Rise in Douluo Continent with the help of bean buns

On the third day after returning to Tiandou City, Lin Chen sat at his desk in the quiet room in the backyard, looking through the quarterly ledger that Old Chen had handed him.

Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on the yellowed pages, the ink writing clear and the accounts neatly organized.

Old Chen stood to the side, his face beaming with undisguised joy, his hands clenching slightly – even he, a seasoned businessman who had managed accounts for half his life, was shocked by this quarter's performance.

Lin Chen flipped through the pages slowly, but with great precision. His fingertips traced the numbers on each page, his expression remaining calm and unmoved.

Only after closing the last page of the ledger did he raise his eyes, his tone flat: "Five hundred and seventy thousand gold?"

"Yes!" Old Chen responded quickly, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement. "This is last month's net profit, 573,000 gold. Over the past three months, the monthly average has been consistently above 520,000 gold, with even the worst month still yielding 480,000. At this rate, it's possible that it could break 600,000 in the second half of the year."

Five hundred thousand gold coins.

This figure, a year ago, would have been something Qinghetang might not have earned in a whole year.

Now it has become a stable monthly income, and if word gets out, the entire herbal medicine industry in Tiandou City will be shaken.

Lin Chen nodded slightly and tapped the table lightly with his fingertips.

  

This number was within his expectations.

With its three major business lines progressing in tandem and leveraging economies of scale, explosive profit growth is inevitable.

Even he hadn't expected the growth momentum to be so strong, exceeding Doubao's predictions by several tens of percent.

The first sector to complete its expansion was the wholesale of conventional medicinal herbs.

Previously, the medicinal herb business only covered a dozen or so surrounding towns, confining itself to a small circle around Tiandou City.

Over the past six months, following the route set by Lin Chen, Lao Chen led his business team westward and southward, leveraging the cost advantage and stable quality control of his own planting base to successively secure the medicinal herb supply rights for three counties in the south and two counties in the west of the Tianhun Empire.

From the most basic herbs commonly used by ordinary people to the regular medicinal materials used by Soul Masters for cultivation, Qinghetang can provide a stable supply of all categories, with prices half a percent lower than those of established local wholesalers, while maintaining more consistent quality.

"So far, we've officially signed long-term agreements with fourteen counties, and seventy-six towns and cities in total, with over three hundred cooperating pharmacies and herbal medicine shops." Old Chen pointed to the dense red dots on the map. "Beyond that are the borders and the kingdoms, but the waters there are too deep, so we haven't touched them yet. The current area already covers most of the southern and western parts of the Heavenly Soul Empire."

Three hundred partner merchants and a distribution network covering fourteen counties.

The medicinal herb wholesale business has completely transformed from a "side business" into one of Qinghetang's core businesses, steadily contributing over 100,000 gold coins in net profit each month, resulting in extremely stable cash flow.

Even more stable than the wholesale of medicinal herbs is the exclusive pharmaceutical business.

After two years of positive word-of-mouth, the third-generation body tempering potion and mind-concentrating potion have become popular not only in Tiandou City but also throughout the surrounding counties.

Low-level Soul Masters use it to build a foundation, mid-level Soul Masters use it for daily training, and Soul Hunting Teams use it as a backup for missions; it has a very wide audience.

With the official certification and endorsement of the Soul Master Guild, coupled with a reputation for never having had a quality problem, Qinghetang's potions have become synonymous with "reliable".

Over the past six months, Lin Chen, with Su Wanqing's assistance, optimized two advanced potions: a potent body-tempering liquid suitable for Soul Masters and above, and a mind-concentrating liquid for extended use. The launch of these two new products immediately opened up the mid-to-high-level Soul Master market, and orders poured in like snowflakes.

"Now the potion line is divided into three tiers: the common version, the advanced version, and the high-end customized version, covering the needs of everyone from level 10 Soul Masters to level 50 or 60 Soul Kings," Old Chen said with a smile. "Many large medicine merchants from other places come to Tiandou City specifically to obtain agency rights. We are selective in our cooperation, only giving them to the best qualified ones, and we control the prices very tightly, so no one dares to go against the price."

Exclusive medicines remain Qinghetang's strongest asset, with monthly net profit consistently around 180,000 gold coins, maintaining its second-largest share of profits.

The real engine driving the profit leap is still the Soul Guide material.

In just over a year, this line transformed from a trial planting of fifty acres into Qinghetang's most profitable business.

Initially, they only cooperated with small and medium-sized workshops in Tiandou City. Now, the product range has expanded to seven core raw materials. Their clients include not only the top three large soul guide workshops in Tiandou City, but also small suppliers to the Imperial military. Merchants from the western Barak Kingdom even come here specifically to pick up goods.

The optimized varieties of Spirit Silk Vine, Spirit Gathering Grass, and Spirit Guiding Wood have key indicators such as spiritual energy conduction rate, purity, and toughness that are on average more than 30% higher than ordinary products on the market, making them highly sought-after commodities by all Soul Guiding Workshops.

"Last month, Hongyuan Workshop in the west of the city signed an annual supply agreement for 30,000 catties of Spirit Silk Vine. And the military supplier, after trying our Spirit Gathering Grass Powder, tripled their orders." Old Chen spoke with great enthusiasm. "The Soul Guiding Materials segment made a net profit of 287,000 last month, already accounting for half of the total profit. Once the new 400-mu plantation reaches full production in the second half of the year, the profit will increase even further."

Three business lines, three growth curves.

A base for wholesale medicinal herbs, an exclusive brand of medicinal plants, and profits from soul-guiding materials.

The three elements support each other, forming a complete business loop: the planting base supplies raw materials, the workshop processes them into finished products, and the distribution network extends across the country. From seedling cultivation, raw material planting, production and processing, to terminal sales and logistics distribution, the entire supply chain is in Qinghetang's own hands.

To support such a large operation, Qinghetang's infrastructure has doubled in the past six months.

The planting base has expanded from the initial 300 mu to 1,500 mu, and is divided into three major parks according to varieties. There is a dedicated management team, and the core seedlings are uniformly cultivated and distributed by the headquarters to control the quality from the source.

The large workshop outside Tiandou City has been expanded twice, divided into three independent factory areas: primary processing of medicinal materials, production of medicines, and processing of soul-guiding materials. The number of workers has increased from 150 to more than 400, the production line is more complete, and the quality control is more stringent.

They have put a lot of effort into warehousing and logistics.

Tian Dou City has a central warehouse, with branch warehouses in the south and west, and transit points in important towns, forming a three-tiered warehousing network.

A dedicated transport team makes regular round trips, with each vehicle escorted by a dedicated person. For important goods, a spirit tablet is temporarily invited to oversee the transport to ensure safety.

From seedlings to end products, from production to distribution, a complete supply chain and sales network has been steadily established.

Its reach has long since extended beyond the corner of Tiandou City, reaching most of the Tianhun Empire.

Even if Lin Chen is away for several months, as long as this network functions properly, Qinghetang will not encounter any major problems.

As its size increased, Qinghetang's status naturally rose as well.

Today, Qinghetang is no longer the small, insignificant business in the southern part of the city that no one respected back then.

In the entire Heavenly Soul Empire's medicinal herb and soul guide material industry, Qinghetang ranks among the top second-tier, only lacking in scale and foundation compared to a first-class merchant guild.

When people in the industry mention Qinghetang, no one dares to call it a "small workshop" anymore; they will only praise it as a rising star with unfathomable depth.

The only thing that the industry talks about and finds hard to understand is the mysterious owner of Qinghetang.

Some say he is an elder of a reclusive sect, some say he is a spy for the imperial family, and others say he is a plant-type soul saint who has lived for over a hundred years and lives in seclusion doing business.

The rumors grew increasingly fantastical, adding a layer of mystery to Qinghe Hall and deterring many forces with ulterior motives from taking action.

After all, no one dares to bet that someone who can build such a large business quietly doesn't have any hidden tricks up their sleeve.

Lin Chen paid no attention to these rumors.

He never wanted to become famous; staying behind the scenes and quietly making a fortune was the safest way to live.

The larger the company, the more authority he delegates.

Over the past six months, he has gradually broken down all his daily tasks.

Old Chen oversees business and channels, managing sales, expansion, and external communications; Old Li manages production, warehousing, and planting bases, focusing on quality control and production capacity; the accountant has three apprentices who manage all accounts and cash flow; the four retainers are divided into two groups, with two stationed in Tiandou City and the other two taking turns inspecting various branch warehouses and bases, responsible for security and emergency response.

Each position has clearly defined responsibilities, and each person is in charge of their own area. They make their own decisions on daily affairs, and only major matters such as significant investments, adjustments to core formulas, and external cooperation are reported to Lin Chen.

He completely withdrew from the tedious routine, holding onto only two things:

First, he holds the final decision-making power. Major directions and actions require his approval before they can proceed.

Secondly, core technologies. He personally oversees the core proportions of all medicines and the optimization of all Soul-Guiding Plant seedlings, never delegating the task to others.

The confidentiality mechanism has also been upgraded.

Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter the core workshop; seedlings are distributed uniformly without any seed retention; the formula is broken down into processes; and he personally prepares the core raw material.

The entire system is heavily guarded, so even if someone manages to sneak into the workshop, they can only scratch the surface and cannot replicate the exact same product.

Technological barriers are Qinghetang's true moat.

This barrier is held solely by Lin Chen.

The May wind, carrying the warmth of early summer, rustled through the sycamore leaves in the backyard.

After finishing the last report, Lin Chen closed the file and let out a soft sigh.

Qinghetang's system has been fully matured.

A monthly cash flow of 500,000 gold coins, a network covering most of the Heavenly Soul Empire, a management team with clear roles, and an unbreakable technological barrier.

Even if he leaves for six months or a year, as long as he follows the established path, the Chamber of Commerce can operate normally and even grow steadily.

He can finally do his own thing without any worries.

A wooden box sat quietly on the corner of the table, inside which was a perfectly sealed Soul-Devouring Carving Knife.

Lin Chen tapped the box lightly with his fingertips, a glint of light flickering in his eyes.

There are still three months until the time predicted by Doubao for the awakening of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm.

Three months later, in the core area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest, the fate-changing opportunity will unfold.

He, however, had to arrive early.

In the days that followed, Lin Chen began making final preparations for his trip to Xingdou.

First and foremost, there are supplies.

He had the storeroom stocked with high-level healing potions, antidotes, calming potions, and stamina potions, each prepared to the highest standards, enough to sustain him for three months in the wild.

Then there are soul tools.

Through clandestine channels, he procured several practical low-level soul tools: a concealment cloak to mask his presence, a detection jade pendant to warn of soul power fluctuations, and disposable defensive and illumination soul tools. All were auxiliary; he bought none offensive ones—he didn't need soul tools for combat; these items were merely for increasing his margin for error and reducing the risk of exposure.

The most important Soul-Devouring Carving Knife was placed in a specially made warm jade wooden box, wrapped with three layers of animal hide to isolate soul power, ensuring that not a trace of its aura would leak out and not disturb the powerful soul beasts in the star.

In addition, dry food, water bladders, insect repellent, camping gear, and everything else were prepared in great detail.

Doubao also updated the latest map of the Star Dou Great Forest, marking all known high-level soul beast territories, safe routes, water sources, and hidden strongholds. Risk points were marked one by one, and three alternative routes were prepared to ensure that everything went smoothly.

"Is everything arranged?"

That evening, Old Chen came over to ask for final instructions, looking somewhat worried: "Master, are you really not taking anyone with you? The core area of ​​Star Dou is too dangerous. How about taking two elders with you? That way, you can have someone to look after you."

"No need." Lin Chen shook his head lightly. "Too many people would only make us more vulnerable. I'm just going to take care of some business; I won't be going deep into the core, so there won't be any danger."

He spoke casually, but Old Chen didn't entirely believe him. He also knew that this young boss was always opinionated, and once he made a decision, no one could change it.

"And what about the Chamber of Commerce...?"

"Proceed as previously agreed," Lin Chen said. "You handle the daily affairs, and send me messages for important matters. After I leave, the four elders will take turns overseeing the base and workshops."

"Yes, don't worry."

Old Chen bowed and left, feeling uneasy but having no choice but to strictly follow orders.

Lin Chen stood up and walked to the window.

As the sun sets, it paints half the sky red, and wisps of smoke rise from the distant streets and alleys, creating a scene of peaceful prosperity.

He has been operating here for more than two years and has built such a large business. Now he is finally leaving temporarily.

Star Dou Great Forest, the remnant soul of Electrolux, Shrek Academy.

A wider world and more crucial opportunities await him ahead.

He has Qinghetang as his backing, Blue Silver Forest as his confidence, Doubao as his support, and Life Gold as his bait.

He was determined to steal the prize.

A faint, sharp glint flashed across the young man's gentle features, disappearing in an instant.