The Empress's Gigolo
chapter-14

On the first day, the cellar was tidied up. On the second day, ice was manufactured and stored in the cellar.

Ren Baqian brought a few men along to scour the beast park. They managed to locate traces of saltpeter at the corners of the park, especially at houses which were inhabited by many odd-job workers. The corners of such houses had a layer of saltpeter.

He arranged for a few of his men to gather the saltpeter and then divided it into batches to manufacture ice. The used iced water was then evaporated once again, leaving behind white saltpeter for their continuous usage.

Among the ten men, six of them would draw water to manufacture the ice, two of them were in charge of throwing the ice down the cellar while the final two would receive the ice and arrange it neatly.

In juxtaposition with the increase in number of ice cubes, the temperature of the cellar sharply decreased. Towards the end, the hands of the two men in the cellar were freezing cold and swollen. They were trembling in cold from top to toe.

Upon seeing this scenario, Ren Baqian wanted to ask them if they were foolish? Wearing a sleeveless vest while working in an ice cellar? Even if they had not seen ice before, knowing that it's cold, shouldn't they put on a few more layers?

After asking, he realized that these odd-job workers unexpectedly only had this kind of clothes. Even the coldest period over here wasn't cold enough for them.

Ren Baqian helplessly allowed them to switch their roles. In addition, he got two bed sheets for them to tie around their bodies so that they could stay warm.

It was their hands in particular that would suffer from frostbite as a consequence of the way they handled the ice cubes. He then teared another two pieces of cloth for them to wrap around their hands, which might be of some use. He allowed the two men, whose hands were injured to find some snake oil from the kitchen and apply it on the injury.

In Dayao, snake oil was in abundance.

Night arrived and Ren Baqian made arrangements for the third day's tasks. After which, he hugged the 100 taels of silver and black mud cream to bed. He couldn't fall asleep no matter how he tried.

100 taels of silver. As long as he found a place to offload them, he would very quickly reap the largest sum of money of his entire lifetime.

He was not sure how long he lay down for. Ren Baqian merely felt that his surroundings spun and the room transformed completely.

He had returned to earth once again.

He touched the items in his hand. Both the black mud cream and silver ingots were intact. Ren Baqian started to smile when he visually estimated the sum of money that he would receive.

Ren Baqian tumbled on his bed for a while before he dozed off.

Unaware of how long he slept, Ren Baqian was awoken by knocks on the door.

After placing his silver and black mud cream aside, Ren Baqian wore his underpants and undershirt to open the door. Outside the door was Chen Qing, whose face was filled with worry.

Upon seeing Ren Baqian, Chen Qing gave him a punch on his chest. "You finally opened your door. These few days, I have been worried to death and almost wanted to smash your door down."

Ren Baqian stepped aside for Chen Qing to enter. He swept his gaze and saw the insulated box on the floor, opened it up to realize that it contained food that was already cold. All of a sudden, a warm fuzzy feeling rose in his heart.

"I am fine, aren't I?" Ren Baqian laughed.

Chen Qing sized him up, and his complexion was indeed rosy. Compared to ten days ago, he was definitely much better. At long last, he could finally heave a sigh of relief.

.

Although he was still unconvinced in his heart, Chen Qing knew that everyone had secrets. If Ren Baqian did not mention anything, it was not nice to get to the bottom of it.

"How is your wound? Do you need to go to the hospital for a check-up?" Chen Qing asked.

Ren Baqian lifted up his singlet and exposed his wound, "Completely healed."

"Your recovery ability is so quick." Chen Qing smiled. "It's good that you have recovered. My dad wants to treat you to dinner tonight. He wants to express his gratitude."

"Great!" Ren Baqian laughed. He had an idea in regards to the black mud cream. However, it required huge funds, and Chen Qing definitely did not have that kind of money. Chen Qing still required his father's assent. Father Chen's reputation was pretty good in this city, and it would be more reliable to find him than to find someone else.

"There's still one more thing that I have to tell you. They have already caught the person who stabbed you previously. However, I'm unable to strike the mastermind at this moment." Chen Qing hesitated before telling Ren Baqian.

Ren Baqian nodded his head to express that he understood.

"But, do not worry, I will definitely settle this debt when I get the chance to."

Chen Qing stared blankly for a while. Seeing that Ren Baqian was fine, he returned back to work.

Ren Baqian wanted to return to his rest, but he could not fall asleep even after tossing on his bed for half a day. He might as well get out of bed, take his meal, and buy a torch afterwards.

He couldn't possibly bring the ten silver ingots out? The best way was to transform them into silver pieces before selling them as it was less likely to cause trouble.

After wandering around for half a day, Ren Baqian grabbed the torch, gasoline, and also a small saw. He then sawed open the silver ingot from the middle and then used the torch to melt it.

He did not need to melt it completely. As long as the surface was melted and the original shape could not be seen, it sufficed.

After a whole afternoon of hard work and melting half of his silver ingots, Ren Baqian received a call from Chen Qing. He changed into a fresh set of clothes, took the black mud cream, and left for the hotel.

From the door, he could see Chen Qing waiting for him.

"Why did you bring a gift?" Chen Qing saw the item in his hand and immediately patted his shoulder. "This gift is probably for me?"

"It is indeed a gift, but it's different from what you're thinking," Ren Baqian mysteriously replied.

.

Both of them chatted for a while in the private room. Jiang Nan arrived first and Chen Qing's parents arrived soon after.

Chen Qing's parents had repeatedly thanked Ren Baqian and held his hands from the moment they stepped into the private room. After all, how many people would actually sacrifice their life for a friend?

Regardless of whether or not Ren Baqian was rich, Chen Qing's parents were extremely satisfied with this friend of his. Ren Baqian, at this moment, seemed pleasant no matter which way they looked at him.

During the meal, they constantly inquired about Ren Baqian's situation. They got ahold of the fact that Ren Baqian recently left his job and were interested in getting him to join their company.

Ren Baqian tactfully declined, and soon after, he smiled." Even though I am friends with Chen Qing, I have a business plan to discuss with the few of you. I'd also like to with consult Uncle for his advice."

Upon hearing what Ren Baqian said, Chen Qing was slightly surprised.

Papa Chen did not know what he was going to say. He was aware of Ren Baqian's situation and from his perspective, it seemed as though Ren Baqian did not have any capital to being discussing business with him. However, since he was Chen Qing's friend, there was no harm in listening. If he was really interested, he might as well invest some money in it and take it as repaying a kindness.

Even if he wasn't interested, he could still provide some suggestions.

Papa Chen believed that he still had a little foresight.

"Please speak," Papa Chen spoke sternly.

Ren Baqian opened the wooden box and revealed the black mud cream inside.

It stole their attention. "What is this?"

"Black mud cream. Previously, I incidentally obtained it but never got to try it out. I only recalled this item when I got injured."

"What's its use?"

"It helps stop bleeding and expedite the process of wound healing," Ren Baqian introduced the cream.

"How about the effectiveness?" Papa Chen raised his eyebrows. Honestly speaking, he wasn't in the least bit interested.

His own business did not have any link to the medical field. It was unsuitable for him to hastily step into a field in which he had yet to enter.

"The key point is its effectiveness. Otherwise, I would not take it out to show," Ren Baqian replied with vigor.

This item was considered expensive in that world, but it was not considered uncommon. If he brought it to earth, being expensive would not be the only problem.

On average, it would take a few days or even up to ten days before one could get up from their bed after a surgery. The long recovery period would cause the patient to be unable to work. All the more, it was not needed to bring up the possibility of catching an infection during that recovery period.

This black mud cream would be able to heal wounds in a short span of time. It would completely prevent patients from suffering and from the long duration required to recuperate from their wound.

Ren Baqian fished out the fruit knife which he had prepared. Amid the astonished gaze of the others, he firmly slashed his arm and fresh blood flowed down.

"Ren Baqian, what are you doing?" Chen Qing was startled.

Papa Chen and Mama Chen's expressions changed drastically. Self-inflicting a wound on yourself at the dinner table? What does it mean?

"Hiss!" Ren Baqian took a deep breath in pain. Soon after, he waved at him. "Don't worry, I know my limits."

Ren Baqian revealed his wound. "All of you have seen my wound."

Soon after, he used a napkin to wipe the away blood and then used his finger to dig out a slab of black mud cream to cover the wound.

Ren Baqian smiled. "Don't worry, it's time for a miracle."

Subsequently, he felt a refreshing sensation which turned into a fiery sensation on his arm. At last, it finally became a numb and itchy feeling that caused him to perspire in cold sweat.

After a period of time, these sensations finally subsided, and Ren Baqian could finally take a breather. By this moment, the black mud cream on his arm had already became a piece of black scab.

Ren Baqian teared off the piece of scab out and took a look. Sure enough, delicate meat had already grown on the wound.

"Alright, a miracle has happened." Ren Baqian smiled. He used a wet wipe to clean away the remaining bloodstain and revealed the wound to the rest.

Chen Qing stood up from his chair and moved towards Ren Baqian for a better look at his wound. He continuously called out, "Oh my god!"

Papa Chen, originally a little incredulous, only held it in for his son's face. Otherwise, he would have already walked away. But upon seeing that Ren Baqian's wound was healed, he was immediately stunned.

The few of them touched Ren Baqian's arm. To their great surprise, the wound was already healed.

Half an hour ago, there was still a 10-centimeter-long, bleeding profusely wound.

They all took a second look at the box of black cream, and this time, their gazes were different. This was not medicine, it was gold.