owlsbooks Chapter 16 Elixirs
Chapter 16 Elixirs
There wasn't much oil in the stew in the iron pot, and four pieces of pork were bobbing and tumbling in the soup.
"Dinner's ready!" Shen Wan took out cornbread and served three bowls of stew.
The staple food at home remained unchanged; it was still steamed cornbread made from old grains and chaff.
The bowls in front of the two elderly people only had oil floating on them, but Zhou Qiuyuan's bowl contained four pieces of pork.
Shen Wan then handed him two hard-boiled eggs, saying, "Son, you need to nourish your body during body training, so eat up!"
His parents couldn't bear to eat the eggs he bought and saved them all for him.
Zhou Qiuyuan took out another two thousand coins from his pocket and handed them to Shen Wan, saying, "Mother, have you spent all the money I gave you last time? I still have some money."
Shen Wan didn't take the money, waving her hand and saying, "The money you gave me last time, I only spent five hundred coins, I still have quite a bit left."
Zhou Qiuyuan sighed and said helplessly, "Mother, since we still have money, why are you being so frugal?"
"We still need to be careful with money. Your mother and father don't need any health supplements, so we should save the money for you!"
Shen Wan didn't say some of her thoughts aloud.
With no income, the head of the household stayed home all day raising chickens, never venturing out of the house.
Her family relied solely on her meager income from the pulp mill. The support from benefactors could only last for an unknown period; one day, they might be in a bad mood and cut ties without warning, leaving her ultimately dependent on them.
How will my son train his body once we run out of money?
In order to go far in life, one must be frugal and careful with money.
Besides, they've been used to hardship for so many years, so it doesn't matter if they eat a little less meat. They need to make do eventually and think about their son's future.
Zhou Qiuyuan tried to persuade him several times to no avail; all his words were ignored.
Having lived two lives, how could he not understand his mother's thoughts? In the end, their family's wealth was too meager, and they had not yet truly achieved upward social mobility. An unsettled life always makes people conservative.
Only when we have enough money to buy a detached house and hire a few maids to serve us can our parents feel at ease and improve their lives.
Shen Wan seemed to remember something and changed the subject, saying, "You're at the age where you should be getting married and having children. The girls the matchmakers have been introducing these past few days are all quite nice. In a few days, I'll take you to see if there's anyone you like."
In the past, she went around asking matchmakers to introduce her to potential husbands, but snobbish people spoke coldly and harshly to her.
Since her son became a body cultivator, he has suddenly become very popular. The neighbors and people at the pulp mill have become friendly and have started introducing their daughters and relatives to him.
She couldn't help but sigh, things really are different now.
"Mother, no need! Cultivation is the most important thing. Only by reaching the Body Tempering Realm can I gain a foothold in the sect and find a good job." Zhou Qiuyuan was focused on body tempering and immortal cultivation, and had no interest in getting married and having children.
Shen Wan didn't want to give up on having a grandson, so she earnestly advised, "Once this opportunity is gone, it's gone forever. Good girls are in high demand!"
"Black Swamp City is said to be issuing a new decree that anyone over twenty years of age who is unmarried will have to pay more taxes."
Zhou Qiuyuan listened to the rumors his mother had heard from who-knows-where, and ate his rice with his head down.
After finishing his meal, he walked out of the courtyard and breathed in the damp, cold air.
With the high grade of the Thunder Blade, coupled with his high talent and the assistance of the Future Dream in his cultivation, his cultivation speed is more than ten times faster than that of ordinary body cultivators.
It takes an ordinary person three years to cultivate Yang Thunder Lungs, but Zhou Qiuyuan can cultivate them in two to three months at most.
The progress of the Thunder Breathing Technique is astonishing, but the rate of physical growth is too slow.
The family's living conditions are better than before, but physical development cannot be completed overnight; it takes years and months.
Two or three months is far from enough; we have to speed things up!
Nourishing the body can be divided into two types: dietary supplements and medicinal supplements. Eggs are just the most common dietary supplement, and their effects are slow, requiring years to show noticeable changes.
Only mutated beast meat can produce immediate results.
The second type is medicinal supplements.
There are many medicines for body cultivators sold on the market. These medicines can nourish the body and enhance physical strength.
Everyone's body and breathing techniques are different, so body cultivators don't know which ingredients or medicines will bring the greatest improvement, and can only try again and again.
Zhou Qiuyuan is different from ordinary people. He can use future dreams to test and eliminate unsuitable things, saving the cost of trial and error.
Zhou Qiuyuan slept until the rooster crowed at dawn as usual, and a familiar mist appeared before his eyes as he entered a dream of the future.
After breakfast, he headed to Baoyaotang with a clear purpose in mind to inquire about the types and prices of tonics offered by the shop assistant.
"The Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup nourishes qi and blood and strengthens the body. It has the most comprehensive medicinal effects, but it is less effective than other body-tempering pills. Each dose only costs one thousand coins."
"Baozhi Secret Dew Pills, which help enhance body tempering efficiency and significantly accelerate the body tempering process, cost two thousand coins each."
"The Wild Bull Bone Strengthening Pill is made primarily from the bones of a strange bull. It greatly enhances bone strength, power, and the efficiency of bone tempering. Each pill costs three thousand coins."
"The Dragon-Tiger Ascending Yang Pill is made primarily from the essence and blood of a strange snake and a strange tiger. It replenishes blood, strengthens the body and bones, and has an extremely strong aphrodisiac effect. The wealthy in both the inner and outer cities love to use it. Each pill costs ten thousand coins."
The most expensive pill at Baoyaotang is the Dragon Tiger Rising Yang Pill, which costs 10,000 coins per pill and has aphrodisiac effects; it is not cheap.
Zhou Qiuyuan originally wanted to generously order a serving of each kind of medicine, but then he realized he didn't have enough money (less than 10,000 coins) in his pocket, so he had to give up the idea.
"Except for the Dragon Tiger Ascending Yang Pill, give me one serving of all these pills."
He didn't know how effective the Dragon Tiger Aphrodisiac Pill was, and the premium for its aphrodisiac effect was too high. It was far less cost-effective than the other three pills. He was short of money and had no choice but to give up.
Zhou Qiuyuan took out six thousand coins, his purse was severely depleted.
too expensive!
The cost of even a single attempt is prohibitive.
No wonder the poor can only sign indentures with the rich. Without anyone to support them, they can't even afford expensive body-refining pills, let alone a basic, substandard spiritual tool.
When Zhou Qiuyuan arrived at his master's place, he was just about to ask Luo Tong for a day off when he saw Lu Chengping, who was there with a cold face. He seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes lit up.
He walked up to Lu Chengping, a fawning smile on his face: "Senior Brother Lu, I was impolite yesterday..."
"After returning home, Junior Brother thought it over and over again, and he really couldn't let Senior Brother down. He wonders if Senior Brother Lu's promise from yesterday still stands?"
Lu Chengping's lips curled up, and a playful look appeared in his eyes.
What good is genius? The poor still have to bow down for a meager living.
"I gave you a chance yesterday, but unfortunately, you didn't cherish it. Today, the price is different from yesterday; it's only one hundred coins per hour."
This is deliberately making things difficult.
Zhou Qiuyuan didn't care about the price negotiation and said to Lu Chengping, "Senior Brother Lu, can I sell you the entire usage time of the Thunderclap Blade for the next year?"