Fear of death was rooted deep in the blood and essence of every living being.
The appearance of a Longevity Method had thrown Lin Ze into turmoil.
He desperately wanted a longer life, so much so that he could no longer think rationally.
But in the end, Lin Ze suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and managed to make a rational decision about what to do next.
Once he had calmed his thoughts, Lin Ze returned to the Three Yang Sword Sect and summoned Ning Heng and the other two.
The past few days had not been pleasant for the three of them.
After Lin Ze had beaten them black and blue, they had suffered serious injuries. They had barely finished healing when the Great Zhou White Robe Guard summoned them for a martial contest, using it as an excuse to investigate who had tried to assassinate Lin Ze. Only recently had they finally found some peace.
As a result, the three of them looked at Lin Ze with a hint of resentment.
"Tell me about the Longevity Palace's current businesses and the personnel you can mobilize."
Ignoring their resentful looks, Lin Ze held up his identity jade token and spoke.
Seeing the token, the three knew that Lin Ze was now their direct superior. From then on, they would have to assist him in his work.
Thinking of the impressive money-making skills Lin Ze had shown before, the minor grievances in their hearts vanished. They would be working alongside Lin Ze to make money for the organization. And as the saying went, even if you didn't do much else, you'd still get a little grease on your hands after handling pork.
Clearly, their financial prospects were looking bright.
"Yes."
Ning Heng gathered his thoughts and began to explain. "At present, we have three subordinate organizations that earn money for the Longevity Palace. The first is our Three Yang Sword Sect, which mainly deals in silk and textiles, supplying goods for the many officials and nobles."
"The second money-making organization is the Immortal Doctor Pavilion. It inherited some of the Longevity Palace's medical knowledge and specializes in treating all manner of difficult and unusual ailments. Its fees are high, so it earns money while also gathering a great deal of information about the human body."
"The third is the Pacifying Escort Agency. It's an organization that sells violence. Aside from the usual escort work, it secretly earns money by providing armed protection to small and medium-sized gangs and helping them settle disputes with the authorities."
"As for the personnel we can mobilize, they're basically people from these three organizations: around eighteen thousand able-bodied men, three hundred martial artists, mostly second- or third-rate. There are twenty first-rate or better martial artists, seven superlative martial artists, and the three of us are Peerless Experts."
"Of course, we need to keep some people stationed at our three existing businesses. So, all told, we can mobilize about half of our total personnel."
After hearing Ning Heng's explanation, Lin Ze began to consider the situation.
The Longevity Palace had a vast organizational structure. Clearly, it had more organizations and businesses than the ones before him, but these were the only subordinate forces it had revealed to Lin Ze.
It was obvious they had assessed his character and knew that he tended to act within the rules. So they had given him businesses that could operate in the open. They hadn't brought up the other shadowy enterprises that couldn't be shown to the public.
"How much startup capital do you have?"
Lin Ze asked again.
"Do you mean how much we can allocate to a new business while keeping the three existing ones running normally?"
Ning Heng asked.
One of the main reasons the Longevity Palace was working with Lin Ze was to make money.
To make money on a large scale, they would have to find new approaches and stake out a new blue ocean.
After Lin Ze nodded, Ning Heng quickly gave him a precise answer. "Around sixty thousand taels of silver."
Seeing Lin Ze frown, Ning Heng explained with a wry smile. "Earl Lin, your family is powerful and you deal in huge sums. You probably don't know how hard life is for people like us who practice martial arts. We spend almost all our money on medicinal materials to aid our cultivation."
"Especially with the Palace Master researching the art of longevity. That's a bottomless pit of expenses. It's already a blessing that we have a little startup capital left. From now on, we'll be counting on you, our God of Wealth, to bail us out."
Lin Ze couldn't help but complain. "You don't have any strong core businesses, you don't have startup capital, and you still want to make big money. Why not just go to bed?"
Ning Heng and the other two said nothing, letting Lin Ze lecture them.
Honestly, the Longevity Palace's situation was making it hard for Lin Ze to figure out how they could earn big money.
First, they couldn't touch sensitive industries, such as salt, iron, grain, or the cultivation of Spiritual Medicine. That would bring down the wrath of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Second, they couldn't touch highly profitable monopolies, such as cement factories or wool textiles—simple, brutally profitable industries. Lin Ze could bring in technology from the Main World and set up a few similar businesses, but the subordinate organizations the Longevity Palace had revealed weren't strong enough to protect such massive profits.
Nor could they reveal how powerful the Longevity Palace's main force was. That would bring down the Great Zhou Dynasty's wrath as well.
"That leaves only the service industry and high-tech industries."
Lin Ze thought aloud.
Then he turned his gaze toward Lu Lu, who stood nearby.
She was skilled in the art of seduction. In a world with advanced media, she could make her debut as a star and become a nationwide idol.
Unfortunately, the Great Zhou Dynasty had no such environment.
As a tertiary industry, the service sector relied on the development of agriculture as the primary industry and manufacturing as the secondary industry. But neither was developed here. No matter how powerful Lu Lu's seduction arts were, she couldn't make much money.
"Maybe we could open hotels? Offer distinctive song and dance performances, then import all kinds of seasonings and advanced recipes from the Main World. It could become the latest craze in the Great Zhou Dynasty. If we opened branches in major cities across the country, we could earn a fortune."
Lin Ze thought to himself.
Then he shared his idea with the three people before him. "What do you think about opening restaurants? I can provide secret seasonings and some delicious recipes. Then Lu Lu can train a group of servers to put on distinctive song and dance performances. It'll be easy to turn them into famous restaurants known across the land."
"Even after deducting costs and the money spent appeasing local powers, if each city brings in a thousand taels a month, then with more than a hundred cities along the Great Zhou's major trade routes, we'd earn a hundred thousand taels a month. There should be no problem making over a million taels a year."
Ning Heng thought it over and replied, "That's feasible. With unique seasonings and recipes, we can stand out from the competition. We can also have the Immortal Doctor Pavilion prepare a secret medicinal wine that ordinary people can drink, one that promotes health and has a distinctive flavor."
"That would give us an even greater edge and help our restaurants keep earning money."
Lin Ze nodded. "Then that's settled. You can handle the details yourselves. I'll prepare the seasonings and recipes, and you can come to Fengping County to pick them up. I'll charge you only what they cost me. How much the restaurants earn is up to you. I won't take a cut."
Of course, he didn't need a share of the restaurants' profits. He had control over the supply of seasonings, just as he had control over the supply of wool detergent for Ji Kan.
When the time came, Lin Ze could decide for himself how much money he wanted to make.
After a pause, Lin Ze added, "Since the Immortal Doctor Pavilion has prescriptions for promoting health and boosting virility, you don't have to limit yourselves to medicinal wine. You can also make them into dedicated medicinal remedies and sell them throughout the land. That could earn you an enormous amount of money."
Ning Heng said with some difficulty, "Earl Lin, we've been doing that all along. The problem is that these medicines are expensive to make, and only wealthy gentry can afford them. Ordinary people can't afford them and wouldn't be willing to buy them. On top of that, we have competition from other physicians."
"All in all, the profits we can earn each year are limited."
"Take the popular Fierce Strength Pill, for example. Two taels of silver buys enough medicinal ingredients to make twenty pills, so each pill costs one hundred wen in ingredients alone. Once you add the cost of firewood and labor, we have to sell each pill for two hundred or even three hundred wen to make a profit."
"That price limits its market."
Lin Ze replied calmly, "No matter. Keep producing them. I'll take care of the sales. If you can make pills from medicinal ingredients costing one million taels of silver a year, I can sell them for you and bring in at least a million taels in profit."
Until now, Lin Ze had always transported goods and technology from World No. 1 to World No. 2 to earn a profit.
At last, he had a product he could transport from World No. 2 to the Main World and sell for a profit. All sorts of remedies for boosting virility were exorbitantly expensive in the Main World, yet sold extremely well. The market as a whole was worth over a hundred billion.
The Other World's version worked even better, so it would naturally sell even better.
Even if he paid two hundred wen per pill—which converted to about fifty-four yuan in the Main World—he could sell each one for ten times that, or 540 yuan, without overcharging.
With a remedy this potent, the Immortal Doctor Pavilion could make as many as Lin Ze could sell in the Main World. Even if he took only half of the profits from this market worth hundreds of billions, that would still amount to fifty billion a year.
"Good. We'll make this a priority and contact the Immortal Doctor Pavilion to start producing the Fierce Strength Pill in bulk."
Ning Heng nodded.
Then Lin Ze gave his final instruction. "Next is the Pacifying Escort Agency. I'm about to expand the Gold Bank's operations, so the people from the Pacifying Escort Agency can provide armed support and make sure the Gold Bank opens smoothly."
"You can also train more people in addition to redeploying your current personnel. If the business goes well over the year, I won't promise more than that, but you can still earn several hundred thousand taels."
With that plan, Lin Ze had laid out a path for the Longevity Palace to build businesses worth two or three million taels of silver.
Ning Heng and the others were deeply impressed by his ability.
But the three of them had no idea that Lin Ze could use the growth of their businesses to gain even greater profits.
And beyond those obvious profits, Lin Ze could also use his influence over these businesses to alter the fates of more people, thereby gaining even more fortune. That, in turn, would further accelerate the growth of his strength.
"All right. Go take care of things. Have your subordinates handle the details."
Lin Ze gave the order and prepared to leave.
He would be staying in Fengping County for a while. First, he had to settle the money he had lent Ji Qingyan and the money he had given the Longevity Palace. Then he needed to coordinate with the Longevity Palace's people and get the three businesses he had just planned in order.
Besides that, Lin Ze also intended to put his own affairs in order. In short, he had a lot to do.
Ning Heng and the other two stood to see him off. The others remained where they were, and only Lu Lu followed Lin Ze out.
She walked close beside Lin Ze, trying to make sure he caught the scent of her perfume. She didn't know that, to guard against the three Peerless Experts ambushing or poisoning him, Lin Ze kept Within Reach Horizon active around himself at all times.
At that moment, Lu Lu spoke in a soft, alluring voice. "Earl Lin, when will you have time to take my primordial yin? It could help you advance your cultivation."
Lin Ze glanced at Lu Lu's breathtaking beauty but didn't break his stride. His tone was calm as he replied, "No. I'm afraid you'll ambush me. You know my martial arts aren't strong, and my physique can't compare to those of Peerless Experts like you."
Though Lin Ze had admitted his weakness so frankly, Lu Lu didn't think he was weak. She would never have a chance to take advantage of him.
"Earl Lin, how about I cripple my own meridians first, leaving my body limp and powerless? Then you can do whatever you want to me without worrying."
Lu Lu didn't give up. As she spoke, she deliberately tugged at her collar as if she were hot, letting Lin Ze see the lush curves beneath.
"If there's something you want from me, just say so. If it's reasonable, I'll agree. There's no need to use a beauty trap."
Lin Ze looked straight at the deep cleavage she had revealed without even blinking, but his tone remained calm.
His feelings enjoyed the beautiful view before him, but reason told him that his own safety mattered more.
"Could you lend me some money?"
Lu Lu asked tentatively.
Among martial artists, borrowing money was taboo. Unless they were close enough to share life and death, they couldn't bring themselves to ask.
After all, money was a cultivation resource and determined one's future. If the relationship wasn't close enough, it was truly hard to bring up.
"You can borrow from me. I run the Gold Bank, after all. Given your status and ability to repay, I can lend you two hundred thousand taels of silver at ten percent annual interest. You'll just have to pay me back 220,000 taels after a year. But the loan can only be for one year. I don't offer long-term loans."
Lin Ze replied.
One year was fine, but who knew what might happen in three or five years?
Perhaps some change would keep Lin Ze from coming to this world anymore. Then the money he'd lent would be lost.
"Good. It's a deal."
Lu Lu had only been testing him, but she hadn't expected Lin Ze to really lend her the money.
With it, she could buy plenty of cultivation resources and train hard for a while.
Lu Lu wrote up a promissory note, then took the exchange certificates worth 200,000 taels that Lin Ze gave her.
Only then did Lu Lu get to the real reason she had approached him. "Actually, I wanted to ask you to help me collect a Heavenly Material Earthly Treasure. A powerful demonic beast guards it, so you'd need great Combat Power to gather it. That's why I wanted your help."
"Don't worry. You won't be going alone. A few of my senior brothers will come, along with Elder Yue Sheng. There won't be any danger."
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