The Middleman
Secretary-General Lin drank most of a bowl of porridge, pondered for a long time, and then said:
"Your Excellency, the catering businesses in both the Blessed Land and the Central Palace are now quite successful. Your apprentices are all ordinary people who have lost their way. Why don't you try to adapt to the times?"
The old man shook his head without even thinking. "It's not that I'm ignorant of change, but we in this stone house are self-sufficient in our three meals a day. Hundreds of years ago, we weren't allowed to eat meat, but now we're allowed to raise some birds and beasts to taste meat."
"When we first found Xiaoyi, there was no electricity here. Now we've got power lines installed. Some things can be changed, but some things absolutely cannot be changed. If you can't even manage your own meals here, what's the point of fixing anything?"
Jiang Wangxuan finished eating, put down his chopsticks, and said, "What the Venerable One said is true, that makes sense. However, household appliances are very advanced now. Since we have electricity, why not buy some convenient cooking utensils?"
"Big brother is wrong, cooking over Hearth Fire is what makes it smell better." Lu Xiaoyi sat on the stone bench, his small figure looking as if he had been squeezed into the stone chair.
The old man glanced thoughtfully at the pile of firewood outside the kitchen, then looked at the Grand Yin who was coming to [Huaqi] to leave his name today.
In less than a century, two Immortal Foundation "Autumn Moon Osmanthus" have emerged, both during my term. Could it be that this old man has a special connection with the Grand Yin?
Since the True Lord Donghuan, only four people have forged their Immortal Foundation, the "Autumn Moon Osmanthus." Hey, this old man is half of them.
"Benefactor Jiang, I just overheard you saying outside that [Huaqi] is very similar to a private investor. What's the meaning of that?"
Upon realizing this was a post-meal settlement, Lin Tongjiang immediately turned his head away, pretending not to hear!
Jiang Wangxuan scratched his head awkwardly, looked at the old man's mischievous gaze, and said with a sneer, "It's just that I was reminded of some stories I'd heard about local businesses getting financing when I was a kid!"
Upon Venerable Tingming became interested, and Lu Xiaoyi's eyes widened as well, sensing that there was a story to be told!
"So-called financing refers to the process where, after a small company has successfully established its business model in the early stages, it needs more funds to expand its scale. When investors are optimistic about the industry, they are willing to invest capital upfront in exchange for a portion of the shares."
Lu Xiaoyi frowned, unable to understand what his older brother was saying. Jiang Wangxuan patted the back of the child's head again and continued:
"From a financing perspective, when we [Huaqi] activated our divine wisdom, [Huaqi] not only didn't wait for the 'small company' to figure out its business logic, but also prematurely invested a sum of 'life' into it, and then just waited for the 'small company' to successfully grow and go public."
"So, the company shares that [Huaqi] acquired in the early days by exchanging 'fate' yielded extremely high returns on investment. I think the reason [Huaqi] left his name behind is for the same reason!"
Venerable Tingming squinted at the audacious Grand Yin Foundation Establishment and slowly spoke:
"Indeed, it's very simple for Foundation Establishment cultivators to leave their names in [Huaqi]. They simply imprint a portion of the mystical essence they gained when establishing their Immortal Foundation within [Huaqi]."
"This wondrous thing is a product of each cultivator's interaction with heaven and earth. If a hundred people cultivate the same Cultivation Method and all successfully Foundation Establishment, they will obtain 101 identical yet different Immortal Foundation. The difference lies in your destiny."
The eldest disciple beside him said quietly, "Fate is not immutable; your cultivation level and all your past experiences will be incorporated into your destiny!"
Venerable Tingming looked at Lin Tongjiang and smiled, "Just like Benefactor Lin and his master, although both cultivate the Kan Water Immortal Foundation 'Going Eastward,' their intentions are quite different."
"Therefore, the wondrous Immortal Foundation within each Foundation Establishment cultivator's body contains their personal destiny, and all of this grows from the 'destiny' initially bestowed upon them by [Huaqi]."
"So, Master Jiang used the analogy of private investors, which is a bit crude, but the meaning is the same. It's just that your investor might recoup the investment ten times over if only one out of ten companies they invest in succeeds! So, Master Jiang, how many times do you think [Huaqi] can recoup the investment if it successfully goes public?"
Jiang Wangxuan thought for a moment, then looked at the new investment model framework of Big Fat Fish. Without exception, none of them worked, and they all bankrupted him.
Seeing that the Grand Yin Foundation Establishment remained silent, Venerable Tingming laughed instead, "Since Benefactor Jiang just told a story about an investor, how about I tell a story about a middleman?"
Lin Tongjiang and Jiang Wangxuan both stood up and bowed, and little Lu Xiaoyi jumped down from the stone bench, "Please enlighten me, Master!"
"Let's take [Kan Water] as an example again. One day, [Kan Water] wanted 300 disciples to report to his stone house, but the entire labor market couldn't find any disciples who could meet [Kan Water]'s requirements. What should he do then?"
"And so, the middleman appeared. The middleman invested in training 300 apprentices to resemble the [Kan Water] disciple. Then, [Kan Water] happily accepted the 300 apprentices. Once the apprentices had mastered their skills, they could repay the middleman's investment with interest. This should be a good deal, right?"
Lu Xiaoyi nodded, "It's a good deal. This transaction allows the [Kan Water] employer and his 300 apprentices to get what they want, and the middleman also gets interest. It's a win-win-win situation!"
However, Lin Tongjiang and Jiang Wangxuan felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar. They looked at each other and simultaneously thought of two words: "Buddhist Devil!"
Still in the labor market, [Kan Water] Guowei employer placed another large order for 300 apprentices. The middleman still invested heavily first, then trained and sent them to the employer.
Over time, the middlemen stopped asking for interest; they would invest and renovate as much as the employer wanted. The employers were overjoyed. However, as they continued to collect these loans, they discovered that every one of the employers' apprentices had the word "loyalty" written on their foreheads.
But this loyalty was directed at the middleman, not the employer, so the mob rose up and exploited the employer.
"Mr. Jiang, do you now think your investors are the smartest investors?"
Jiang Wangxuan watched as the Big Fat Fish in the Rising Yang Mansion, after being readjusted, ran incredibly smoothly. Even the ' Black Tide,' which had been pretending to be dead, came out to stroll around the large model, looking left and right and sniffing. It wanted to 'eat' this middleman model.
"I am ashamed!" Jiang Wangxuan lowered his head and admitted defeat.
Venerable Tingming sneered again, "Tell me, if one day a wild ' Kan Water ' disciple suddenly appears, and the [Kan Water] master becomes obsessed with this disciple, should I, as the middleman, make my move, or devour him raw?"
"Should we still try to convert them?"
This time, even the youngest apprentice understood what the middleman truly meant, and his face turned deathly pale. The old man reached out and patted the back of the apprentice's head, gently coaxing him, "Xiaoyi, don't be afraid. Go see if your senior brothers have set up the candle room yet."
"Yes, Master, excuse Xiaoyi, two guests!" The little disciple ran off to the stone room next door.
After Venerable Tingming and his youngest disciple left, he got up, cleared the three pairs of bowls and chopsticks from the table, placed them in the sink behind the stove, wiped his hands with a rag, and said, "There's a reason why our lineage was the first to be dealt with by the Qingheng Great Luo in ancient times!"
"Cultivating Divine Ability honestly is quite boring, isn't it? Why not try a freshly baked Child of Fate? Whether you eat it or convert it, as long as you can push Child of Huaqi to the Golden Position, the entire Daoist lineage will become food for Buddhist Devil!"
"Therefore, it's best to repay what you borrow. The transaction is complete, and neither of us owes the other anything. If you two benefactors ever ascend to the Purple Mansion and attain Divine Ability, you can come back to this stone house again, only this time Qinghuan will be sitting across the table!"
"The Qinghuan will once again bestow upon you a Divine Ability Cultivation Method, which is both a reward for your achievements and a corresponding constraint. It is an equal exchange, and also the final gift that the Qinghuan Immortal Lords leave to the world!"
A long silence fell over the small stone house. The old man sat on the threshold, leaning against the stone wall, enjoying the cool morning breeze, his eyes half-closed in comfort.
Jiang Wangxuan watched as the Big Fat Fish fought with ' Black Tide ' in the Rising Yang Mansion. By this time, ' Black Tide ' had already eaten most of the large model that the Big Fat Fish had painstakingly prepared.
But the Big Fat Fish wouldn't let go, determined to pull her hard-won work out of the damned ' Black Tide '!
Lin Tongjiang, however, looked up at the location of the grotto-heaven from the small window of the stone house. It had been more than a week since True Person Chonghuan went to the grotto-heaven, and there had been no news from him.
True Person Chonglang of the Water Academy has always wanted to meet with the principal in person, presumably to discuss the matter of ' Alchemy Invocation Peak ' in the south. This matter should have been settled long ago, but because of that Gu Household's Child of Fate, the list has been delayed again and again.
Metal Virtue Dezhang made it clear that he would not participate. Several heavyweight professors from the Thunder Academy took their students to the Thunder Palace Trial Camp. In the end, this matter was between the Water Academy and the Water Academy, but the Master did not give a clear attitude when he left!
Sigh, this is difficult.
The good news is that, thanks to his junior brother, his Immortal Foundation, which had been stagnant for several years, finally started to move after consuming a dish of ' Grand Yin of the Flow Eastward '.
If I seize this opportunity, I'll have to rise to the top.
Lin Tongjiang also truly realized why those with the Child of Fate favored by high-ranking officials were so sought after, and he wondered how long his junior brother could keep it a secret.
"Master, the lamp oil and the stone statue are all ready!"
From the stone room next door came Xiaoyi's childish voice. The old man opened his eyes and nodded to Jiang Wangxuan, "The stone rooms are all arranged the same way, except that [Huaqi] has an extra stone statue watching over them. Once the lamp wick is lit, you can begin your meditation!"
Jiang Wangxuan stood up, passed by the old man sitting on the threshold, took a few steps forward, and was about to enter the cave next door when he suddenly turned back and asked, "Venerable One, do you think the Buddhas Devil Ancestor sitting on their lotus thrones might also be thinking of providing for [Huaqi] in his old age?"
The old man laughed loudly, "Once those people sit on it, all they'll think about is swindling all the old folks who could support [Huaqi] in his old age!"
"Huh, taking care of Master in his old age?" A voice came from next door in Xiaoyi's room. "Big brother, are you going to take care of Master in his old age too? Didn't we agree that I would take care of Master in his old age?"
Suddenly, Lin Da's uncontrollable goose-like laughter echoed from the low Xunting Hill!