8：Herbal Baths and Wealth

In the evening, back at the house,

After placing the wooden barrel in the bathroom, Shen Hao filled it with hot water.

Then he took a portion of the medicinal herbs and boiled them in a clay pot to extract the essence, which he poured into the barrel.

After everything was prepared, Shen Hao calmed himself and sat down into the barrel.

The moment he sat in, a sharp stinging sensation spread across his skin.

It was tolerable, though.

He then closed his eyes and, crouching halfway in the barrel, began to perform the first stance of the "Body Forging Guide Twelve Postures."

With Shen Hao's physical condition, he could barely hold a horse stance for even a minute.

But this time, through silently chanting the incantations and practicing the breathing techniques, his body absorbed the medicinal liquid, and surprisingly, he managed to endure it.

Half an hour later, Shen Hao slowly opened his eyes.

At this point, his entire body was flushed, steaming with heat.

But his spirit was unprecedentedly good. The fatigue from before was gone, and he felt as though he had just finished a sauna. His pores had opened up, and his body felt revitalized.

Noticing that the medicinal liquid in the barrel had already been absorbed, Shen Hao got out of the tub.

After rinsing off in the shower, he walked to the living room.

He squatted into a half-horse stance and, to his surprise, his legs were strong, with no weakness at all.

"Liu Dabiang practiced for three years and was still in the Body Forging stage, mainly because he couldn't bear to buy the medicinal bath.

But soaking in it is so relaxing."

According to Liu Dabiang's memory, silver was still very valuable.

A single medicinal bath cost ten taels, which was roughly equivalent to 10,000 yuan in the real world in terms of purchasing power.

Liu Dabiang really couldn't bear the expense.

In Liu Dabiang's view, what difference would the medicinal bath make? He was still a small-time thug.

For the next week, Shen Hao didn't leave the house. Instead, he soaked in the medicinal bath every three days and practiced the "Body Forging Guide Twelve Postures."

With the help of the medicinal bath, his progress in Body Forging was very fast.

In the first stage of Body Forging, strengthening his tendons had been completed. It was time to move on to the second stage: bone forging.

Now that the medicinal bath had run out, in order to quickly reach the completion of Body Forging, he would need to buy more medicinal herbs.

The reason for his rapid progress was also thanks to Liu Dabiang's efforts.

Although Liu Dabiang couldn't bear to buy the medicinal baths, he had a deep understanding of the "Body Forging Guide Twelve Postures," which made Shen Hao's practice effortless and highly efficient.

Now, Shen Hao's strength, speed, endurance, and reaction time were two to three times what they used to be. He could easily defeat his former self.

As for the exact numbers, Shen Hao hadn't tested them.

Shen Hao had just bought a house, and now he had only about 10,000 yuan left.

However, this time, Shen Hao didn't choose to buy gold, but instead decided to purchase silver.

Last time, due to being in a hurry and not preparing properly, buying the medicinal bath with gold was a huge loss.

Although gold is expensive in this world, it is far less valuable than modern gold.

After all, silver is the standard currency, and modern silver is cheap—this is the gap in information.

In this world, one tael of gold is equivalent to ten taels of silver (this silver value is different from ancient settings; it's just for convenience here).

In contrast, gold prices are high domestically, reaching 486 yuan per gram. Silver, however, is very cheap, only 8.5 yuan per gram.

One tael of silver costs about 425 yuan, while ten taels are worth just 4,250 yuan.

But one tael of gold costs 24,300 yuan. The price difference is a whopping 20,000 yuan.

If silver were exchanged for gold in this world, one tael of gold would bring in a profit of 20,000 yuan. This is even more lucrative than the gold trade in Hong Kong, with no risk involved.

Damn, this could really work.

Shen Hao then opened his phone. He hadn't checked it all day because he didn't want to be disturbed while practicing.

There were several new messages.

What surprised him the most was a message from the bank, notifying him that his account had received an additional 350,000 yuan.

Clearly, this money had come from the Rolls-Royce owner, Ms. Xiao.

As expected, with her financial power and influence, it was easy for her to find out his information.

This 350,000 included 200,000 from the insurance and 150,000 from his own payment. So, in a way, he'd actually made a profit from the 200,000 insurance.

Shen Hao didn't feel right about accepting this money. After all, he was at fault for the accident. It's one thing to not want the compensation, but it's another to return the money when he doesn't even know her card number.

He decided to deal with it later.

Then, Shen Hao lazily lay down on the sofa and started browsing Douyin (TikTok).

After a while, he searched online for the value of wild ginseng.

Four-leaf wild ginseng, 40 to 50 years old, was exactly what he had.

Its value ranged from 300,000 to 500,000 yuan.

"This price isn't bad."

Then, Shen Hao checked the price of a century-old wild ginseng.

A hundred-year-old one was worth about 2 million yuan, though it was rare and hard to find.

At the same time, artificially cultivated ginseng wasn't valuable at all. It was sold by the kilogram.

After some searching, Shen Hao found a chain of traditional Chinese medicine stores in Chang'an that buys wild ginseng.

So, he called to inquire.

To verify its authenticity, the store added Shen Hao on WeChat.

After taking a quick look, it seemed genuine.

"Where should I deliver it?"

Shen Hao asked.

"Come to my store; we'll exchange the goods and payment in person," came the reply.

They then sent Shen Hao the store's location.

"Ok."

After hanging up, Shen Hao pondered his future plans.

For now, he had enough money. As long as he could travel back and forth between worlds and exchange gold and silver, he wouldn't have to worry about food or drink.

Of course, Shen Hao wanted more—who wouldn't want great martial power and an invincible fortune?

The chain of stores was in Chang'an, so he'd have to go there.

Although the wild ginseng in Shen Hao's hands was valuable, ordinary people couldn't afford it, and there was no guarantee it could be sold.

With his current resources, he lacked the means to turn it into cash; he didn't have the right circle of contacts.

The people around Shen Hao were all living on the edge of survival.

It seemed like he had no choice but to sell the ginseng. Once he entered the right circles, he could sell more things.

The next day, Shen Hao took the 350,000 yuan refunded by Xiao Bing and added the 10,000 yuan left in his account, totaling 360,000 yuan.

He used this money to purchase 85 kilograms of silver, which amounted to 850 taels. (Note: The silver price is based on the book's setting, for reference only.)

Such a large order made the owner of the gold shop extremely happy.

"These 85 kilograms of silver, I want all of them in 50-gram bars, with no markings, can you do that?"

The shop owner hurriedly replied, "No problem, no problem at all! But you're in a hurry, and I can't provide that much all at once. Give me two days, and I'll make sure to have it ready for you."

Shen Hao said, "Alright, then give me whatever you have now."

"We still have 20 bars of silver, each weighing 100 grams, exactly 2 kilograms in total."

"Okay, I'll take them all."

"Please wait a moment, I'll get them for you."

After packing the silver, the shop owner took a silver cup from the counter and handed it to Shen Hao with a smile. "Mr. Shen, this little trinket isn't worth much, but it's convenient for drinking water. Please don't mind it."

Shen Hao smiled and said, "I won't be polite then."

"Not at all, you're supporting my business, so it's only right to give you a little gift."

"Thank you, boss."

After leaving the gold shop, Shen Hao went to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities.

Once back at his house, Shen Hao tidied up, put on his monk robes, and then returned to the other world.

He arrived again at the medicine shop.

The shopkeeper was momentarily stunned when he saw Shen Hao. He was puzzled—this little monk had just left not long ago, so why was he back? Was he coming to return the medicine?

There was no way they could accept a return.

With this thought in mind, the shopkeeper quickly changed his stance—this monk was a big customer, and in just a few seconds, his attitude shifted. "Welcome, little master.You're not here to return the medicine, are you? That wouldn't be in accordance with the rules. If the herbs are mixed together, it could affect their potency, and we wouldn't be able to resell them."

Shen Hao said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to return the medicine. I bought too little earlier and wanted to buy some more."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's heart leaped with joy, and he once again wore a hearty smile on his face.

"What would you like to buy this time?"

"Still the same medicinal bath ingredients—Angelica, Poria, tiger bone powder, Atractylodes, Rehmannia..."

"That's quite a lot. How many would you like?"

"Three sets."

"Please wait a moment, little master."

At that moment, Shen Hao thought of something. Since there was a demand for wild ginseng, the price difference between fifty-year-old wild ginseng and hundred-year-old ginseng was quite large.

Unable to resist his curiosity, he asked, "Do you have any hundred-year-old wild ginseng?"

The shopkeeper chuckled, "Of course we do. Wild ginseng itself isn't very valuable, it's not considered a rare item.

Moreover, since Yangguan Town is abundant in wild ginseng, the demand for it outside of this region is low.

We do have some hundred-year-old wild ginseng, but it's a bit more expensive than the fifty-year variety. It'll cost ten taels of silver."

Shen Hao said, "Then I'll take one."

With that, three sets of medicinal bath ingredients cost three pounds of silver, and one root of hundred-year-old ginseng cost one pound of silver. His money was spent quickly.

"Not a problem."

Clearly, in the real world, ginseng was precious, but here it seemed to hold little value.

Perhaps there were even more powerful medicinal herbs in this world.

After a while, the shop apprentice wrapped up the medicinal ingredients and ginseng and handed them to Shen Hao.

"Little master, the total is forty taels."

Shen Hao took out twenty 100-gram silver bars and handed them to the shopkeeper.

Looking at the silver in Shen Hao's hand, the shopkeeper said, "Your silver is pure, it has a white gleam, and its quality is excellent. Truly impressive."

Shen Hao responded, "You're too kind. If I need anything next time, I'll come back to you."

The shopkeeper's heart leapt with joy. Although this man was a monk, he was indeed quite generous. With a smile, he nodded and said, "Of course, no problem. How about this—I'll give you a fifty-year-old ginseng root as a gift, as a token of friendship."

Shen Hao said, "Shopkeeper, you're making me feel embarrassed."

Though he said that, his hands were quick to accept the ginseng.

The shopkeeper thought to himself, This little monk has fast hands.

His face remained calm as he casually stroked his beard and smiled, "Oh, it's nothing, little master. You're a big customer. If you ever need anything, just come by.

Besides, this ginseng has been sitting here for a while. Ordinary people can't afford it, and it's not often in demand. It's no big deal to give it away for a couple of taels of silver."

Shen Hao replied, "Then I really must thank you."