Trash Fish, Pay-to-Win Sows

After confirming the steward position, Ning Zheng did not linger. He called aside the young man named "Jiu Cai Rong" alone.

A moment later, seated in the steward's office, he took out some records and documents passed down through the generations and explained how the place was to be managed.

He then announced the benefits package.

"First, our Mountain Villa will provide free room and board."

"The Mountain Villa's operations are mainly divided into three areas. In truth, it is a forging assembly line: mining, smelting, and forging."

Ning Zheng had not spoken normally with anyone for many years. Now that he could finally chat with someone, he could not help becoming a little long-winded.

First, the mining area.

The entire mountain was in fact a massive Magic Copper Mine vein. That was why the Demon People had occupied this place. Its value was enough to make anyone's eyes turn red; it was truly like sitting atop a mountain of gold.

For every cubic meter of Magic Bronze ore a miner excavated, he would be paid one copper coin.

Second, the smelting area.

For every copper ingot cast from the mined raw ore, there would be a commission of three copper coins.

Third, the forging area.

This required Blacksmiths with forging experience to forge embryonic magic artifacts.

They could take ten percent of an artifact's sale price. Even the simplest farming tool could conservatively sell for a hundred copper coins.

That meant a profit starting at ten copper coins!

The Bronze Sword in Ning Zheng's hand had been forged by him personally.

In truth, the Mountain Villa's entire workflow was very simple. Most of it was grueling manual labor, with only Blacksmiths holding technical positions.

To be honest, slaves had not been paid before. Why should people trafficked through one's own abilities be given wages?

But now that Ning Zheng was in charge, he still gave them wages and benefits, though they were not particularly high.

Only those who had been drenched by the rain would hold an umbrella over others.

He knew how important wages were to the hardworking common folk at the bottom of society.

Besides, in his eyes, the Mountain Villa would almost certainly never make money in the future. Did they really think these people had come as tourists, here for leisure rather than hard labor?

So his expectations for them were very low.

Why?

Because someone unlucky enough to have Luck Value -2 could never forge a good weapon.

With luck like that, it would definitely be forging failure after forging failure.

Thus, running the Mountain Villa was only secondary.

His main objective was the "Luck Value" secretly deducted in the background. That was the real profit, the most effective and valuable form of income.

"Next, this old man will gradually hand over authority. In three days, I will step down as steward and leave the Mountain Villa in your hands."

"Our Manor Lord spends all year in seclusion cultivating, but he will come out periodically to inspect the place. Do not slack off or harbor any other disloyal intentions, or you may lose your life."

Ning Zheng did not want to handle the Mountain Villa's miscellaneous affairs. Self-operation was essential.

"Oh, right. A group of Demon People attacked our Mountain Villa some time ago. Most of its buildings were destroyed, and everything is waiting to be rebuilt."

Ning Zheng said, "Next, you will need to lead people in rebuilding the dormitories and all kinds of workshops. Otherwise, work cannot proceed normally. Naturally, you will be paid suitable wages for it as well."

"As for your salary, it will be set at five percent of the Mountain Villa's net profit. For every thousand copper coins earned, you will receive fifty copper coins."

This treatment was already quite good.

One should not underestimate the purchasing power of copper coins. Copper coins were no ordinary things; they were Magic Coins.

They could hold and absorb spiritual power. They were the basic currency circulated among low-level cultivators and were worth quite a bit.

"I understand."

Throughout the process, Jiu Cai Rong had listened with great interest, his manner all the more respectful and deferential.

"It is good that you understand. Next, look through the Mountain Villa's archives and records. Ask if there is anything you do not understand."

Ning Zheng also found a chair nearby and sat down, playing the role of a kind Old Steward. He handed over the documents. "I will only guide you for three days. Three days from now, this old man will retire, so you must learn quickly."

"Yes."

Jiu Cai Rong said solemnly, "All my life, I have been full of learning, regretting only that I had never met a discerning master. Thank you, Lord Steward, for recognizing my worth. I will definitely work hard!"

This was rather immersive. With Lu Bu reborn into the world and encountering a discerning master, the feeling hit him all at once.

At that moment, he felt the urge to do something huge!

In three days, the old man would retire.

He would manage those leeks himself. The role was much like a management simulation: if he failed to meet the standard, he would be replaced. A small shareholder at the steward level, with a five-percent cut—who would not be tempted?

The gameplay before him resembled a business game, like a city simulation: build bridges, run zoos.

To clear such management simulation games quickly and get rich, one had to focus on deductions at every layer, exploitation, and enslavement. Only then could one grow bigger and stronger, creating new glories!

But these players were not those stupid NPC laborers who could be exploited at will.

Every last one of them was slippery as hell!

Did he really think he could treat them like slaves, withhold their pay, and squeeze them dry?

They would dare to stop working and slack off in every possible way. His own revenue would fall, and he himself would be kicked out of the steward position.

So how to strike the right balance in operations was an art!

Waging a battle of wits and courage against this bunch of pay-to-win sows, figuring out how to exploit them, was quite a challenge.

So the Dog Planner was me. Excitement flashed in his eyes. Fighting people was endlessly enjoyable.

Still, this game's world seemed mysterious and uncanny. This was not an ordinary ancient setting. Did it have immortals and demons? Was it a xianxia game?

Our Sword Forging Manor might be like some pixel Blacksmith Shop game, waiting for warriors, mages, and priests to come knocking, providing them with weapons, then having them adventure and explore secret realms before bringing back better materials for him?

If that was the case, making money meant entering the high-end customer circle, building connections, and establishing a brand. Only then would there be suckers willing to pay!

As a veteran player, he kept analyzing the game's information. After all, modern games basically could not escape those few frameworks.

The moment a planner stuck out his ass, he already knew roughly what they were about to pull.

"Also, this old NPC's intelligence is way too high."

Jiu Cai Rong fell into deep thought. Has there been some technological breakthrough?

It did not seem like a real person acting, either.

After all, those tiny expressions of contempt, speechlessness, surprise, and bewilderment made him look like a native local who knew absolutely nothing about them.

Those expressions in every respect were difficult to fake. If someone could act to that extent, they might as well compete for Best Actor. Why lower themselves to become a tutorial NPC?

Besides, there was no need to pretend. What was wrong with simply saying, "I am a guide for the closed beta"? Would everyone not still play?

Therefore, there should not be any need for disguise, though that conclusion still required further verification.

For now, he seemed to enjoy chatting? He had probably not spoken to anyone for a long time. But old people were like that—lonely, fond of pulling young people over for a chat.

"Lord Steward, may I ask some questions?" Jiu Cai Rong set down the documents and adopted the manner of a humble learner.

"Ask away. As a steward, I truly cannot be unable to answer three questions out of three."

Ning Zheng said, "But I cannot answer too much, either. This world is very mysterious. Even I have not lifted so much as one hundred-millionth of its veil."

Seeing that he was a kind and friendly old man, Jiu Cai Rong boldly asked, "May I ask where our sales channels are?"

"Our Sword Forging Manor has channels with the outside merchant guilds. We conduct regular trade through a designated cross-dimensional transport channel within the Mountain Villa," Ning Zheng said.

The channels left behind before could naturally still be used for trade.

They only recognized the goods, not the people.

Besides, if the trading partner truly proved unsuitable and needed to be changed, Ning Zheng could also be "lucky" enough to happen upon another merchant guild.