Gu Xu left his courtyard, walked through two alleys, turned into a busy street, and saw his pill workshop from a distance.

It was a quaint two-story building with a small courtyard behind it.

The crowd at the door was bustling, and the people inside the door were equally noisy. There are also more than ten horse-drawn carriages parked outside the door, some carrying passengers, some transporting materials, and some carrying tools, tables and chairs.

There is also a ladder on the side of the small building, on which a carpenter stands, intently carving patterns on the windows.

Gu Xu knew that this place was not far from the Luohe River, and it was a prosperous area in Luojing City.

"I don't have much principal on hand, but Shen Qiu can get the shop in this place, and he does have some ability." He looked at the small building in front of him and thought silently in his heart.

As soon as Gu Xu arrived at the door of the small building, two people walked towards him.

One of them was no taller than Gu Xu's chest, with a disproportionate head and a pair of strangely shaped eyes, and was wearing a brightly colored brocade robe, looking ugly and funny.

It was Shen Qiu, a doorman who defected to Gu Xu's mansion not long ago.

The other man's face was more unfamiliar.

It was a thin, yellowish middle-aged man with a distinct wrinkle on his forehead, a sparse beard on his chin, and a thick cotton robe.

"Master Gu, you're here!" After seeing Gu Xu, Shen Qiu immediately bowed.

The middle-aged man next to him was stunned for a moment, and then said, "Master Gu, under Yang Shuo, was in charge of managing the No. 6 Pill Workshop in Qingzhou Mansion before. You should recall that at the end of last month we used to contact via tokens. ”

"I remember," Gu Xu responded with a smile, "Mr. Yang has traveled thousands of miles to the capital recently for this workshop, and it has been really hard." ”

"It's not hard, it's not hard," Steward Yang shook his head again and again, "It's my honor to be able to help Master Gu." ”

While speaking, Steward Yang was also quietly looking at the young man in front of him, only feeling that the other party was handsome and handsome, with a good temperament, although he became famous at a young age, he was not domineering, and he gave people a feeling like a spring breeze when he talked.

"No wonder the young lady fell in love with him," Steward Yang thought secretly, "and even the ancestral workshop of the family was given to him without blinking an eye." ”

…………

In the Great Qi Dynasty, the threshold for becoming an alchemist was much lower than that for becoming a talisman.

The runes are ever-changing, obscure, and difficult to understand. Normally, it takes a monk to have a very high level of understanding and an intelligent mind, and it takes years of practice to master it.

In contrast, getting started with alchemy is much simpler.

If you just want to refine some common pills like "Jingxin Pill" and "Changming Pill", instead of creating a new pill recipe yourself, then the monks only need to strictly follow a specific process and put the raw materials into the Dan furnace for refining.

It's like following a recipe.

It only takes a period of training to become a "journeyman".

When he had just crossed over to this world, Gu Xu had once considered going over to study alchemy.

At that time, he thought that as long as he learned alchemy, he would be able to achieve self-sufficiency in resources in the process of cultivation, without having to do tasks and earn merits without sleeping or eating.

But later he found that the biggest factor restricting him from learning alchemy was not his lack of talent, but his lack of "means of production".

As we all know, refining elixir requires the use of a variety of different special herbs.

These herbs are hard to find in the wild.

Finding a precious elixir at a street stall, or picking a mushroom up the hill to find out that it's a thousand-year-old reishi mushroom – such stories can only be found in stories made up by storytellers.

However, the royal family, the big families, and the sects of the Great Qi Dynasty were able to rely on their own financial resources, manpower and material resources to construct a medicine garden with a special environment and suitable for the growth of elixirs, so as to realize the large-scale production of medicinal materials; And these big forces will also trade and purchase elixirs with each other.

For example, spirit plants such as Jiaguo, Huangyu, Lavender, and Kanhui only grow in the sphere of influence of the Shu Sword Pavilion, and only the Shu Sword Pavilion has the method of cultivating them. If other families and sects wanted to use these plants to refine pills, they would have to buy them from the Shu Di Sword Pavilion.

In addition, the tools for alchemy, such as the Dan furnace, the Danding, the pomegranate jar, the sweet pot, etc., are usually very valuable, at least not something that the low-level monks can afford casually.

Because of this, the elixirs of the Great Qi Dynasty were often produced in the form of workshops.

The clans and sects set up workshops, provided medicinal herbs and tools, and then recruited monks from the people as laborers. These hired monks were able to earn a certain amount of remuneration through alchemy, but in the end, the elixir would be owned by the owner.

And a large part of the elixirs in the exorcism treasury were also purchased from these families and sects.

At the beginning, Gu Xu, as a "proletarian", felt that it was more cost-effective to work for the government yamen than to work for these "capitalists" - the treatment was better, the social status was higher, and Chen Jisheng also treated him well.

Therefore, he no longer spent time and energy pondering the art of alchemy, but focused on the study of the spell of the talisman.

And today, when Gu Xu, under the leadership of Shen Qiu and Steward Yang, walked from the first floor of the small building to the second floor, from the front lobby to the backyard, saw the boxes of medicinal materials placed on the ground, and saw the Dan furnaces with complex formations carved on the surface, he was in a trance for a while.

"Unconsciously, I have changed from a worker to a boss." He sighed silently in his heart.

…………

In this branch workshop in the capital, there are currently a total of five alchemists.

Three of them were from Qingzhou Mansion, an old lady in her late teens with his two apprentices.

The old lady's name is Wang Shuzhen, she has a third realm cultivation, and she has been refining pills for the Shi family more than 20 years ago.

Not long ago, the "Nine Baby Snake Demon" broke out of the seal, causing a terrible disaster in the territory of Qingzhou Mansion. Although it has been sealed again by the national teacher, Mrs. Wang is still full of worries about the lives of herself, her family, and her apprentices.

Therefore, when Shen Qiu sent her an invitation and proposed that she come to work in the Luojing City Branch, Mrs. Wang agreed without hesitation and moved over with her family and two apprentices.

"Old Lady Wang, this is Lord Gu Xu Gu, the head of the Exorcism Division, the guest teacher of Longmen Academy, and the recognized master of the Fu Dao in Luojing City." Steward Yang introduced her.

Hearing his words, Mrs. Wang Shuzhen got up from her seat, squinted her eyes and looked at Gu Xu, and then said slowly: "It turns out that this is my uncle!" Sure enough, he is a talent, and Miss Shi is really a perfect match. ”

Steward Yang smiled awkwardly and explained, "Master Gu and Miss Shi are not engaged yet, let's not call it that yet." ”

"Not engaged yet? How's that going to work? Old Lady Wang frowned and said, "Such a handsome young man must be very popular in Luojing City." Don't you tie him to your side early, aren't you afraid of being snatched away by others? ”

Steward Yang immediately turned to Gu Xu and said, "Lord Gu, Old Lady Wang has always been straightforward and fast-talking, and she often says whatever comes to mind, I hope you don't take it too seriously." ”

Gu Xu smiled faintly and said that he didn't mind.

It can be seen that the relationship between Mrs. Wang and Shi Xiaohan should be quite good, and talking about Shi Xiaohan's expression and attitude is similar to talking about her own granddaughter; And for Shi Xiaohan's lifelong events, she is obviously also very worried.

The other two alchemists were recruited by Shen Qiu from Luojing City in the past few days.

They are all First Realm cultivators, who came here because they admired Gu Xu's reputation, and are now familiar with the working environment and alchemy process here under the guidance of Mrs. Wang Shuzhen.

At present, there are still signs outside the workshop to recruit alchemists and apprentices.

"Lord Gu, there will be two more monks coming here tomorrow," Shen Qiu said to Gu Xu, "If they can successfully pass the assessment, they will be able to help Old Lady Wang share some more work." ”

"What is this?"

At this time, Gu Xu found that there was a pair of silk silk curtains on the table next to him, with the words "Eternal knot and concentric, Luanfeng and Ming" written on it.

He wondered a little and thought: Could it be that someone in this workshop is going to get married?

Seeing Gu Xu's expression, Shen Qiu explained with a smile: "In order to open this branch workshop, I borrowed a thousand taels of silver from the 'Wynn Chamber of Commerce' in Luojing City. Because Ye Huishou of the 'Wynn Chamber of Commerce' is very optimistic about your development prospects and wants to have a good relationship with you, he has waived most of the interest.

"As a matter of affection, we also want to give him some gifts to show our friendliness. Recently, Ye Huishou's son has just been engaged, and it is undoubtedly more appropriate to give him a wedding banner, plus red dates, peanuts, longan and lotus seeds that mean 'early birth of a noble son'. ”

Gu Xu nodded, then glanced at an embroidered decorative painting hanging on the wall with carp playing in the water and the four big characters "Rich and Rich", and asked Shen Qiu, "If I'm not mistaken, this should also be a gift from someone else, right?" ”

"This was sent by Lord Liu Qu, the deputy assistant of the cabinet," Shen Qiu replied, "and I also gave him a jar of 'Langya wine' as a gift." Lord Liu likes to drink, and you are from Qingzhou, so it is perfect to give him the 'Langya wine' that is a specialty of Qingzhou.

"In addition, the commander of the Praetorian Guard also brought us a Dan furnace. Since his son had just completed the moon, I gave him a gold lock of longevity as a gift, and drew a talisman on the lock to ward off evil spirits.

“……”

In the following period of time, Shen Qiu told Gu Xu about his personal contacts with the wealthy officials in Luojing City in the recent period.

Gu Xu had to admit that Shen Qiu was indeed an expert in dealing with these things - he knew the personalities, preferences, and even family situations of these big people in the capital very well, and every gift could be given to his liking and just right.

Even if he was a self with the authority of "wisdom", he did not dare to guarantee that he could do better than Shen Qiu in this regard.

After all, Shen Qiu was born in a wealthy family, and he was a sensitive concubine, so he has been exposed to such things since he was a child. It's hard for anyone else to have the kind of insight and experience he has.

…………

"Master Gu, after discussing with Steward Yang recently, I feel that if this workshop is to develop in the capital in the future, it would be better to have a new name," Shen Qiu pondered for a moment and continued, "If it continues to be called 'No. 6 Pill Workshop's Capital Branch Workshop', there will always be something that is not suitable, and it will not be easy for others to remember."

"Why don't you give it a new name?"

Gu Xu thought for a while and said, "How about the name 'Shouchangfang'?" ”

Hearing his words, Shen Qiu praised "What a good name" again and again, but he couldn't help but think of Gu Xu's study called "Changshengzhai", and only felt that Master Gu was really obsessed with the concept of "longevity".

Subsequently, Shen Qiu took plain white rice paper for Gu Xu and spread it on the table.

Gu Xu took out the "Jinghong Pen", and without dipping it in ink, he wrote on the paper "Shouchangfang" three beautiful, healthy, chic and elegant characters.

When he put down the brush, the three words flew up from the paper, floated into the air, and then turned into a plaque and hung on the top of the gate of the small building.

At this time, he found that Shen Qiu, Steward Yang, the old lady Wang Shuzhen, several alchemists, the handymen who carried the furniture and the furnace, and the craftsmen who were busy carving on the window lattice, all stopped their work, gathered around him, raised their heads, and looked intently at this mysterious scene.

After a short silence, Shen Qiu took the lead and applauded.

Then everyone began to applaud.

They all had smiles on their faces, and they all seemed to have imagined in their minds that this "Shouchangfang" would be prosperous in the future and everyone would make a lot of money.

"No wonder they say that life needs a little sense of ritual." Seeing such a scene, Gu Xu sighed silently in his heart.

…………

That afternoon, when Gu Xu was busy dealing with affairs in the pill workshop, Zhao Yan rode a horse and took the maid Qiu Yan to the city north of the Luo River.

Compared to the southern city of the city, which is lined with mansions and wide and tidy streets, it is obviously much dirtier and messier.

Poor houses are crowded together, and the ground is covered with mud, sewage and garbage.

Zhao Yan jumped off the back of the horse "Da Hong", held its reins, and walked a long distance on the uneven bluestone pavement.

The passers-by around were attracted by her eye-catching red dress and her bewitching appearance, and they all cast their eyes on her.

But Zhao Yan didn't seem to be aware of it.

She kept her head down, staring at the pavement beneath her feet for a long time.

Faintly, she seemed to catch a glimpse of not only mud, sewage, stumps and leaves on the ground, but also scarlet blood flowing.

Blood flowed from her feet, wetting her little red sheepskin boots.

But when she blinked, the blood disappeared in an instant, and it seemed to be just an illusion in her mind.

Then she glanced to her right-hand side and saw a broken street sign that read "Thirty Huansha Lane".

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------Off topic------

Recently, I really don't know why the speed of codewords is terrible slowQAQ originally wanted to try to explode today.,Block social software.,Open the little black room.。 However, from 13:00 to 19:00, I continued to code words, constantly delete, delete and change, and my butt never left the chair, and only 2,000 words were written...... The mentality cracked on the spot.

It wasn't until near 23:59 that 4,000 words were written.

Alas, I really want to know how the tentacle monsters can do it every day...... I really want to speed up the codeword!

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