Chapter 2 Monthly Income: Five RMB The next day, early morning. Luo Chen got up early and put ten pills on the chopping board into five jade bottles. Putting on the only low-grade robe that he could afford, carrying a low-grade flying sword, he hurried out the door. He had to enter the city early, otherwise the better casual cultivators’ stalls would not be able to take his turn at dawn. Perhaps it was because it rained heavily all day yesterday, and the roads in the outer city seemed quite muddy. The closer you get to the center of the outer city, the stronger the smell is, mixed with the smell of feces, urine, medicine, humans, and monsters. Especially when mixed with the earthy smell, the feeling is really unbearable. But Luo Chen is used to it. An hour later, we arrived at the city gate.
When entering the inner city, Luo Chen couldn't help but take a deep breath. Sure enough, the air in the inner city is good! “I heard that the inner city is built on a first-order spiritual vein, which is very beneficial to the cultivation of monks in the Qi refining period.” “When you have money in the future, you must buy a house in the inner city!” Secretly cheering up, Luo Chen went straight to the casual cultivator area in the southwest corner. In front of a bluestone slab, most of which were covered with yellow talismans and animal skins, an old man was busy there. He laid out the animal skins, stood up and stretched, and happened to see Luo Chen arriving. “Fellow Daoist Luo, you came a little later than me this time.” The old man's name is Chen Xiuping, he is at the sixth level of Qi refining stage, and he is an old man from Dahefang City. He has lived here for decades and made a living by making talismans. He also has good skills in tanning talisman skins. With his income level, he can barely afford to rent a house in the inner city. However, this old man is a bit stingy. He would rather live in a wooden house in the outer city that costs one low-grade spiritual stone per month than to live in a stone house in the inner city that costs ten times the price. He even said that even when setting up a stall to sell things, he made clear calculations. Stalls in casual repair areas must be rented to the city manager. One stall costs one spiritual stone per month. The stall, which is two square meters in size, can be squeezed into a small stall of half a square meter after placing the talisman seals and talisman skins. He simply gave the small half square meter to Luo Chen, and then the two of them paid half of the rent. Luo Chen suffered a loss? Can’t say the same. To rent another stall, he would have to spend one spiritual stone a month.
Furthermore, few monks like to sell things with others. So Luo Chen probably didn’t lose, but Chen Laodao definitely made a profit. After a brief greeting, Luo Chen laid out his things in front of the stall. Twenty bottles of Bigu Pills! Looking at this amount, Chen Laodao couldn't help but be surprised, "Fellow Daoist Luo, your level of alchemy has improved recently!" No wonder he said that. Luo Chen usually comes once every seven days to set up a stall, and four or five times a month. Each time, the number of Bigu Pills sold was around fifteen or six bottles. This time, I took out twenty bottles! Hence, it can be seen that he must have made considerable progress in refining Bigu Pill. In fact, this is indeed the case. Seven days, leaving aside the day of setting up stalls and purchasing materials, the remaining six days are used half for processing materials and half for refining elixirs. In other words, there are only three days of alchemy time in total. In the past, Luo Chen worked hard to make two pots a day and collected about five bottles of Bigu Pill. The material loss rate was really high. But yesterday, his Bigu Pill refining technology was promoted from the perfect proficiency level to the master level. In the last pot, five bottles came out! Coupled with good luck before, the loss was reduced to a very low level, and this time we only collected twenty bottles of Bigu Pill. “No, no, practice makes perfect!” Luo Chen smiled modestly, but there was still some satisfaction in his eyes. The refining technology of Bigu Pill, which is new to master level proficiency, is more or less good. Chen Xiuping shook his head, "There are a few fellow sellers of Bigu Pill, but none of them can produce twenty bottles in five days like you." After speaking, he reached out and touched the nearest bottle. "You didn't mix it with flour to make up for it, did you? As a veteran, I have to make sure you don't destroy the sign of our stall." Luo Chen watched him take action with a smile. He had already picked up a talisman full of red lines in his hand. “I heard that someone bought your Qi Condensing Talisman last time, but it didn’t work, and most of his **** was bitten by a monster. Why don’t I take one back and study it for you? You can’t destroy our sign!” Old Chen was so anxious that he quickly snatched the talisman seal from Luo Chen's hand without caring about the elixir in hand. “You only sold five bottles of Bigu Pill for one spiritual stone, so you have the nerve to exchange it for my three spiritual stones and one Qi Condensing Talisman!” “Give me back! Give me back!” Luo Chen smiled and watched as the old man placed the talisman and seal in the most conspicuous place. The Qi Condensing Talisman is Chen Laodao’s flagship product!
Among the low-grade talismans he has, which cost one spiritual stone each, the price is the most expensive, starting from three low-grade spiritual stones. In fact, the Qi Condensing Talisman is also the best, especially for those monks who go into the mountains to hunt monsters. This kind of talisman can cover one's vitality for an hour, and can save a life at a critical moment. Its value is not inferior to that of many defensive talismans. Sometimes, Luo Chen actually envied Chen Laodao. Selling a talisman casually, which is at least one spiritual stone, can make a net profit of more than 100 yuan in a month! Not like myself. In the past month, I worked hard to earn twelve spiritual stones. After deducting the cost, I only got six or seven spiritual stones. If you deduct half a spirit stone for rent, half a spirit stone for stall fees, and one spirit stone for daily food and drink, you will only have four or five dollars left. This is still a year since I traveled back in time, and it took me a long time to save money. It’s hard to imagine what the original owner lived like in the early days. But envy is only temporary. Luo Chen is very clear that each of the four mainstream arts of cultivating immortals has its own difficulties. The greater the profit, the greater the quantity of elixirs. The difficulty lies in getting started with various elixir recipes. From getting started to becoming proficient in each elixir, you don’t know how many furnaces it will take to refine it. Talisman seals are of varying quality. Each talisman can be said to have condensed all the energy and energy of the monk when drawing it. A slight mistake means that the whole game will be lost. Moreover, Talisman Makers often don’t live very long, and I don’t know why. Just like Chen Xiuping, he looks old, but he is actually only in his sixties. Well, he seems to be very old indeed. However, a monk in the Qi Refining Stage can theoretically live to be one hundred and twenty-three years old, and sixty-something years old is considered "young". It is impossible to become a Talisman Maker, and it is impossible to do homework every day in this life. It's better to make elixirs and roll balls. Moreover, Luo Chen’s family knows his own affairs, and he has just entered the master-level Bigu Powder refining technology, and can already double his income in the future. Although a monthly income of ten yuan is still not enough to support the practice of longevity (net income), it is at least on the bright side. Moreover, you can start a new project right away, right? Just when Luo Chen had great hopes for the future, Chen Laodao pulled his sleeve. “Business is coming!” (End of this chapter)