"Heh heh, Senior, comfortable?" Tang Wen asked.
"Mm, very comfortable. I've never seen these things of yours before. Where did they come from?" Tu Qianqiu asked.
"Experts in the Mysterious Nether Domain invented them," Tang Wen said.
At lunch, the kick from the Three-Stripe Fish once again had Tu Qianqiu crying out at the thrill.
After that, the fellow actually squared off against the Three-Stripe Fish, eating three plates in a row, its kick making him shout with delight.
He even fell in love with French brandy.
Just like that, Tang Wen taught him how to mix and use the anesthetic solution, and two days passed in the blink of an eye.
"Kid, you certainly have plenty of novel things.
"But I, Tu Qianqiu, won't eat, drink, and stay here at your expense for nothing. How about I teach you a few things about the Pill Dao?
"You're an Apothecary. Refining pills is part of your job to begin with.
"If you can't even refine pills, you're not a qualified Apothecary," Tu Qianqiu said.
"I'm just afraid I'm too dim to learn," Tang Wen said. In truth, the fellow couldn't stomach the hardships of pill refining.
Besides, as long as he had money, what pills couldn't he buy? Why put himself through the misery of refining pills and work himself into a stinking sweat?
"Refining pills with me is easier than with anyone else. I devised this method myself.
"Even the Pill Furnace was my own independent creation. Other people need one or several fire-tending boys to refine pills.
"Sometimes, when the fire is too weak, they have to fan it for all they're worth. Mine generally doesn't require all that trouble," Tu Qianqiu said.
"In that case, all right. I'll start by learning from you, Senior," Tang Wen said.