once etched with the marks of time, had been slathered in festive red paint. The small gaps and holes in the wooden door had even been patched up with instant noodles.

Wait, scratch that—must've been wood shavings.

Just as Xiao Han stood there dumbfounded, the vermillion gate suddenly swung open, and out rushed Qinglin, the little cutie in her green dress.

"Wuwuwu—Young Master, Young Master, you're finally back! Qinglin missed you so much—Wuwuwu—"

A soft, slender body crashed into his arms, and a pleasant fragrance wafted off Qinglin, lifting Xiao Han's spirits.

With the warm, fragrant jade in his embrace, Xiao Han hugged Qinglin dotingly and patted her little head.

"My good Qinglin, I missed you too, Young Master."

Gently pinching Qinglin's jade nose, Xiao Han smirked and tousled her hair. "I can't wait to take a nap with Qinglin now—"

"Mm, Young Master, you're always saying things that embarrass me." Blushing, Qinglin pushed Xiao Han away, lowering her head and nervously crossing her hands behind her back.

"Oh, right, Qinglin—what's up with our courtyard?"

With that, Xiao Han pointed at the freshly painted gate and walls.

"Ah, right—"

Qinglin stuck out her little tongue. "I almost forgot to tell you, Young Master. While you were away, the Xiao Clan Head said that no matter what, you're someone with status now."

"But living in this old, rundown little courtyard so far from the clan territory just isn't fitting, so..."

"So what? Uncle isn't trying to move me into one of those fancy decorated courtyards, is he? I remember turning him down plenty of times, right?" Frowning, Xiao Han recalled how Xiao Zhan had tried several times over the years to move him to a better courtyard.

But as the saying goes, "A golden nest or a silver nest is no match for your own dog kennel." After all these years, he'd gotten used to it. Besides, this remote courtyard was exactly what he wanted—at least he wouldn't be disturbed during training.

And it was close to the back mountain. Just a hundred meters out the gate, and he'd be there. Sometimes it was convenient for doing things that shouldn't be seen, like a little wilderness rendezvous.

Ahem, getting off track. Wilderness rendezvous were out of the question—so far, Xiao Han in this world was still a virgin, after all, only 14 Years Old.

"No, no, no!"

Faced with Xiao Han's words, Qinglin waved her hands frantically. "The Xiao Clan Head said, 'A coat of white covers a hundred flaws.'"

"No matter how shabby it is inside, as long as you paint the outer walls white and give the gate a makeover, it'll look like it went from poor to luxurious from the outside."

"Damn!"

Hearing Qinglin's words, Xiao Han felt utterly defeated!

This was exactly the kind of face-saving project some places back in his past life had pulled when poverty relief wasn't up to par!

Uncle, why do you have to learn the bad stuff instead of the good?!