You Promised to Be an Idle Son-in-Law, How Could You Become a Land Immortal? Chapter 79: "Talent" Is Hard to Come By

Chen Yi held an Oil Paper Umbrella, walking slowly through the rain.

He passed through Yanhua Lane, turned north onto Ba Mountain Street, and then made a right at the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office in the city center.

He walked along this wide road, nad Wudong Street, stopping and starting as he went.

Before leaving that morning, Liu Si’er had wanted to take the Marquis’s Mansion’s carriage, but Chen Yi had stopped him.

Besides needing to go to Yanhua Lane, he also intended to conduct a secret investigation. He wanted to see the true state of that dicine Hall for himself.

However, as he walked down the bustling Wudong Street, Chen Yi’s mind was also on "Sword Madman" Liu Lang.

It wasn’t Liu Lang himself that he cared about, but the term "Jianghu People."

The Great Wei Dynasty had a strong culture of Martial Arts. Whether among the Noble Families and Clans, the Imperial Court, or the army, many practiced them.

But in terms of fa, the common folk were most familiar with the nas of Wandering Martial Artists.

He figured Liu Lang’s title of "Sword Madman" was a na he had earned while roaming the Jianghu.

’Just a snippet of information from a single eting is worth an Earth-Level Technique as a reward. He must have so skill, but I wonder just how "mad" his Blade truly is.’

As Chen Yi mused, he casually sized up his surroundings.

Compared to his previous cursory glance, this careful observation gave him a deeper understanding of the situation in the eastern part of Shu State’s capital.

It wasn’t entirely accurate to broadly classify this area as a gathering place for the Mountain Race and Poshisu Foreigners.

In fact, the shops on both sides of the street were still predominantly run by Wei People.

From the accents of the assistants at the doors and the shopkeepers inside, most seed to be Shu State locals.

However, there were also quite a few people from the various states of the Central Plains who ca here to do business.

Most ca from Jing State, but visitors from Yan State, Ji State, and You State also made up a certain proportion. Most of them spoke with their respective local dialects.

"Finest sable pelts from the Northern State! Take a look! Mountain goods, built to last!"

"Sharpening scissors, grinding knives! Rusty blades and dull shears, good as new in a flash!"

"Don’t you miss out, folks! Gastrodia powder from Wung Mountain, fritillary bulbs carried in with Shu salt! Stops coughs, clears phlegm, guaranteed to work...!"

Guaranteed or not, after the ti it takes an incense stick to burn, Chen Yi finally spotted the sign for Jishi dicine Hall.

The storefront was quite large. Four three-foot-long door panels were opened wide, creating a central entrance flanked by two side entrances.

A couplet hung on either side: "We only pray the world knows no disease / What matter then if dust collects on our redies?" The horizontal banner read: "Benevolence Between Heaven and Earth."

At first glance, it certainly looked the part.

But there was a strange quietness amidst the hustle and bustle.

Amidst the shouts of the Herbal dicine Shop hawking its wares next door, a few sickly-looking patients ca and went.

However, most of them weren’t carrying any dicinal herbs. Instead, they held a prescription slip and turned into the smaller Herbal dicine Shop next door.

Chen Yi scanned the area, laughing inwardly.

It seed that Shopkeeper Wang Ji wasn’t just lining his own pockets; he was also running a resale pharmacy on the side.

’A knack for making money, perhaps?’

’So it’s not that those shopkeepers lack clever minds. It’s that they’ve applied all their cleverness to crooked sches.’

After a mont’s thought, Chen Yi didn’t enter Jishi dicine Hall directly. Instead, he walked toward the smaller Herbal dicine Shop.

Liu Si’er and Ge the Third exchanged a glance, vaguely sensing that sothing was off.

Even if they weren’t good at business, seeing patients get their dicine from a different Herbal dicine Shop instead of the main dicine Hall made it clear there was sothing fishy going on.

"Sir, what dicine would you like to buy?"

"Deer antler, or perhaps... horny goat weed. Plenty of wealthy gentlen like yourself are fond of that stuff."

Chen Yi was speechless.

’If I hadn’t read dical texts and possessed this inherited knowledge of the dical Dao, I really wouldn’t have known what horny goat weed was.’

"I’m not here to buy dicine. I’m here to ask about sothing."

Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper’s smile vanished. He waved his hand impatiently.

"Shoo, shoo, get out of the way. Can’t you see I’m busy?"

Chen Yi chuckled and shook his head. The people of Shu State were certainly aggressive.

’He sees how I’m dressed but still isn’t afraid of . Is it because he has powerful backing?’

With that thought, Chen Yi waved to Liu Si’er and Ge the Third behind him and ordered, "Invite him inside to have a talk."

Liu Si’er paused, then stepped forward with a grim expression and started dragging the shopkeeper inside.

He was already used to the Fledgling’s strange behavior.

’Fortunately, I’m not responsible for the Fledgling anymore, so I won’t get punished for this in the future.’

"You, you people..."

Before he could shout, Liu Si’er clamped a hand over his mouth.

After Chen Yi walked in, Ge the Third shut the door and stood guard outside.

As for being a lookout, practice makes perfect.

He paid no mind to the passersby who noticed the commotion.

A small scene like this was nothing compared to the ruckus the young master had caused last ti in Luoyi Lane when he "abducted a maiden."

The shopkeeper had never experienced such an ordeal.

The mont Chen Yi opened his mouth to speak, he confessed everything.

"Shopkeeper, please be magnanimous and spare this once! It was Shopkeeper Wang who ordered to do all this!"

It wasn’t that he was blind; he simply never imagined soone from the Marquis’s Mansion would be so low-key.

Originally, after learning that Wang Ji had been punished by Eldest Miss Xiao, he had wanted to close up shop and wait for more news.

But his greed got the better of him, and he wanted to earn a little more.

No, it wasn’t just him. Wang Ji also wanted to use these last few days to make so extra silver coins.

And so, he was caught red-handed by Chen Yi, who had co prepared for the unprepared.

Chen Yi sat behind the counter, flipping through the account books and prescriptions on the desk. He pulled open a few drawers to look at the herbs inside before asking with a smile:

"How long have you had this shop?"

"Two months... no, no... two years, two years."

"Two years? The few stalks of old ginseng you’ve hoarded are older than a hundred of those ’two years’."

Chen Yi took out three stalks of old ginseng from the top drawer, each as thick as two fingers, and asked with a smile:

"Do you know the consequences of not telling the truth?"

The shopkeeper’s face fell. "I can’t hide it from you. I’ve been doing business here for five years."

"But I swear, it was all at Wang Ji’s request! The dicinal herbs, the pricing—it was all his idea!"

Chen Yi waved his hand. "I don’t care about that. I just want to know how much silver you’ve made in five years."

He knew that Wang Ji also had to hand over a share of the profits to the Xiao Family.

It was supposed to be four hundred taels of silver a month.

This Herbal dicine Shop must have earned even more.

A rough estimate for five years would be at least twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver.

Even after deducting the costs of inventory, profit sharing, and bribes, Wang Ji’s personal fortune must be quite substantial.

At this, the shopkeeper watched Chen Yi’s expression and stamred, "Not much... j-just two thousand taels..."

Chen Yi nodded with a smile. "Let’s just say two thousand taels, then. After I hand you over to the Governnt Office, you’ll probably be sentenced to execution after the autumn assizes."

"And if the Lord Prefect is feeling particularly kind, perhaps he won’t even wait until autumn to send you on your way."

THUD.

The shopkeeper couldn’t withstand such a threat. He dropped to his knees, trembling as he said:

"I beg you, spare my life! Spare my life...!"

Seeing his state, Chen Yi’s smile faded. He calmly waved to Liu Si’er. "Get the details out of him. Have him sign a confession."

Seeing him act this way, Liu Si’er was montarily stunned.

It wasn’t that he was still displeased with the Fledgling’s odd behavior. Rather, the Fledgling’s last two commands had carried the air of a superior.

’Has he finally wised up?’

Not long after, Chen Yi and Liu Si’er walked out of the Herbal dicine Shop. The shopkeeper, still shaken, respectfully saw them off.

The next mont, he saw Chen Yi turn and enter Jishi dicine Hall, and a vicious thought crossed his mind.

’I can barely save my own skin. Why should I care if Wang Ji lives or dies?’

But clearly, the shopkeeper had misunderstood.

Chen Yi had no intention of having anyone killed. On the contrary, he felt it would be a sha for "talent" like Wang Ji to die so easily.

With that in mind, he calmly walked into Jishi dicine Hall.

To the astonishnt of the two Physicians, several apprentices, and the accountant, he ordered Ge the Third to close the doors and turn away any custors.

"Brother Si, please trouble yourself to go to Wang Ji’s ho. Reveal your identity and bring him here."

After Liu Si’er acknowledged the order and left, Chen Yi sat in the main hall. He watched Ge the Third "grin nacingly" as he brought the others under control, and then said:

"As for , I am the new Shopkeeper, Chen Yi."