Chapter 30: The Emperor Tills the Land with a Golden Hoe

808th year of the Daqian Era.
The first day of the sixth lunar month.
The weather was clear and bright, with a gentle breeze.

It had been four days since the opening of the Yangdingtian shop. By now, Wild Dog and Er Mazi had mastered all the shop’s operational procedures. The business had settled into a steady rhythm over the past two days, far less hectic than the initial rush. During the day, Wild Dog and Er Mazi would take turns, with one man handling sales while the other ground herbs in the back.

Zhou Chen would arrive every afternoon to mix the prepared medicinal powders in specific proportions, creating semi-finished products. They remained semi-finished because they had yet to be pressed into their final pill form. Zhou Chen couldn’t be bothered to do all the work himself anymore. He only handled the core process, leaving the preliminary grinding and the final pressing and drying of the pills to Wild Dog and Er Mazi.

In four days, after deducting costs for materials and labor, the net profit was two hundred eighty-six taels and four mace.

"An average of seventy taels per day. My sixty percent share comes to forty-two taels."

Zhou Chen was satisfied. Even if profits dipped later on, they wouldn't drop significantly. The Yangdingtian product was a consumable. Moreover, as the saying goes, "Once you have seen the vast ocean, it is difficult to be satisfied with a mere stream." After experiencing a sports car, who would want to go back to riding a tractor? In other words, the product was addictive and indispensable. Zhou Chen’s loyal customer base would continue to grow until it reached the saturation point of Qinghe City, so his daily income might even increase during this process.

Zhou Chen withdrew two hundred and fifty taels of silver from the accounts. In reality, he had always kept the bulk of the money in his own hands; he did not trust leaving it in the shop. He collected the daily earnings every evening and took them home. Once these two hundred and fifty taels were removed, they were no longer on the books; one hundred and fifty taels of that was his own, his true take-home pay, while the other hundred belonged to Zhang Long.

In the afternoon, Zhou Chen met with Zhang Long at the shop and handed him the ledger along with the hundred taels of silver.

"Brother Long, this is the profit from the last few days. A total of two hundred eighty-six taels and four mace. I’ve kept thirty-six taels and four mace for emergencies; the rest is our split."

"Brother Long’s forty percent comes to exactly one hundred taels!"

Zhang Long did not stand on ceremony and accepted the silver without even glancing at the ledger. He laughed, "Do I not trust you?"

"To have earned so much in just four days since opening is truly impressive!"

"That is only thanks to your support, Brother Long. Otherwise, opening the shop wouldn't have been nearly so smooth," Zhou Chen replied with a modest smile.

With the shop now established, he was finally living in relative comfort. After all, his cultivation relied primarily on his point-allocation system. Over these four days, Zhou Chen’s strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. He had accumulated roughly five thousand "Wind and Moon" points, as he hadn’t been idle during the day; he and Ji Fengxia had been working diligently within the Wind and Moon Treasure Mirror. This had the side effect that even in his loose robes, the front of his chest appeared noticeably bulging. Many people marveled at Zhou Chen’s extraordinary "natural endowment," terrified and awestruck. This rumor only helped the Yangdingtian sales further, with countless men clamoring for the product, hoping to transform themselves into Zhou Chen’s likeness.

Zhou Chen had poured all his recent points into his Yi Archery, causing his cultivation base to skyrocket and allowing him to break through to the fourth level of Body Tempering—the Bone-Forging Realm. His tendons were now as strong as dragons, his bones like refined steel, his physical defenses had surged, his blood and energy had greatly increased, and his strength had broken through the fifty-thousand-catty threshold. He could easily thrash a man like Zhang Long with a single hand.

"Come, let's go to my place today. We brothers should have a proper drink!" Zhang Long was in high spirits. One hundred taels was nothing to him, but this was only the profit from four days. If the earnings continued at this rate, wouldn't that be over seven hundred taels a month? That was a significant income. Besides, the money was one thing, but it clearly showed Zhou Chen’s competence.

"Alright!" Zhou Chen did not feign modesty. After instructing Wild Dog to notify Qin Hongyu, he left with Zhang Long. Wild Dog and Er Mazi had also earned several taels of silver over the past few days; they worshipped Zhou Chen, were full of energy, and spared no effort in carrying out his instructions. In their spare time, they had even hired a tutor to learn how to read and write.

Before long, Zhou Chen followed Zhang Long to a luxurious mansion. Zhang Long knocked on the door, and a young servant opened it. Upon seeing Zhang Long, the servant bowed and scraped, then shouted, "The master has returned!"

Zhang Long ignored the servant and gestured to Zhou Chen, "Please, come in!"

"After you, Brother Long!"

Entering the estate, Zhou Chen was greeted by a group of beauties hurrying to welcome them. The first to catch his eye was a beauty in red, with a lithe, curvaceous figure, swaying her water-serpent waist with captivating charm. A woman whose chest obscured her toes when looking down was truly a peerless beauty of the mortal realm, and she was the finest of them all. She was tall and carried a mature, refined elegance—a top-tier beauty, the kind a "Cao Thief" would adore.

"Chen greets you, Sister-in-law!" Zhou Chen cupped his hands in a salute, for his keen sense of smell had detected a rich, milky fragrance; it seemed Zhang Long had recently become a father.

The beauty in red froze, then smiled sweetly and hurriedly said, "Master Zhou, you tease me. I am not a sister-in-law; I am merely the master’s maid, Hong Xiu!"

Zhou Chen: "..."

Still, since Hong Xiu had borne a child for Zhang Long, even if she wasn't the primary wife, she should at least be a concubine. Addressing her as sister-in-law wasn't entirely wrong.

"Little Chen, I have no mistress in my household, and I have no intention of marrying!" Zhang Long laughed and looked at Zhou Chen. "To me, marriage is far too troublesome. Isn't it better to just find a maid when you have a need?"

"Actually, many martial artists dislike marriage. Do you know why?"

Zhou Chen was taken aback. He pondered for a moment and ventured, "Is it for fear of being dragged down?"

"Exactly!" Zhang Long nodded. "A wife has status and position. If you marry, she might try to control you. Even if she doesn't, you will inevitably invest a lot of emotion and energy into her."

"Furthermore, your enemies will use your wife to threaten you; she becomes your weakness. And when it comes time to flee, she becomes a burden."

"If you have no feelings for your wife and can discard her at will when running for your life, why marry her in the first place? If you want a woman, isn't it better to just buy a maid?"

"Maids are at your beck and call, they won't argue with you, they only serve you with heart and try to please you. When you have to flee, you don't need to worry about them, and you don't have to worry about your enemies using them to threaten you!"

"Brother Long is right!" Zhou Chen agreed. To be unencumbered was to be free, to do as one pleased without anyone nagging. As for wanting to vent, finding beautiful maids was far more satisfying than taking a wife. Maids were available whenever you wanted, and you could make them do anything—at any time, in any place. They wouldn't cause you trouble; they would only bring you pleasure. After all, if they caused trouble, they might lose their lives. This was a world without human rights. Human life was, in many cases, as cheap as grass.

The beauty in red, Hong Xiu, stood gracefully to the side, her smile unchanged, as if she hadn't heard a word of Zhang Long’s speech. Just then, the other beauties gathered around. Zhou Chen glanced at them; there were about ten, all of them exquisite. They ranged in age from eighteen to twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Some were gentle and reserved, like daughters of noble families; others were playful and lively; some were cold and haughty with the aura of an ice queen; and others were full of charm and curvaceous grace.

"Brother Long certainly knows how to enjoy life!" Zhou Chen thought, stunned by this collection of beauties. This was a true paradise of gentleness.

"Prepare the wine and food, and bring out my prized vintage! Today, I want to drink until I’m drunk with Brother Chen!" Zhang Long clapped Zhou Chen on the shoulder and led him toward the main hall. Hong Xiu and four or five other beautiful maids followed behind, while the others went to prepare the feast.

Entering the luxurious hall covered in carpets, Zhang Long gestured with a smile, "Brother Chen, please sit. Once you are at your brother’s house, don't stand on ceremony!"

"Many thanks, Brother Long!" Zhou Chen nodded with a smile.

"Brother Chen, you once said that a woman whose chest obscures her toes is a peerless beauty!" Zhang Long’s gaze swept over the plump and alluring maids like Hong Xiu and Cuizhu, and he commanded, "Hong Xiu, Cuizhu, you two, attend to Brother Chen well!"

"Yes, Master!"

Hong Xiu and Cuizhu approached Zhou Chen, carrying a wave of fragrance. They knelt on either side of him, their generous bosoms pressing directly against his arms.

"Brother Long, how can this be?" Zhou Chen quickly declined. He had heard in his past life that high-ranking officials in ancient times would use their concubines to entertain guests, and using maids was even less of a concern. But he had smelled the milky scent on Hong Xiu; she might have already borne Zhang Long a child.

"Is Brother Chen still shy? I saw you playing quite openly at the Snow Moon Pavilion!" Zhang Long teased.

"That’s different..." Zhou Chen couldn't help but voice his doubt: "Brother Long, shouldn't Sister Hong Xiu be looking after her child later?"

Zhang Long, Hong Xiu, Cuizhu, and the others were all stunned.

"Hahahaha!" Zhang Long quickly recovered, clutching his stomach and laughing heartily. "I wondered what it was! So, you’ve misunderstood!"

"Hong Xiu has never been pregnant. I imagine you caught a scent on her, but that is simply because she has taken a special medicinal pill!"

Zhou Chen was speechless. Today was truly an eye-opener. He never expected Zhang Long to have such specific tastes, even using special pills. All he could say was that the man really knew how to play.

"Poverty has truly limited my imagination!" Zhou Chen suddenly understood why peasants imagined emperors used golden hoes to farm.

"Brother Chen, you don't think I do this just for fun, do you?" Zhang Long looked at Zhou Chen, his expression serious. "There is a saying: 'Use all the strength of a suckling babe.' This shows that suckling is what best increases one's strength!"

"That is why many martial artists keep wet nurses in their homes, and medicinal pills that induce lactation naturally came into being!"

"Tonight, you must have a proper taste!"