Blood Surge Pill Pricing

In the pavilion outside the pharmacy, Wang Teng and Jia Lie Bi sat facing each other.

Various foods were laid out on the stone table between them.

Jia Lie Bi had originally wanted to invite Wang Teng to dine in the main hall, but Wang Teng had refused.

What a joke. Wang Teng had waited several days for this batch of herbs. How could he delay over a single breakfast?

"Master Wang Teng, you've inspected them. Are you satisfied with this batch of herbs?" Jia Lie Bi asked.

"Not bad. Their age and quality are both excellent," Wang Teng said with satisfaction.

Jia Lie Bi smiled bitterly. "For this batch of herbs, I've emptied out the family coffers."

Wang Teng glanced at him and said confidently, "Clan Head Jia Lie, one day, you'll certainly thank yourself for the decision you made today."

"I'm only benefiting from Master Wang Teng's favor." Jia Lie Bi did not dare take credit. He merely hoped Wang Teng understood how precious these herbs were and would take greater care during refinement.

Every portion was exceptionally precious. The Jia Lie Clan could not afford any waste.

The corners of Wang Teng's lips curved upward. He had to admit, being flattered these past few days felt pretty good.

Before long, all the herbs had been moved into the pharmacy. The guards withdrew and stood outside the door.

After waiting a while longer, Jia Lie Ku emerged carrying paper and a brush. Sweat poured down his plump face; taking inventory of the herbs had exhausted him.

"Clan Head, Master Wang Teng, everything has been counted. There are one hundred and twenty-five sets of ingredients for the Blood Surge Pill in total." Jia Lie Ku was already fat, and after working until now, he was starving. Seeing the food on the table, he could not help swallowing.

"You've worked hard, Elder Jia Lie Ku." Wang Teng stood, patted his shoulder, then looked at Jia Lie Bi. "Clan Head Jia Lie, I'll begin refining now."

Jia Lie Bi rose and tried to stop him. "Master Wang Teng, there's no need to rush. You can eat before going."

"No." Wang Teng waved his hand and walked into the pharmacy without looking back, shutting the door behind him.

Jia Lie Ku promptly sat in Wang Teng's former seat, grabbed a steamed bun, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Clan Head, what are you looking at me for?" he asked indistinctly.

"Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating. Look at you, you're practically as fat as a pig!" Jia Lie Bi said. "Get up and come to the meeting with me!"

"Clan Head, there's no need to rush, right?" Jia Lie Ku tried to grab another steamed bun, but failed.

Jia Lie Bi seized him by the collar and dragged him toward the main hall.

Before long, all the Jia Lie Clan's core members had arrived. Jia Lie Ao was there as well.

"Ao'er, how are your injuries?" Jia Lie Bi asked with concern.

A faint smile appeared on Jia Lie Ao's pale face. "Father, I'm more than halfway recovered."

"Train hard and find an opportunity to take ruthless revenge," Jia Lie Bi encouraged him.

He had no choice. This was his only son, though he was useless enough to nearly be beaten to death by Xiao Yan, who was several years younger.

Jia Lie Bi gestured for Jia Lie Ao to sit, then looked around the room and said solemnly, "I called everyone here because the herbs have been purchased successfully. Once Master Wang Teng refines the pills, we can begin selling them. First, we need to set their price."

With that, he looked toward Jia Lie Ku.

Jia Lie Ku held a slight grudge over the clan head not letting him eat, but seeing Jia Lie Bi's stern expression, he did not dare act too presumptuously.

He stood and opened the notebook in his hands, reporting the expenses from this herb purchase.

A total of two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins had been spent, all on ingredients for the Blood Surge Pill. They had purchased one hundred and twenty-five sets in total.

That meant the cost of each Blood Surge Pill was around two thousand gold coins.

For a first-grade pill, that price was actually rather high.

But the Jia Lie Clan had no choice. If they wanted to utterly crush the Xiao Clan Market in a short time, they had to differentiate themselves.

One elder said, "I previously asked Master Gu Ni to refine first-grade Qi Replenishing Pills. He produced seven pills in total."

Gu Ni was the alchemist stationed in Wu Tan City by the Mittel Auction House. He was considered a retained expert, and his usual work involved appraising herbs and pills, determining their value.

Occasionally, Gu Ni also accepted pill-refining commissions to earn some extra money.

Since the clients provided the materials and paid him, he would hand over however many pills he refined each time, without keeping any for himself.

The elder's meaning was very simple.

When second-grade alchemist Gu Ni refined first-grade pills, he generally produced around seven pills.

Wang Teng, meanwhile, was only a first-grade alchemist. His yield when refining Blood Surge Pills would not be high each time.

At the very least, it would not exceed Gu Ni's. After all, Gu Ni was a second-grade alchemist.

The fact that the Mittel Auction House had invited him to serve there proved his ability had been recognized.

Jia Lie Bi thought for a moment. "Let's assume Master Wang Teng can refine five pills per batch. What price do you think would be appropriate for the Blood Surge Pill?"

"Clan Head, isn't five pills a bit too high?" the elder asked softly.

"It's only an assumption," Jia Lie Bi said.

"But Clan Head, medicinal liquid and pills are different. Condensing them into pills is extremely difficult. Master Gu Ni is a second-grade alchemist, yet he only..." the elder argued stubbornly.

"Can't you understand when I say it's an assumption? Do you want me to say Master Wang Teng can only produce one pill per batch? If so, what are we all sitting here discussing? We might as well set the price at three thousand gold coins per pill. The problem is, who could afford it?" Jia Lie Bi snapped.

The people present glanced at the elder but said nothing.

They understood that his concerns were not unfounded, but the clan head was right as well. If the price was too high, a first-grade pill would lose its appeal.

The people most interested in first-grade pills were Fighters, and such people did not have much money on them.

"Clan Head, I believe six hundred gold coins per pill is appropriate," Jia Lie Ku said.

A single set of herb ingredients could yield a profit of one thousand gold coins once refined into pills.

An elder immediately objected, "A fifty percent profit margin? No, that's too little. Besides, this is pill refinement, not medicine brewing. No matter how skilled Master Wang Teng is at brewing medicine, it doesn't change the fact that he's young. He can't possibly succeed every time."

After deducting a portion as Wang Teng's reward, the Jia Lie Clan would earn even less.

Everyone silently calculated the figures and felt the price was too low. This was a first-grade pill, after all, not some medicinal pellet kneaded together by a physician.

"Six hundred is too low. Raise it a little."

"The Blood Surge Pill can temporarily raise one's cultivation level. Mercenaries might grit their teeth and buy such a life-saving pill."

"Clan Head, the clan still has a debt shortfall of three hundred thousand gold coins."

The crowd argued until their faces were red, their voices loud enough to blow the roof off.

"Enough!" Jia Lie Bi could not stand it any longer. He slammed his palm onto the table in fury, shattering it with such force.

The tremendous noise drowned out everyone's voices. They stopped, all eyes turning toward Jia Lie Bi.

"Have all of you fallen into a money pit? Have you forgotten the essence of this plan?" Jia Lie Bi swept his gaze over their flushed faces. "Making money isn't the goal! What we want is to seize the Xiao Clan Market's market share!"

He made the final decision. "The price will be as Jia Lie Ku said: starting at six hundred gold coins per pill."

"Clan Head..." someone said anxiously.

"I'm not finished!" Jia Lie Bi glared at him. "If Master Wang Teng's pill yield is low, we'll raise the price accordingly."

No one spoke again.