Chapter 19: Seeing Money Opens One's Eyes

  Lin's Chamber of Commerce, Zhuge Mingyue knew. This chamber of commerce is the largest in the country, involving many industries, with strong financial resources and a high reputation. Many officials and nobles would give the master of Lin's Chamber of Commerce some face, showing its influence.

  It must be said that the business strategy of Lin's Chamber of Commerce is indeed extraordinary. Just looking at the second son's enthusiastic service attitude makes people feel happy. Soon, Zhuge Mingyue selected the materials she needed, and when settling accounts at the counter, the boss calculated it with a smile: "A total of five gold coins and thirty copper coins. The thirty copper coins are waived, and we'll just collect the five gold coins. Here's your stuff, please take care of it."

  Zhuge Mingyue and the others left the store, Xue Zihao hummed: "The boss just now was calculating several copper coins, look at this one, he knows how to do business."

  "Otherwise, how would Lin's Chamber of Commerce be the first in our Danling country?" Zhuge Mingyue retorted.

  "Same here." Xue Zihao scratched his head and smiled. He wasn't interested in business at all, so he wouldn't think about it too much.

  "In a few days, you can come find me again. I'm going home to concoct some medicine. Don't disturb me." said Zhuge Mingyue.

  "Alright, alright, we'll come find you again in a few days." Xue Zihao rubbed his hands together and nodded repeatedly.

  Wan Xi Chen also nodded vigorously, he too knew that alchemists couldn't be disturbed when they were concocting something.

  ……

  For two days in a row, Zhuge Mingyue had been cooped up at home brewing medicine. As for food, she would run out to eat in the morning and at noon, and at night she would heat up what she had bought at noon. Zhuge Mingyue thought that this was not a good solution either, and she still needed to hire someone to cook for her.

  That day, she was about to continue brewing the medicine when she discovered that the Dì Yún Gēn had been used up unknowingly. The Dì Yún Gēn wasn't some precious medicinal herb, but in the process of brewing certain medicines, it could serve as a stabilizer, greatly increasing the success rate of the brew. For an alchemist, the success rate was equivalent to getting greater returns for the same investment, or put simply, earning more money.

  Forget it, might as well go buy some then. After all, it's not like it's some expensive rare herb. Zhuge Mingyue got up and went out the door, circling around the shops and stalls in the city that sold alchemy materials, but unfortunately discovered that no one was selling Diyun Root. No way, alchemists were originally a useless profession, these shops and stalls wouldn't possibly prepare large quantities of materials, and in most people's understanding, Diyun Root didn't have much alchemical value either, its uses weren't very great, who would bother preparing this useless herb?

  If I'm not mistaken, there are quite a few Diyun roots growing on the outskirts of Xunlong Mountain Range. Zhuge Mingyue took a look at the sky and saw that it was still early. If she acted quickly, she could collect enough Diyun roots before sunset and return to Cangfeng City. So, she immediately ran towards the direction of Xunlong Mountain Range outside the city.

  As they approached the Dragon Mountain Range, Zhuge Mingyue saw a woman standing guard at the entrance of the mountain range from afar, anxiously looking in the direction of the city from time to time.

  The Xunlong Mountain range is vast and rich in resources, often with groups of people going to search for medicinal herbs, minerals or hunting treasures. This kind of person, Zhuge Mingyue has seen many times before, didn't pay much attention, quickened his pace and ran past directly.

  "Are you the Summoner?" Just as he was about to pass by that woman, she blocked his way in front of Zhuge Mingyue and asked doubtfully.

  "Yes." Zhuge Mingyue nodded in confusion, not understanding what this woman wanted. She also sized up the woman in front of her, who was about 26 or 27 years old, wearing a simple and unadorned uniform, with a strong and agile physique, and a long sword hanging from her waist, looking like a guard from some wealthy family. However, her face was calm and gentle, not making people feel disgusted.

  "That's good, let's go quickly. The young lady has been waiting for you for a while and since she didn't see you coming, she went ahead first. Now it's time to hurry up." The woman breathed a sigh of relief, not responding to her words, but instead grabbed her wrist and quickly walked into the mountains.

  "Wait, I think you must be......" Zhuge Mingyue realized that the other party was probably mistaken, and just as she was about to explain, she was interrupted by the woman, "Oh right, I don't know if the Summoner Association's person in charge has made it clear to you, but don't worry about the reward. When you meet Young Master later, he will pay you 100 gold coins in advance, and the remaining 200 gold coins will be paid immediately after completing the task."

  After listening to the woman's words, Zhuge Mingyue immediately swallowed back what she wanted to say. Money, money! One hundred gold coins, and two hundred more after success, this is not a small amount. Anyway, there's nothing much to do today, collecting some Diyun root would be good, and if you can make some extra money on the side, that'd be even better.

  But what is the task, will it be dangerous? Zhuge Mingyue also thought of that. Listening to what the woman said earlier, she had already made an appointment with the Master Association in advance, so it shouldn't be too troublesome. Besides, if things don't go well later on, she can just reveal her identity and say she's not the one they invited anyway. After all, she never admitted to being the one they invited from the start.

  "Right, I'm Qin Juan, what's your name?" The woman asked while pulling Xuzhou Mingyue to run quickly. Although Xuzhou Mingyue was much younger than Qin Juan, out of respect for the summoner, Qin Juan's attitude towards her was still very friendly.

  "My name is Zhuge Mingyue, Qin sister, what was the task you mentioned earlier?" Zhuge Mingyue asked casually.

  "This, wait and see my young master later, he will naturally tell you." Qin Juan said hesitantly.

  "Oh, I see." Zhuge Mingyue nodded. She noticed that when Qin Juan heard her own name, her expression and tone didn't change at all, unlike others who would show strange, surprised, or disdainful expressions. It seemed that Qin Juan and the others were not from Cangfeng City. Zhuge Mingyue was a well-known figure in Cangfeng City, but it wasn't a good reputation. Illegitimate daughter, a shameful existence that couldn't be revealed. Probably even if Qin Juan heard the surname "Zhuge", she wouldn't associate her with the Zhuge family of the capital city.

  "Miss Zhuge, this task is completely risk-free, so you can rest assured. Moreover, our young master's reputation is absolutely guaranteed, otherwise the person in charge of your Summoner Association wouldn't have recommended you to come, right?" Qin Juan was probably afraid that Zhuge Mingyue would change her mind, so she gave her a reassurance in advance.

  "Oh, yeah." Zhuge Mingyue only responded vaguely. She didn't ask again what the task was, she knew Qin Juan was just a guard, some things could be said and some couldn't, and she also didn't want to make things difficult for her.

  If it was just about making some extra money at first, Zhuge Mingyue is now somewhat curious. What kind of people are they? It seems that they have a good relationship with the Summoner Association? What is the task, and why do they need a summoner? Moreover, their requirements for summoners don't seem to be high, what do they want to do?

  Dragged by Qin Juan, they jogged all the way and soon arrived at their destination. A young man and a girl had been waiting for a long time, anxiously looking in the direction of the two. Three guards stood guard outside them, vigilantly paying attention to the movement in the forest.

  "How come it's been so long, do you know we're all about to die of anxiety?" The girl complained with a pout as soon as she saw Qin Juan and Zhuge Mingyue. The girl was probably sixteen or seventeen years old, with fair skin and a delicate face, wearing a magnificent warrior suit, and her expression was one of disdain when she spoke, obviously a spoiled rich miss who was used to giving orders and didn't put others in her eyes.

  Digression

  I've decided to update at will... I'll come back later with another one, any opinions from you all?

  I feel your enthusiasm now, responding with enthusiasm, woohoo!