Chapter 1 The Soaring Starlight Potion Shop

The towering two-story building of the Starlight Potion Shop was constructed entirely of white flagstone. Its dazzling white color gave a strong visual impact. Each pillar and beam was carved with beautiful and exquisite patterns, giving off an intensely dreamlike feeling. The shop's furnishings and counters were also neat and beautiful.

After a while, Niao Bu Sheng Dan walked in from the entrance of the potion shop.

"Boss, I'm here." Niao Bu Sheng Dan hesitated slightly, looking around, unable to suppress the amazement in his heart. It was actually a Level 2 shop. He wondered who had opened it.

"Yes, I have something I need you to do." Nie Yan nodded and said, "From now on, you will be temporarily responsible for this potion shop. I will arrange some work for you. As for remuneration, if the potion shop does well, you can get a certain bonus each month. Of course, you don't need to do too much work. Your main task is still to raise your apothecary level. As usual, you can only get the most basic salary when you reach the rank of Apprentice Apothecary."

"You opened this potion shop?" Niao Bu Sheng Dan couldn't help but be moved. He knew that Nie Yan was rich, but he never imagined that Nie Yan was rich to this extent. He had heard people say that buying a piece of land in Faith basically cost one or two gold coins or more. As for upgrading the shop, it seemed that a Level 1 shop required 2 gold coins, and upgrading to a Level 2 shop required 5 gold coins. Such a price made the vast majority of players sigh in despair. The dream of opening a shop, for him, was like the clouds in the sky, dazzling, but out of reach.

However, even just managing the shop was a huge satisfaction for Niao Bu Sheng Dan.

"Of course, I opened it. You will be managing it next. There will be a group of apothecaries coming to apply for jobs later. I hope you can represent me in hiring them. I will tell you about the relevant matters later. I don't want to show my face."

"I understand." Niao Bu Sheng Dan nodded.

Niao Bu Sheng Dan was quite quick-witted and understood Nie Yan's meaning. For some reason, Nie Yan didn't want the outside world to know that he was the owner of this shop. As for the specific reason, Niao Bu Sheng Dan didn't dare to ask.

"Since you understand, I won't explain any further. This NPC is called Inceles. He's the clerk in charge of selling goods in this potion shop. The second floor is the apothecary's laboratory. I will give you certain permissions. You can draw some gold coins from Inceles to buy medicinal materials to fill the laboratory upstairs. Then hand over the potions produced every day to Inceles, and let him be responsible for selling them. You can ask me about the pricing of the potions. Another more troublesome task is that you have to make a summary statement of income and expenditure every week and hand it over to me. Since the system will directly calculate it for you, it shouldn't waste too much time." Nie Yan supplemented as he thought of things, instructing him one by one.

Niao Bu Sheng Dan recorded everything Nie Yan said to avoid forgetting. It seemed that his workload was not much every day, as long as he managed the apothecaries.

Nie Yan thought for a moment. In this way, even if he didn't come to manage the Starlight Potion Shop, the Starlight Potion Shop could operate normally and orderly according to the procedures, and there shouldn't be any loopholes in the system.

Niao Bu Sheng Dan looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What's wrong? If you have anything to say, just say it." Nie Yan glanced at Niao Bu Sheng Dan.

"It's like this, so many people are applying for the job, and many of them are already Apprentice Apothecaries... Why did the boss choose me?" Niao Bu Sheng Dan hesitated for a while, but still spoke out the question in his heart. If he didn't say it, he would definitely feel uncomfortable.

Nie Yan smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's just because I think you are more trustworthy than others, that's all."

"Trustworthy..." Niao Bu Sheng Dan took a deep breath. It had been a long time since anyone had said that word to him. When a person is poor, even dogs will despise you. The name Niao Bu Sheng Dan had a bit of self-deprecating meaning. But now that he had stumbled and crawled to where he was, if he was afraid and timid, then he would be a coward. When you learn to trust no one, it is most heart-warming when someone is willing to trust you. "Thank you," Niao Bu Sheng Dan said sincerely.

Nie Yan smiled, explained the matters of the potion shop, and then said: "There are two apothecaries you should pay attention to, one is called Di Diao De Nan Nan, and the other is called Shang Xin Yi Jiu. Listen to what conditions they offer and send them to me." For Di Diao De Nan Nan and Shang Xin Yi Jiu, as long as the conditions they offered were not excessive, Nie Yan would agree to them.

"Okay, I will," Niao Bu Sheng Dan nodded in response, feeling a little uneasy. After all, those two were all Apprentice Apothecaries, and he was currently just an apothecary apprentice. He felt a sense of urgency in his heart.

Niao Bu Sheng Dan hadn't found the feeling of being a potion king yet. The current him was no different from an ordinary apothecary apprentice.

"How long will it take you to reach the rank of Apprentice Apothecary?" Nie Yan asked.

"Probably... three or four days, I guess."

Nie Yan nodded and said, "Hurry up and practice your proficiency. Here is a Low-Grade Magic Resonance Potion formula. After Di Diao De Nan Nan and Shang Xin Yi Jiu sign on, give it to one of them and have them quickly make some. This potion should be able to sell for a good price now."

"Okay, I will choose the one with a higher success rate." Niao Bu Sheng Dan felt quite frustrated in his heart. If he had already reached the rank of Apprentice Apothecary, Nie Yan wouldn't have given such a profitable formula to others. However, he wasn't a petty person, and he understood that everything depended on strength. If he didn't have the ability to take it, then it was only natural that Nie Yan would give the formula to others to make.

The relationship between apothecaries and employers was similar to a cooperative profit-sharing model. The employer found the materials and formulas for them and was responsible for sales. The employer took the majority of the money earned, and the apothecaries took a basic salary and a small share. If the apothecaries obtained profitable formulas from the employer and the potions they made could sell well, then they would earn more money. If the potions they made didn't earn much money, then they wouldn't get much of a share.

"In the future, there will definitely be more and better potion formulas. I have a few Anti-Petrification Potion formulas here. Have all the Apprentice Apothecaries learn one each and make more Anti-Petrification Potions. I also put seven thousand portions of various potion ingredients in the laboratory upstairs, two thousand of which are Anti-Petrification Potion ingredients," Nie Yan said. After such a long time of acquisition, he already had a lot of Anti-Petrification Potion ingredients, potions, and formulas on hand. He also had more than eighty pieces of equipment with +7 or higher Anti-Petrification, and the purchase price of these pieces of equipment mostly did not exceed thirty copper coins. The ones with better attributes only cost about fifty copper coins at most.

Unlike Black Phenol Potion, the heat of Black Phenol Potion would slowly fade away, because other than the werewolves in Sothas Valley, there were not many monsters with Terrible Poison in other places. However, Anti-Petrification Potions could be used for a long time in the future, so the price had been steadily increasing.

Although Nie Yan had acquired a large number of Anti-Petrification Potions, the production of Anti-Petrification Potions had always been very large. The Anti-Petrification Potions he had acquired were only a part of them. Although it would affect the market supply, leading to an increase in the price of Anti-Petrification Potions, it was basically impossible to achieve a near-monopoly like Black Phenol Potion. However, the price of Anti-Petrification Potions could at least increase by more than 5 times, and a 500% profit was enough to drive people crazy.

However, the Medusa's Lair was known as the most profitable dungeon, and teams that could go to the Medusa's Lair could basically afford to consume petrification potions.

The most valuable thing was still those anti-petrification equipment. The Medusa's Lair was about to open tomorrow. Medusa's attacks were not very strong, but the petrification was too difficult to deal with. If you kept using Anti-Petrification Potions to dispel the petrification, the consumption would be quite alarming in a day. If your own petrification resistance was 14 points or more, you basically didn't have to be afraid of petrification.

If melee professions had more than three team members equipped with anti-petrification equipment, a team could save at least twenty silver coins a day in the Medusa's Lair. However, melee professions could not wear too much low-defense equipment. At most two pieces, more than three pieces would cause the defense to drop too much, which could easily lead to a wipeout. Therefore, the value of +7 or higher anti-petrification equipment became prominent. A piece of +7 anti-petrification equipment, even if the other attributes were poor, could sell for at least ten silver coins or more. With this item alone, Nie Yan could earn about 8 gold.

Nie Yan finished explaining the matters of the potion shop and was about to leave when a player in his late twenties, wearing a gray-and-white apothecary robe, walked in. He looked at Nie Yan and Niao Bu Sheng Dan, and finally his gaze landed on Nie Yan.

"Excuse me, is the owner of this shop here?" the player asked tentatively. In his opinion, compared to Niao Bu Sheng Dan, who was wearing an apothecary apprentice robe, Nie Yan looked more like the owner.

Niao Bu Sheng Dan glanced at the player's collar. The corners of his clothes were embroidered with wisteria patterns using silver thread. A hint of envy appeared in his eyes. It was this wisteria pattern that was his unrealized dream so far. It was the badge of honor of an Apprentice Apothecary.

Nie Yan exchanged a look with Niao Bu Sheng Dan, and Niao Bu Sheng Dan walked towards the player.

"I am the owner of this shop. May I ask what's the matter?" Niao Bu Sheng Dan asked. He didn't look timid at all, and he really had the aura of a boss.

"It's like this, I am Di Diao De Nan Nan. I heard that you are recruiting apothecaries here," the player said to Niao Bu Sheng Dan. He was really surprised to hear Niao Bu Sheng Dan say that he was the owner of this shop. Thinking about it, it was also true that the really rich people often dressed very plainly.

"So many large guilds are recruiting apothecaries. With your status as an Apprentice Apothecary, why don't you go to those large guilds and instead come to my place?" Niao Bu Sheng Dan asked, looking at Di Diao De Nan Nan.

Nie Yan nodded slightly. He had instructed him not to let some people with ulterior motives mix in. Niao Bu Sheng Dan was quite cautious and knew to ask a little.