Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

"Fanfei, what insights have you gained since returning from studying abroad?"

“Nothing particularly insightful. I have a few friends there, but the food is terrible,” Isaac said while eating. “However, there are some things I need to take care of.”

"I see... Originally, I planned to trick you into coming back to inherit the family business, and take advantage of your age to familiarize yourself with how to negotiate business."

“Business? I can do that,” Isaac said.

He used to conduct business in the previous world, and even expanded his business to the point where the entire world trembled.

The trick is to have your men point guns at the other party's head when negotiating business.

“You’ll be a good person, but I thought about it a bit last year, and now is not the time for you to inherit the family business,” the father sighed.

"Yes, it's a good thing not to inherit."

"...Aren't you going to ask me why I won't let you inherit the family business?"

"I won't ask."

"Never mind, it's really nothing serious. It's just that since you left for England, the situation here has become a bit unstable. There's warlordism and chaos, and a group of Japanese are also eyeing us covetously. We have to be very careful when doing business these days."

"Oh……"

Isaac nodded.

Based on his past experiences, it's really hard for him to understand the word 'cautious'. In his view, if the environment is too chaotic to make money, he would resolve all the unstable factors. If the environment is not chaotic enough to make it impossible to do business, he would create chaos.

“Didn’t we have a conflict with the Japanese a few years ago? It was because those people wanted me to transport their country’s weapons here, and I disagreed, so the conflict broke out,” the father sighed. “And recently, those people still haven’t stopped causing trouble.”

Chapter 1046: You're the one who led the Japanese here?

Compared to Isaac, who had disappeared for several years and finally returned home, the family was more interested in Fran.

Isaac's mothers, including his own, kept pressing him about his relationship with Fran, and all Isaac could do was say that she was just a friend he met in England.

Fortunately, Fran doesn't understand Chinese, otherwise, with her quirky personality, she might have said some outrageous lines.

After much persuasion, the family was finally appeased, and the father arranged for Fran to stay in an empty room that night.

The next day, Isaac and Fran went for a stroll in the streets.

This is his first official trip to China after traversing two worlds, and he would be doing a disservice to this trip if he didn't take the time to explore the surrounding area.

Having concocted a Zhongshan suit using alchemy and put it on, Isaac knocked on the door of Fran's guest room.

"coming."

The door was opened.

Fran has changed her clothes today as well.

She was wearing a pure white cheongsam with gold patterns, her long silver hair was tied in a ponytail, and she had some light makeup on her face.

"Wow, you can do makeup?"

“Your mom drew this for me, and she also gave me this dress, saying it was one she wore when she was young.”

"Which mom?"

"My biological mother."

After getting dressed, the two walked out onto the street together.

The two of them got up rather late, and the streets were already bustling with traffic. They randomly picked a restaurant that was still open, went inside, slapped some change that their father had given them on the table, and ordered a few dishes.

"what is this?"

Fran took a chopstick and poked at the seemingly elastic white solid in the bowl in front of her.

"Double-skin milk pudding, it's quite delicious, use a spoon." Isaac handed him a wooden spoon.

She doesn't know how to use chopsticks and usually eats with a knife and fork. Yesterday at dinner, Isaac specially got her a fork, otherwise she would have to eat with her hands.

"Hmm...it tastes really good."

“You’re used to British food, so of course this is good for you,” Isaac said, eating his beef brisket noodles.

Occasionally, it's quite necessary for Isaac to come here and eat something good. Since learning some cooking skills in New Zealand, his appetite has become a bit picky.

In addition, there doesn't seem to be much to do in this world besides searching for my missing textbooks, which is much easier than the previous two worlds where I had national development missions.

"I brought Violet here because I knew... I'll bring her on a trip next time I come," Isaac muttered to himself.

"Oh, isn't this Young Master Yao?"

"Ok?"

A voice sounded from behind him. Isaac turned around and saw two young men dressed in cloth behind him.

"Young Master, we heard you went abroad to study? You didn't even tell us you were coming back."

"You are..."

Isaac looked at the two ordinary-looking men in front of him and couldn't remember who they were for a moment.

It's normal that he can't remember, after all, he doesn't have his own memories of this world, and the two people in front of him, even if they were once familiar, are now strangers.

The two men looked at each other with a puzzled expression.

"No way, young master, you've forgotten about us?"

"I'm A-Zheng, and this is A-Sheng. Do you remember me?"

I can't remember at all.

Isaac thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "We've been friends since we were kids?"

"Oh dear, I thought the young master had really forgotten about us."

A slightly taller man named A-Zheng pulled out a chair and sat down next to Isaac, saying with a smile, "Young Master has changed a lot since you came back this time; your eyes have become much sharper."

He was about to say something when he suddenly noticed Fran standing to the side.

"This is...the young mistress?"

"No, I met him in England. He's here for tourism."

"I see. It's rare for you to come to such a shabby place, young master." Ah Zheng looked at the somewhat old shop. "Now that you're back, we'll welcome you back with a proper meal at a nice restaurant."

"No need. It's nice to enjoy this kind of life occasionally. Restaurants are suitable for business discussions, not for dining."

After a brief chat, I learned that these two people were indeed friends with Isaac from this world in the past.

Ah-zheng is the son of a pawnshop owner under his father's business association, and Ah-sheng is the son of a local shipping business owner.

The group had known each other since childhood, and had been playmates since they were young, though they were more like followers than playmates.

To put it simply, they are lackeys.

"Young Master, you probably don't know, but Ah Sheng is also planning to study abroad recently." Ah Zheng pointed to Ah Sheng, who looked somewhat scholarly, standing to the side.

"Studying abroad? Which country?"

Ah Sheng smiled shyly and said, "Young Master, we're going to France."

"Oh, so you're going to that country that doesn't amount to much."

"Young master, are you violating the law?"

"No, no, Paris is very safe, really. No country's army can get there."

“Actually, my father gave me two choices: one was to go to France, and the other was to go to the Kingdom of Souvar,” Asheng said. “Recently, my family has been doing business with the Japanese, and we happened to have the opportunity to study abroad.”

"Oh?"

Isaac frowned.

"I remember your family is in the shipping business, right?"

"Yes."

"What kind of business do you do with the Japanese?"

"It's just transporting some fabrics," Ah Sheng said with a smile. "Don't worry, young master, our family doesn't do business transporting weapons for them, no matter how much money they offer."

"Those fabrics might be used to make military uniforms or other military supplies, so it's best to be careful."

"Don't worry about that... The company we're dealing with is run by Japanese businessmen."

“Those guys must have a disguise when they come to China, we can’t be careless.” Isaac downed his tea in one gulp. “We need to be extra cautious when doing business with Japanese people these days.”

"I'll keep that in mind."

Ah Sheng said with a smile.

"However, this family also came to our area this time, and they brought their younger brother and sister with them. I've been showing them around the neighborhood these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Isaac grabbed Ah Sheng by the back of his collar and pulled him in front of him.

This action startled him.

"Young...Young Master, please don't scare me."

"You little brat, you actually led the Japanese devils here?"

"No, no, no, it's just a thin-looking boy and a girl, there's no one else."

“Yes, young master,” Ah Zheng explained from the side, “I’ve seen those Japanese people who came from their family. Apart from the eldest brother being a bit fierce, the other two seem quite easy to talk to, especially that young lady. She’s like a true lady from a respectable family. Would you like to go and see her, young master?”

"What am I looking at? You two really have no sense of crisis at all."

Chapter 1047: Jiucheng

"Tell me the details about those two Japanese businessmen who are doing business with your family?"

“Yes, young master. There are only three people here to discuss business with us: their eldest brother, his younger brother, and his younger sister,” Ah Sheng said. “They said they want to purchase our fabrics. We’ve been doing business together for a while and have made quite a bit of money.”

Is the quantity large?

“It’s quite large. My father only had three boats, and sometimes a batch of goods required several trips to transport.”

"I see." Isaac stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before continuing, "Were there any problems with those people who came over?"

"Yes, apart from the man who came to discuss business, who looked rather fierce, there was a boy and a girl who didn't seem to have any problems."

"What is your name?"

"Jiucheng."