Chapter 11 - Supporting the Family
“Currently, neither Gu Yao nor I are suitable to go out and sell talismans ourselves. The Tian family has their own shop. Why don’t I ask Brother Tian to help sell them for us? I’ll give you a 10% commission. What do you think?” Now that Chi Changye had figured out the method, he felt a little more confident and was able to discuss business with Tian Feirong. The reason he approached Tian Feirong was simple: he was the only one who had taken them in. Regardless of his motives, both he and Gu Yao owed him this favor.
“Good! As Brother Chi says, no matter how many talismans you have, just leave them to me. I’ll take care of everything. If you need any talisman paper or blood for the talismans, I’ll bring it to you. And if you need any other items, just tell me,” Tian Feirong said, grinning widely.
Chi Changye gave him a quick glance. As expected, Tian Feirong was a smart person. He nodded and replied, “I’ll keep enough for myself, and the rest I’ll leave for you to handle.”
“Then I won’t disturb Brother Chi while you’re making talismans,” Tian Feirong said with a grin before leaving, giving instructions to his subordinates to keep an eye on the Gu and Lu families. With the twins and Lu Minzhu returning, there was no way they wouldn’t cause some trouble. He was waiting for the fun to begin.
Gu Yao had been locked in his room until nearly noon, when he finally had to come out to prepare lunch. He had been busy identifying the properties of spiritual herbs and other plants, experimenting based on what he already knew. He had made quite a bit of progress. It was worth mentioning that the plant resources here were far richer than those in the Star Alliance.
As soon as he opened the door, he was hit by a strong burnt smell. He had been so focused earlier that he hadn’t noticed what was going on outside. Panicking, Gu Yao rushed to the kitchen, where he found Chi Changye standing there, looking helpless, with a blackened pot in front of him. When Gu Yao looked up, he saw that Chi Changye’s face, covered with scars, was flushed red. He couldn’t help but chuckle.
Chi Changye became even more awkward, realizing how useless he had been.
Gu Yao quickly tried to suppress his laughter, worried that if he kept laughing, he might dig a hole and bury himself in it. He forced himself to say, “I know you’re a young master, but don’t you know how to ask for help if you can’t do it? Let me clean up, I’m hungry.”
“Alright, I’ll clean up. I made some roasted meat; you should eat something first,” Chi Changye said as he brought out a plate of sliced roast meat. Noticing Gu Yao’s surprised look, he quickly explained, “I can only make roasted meat. I learned it while traveling outside.”
Even though he was a young master, when he was out on his travels, there were no servants to follow him. The ingredients were available in the wild, so after roasting meat a few times, he became somewhat skilled. However, cooking meals was a different matter entirely. The mess in the kitchen made him feel utterly embarrassed.
Gu Yao raised an eyebrow, took the plate, and put a piece of meat in his mouth. After tasting it, he praised, “It tastes great. When it comes to roasting meat, I definitely can’t compare to you.”
In truth, Gu Yao’s cooking skills came mainly from the original owner of this body. As for Gu Yao himself, when he was too absorbed in his experiments, he had no time to worry about cooking. Either the food was brought by a machine or he drank nutritional supplements to replenish his energy. The original owner, after noticing that the food brought to the kitchen wasn’t clean, started cooking for himself.
“I’m glad you like it, Xiao Yao,” Chi Changye said, feeling relieved in his heart. At least he had something he could be proud of.
After tidying up the kitchen, Gu Yao quickly finished preparing the meal. Of course, Chi Changye helped, while also paying attention to Gu Yao’s actions. Everything had to start from scratch now, and he had to learn these things. Even before he could begin cultivating, he still needed to eat.
During dinner, Chi Changye told Gu Yao about the deal with Tian Feirong. Gu Yao’s eyes lit up with joy. “That’s great! Finally, someone can make money and bring some in. Otherwise, if we keep spending without earning, we’ll soon be penniless.”
Seeing Gu Yao’s happy expression, Chi Changye smiled slightly. He was taking on the responsibility of supporting the family now. He decided to put the past behind him for the time being. Whatever debts or accounts could wait until later. For now, sitting at the same table with Gu Yao, eating from the same pot, sharing a plate of food—it made him feel an unexpected sense of peace and security.
Later that evening, Tian Feirong came again, bringing new blank talisman papers and talisman blood, along with a gift: a new talisman brush, which was of much higher quality than the one Gu Yao had bought for a hundred spirit pearls. Chi Changye tested it briefly, and sure enough, the flow of spiritual energy inside was much smoother than before. This was important for the success rate of talisman crafting; if the spiritual energy flow was obstructed, it was easy to fail in making the talismans.
“These are the ones I made today. Brother Tian, you can take them,” Chi Changye said, handing over all the talismans he had made that afternoon. His injuries still needed time to heal, so he couldn’t rush it. He spent the daylight hours crafting talismans. From an initial success rate of only 20-30%, he had gradually increased it to 50%. Now that he had a new brush, he was confident the success rate would improve even further.
Tian Feirong’s hands trembled slightly. Although they were all fireball talismans, there were twenty of them.
“Brother Chi, you’re truly remarkable. If you need any healing pills, I can try to get them for you,” Tian Feirong said, astonished. Chi Changye had managed to make so many talismans even while injured—imagine how powerful he would be if he were at his full strength. Tian Feirong felt like he had stumbled upon an incredible opportunity.
Chi Changye shook his head. “Not for now, but if I need anything, I’ll ask Brother Tian for help. As for Xiao Yao…” Gu Yao’s condition really does need some medicine to help sort things out.
“I’m fine for now as well,” Gu Yao interjected.