After transmigrating, I cultivated immortality by smelling the scent.

Chapter 183 The Dilemma of Miaodanfang

After hearing Wu Fugui's introduction about the recent business situation of Miaodanfang in Songjiang City, Liu Rumei was furious and said angrily, "Wu Fugui, look at how you've managed the business! How can it have suffered such a serious loss?"

"Young Miss, I'm so wronged! There are too many expenses, such as shop rent, alchemist fees, and staff labor costs. The shop's business isn't doing well either, so I'm having a hard time!" Wu Fugui began to complain bitterly.

"These are not reasons. Shops in other places can make a good income, but not here!"

"Miss, you don't understand, the environment is different in different places, and it's hard for me to change it!" Wu Fugui attributed everything to the environment.

"Alright, alright, give me a list of your income and expenses for the past six months. You can't change the environment, but I'll help you change it!" Liu Rumei decided to first understand the store's expenses in order to address the problem.

"Okay, I'll send you the list later!" Wu Fugui said helplessly.

Seeing that he couldn't be of much help, Ye Xiaobai said, "It's okay, I'll go out for a walk first!"

"Okay, remember to come back later. I have something to discuss with you!" Liu Rumei said mysteriously.

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiaobai immediately sensed that something bad was about to happen, but he couldn't worry about that for the time being. After saying goodbye, he left Miaodanfang.

Ye Xiaobai had originally planned to buy some spiritual herbs from Miaodanfang to refine the Five Elements Condensing Yuan Pill, but seeing the dilapidated state of the shop, he gave up on the idea and could only try his luck elsewhere.

Fortunately, Ye Xiaobai was lucky enough to buy most of the materials for refining the Five Elements Condensing Yuan Pill, such as Rhodiola rosea and chicken blood vine, at the Lingdan Pavilion in the market. He was only missing the main ingredient, Stone Dragon Flower, which he couldn't find even after searching several pill shops and herb shops.

Even Ye Xiaobai went to the auction house to inquire, and they all said that there were no items available at the moment.

It seems that refining this Five Elements Condensation Pill is indeed not easy. Ye Xiaobai decided to ask Liu Rumei if the Alchemist Alliance had any in stock, since the Alchemist Alliance is known for having many precious spiritual herbs.

While strolling around the market, Ye Xiaobai didn't forget to inquire about Miaodanfang from other pill shops, as his fellow travelers' opinions could also provide insights into Miaodanfang from another perspective.

This led to the discovery of a major problem with Miaodanfang—the quality of its pills was subpar! Ye Xiaobai planned to investigate this matter thoroughly later to verify the truth of what his colleague had said.

After everything was over, Ye Xiaobai returned to Miaodanfang.

Half an hour later, Ye Xiaobai walked into Miaodanfang again. The two shop assistants had already been informed of Ye Xiaobai's status as an honorary elder of the Alchemist Alliance. When they saw Ye Xiaobai again, they greeted him with smiles on their faces.

"Elder Ye, you're back!"

"Elder Ye, are you thirsty? Would you like me to pour you a cup of spiritual tea? This spiritual tea cost the shopkeeper quite a bit of spirit stones to buy!"

Sure enough, it's the same everywhere. Once you have power and connections, everyone around you becomes warm and hospitable.

Ye Xiaobai ignored them and asked, "Is Miss here?"

"They're inside! They're talking to the shopkeeper!" she said excitedly, leading Ye Xiaobai to the destination before quietly leaving.

As soon as Ye Xiaobai entered the room, he saw Liu Rumei sitting on a grand chair with her brows furrowed as she looked at the bill, while Wu Fugui on the other side was sweating profusely and constantly wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Why does this market charge our shops for things like pill quality inspection fees, herb quality testing fees, market fire safety fees, and market sanitation fees? What kind of random charges are these? Add in labor costs and shop rent, and it costs over ten thousand spirit stones a month?"

"Our Miaodanfang can't even earn 100,000 spirit stones a month!"

"What exactly is going on? Manager Wu, did you just write this down casually, or is there really such a fee?" Liu Rumei ignored Ye Xiaobai's arrival and directly questioned him loudly.

"These are all real expenses! If you don't pay, the market management personnel will come to inspect every few days. They'll say that there's a problem with the quality of the spiritual herbs you sell, or that there's a problem with your pills, or that there's a problem with your fire safety. In short, they'll come to cause trouble every day!"

“This makes it impossible for us to continue our business!” Wu Fugui quickly explained.

"I heard that the city lord often invites you to watch operas?" Liu Rumei asked in return.

"Who's talking nonsense? I didn't mean to curry favor with the city lord. I spent a lot of spirit stones to invite him to watch the show!" Wu Fugui explained again.

"And what was the result? Spending spirit stones had no effect whatsoever?" Liu Rumei questioned.

"Well...it takes time to see the effects of social interactions!" Wu Fugui racked his brains to explain.

"Alright, let's put the expenses aside for now. How come the shop's revenue, the sales of pills and spiritual herbs, is so poor?" Liu Rumei asked angrily again.

"On the one hand, the pills and herbs transported from headquarters are expensive due to the long distance. We invite local alchemists to refine them, but most of them have joined sects or large families and are rarely willing to cooperate with our Miao Dan Fang. Therefore, there are few low-cost pills refined locally!"

“As a result, it will be difficult for our Miaodanfang to compete with other shops!” Wu Fugui explained in detail the objective problems that Miaodanfang faced.

"Putting aside the ones transported from headquarters, there are already relatively few alchemists in Yue Kingdom. Since we've come from afar, it's naturally difficult to recruit local alchemists. The shortage of alchemists is indeed a thorny issue!"

Liu Rumei was also aware of the shortage of alchemists. Could they transfer people from headquarters to provide support?

Hey, isn't there a high-level alchemist standing right next to me?

"Ye Xiaobai, you heard it too. Songjiang City is in dire need of alchemists. How about you stay? I can promise to let you be the manager here, and we can discuss the compensation. What do you say?" Liu Rumei asked Ye Xiaobai, who had been inside for half a day, with anticipation.

When Wu Fugui heard that Ye Xiaobai was going to be the manager here, what would he do? Be his assistant, or be asked to leave? Thinking about his uncertain future, Wu Fugui felt a pang of anxiety and kept a close eye on Ye Xiaobai's every move.

"Sorry, I refuse!" Ye Xiaobai directly refused to be the manager. He still needed to spend time forming his core later. If he became the manager, how much time would he have to cultivate? Ye Xiaobai naturally refused immediately.

Upon hearing that Ye Xiaobai had refused to become the manager, Wu Fugui breathed a sigh of relief, as his position as manager was temporarily secured.

"But how do we solve the problem of a shortage of alchemists here?" Liu Rumei was at a loss for how to handle the situation. Could it be that the only solution was to have headquarters send alchemists to provide support? In fact, the number of alchemists at headquarters was also tight, and support from alchemists was needed everywhere.

"We can ask Fellow Daoist Sun Siyu for help, after all, she is now an honorary elder of the Alchemist Alliance!" Ye Xiaobai suggested.

"That's all we can do. Let Siyu take care of our shop for now, and we'll send a pill refiner from headquarters to support us as soon as possible!"

"Is that Fellow Daoist Sun from Qingxia Sect? She's actually an honorary elder of our Alchemist Alliance! With her help, our shop's business will definitely improve!" Wu Fugui said excitedly.