The Two Families Clash, Han Yuan Reaps the Benefits

Cangming Tower, fourth floor.

Han Yuan smiled warmly. "Senior Brother Di, long time no see."

Di Qing said nervously, "How could I call you Senior Brother? In the sect, the accomplished come first. I should be calling you Senior Brother Han!"

"Haha, Brother Di, you are too polite. Please, sit, sit!" Han Yuan chuckled.

Di Qing sat down somewhat stiffly.

"Tea."

Qin Feng immediately stepped forward and poured tea for Di Qing.

"Thank you!"

Di Qing deliberately glanced at Qin Feng, who was silently pouring tea, then at Liu Sisi, who was quietly playing the zither off to the side, and finally at Han Yuan, who wore a faint smile. Why did he suddenly feel as though he was a rank beneath them?

Han Yuan asked curiously, "Brother Di, you have come looking for me. What is the matter?"

"Ahem, ahem."

Di Qing coughed twice and secretly looked out the window. From the fourth-floor window, he could see that a small patch of Spirit Fields in the distance had already been planted with Spirit Rice. These were all excellent Spirit Fields. Planting Spirit Rice in them was actually rather low value for money; planting rare spirit plants would bring greater returns. Looking at the unused Spirit Fields, he had already formed an idea.

"Senior Brother Han, I came this time because I wish to cooperate with you!" Di Qing said bluntly.

Liu Sisi's zither-playing paused almost imperceptibly, and she gave a soft snort through her nose.

Han Yuan noticed her little movement and asked with smiling eyes, "What sort of cooperation do you have in mind?"

Di Qing said, "I can arrange for people to help you manage the Spirit Fields. We will handle all the planting, and we can split the spirit plants produced fifty-fifty."

Han Yuan smiled faintly. "A fifty-fifty split leaves me at a slight disadvantage. I could simply post tasks in the Mission Hall. There would be no shortage of disciples wanting to work here, and over ninety percent of the Spirit Fields' output would belong to me. Why would I need to cooperate with you?"

Di Qing said confidently, "Senior Brother Han, those disciples lack unified management, and their farming methods are rather ordinary. They are far inferior to us. I come from a family of cultivators, and we have abundant experience in this area. At the very least, we can increase production by fifty percent. Furthermore, relying solely on posted tasks for those Mysterious Grade Spirit Fields is unreliable. Few people are willing to take on tasks that last too long, whereas we can continuously send people to tend them and provide seeds and seedlings for precious spirit plants. Output can increase by another fifty percent or more! In other words, you need do nothing, yet you can effectively obtain the original full returns from all the Spirit Fields. And the price we pay is not small either—time, manpower, and so on. The costs are considerable."

Han Yuan neither confirmed nor denied it, merely continuing, "What else?"

Di Qing froze at that, glanced out the window again, and said, "You also have several Spirit Beast Gardens and Fierce Beast Gardens here. Only two have been put into use at present. We can take those over as well and ensure that you are filled to the brim with riches."

Liu Sisi could no longer endure it. She stopped playing the zither and could not help saying, "Your Di Family truly has quite the appetite. Aren't you afraid of stuffing yourselves sick?"

Di Qing was taken aback. He looked at Liu Sisi, his eyes full of confusion.

Han Yuan gave a brief introduction. "This is Liu Sisi. She was formerly an outer-sect disciple of Spirit Beast Peak and comes from the Liu Family. She is the one managing those two Beast Gardens."

"The Liu Family?" Di Qing was surprised, his brows drawing together. He had not expected someone to move even faster than them.

Moreover, the other party had an advantage in gender. Judging by her appearance, she was already very familiar with Han Yuan.

The gaps in their intelligence made Di Qing somewhat uneasy.

Unable to hold back, he secretly sent a message to the clan elder.

Liu Sisi snorted. "You only came to visit Senior Brother after he truly became a core disciple. You value profit over sentiment and righteousness. Besides, I was the one who came looking for Senior Brother first. Do you not understand first come, first served?"

Di Qing seemed to have received a reply already. He smiled faintly. "So Junior Sister Liu is an elite disciple of the Liu Family. I truly failed to recognize greatness before me. However, the Liu Family mainly deals in Spirit Beasts, so I will not interfere with the Beast Gardens."

He looked at Han Yuan and said solemnly, "Senior Brother Han, our Di Family is willing to concede another half share. What do you think?"

Han Yuan smiled inwardly. When two men fought, he stood to gain. Look at that—before bargaining had even begun, they had voluntarily yielded another half share of profit.

Han Yuan put on a troubled expression. "Brother Di, it is not that I am unwilling. Junior Sister Liu helped me greatly before, and I also promised her that she must have a share. This puts me in a difficult position as well!"

Liu Sisi rolled her eyes at Han Yuan. That excuse was far too forced.

She smiled at Han Yuan. "If Senior Brother is willing to let my Liu Family manage the Spirit Fields, we are willing to give you sixty percent of the returns."

Di Qing's expression darkened. He truly had arrived a step too late—the Liu Family had seized the initiative. But since he had come, he had naturally prepared himself for every possible situation.

"Senior Brother Han, please believe in the Di Family's expertise. Moreover, we can raise our share to sixty percent as well, and our sixty percent will be far greater than the Liu Family's sixty percent. They are a Spirit Beast Clan; cultivation is merely a side business for them." Di Qing spoke earnestly.

Hearing this, Han Yuan showed a thoughtful expression and sighed. "A few months ago, I was short on Spirit Stones. At that time, Senior Brother Di handled matters impartially and helped me pass through that difficulty smoothly. I am deeply grateful. If I do not give Senior Brother Di some share, I will not be able to feel at ease."

Liu Sisi gave Han Yuan another sidelong glance. This reason was truly too far-fetched.

"How about this? No one should suffer too much of a loss. On the Spirit Fields side, sixty percent will be managed by the Di Family, while forty percent will be managed by the Liu Family. As for the Beast Gardens, the Di Family will manage forty percent, while the Liu Family will manage sixty percent. What do you think?" Han Yuan smiled faintly.

Di Qing and Liu Sisi were both stunned. Neither had expected Han Yuan to divide things this way.

Neither answered at once. Both began discussing it with the people behind them.

Han Yuan did not urge them. He lifted his tea and drank.

Qin Feng, standing nearby, perceptively refilled Han Yuan's cup. He was also astonished by the scale of this cooperation. One mu of Yellow-grade High-rank Spirit Fields could produce two thousand to four thousand Spirit Stones a year. Three hundred mu meant six hundred thousand to 1.2 million Spirit Stones, and that did not even include the Mysterious Grade Spirit Fields. The Beast Gardens also produced quite a lot—at least a million Spirit Stones to start with. Sixty percent would already be at least one million Spirit Stones. And that was a conservative estimate.

Liu Sisi's side gave their answer first. "All right, Senior Brother. Our Liu Family agrees to your proposal."

Di Qing's expression changed. After hesitating, he said, "Could we have a few more Spirit Fields?"

Han Yuan glanced at Liu Sisi and said, "The quantity is fixed, but the Di Family can have more of the high-grade Spirit Fields. The same applies to the Beast Gardens—the Liu Family can have more of the high-grade Beast Gardens. What do you think?"

Di Qing's expression eased somewhat, and he agreed. "In that case, our Di Family agrees as well."

Han Yuan's smile did not diminish. He beckoned with his hand.

Qin Feng immediately took out a resource map of Cangming Cave Mansion and laid it in the center.

"This is the distribution of resources in the cave mansion. You may discuss how to divide them."

Di Qing and Liu Sisi each began examining the resource distribution, especially the Mysterious Grade Upper Rank Spirit Fields and Mysterious Grade Upper Rank Beast Gardens. Both were rare resources.

With unspoken understanding, the two assigned the Mysterious Grade Upper Rank Spirit Fields and Beast Gardens to the other party respectively. The rest was quickly divided according to the proportions.

Han Yuan noticed that the two had also left him the thirty-three mu of Spirit Fields currently planted with Spirit Rice. This way, he could still farm a little in his spare time. That was quite nice.

After the two had finished discussing, they looked at Han Yuan together.

Di Qing said, "Senior Brother Han, shall we draw up a Written Contract? It would also be good to report it to the sect."

"That is no problem," Han Yuan said. "However, regarding the returns, I have a small suggestion. I wonder whether you would be interested in hearing it." Han Yuan suddenly added.

"Please speak," Di Qing said.

Liu Sisi also looked at him curiously.

Han Yuan said calmly, "You can estimate your total annual returns and pay me half of those estimated returns in Spirit Stones in advance. For example, five hundred thousand Spirit Stones. If the year-end returns exceed one million, the first one million will be split fifty-fifty, while the excess will continue to be split sixty-forty. If it does not reach one million, I will not return those five hundred thousand Spirit Stones."

Liu Sisi began counting on her fingers in confusion, her eyes somewhat blank. "What does that mean?"

Di Qing looked at Liu Sisi speechlessly. The meaning was very straightforward. Han Yuan would be guaranteed a harvest regardless of drought or flood. Should there be a poor harvest, Han Yuan would still receive half the estimated Spirit Stones.

If the Spirit Stone estimate was lower, they could steadily secure a portion under the fifty-fifty split. If the estimate was higher, their own risk would increase, but they could also obtain a greater share from the fifty-fifty split.

All in all, Han Yuan would have a guaranteed minimum, while they could also receive some concessions. Both sides would benefit.

Di Qing gasped inwardly. Was such an idea really something an eighteen-year-old youth could come up with?