I attained immortality through meditation in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Accountant Sun took out a booklet from his sleeve and looked at it.

"Reporting to the owner, Jishetang's daily revenue is stable. After deducting the cost of medicinal materials and various expenses, there are about three hundred taels of silver always kept in the account. With this money, we have more than one thousand one hundred taels of silver at our disposal!"

Su Mei nodded as well.

"If we include the value of the precious medicinal herbs in our warehouse, our total assets will double."

"Not enough, far from it."

Zhao Zian put down his teacup.

"Manager Su, Accountant Sun."

"I plan to use this money to purchase a large tract of fertile land outside Liuxi Town."

"Purchase fertile land?"

Su Mei and Accountant Sun exchanged a glance.

Why give up a perfectly good pharmacy business to buy land? To become a landlord?

"We're not growing food, we're growing medicinal herbs."

"I want to cultivate our own medicinal herb field, specifically for growing rare medicinal herbs that are scarce on the market or not old enough."

The more Sun, the accountant, calculated, the colder his heart became.

Buying land? That's a bottomless pit!

A mu of fertile land outside the city can fetch ten or twenty taels of silver.

A so-called "blockbuster" area must be at least tens or hundreds of acres, right?

The remaining money will be used to hire people to cultivate, plant, and care for the land...

Su Mei frowned.

"Mr. Zhao, I disagree."

"Growing medicinal herbs? That's not something you can do just by having money and land."

"As the saying goes, an orange grown south of the Huai River is an orange, but grown north of the Huai River it becomes a trifoliate orange. The same is true for medicinal herbs! What kind of mountain produces what kind of medicine; what kind of water cultivates what kind of ginseng. These are principles that have been passed down for hundreds or thousands of years."

"Take astragalus, which we use most often, for example. The medicinal effects of astragalus from Sichuan and Shanxi are worlds apart! What can we grow in the climate and soil of Liuxi Town? The things that are grown may look similar, but can they have the same medicinal properties?"

"What if the medicinal herbs we grow are all show and no substance, then wouldn't all our money of over a thousand taels of silver have gone down the drain?"

Accountant Sun nodded repeatedly.

Manager Su's words are absolutely right!

This is too risky!

Zhao Zian only spoke after Su Mei finished speaking.

What you said makes sense.

"I know better than you that the requirements for the place of origin of medicinal herbs are extremely strict."

"Then why are you still..." Su Mei asked, puzzled.

Zhao Zian gestured for her to calm down.

"But have you ever thought about this?"

"What will sustain our Jishetang here today?"

Without hesitation, Su Mei replied, "It's thanks to your medical skills."

"That's right."

Zhao Zian nodded.

"My medical skills can cure the magistrate's son and bring you back from the dead. But what use is even the most miraculous prescription if the medicine is wrong?"

"Take this ginseng, for example. We bought it from a pharmaceutical dealer who claimed it was a 30-year-old wild ginseng, and we believed him. But who can say for sure whether it actually has the medicinal properties of 30 years?"

"What if one day, pharmaceutical companies cut off our supply of rare medicinal herbs? Or what if they use inferior ingredients, passing off ten-year-old herbs as fifty-year-old ones? How can we tell the difference? If the patients don't see any results, whose reputation will be ruined?"

The color drained from Su Mei's face little by little.

The biggest fear in the medicinal herb business is this: sourcing!

The supply of high-grade medicinal herbs in the entire Liuxi Town, and even in several surrounding counties, is monopolized by a few large pharmaceutical companies.

Whatever year they say it is, that's the year.

Even if the pharmacy owners had their doubts, they could only grit their teeth and accept it.

Because if you don't buy it, there are plenty of other people who will.

If Jishetang wants to grow bigger, it can't avoid this hurdle.

Zhao Zian added fuel to the fire.

"To hand over one's life to others is ultimately a path to death."

"We must have our own foundation. A medicinal field that we completely control, capable of consistently producing high-quality herbs, is our foundation!"

"With this, we'll never have to depend on anyone again. If I say this medicine is fifty years old, it's fifty years old! If I say it can save lives, it can save lives!"

Su Mei was intimidated by his imposing presence.

Where does his confidence come from?

Could it be that besides his medical skills, he also understands the art of planting?

But the soil, climate and soil are determined by nature; how can human beings change them?

Even Accountant Sun was stunned by what he was said.

Zhao Zian looked at Su Mei, who was still hesitating.

"I know what you're worried about. Risk."

"How about this?"

He held up two fingers.

"We won't go that far. Let's take out two hundred taels of silver and buy ten acres of land as an experimental plot."

"This two hundred taels is my personal investment and will not go into the public account. If the planting is successful, all the produce will belong to Jishetang. If it fails, I will bear the losses alone, and Jishetang will bear no responsibility."

"Manager Su, what do you think?"

He's put it that way.

He paid for it.

He took the risk.

If we succeed, everyone will benefit.

Su Mei was speechless.

"it is good."

"Since Mr. Zhao has put it this way, if I, Su Mei, were to hesitate any longer, it would seem petty."

"As you wish! I'll personally go outside town and pick out the best piece of land for you!"

Zhao Zian smiled.

......

The next day.

Zhao Zian was fast asleep.

"Thump!"

The knocking on the door pulled him out of his dream.

Zhao Zian opened his eyes.

Li Suqin put on her coat and walked to Zhao Zian's door.

"Zi'an, are you...are you awake?"

The people outside the door were clearly impatient.

"Miracle Doctor! Miracle Doctor Zhao! Open the door! Help!"

A miracle doctor?

Li Suqin was stunned.

Is he calling Zi'an?

When did he become a miracle doctor?

Li Suqin unlatched the door.

"What is this...?"

"Where is the miracle doctor? Where is Dr. Zhao?"

Accountant Sun saw Zhao Zian come out of the house.

"Oh! My miracle doctor! I've finally found you!"

Accountant Sun glanced at Li Suqin and was taken aback.

Early in the morning, a lone man and a lone woman were alone in a courtyard...

Accountant Sun cupped his hands in greeting to Li Suqin.

"Oh, it's you, my sister-in-law! My apologies for disturbing you so early!"

Brother... Sister-in-law?

Li Suqin blushed from her cheeks to her ears.

She's his sister-in-law!

Zhao Zian was also taken aback by this address.

But Accountant Sun couldn't wait any longer.

"My divine healer! Wake up! Something terrible has happened!"

"Quick! Come with me! Wang Yuanwai is dying!"

The streets were bustling with carriages and horses, and the morning breeze was icy cold.

Inside the carriage, Zhao Zian got dressed.

"Miracle doctor, why aren't you in a hurry at all?"

Accountant Sun rubbed his hands together.

"Is being in a hurry even helpful?"

Zhao Zian didn't even lift his eyelids.

"If he can be saved, he won't die even if I don't go. If he can't be saved, running myself ragged won't help."

Accountant Sun lowered his voice and described the situation.

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

"What you said the day before yesterday has all come true today!"

"Just after midnight today, Wang Yuanwai said he had a splitting headache and couldn't move half of his body!"

"His family was terrified. They frantically sought out all the renowned doctors in the southern part of the city overnight—the very same ones who prescribed the golden elixir for Wang Yuan! And what was the result? One by one, they either shook their heads or sighed, unable to utter a single word!"