Wang Yanfeng soon departed, and Wang Hao began to plan his own schedule.

Cultivation was paramount; everything else served the purpose of improving his cultivation. Therefore, he had to ensure at least five hours of cultivation practice daily! Additionally, he needed to allocate two hours a day for body tempering—this related to his chances of Foundation Establishment and was the second most important task!

The Ice Muscle Jade Bone Art wasn’t just about soaking in medicinal baths; he needed time to temper his body and convert the medicinal efficacy. It was similar to taking pills; one needed to circulate their techniques for a certain number of cycles to fully digest the energy.

He also needed two hours of rest. Qi Refining cultivators could endure a few days without sleep, but long-term deprivation would damage their health.

Thus, with nine hours gone, only three hours remained to receive customers and refine pills. He planned to sit in the front hall for only half an hour daily at a fixed time to let customers find him. The rest of the time would be focused on alchemy!

As for talisman drawing and practicing spells, those had to be put aside temporarily.

After considering his time allocation, he began renovating the Wang family shop.

The Wang family shop’s area wasn’t small, covering five mu. The front row consisted of eight storefront rooms in total. Unfortunately, half were abandoned, and two were rented out. The remaining two naturally formed the Wang family’s “General Store.”

It looked displeasing and didn’t sound high-class. He decided to open another shop separate from the General Store. He wanted a specialized Pill Shop. Why mix miscellaneous goods with pills?

He called over Wang Wenxin and Wang Wenli and instructed, “I have decided to renovate the shop. Eighth Uncle has already reported this to the clan, so don’t worry about your tasks. For these next few days, clean up the vacant rooms. Also, craft some tables, chairs, display cabinets, signboards, and so on!”

“Fifth Brother, dare I ask what you…”

“I said don’t worry, just follow instructions!” As he spoke, he showed the steward token.

Both possessed poor spiritual roots, low cultivation, and no backing in the clan. Naturally, they dared not oppose him. They accepted the orders and went to work.

Ten days later, the clan finally replied. Seeing Wang Wenmei and Wang Wenyan standing before him, he knew the clan had likely agreed.

He read the letter. Indeed, it said all shops in Qingniu Market were under his management. However, he could toss them around and renovate as he pleased, but the profit turned over at the end of the year could not be lower than in previous years. If it was lower, he would either have to make up the difference himself or focus solely on alchemy while the family sent another manager to take over.

He chuckled lightly. “Huh, my own personal contracting system?”

“Fifth Brother, what is contracting?” Compared to the restrained Wang Wenyan, the familiar Wang Wenmei asked curiously.

“Nothing. You two must be tired from the journey. Go to the backyard and rest. Tomorrow, the pill shop officially opens, and there will be busy days ahead!” He handed over two boxes. “These are new clothes I bought. Remember to wear them tomorrow!”

“Wow, new clothes?!” Wang Wenmei eagerly opened the box and found a set of light green water-sleeve ruqun dresses. He had ordered them a few days ago. They were considered Tier 1 Mid-Grade robes, specially requested from the tailor with a simple waist-cinching design to better highlight feminine advantages.

“Mid-grade robes! So beautiful!” she exclaimed, then quickly thanked him. “Thank you, Fifth Brother!”

Wang Wenyan also crisply thanked him and was pulled by Wang Wenmei to the backyard to try on the clothes, completely unaware that there was any improper design involved.

Wang Hao shook his head and smiled. Women, even when cultivating immortality, loved beauty!

The next day, the new shop opened right beside the old one. He named the new store “Miao Dan Pavilion,” while the original sign was replaced with a simple, understandable, and universally expected one: “Wang Family General Store.”

Entering Miao Dan Pavilion, one saw a large hall directly. He had partially dismantled the second floor and opened a skylight, providing excellent lighting.

In the center was a waist-high “counter” separating customers from the staff. Behind the counter were medicine cabinets storing various pills, herbs, spirit wines, fruits, and related items.

On the left side was a wooden board hanging with wooden plaques. These were written herb commissions. If customers couldn’t find a needed herb, they could issue a commission. The price was self-set; they just needed to pay a deposit. Once the transaction was completed, the family would take a portion as an intermediary fee!

On the right side was another board for pill commissions. Only the family could accept these commissions; specifics needed to be discussed with the family. The purpose of the board was to announce prices and let customers know the queue length.

Since it was a new store opening, there were no guests offering congratulations, but Wang Hao didn’t care. He instructed and sent all four assistants out.

The four ran to the busiest areas of Qingniu Market and loudly shouted the lines he had taught them. If they were too embarrassed to shout, they handed out small flyers to other cultivators.

“Come look, everyone, Fellow Daoists! The Wang Family’s Miao Dan Pavilion grand opening promotion starts today! Spend one hundred Spirit Stones, get ten free! Spend two hundred, get twenty-five free! Spend three hundred, get forty free! Spend five hundred, get seventy free! The more you spend, the more free credits you get!”

“Fellow Daoists, are you still troubled by low herb purchase prices and expensive pills? Miao Dan Pavilion’s grand opening promotion starts today! Provide materials and commission the family to refine pills! We undertake all Tier 1 Top-Grade pills. If we fail, we compensate eighty percent of the material cost! Don’t miss out when passing by!”

“Miao Dan Pavilion group purchase is available! Original price: thirty Spirit Stones for a bottle of Gathering Spirit Pills. Group price: only twenty-seven! Just call two friends to form a group! What are you waiting for? Action speaks louder than excitement, otherwise, it’s wasted excitement! Starting today, customers spending fifty Spirit Stones are eligible to draw a prize once! Family reputation guarantee, absolutely no empty prizes! Minimum value is a one Spirit Stone voucher; maximum prize is a bottle of Top-Grade Yellow Dragon Pills!”

……

His alchemy talent wasn’t great, so he could only rely on piling up quantity to improve. Currently, the farm’s output was too low and insufficient for consumption. Consuming too much would delay subsequent field reclamation, which wasn’t worth the loss.

So, he wanted to undertake refining services. He guaranteed a thirty percent success rate and didn’t charge extra fees. If the yield was lower, he made up the difference; if higher, he naturally profited. If he failed completely, he compensated the client for part of the loss.

The pricing was fair. For example, a bottle of Yellow Dragon Pills was priced at eighty Spirit Stones. A single pill was eight stones. A batch of refining herbs was valued at twenty Spirit Stones. A guaranteed thirty percent yield meant three pills, valued at twenty-four Spirit Stones. Rogue cultivators would earn a bit, and he wouldn’t lose either. As he refined more, his success rate would eventually increase. When it reached sixty percent, he would earn half the profit.

And when his Tier 1 Top-Grade pill success rate reached sixty percent, he could attempt to refine Tier 2 Low-Grade pills. Either way he calculated it, he wouldn’t lose!

As for these business tactics, they were nothing fresh; in his previous life, he had heard them until his ears were calloused.

With the four of them shouting, more and more rogue cultivators gathered to watch. The four answered the rogue cultivators’ questions as best they could. A moment later, these rogue cultivators swarmed toward Miao Dan Pavilion.