The Situation Worsened

Three days later, at the Yanlu Merchant Association, Xu Shaonian got up early and hurried toward the council hall, ready for another busy day.

Ever since word had spread that Jiang Yan was in charge of White Crane Hall, business had improved even further. Not only had profits increased greatly, but the association had also expanded into several new sources of income.

Even forces outside the White Crane Merchant Association had come to them of their own accord, seeking cooperation.

Though they were merely ordinary minor forces, this was still a sign that the Yanlu Merchant Association was heading in a better direction.

The price, however, was that Xu Shaonian, the association's de facto manager, now got fewer than four shichen of sleep a day. It was downright miserable.

"Good morning, Senior Brother Xu."

"Morning, Senior Brother Xu."

Along the way, many young faces stopped briefly when they saw Xu Shaonian and greeted him respectfully.

Junior Sister Lin Zhu hadn't been bragging. She really had managed to contact many Qingqiu Dao disciples who had been scattered and lost touch with one another. With Xu Shaonian's and Jiang Xue's approval, she had brought them into the association to work.

With these fellow disciples, whom they knew well enough, joining them, the Yanlu Merchant Association's shortage of staff—despite its rapidly expanding size—had eased somewhat.

It made Xu Shaonian feel that inviting Junior Sister Lin Zhu over had been absolutely the right choice.

Otherwise, how could they have recruited so many trustworthy people all at once?

Tap, tap! Tap, tap! Tap, tap!

Xu Shaonian pushed open the council hall doors and looked around. Seeing that someone had arrived even earlier, he let his eyes shift and said with a smile:

"Junior Sister, Junior Sister Lin, Miss Ning Xiang, good morning."

Jiang Xue's efforts