Chapter 653: I Was Careless

The old folks crowded at the door, pushing and shoving, were all astonished.

"A ten-pin alchemist, and he came up with something like Chijin Ye? Is that even possible?"

"Anyway, I don't believe it. This stuff must either be developed by his family elders, with Xu Xiaoshou taking the credit, or else he's more than just a ten-pin alchemist."

"I agree! I've lived for most of my life and never seen such an ingenious design—discarding the form but retaining the essence. It's not even in pill form, yet it preserves such potent effects... What a rare sight!"

"Yes, yes, this Chijin Ye is simply a divine creation, something no ordinary person could think of."

"Moreover, even if he's understating its effects, just this one jar of ointment—I estimate its medicinal properties could last at least half a month, even without that jade box to seal the power."

"That's right, I agree on that point. As for the efficacy, it's probably 70 to 80 percent better than Chijin Dan, not just 30 to 50 percent."

"Exactly, it seems like he's only given the lowest standard for everything."

"And he probably has even better versions of Chijin Ye on him?"

Qiu Elder listened to the whispers behind him, his thoughts racing.

A priceless treasure!

No one understood the value of Chijin Ye better than the elders of the Yao Ge.

While the other elders discussed, he had already confirmed it with Xiao Lian.

Chijin Ye could be mass-produced, with low costs and virtually no side effects.

What did that mean?

It meant a new drug that could replace Chijin Dan had just emerged in this very room!

It didn't matter who the creator was.

At least, the young man sitting in front of him was the only one who could control the direction of the entire Dongtian Wangcheng dan medicine market going forward. He had to seize this opportunity.

"Everyone else, please leave!"

He waved his hand, ignoring the protests from the crowd of elders, and cleared the room.

Now, only Qiu Elder, Xiao Lian, and Xu Xiaoshou remained in the room.

After confirming the door was securely closed, Qiu Elder waved again to shut the windows, activated the soundproofing spirit array to block any external attention, and then said:

"Xu Xiaoshou, feel free to speak. Now there are no concerns—we three are all on the same side."

"Um."

Xu Xiaoshou watched everything he did with indifference.

From the moment he took out Chijin Ye, he had anticipated that this deal wouldn't be so straightforward.

At the very least, it wouldn't be as simple as Xiao Lian wanting to handle it alone.

Qiu Elder pondered for a moment before speaking: "Xu Xiaoshou, besides Chijin Ye..."

"Yes."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded with a smile.

Xiao Lian was startled.

At first, she didn't understand what riddle the two were playing, but after a brief thought, shock appeared on her face.

Qiu Elder's eyes immediately lit up with wild excitement.

He knew that the person in front of him, despite appearing frivolous, must be clever; otherwise, he couldn't have outmaneuvered Jiang Xian.

This single "yes" shifted his focus entirely from Chijin Ye to the young man before him.

This was someone who had mastered advanced modified versions of the major market mainstream dan formulas.

Not just Chijin Ye—possibly Lianling Ye, Yuanting Ye, and so on, he had them all!

The difference between fishing and catching the fish was clear at a glance.

"Let's set aside the others for now. I just want to know, Xu Xiaoshou, do you have any other questions about the existence of Chijin Ye?"

Xu Xiaoshou gestured for him to calm down first.

"No questions!"

How could Qiu Elder stay calm?

His lifelong pursuit had been to improve the major basic dan formulas.

He had made improvements, sure, but they were barely noticeable.

What Xu Xiaoshou provided, however, was a true bombshell.

"I've got the main concerns figured out. Even if there are minor flaws, Duojin Merchant House can cover them. But I don't know..."

He rubbed his hands together and probed: "If we were to launch Chijin Ye on the market, what price would you want to set it at?"

"That bit of money doesn't interest me."

Xu Xiaoshou said casually, "You handle providing the medicinal ingredients for refining the dan, the dan ding, and all the miscellaneous stuff. I'll provide the Chijin Ye... and we'll split it fifty-fifty."

"What?!"

Qiu Elder was stunned.

Even Xiao Lian, standing nearby, was shocked by the fifty-fifty split.

Providing medicinal ingredients and dan ding was a trivial matter.

For Duojin Merchant House, that stuff was nothing.

But a fifty-fifty split...

Xiao Lian had initially thought about buying out the dan formula.

Later, realizing that was unrealistic, she had planned to negotiate for at least a 20-80 split, or at best 30-70.

After all, Duojin Merchant House had to be the one to open up the market for Chijin Ye.

Even if Xu Xiaoshou insisted on a 10-90 split, it might still be worth considering.

In a monopoly, a 10 percent share was worlds apart from "100 percent" in a competitive market.

But this Xu Xiaoshou...

"Fifty-fifty?"

Qiu Elder repeated in disbelief.

"Um."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

Getting confirmation, the two standing in front exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Qiu Elder was shocked, and as he processed it, his expression toward Xiao Lian began to change.

It was a look with slightly widened eyes, a mysterious smile at the corner of his mouth, as if saying, "Well done."

Xiao Lian was stunned: ???

She immediately realized Qiu Elder had misunderstood, and her face turned red as she tried to explain.

"I understand."

Qiu Elder nodded solemnly, stopping her from speaking, and even winked at Xiao Lian: I'll keep the secret, but this credit is all yours!

Xiao Lian, reading the look in Qiu Elder's eyes, felt like collapsing on the spot.

What on earth was going on?

We didn't do anything at all!

But now, even though nothing had happened, she started to doubt herself.

This Xu Xiaoshou wasn't foolish.

He should know just how generous the share he was giving up was.

So, why?

For Duojin Merchant House?

Impossible!

There were no transaction records with Xu Xiaoshou in the merchant house's internal files.

That meant this was his first time here.

So, for me?

Xiao Lian's thoughts wandered, and her heart started racing.

It couldn't be, right?

But besides that, there didn't seem to be any other explanation.

For the first time, Xiao Lian was shaken by Xu Xiaoshou's boldness.

She had heard stories about how heirs of true great families pursued women with insane fervor.

But she never imagined that one day, this kind of insanity would happen to her.

And the level of this "insanity" was beyond anything she expected!

"Received speculation, passive value, 1."

"Received recognition, passive value, 1."

"Received acceptance, passive value, 1."

Qiu Elder steadied his mind, swallowed hard, and asked: "Apart from the fifty-fifty split, Xu Xiaoshou, do you have any other demands?"

He felt things couldn't be this straightforward.

Maybe Xu Xiaoshou wanted Duojin Merchant House to owe him a huge favor, to help achieve some other goal worth giving up so much.

If so, they had to clarify everything before signing the agreement.

Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow: "Didn't I say? Medicinal ingredients and dan ding! Oh, and to prevent any mistakes in refining, make sure to prepare extra portions of the ingredients."

"That's natural."

Qiu Elder said as a matter of course: "Anything else?"

"Anything else?" Xu Xiaoshou was taken aback.

The room fell silent.

Xiao Lian suddenly turned her head away, her ears turning red, her face showing a hint of shyness.

Qiu Elder looked at Xu Xiaoshou with eager expectation, as if to say: Come on, spit it out, so I can throw this girl right into your arms! What's with the hesitation, young man?

But Xu Xiaoshou didn't catch his meaning.

"That's it." He shrugged.

"That's all?" Qiu Elder didn't believe it.

"Um," Xu Xiaoshou nodded, "I have a good feeling about your merchant house. I said fifty-fifty, and that's what it is. If you don't believe me, we can sign the agreement."

Qiu Elder took a deep breath, feeling relieved.

That's more like it!

Good feeling...

To hell with a good feeling toward the merchant house!

I only have a good feeling toward the endless supply of ingredients and funds here.

You've never been here before—your background check already confirmed that. How could it be about the merchant house?

In the end, a good feeling isn't for the place—it's for the person. That's the key!

Qiu Elder nodded emphatically: "Then I understand. As for pricing, marketing, and all subsequent activities, our merchant house will handle everything. You just wait to collect the money, Xu Xiaoshou."

He knew it well.

Heirs of major forces didn't care about money or the process.

They only cared about the results.

But if the money-making process caused them any "trouble," the whole collaboration might mysteriously fall apart.

Xu Xiaoshou nodded in satisfaction. He liked how they took care of everything so decisively.

"You set the unit price as you see fit. I'm not an expert on the market—you have full authority over that."

After a pause, he thought for a moment: "What I care about is, after this deal, roughly how much can you provide for me every month?"

Qiu Elder thought seriously about it.

How much...

That was hard to say.

Chijin Ye's emergence would definitely disrupt the market balance.

The earnings would be incalculable.

It might be lower at first due to the initial breakthrough phase.

But once users spread the word about Chijin Ye's value, within a month, not just Dongtian Wangcheng, but probably the entire Dongtian Jie and even Dongyu market would be transformed.

At that point, with Duojin Merchant House's exclusive monopoly, how much could they get?

And how much of that would go to Xu Xiaoshou?

Qiu Elder suddenly remembered a crucial point and asked: "Xu Xiaoshou, could this dan formula be deciphered by someone in the short term?"

Xu Xiaoshou laughed at the question.

Deciphered?

What a joke!

Not to mention that the dan formulas from the Jin Zhao lineage were already different from those on the market.

Even if someone reverse-engineered Chijin Ye, without the Jin Zhao fire seed, how could they refine it?

The Tang Liu refining technique required a twisted, nine-turn, eighteen-bend train of thought that no one could figure out, even if they knocked their heads against it.

Especially not a group of alchemists stuck in rigid conventions and ordinary refining methods.

There might be someone in the world who could crack the Chijin Ye dan formula.

But that person was probably locked up in some dark prison right now, with no time or interest for such trivial pursuits.

Even Xu Xiaoshou himself didn't think much of Chijin Ye—it was just too easy to produce!

"Impossible." He said with a smirk.

Qiu Elder sensed the absolute confidence in his casual tone.

Indeed, as an heir from a Bansheng family, his confidence was unshakable!

With that, Qiu Elder had enough confidence to respond.

"Then, for the earnings from Chijin Dan—wait, no, Chijin Ye—the conservative estimate for the first month is this amount for you." He held up five fingers.

Xu Xiaoshou guessed: "Fifty million?"

Qiu Elder: ???

Xiao Lian: ???

The two exchanged looks, both seeing the bewilderment in each other's eyes.

"Received suspicion, passive value, 2."

Xu Xiaoshou frowned, sensing something was off.

That couldn't be right!

Based on his expectations, Chijin Dan's value wasn't low, and even with a fifty-fifty split, his share shouldn't be that small.

"Too much? Or too little?" He asked, unsure.

Qiu Elder's expression turned strange, feeling like Xu Xiaoshou was toying with him.

What made you suddenly shift from that arrogant attitude to such a limited worldview?

Even in a daydream, you don't have to be this conservative, do you?

You're Xu Xiaoshou!

He opened his mouth: "Too little."

Too little?

Xu Xiaoshou was surprised.

"Fifty billion?" He guessed again.

Qiu Elder felt his heart couldn't take it; he didn't dare let Xu Xiaoshou keep guessing, afraid he'd drop dead on the spot.

"Fifty billion!"

He clenched his fist tightly and said excitedly: "That's still the minimum guaranteed estimate for the initial breakthrough phase, to promote Chijin Ye."

"If it gets good feedback and creates an advertising effect in ten days or half a month, that number could double."

"Later... in about a month, at most three months, after the pilot promotion in Dongtian Wangcheng is done, our merchant house will launch Chijin Ye across the entire Dongtian Jie and even Dongyu."

"As long as you can supply enough, Xu Xiaoshou, that number could multiply by ten, a hundred times... no problem at all!"

Xu Xiaoshou's body on the sofa suddenly jerked violently.

"Received shock, passive value, 1."

His eyes lost focus instantly, and he sat there like a soulless puppet, numb and dazed.

What did he just say?

Fifty billion?

Just by sitting here and talking, his monthly income... fifty billion?!

And that was the minimum?

With potential to multiply by ten or a hundred times later?

"Holy crap!"

In that moment, Xu Xiaoshou roared in his heart.

He finally understood why they had reacted with such extreme shock when he mentioned "fifty-fifty split"!

It turns out, this casually created dan formula that he hadn't even taken seriously...

Was it worth that much???

And the "fifty-fifty split" he had agreed to was worth fifty billion?

No!

That was fifty billion a month—at that rate, a year would be... six hundred billion?

Damn, he messed up big time—this was a huge loss!