[Haggai]

I would suggest leveling your Alchemy to at least 29-ish. Then you can start making your own bast parchment for shihei. You should be able to HQ shihei like crazy. Shihei is always in demand and making your own bast parchment cuts the production cost down significantly. Even lower if you go logging an get your own elm logs. Ghelsba Outpost is actually quite nice for elm, and it's not too far from town.

If you get your own elm and get your own lightning crystals, (Qufim and Konschtat are nice for elementals) then the cost of making a stack of bast parchment is as low as 488 gil. Thats 460 for the hatchet to get the elm, plus 10 for the distilled water and 18 for the moko grass. That's if you even want to include the full 460 for the hatchet, because most likely, you'll be able to reuse it. You'll also get some other logs that may or may not be useful. Just bring some wind crystals and bundling twine when you go. You DO have Lumberjack, right? If not, get it. It is EXTREMELY useful.

Of course, the 488 gil cost is assuming perfect conditions: no hatchet break, no synthing break.

Think about it... how much does bast parchment cost? Like 12k-15k on the AH? You can make a killing just selling the parchment. But why stop there when you can HQ shihei easily?

Plus, at 29 alchemy, you stand a decent chance at HQing some black ink, too.

Also, seeing that you have attempted some cooking, get it to 30 or 40. It can be done easily and inexpensively. That way, when you ever find that you have an over-abundance of water crystals (I always do), you can make some money in Kazham or Rabao. Just bring some water crystals down and buy pineapples or melons (depending on which town you went to) and make an inventory full of juices. Set them up for bazaar, stand near the chocobo person, and go afk for a few hours or overnight. They sell really well, and it requires very little effort.

EDIT: You CAN do apple juice, which is at your level, but I know that melon and pineapple juice sells really well.