The Two Sages of the West's Open Scheme! The Underworld's First Bank Opens for Business!
That shout, carrying immense sincerity and an urgent sense of crisis, forcefully tore through the noisy horde of ghosts at the entrance of the candy store and precisely drilled into Lin Shen's ears.
Lin Shen was lying on the counter of the "Chaos Jade" that Yuanshi Tianzun had personally refined.
With her little chin resting on her chubby arm, she looked out at the dark mass of ghosts stretching as far as the eye could see, her tiny brows furrowed into a knot.
Trouble.
This is a huge problem.
His candy shop is incredibly popular, but the space is only so big.
Sweeping, wiping tables, security guards... all positions are full.
There are so many ghosts outside, craning their necks to come in and work, but they can't even find a door.
They can't buy the sugar they make if they don't earn Lin Shen Coin.
What should we do?
For the first time, the simple concepts of "overcapacity" and "insufficient domestic demand" appeared in Lin Shen's little mind.
Just then, the voice of the Qiankun Food Sage came, as he was spitting as he tested a new batch of "flavor developers" on the ground.
"Next! That ghost immortal with eight heads! You said you're good at concocting 'Hundred Flavors Soup'?"
"Come on, try my 'Soul-Crushing Sauce' first. Name three of its main ingredients within three breaths, or you're fired!"
The Qiankun Food Sage's expression was solemn, even more so than when he was choosing a Daoist partner for himself.
Lin Shen sighed, feeling that this wouldn't solve the fundamental problem.
He'd rather go to the Metaverse and watch those little people fight.
Just then, the shout of "I can give you so many lollipops you can't finish them all" made his little ears perk up!
His eyes lit up, and he immediately slid down from the high counter and ran towards the door.
Outside the candy store, Zhurong and Gonggong, the two newly appointed "security captains," stood like two iron towers, firmly blocking the two golden-haired old men.
The two old men stood on golden lotuses, bathed in Buddhist light, yet their faces bore a standard, template-perfect expression of sorrow.
It is precisely Jieyin and Zhunti.
"What are you doing!"
Zhurong Rong roared in a deep, gruff voice, his fists, as big as sandbags, clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.
"Can't you see my boss is hiring? Want a job? Get in line at the back!"
"A misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding, fellow Daoists!"
Zhunti waved his hands frantically, his forced smile looking more like a grimace.
"We have come to pay our respects to our young friend and to discuss a monumental collaboration!"
"Cooperate?"
Gonggong had a cold face, his eyes full of suspicion that "you two have shifty eyes and are obviously not good people."
"Our boss doesn't do partnerships!"
"Let them in!"
Lin Shen poked his little head out from the door and called out in a clear voice.
Zhurong and Gonggong reluctantly made way for them.
Jieyin and Zhunti as if they had been granted a pardon. They rushed to Lin Shen in one stride and, without saying a word, bowed deeply to him at a ninety-degree angle.
"Young friend! You are the savior of the West, the guiding light of the entire underworld!"
Zhunti opened his mouth, tears streamed down his face. His acting skills were so superb that they would make all the best actors in the Three Realms feel ashamed.
"My fellow disciple and I just witnessed countless souls at the settlement center, unable to buy your candy because they didn't have 'Lin Shen Coin,' drawing circles in the corner, heartbroken beyond measure! Our hearts are filled with bitterness!"
The Jieyin, perfectly in sync with the situation, pulled out his sleeve and frantically wiped away non-existent tears, his sobs heart-wrenching enough to break the hearts of all who heard them.
"Young friend, you see, although your candy shop is the best in the Three Realms, the number of jobs available is limited."
"So many ghosts want to serve you and eat your sweets, but they have no way to do so and can only watch helplessly from the outside. Doesn't this cut off their path to good and also your path to wealth?"
Lin Shen was taken aback.
The little brain clicked instantly!
Yes!
That's exactly the point!
That's what he was just worrying about!
These two weeping old men had the same idea as him!
"Then... what should we do?"
Lin Shen blinked his big eyes, his face full of expectant anticipation, as if to say, "Tell me everything you know."
"I have a plan!"
Zhunti that the time was ripe, Zhunti's eyes lit up, and he immediately presented their long-awaited business plan.
"We wish to open a 'Money House' opposite your candy shop, young friend!"
"Money House?"
Lin Shen tilted his head; he had heard this word before.
"Yes! Money House!" Zhunti's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "Young friend, this is the Central Bank that issues 'Lin Shen Coin'!"
"And our Money House is all about helping you... lend your money out!"
"Ghosts who want to start a business, like opening a Barbecue Stall in the Metaverse, but lack start-up capital (Lin Shen Coin), can come to our Money House to borrow money!"
"They'll pay us back with interest once they've made their money."
"In this way, the economy of the underworld will be completely revitalized! Everyone will make money, and then everyone will have money to buy your lollipops!"
Lin Shen's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
This method seems to really solve his problem!
Let those who are unemployed have money, and then they can buy his candy!
Jieyin immediately added, offering an irresistible condition. "To show our sincerity, our Money House will be called 'Western Paradise Bank'! We don't need a single Lin Shen Coin from you, young friend; we only need your 'official authorization'!"
"Thirty percent of all our bank's profits will be regularly supplied to your candy shop as... a brand usage fee!"
"Young friend, you don't have to do anything. Just lie in the candy shop every day, and countless Lin Shen Coin will automatically flow into your pocket! What do you think of this business?"
His words were eloquent and his logic impeccable.
Lin Shen, but he understood the core points.
He solved the problem of "many ghosts not having money to buy candy".
At the same time, he can do nothing and just lie in bed every day, and he will have lots and lots of Lin Shen Coin.
With lots and lots of Lin Shen Coin, you can exchange them for lots and lots of lollipops.
"Okay! Okay!"
Lin Shen clapped his hands on the spot and readily agreed.
He felt that these two weeping old men were the kindest people in the Primordial World!
"Thank you for your kind offer, young friend!"
Jieyin and Zhunti were so moved that tears streamed down their faces; this time, it was truly tears of joy.
They bowed deeply to Lin Shen once again.
It's done!
It really worked!
They've squeezed back into the core of the underworld's economic circle from the periphery once again!
So what if we lose the right to issue currency?
They obtained something even more terrifying than the right to issue bonds— the Credit Authority!
Money is merely a medium of exchange.
Credit, however, is the rein that controls the entire future!
The two Sage seemed to have already foreseen that in the near future, the entire underworld, from the Ancestral Dragon's transportation company to the millions of small merchants in the Metaverse, would become customers of their "Western Paradise Bank".
No, it's "debtor"!
At this moment, the dream of Western prosperity has been reignited in a completely new, more distorted, and more "capitalist" way!
Let's do it!
Sage's ability to act is astonishingly fast.
Almost the instant Lin Shen nodded, a deafening roar erupted!
Across from the candy shop, a magnificent building rises from the ground, embodying the Western Teachings "Gaudy Gold" aesthetic, with two enormous Golden Light of Merit Bodhi Tree standing at the entrance and a sign that reads "Western Paradise Bank - Your Partner in Wealth Dreams" in golden light!
On opening day, the line outside the bank was even longer than the line at the candy store.
Countless ghosts who had previously looked distressed because they couldn't get jobs now had their eyes shining.
They clutched the newly filled-out "Startup Loan Application Form" tightly in their hands, their faces filled with boundless anticipation for the future.
The commercial ecosystem of the underworld was once again turned upside down by these two unconventional Sage.