The Medicine Pavilion's Interests

Exactly one month after leaving Heavenly Eye City, Hao Nhien and Quan Nha once again stepped through the doors of Heavenly Eye Medicine Pavilion.

The young attendant who had received them the previous time immediately straightened the moment he saw them.

“Apothecary Giai!”

This time, he did not ask whether they were buying or selling, nor did he need to run inside to report their arrival. Someone standing behind him had already turned away, and less than half an incense stick later, Dai Ninh came down from the second-floor stairs.

“Brother Giai!”

He laughed loudly. His gaze first landed on Hao Nhien, then naturally shifted toward the travel bag he carried.

“Exactly one month. I was beginning to think I would have to send someone to the city gate to wait for you.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

“Chief Steward Dai was afraid I might run away?”

Dai Ninh shook his head with complete seriousness.

“I wasn’t afraid you would run. I was afraid the pills might.”

The corners of Quan Nha’s lips curved slightly.

Hao Nhien did not bother arguing with him.

“Upstairs?”

“Of course.”

It was the same room on the third floor, the same wooden table where they had sat one month earlier. This time, however, Dai Ninh did not immediately call for tea. He sat down, placed both hands on the table, and looked directly at Hao Nhien.

“Did everything go smoothly?”

Hao Nhien did not answer with words.

With a wave of his hand, five jade boxes appeared one after another on the table.

Dai Ninh immediately pulled the first one toward himself.

Inside were thirty Qi-Vitality Pills arranged neatly in rows. The moment their medicinal fragrance spread through the room, the amused expression on his face vanished, replaced by the concentration of someone who had spent many years in the trade.

The second box contained Body Strengthening Pills, followed by Qi Recovery Pills, Meridian Nourishing Pills, and finally Body Stabilizing Pills.

Dai Ninh said nothing more. He randomly selected several pills from each box for inspection, paying particular attention to the Meridian Nourishing Pills and Body Stabilizing Pills because their refinement requirements were slightly higher.

Nearly a quarter of an hour later, he finally returned the last pill to its box.

“One hundred and fifty pills.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“Not a single one below mid-grade.”

Dai Ninh raised his head.

One month earlier, Giai Nhien had merely been an apothecary who placed five pills on the table. Those five had been enough to prove his skill, but not enough to prove that he could provide a stable supply.

Today was different.

The promise had become five real boxes of pills sitting directly before him.

Dai Ninh slowly exhaled, then laughed.

“Apothecary Giai truly does what he says.”

“I told you.”

Hao Nhien replied.

“I do not like promising what I cannot deliver.”

Only then did Dai Ninh call people upstairs.

Two apothecaries responsible for pill inspection and a manager carrying a pricing jade slip and spirit-stone abacus entered the room. The quantity was checked again, the quality recorded, and each box stamped for confirmation.

There was no argument and no attempt to force down the price.

The purchase rate remained exactly as previously agreed: eighty-five percent of the actual average transaction price for mid-grade pills of the same type over the previous three months.

When the final figure was recorded in the jade slip, Dai Ninh pushed it across the table.

“Apothecary Giai, check it.”

Hao Nhien examined it carefully.

The amount of mid-grade spirit stones was considerable, but what caught his attention more were the final lines.

Quantity.

Quality.

Delivery date.

Supplier.

Giai Nhien.

One month earlier, that name had existed only on a false identity prepared by Lanh Tuyet.

Today, it had entered the official transaction records of Heavenly Eye Medicine Pavilion.

Hao Nhien put away the jade slip.

“No problem.”

Only then did Dai Ninh truly relax.

“Then from today onward, I suppose we can finally call this a long-term business relationship.”

“I think so too.”

Tea was finally brought in.

Dai Ninh had barely taken one sip before asking,

“What about the three supplementary herbs?”

Hao Nhien set down his cup.

“I have results.”

Dai Ninh’s attention immediately sharpened again.

“Sa Diep, Xich Can, and Kho Diep?”

“Yes.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“All three were already adapted to Lac Van’s soil, so the problem was never keeping them alive. I tested whether they could be shifted from wild growth to concentrated cultivation, then standardized the nursery process, watering, transplantation, and initial processing.”

Dai Ninh asked at once,

“How did it go?”

“Sa Diep is the most stable. Xich Can grows more slowly, but its roots are strong. Kho Diep is harder to manage than the other two, though the current survival rate is already high enough to expand.”

Hao Nhien paused before continuing,

“More importantly, ordinary people in the tribe can now manage the process themselves without me standing beside them.”

Dai Ninh’s hand stopped halfway to his tea.

“You mean they can do it on their own?”

“Would Chief Steward Dai like to see?”

“Of course.”

“Then come see it.”

Dai Ninh blinked.

“Lac Van?”

“Yes.”

He looked at the five jade boxes on the table, then at Hao Nhien, and suddenly stood.

“Let’s go.”

Quan Nha raised her head slightly.

Even Hao Nhien laughed.

“Now?”

“If not now, then when?”

Dai Ninh had already turned toward the door and called for Sa Beasts to be prepared.

This time, he brought only one guard and one manager who specialized in medicinal ingredients. Three of the Medicine Pavilion’s best Sa Beasts were brought out, far faster than the ones Hao Nhien and Quan Nha had used on this route the previous time.

Dai Ninh asked many questions along the way, but Hao Nhien only answered in broad terms.

“It will be easier to understand once you see it yourself.”

After several attempts failed to draw out anything more, Dai Ninh finally stopped asking. The only thing that changed was the speed of the group, which increased a little further.

When the Lac Van Tribe appeared in the distance, it still looked nothing like a great medicinal plantation.

There was no spiritual radiance.

No grand formation.

No green fields stretching to the horizon.

It was still only a small oasis in the desert, with a modest lake, low houses, and a few rows of trees growing around the water’s edge.

But as they approached, the changes gradually became visible.

The land north of the oasis had been divided into more orderly beds. Fired-clay jars were buried so that only their mouths showed above the sand, low windbreaks stood facing the prevailing wind, and near the lake was a small nursery covered with dry grass.

Amid the yellow of sand and earth, patches of green had begun to appear.

There were not many, but they were clear enough to make Dai Ninh slow his mount.

“Is that Sa Diep?”

“Yes.”

For a source reminder, the author's official page publishes this chapter; the version here was taken without permission.

Hao Nhien pointed left.

“Xich Can is over there. Kho Diep is a little farther in.”

The moment Dai Ninh dismounted, he walked straight toward the fields.

Lac Thua, Lac Lam, and several others quickly arrived after hearing the news. Lac Loi was nearby as well, carrying a bundle of wooden stakes on one shoulder, with four younger men pulling a materials cart behind him.

Compared with when he had first returned to the tribe, the young man’s cultivation and clothing had not changed, but the way he stood and spoke had.

As soon as he saw Hao Nhien, he immediately lowered the bundle of stakes.

“Apothecary Giai.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“How are things?”

“The three new plots have been divided. We are still short twelve jars, so I sent someone to trade for better clay. We have enough dry grass, but only seven usable hoes remain, and one of the two carts has a cracked wheel.”

Hao Nhien raised an eyebrow slightly.

One month earlier, Lac Loi had only just returned from the city. Now he already knew exactly what was missing.

“What about people?”

“Six more have come back.”

Lac Loi replied.

“Three used to work in the mines, two carried cargo, and one knows how to repair carts. A few others want to return as well, but they still do not dare leave their jobs outside.”

Dai Ninh stood not far away and heard everything, but did not interrupt.

Lac Thua cupped his hands toward him.

“Chief Steward Dai.”

“Chief Lac.”

Dai Ninh returned the greeting before speaking directly.

“I came to inspect the medicinal herbs.”

“Please do.”

He did not need anyone to guide him.

Dai Ninh first crouched beside a bed of Sa Diep and brushed aside the dry grass covering the surface. The upper layer of soil was fairly dry, but only a short distance below, clear moisture was already present.

He opened the lid of the nearest buried jar.

More than half the water still remained inside.

“How often do you refill it?”

A woman working nearby looked slightly nervous at being asked, but still answered,

“This jar was last refilled two days ago.”

Dai Ninh looked at her.

“You maintain this plot?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know how to cultivate medicinal plants before?”

The woman immediately shook her head.

“No. I only raised goats.”

“Then how do you know when to add water?”

She pointed to a mark carved inside the jar.

“If it falls below this line, we add more. If it is still above the line, we leave it alone.”

Dai Ninh stared at the mark for a while, then looked toward Hao Nhien.

Hao Nhien only smiled and offered no explanation.

Dai Ninh continued to the nursery.

An old man was preparing soil plugs. After Dai Ninh asked several questions, the old man slowly explained that the seedlings were raised until their roots became strong enough, then moved into the fields with the entire soil plug intact to avoid damaging the young roots.

At the Kho Diep plots, Dai Ninh stayed longer.

The plants there were not as healthy-looking as the Sa Diep. Some leaves were still slightly yellow, and the spacing between clusters remained uneven, but most of them were alive.

He selected a plant near the edge of the bed and asked Lac Lam to dig gently beside it.

The original plug was still visible, but white roots had already extended beyond it and penetrated deep into the moist soil below.

Dai Ninh lightly touched one of the roots.

“How long ago was this transplanted?”

“Twelve days.”

Lac Lam answered.

“You maintain this one?”

“Everyone does it together.”

Dai Ninh stood.

This time, his expression had become completely serious.

“Apothecary Giai taught them to manage all of this themselves?”

Hao Nhien looked around.

“Chief Steward Dai has already seen it.”

Dai Ninh asked nothing further.

He walked through almost the entire cultivation area, speaking less and less as he went.

Not because he had run out of questions.

Rather, because the most important point had already become obvious.

Sa Diep, Xich Can, and Kho Diep were not precious spiritual herbs. Similar medicinal plants could be found around many tribes in the region, and some places even had greater natural yields than Lac Van.

But being able to grow somewhere and becoming a stable supply source were two entirely different things.

In the past, the people of Lac Van only gathered these herbs when they had spare time, selling crude material to merchant caravans with inconsistent quality and unpredictable quantities. The value created was so low that it could not meaningfully affect the tribe’s obligation quotas.

Now, those same three herbs were being turned into part of a supply chain that could actually be planned.

Dai Ninh looked over the fields for a while longer before asking,

“Do you have enough people?”

Lac Thua smiled bitterly.

“Most of the able-bodied are still outside.”

Lac Loi spoke from behind him.

“Among the Lac Van people working in Heavenly Eye City alone, I know of more than twenty. There are probably many more at mining stations, merchant caravans, and transport points.”

“Do they want to come back?”

“Some do.”

Lac Loi looked toward the low houses.

“But if they return, they still have to live. If there is no stable work, they will have to leave again a few months later.”

Dai Ninh nodded.

That needed no further explanation.

He turned toward Hao Nhien.

“If you had more people, how much could you expand?”

Hao Nhien looked at the lake, the nursery, and the land to the north.

“Three times the current area would not be difficult.”

He replied.

“For now, we have only proven that the herbs can be cultivated reliably. Until there is a real harvest, there is no point estimating too far ahead.”

Dai Ninh nodded slightly.

“Correct.”

He looked again at the buried jars.

“What about tools?”

“We’re short.”

Lac Loi answered.

“Hoes, shovels, carts, jars, rope, and wood for windbreaks. The tribe can make some of them, but not fast enough if we expand.”

Dai Ninh looked at him.

“You manage this?”

Lac Loi shook his head.

“Chief Lac manages the tribe. I only help with matters outside.”

Lac Thua laughed.

“He knows the city, knows prices, and knows how to find people. Lately, most matters requiring someone to go outside have been left to him.”

Dai Ninh nodded.

Hao Nhien also gave Lac Loi another look.

The man was not strong, but he possessed exactly what Lac Van needed at this stage.

Experience with the outside world.

That afternoon, everyone gathered inside Lac Thua’s largest house.

There was no expensive wine or high-grade spirit rice, only tea Dai Ninh had brought and a plate of pastries that Tieu Thach had passed the doorway at least six times to look at.

Dai Ninh set down his cup.

“I have a proposal.”

Lac Thua immediately sat straighter.

Hao Nhien said nothing.

Dai Ninh looked at both of them.

“Heavenly Eye Medicine Pavilion needs Sa Diep, Xich Can, and Kho Diep in larger quantities than we currently receive. If the first trial harvest reaches our quality standard, I can act as commercial guarantor and submit an application to register Lac Van as an official medicinal supply point.”

Lac Thua’s fingers tightened slightly around his teacup.

Dai Ninh continued,

“If the commercial division approves the application, the land and labor registered directly under the medicinal production zone can be counted toward production obligations instead of ordinary labor levies. In that case, those listed under the supply operation would be much harder for a station to arbitrarily send to mines or transport work as before.”

Lac Thua looked up.

“Harder to send away?”

“Let me be clear.”

Dai Ninh replied.

“I can make the recommendation and stand as guarantor, but I am not the one who approves it. There is precedent for this mechanism, but Lac Van must prove real output, real quality, and an end market important enough to justify it.”

Hao Nhien asked,

“What kind of end market would be important enough?”

Dai Ninh looked at him.

“The army.”

The room grew slightly quieter.

He continued,

“If the batch of pills you delivered today is sold individually, the Pavilion earns spirit stones. But if we use that same quality to apply for a trial supply quota for military units or major stations, then its value becomes entirely different.”

Hao Nhien did not react immediately.

“What scale?”

“Not large at first.”

Dai Ninh answered.

“I will not sign you into something you cannot refine. The three pill types with the most stable ingredient sources can form the main supply, while Meridian Nourishing Pills and Body Stabilizing Pills will only increase when the actual medicinal supply is sufficient.”

“How long?”

“I will apply for a trial period first. Perhaps three months. If it succeeds, then we discuss what comes after.”

Hao Nhien nodded slightly.

That was far more reasonable than immediately binding himself to a long-term contract.

“What I need most is stable labor for Lac Van.”

Dai Ninh understood at once.

“If the application is approved and Lac Van becomes an official supply point, the labor registered directly under production will have grounds to convert their obligations into output quotas. It is not an exemption from obligation, merely a different way of fulfilling it.”

Lac Thua sat beside them, his hands trembling slightly on his knees.

Dai Ninh saw it but continued.

“The Pavilion can also provide tools, propagation stock, and some expansion materials in advance. None of that will be free, but it can be treated as investment cost or gradually deducted from later deliveries.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“An arrangement lasts only if both sides gain something.”

He paused before asking,

“But there is another issue.”

Dai Ninh looked at him.

“Go ahead.”

“If Lac Van begins to have value, the Medicine Pavilion may not be the only one to notice.”

Hao Nhien said.

“The people here cannot protect the supply themselves. If someone tries to force a purchase, seize the harvest, or use connections to redirect them toward another buyer, Lac Van will be the first to suffer.”

Dai Ninh did not answer immediately.

He tapped one finger against the table and thought for several breaths before speaking.

“Heavenly Eye Medicine Pavilion did not earn its position in Heavenly Eye City merely by selling a few bottles of pills.”

Hao Nhien looked at him.

Dai Ninh continued,

“I cannot conveniently tell you who stands behind us, but there are people in the commercial division willing to listen when I make a proposal. If Lac Van is officially registered and tied to a Pavilion supply quota, then anyone who interferes with the medicinal fields or forces the goods elsewhere will not merely be touching a small tribe.”

A faint, cold smile appeared on his face.

“They will be touching the interests of whoever stands behind this supply chain.”

Hao Nhien nodded lightly.

That was exactly the answer he wanted.

Dai Ninh studied him for a while longer, then laughed.

“Apothecary Giai, you brought me one hundred and fifty pills and then showed me this entire medicinal supply source. It seems you have been thinking rather far ahead.”

Hao Nhien did not deny it.

“I only want what I build to continue after I leave.”

Dai Ninh lifted his tea.

“Then I will return and calculate the rest. I’ll take the figures from this pill batch, Lac Van’s current situation, and the trial supply proposal upward. The next time I come, I will give you a clearer answer.”

“Good.”

Dai Ninh stood.

“For now, let us settle on this. The Medicine Pavilion will prepare the remaining medicinal supply and look into possible end markets. Apothecary Giai will handle pill refinement and cultivation methods, while Lac Van continues improving output and processing.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“Agreed.”

Dai Ninh turned toward Lac Thua.

“Chief Lac?”

Lac Thua did not answer immediately.

He looked down at his own hands, then turned toward the window.

Outside, several people were moving newly fired jars toward the fields. Lac Loi stood on a cart, while Tieu Thach ran behind it, saying something no one inside could hear.

After a long while, Lac Thua finally turned back.

“My people… if the application is truly approved…”

His voice was rougher than usual.

“They might not have to go to the mines anymore?”

Dai Ninh answered clearly.

“If they are listed as laborers under the registered supply zone and the output meets the quota that was approved, labor stations will no longer be able to arbitrarily take them away as before. But Lac Van will still have to fulfill the converted obligation.”

Lac Thua drew a deep breath and clasped both hands together.

Hao Nhien immediately raised a hand before he could bow.

“Chief Lac.”

Lac Thua looked at him.

Hao Nhien shook his head.

“This is business, not charity.”

Dai Ninh laughed.

“Exactly.”

He pointed outside.

“You can grow medicinal herbs, I need medicinal herbs, and Heavenly Eye needs pills. As long as every side does its part, no one owes anyone.”

Lac Thua looked at the two men for a long time before finally nodding firmly.

“Very well.”

By the time Dai Ninh and the Medicine Pavilion’s people left Lac Van, the sky was already approaching dusk.

Hao Nhien walked toward the nursery with Quan Nha. She remained silent for a while before asking,

“Did you deliberately make yourself this noticeable?”

Hao Nhien turned toward her.

“You mean the pill batch?”

“Not only the pills.”

Quan Nha replied.

“One hundred and fifty mid-grade pills, delivered exactly on time, and now you have created a new supplementary-herb supply as well. If Dai Ninh reports this upward, someone will definitely investigate Giai Nhien.”

“I know.”

“And you are not worried?”

Hao Nhien smiled lightly.

“If our only goal was to avoid attention, there would have been no reason to enter Heavenly Eye City in the first place.”

Quan Nha looked at him.

Hao Nhien continued,

“If we want to go deeper, Giai Nhien must be valuable enough that other people want to keep him. Heavenly Eye Medicine Pavilion can hold this position, sell pills to multiple stations, and trade with the military. There cannot be only one Dai Ninh standing behind all of that.”

He looked toward Heavenly Eye City.

“I put value on the table first. From now on, keeping this supply source safe is no longer only my problem.”

Quan Nha understood.

“You want the Medicine Pavilion to protect its own interests.”

“Yes.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“It is normal for people to become suspicious, investigate us, or ask where we came from. But there is nothing wrong with our records, and nothing we are doing needs to be hidden. A merchant couple who understand medicine, can refine pills, and search for medicinal supplies to earn spirit stones—what is there to fear?”

The corners of Quan Nha’s lips curved.

“It is just that this merchant couple is a little too capable.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

“Even better.”

She looked toward the Sa Diep beds swaying gently in the wind.

“But other tribes can grow medicinal herbs too.”

“They can.”

Hao Nhien did not deny it.

“But if they only gather or cultivate them and sell the raw ingredients as before, the value remains too low. One merchant caravan pushes the price down slightly, and an entire season’s labor may still not offset much of their obligations.”

He looked at the fields before them.

“Lac Van is different because these three herbs are being connected directly to a stable pill supply. The true value does not lie in a bundle of Sa Diep.”

Quan Nha completed the thought.

“It lies in what that Sa Diep eventually becomes.”

“Exactly.”

Hao Nhien nodded lightly.

The two walked a little farther before stopping on the low rise outside the nursery.

Below, more newly fired jars were still being brought in. Several late workers were gathering tools, while faint lights had already begun appearing among the low houses in the distance.

Quan Nha leaned lightly against his shoulder.

“What are you thinking about?”

Hao Nhien looked over Lac Van beneath the evening sky.

“I used to think that changing a place like this meant I had to destroy something first.”

Quan Nha remained silent.

Hao Nhien continued,

“But the rules are still here. Heavenly Eye still wants its interests. The Medicine Pavilion still wants spirit stones. And the people of Lac Van still have obligations to fulfill.”

He smiled faintly.

“The only difference is that if their interests can all be made to point in the same direction, then the one paying the price does not always have to be the weakest.”

Quan Nha lifted her head and looked at him.

Hao Nhien continued watching the medicinal fields beneath the last light of dusk.

Perhaps a cage did not always need to be smashed apart immediately.

Sometimes, it was enough to find a gap wide enough for the people inside to breathe.