Invincible Little School Doctor

Chapter 957: Chapter 956: The Unscrupulous Alchemist (2nd Update)

After sending Chu Feixiang away, Ye Haochuan was still enthused and continued walking towards the center of the trading market.

Unlike the medicinal material exchange on the outskirts, the center of this trading market appeared more substantial. Many people had set up simple stalls here, resembling a rural market fair.

However, what made Ye Haochuan curious was that most of these small stalls were for Pill Refinement services, with only a few selling medicinal materials.

Five Dragons Mountain was rich in resources, with numerous medicinal herbs. However, many single ingredients were useless unless mixed and refined into pills, thus over time under the Five Dragons Mountain, many businesses emerged to refine pills for others.

Ye Haochuan approached a small stall. The stall owner was an old man around sixty years of age, leisurely lying on a rattan chair.

He had a cup of tea beside him and held a feather fan in his hand, truly enjoying his time leisurely.

Upon witnessing Ye Haochuan and his companions arriving, the old man didn’t get up. He merely lifted his lower eyelids a bit and lazily asked, ”Are the three of you here to refine pills?”

”May I ask about your method of Pill Refinement?” inquired Ye Haochuan curiously.

The old man said, ”To refine a type of pill, provide me with three complete sets of Pill Refinement materials...”

”Three sets?!” Ye Haochuan was surprised, thinking to himself that this old man was perhaps too greedy!

”Too many?” the old man said, ”You can inquire around, providing three sets is the rule here. Pill Refinement is not guaranteed to succeed one hundred percent; if you only provide one set, we cannot assure you it will definitely be successful.”

”So, if I provide three sets, does it mean it will definitely be successful?”

Ye Haochuan was aware that Pill Refinement wasn’t guaranteed to succeed every time, and that the success rate is per each batch of pills.

For example, if someone has a success rate of fifty percent, it does not mean that providing two sets of materials will guarantee success.

The old man sat up, took a sip of tea, and said, ”No matter how many sets you provide, we cannot guarantee success; however, if you provide three sets of materials, we will definitely refine the pills you need for you.”

Ye Haochuan smiled and said, ”So, it means even if you have to pay out of your own pocket, you still have to produce the pills, right?”

The old man replied, ”That’s exactly it.”

Ye Haochuan curled his lip and said, ”If three sets of pills aren’t refined successfully into one, I guess no one would hire you with such a success rate, right?”

”That’s exactly it.”

”Then you guys are indeed greedy, taking three sets of ingredients without counting the payment.”

”It’s the rule. If you’re not willing, nobody is forcing you.”

The old man spoke truthfully, albeit a bit harsh; but it was a case of willing buyer, willing seller, and outsiders couldn’t say much.

”Then, how is the payment calculated?” Ye Haochuan asked further.

”One set of medicinal materials can produce about six pills, and we take half as the payment.”

”Damn, half!” This was really outrageous!

It looks like those suffering in this business had long ago colluded, forming a monopoly here on the pill refinement livelihood.

”After asking so much, may I know what kind of pill you need to refine?” the old man asked leisurely.

”I was just asking; I’m not refining any pills.”

”Boy, do you think I’m so free?!” The old man got angry immediately, emitting a fierce aura that was very oppressive.

Zhu Tian hurried to smooth things over, saying, ”Esteemed elder, we have just arrived at Five Dragons Mountain and still have many medicinal materials to collect. Once we gather all the materials, we will surely come to you for pill refinement.”

”That’s more like it.” The old man stopped there and lay back on the rattan chair, waving his feather fan towards Ye Haochuan and his group, impatiently saying, ”If you’re not refining pills, move aside, don’t hinder my business!”

Damn it, what an attitude! Don’t you know the customer is always right?

However, since the old man was very strong, Ye Haochuan only dared to grumble inwardly and didn’t dare to voice it out loud.

”Big brother, please help me, I really need the Spiritual Ascension Pill, please have mercy.”

At this moment, Ye Haochuan heard a pleading voice coming from nearby.

Turning his head to look, he saw a young man looking pitifully at the stall owner next door.

Is this the same Guan Ling who gave Ye Haochuan the Blood Land Lotus? Why does he now look so miserable and dejected, nowhere near as spirited as before.

”If you want me to do alchemy, bring out three parts of the materials, otherwise there’s no deal!” The stall owner next door was a bald man, in his forties, and spoke very loudly.

”Big brother, I’m all alone, and after great difficulties, I finally managed to gather one set of materials, I really can’t gather two more sets, please help me!” Guan Ling continued to plead.

”If you don’t have it, then scram, don’t act pitiful here!” Baldy’s tone and attitude were very harsh.

Ye Haochuan couldn’t stand it anymore, and stepped forward to help mediate: ”Big brother, look, he is quite pitiful, collecting three sets of materials on his own is really difficult, he doesn’t even know how many life and death battles he went through to gather this one set, please help him.”

Baldy glanced at Ye Haochuan and said disdainfully, ”Rules are rules, you think your few words can change that? Who do you think you are!”

Ye Haochuan couldn’t stand the attitude, he was just trying to plead on someone’s behalf, was it necessary to mock him like this?

”Hey! Don’t push your luck!” Ye Haochuan pointed at Baldy, seeing his cultivation wasn’t too high, he dared to challenge him openly.

”The man is not refusing to compensate you, if the materials are insufficient, just take a few more pills!”

”Joke!” Baldy scoffed, ”What if it fails, wouldn’t I be at a loss?”

Ye Haochuan said, ”Looks like you’re not confident in your skills!”

”Confident or not, none of your damned business, I advise you to piss off, don’t fucking hinder my business!”

That moment, Ye Haochuan got angry: ”As the saying goes, the customer is king, aren’t customers your providers? Is this how you treat your providers?!”

”Fuck, kid, you fucking say that again!” Baldy suddenly jumped out, furious, ready to start a fight, but Guan Ling immediately stepped forward, apologizing repeatedly.

”Sorry, sorry, it was all my fault, please don’t make it hard on this brother.”

Baldy’s anger subsided a bit, and he waved his hand, ”All of you fucking get lost!”

With such a scene unfolding, the alchemists around not only didn’t step forward to help, but instead mocked: ”Pfft, without enough materials, what kind of pill can you refine!”

”Probably just a poor sod, can’t afford the materials himself, can only try to find them.”

...

These words were very harsh, and after stopping, the young man’s eyebrows were tightly furrowed, he was very angry but dared not say a word.

”Thank you.” Guan Ling thanked Ye Haochuan, then turned to leave, Ye Haochuan couldn’t bear it, and immediately called out, ”Wait!”

Guan Ling turned back, helplessly said, ”No one is willing to help me with the alchemy, staying longer will only make me a laughingstock.”

Ye Haochuan declared loudly: ”If they won’t help, I will!”