My experience of grinding in another world

Chapter 229 Loss
The boat, inside the Red Sleeves Pavilion.

Chen Mu sat alone in the cubicle eating his food.

A small paper figure floated to the left-hand cubicle.

A fair-skinned, chubby young man in his early twenties entered the sight of the Five Ghosts.

Next to him sat a petite, pretty young lady with fluffy cat ears.

"You must have been forced into this line of work," the chubby man said, holding the young woman's hand with pity.

"Who says it isn't?" The cat-eared girl looked melancholy. "Life is tough, every step is difficult."

"I spent all my white jade money to buy a Heavenly Demon Rebirth Pill for these cat ears."

"But if you want to go further, you have to continue taking the pills."

"I've mined iron ore, grown yellow rice, and raised golden pearl clams, but the little money I earned still wasn't enough to buy the Heavenly Demon Pill."

"I had no choice but to come here, sigh..." The cat-eared girl spoke softly, and her sigh was so gentle that it brought tears to the eyes and pain to the heart.

"How pitiful!" the chubby boy said with a face full of sympathy.

"If you really pity me, brother, why don't you order the Heavenly Set Meal and we can have a good drink and chat?" the cat-eared girl said softly.

Upon hearing that he could have a heart-to-heart talk with the young lady, the chubby boy gripped her hand tightly, his face full of excitement: "Why don't we talk first, and then order food?"

Chen Mu: “…”

Is this a case of a liquor salesman encountering a freeloader?

Gee...

Chen Mu felt deeply shocked.

But Heavenly Demon Reincarnation Pill? Is this the origin of the Extraordinary Beings?

Chen Mu looked at the dancers on stage, who had some inhuman parts, and suddenly realized something.

By using special elixirs to obtain the bloodline of exotic beasts, one can easily achieve a qualitative change in their body.

However, to go further, one would probably need to take the pills continuously.

Well... it's just a bit expensive.

Even with such an inspiring life story, the cat-eared girl couldn't save enough money to buy the medicine, which shows how incredibly expensive this elixir truly is.

……

Listening to the intense back-and-forth exchange between the two, Chen Mu shook his head and sighed.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

That shy and honest chubby boy turned out to be a shameless scoundrel; the world is going to the dogs...

Chen Mu listened to their conversation for a while with great interest, then turned his attention to the cubicle behind him.

There, five burly men were each with their arms around a young woman with horns on her forehead, engaging in lively conversation.

"Brother Zhuo is truly amazing. He followed Governor Wang to guard the border and hunt exotic beasts, earning a fortune in white jade money." A short, stocky man said with envy.

"Unlike us, who can only patrol the lower house and investigate the monsters causing trouble."

"But the strange beasts that ran in were all very slippery."

"The medicinal herb fields were destroyed, people were killed or injured, and the strange beasts disappeared one by one. Many times we work hard for half a day and don't even see a hair," the short, stocky man complained.

Brother Zhuo waved his hand modestly and said, "The beasts are powerful, and even the capital city has to take charge of their defense and support. We can only get a small share of the spoils at most."

He then asked curiously, "What? A lot of people died in the lower courtyard? And so many strange beasts passed through the node?"

The short, stocky man leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Part of it is indeed caused by strange beasts, and the other part..."

The short, stocky guy gave Brother Zhuo a meaningful look.

"That's incredibly audacious," Brother Zhuo exclaimed.

“Money can be a powerful motivator, and it’s not uncommon for some to take risks,” another burly expert chimed in.

"The management hasn't taken any action to rectify the situation?" Brother Zhuo frowned.

"I heard that some unorthodox sects are trying to sabotage the defense nodes on the perimeter, so the elite patrol officers have all been sent out to patrol. They haven't been able to deal with these petty thieves."

"These are turbulent times..." Brother Zhuo couldn't help but sigh.

……

Is someone impersonating a mythical beast to kill and rob people?
Chen Mu frowned.

There are always these greedy and wicked people everywhere!

"Never mind, I should have gotten used to it by now." Chen Mu shook his head.

Such is the state of the world; what can be done?

Compared to the chaos and devastation of the Great Liang Dynasty, where nine out of ten houses were empty, the lower courtyard of Chicken Cage Road was practically a paradise. At least there was no need to worry about being inexplicably fed to evil spirits.

"I think I'll live in the cellar instead."

"We need to get back to the 'three burrows' strategy."

"Fortunately, I have been careful and cautious since I came here, and I have never revealed the value of my wealth."

Even though we make money selling medicine, we always carefully control the amount of goods shipped.

"That little bit of business naturally wouldn't attract any prying eyes."

"As long as Shang Huan doesn't adulterate the goods or increase the shipment volume, there will definitely be no..." Chen Mu thought for a moment, then suddenly paused.

The calming pill was given to Shang Huan in Gongsun Sheng's capacity, so the fat man didn't dare to act recklessly.

The flavor of the eggplant and night-blooming jasmine barbecue seasoning is unique, and Shang Huan can't handle it.

Ke Yin Qi powder is different!
Given Shang Huan's twisted logic that returns are 100% impossible, this fat guy might actually dare to do something reckless!

Chen Mu suddenly had a bad feeling.

……

"You're Shang Huan?" Ai Ji looked at the chubby man with small eyes with great interest.

"It's me. What do you two need?" Shang Huan said with a smile. "I'm not bad at this."

"There's nothing too precious."

"But I can still get some of those things like calming pills and night-blooming jasmine."

"But the product I would most like to recommend to you two is the Hidden Qi Powder."

"As you both probably know, recently strange beasts have been causing trouble frequently, and many people have been devoured by them."

"But as long as you use my invisibility powder and sprinkle it around the house, the monsters will ignore you, guaranteeing your safety 100%."

"How about it? Want some?"

"Can it really stop the strange beasts?" Ai Ji asked with a half-smile.

Shang Huan said sincerely, "I will compensate ten times the price if it is fake. There is absolutely no lie."

"Hehe..." Ai Ji chuckled: "Come with us, your secret has been exposed."

Shang Huan immediately frowned and looked at Ai Ji with displeasure: "Are you two here to make fun of me?"

rub!
Xu Rao made a knife shape with his right hand and grazed Shang Huan's neck, as if a hot knife were being plunged into butter, easily piercing the stone wall behind him.

Shang Huan turned her head and glanced at Ai Ji, looking at him seriously: "Can you tell me which message I posted?"

"Tranquilizer? Or night-blooming jasmine?"

"It's probably some kind of hidden energy powder."

"The family recipe is indeed unreliable." Shang Huan said with a bitter expression.

"I should have sold less."

"There's too much sawdust mixed in."

Ai Ji: "..."

So none of the things you're selling are genuine?
"Who made these things?" Xu Rao, who had been indifferent all along, suddenly asked.

"Don't talk nonsense. Of course I did it myself. How could I entrust the forgery to someone else? What if it gets sold out?" Shang Huan glanced at Xu Rao.

"You made this? Heh..." Xu Rao's lips curled up slightly.

"How can you forge something if you can't even tell if it's real or fake?"

"What do you mean?" Ai Ji looked completely bewildered. "Isn't Boss Lu just after his ability to make and sell counterfeit goods?"

"Could it be that what he's selling is genuine?"

“Not true, but not false either.” Xu Rao looked at Shang Huan indifferently: “It can only be considered a slightly inferior imitation.”

"What Boss Lu is looking for is not only this unscrupulous businessman, but also the pharmacist behind him."

Ai Ji's expression turned strange as he looked at Shang Huan.

This fat guy is up to no good.

Shang Huan herself was completely bewildered.

So the barbecue seasoning and smoky powder that Brother Chen gave me were all genuine?!
Shang Huan: "..."

We sold it at a loss!

(End of this chapter)