NOVPUBChapter 88: Chapter 87: Flagship Product
Chapter 88 -87: Flagship Product
“That was pretty fast,” Chaoyang remarked as he accepted the sheepskin scroll and glanced over it, noticing that the business licenses in this world were rather primitive. They merely stipulated the permitted scope of business activities and the taxes that needed to be paid, without any further requirements. In other words, the business officials did not review whether a company had the appropriate production qualifications; as long as there were goods, they could be sold. However, should problems arise, the lord could still punish the business, such as… in cases where medicine caused patient harm or death, a certain amount of gold coins had to be compensated. If nobility were harmed… the highest sentence could be hanging.
Er… isn’t this just blatant double standards?
But since mining slaves could be bought in bulk, it hardly seemed worthwhile to fuss over such unfairness. Chaoyang put away the sheepskin scroll and handed it back to the reporter, “Thank you for your efforts. Please pass this certificate to Mr. Zhao. Though I came at his invitation, I’m only responsible for the construction work. It’s still up to him to decide how exactly the company will be run. Speaking of which… he’s right outside in the carriage, you can go directly to him.”
“So Mr. Zhao is here too! Alright, leave it to me,” Dane said enthusiastically.
Once he saw him off, Chaoyang found a gap to slip into an empty room in the Yeni Temple before switching to his true form. Not long after, Dane rushed over.
He climbed into the carriage and found not only Detective Sir, but Miss Jenny and the Fiend girl were also there.
“Ah… greetings to both of you.”
“No worries, we are all acquainted,” Chaoyang indicated the seat opposite him, “Please sit, I was just about to discuss a new medical supply contract with Miss Jenny.”
‘You were clearly resting with your eyes shut just a moment ago, be careful she doesn’t expose you,’ Ailuodi reminded him in his mind.
‘That’s why I was just about to, Miss Jenny won’t mind such a trivial detail in wording.’
“That’s right, the operating license for the medical supplies company has been approved,” Dane said as he handed the sheepskin scroll to Chaoyang, “As long as you have the goods, we can begin selling immediately.”
“Good, this is the first phase of our contract’s success.” He looked at the nun, “I believe Yeni Temple will soon break free from the shackles of those sponsoring companies and truly become a shelter for the Lost Sisters.”
Lost Sisters was also a common term of self-reference among the nuns.
“Thank you for getting us this far… But this must be costing a great deal of money,” Jenny said uneasily, “As you know, the temple’s revenue is very meager, I fear it won’t be enough to cover such a large deficit.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Zhao is no ordinary person,” Dane even had more confidence than Chaoyang himself, reassuring her boldly, “There’s nothing he can’t accomplish when he decides to get involved. Because he represents… a power unprecedented.”
Chaoyang could only smile wryly inside, “If things continue in the current trend, I must say, your concerns are valid. To achieve a balance of income and expenditure, to say nothing of income surpassing expenses, the Temple will have to expand its scale of healing. Not only miners and the poor, but ideally other residents and nobles of Magnificent Castle should be included as well.”
“How is that possible?” Jenny was dumbfounded, “Anyone with a bit of wealth will try all means to consult those renowned physicians, they wouldn’t give the Temple a second glance!”
Through the Panlogical Machine, Chaoyang had also gained a general understanding of the medical industry in this world. Simply put, hospitals did not exist, physicians were the brand. How much they charged, how many people they treated a day – it was all up to the physician’s discretion. Some specialized in pharmaceutics, others in surgery. Usually, physicians who completed a full course of education and assessment at the Old Continent Academy had more opportunities and found it easier to build a reputation.
As for where they treated patients… it was almost entirely random. A physician with two apprentices or assistants was a mobile medical station. Due to a lack of knowledge about microbes, they paid no attention to a sterile environment, and if they encountered a rare case, some physicians would conduct public treatment within the Academy. This provided students with clinical experience while also boosting their own fame.
And the Temple?
That was a place only considered by the lowest strata of society.
“Rest assured, the Temple doesn’t need those high-profile physicians because after standardized training, everyone could be qualified healers,” Chaoyang said calmly, “Frankly, whether people are willing to come depends ultimately on the effectiveness of treatment. If you are concerned, we can start with a hypothesis – the Temple must attract the wealthy to visit and charge them more, to really achieve a healthy cycle.”
“Hmm…” Jenny lowered her head in difficulty, obviously finding it hard to imagine such a scene.
“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Chaoyang wasn’t in a hurry. Since he had taken this step, he might as well go all out – after all, he was not satisfied with just sick people paying. He wanted even those without illnesses to pay, so that he could quickly grow into a new force powerful enough to shake other companies. “Would you like to visit the production factory? They are currently trying to produce medical supplies that will be provided to the Yeni Temple in the future.”
“Is that possible?” the nun asked expectantly.
“Of course, let’s set out now.”
As the carriage set off, Ailuodi’s voice came through once again, “I’d like to ask, how much ‘wishing power’ have you invested this time?”
“What’s the matter?” Chaoyang looked towards her.
“The contract has not been completed until now, meaning the cost of time is increasing. I don’t want it to affect the agreement between us,” she said.
“I understand. You’re afraid that I’ll die without being able to pay off the debt, causing the hard-earned power to go to waste,” he replied.
“You could see it that way,” Ailuodi surprisingly didn’t deny it.
“Don’t worry, I quite cherish my life,” Chaoyang smiled. “The investment this time is indeed very high, surpassing any previous contract, but I still have plenty of ‘wishing power’ left, enough to last until the next contract without any issues.”
He didn’t tell her the actual numbers, but he also didn’t lie about the ‘wishing power’ issue. Haiya’s contract had provided up to 4500 points of ‘wishing power’, which, if not wasted, could nearly last half a year. The current investment in robbing the train – weapons, ammunition, transport vehicles, and the necessary consumption for holding the game – totaled more than 2000 ‘wishing power’. Even if he ended up with zero return, he could still keep half of it. This was much better than the first game, where he had barely made a net gain of two hundred ‘wishing power’ and could only live for nine days.
Moreover, although Jenny could provide very little ‘wishing power’, she was not the only one signing the contract. Chaoyang was also looking forward to seeing how much profit he would ultimately receive when this multi-person contract was completed.
The rented theater cottage was just in the next street over. After passing through a horizontal alleyway, the group had arrived at their destination.
Seeing Chaoyang and the others, the guard stationed there respectfully saluted them.
That’s right, he could even afford to spend some money on security needs now – although these freelance mercenaries were cheap and didn’t look very skilled, they were enough to stop curious vagrants or troublesome gang members.
Entering the cottage, Jenny saw a steel tank as tall as two people erected in the center of the room, surrounded by various types of pipes; at the same time a steam pump was emitting a dull hum, as if it was providing some kind of power to the iron tank. She also saw several people studying the pump from various angles, seemingly engrossed in their investigation.
Could this be… the production of medicine?
Jenny really couldn’t connect what she was seeing with medical supplies.
If Mr. Zhao had said they were refining steel, she would have understood it a little better…
Moreover, it was indeed very stuffy inside the cottage; stepping in felt like walking into a steaming basket.
“Mr. Zhao, are you sure they are making medical supplies?” the nun asked, doubting herself.
“Of course, and this will be the first flagship product launched by the Gate of Destiny – antibiotics!” Chaoyang affirmed.
