'Rank 3 stage, huh,' Fang Zheng thought to himself as he thought about the Seven Fragrances Liquor Worm. Before, he had been nearly guaranteed to not only reach that stage, but possibly even Rank 4 or Rank 5 if fortune favored him. Now though, it was a lengthy struggle to reach Rank 2.
Even Fang Yuan had been stuck at Rank 2 in his old life until he had been lucky enough to chance upon a talent-raising gu worm. Fang Zheng could not count on that luxury, he could only count on Fang Yuan's help to reach that place. That was why although Fang Zheng had some doubts on how much he could truly trust Fang Yuan, he still chose to stick close to his elder brother.
Trying to reach Rank 3 like this was a paper dream. His elder brother told him that it was possible, but everyone else seemed to tell him to give up on ever achieving that realm. Whenever Fang Zheng expressed such doubts, Fang Yuan would tell him to not let the words of other people bring him down. 'I am ready to promise you this, younger brother, I will find a way to get you to Rank 3,' Fang Yuan would always say.
But if Fang Yuan offered him the sun in his pocket the next day, would Fang Zheng believe it? It would be hard for anyone to wrap their heads around such a thing.
Managing the wine tavern was not that much of a big issue. It basically ran itself, and the shopkeepers and workers did not dare do anything to offend either of the brothers. All of the workers were mortals after all and greatly valued their employment in this place, which offered a safe and steady paycheck. Fang Yuan had even increased their salaries by a not-insignificant percentage, and although Fang Zheng could not wrap his head around why his brother thought it was a good idea, he didn't question this decision.
Fang Zhen mainly just did whatever his brother asked, and rarely if ever provided any kind of pushback. He was completely ignorant to many of these businesses, and figured that Fang Yuan had a better grasp on things.
The main reason he would come to the wine tavern was not to drink (although this was a small upside, and also fed his vital gu worm) or to oversee it, but rather to transact the Vitality Leaves with Jiang Ya.
As it was no one dared to cause trouble in this shop. Reason being was that Fang Yuan had been able to use his membership with Qing Shu to his advantage, one day after a tough mission saying, 'Seniors, I must thank you all for your help and guidance over all of these missions - please let me thank you all by treating you some top-quality wine at my inn!'
Even if they refused Fang Yuan once, or twice, eventually out of basic courtesy they were forced to swing by. And once it was known that characters like Qing Shu occasionally came to the tavern, no one had the stones to cause a scene here. As it was, business was also going smoothly thanks to the tavern now having a finer reputation than before.
"Brother Fang Zheng!" Jiang Ya said as he walked in to sit beside Fang Zheng. Jiang Ya did not have a good opinion of Fang Yuan- but that didn't meant that he was averse from benefitting from a relationship with the latter. After all, Fang Yuan now had a small fortune to himself, and Jiang Ya was eager to scoop up some of that for himself.
Jiang Ya functioned as a sort of middleman in their transactions, finding buyers for the Vitality Leaves and keeping a portion of the sales as commission for himself. The brothers could do this on their own if they wanted- but to Fang Yuan it would waste even more precious time and he had no need to go around cavorting with people to earn their favor. Fang Zheng felt he was even more pressed for time and no longer had a good reputation around the village, and saw no need to try and change it currently. All of his focus had to be either on cultivating, or helping his brother cultivate.
Fang Zheng handed him a bag with six Vitality Leaves as Jiang Ya handed him a bag of primeval stones. "Ah, if only Brother Fang Yuan would help us by lending his primeval essence to generate even more- the profits could be even greater!" To Jiang Ya, who treated this enterprise as a risk-free means to earn money, the more Vitality Leaves he obtained, the greater his benefits.
Fang Zheng counted the primeval stones to make sure the amount was right- he was not like Fang Yuan, after all, who could tell by simply weighing it upon his hand. It could be seen as insulting to the seller for Fang Zheng to do this right in front of him even after they had transacted several times, but Fang Zheng knew that Jiang Ya would not terminate this relationship over something so minor.
"I will reach Rank 1 Upper Stage soon," Fang Zheng said. 'Soon' was a bit of a relative term, but it was true nonetheless. "After that, I'll have Rank 1 Peak Stage essence to use to make more Vitality Leaves- I'll be able to make a full set of nine each day." A Rank 2 Gu Master could easily make nine leaves so long as they were willing to expend most of their primeval essence, but Fang Zheng was only Rank 1. It was not as much of an issue to use the Nine Leaf Vitality Grass as some other gu worm as it was not combat-focused and he could use his primeval essence over time to achieve the same effect- something one could not rely up in battle.
"Of course!" Jiang Ya said. "And I assume Brother Fang Yuan is too busy with his duties to the clan to work on something like this- but I'm sure that Brother Fang Zheng will reach Rank 1 Upper Stage and sooner or later even Rank 2 Stage without much difficulties. Ah, I can see that your future is quite bright, Fang Zheng, and I wish you all the luck in the world!"
Inwardly Jiang Ya was delighted to see someone like Fang Zheng fall from grace given he was a trash-tier talent and misery loves company. Outwardly though, he always made it a point to praise Fang Zheng- and as it was, if Fang Zheng did get better and make more Vitality Leaves it would give him a greater commission. In the same vein he didn't mind Fang Yuan's success so much any longer so long as he could benefit from it.
"Thank you," Fang Zheng said, feeling slightly better about himself even if he knew most of the praise was not genuine.
He would then leave the tavern and go back home, primeval essence recovered to start the process of nurturing Vitality Leaves once again. Only once he had finished two rounds like this did he start his own cultivation. Fang Yuan could've greatly increased the efficiency and speed of this if he was willing to lend his help, but he was fine letting Fang Zheng struggle a bit- if Fang Zheng advanced too fast, he might become rebellious, which is why Fang Yuan suppressed him in this roundabout way.
However, this day, Fang Yuan was waiting for Fang Zheng when he returned home. He took the bag of primeval stones from Fang Zheng, setting it aside with the rest of the hoard he was building up for various purposes, the most important of which was ascending to Rank 3. "Fang Zheng, I have an important task for you."
Fang Zheng was a bit surprised when he heard of the details of the request, but was always willing to lend his elder brother a hand.