Astral Apostle
chapter-162

“Social culture is indeed human nature. Where there are relationships, there will be a social circle. It’s impossible to put an end to it.”

Zhou Jing pursed his lips.

Perhaps there would be workshop members who would turn this kind of internal recommendation into an industry to earn money.

Although he did not lack money and had the Eloquence attribute, he did not like this method. It was troublesome, and he had to listen to others and flatter them.

If he had the time to welcome and send people back, he might as well study more skills and techniques. At least there would be output if he invested.

“It’s better to get some real evidence.”

Zhou Jing stroked his chin.

If he could make a name for himself in the pharmacology field in the capital, the workshop would even take the initiative to invite him to join. This way, not only would he be able to increase his daily benefits, but he would also be valued.

After bidding farewell to the guards and returning to his residence, Zhou Jing began to think of a plan.

“If I want to make a name for myself, firstly, I have to be innovative in terms of techniques and skills, and secondly, I have to gain the recognition of more people. In other words, I need a market… I have the [Apothecary] talent, and the success rate and quality of my potions are higher. I also have the [Item Analysis Function]. Perhaps I can improve the formulas?”

Zhou Jing’s eyes darted around as he took out a notebook and wrote down a dozen formulas he knew.

“Other pharmacists need to constantly make mistakes and fail time and time again. Furthermore, they might not necessarily succeed in the end. However, my analysis function allows me to grasp the smallest changes in the material when making it. I can also directly obtain the nature of the herbs and directly discover the parts that conflict or fuse with each other…”

This feeling was like while others had to fumble their way around when making potions, he was just constantly popping bubbles to indicate what to put in and how much to put in. He could adjust the results at any time…

(TL Note: Imagine those children games where they just need to select the correct stuff to put in.)

As long as he had knowledge of enough herbs, the hints would be more detailed. He could get a lot more arrangements this way.

“This support function is indeed divine.”

Zhou Jing was delighted. If he only relied on the [Pharmacology] skill, he would have to advance quite a few more levels before he could attempt to improve a formula.

In the next few days, Zhou Jing went to the market to buy a large number of herbs and stored them at home to study a new formula in seclusion.

He put his main focus on three formulas, which were the healing potion and the energy potion, as well as the hunter potion that reduced pain.

To gain fame quickly, he had to open up the market. The two universal potions he had deliberately chosen were the products ordinary people needed most.

The Royal Capital was very big, and there would always be people who fell sick. No-one turned down healing potions. For the sake of their health, they naturally had to buy high-quality ones.

As for the Energy Potion, if one drank a bottle of it, they would be full of energy. Many of them were from the wealthy class and liked to use it when “talking about love.”

As for the Hunter Potion, it was to attract the attention of the hunters. Although the market for hunters was not big, it was more “authoritative.” After all, it was closely related to the workshop, so it was easier for his fame to spread to the workshop that way.

“With Jason bringing the goods, as long as I create a high-quality hunter potion, I’ll be able to attract the attention of all the empire’s hunters.”?Zhou Jing chuckled to himself.

...

After experimenting for a few days, Zhou Jing finally changed the formula of the three potions. He added some catalytic ingredients to increase the effectiveness of the potions by more than 30%.

The optimization of the formula not only improved the quality but also gave the three potions new effects through his process of adding supplementary herbs.

The healing potion would boost one’s immune system, the energy potion would reduce the side effects, increase the user’s sensitivity, and the pain-reducing potion would increase the physical recovery ability of its user.

However, a better effect required more herbs. As a result, the cost would increase. This was inevitable.

But he did not lose out at all.

This was because the success rate of a normal pharmacist was very important. Even a pharmacist who was a few levels higher than him could not guarantee a 100% success rate.

Moreover, if the quantity was controlled well, it could achieve a perfect effect and produce a “strong” potion that was better than ordinary potions. However, ordinary pharmacists might not be able to produce a “strong” potion even after ten tries… Although they also had measuring tools, there were also individual differences in the age, quality, nutrition, environment, and so on for the same type of herbs. It was difficult to judge carefully. Even if they could control the amount added every time, there would be subtle differences.

However, through the item analysis function, Zhou Jing had completely figured out the optimal ratio of ingredients for every formula. He almost maintained zero errors, and he could also directly discover the details of the individual differences of each herb and calculate a more suitable portion.

Not only was the success rate of making the potion close to 100%, but it could also guarantee that the chances of making a “strong” potion would reach more than 50%.

Although the cost of the formula increased, there was almost no loss or failure. Instead, there was more profit to be made.

After using a week of projection and placement to make Bill repeat his work and prepare a large stock of potions, Zhou Jing went out to the streets to inspect the location and prepare to rent a shop.

The residents of the capital rarely bought potions that were sold privately. Only by purchasing them through a shop could they be at ease.

Improving the formula, manufacturing inventory, and renting a shop all required money. The 300 silver coins he had borrowed back then had already been spent. Zhou Jing asked Jason for another 400 silver coins as funds.

Jason, who was a hunter, rarely had any use for money. He could use it to support the Third Apostle, Bill, in his entrepreneurship.

As he had sufficient funds, he did not need to find a dilapidated and remote place. Instead, he rented a shop on a busy street in the Furnace District at a high price.

After hiring two coolies to clean up the shop, Zhou Jing placed the potions on the shelves.

He restrained his desire to raise the price and set the standard price for the medicine.

Although setting a high price could attract attention, the residents of this world had a simple intuition. Their needs were very solid, and they only consumed things that they could afford. They did not subscribe to hunger or luxury marketing back in his own world.

He had studied the market and discovered that the mainstream fighting style of the potioneering industry was to have good quality and low prices. There was no market for good and expensive things.

Only the hunters were generous with money and bought the good ones.

However, to gain fame and avoid being seen as breaking the industry’s rules, Zhou Jing decided to act normal.

After tidying up the house, Zhou Jing clapped his hands and looked at the orderly pharmacy. He nodded in satisfaction and was a little excited.

“I can start a business now… I hope it can sell well.”

...

A new potion shop quietly opened on the Furnace District’s bustling street. The wooden sign read “Bill’s Apothecary.”

As the location was very good, many nearby residents noticed it on the first day of opening. They entered the shop curiously and realized that the shop only sold three types of potions, and the proportion of strong potions was very large.

Although the customer flow was not small, everyone only came in to take a walk. No one bought any potions for the time being.

The residents of the capital were naturally worried about the newly opened pharmacy. They were waiting to see what would happen. It was normal for pharmacies that did not have a good reputation for having no business.

The owner of the shop was a rather amiable young man. He was quite warm and spoke nicely. Thus, the capital city residents were willing to chat with him.

However, being young meant that they were inexperienced. Furthermore, this was a foreigner and not a familiar face in the pharmacology scene, so everyone did not dare to buy it. They were all waiting for the first candidate.

This situation of only looking and not buying continued for several days.

Until the fifth day, when the turning point appeared.

A hunter with a powerful aura became the first consumer to buy a bottle of strong pain-reduction potion.

The next day, the surrounding residents were surprised to see dozens of hunters coming to the Furnace District. With excited expressions, they headed straight for Bill’s Apothecary.