Chapter 34 - Advantage of the Era
Let’s eat breakfast first…
Cassius glanced at the white petals on the ground before walking down the camphor tree road. A fragrant scent wafted from afar.
There were numerous breakfast shops along the north side of Flag Street. Their cast-iron gates were already drawn up, with the shop owners and their helpers busily preparing various types of hot food—grilled meat sandwiches, oatmeal porridge, and sausage and bacon. Next to the breakfast shops, some bakeries were also open, with customers already buying goods. The air was filled with the fragrant scent of freshly baked bread.
Cassius's martial arts training consumed a lot of energy so naturally, he had a large appetite. He ordered a bowl of oatmeal porridge, three grilled sausages, and two grilled meat and vegetable sandwiches, and finished them all in just a few bites.
Under the scattered golden spots of sunlight, Cassius stood by a camphor tree, holding a stack of newspapers in his left hand that was wrapped snugly around a mouth-watering dish of freshly fried fish and chips. In his right hand, he clutched a cup of steaming hot milk.
"Smells good." He was about to chow down, when it dawned on him that he probably shouldn't eat seafood since his wound hadn't healed yet.
It was a bit frustrating, but he didn't have much of a choice. All he could do was tilt his head back and drink the milk in one shot before heading to the pharmacy in the distance. As he passed by the Purple Lake Park, Cassius placed the fish and chips on a black bench. If the park cleaners didn't take it, a homeless person would.
Ding, ding, ding…
A series of crisp bells rang from the front. A mailman in a hooded cap and a striking blue uniform rode his bicycle down the path, a bluish-green cross-body bag, filled with mail from distant places at his waist.
Ring, ring…
Cassius and the mailman passed by each other.
In just one morning, he had spent ten thousand Hongli Federation dollars. This was truly the epitome of spending money like water. If anything, it proved that practicing martial arts required some family assets. Someone truly poor and without any support wouldn't be able to even take the first step in learning martial arts.
At 11:30 a.m., with two large bags on his shoulders, Cassius walked back to Jessica Apartments. Each bulging bag was the size of a small child and weighed almost fifty pounds. It would be impossible to carry them so far back without some strength.
With a creak, he closed the door and put down the two bags.
Thud! Thud!
Folding open the bag's mouth, he took out packet after packet of herbs wrapped in newspaper. A strong herbal aroma immediately filled the room. After half an hour, Cassius finally got up from the floor.
On his right was a large area of sorted herb packets, each representing one herbal bath dose. On his left was a pile of various herbs of different sizes, used for making ointments and could be stored for a long time. Usually, they would be stored in bottles to make it easier to carry.
As for the training method… Naturally, a daily herbal bath was the best—provided one had the money. Because herbal baths used a lot of herbs every time, it would inevitably waste some herbs, the sight of which could really make one's heart ache.
But ointments were a different story. They wasted little to no herbs, were portable, and had a long shelf life. Their only drawback was that they produced less effective training results. Members of the Wind Elephant Sect had the luxury of choosing their preferred method. Generally, the sect provided them with a monthly amount of ointment.
But times have changed. The Hongli Federation of seventy years ago was vastly different from the Hongli Federation of seventy years later.
The rapid development of technology meant that the once rare and precious herbs were now more readily available. Moreover, with the revolutionary development of transportation and vehicles, it didn't cost as much to transport herbs. The origin of herbs expanded from a single county to the entire Hongli Federation, and even reached all of the countries along the sea routes.
Cassius looked at the seventy or eighty packets of herbs for herbal baths at his feet and nodded in satisfaction. These would last him about three months.
Being able to take an herbal bath everyday was something that even the Wind Elephant Sect leader's son could only dream of doing. As every single herb in the concoction was crucial, the production of these baths was dependent on the rarest herb in the formula called Lanxin Grass. Only two places in Beiliu County produced it.
However, seventy years later, a province in the Blue Star Continent of the Blue Star Empire managed to mass-produce this herb and transported shiploads of it to the Hongli Federation. As a result, it wasn't as expensive; not dirt cheap but relatively affordable. In fact, the price of Lanxin Grass was even cheaper than other herbs.
Thus, this was the advancement of an era.
From noon until 1:30 p.m., Cassius busied himself with making the ointment needed for Elephant Soul. The heavy scent of fire and herbs wafted through the windows and up to the sky.
Luckily, Cassius lived on the top floor of Jessica Apartments and had no neighbors above him, otherwise, he was likely going to get complaints as the brewing medicine had an extremely strong smell. Even he couldn't stand it.
Forget four months, there must be half a year or even a year's supply in here. Cassius placed two diamond-shaped glass jars, each the size of a normal person's head, filled with black ointment, in the cabinet.
The ointment still needed to be sealed and fermented for a week before use. Once it smelled like riverbank mud, it was ready. Cassius would then divide these two large bottles into numerous small ones for future use.
He quickly went to the living room and packed all the herbs into a large bag, placing it in a cool, dry place. After that, Cassius went to take a cold shower.
Five minutes later, in front of the mirror, he looked at his right forearm. The scab on the wound had completely fallen off, leaving only a white outline of newly grown skin. His martial arts training seemed to give him a much more powerful healing ability than that of an average person's. At the very least, minor injuries healed faster.
Cassius dried himself and got dressed. He then pulled the curtains aside and tied them with a black cord, hoping the smell would disperse. The herbal smell in the room was too strong and probably wouldn't dissipate for an entire afternoon.
As he opened the door, Cassius grabbed the black wide-brimmed hat from the coat rack. He twisted the cold metal handle and strolled out.
He walked down the stairs, turned right, and found himself on the camphor tree road. Some vendors were pushing their stalls and getting ready to return during dinner time.
Cassius stared at the buildings across the street. Most were grayish-white, Victorian style buildings. Above the dormer windows were gables that were decorated with carvings or lace outlines. The walls were made of red bricks, with many intricate corner carvings. As he walked, he saw that the houses here all had iron railings outside, with metal decorative plates on the arch railings. He could see small trees decorated with hanging ribbons behind the railings.
The owners of these houses were not poor, nor were they wealthy businessmen like the Hudson family. They were middle class and relatively well-off with respectable jobs. In some industries in Baichuan City, they could, at least, be considered elites.
Cassius hailed a carriage by the roadside and left Flag Street. About ten minutes later, he arrived at a crossroad platform. After paying the fare, he got off the carriage.
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