After the Deed Was Done, He Brushed Off His Sleeves and Left

"Brother Jiang, from now on, you're my real brother!"

Zhou Family Restaurant.

Inside a private room.

A table full of dishes gave off an irresistible aroma.

Zhou Yang had never imagined that after Jiang Shu sprinkled those white crystalline granules into the dishes, these originally bland dishes would gain such an intense, exquisite savoriness.

If Jiang Shu had not been present, he would have been unable to stop himself from digging in with abandon.

With such a secret recipe, how could his family's restaurant business fail to flourish?

"Cut it out. You've tasted the dishes, so go discuss it with your father. As for this partnership, will I be taking shares in your Zhou Family Restaurant, or will you be buying my table salt and monosodium glutamate outright?"

Jiang Shu sat at the head of the table, leisurely sampling the dishes. After the apprenticeship ceremony had concluded yesterday, his status had undergone a qualitative transformation. For the first time, he had personally experienced Old Man Chou's formidable reputation.

All sorts of gifts had streamed endlessly into the Small Courtyard. Merchants from various shops had even waited at the entrance, begging him to lend his name to their businesses.

Some illegitimate sons from prominent families had also sent invitations, asking to meet him at Cloud Sparrow Quarter.

Jiang Shu did not know exactly how well martial artists were treated.

But now, he was utterly certain that even at the same Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation, formal disciples and ordinary apprentices lived in two entirely different worlds!

Inside the martial hall, apprentices like him were still striving for one extra dose of Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine each month.

Yet he could now buy a dose from Old Man Chou for five taels of silver every three to five days.

Ordinary apprentices could also lend their names to shops, but they generally had to remain in the shop and protect it.

He, meanwhile, only needed word to spread that he had lent his name to that shop.

Ordinary apprentices received only around ten taels of silver for lending their names.

The lowest offer he had received was thirty taels of silver.

In a single day, his status had become as different as heaven and earth.

He was merely a formal disciple at Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation, yet he already received such treatment. He had gone from a refugee in Crooked Snake Alley of the Outer City, living from one day to the next,

to residing in the Inner City, where merely opening his mouth made him an honored guest of any shop.

What if he became a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist one day?

Though he had already placed an exceedingly high value on martial artists' status,

yesterday's events showed that he had still underestimated it.

His plans should undergo a few minor changes as well.

"I'll take shares! Fifty-fifty!"

The instant Jiang Shu finished speaking, Zhou Yang eagerly spoke up. If Jiang Shu had been an ordinary person, the Zhou Family Restaurant would have forced him to reveal how the table salt and monosodium glutamate were made.

For an average martial artist, the Zhou Family Restaurant would have adopted a partnership model, splitting the profits ninety-ten. After all, the restaurant had to bear considerable costs—servers, chefs, meat, fruits, vegetables; which of them did not cost money?

But when dealing with Jiang Shu, it had to be fifty-fifty.

Without a fifty-fifty split, how could they show their sincerity in cooperating? Jiang Shu had confidence in the table salt and monosodium glutamate, but Zhou Yang had even greater confidence!

With this table salt and monosodium glutamate, the dishes at their Zhou Family Restaurant could easily be priced several times higher!

There would not be fewer customers—only more!

Whoever could afford to eat at a restaurant would care about that little bit of extra money?

What they ate was precisely the flavor they could not get at home.

"Fifty-fifty is too little. Let's split it thirty-seventy. Your restaurant gets thirty."

"Brother Jiang... th-this... thirty-seventy?"

The wine in Zhou Yang's cup nearly spilled, and his chubby little face twisted into a knot.

He could still make the decision on a fifty-fifty split. If he talked it over with his father and haggled a little, it would most likely work out. But thirty-seventy? Even if Jiang Shu were a Skin Grinding Realm martial artist, his father would not agree.

That was simply too—

"You think I'm opening my mouth like a lion? You draft the contract. Fifty percent goes to my master, thirty percent to the restaurant, and twenty percent to me." Seeing Zhou Yang's expression, Jiang Shu knew exactly what he was thinking.

After becoming a formal disciple, he understood the Inner City better than before.

Skin Grinding Realm, Bone Forging, Viscera Training Realm.

Every prominent family had an expert in the middle or late stages of Bone Forging.

So long as the County Magistrate from the County Government did not act, a late-stage Bone Forging martial artist was the sky of Pingling County.

In the realms of Martial Dao, every realm was a whole new heaven.

The gap between Bone Forging and the Skin Grinding Realm was even greater than the gap between the Skin Grinding Realm and Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation.

If the table salt and monosodium glutamate were merely a small fuss, adding only ten or twenty percent to the restaurant's profits, that would be one thing.

But was that possible?

"If the Zhou Family Restaurant's business booms because of the table salt and monosodium glutamate, what will the prominent families in the county do? Think about Luo Family Pharmacy."

Jiang Shu lowered his voice and said,

"Write thirty-seventy into the contract. But in reality, we'll split it forty-sixty. Your restaurant gets forty, my master gets fifty, and I take only ten."

"My master may not even keep all of that fifty percent. He might distribute some of it to other martial halls or prominent families. But the Zhou Family does not need to worry about that. You only need to prepare the dishes well."

After settling all the details and handing the Zhou Family Restaurant contract to his master, Old Man Chou,

Jiang Shu took a deep breath in the Small Courtyard. With a thought, he returned to Xuanxing.

Qingjiang Garden.

Room 301.

Looking at the familiar arrangement of the room, Jiang Shu finally relaxed.

During this period, he had not rested at all. In Martial Dao, he had mastered all three of the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall's Refining, Nourishing, Striking Three Methods, obtained formal disciple status, and acquired the Skin Grinding Realm cultivation method, Hungry Tiger Howling Mountain Force.

Financially, he had reached a partnership with the Zhou Family Restaurant. Though he had only ten percent of the profits, as time passed, the Zhou Family Restaurant would surely become a hen that laid golden eggs.

Moreover, as a formal disciple, he now had the qualifications to access gold in Pingling County. Trading goods between the two worlds would also bring in a large sum of money, so long as he paid a little attention to exchanging gold in the Inner City.

Now, all he lacked was to train the Horse Stance to perfection and gain admission to an Academy without examination before the College Entrance Examination.

Jiang Shu silently mused.

He had also considered several times which Academy to attend.

Shengjing Academy was located in the political center and produced many high-ranking officials and dignitaries. As the number one Academy of the Xia Kingdom, its Martial Dao faculty and resources were undoubtedly ranked first. But within it, politics would certainly still outweigh Martial Dao.

No regime could possibly allow individual martial strength to surpass politics.

East Sea Academy was located in the Xia Kingdom's most prosperous financial metropolis, whose economy was unmatched by any other region. It might lack a little in the most elite Martial Dao resources, but its foundational resources were absolutely abundant and plentiful.

Tianshu Academy had originally been Tianshu Military Academy and had produced an unknown number of generals. Even now, it was said to be the cradle of military officers. The competition was fierce yet fair; with his strength, it would not be difficult for him to stand out.

As for Jiangnan Academy, closest to his home, it produced many scholars and literary men. Its professors had even won world literature awards. In literary circles, Jiangnan Academy was a truly dazzling pearl.

But in terms of Martial Dao, compared to the other three great Academies, Jiangnan Academy had no advantage at all.

"I should ask Dad and Mom what they think."

"Things are practically set in stone now. I can reveal my strength to them as well. I wonder how Dad and Mom will feel when they learn their son is guaranteed admission to an Academy."

Unable to stop himself from smiling, Jiang Shu thought of how his parents had been leaving early and returning late, working harder than ever these days. He pushed open the door and walked out.

His parents had raised him for nearly eighteen years.

For the years to come,

it was his turn.

I asked the editor today, and the follow-up readership is a little low. Brothers who are stockpiling chapters, please remember to click through to the final page every day. A thousand thanks!!!