The second brother is diligent and eager to learn. Although his talent is lacking, his efforts make up for it. He finally passed the scholar exam, and next year he’ll take the examination for scholar. It seems he will pursue a career in the officialdom, and this is also the only chance for the Xiao family to change its fortunes.
He, however, spends all day idle, with no proper deanor.
He once ntioned wanting to go into business, but was ruthlessly discouraged by his father, who forbade him from pursuing such endeavors.
Unexpectedly, after getting engaged, he said he wanted to open a pharmacy in Shuzhou, and his father gladly agreed, even allowing him to use ten thousand taels of silver from the family common fund.
Zhao Minghua questioned closely: was this ten thousand taels of silver ant to support him in opening the shop, or was it a loan that needed to be repaid?
Regardless, no matter what, this Taikang Hall in Shuzhou could only be his private enterprise.
His father was so infuriated that he laughed, scolding him for being an ungrateful wretch.
No matter how he was scolded, Zhao Minghua wouldn’t budge.
After all, the eldest brother would inherit the family business, which was vast and extensive; the second brother was bound to beco an official, gaining power and authority was an inevitable trend. Only he did not want to idle away his days, waste away the family fortune, or rely on the family legacy, so he needed his own enterprise.
Regarding Zhao Minghua’s request, Zhao Chengxun sighed, saying that his son had really grown up and matured after getting engaged, willing to take on responsibilities and shoulder burdens.
In fact, Zhao Minghua was far more capable than they imagined.
He never ntioned this.
Pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger was Zhao Minghua’s forte.
Zhao Minghua and Qingsheng arrived at Taikang Hall.
When Master Lin saw Zhao Minghua, he quickly greeted him.
"Master Lin, how long until it’s ready?"
"About ten days," Master Lin replied. "Mr. Zhao’s requirents are quite high; the work is ticulous and slow work yields fine work, so it will take relatively longer."
"Can you speed up the work?" Zhao Minghua really wanted to return to Changzhou: "Tell the craftsn that if they work in the evenings and rush the work, I won’t shortchange anyone."
The implication was that there would be a pay raise, which Master Lin was pleased to hear.
After all, who doesn’t work hard when they’re out just for a bit of silver?
Being able to complete the work quickly and get an extra benefit, not speeding up would truly be impolite.
Qingsheng knew that his young master was really willing to spend heavily just to return quickly.
From that day on, Zhao Minghua and Qingsheng stayed at the shop, mainly to see if Master Lin’s work t the standards and was what he desired.
"Mr. Zhao, what do you think?"
A job originally expected to take ten days was completed in five, ready for Zhao Minghua to check.
Master Lin prided himself as being second to none in Shuzhou when it ca to carpentry work.
Yes, the first is the revered Master Lu Ban, not anyone else who could claim the top spot.
The second position, Master Lin claid with no room for yielding.
"Hmm, not bad, it’s the effect I wanted."
"I’m not exaggerating, but Mr. Zhao’s pharmacy could be considered one of the best in Shuzhou."
"That’s because Master Lin’s skills are excellent, reminiscent of Master Lu Ban."
"You’re too kind; it’s due to Mr. Zhao’s attention to detail that we could produce a fine shop."
Master Lin was actually quite curious: Why make the pharmacy so well?
The silver spent on refurbishing this pharmacy could buy quite a lot of dicinal herbs.
There’s a saying: better to have dust gather on a shelf of dicine than have people suffer from illness. What was Mr. Zhao’s aim?
Going against the norm?
Zhao Minghua had no idea about Master Lin’s colorful speculations.
Once he checked and confird the pharmacy was how he wanted it, this Taikang Hall beca his enterprise, and he decided to turn it into a century-old establishnt, passing it down generations.
Indeed, no mistake, "Doctor Xiao" was the na displayed at Taikang Hall; he wanted to achieve a win-win situation with the Xiao family.
With the pharmacy organized, Zhao Minghua was very satisfied.
Everything was ready except the items needed, so he imdiately returned to Changzhou with Qingsheng.
Chun Ning was anxiously waiting for this "brother-in-law" to arrive.
"Brother Zhao, look at these, which ones do you have?"
On the many-tiered shelves of the Xiao family’s pharmacy, there were a total of nine ceramic bottles.
Zhao Minghua picked each up, sniffed them, and finally had to ask Chun Ning about their effects and uses.
"Is Brother Zhao testing ?"
Chun Ning laughed; these were dicines he made under his sister’s guidance, and she had also tested him multiple tis to ensure her peace of mind.
Upon further questioning by Zhao Minghua, Chun Ning answered fluently.
"Not bad, from now on, you will be the ’Doctor Xiao’."
Zhao Minghua looked at the young "brother-in-law" in front of him with satisfaction and feeling: One can’t learn from others by teaching, but by doing, one learns quickly.
Thinking back to when he was Chun Ning’s age, he had secretly opened a teahouse in Changzhou.
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