Paying Respects at the Dock

Bai Xiaowen smiled.

Zhang Bo chuckled and said, "Boss, what did that shop across the street do to you? You seem quite pleased to hear their business isn't doing well."

"Offending me is a minor matter," Bai Xiaowen shook his head and said, "But the guild that shop belongs to has a very bad relationship with my guild. You know, it's always a good thing when your competitors are in trouble."

To be fair, the shop owner who was "Fully Armed" initially mocked Bai Xiaowen, which was indeed due to some past grudge.

However, this was a minor matter, and Bai Xiaowen wouldn't take it to heart after a while. But Bai Xiaowen later learned from guild channels that the Fully Armed shop was owned by the Jingwu Guild, which meant they were now competitors, no longer just a simple verbal argument or a battle of wits.

Jingwu Guild is currently thriving in the B-League and is closely entrenched in the coattails of the Titan Guild, putting considerable pressure on the Super God Guild. Bai Xiaowen now considers Super God Guild as his second home, so his impression of the Jingwu Guild is naturally not good.

After briefly understanding the situation, Bai Xiaowen exited the Virtual Hall.

"How's the shop doing?"

Li Shuyi, wearing a towel on her head, was cleaning the rooms one by one. When she saw Bai Xiaowen open her eyes and take off her virtual reality headset, she asked.

"It's relatively normal, but some problems can be found."

"Um?"

"Profit margins are starting to decline, and the market for rough-quality beginner equipment is becoming saturated. I need to find ways to develop new profit drivers, such as producing Blue Quality equipment and accessories, as well as the output from other special buildings in my territory."

While speaking, Bai Xiaowen was also using her Insight to begin preparing the medicinal materials and making the medicine.

Li Shuyi exclaimed "Ah!" and said, "You said before that there was an important matter that required two to three days to do. Is it that you're going to the Kane Plane?"

Bai Xiaowen nodded a little guiltily, "Yes." It had been several months since he had returned to the territory. Cecilia had been supporting the development of the territory all by herself, and she must have suffered a lot.

In addition, Bai Xiaowen also intends to show the newly acquired Frost Toxin Formula to Zombie Doctor —although Zombie Doctor is skilled in modern life sciences and not in this ancient alchemy, he is the best candidate Bai Xiaowen can think of.

As for the Alchemist at the Super God Potion Shop, their expertise in this area is far inferior to that of Zombie Doctor. Zombie Doctor research expert who can create Plague Bane drug in just a few days. He possesses extensive knowledge, which is completely different from the pharmacists at the Super God Potion Shop who rely on inherited formulas and experience to make medicine.

Li Shuyi didn't seem unhappy at all. Instead, she nodded and said, "That's right, you should go back. You have one day off every month, you should go back more often."

Bai Xiaowen shook his head. "No, as I understand it, the one day per month granted by the Permanent Fief Deed should be accumulated and used to help the territory solve some development problems each time you go back. If you only go back once a month, it's hard to make any contribution in just one day."

Li Shuyi curled her lip. "Hmph, men... If you ask me, Cecilia doesn't actually need you to contribute anything to the territory. In fact, she'd much rather you come back more often and see you more frequently. As the female lord who supports the territory, she needs you as her pillar of support."

Bai Xiaowen felt ashamed. Unlike Bai Xiaowen's profit-driven view, Li Shuyi spoke from the perspective of spiritual needs, which made a lot of sense.

Although Li Shuyi showed great tolerance, Bai Xiaowen wisely refrained from discussing the topic further. He carried the measured medicinal herbs into a small, windowless cubicle—which Li Shuyi jokingly called the "little dark room"—and began his assembly-line-like pharmaceutical work.

Not long after, Bai Xiaowen, who was in the cubicle, suddenly heard a commotion.

"Old Bai, are you there?... Oh, it's your sister-in-law, doing housework? We're here to help..." Chen Guowei's loud voice could be heard clearly from afar.

Li Shuyi quickly replied, "No need..."

There were other voices behind him. Bai Xiaowen listened while making the medicine and realized that, in addition to Chen Guowei, Xiang Hui and Han Xu, two teammates who were close to Bai Xiaowen, had also arrived.

"Excuse me, everyone please be quiet... Xiao Wen is making medicine in the small dark room," Li Shuyi's voice came from inside.

"Oh--"

The group tacitly kept quiet. However, with Bai Xiaowen's spiritual perception, he could still sense what was happening outside. Chen Guowei and the others actually grabbed the brooms and rags and began to help with the cleaning.

For a typical Alchemist, the process of preparing a medicine requires complete concentration, as even a slight mistake could lead to failure. Naturally, an absolutely quiet preparation room is essential. However, for an unconventional Alchemist like Bai Xiaowen who follows procedures exactly, this is unnecessary.

Bai Xiaowen opened the door to the cubicle. He didn't go out; while distracted by calculating the reaction time of the medicinal herbs, he said to the person outside:

"Old Chen, what brings you three here?"

"The new semester is here, let's pay our respects and see our big brother," Chen Guowei chuckled.

"Get lost..." Xiang Hui lightly kicked Chen Guowei, then gestured with his lip towards Bai Xiaowen, "Are you okay being so distracted?"

Bai Xiaowen smiled and nodded.

Xiang Hui wore an incredulous expression. As the heir of the Radiance Guild, he was well aware of the many precautions for Alchemist, so he couldn't quite understand why there were such carefree Alchemist. In contrast, Chen Guowei and Han Xu seemed completely unconcerned, as they didn't know much about this kind of thing.

To give an example, an ancient calligraphy master who could write Plum Blossom Seal Script with both hands at the same time was considered a genius by many ancient scholars, but to modern people, Plum Blossom Seal Script is probably similar to scribbles, and writing it with both hands at the same time is not surprising.

Han Xu: "I'm here to return your money."

"Pay back the money? There's no need to be in such a hurry." Bai Xiaowen was a little surprised. Han Xu had just paid back 10,000 Psionic Points before the winter break, and now he's asking again right after the break?

This eagerness to repay the money reminded Bai Xiaowen of another timeline of Earth, where the debtor was the boss and the debtor was the servant... In comparison, Han Xu really was an honest person.

Han Xu said somewhat apologetically, "I can't pay you back all at once this time. I'll give you 10,000 first. I'll give you the last 10,000 later."

"Don't rush. Upgrade your golden weapon a few more times and prioritize increasing your strength. I don't lack Psionic Points," Bai Xiaowen said.

Chen Guowei suddenly said, "Old Bai, you might not know, Old Han has run into some bad luck."

Regular updates will resume tomorrow.

I took my wife to her prenatal checkup today, and we got rear-ended. The female driver was fully at fault and agreed to pay. The losses weren't much, but I feel really unlucky...

The back of the car was completely deformed. Thankfully, no one was hurt...