Chapter 121 Incense Making (First Update) - Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?! - NovelsTime

Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!

Chapter 121 Incense Making (First Update)

Author: Golden Autumn Breeze Blue Rain
updatedAt: 2025-07-13

CHAPTER 121: CHAPTER 121 INCENSE MAKING (FIRST UPDATE)

After much hesitation, Yang Hongye finally decided to accept his invitation to move into the spacious apartment.

Firstly, it was originally economical for two people to split the rent, but now that Jiang Yuan has moved out, renting alone is too expensive, and finding another roommate is difficult;

Secondly, she really needed to save every penny for her dream of owning a house, so she had to sacrifice a bit of face to save money;

Thirdly, the neighborhood was conveniently located with great access to transportation, very close to the company, and absolutely elite, which meant she could save more commuting time and have more opportunities for advancement.

For Jiang Yuan, having two people living in such a large house brought more life than living alone. Anyway, Yang Hongye was staying in the suite at the far west end, which was a minute’s walk through corridors from the master bedroom, so they wouldn’t disturb each other.

Without intentional arrangements, the two of them might not even run into each other under the same roof.

Yang Hongye’s efficiency was always top-notch. After deciding, she immediately began to prepare for negotiating with the landlord about ending her lease and planned to spend a few days driving her reimbursement-covered car to move her belongings.

Jiang Yuan only went back to pack his few belongings, asking her to help take them, leaving all the follow-up tasks entirely to Yang Hongye.

The next evening, Jiang Yuan met a modern Medicine Gatherer at Chuci’s introduction.

"My surname is Shi, the stone character Shi, with a single given name Lei." Perhaps due to spending a long time in the wild, the Medicine Gatherer had dark, muscular skin, with a scar on his right cheek. Jiang Yuan noticed scars on his hands and legs, with prominent finger joints, likely from frequent mountain climbing.

After introductions, the man placed a large medical box on the table and took out commonly used fragrance herbs for him to choose from.

"Cloves and patchouli are fine." Jiang Yuan immediately picked out two ingredients suitable for incense making; the others were either too young or not potent enough.

"Oh, an expert!" Shi Lei was straightforward, immediately taking out a small box from the medical box, "Then have a look at this."

A special fragrance wafted in, making Jiang Yuan’s eyes light up. "What’s the price for this Agarwood?"

"This is old stock, completely wild and plenty aged. Given you know your stuff, a flat price of 650 per gram. To be honest, racing across deep mountain forests all over, it’s hard to come by such old stock."

"650 per gram?" Chuci glanced at the not-so-big piece of incense and calculated mentally, realizing the cost of Medicinal Incense was indeed high.

No wonder Jiang Yuan hadn’t turned his incense-making skills into money yet, facing unemployment and struggling to save up for incense materials.

"That’s not expensive!" Shi Lei pointed to the scar on his face and complained, "I have to earn a little extra for my family’s livelihood. You have no idea how risky my work is—one slip on those cliffs and it’s over. Still, considering you understand, I’m willing to sell this to you."

Jiang Yuan, who had done a lot of online research recently, knew how hard it was for Medicine Gatherers. He didn’t want to haggle with those on the frontlines fighting for their hard-earned money, so he nodded to agree on the price. "Can you get good Agarwood?"

"The common artificial stuff on the market can be found for around a thousand per gram. If you’re looking for the top-notch wild stuff, it’s tens of thousands per gram and still hard to find; there’s so much counterfeit." Shi Lei evaluated him with a smile. "You’re using it for Incense Sticks, right? Using such good Agarwood, the incense really would be a good remedy—that’s what makes fine medicine. Nowadays, such good medicinal materials are turned into collectibles and strung into beads for storage. Regular folks like us hardly get to see the genuine stuff."

"Good ingredients are indeed hard to come by, but I don’t use artificial products." Jiang Yuan packed up the selected ingredients and added Shi Lei’s contact information.

Only then did Chuci recall that Jiang Yuan had mentioned the good Agarwood in Sleeping Incense and Soothing Incense, differing only in the amount added. From comparing the claimed handmade incenses bought for thousands before, he was now sure the incense Jiang Yuan sold him was made with extraordinary materials!

"Brother Yuan, the ingredients you use are top-notch. Mind opening my eyes a bit? I’ve handled sandalwood beads before, but never other incense materials."

"I’m preparing to make incense tomorrow, so you can come and have a look." Jiang Yuan had roughly estimated the materials’ cost for making incense and lowered his voice to advise, "We’re not outsiders, so I return the cost when giving you incense. But if I were to sell it, I’d have to charge a bit for labor, so don’t tell anyone."

Chuci immediately nodded like a pecking chick, filled with curiosity about incense making.

That night, staying in the luxury residence, Jiang Yuan indulged in a bath, comfortably watching a movie, sipping red wine while enjoying the riverside night view.

Sleeping on a large, comfortable bed, he naturally woke up at six the next morning.

He went for a jog along the riverside promenade, ordered breakfast on the way back, and soon someone delivered it right to the doorstep, finally grasping the relaxation that comes with wealth.

At nine in the morning, Chuci woke up and rushed over to watch the incense making.

"In traditional incense making, the best seasons are the Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival, as these times are suitable to blend the Qi of heaven and earth into Incense Sticks. But due to high demand, there are fewer requirements now; Incense Sticks with heavenly Qi infusion are few and naturally pricier than regular ones." Jiang Yuan explained seriously, then brought out the pre-ground ingredients from the mill.

Various fragrances wafted in, and even though Chuci wasn’t very knowledgeable, having handled beads, he could tell these spices were genuine and not low-quality synthetic scents.

"Just mix these materials to make incense? I think, I might manage too."

"Of course not. Besides having an exact formula, before making incense, one must meditate and chant, maintaining tranquility. Only with a clear mind would one’s Qi be pure, preventing impurities from tainting the medicine."

Saying this, Jiang Yuan cleaned up, lit a Ningxin Fragrance, then sat cross-legged chanting scriptures.

Confronted by such a ritual, Chuci became more curious about mysticism, even considering learning from a master!

Jiang Yuan meditated for nearly half an hour before standing up to sift, weigh, and knead the aromatic clay.

Not until placing the kneaded aromatic clay for fermentation did he explain, "I prepared these raw materials earlier. First, the herbs need to be sifted to remove impurities, then cleaned, steamed, or sun-dried as needed, sealed and cellared for the fragrance to fully develop before grinding to powder for use.

Now, fermentation is needed. After fermentation, the incense is extruded, shaped, dried, refined, cellared, tested, and finally, every handmade Incense Stick is selected, storing different incense using various containers."

"So we have to ferment now?"

"Yes, at the current temperature, it should be fine in three days. We’ll check the scent then, and if not right, wait for another day."

Chuci couldn’t help but give a thumbs up, "I’m impressed, brother! No wonder your Medicinal Incense is so effective, considering the rare materials and the incense-making process taking ten days to half a month, with any lapse causing all efforts to go to waste."

"That’s why handmade things are expensive. My solidly crafted, effective Incense Sticks are even pricier. The key is finding someone who knows their stuff; otherwise, if I say a single stick costs over a thousand just for raw materials, many people would surely call me a swindler." Jiang Yuan heaved a sigh of relief, thinking it would be easier to sell at a high price after a series of demonstrations.

Apart from the immediate effect, the raw material price issue would have its own defenders in

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