Chapter 47 - 46: Filial Son Zhao Ci, Cutting Flesh to Feed Father?

Chapter 47: Chapter 46: Filial Son Zhao Ci, Cutting Flesh to Feed Father?

The moment Zhao Ci wrote down the price for the Qi Cultivation Pill, he became the public enemy of every Alchemist outside the Xingyu Pill Association.

It didn’t matter whether he could actually influence the entire Qi Cultivation Pill market; that conclusion was set in stone.

He was either a public enemy with real power or a public enemy who was a complete joke.

Either way, he was a public enemy!

Because the production cost of a Qi Cultivation Pill was more than that. For a Low-Level Elixir like the Qi Cultivation Pill, the cost of raw ingredients had already dropped significantly due to the plummeting price of Qi Nourishing Grass. After deducting maintenance fees for the Pill Furnaces, the rest was all labor costs for the Alchemists.

If the price was truly affected, the income and status of every single related Alchemist would take a hit.

The Feng, Zhu, and Yang families each had their own Divine Techniques and could still lower their costs somewhat.

But the other families would be in real pain!

Zhao Yong couldn’t hold back any longer. "Lao Shi, are you serious?"

"What does Brother Huang mean by that?"

Zhao Ci smiled and asked, "This Gongdan Conference is such a solemn occasion. Why would Brother Huang make such a childish comment?"

After speaking, he sat straight back down in his seat.

He closed his eyes and feigned sleep.

He showed no intention of chatting with anyone.

In an instant, the faces of all the Pill Workshop Chief Stewards darkened.

Zhao Yong was stunned. ’He had already discussed it with the stewards from the Feng and Zhu families. They had concluded they could lower the price by ten taels at most. That would still leave a ten-tael profit margin, allowing the entire system to continue functioning healthily.’

’If they dropped it by twenty taels, how would the Pill Workshops pay their labor costs? Would they have to cut the Alchemists’ wages?’

’Absolutely not!’

’But Zhao Ci... he actually set the price this low! Is he just trying to cause trouble?’

’Could it be? Have they also optimized their process and managed to push the cost of a Low-Grade Qi Cultivation Pill down to around forty taels?’

’He’s selling at a loss to seize the market, not even afraid of his merits going into the negative.’

’He gives the low pill price to Father Emperor. He gives the title of National Pill to Princess Consort Jing. Are you trying to drag me down with you?’

"Your Highness, what do you think?"

Zhu He asked from the side.

Zhao Yong turned and found the Chief Stewards of the other Pill Workshops were all looking at him.

He pondered for a long time before saying in a low voice, "Zhao Ci’s move is nothing more than an attempt to muddy the waters. But with only the Alchemists from the Xingyu Pill Association, how many pills can they possibly refine? The military’s demand is huge; there’s no way he can take all the orders.

"The Xingyu Pill Association is just a bunch of riffraff. The bulk of their production will surely be Low-Grade Qi Cultivation Pills. They won’t be able to affect the Middle-Grade or High-Grade pills at all.

"We’ll start by lowering the price of Low-Grade Qi Cultivation Pills by five taels and shift our focus to the Middle-Grade ones. We’ll see how things go before deciding whether to drop the price further.

"He’s not taking any profit, so he won’t dare to take on too many orders. Otherwise, he’ll squander all of Noble Consort Jing’s family fortune.

"With that fawning expression, he only knows how to act like a clown to amuse Father Emperor. He is truly a disgrace to the Alchemy Realm."

These words were spoken without any attempt to hide them from Zhao Ci.

The crowd heard this and exclaimed that it made sense. They had already seen the Xingyu Pill Association’s lineup; they were all familiar faces from smaller Pill Workshops. The number of them who could refine Middle-Grade Qi Cultivation Pills could be counted on one hand.

Therefore, there was no need to even look at their prices for Middle-Grade and High-Grade pills. They were just stirring up trouble with the price of Low-Grade Qi Cultivation Pills.

A mere buffoon.

"Your Highness, what about the title of National Pill...?"

"We’re not fighting for it! There’s no need to drag our own businesses down for the sake of an empty title."

The Feng, Zhu, and Yang families all breathed a sigh of relief. However, the faces of the two smaller Pill Workshops weren’t so cheerful. They didn’t have any methods to suppress costs, and Low-Grade Qi Cultivation Pills were their main product. Even dropping the price by one tael of silver would be agonizing for them.

But they were already at a disadvantage in securing orders. If they didn’t lower their prices, their orders would only dwindle further.

Zhao Yong, however, gave them no time to hesitate. He strode forward and wrote the Yonghe Pill Workshop’s prices on the board.

Following him were the Feng, Zhu, and Yang families. They hadn’t planned on lowering their prices, but seeing the price Zhao Ci posted, they knew the Emperor was determined to see a price war this time. They had to bleed a little. So, they also symbolically dropped the price of their Low-Grade Qi Cultivation Pills by five taels.

Although the Chief Stewards of the other two Pill Workshops were reluctant, they had no choice but to follow suit.

...

「On the viewing stand.」

Zhao Huan saw this scene and couldn’t help but smile. Regardless of whether Zhao Ci was bluffing, the prices had genuinely come down.

Five taels might not seem like much, but with a large enough volume, it would save a lot of money and provide more resources for the military.

Although this was the price for Tribute Pills supplied to the Court, if Zhao Ci wasn’t just spouting nonsense, it would surely affect the public market price as well.

Five taels.

That was more than two months’ income for an ordinary family.

Three pills came to fifteen taels. That could help raise a cultivator to the Physical Body Realm, saving a family from over half a year of desperate, all-consuming struggle.

’It might not be a huge amount, but a large number of people would be able to grit their teeth and endure, avoiding the fate of selling themselves to great clans as Household Servants.’

However...

’All of this hinges on one premise: the Xingyu Pill Association has to have sufficient production capacity and enough profit to survive.’

He knew very well that he hadn’t given "the mother and son" any help. ’Could that Alcohol Refining Technique really suppress costs to such an extent?’

’And what about production volume? What about the pill grade? Zhao Huan couldn’t figure out how Zhao Ci could possibly pull it off.’

He couldn’t help but look toward Gu Xiangzhu. His heart was filled with both anticipation and gravity, hoping their move would help him break the deadlock on elixirs, yet unwilling for this technique to be controlled by Gu Xiangzhu.

’Let’s just wait and see!’

「Below.」

Zhuge Xiao couldn’t help but ask, "Aunt, are all Lingge People this wild?"

He was genuinely confused. Although he didn’t practice Alchemy, Pill Furnaces were one of the Zhuge Family’s cornerstones, so he understood the elixir market all too well.

’A Low-Grade Qi Cultivation Pill for forty taels... it’s basically impossible to make a profit. Can Noble Consort Jing afford to lose this much money?’

Zhuge Wei Yue shook her head. "I don’t understand it either. Just watch quietly. No matter the outcome, it’s a good thing for us."

Zhuge Xiao nodded. If Zhao Ci really managed to create a miracle, the Hundred Refinements Furnace would benefit. If he ended up as a buffoon, it would be because he courted death himself, having nothing to do with the Hundred Refinements Furnace.

But he didn’t understand.

Pushing the price of Qi Cultivation Pills down this far was truly putting himself in the eye of the storm.

Even if he won the orders, could his production keep up?

’Lingge People are too wild. It’s actually terrifying.’

「On another side.」

"Uncle Xiang Jiu?"

"Hey! You came too, kid?"

Xiang Yunzhan looked at Feng Kucha. "You’re here to watch this kid’s theatrics too?"

"He’s a brother, after all. I wanted to see how he was doing, but I never expected him to pull a stunt like this."

Feng Kucha nodded, an utterly pained expression on his face. "Dammit! Good thing I didn’t agree to be his Mansion Official. I thought he wanted to do a good job, but it turns out he’s just screwing around! If I’d become his Mansion Official, I’d be lucky to eat dirt for the next three years."

Xiang Yunzhan: "..."

Feng Kucha glanced over at Kan Luotang in the distance and saw that her face was also a little pale. She was clearly frightened by the price.

He didn’t understand why Zhao Ci had to grandstand like this.

’Isn’t this just alienating his allies and delighting his enemies?’

’Besides the Emperor, who else is happy about this?’

’Dammit! He’s carving off his own flesh to feed his father!’

...

Eunuch Li saw that all the houses had announced their pill prices.

He cleared his throat. "The price announcements are complete. Each Pill Workshop will have one more opportunity to lower their prices later. Alchemists, please ascend the Alchemy Platforms. In two hours, the Imperial Clan Court will evaluate the pills refined by each house to decide the allocation of this year’s Tribute Pills."

As his voice fell.

The Alchemists from each house ascended their Alchemy Platforms, each sitting cross-legged before a Pill Furnace.

Hundreds of Alchemists, hundreds of Pill Furnaces—the scene was truly breathtaking.

However, most of those present were used to such sights.

Zhao Yong glanced over the Xingyu Pill Workshop’s high platform several times. Confirming there was no sign of any top-tier Alchemists, he relaxed considerably.

He then looked at Zhao Ci and couldn’t help but laugh. "Lao Shi, you’ve got some real guts. To please Father Emperor, you’re willing to drag your entire Pill Workshop down with you. Such guts!"

Zhao Ci pursed his lips. "Whatever makes you happy."

This riled Zhao Yong up. "But I don’t see a Pill Furnace for Zhu Li. You really went to great lengths to give her the title of Alchemist. But just having her stand there on the stage like a statue... won’t that just leave her in an awkward position?"

Zhao Ci turned his head away, not bothering to respond.

As for the stewards of the other Pill Workshops, they all glared at Zhao Ci with cold or mocking eyes, their attitudes anything but friendly.

They were preparing to deal with this shit-stirrer of the Alchemy Realm properly after the Pill Association event was over.

Maliciously driving down prices.

This behavior was truly disgusting.

’With this bunch of riffraff, can they even handle the production volume and quality?’

Just then.

The logistics staff of the various Pill Workshops had already begun transporting the raw ingredients onto the Alchemy Platforms.

When the medicine boxes were opened, a dazzling array of various raw ingredients was revealed.

But...

"Huh?"

Zhao Yong couldn’t help but frown. Refining Qi Cultivation Pills required a large amount of Qi Nourishing Grass, but on the Xingyu Pill Association’s Alchemy Platform, there wasn’t a single stalk of it. Instead, next to each Alchemist was a large alcohol jar.

’What are they doing?’

He glanced back and saw that the other Pill Workshop Chief Stewards were also looking on with shock and suspicion.

This... didn’t seem good at all.