Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

The Chen residence.

Zhao lay on the bed, her face pale and her brows furrowed.

An elderly man sat by the bedside, took her pulse, examined her complexion, stroked his pale beard, and turned to Chen Wenyuan, saying, "Madam, you fainted because you were so angry that your liver fire flared up and your blood and qi surged. There's nothing seriously wrong for now, but you must not get angry again, otherwise you'll damage your health and it may lead to a chronic illness."

Chen Wenyuan nodded repeatedly, grasping his hand and saying, "Thank you, Physician Sun..."

After seeing the imperial physician off, he instructed his servants to prepare the medicine. He sat by the bedside, gazing at the still unconscious Zhao Shi, his heart churning with emotion.

Although he felt a pang of pain at having to pay Wu Guojiu five thousand taels of silver, he was thinking about something else entirely.

The Qing Shuang Fang, which makes a fortune every day, is actually owned by Chen Chang'an.

The Qing Shuang Lu was selling like hotcakes in the capital. Even at ten taels a bottle, the demand still couldn't meet the supply, and the daily turnover was over a thousand taels, making it even more profitable than the Yi Lou restaurant.

That unfilial son, who was driven out of his home penniless, has now earned at least tens of thousands of taels of silver in just one month.

This silver could have belonged to the Chen family.

If he hadn't driven Chen Chang'an out, wouldn't Qing Shuang Fang's lucrative business have become the Chen family's property?

Chen Changxuan was a good student and could pursue the imperial examination path.

With Chen Chang'an possessing such a talent for business, and his brother pursuing both careers—one in politics and the other in business—how could the Chen family not prosper?

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Chen Chang'an made money through business, and the silver he earned could be used to bribe officials. Coupled with his own position in the Ministry of Personnel, the three of them—father and sons—could complement each other, and the rise of the Chen family was just around the corner…

Although that rebellious son had severed ties with him, the blood ties could not be broken. No matter how much Chen Chang'an hated him, he was still Chen Wenyuan's biological son.

If he humbles himself, personally invites him home, and promises him some benefits, why would he not come back?

Just as he was pondering how to begin, Zhao's eyelids twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing Chen Wenyuan sitting by the bed, she weakly opened her mouth, her voice hoarse: "Master..."

Chen Wenyuan quickly stepped forward, helped her sit up, poured a glass of warm water to her lips, and said softly, "The doctor said you're fine. You just need to rest for a few days, but you mustn't get angry again..."

After taking a couple of sips of water and catching her breath, Zhao felt another sharp pain in her heart when she thought of the five thousand taels of silver.

She gritted her teeth, about to curse that bastard to vent her anger, when Chen Wenyuan grasped her hand and said softly, "Madam, there's something I'd like to discuss with you..."

Zhao suppressed her anger for the moment and asked, "What is it?"

Chen Wenyuan considered his words carefully before saying, "Chang'an, that child, although a bit mischievous, is still of the Chen family bloodline. Now he has opened a shop outside, and the business is doing quite well..."

A sense of foreboding washed over Zhao, and she asked, "Master, what are you trying to say?"

Chen Wenyuan smiled awkwardly and said, "Between father and son, there's no such thing as a grudge that lasts overnight. I was thinking, why not find an opportunity to have him come back to the manor to stay? Our family can be together again, and the Qing Shuang Fang business will naturally become our Chen family's property. When Changxuan enters officialdom, he'll have a solid foundation in both the financial and political arenas. What do you think?"

After hearing this, Zhao stared blankly at Chen Wenyuan for a while, her face turning from white to red, then from red to green, and then her chest began to heave violently.

She went to great lengths, even sacrificing her niece's innocence to set a trap, all to drive that bastard out of the house, out of sight, out of mind, and to pave the way for Changxuan to marry the princess.

She went through so much trouble to get all this done, and now the master actually wants to bring him back?

Zhao had just woken up and was still weak. Chen Wenyuan's words angered her so much that her vision went black and she fell straight backward, fainting again.

Chen Wenyuan's expression changed drastically. He quickly supported her and shouted towards the door again, "Imperial Physician Sun hasn't gone far! Go and bring him back!"

……

Qing Shuang Fang.

As the weather gradually cools down and mosquitoes disappear, the long queues at the entrance of Qing Shuang Fang to buy Qing Shuang Lu have gradually disappeared.

Occasionally, two or three customers would enter the store, but they would only buy one or two bottles of Qing Shuang Lu and leave, lacking the usual bustling atmosphere of people scrambling to buy.

Chen Chang'an sat behind the counter, an account book in front of him, rapidly moving the abacus.

During this period, Qing Shuang Fang's sales reached nearly 40,000 taels. After deducting the cost of raw materials, workshop rent, workers' wages, shop rent, losses, and some miscellaneous expenses, and further subtracting the share given to Qing Shuang and Gong Yue, the net profit that fell into his hands was about 12,000 taels.

In less than a month, he earned more than 10,000 taels of silver, an amount that ordinary people could never earn in a lifetime.

However, it's still a long way from being able to buy a decent house in Beijing, where land is incredibly expensive.

Chen Chang'an had specifically inquired about the price; he found that an ordinary house in the suburbs of the capital cost around 500 taels of silver.

A single-courtyard house in an ordinary location within the city costs around five thousand taels.

As for the house Chen Chang'an wanted, located in a prime area, it would cost at least 10,000 taels of silver, and it would only have one courtyard.

Beyond that, there is no upper limit.

Luxury homes in the bustling commercial area of ​​South Street start at 100,000 taels of silver, while those on East Street near the imperial city often cost over 300,000 taels of silver…

The ten thousand taels Chen Chang'an had was probably enough to buy a small courtyard around Qingshuangfang, but that wasn't his goal.

The house he wanted had to be at least three courtyards, with gardens, pavilions, rockeries, and ponds, and also had space for him to practice his martial arts.

Without 100,000 taels of silver, you can forget about owning a house like this.

Moreover, if he were to buy a house now, even the cheapest one, plus the cost of furniture and renovations, he would be broke again, leaving him with no money for future investments in new products.

Chen Chang'an closed the ledger and shook his head slightly.

The peak season for Qing Shuang Lu (a type of mosquito repellent) has passed. With the mosquitoes gone, the demand for mosquito repellent and itch relief has decreased significantly. As the weather cools down, it's also easier to feel sleepy. He needs to take advantage of Ruyi Lou's closure to launch new products as much as possible and seize their market share.

He had already made a plan: as long as he replaced those Chinese medicinal herbs with flower petals, he could make a perfume that was ten times more fragrant than the Yilou Fragrant Dew.

Perfume can be sold year-round, regardless of the season.

Afterwards, Chen Chang'an also planned to launch soaps, moisturizing creams, and other products, with a precise target: the wealthy ladies of Beijing.

After much deliberation, Chen Chang'an decided to postpone buying the house and instead rent a larger courtyard near the shop to make it easier for him to manage the business. He also planned to hire several maids to take care of the household chores, provide massages, baths, and bed warmers...

Just as Chen Chang'an was about to go to a dental clinic to ask, he suddenly heard footsteps at the shop entrance.

Then, a figure stepped in.

Chen Chang'an looked up and saw the figure entering the shop; his expression instantly turned cold.

The person who came was Chen Wenyuan.