Chapter Twenty-Two: Preparing for Opening

Boss Huang truly wielded great influence; he managed to invite Liu Renming, the City Magistrate of the Southern Market, to serve as a witness. In all seriousness, three prominent shopkeepers from the southern market and five respected neighbors from Xiushan Lane were also invited as witnesses. Even Master Xuanqing was summoned, who set aside his affairs to personally support Feng Xiaobao!

With so many present as witnesses, both parties and the witnesses signed the contract in duplicate, each keeping a copy.

After blowing the ink dry, Boss Huang laughed, “This is a family heirloom now!”

Having learned the background of the matter, Magistrate Liu Renming stroked his beard and said with a smile, “So it’s you, Feng Dalang, the one who stirred up a ruckus with the dogfight!”

Some present didn’t understand his meaning, so Liu Renming explained, and only then did Feng Xiaobao realize he owed the magistrate a favor, for which he hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

With a wave of his hand, Liu Renming said, “Enough, just run your business well, don’t sell fake medicine, and pay your taxes. That will settle things between us.”

He then advised Feng Xiaobao, “Boss Huang has been in business here for thirty years and is a model merchant in the southern market. I greatly admire him, which is why I agreed to be his witness. Since you’ll be doing business here as well, you’d do well to learn from him.”

“Yes, yes, absolutely,” Feng Xiaobao replied, nodding repeatedly.

In truth, Boss Huang was not the only law-abiding merchant in the southern market; there were plenty, yet Liu Renming showed special favor to him. The key was that Boss Huang was a scholar, which made him a kindred spirit to Liu Renming.

With the partnership officially announced, Boss Huang prepared a modest feast to thank the witnesses. Liu Renming, after three cups of wine, departed in haste.

He, like the others, left with ten boxes of Feng Xiaobao’s Immortal Pills!

During the banquet, another prominent shopkeeper from Xiushan Lane, the plump and jovial Gao Baling, toasted Boss Huang, saying, “Frankly, I had my eye on Feng Dalang’s business too, but you were faster and sharper. I admit I can’t compare.”

Hearing this, Boss Huang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The guests all agreed that Feng Xiaobao had gotten an incredible deal.

Only later would people realize what a brilliant transaction Boss Huang had made!

...

After the meal, Xuanqing and Feng Xiaobao walked back together. Xuanqing congratulated him warmly, “Congratulations, Xiaobao, on acquiring a shop and a farm. The future is bright for you!”

“I owe much to your help, brother. And business is only the first step...” Feng Xiaobao spoke frankly before Xuanqing.

Xuanqing nodded with understanding. The southern market was just a foothold; true victory would be won in the halls of power.

“So, will you be moving out?” Xuanqing asked.

“Why, are you in a hurry to rent out my place?” Feng Xiaobao joked.

Xuanqing chuckled, “A peace amulet from me is worth ten strings of cash. Would I really care about a little rent?”

Feng Xiaobao had no intention of moving out just yet; he wanted to remain close with Xuanqing. They’d not known each other long, and moving apart so soon would make their friendship fade easily.

Besides, Xuanqing was his own Master Wang, the advisor he’d rely on in this life. So many matters in the future would depend on him.

Xuanqing was kind to him, and such a capable, helpful friend was a rare opportunity—Feng Xiaobao would be a fool not to hold on tightly.

More time together would only deepen their bond.

...

Furthermore, he couldn’t live in the southern market; the market was for business, the neighborhoods for living. While some did live in the market, unless the shop was large, it was uncommon. Living on the farm outside the city would be even less convenient for business and social dealings.

So Feng Xiaobao continued living at Xuanqing’s Old Lord Temple, moving all his pharmaceutical equipment to the farm outside the city. The temple’s backyard he intended to use for practicing martial arts.

...

In the days that followed, Feng Xiaobao was utterly swamped, busy with renovating the shop in the southern market, transforming the farm outside the city into a workshop, and most importantly, hiring and buying people!

The shop was remodeled and renamed “Immortal Hall,” boasting the sign “A Century-old Brand, Ancestral Secret Formula.” From the entrance to the counter, Boss Huang had hired a masterful painter to create large advertising murals depicting the effects and characteristics of the Immortal Pill.

The paintings were vivid and lifelike, with clear facial features and before-and-after comparisons, allowing customers to see the pill’s efficacy at a glance.

Such painters charged high fees and were not easy to hire, being in great demand and choosy about their clients. Only Boss Huang’s connections made it possible.

The shop was spotless and orderly, with sturdy benches that gave a great impression to all who entered.

The workshop on the farm was fully utilized, with Boss Huang’s belongings removed. The main house was for Feng Xiaobao, and other buildings were readied for helpers and servants, as well as a stable for livestock and transportation.

The buildings were renovated, passageways constructed, and storage, preliminary processing, advanced processing, and finished goods areas were set up in clear order.

Various pharmaceutical tools and vessels were bought, stone rollers used to grind herbs, and larger copper cauldrons and stone mortars put to work.

All that remained was to hire people. For selling the medicine—after consulting Boss Huang, they hired two young, pretty girls, one named Huang Nineteenth, the other Wang Seventeenth, to promote the pills. One mainly sold, the other kept the accounts.

Using young, pretty girls to sell this kind of medicine—Boss Huang had never heard of such a thing. He marveled at the boy’s boldness—how did he even think of it?

For the farm, he hired a donkey keeper to handle the animals and transportation, and four pairs of young to middle-aged Hu (foreign) couples as pharmaceutical workers. These were sold off with full contracts, giving Feng Xiaobao absolute authority over them—he was now a slave owner!

Only in this way could he prevent the formula from leaking. He couldn’t personally oversee everything and would have to entrust them with the process.

The sturdy women he’d hired before refused to work outside the city, so that was that; the Hu people were more reliable.

The old caretaker, Gu, was retained to clean and manage the grounds, his contract now in Feng Xiaobao’s possession.

Boss Huang sent his trusted aide—Gai Thirteenth, whom Feng Xiaobao had met before—to manage the accounts and help recruit staff.

He would offer suggestions and handle matters, but kept silent during recruitment, leaving all decisions to Feng Xiaobao.

They went to the slave market on the west side of the city, which was bustling in its own peculiar way. There were native servant girls and contract laborers, but even more Hu people—an umbrella term here, including gentle girls from Silla (Korea), true nomads, blond and blue-eyed, buxom foreign women, and even Kunlun slaves...

The variety of languages and ethnicities dazzled Feng Xiaobao; he hardly knew where to start.

Gai Thirteenth, clearly instructed by Boss Huang, didn’t interfere in personnel matters, to avoid any suspicion if trouble arose later. As for Feng Xiaobao, inexperienced as he was, how could he pick wisely?

But he spotted a Sogdian shop, approached the owner, and invoked the name of the Kang Trading Consortium, which carried some weight among the Sogdians. The owner, hearing this, quickly found him four pairs of docile Hu couples at a very fair price, and Feng Xiaobao left satisfied.

The Sogdians weren’t worried about him bluffing; they knew his connections. If he crossed them, he’d be blacklisted and lose all future business.

At the start, Feng Xiaobao had no money; for all purchases—goods, people, renovations—the seed money was provided by Boss Huang. Without it, none of this would have been possible.

Lastly, he hired a steward—a seemingly honest middle-aged man named Uncle Zhang, introduced by Xuanqing’s old caretaker. His background was clean, and his address well known—no fear of him running off. (That old caretaker seemed to have connections everywhere; if Feng Xiaobao wanted a three-legged washerwoman, he’d probably find one.)

...

Once the team was assembled, Feng Xiaobao gathered everyone and assigned their duties, laying down the household rules.

At present, the staff included one steward, two young salesgirls, the old caretaker and his wife for odd jobs, a donkey keeper, and four Hu couples, totaling eleven people, all under the authority of the not-yet-twenty Feng Xiaobao!

“Our household is in the pharmaceutical business. If anyone leaks the formula, the penalty is death—no questions asked!”

Feng Xiaobao had quickly settled into the role of master, showing no regard for the value of life.

Hearing his announcement, all the servants nodded in understanding.

“This medicine goes into people’s mouths. If you’re careless and someone gets sick from it, causing me trouble, the lightest punishment is a beating, the heaviest is death. Pay attention!”

“Yes, Master!”

After announcing the two most important rules, he set out the rest: no stealing, no fighting, don’t ask questions that don’t concern you, don’t go where you’re not allowed (such as the workshop), and so on.

After the stick came the carrot—Feng Xiaobao announced the wages. They were in line with the market, not excessive, but with the promise of annual raises—the longer you worked, the more you earned.

Working hours matched the market: start at sunrise, end at sunset, no special treatment.

Feng Xiaobao had many ideas, but these would take time. Besides, if he was too generous at the start, what then?

...

Busy, busy, busy—there was no other word for it. After the initial renovations, Feng Xiaobao spent a full month at the farm, making medicine, teaching the Hu couples the process, and familiarizing himself with all the operations.

Watching others do the work was easy; doing it himself was backbreaking. Other masters gave orders with a word and were obeyed without question—how grand that seemed!

Only by doing it himself did he realize the hardship.

Rising early to buy herbs at the southern market, he quickly noticed a flaw: the steward, Uncle Zhang, handled all the money. Though trustworthy, it was best to have two people oversee the finances.

So he found an accountant through Boss Huang, to keep the books and reconcile accounts in the market—one ledger for sales, one for purchases.

After acquiring the herbs, he processed and made the pills, teaching the four Hu couples. Half were only fit for simple tasks, the other half could handle the complex work.

He taught them tirelessly, repeating the instructions until his mouth was dry, often tempted to use the new household punishment stick. Feng Xiaobao shook his head violently to banish such thoughts.

After a month of hard work, output rose steadily, and he finally accumulated a stockpile of pills and herbal plasters.

Everything was ready—the grand opening awaited!