Overall.
Patriarch Ning's conditions were not harsh; they could even be considered generous.
After all, having the Ning Clan's name attached meant they had accepted the business, shielding it from the prying eyes of outsiders.
This would reduce Chen Nuo's troubles.
But aside from the forty percent share of the profits, he made two other demands.
One was that he would send people to Chen's Pharmacy to work as apprentices.
Heh.
To put it nicely, they were apprentices. To put it bluntly, they were after the secret formula.
In this day and age, apprenticeships were very common.
A lucky apprentice might inherit their master's skills or even their fortune. An unlucky one was purely cheap labor!
The kind that didn't even get paid!
And most apprentices fell into the unlucky category.
Typically, an apprenticeship lasted from five to ten years.
Patriarch Ning's intention was a veiled transaction: after five years, the secret formula was to be handed over.
