Rise in Douluo Continent with the help of bean buns

Even after breaking through to the fifth level, Lin Chen's cultivation rhythm remained intact.

Every day, I follow the routine: cultivating myself, tempering my body, managing my business, and expanding my knowledge base. I work on four fronts simultaneously, making steady progress.

But he knew in his heart that Qingshi Village had no room for development.

The village is too small and remote, with limited access to information. It's inconvenient to travel dozens of miles to buy or sell goods.

Moreover, there are many idle people and a lot of gossip in the village, so living here for a long time makes it easy to be disturbed while cultivating.

More importantly, production capacity is quickly falling behind.

Now, he makes all the calming packs by hand, and at most he can only make fifty or sixty packs a day. If he expands the distribution channels, he will run out of stock.

We must set up production lines and expand capacity to keep up with market demand.

It's time to move to Blackrock Town.

He had previously asked Boss Wang to help him look for courtyards, wanting two adjacent, secluded courtyards in quiet locations. One courtyard would be used for living and storing goods in the front, and for cultivation in the back. The other would be used as a processing workshop, separated by distance for privacy.

That afternoon, the grocery store clerk delivered a delivery order and brought a message along with it.

"Brother Lin, the courtyard you asked our boss to find has been settled. There are two adjacent courtyards in a quiet spot in the east of the city, separated only by a wall. They can be connected by knocking it down. The landlord is in a hurry to go inland to stay with his son and is willing to rent it long-term at a fair price. The boss asked me to come and ask you if you want to go take a look?"

Lin Chen's eyes brightened slightly.

  

"Go. Let's go now."

He locked the courtyard gate and followed his companion toward town.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the house.

The location is indeed secluded, in an alley in the east of the city, with few surrounding residents and no noise.

The two small courtyards are right next to each other. The one on the left is larger. The front courtyard is spacious enough to store goods and live in, while the back courtyard is square and planted with several old trees, which are very shady. It is perfect for being transformed into a cultivation area.

The one on the right is smaller, with a large open space and two small rooms, which is perfect for a processing workshop and raw material storage.

The wall between the two courtyards is not high, and a small gate can be opened later for easy access.

Lin Chen looked it over inside and out and was very satisfied.

"How is the rent calculated?"

"The annual rent is six gold soul coins, with a deposit of one month's rent and three months' rent paid in advance. The landlord said that if you rent for more than three years, the price will be even lower," the waiter replied.

Six gold soul coins a year, two courtyards, very fair.

Lin Chen didn't haggle and immediately decided: "This is it. Three-year lease minimum, we'll sign the deed tomorrow, and I'll pay the full amount upfront."

The waiter was overjoyed: "Alright! I'll go tell the landlord right away!"

He thought Lin Chen would try to negotiate the price, but he didn't expect him to agree so readily.

After inspecting the courtyard, Lin Chen didn't linger and went straight back to the village.

Moving needs to be put on the agenda, and the assembly line also needs to be arranged as soon as possible.

After returning home, he began packing his things. There wasn't much to pack; it was mostly herbs and medicinal materials, along with a few boxes of books.

The furniture is all old; we can just buy new ones when we get to town.

Two days later, the lease was signed, and the two courtyards were officially rented. The deposit was one month's rent, and the rent was three months' rent in advance, plus three years' rent, which cost a little over twenty gold soul coins in total.

Lin Chen hired two carriages and spent a day moving all his belongings to the new courtyard in Blackstone Town.

When we left Qingshi Village, many villagers came to watch the spectacle.

"Wow, you really moved to town? You must have struck it rich."

"So what if you get rich? You're still just a businessman. With the Blue Silver Grass spirit, no matter how much money you have, you can't become a Soul Master."

"Exactly, it's a pity that such a smart brain was given the wrong spirit embryo."

The discussions continued, filled with regret, jealousy, and mockery.

Lin Chen sat calmly in the carriage, without even turning his head.

Qingshi Village is just the starting point, not the destination.

His path lies in a wider world.

On the first day of moving into the new house, Lin Chen tidied up both courtyards.

The large courtyard on the left has a front yard for living and storage, while the back yard has been transformed into a training area—oak barrels were moved there, and the body tempering room, meditation room, and martial spirit training ground were clearly divided. The basement has been converted into a medicinal herb warehouse and an ancient book room, all neatly organized and categorized.

The small courtyard on the right has been completely converted into a processing workshop. The large open space serves as the production area, while the two smaller rooms are used as raw material and finished product warehouses, respectively. All the doors are locked, and only Lin Chen has the keys.

They hired an honest elderly couple to look after the house, cook, and take care of chores in the front yard.

The elderly couple, surnamed Wang, were both poor people in the town. They were clean and quiet, which suited Lin Chen's taste perfectly.

After settling in, Lin Chen did not start work immediately. Instead, he went to a brokerage firm and hired three poor women from the town.

They were all in their thirties, quick and efficient, from impoverished families, and in dire need of money.

Lin Chen paid a good wage, two silver soul coins a month, plus lunch, which was more than what he could earn working as a helper in someone else's house. But there was one rule: everyone was only responsible for their own work process, and no one was allowed to wander around, inquire about other processes, or talk about what was going on in the workshop.

The three women readily agreed.

The assembly line was set up quickly.

The first step: sorting and drying. A woman was specifically responsible for sorting, washing, and drying the collected herbs, classifying them according to their quality.

The second step: grinding the medicinal herbs into powder. A woman was specifically responsible for grinding the dried medicinal herbs into powder, with strict requirements on the fineness.

The third step: filling and sewing the bags. A woman was specifically responsible for filling the medicine powder into cotton bags and sewing them closed.

The three processes are each managed independently, without touching each other to ensure the integrity of the formula.

The most crucial step of the formulation process was personally completed by Lin Chen.

Every night, he would mix the various medicinal powders needed for the next day according to the specified proportions, put them into uniform earthenware jars, and hand them over to the woman who filled them the next day. The woman only knew that it was "prepared medicinal powder," but had no idea which medicinal herbs were in it or in what proportions.

The secrecy mechanism was perfected.

The effects were immediate after the production line was put into operation.

Previously, Lin Chen could only make fifty or sixty packs a day by himself. Now, with the help of three women, he can make two or three hundred packs a day, which is a five-fold increase in production capacity.

Labor costs are very low – the three women's combined monthly wages are only six silver soul coins, plus the old couple's two silver soul coins, for a total of only eight silver soul coins a month, less than one gold soul coin.

Production capacity increased fivefold, while labor costs increased by less than one unit, resulting in a direct surge in profits.

More importantly, Lin Chen was completely freed from tedious manual labor.

Previously, I had to spend most of the day making calming packs, but now I only need to spend half an hour each evening preparing the powder. The rest of the time can be used for cultivation, body tempering, and reading to expand my knowledge base.

Suddenly, I had a lot more time.

My cultivation efficiency has improved again.

No need to run to town to deliver goods every day, no need to deal with gossip in the village, no need to make medicine packets by hand, saving a lot of time.

Lin Chen added another hour to his daily cultivation time and increased the amount of micro-management training.

Life became more regular, but also more monotonous.

Besides cultivating and tempering his body every day, he manages his business and reads books to expand his knowledge base.

There was almost no entertainment, and no idle chatter.

Any other seven-year-old would have been driven crazy by now. But Lin Chen remained calm and didn't feel any bitterness at all.

He knew what he was doing and where he was going.

This bit of tedium is nothing compared to the long road ahead.

That evening, Lin Chen finished his cultivation for the day and walked to the window.

The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and the sounds of bustling activity could be faintly heard from the streets of Blackrock Town.

I've been in this world for almost a year now.

From a dying orphan to gaining a foothold and establishing a foundation.

The first step has been taken steadily.

Next, we need to steadily increase our soul power, expand our business empire, collect information on soul beasts, and prepare for our first soul ring.

After three years of dormancy, only one-third of the journey has been completed.

He's not in a hurry.