Arriving with a Crowd, Leaving Alone

Senior Brother Wu wasn't worried about the smoke problem at all now.

Things that required Spirit Stones to buy, why would he worry about them leaking?

Even if they did leak, he believed the vast community of Tier 1 Talisman Masters would eagerly collect them to sell.

Tier 1 Talisman Masters were the clean-up crew of the Immortal Dust Sect.

Behind Senior Brother Wu, the other members of the Law Enforcement Hall and Wang Long, along with others, wore expressions of utter disbelief.

Li Xiuchang's method of earning Spirit Stones was somewhat beyond their understanding as Tier 1 Talisman Masters.

In their eyes, people were practically lining up to give Li Xiuchang Spirit Stones while also helping him deal with the smoke pollution.

Next, under the witness of Senior Brother Wu from the Law Enforcement Hall, Li Xiuchang signed contracts with representatives from several small groups.

The terms of the contracts had been repeatedly discussed by the parties involved.

They were generally the same as what had been discussed verbally, with only some details being refined.

For example, each family could only send a maximum of five people to collect smoke per day. If they exceeded five, they would have to pay more!

Additionally, the Spirit Stones for each day would be settled daily. Payment would be made for one day of smoke collection. If someone couldn't come on a particular day, they naturally wouldn't have to pay.

Li Xiuchang also had to guarantee that the subsequent smoke output would at least double the current amount.

Finally, both parties had the right to unilaterally terminate the contract at any time.

After signing the contracts, Li Xiuchang immediately received five Spirit Stones from the representatives of the five small groups.

A few other small groups planned to wait until Li Xiuchang upgraded his smoke output before participating in the collection.

The small groups that paid their Spirit Stones immediately organized their personnel to collect the smoke from the sky.

The Gu Masters directly released the Gu insects they raised, which began to devour the smoke in large gulps.

The Poison Masters took out small jade bottles and absorbed the smoke like a great whale drawing water.

The Artifact Refiners took out cloth bags, opened them, and blew a gust of wind, swirling the smoke up and back into the bags...

Each trade employed its own methods, all very professional.

The dense mass of smoke that had accumulated overhead earlier quickly thinned out considerably.

Seeing that the matter was resolved, Senior Brother Wu bid farewell and prepared to leave with his subordinates.

However, after flying for a while, he turned back and saw that several of his subordinates were still standing still.

One of the Law Enforcement Hall disciples shamelessly asked Li Xiuchang, "Junior Brother, what cultivation technique are you practicing? Can we still switch to it?"

Wang Long saw through their intentions. They were all Tier 1 Talisman Masters and had prior relationships. He chuckled and scolded, "Don't dream, you guys. This Mana was cultivated by Junior Brother Li through a stroke of luck. Even if I gave you the cultivation method, you wouldn't be able to cultivate it."

Although they had expected this outcome, the disciples couldn't help but show disappointment.

Another one tentatively asked, "Do you still need people here?"

"Yes! One Spirit Stone a day, paid daily," Li Xiuchang replied.

He had originally planned to expand production after the first batch of Spirit Meat was smoked in four days, but now that he could even earn Spirit Stones from smoke, he would profit even if he just burned through the furnaces.

Li Xiuchang naturally wanted to move this forward.

"Can we do it?" they asked eagerly.

"This is just a small operation of ours, and there are no guarantees. We might stop at any time."

"No problem. We don't have any guarantees at the Law Enforcement Hall either. If there's work, we'll do it; if there's no work, we'll go back and do a few days' worth."

They were all only at the Qi Condensation stage. At the Law Enforcement Hall, they were just the lowest-level grunts, without even a "position." They couldn't earn more than a few Spirit Stones a month, unlike Senior Brother Wu, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Li Xiuchang fell silent, his gaze shifting to Senior Brother Wu. He couldn't poach people right in front of him.

Those disciples also looked expectantly at Senior Brother Wu.

Senior Brother Wu shook his head helplessly but still spoke, "Junior Brother Li, these individuals are reliable workers. If you truly need people, you can take them all."

Seeing that Senior Brother Wu had said so, Li Xiuchang nodded.

A total of five new fire tenders, all in the Late Qi Condensation stage. This meant he could add another fifty furnaces!

Senior Brother Wu waved his hand and turned to leave.

When they arrived, they were a group; when they left, he was alone... He sighed and shook his head.

But Senior Brother Wu was happy for his old subordinates that they could find more profitable work and naturally wouldn't stop them.

Besides, with so many Tier 1 Talisman Masters in the sect, he wasn't worried about not being able to recruit people.

Now that the people had been hired, they couldn't be left idle.

Li Xiuchang immediately consulted Senior Brother Wang Long, asking him to rent another fifty furnace artifacts.

Senior Brother Wang Long whispered, "Renting furnaces isn't a problem, but we don't have Spirit Stones for supplies anymore. Won't it be a huge loss to just burn through the furnaces?"

Li Xiuchang pondered it. Adding fifty empty furnaces wouldn't necessarily be a loss. The increased smoke output would attract more people to collect smoke, making it entirely break-even or even slightly profitable.

However, it was indeed a waste of time and resources. If all fifty furnaces could be used to smoke Spirit Meat, it would generate hundreds of Spirit Stones in a few days.

"It's a real shame, but we don't have enough capital, so there's nothing we can do," Li Xiuchang said helplessly.

Once the first batch of Smoked Spirit Meat was ready in four days, their financial difficulties would be resolved.

They just had to endure these four days.

Wang Long tentatively suggested, "How about we borrow some Spirit Stones?"

Li Xiuchang was tempted but also hesitant, unsure of who to ask.

He hadn't joined the sect long ago and didn't know many people. He already owed Senior Brother Song Yu a favor, so he felt awkward asking him. He couldn't possibly ask his own master, could he?

Seeing Li Xiuchang's predicament, Wang Long's gaze fell on the five newcomers. "I'll try," he said.

After speaking, he walked over to the five. They whispered amongst themselves for a moment, and soon, satisfied smiles appeared on their faces.

"Each of them lent us ten Spirit Stones, for a total of fifty Spirit Stones. That's just enough," Wang Long reported to Li Xiuchang with a smile.

"Where did they get ten Spirit Stones each?" Li Xiuchang's first thought was this question, not curiosity about why they were willing to lend the money.

"They haven't collected their stipends from the Law Enforcement Hall yet, so it's not difficult for each of them to scrape together ten Spirit Stones. I promised them I'd only need it for four or five days, and I'd give them one Spirit Stone in interest each. Why would they refuse?" Wang Long explained. "You provided the initial capital, Senior Brother, so I'll cover the interest."

Li Xiuchang shook his head. "Senior Brother, you don't need to be so formal. Although I provided the capital, I'm making the bulk of the profit, and you've put in a lot of effort too."

Li Xiuchang understood that the five newcomers agreed to lend the Spirit Stones mainly out of respect for Wang Long. Otherwise, who would be willing to invest money before even earning anything from a new job?

He couldn't let Senior Brother Wang Long do all the work and also bear the financial burden.

Wang Long was about to say something more, but considering it was only a few Spirit Stones, he didn't press the issue. Instead, he became even more motivated and went out with the five newcomers.

He was going to accompany them to the Law Enforcement Hall to collect their stipends so they could get the Spirit Stones to buy supplies.

As for the five newcomers, they were scheduled to start working tomorrow, which would leave one day for marinating the Spirit Meat.

Wang Long bought the Spirit Meat that same day and rented fifty furnace artifacts.

However, Li Xiuchang's small courtyard couldn't accommodate so many furnaces, so the second batch of fifty furnaces was placed outside the courtyard.

Since the Eastern Geng District had few people, there was no worry about disturbing anyone.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, and the newly rented fifty furnace artifacts were used to smoke the Spirit Meat successfully on the second day.

Four days passed in the blink of an eye, and the first batch of thirty furnaces of Smoked Spirit Meat was finally completed!

The first update of Monday will be posted earlier to get some visibility on the new book charts.

This new book is seeking readership. This week is the first round of trial recommendations, and the data is crucial.

I've had a difficult start with two consecutive books. Please let this one be a dignified one. I'm begging you.