A dignified Senior Third Grade Great Puppet Cultivator was taking action personally, much to everyone’s delight. With him alone, a factory could be easily built in a single day.
Under Li Qingxian’s persuasive influence, the group had grown disdainful of calling it a mere distillery, convinced they were building something much grander: a full-blown factory.
Qii Country’s famous wines came from all over, but the closest production area to the Divine Capital was Lüliang City. Thus, it was chosen as the supply location for the liquor.
The new high-end spirit brand was named "Ancient Well Jade Brew." To legitimize the name, the Ministry of Works traveled overnight to Lüliang City, found a moderately well-known ancient well, and got to work. They excavated it to make it larger, artificially aged it, and for good measure, placed a deliberately weathered and broken stone tablet nearby.
The tablet recorded a tale from several hundred years ago: an Emperor on an inspection tour had come to this spot and marveled at the sweetness of the well water. A few years later, when a great drought struck Lüliang City and left the people helpless, a white dragon flew out from the ancient well. It showered the land with sweet well water and taught the people an Immortal brewing method, which they called Ancient Well Jade Brew. Later, another Emperor drank the wine brewed from this well and praised it lavishly. Ultimately, the Ancient Well Jade Brew was claimed by the Qii Country’s Royal Family, but the recipe was eventually leaked by a Eunuch from the Inner Treasury Bureau. Because it had earned the praise of three successive emperors, Ancient Well Jade Brew also came to be known as Three Emperors Wine.
When the Lüliang City officials saw the Factory Guard getting involved, they proactively cooperated by falsifying local gazettes and even fabricating a nursery rhyme about Ancient Well Jade Brew, which they arranged for children to sing. This level of initiative was something even Li Qingxian hadn’t anticipated.
After more than ten days of frantic work, the overall plan for the distillery was finally settled. The new Ancient Well Jade Brew, continuously produced by the Imperial Prison Department and specially blended by the Ministry of Works, already possessed a unique flavor. The next steps were to begin the aging process and develop mid-range and low-end varieties.
During these few days, Li Qingxian collaborated with Liu Muwa to secretly conduct a new experiment: verifying the disinfectant properties of alcohol. The project was under Liu Muwa’s personal supervision and classified as top secret, known only to the two of them and Liu Muwa’s two disciples for the time being.
Han Anbo and Yu Ping weren’t idle either; they took the silver Li Qingxian provided and went to offer condolences to the families of the Night Guards who had died in Deceit Village.
「It was over ten days later when he returned to Room A9.」
Yu Ping and Han Anbo were both there.
Li Qingxian said, "Brother Han, next, I need you to help me with something important."
As he spoke, he handed Zhou Chunfeng’s Golden Token to Han Anbo. Han Anbo didn’t dare to take it, looking at Li Qingxian as if to say, ’You might not be afraid to die, but I am.’
"Just take it. If anything happens, I’ll take the heat," Li Qingxian said, stuffing it into Han Anbo’s hand. "From what I know, you have connections with quite a few of the smaller gangs in Divine Capital City—mutually beneficial arrangements, right?"
"Old Night Guards all have their contacts," Han Anbo said.
"Those storytellers, folk singers, opera performers, and acrobats... their social standing isn’t very high, and they’re always getting pushed around by local thugs and various government offices, right?" Li Qingxian asked.
"It’s a hard life for those in the lower-class trades," Han Anbo said.
"I don’t think we can just let things stay this way. How about this: we establish an ’Art Troupe’ and sign contracts with these performers. We’ll pay them a monthly stipend, a sort of minimum guarantee. We won’t take a single coin from their performance earnings. In return, we’ll use the Night Guard’s reputation to guarantee their safety. Of course, on paper, they’ll be informants for the Night Guard, providing intelligence. The bottom line is, they’ll earn more than they did before, and they’ll be safer."
"That would mean spending a lot of silver coins each year," Han Anbo said.
"We have a way to make money. They’ll be in charge of performing, and we’ll be in charge of liaising with other shops and merchant guilds. We’ll have them help spread the word—in short, we’ll sell advertising. Both sides will split the revenue according to a certain ratio. For example, in the beginning, we can promote Ancient Well Jade Brew. We could even insert plot points into the storyteller’s tales and operas about high-ranking officials and nobles drinking Ancient Well Jade Brew."
"Even so, it might take us years to break even. Unless... there’s another purpose for all this." Han Anbo looked at Li Qingxian, his small eyes gleaming.
Li Qingxian patted his Qiankun Bracelet. "We have enough money to last for decades. Don’t worry."
"Are you sure about this?" Han Anbo asked again.
"A lot of things are uncertain right now, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. The silver we have is more useful spent than hoarded. If we don’t spend it on them, are we supposed to spend it on mercenaries?" Li Qingxian said.
"Alright. I’ll handle it." Han Anbo gave Li Qingxian a long, hard look.
"Let’s be clear about the business side of things. You will be the secret Chief Shopkeeper of this Art Troupe. You’ll not only get a ten percent share, but I’ll also give you an extra salary of one hundred taels a month."
Han Anbo quickly replied, "The Night Guard is considered a lucrative post, but even with all the income, both legitimate and illicit, I don’t make ten taels of silver a month. You’re offering one hundred taels right off the bat. That’s too much."
"This is just the beginning," Li Qingxian said.
"This..." Han Anbo hesitated, uncertain.
Yu Ping chimed in, "Just take what he’s giving you. You’re good at this sort of thing anyway. Besides, you’re getting older. You can’t just hole up in the Night Guard for the rest of your life. This kind of assignment is perfect for you. Just remember to treat me to a feast when you get your first paycheck!"
"Deal!" Han Anbo said.
Han Anbo then added, "You already know that Ye Han is trapped in the Demon Hunting Bureau, but I’ve discovered that someone is investigating the three of us."
"Did you find out who it is?" Li Qingxian asked.
"No. They’re highly trained. I’d say there’s an eighty percent chance they’re the Heir of Prince Yuann’s people," Han Anbo said.
Li Qingxian thought for a moment. "I’ll give something a try. Both of you, give me a strand of hair."
"A Fate Skill?" Yu Ping’s eyes widened. He reached up, yanked out a dozen strands of hair, and handed them to Li Qingxian with a flourish.
"One is enough." Han Anbo shot Yu Ping a look and plucked out a single strand.
"Brother Han has seen this Fate Skill before?" Li Qingxian asked with a smile.
"It must be the Continuous Fire Transport Technique, right? It’s common among Fate Masters," Han Anbo said.
Li Qingxian nodded. "Yu Ping, help me buy some sheep’s blood... no, let’s all go together. Today, we’ll buy all the common Life Materials we need in one go, so we won’t have to run around later."
After speaking, Li Qingxian gazed at his Qiankun Bracelet, filled with sincere gratitude for Ye Han.
’Wearing the Qiankun Bracelet makes casting Fate Skills so convenient. Even if I suddenly find myself in some strange environment, I don’t need to panic.’
Han Anbo said, "You make a list, and I’ll pick the places to go. If there’s anything I’m not sure about, I’ll ask around. Some of the fresh items might not be available now, so we can have someone put them aside for us to buy early tomorrow morning."
Li Qingxian thought for a moment, then began writing a long, categorized list.
He ended up writing over a thousand items and still wasn’t finished. Finally, Li Qingxian said with a sigh of resignation, "There are too many types of Life Materials—tens of thousands, supposedly. I’ll just write a list of broad categories. If we come across anything that fits, we’ll just buy it all. It might be useful later."
"Alright. The Qiankun Bracelet has plenty of room, anyway," Han Anbo said.
Li Qingxian rewrote the list, and when he walked out of the courtyard, he saw Zhou Henn. After a quick greeting, they all left together.
The Divine Capital was enormous, and the list of Life Materials was extensive. To guarantee their potency, most had to be bought fresh. From the afternoon until deep into the night, the four of them were running around like crazy.
Cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, snakes, sparrows... large numbers of living creatures were purchased and tossed directly into the Qiankun Bracelet. They would die quickly, but no matter how much time passed, when they were taken out again, the Life Materials would be as fresh as the very moment of their death.
’The Qiankun Bracelet, a universal refrigerator.’
In addition to the living creatures, they also bought a large quantity of flowers, plants, trees, and other miscellaneous items. Some things couldn’t be bought at all, like soot from the bottom of a wok, grease from a stovetop, spiderwebs from a door jamb, a swallow’s nest from the rafters, the belly-band of a one-month-old infant, or the hair of a young maiden. For these, they paid Han Anbo’s friends to run errands and collect them.
Besides Life Materials, he also followed Ye Han’s example and bought many daily necessities, including clothes and food, firewood and charcoal, and various delicacies from all over—all essential for survival.