These people shook their heads repeatedly, and the tall and thin youth understood the situation.

He bowed with a smile and apologized, “Qingqing, we were wrong. We hope you, won’t remember the faults of us small people… Earlier, we misunderstood. With your talent and strength, joining us in this election would only invite ridicule! It would be a waste of your time!”

Wow! He really knelt down quickly!

Surprisingly, Qin Ruqing now looked at the tall and thin youth with admiration.

He dared to provoke her before but could promptly kneel down and soften.

What a talent!

Qin Ruqing was amused in her heart but said, “You’re only apologizing to me. What about my third sister and fourth brother?”

She wasn’t very used to calling someone “fourth brother.”

It was the first time in her life she had called someone “fourth brother,” and Qin Qirong, you’ve hit the jackpot!

These people apologized very quickly.

After they left, Qin Qirong brightened his eyes and started pulling on Qin Ruqing’s sleeve, “Little sister, you called me fourth brother~”

Hehehe, I really want to hear my little sister call me a few more times.

Qin Ruqing pushed Qirong’s hand away, rubbed her face against his, and muttered impatiently, “Annoying, I didn’t call you!”

Qin Luwei looked at the scene, covered her mouth, and smiled gently.

She was completely different from the person who had just been ready to draw her sword.

And thus, a classroom dispute was invisibly resolved.

The tall and thin youth was indeed clever.

When he heard that other students were unhappy about this incident, he directly spread what Qin Ruqing had said today.

That place was discovered by Qin Ruqing and the others.

In fact, it’s a good thing these three aren’t participating in the election; it means more spots for us, etc.

This indirectly helped clear up rumors for Qin Ruqing, since she couldn’t explain every dissatisfaction she encountered.

This matter was now completely resolved.

Apart from the changes at the academy, the Qin family also refined a batch of marrow-cleansing elixir to sell at the Qin Medicine Hall.

When Qin Ruqing used this to nurture her spirit earlier, she knew it was rare and precious.

Using it for several months was equivalent to burning through a mid-grade magical tool.

And the reason it was both precious and rare actually complemented each other. Because the raw materials were scarce, the price was high.

The most important ingredient in making marrow-cleansing elixir, referred to by laymen as Spirit Spring Water, was known by alchemists to be highly diluted Spirit Milk.

Of course, Spirit Milk was much more precious than Spirit Spring Water.

Places with Spirit Spring Water did not necessarily have Spirit Milk, but places with Spirit Milk always had Spirit Spring Water.

The dripping sound Qin Ruqing and the others heard when they found the Spirit Cave was actually from the Spirit Spring in the stalactite cave.

In other words, Spirit Spring Water was the least valuable thing in the stalactite cave, yet the Qin family used it to make expensive marrow-cleansing elixir.

As for the more precious Spirit Milk, the Qin family naturally kept it for themselves.

Qin Ruqing had also asked her father why they didn’t sell some of the Spirit Milk.

Since Spirit Milk was even rarer, it would naturally fetch a higher price.

At that time,

Qin Deming shook his head directly. He said, “No, we can only sell the marrow-cleansing elixir. After all, while Spirit Spring Water is rare, it can still be found in many places.

But Spirit Milk… it’s too easy to draw connections. If people see the Qin family selling a large quantity of Spirit Milk, it could easily lead to speculation that the Qin family has found a place similar to the stalactite cave.”

Qin Deming added, “Right now, our ancestor is still in seclusion, and we don’t know the extent of his recovery from his injuries.

The Qin family doesn’t lack money right now, so it’s better to be cautious.”

After hearing this, Qin Ruqing thought to herself that her father had always been cautious.

However, this time, he was right.

Before their ancestor fully recovered from his injuries, the Qin family couldn’t afford to attract danger.

Therefore, adhering to the principle of low-key operations, although the Qin family had the capability to produce a large amount of marrow-cleansing elixir, they still chose to take the high-end route of producing in small batches for sale.

Each batch consisted of no more than ten bottles, and they produced at most two batches per month.

The quantity was indeed small, but they benefited from long-term stability.

However, because the production was actually quite easy, the Qin family, out of “conscience,” offered it at a lower price than the market rate, earning unanimous praise from customers.

Of course, they also received unanimous condemnation from competing peers:

To be honest, there are very few medicine halls in the entire Nanling County that can stably sell marrow-cleansing elixir.

Being able to stably sell this product indicates they have at least found a source of Spirit Spring Water.

Those who sell just one or two bottles are mere small-time players; they don’t have a stable source of materials and only came across a small amount by chance, hardly worth mentioning.

Among the few medicine halls that can stably sell marrow-cleansing elixir, Zhang’s family-owned medicine hall has the highest volume of shipments.

Therefore, the Qin family’s recent operations have had the greatest impact on the Zhang family.

Nanling County has only three major aristocratic families: Qin, Zhang, and Han, who have long been rivals.

At this moment, Zhang Ming, the manager of Zhang Medicine Hall, was reporting the recent business situation to their senior elder.

Zhang Ming exclaimed with frustration, “Senior Elder, the Qin family is doing this on purpose! They know we’re selling marrow-cleansing elixir, yet they follow up with their own sales at such low prices!

Their prices are so low, they’re almost at cost, they’re not making any profit at all. This is clearly intentional competition against us!”

The senior elder of the Zhang family frowned.

He had also heard about the booming sales of marrow-cleansing elixir from Qin Medicine Hall recently.

Temporarily seizing Zhang family’s business wasn’t the worst, but if it continued long-term…

The senior elder asked, “Have you researched their marrow-cleansing elixir? Is there any issue with why they’re able to undercut prices so low?”

Zhang Ming fell silent for a moment, then shook his head reluctantly, “Not only is there no issue, even their lower-priced variety is of better quality than ours.

The higher-priced one is unbelievably superior in quality, as if… the concentration of Spirit Spring Water is extremely high!”

The senior elder narrowed his eyes.

It seemed like the Qin family had gained quite a lot from the secret realm this time.

As for why it was a secret realm, if the Qin family could find something valuable outside, they wouldn’t have been suppressed by the Zhang and Han families as they had been before.

Given the current situation, a secret realm was the only plausible explanation.

Seeing the senior elder remaining silent, Zhang Ming started feeling anxious.

The success of the Medicine Hall was directly related to his contributions within the clan.

Put plainly, the better the Medicine Hall’s business, the more spirit stones he earned, the greater his status within the clan.

Conversely, if performance faltered…

This lucrative position as manager of the Medicine Hall could easily pass to someone else.

The reason Zhang Ming had sought out the senior elder was because it was the senior elder who had promoted him to this position.

In other words, he was the Senior Elder’s man; if he was replaced, it would damage the senior elder’s interests.

“Senior Elder, are we just going to sit back and wait? Qin Medicine Hall’s marrow-cleansing elixir is priced lower and of higher quality than ours.

Even the most foolish won’t come to Zhang Medicine Hall. However, marrow-cleansing elixir provides the highest profits for the Medicine Hall.

Should we lower our prices and engage in a price war with Qin Medicine Hall?”

The senior elder shook his head and gestured, “No need. A price war isn’t a long-term solution. Moreover, if Qin Medicine Hall dares to lower prices this much, it means their production costs aren’t high to begin with. Engaging in a price war would only harm ourselves.”

“Then…”

“Switch to promoting a different pill.”

Zhang Ming was puzzled, “A different pill? Senior Elder, what pill could provide higher profits than marrow-cleansing elixir?”

The senior elder calmly mentioned a name.

“Revitalization Pill?”

Zhang Ming widened his eyes, “Revitalization Pill? It’s the most common and ordinary pill. Every Medicine Hall produces similar ones, and the profit margins are actually the lowest!”

The senior elder smiled faintly, “What if our Zhang family introduced a revitalization pill that’s more effective and cheaper? Considering the demand for revitalization pills, how do you think the Medicine Hall’s business would fare?”

Zhang Ming began to make connections. He whispered, “If there really was such a revitalization pill, the monthly sales of the Medicine Hall could easily double.”

The senior elder remained composed as he said, “Even if the Qin family monopolizes the market for marrow-cleansing elixir, it’s a product with limited demand. He stood up, adjusted his sleeves, and walked out. “Only a revitalization pill, an essential pill, can…”

Can what, he didn’t say.

But Zhang Ming’s mind was racing with possibilities.

He hurried to catch up, “Senior Elder, is there really such a revitalization pill that’s more effective and cheaper?”

The senior elder continued walking without stopping, casually dropping a remark.

“The Zhang family recently brought in a guest elder who has improved the formula for the revitalization pill.”

Improved the formula for the revitalization pill…

Zhang Ming’s eyes widened, and he could hear his heart pounding loudly in his chest.