Ambition

After signing the contract with Tie Xishan, Kang Dabao drank with him for three days. After warmly seeing off Chief Clerk Tie, he stayed alone in the Chongming Market for ten days.

He Degong visited several times during this period. Kang Dabao only avoided him the first time, but met with him on the subsequent visits.

The two families are related by marriage, and the current Sect Leader Kang Da still relies on the He Household for many things. It would be unwise to strain the relationship with He Dezong's brother.

The one-eyed shopkeeper surnamed Ye had just set up a shop in Chongming Market, continuing his business of appraisal and information selling.

In recent days, he only visited Kang Dabao once at the Chongming Small Pavilion. After their eyes met, neither of them spoke, their relationship seeming both familiar and distant.

Thanks to the swift and decisive crackdown by the Immortal Dynasty, the Evil Cultivator in Pingrong County either had to keep their tails between their legs and wait for an opportunity, or they had to leave their homes and go to other prefectures and counties to make a living.

As a result, the Chongming Market accumulated popularity much faster than Sect Leader Kang Da had expected, and the business of the spiritual meals and lodging on the second floor of the Chongming Small Pavilion also showed a significant recovery.

This meant that even though Kuai Wu's chef cousin had returned from his leave, Jin Shilun couldn't leave for the time being and had to stay at the shop to help out.

While it's true that learning various arts and skills as a supplementary practice is important, cultivation itself is even more crucial. Jin Shilun is at the prime of his life, the time most conducive to cultivation, and he shouldn't focus his main energy on that.

Furthermore, even though Kang Dabao had offered to give Kuai Wu's cousin an extra sum of Spirit Stone, the latter still explicitly stated that he was unwilling to use his real skills to teach Jin Shilun, which made Jin Shilun's continued presence in the shop even less meaningful.

It's no wonder they're so protective of their knowledge. Life is tough for low-level cultivators, and they don't know much to begin with, so they naturally have to be careful not to "teach their apprentices only to starve themselves."

It can only be said that generous teachers like Zhou Yixiu and Kang Rongquan are truly hard to find, while cultivators like Cousin Kuai Wu, who are stingy with their skills to make a living, are the vast majority in the cultivation world.

Therefore, in order not to delay his apprentice's cultivation, Kang Dabao decided to hire another cook.

Even if one doesn't reach the next level, it doesn't matter. In any case, Jin Shilun can only do odd jobs like processing spiritual materials most of the time, and there should be quite a few cultivators who can do this job.

Before anyone had applied after the job postings were put up, the He Household family caravan, accompanied by the Lu Household patriarch, arrived at Chongming Market.

The head of the Lu Household looked quite energetic. Having traveled with the caravan for several years, his cultivation had not improved, but his horizons had broadened considerably. Compared to when he was a small family head who stayed at home in Fangshi Mountain, his knowledge was worlds apart.

The Xue Household and the Du family Rogue Cultivator in the group looked miserable; the former had lost an arm, and the latter had a horrific wound on his neck.

Fortunately, they were all still alive and well, and compared to the few corpses being carried on the last animal-drawn cart, they didn't have much to complain about.

Kang Dabao was somewhat relieved that after Ye Pinglin was injured, he had specially called Ye Pingshui back from the caravan to learn weapon training from Yuan Jin. If that kid were still in the caravan, it was hard to say what would have happened to him.

As Sect Leader Kang Da said, this trading business is indeed a life-threatening venture.

The cultivator leading the He Household this time was a junior of the He brothers, He Dezong and He Dabao. He briefly explained the situation to Kang Dabao.

The reason why some people in the caravan were injured this time was that several bandits who had some connections with the He Household in the past, for some reason, became difficult to talk to after accepting the usual toll, and a fight broke out. After some minor friction, the caravan was able to escape.

"Uncle, these days are getting tougher and tougher. These kinds of things don't happen by chance. This year, several of my family's other uncles and brothers' caravans have also encountered similar incidents."

This junior member of the He Household only had a brief chat with Sect Leader Kang Da. As the leader, he had many things to arrange at each market along the caravan's route, so he couldn't afford to be delayed for too long.

The He Household caravan would stay in the market for five or six days to do both business and trade. Kang Dabao then arranged a suitable time with He Degong and the younger members of the He Household to have a meal and drinks.

Since it was a dinner party, Kang Dabao simply invited all the members of the He, Lu, Xue, and Ye families in the market to warm up their relationships.

Apart from Ye Yaoling, who timidly brought two baskets of spirit fruits to the banquet alone, all the other families were present.

The He Household, as expected of a long-established merchant family, created an extremely lively atmosphere at the banquet. Even the younger generation, such as Ye Yaoling and Jin Shilun, dared to chime in from time to time, making the atmosphere anything but dull.

The head of the Lu Household was also very good at interpersonal relationships. He carried a wine pot and went around offering wine, not even missing the younger generation at the table, appearing as a kind and amiable elder.

The feast was a great success, with all the guests praising the chef at the Chongming Small Pavilion Xiaolou for his excellent preparation of delicacies from the mountains and rivers.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, it was past midnight before the families dispersed.

Kang Dabao asked a female cultivator from the Lu Household to send Ye Yaoling home before returning to his quiet room to discuss matters with the Lu Household head who remained behind.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, are you confident?"

The head of the Lu Household was a shrewd man, and naturally knew what Kang Dabao was asking. He replied directly, "If we have enough manpower, pack animals, and connections, we might have a 30% chance of successfully operating this trade route."

"Only 30%?" Kang Dabao sighed, thinking to himself that He Dezong really hadn't been making baseless accusations before. Even for an experienced person like the head of the Lu Household, it would take three or four years of learning to fully master the ability to manage a caravan.

Because of his promotion to the position of Pingrong County, Sect Leader Kang Da began to have some thoughts about his future, and he was a bit too hasty in his decision to start a caravan business.

"Then there's no rush. Fellow Daoist, please be careful. The world is in turmoil these days, and the road to trade will inevitably be more dangerous." Kang Dabao could only offer a polite word of comfort. His family didn't even have any of their own in the caravan anymore, and they had only thrown in the cultivator surnamed Du to make up the numbers. Therefore, he couldn't say too much about running the caravan.

After all, the number of Rogue Cultivator surnamed Du was so small that even the Sect Leader Kang Da had almost forgotten his name. He only remembered it when he looked at the Jade Slip his disciples' records and received his annual salary each year.

Sect Leader Kang Da is definitely wrong. He only receives five Spirit Stone a year. If this continues, the cultivator surnamed Du might just walk away one day. What's wrong with that? If you really want to find someone like that, there's no shortage of rogue Rogue Cultivator.

However, this is not the kind of mindset a sect leader should have. Unlike the cook hired by the Chongming Small Pavilion, the Rogue Cultivator Du is a formal member of the sect who has been registered in the sect's roster. Sect Leader Kang Da either wouldn't have accepted him before, or once he did, he couldn't help but treat him as one of his own.

Kang Dabao suddenly remembered the horrific wound on the neck of the Rogue Cultivator surnamed Du that he had seen today, and felt a little guilty. He decided to find the latter tomorrow and have a good talk with him.

The Lu Household head and the Sect Leader Kang Da discussed matters until late at night before leaving. When he returned to the Lu Household shop under the stars and moon, the female cultivators of the Lu Household were still waiting for him inside.

"Yunniang, why aren't you resting yet?" The Lu Household head was somewhat surprised and murmured. His younger sister had a rather cold personality, making her not very approachable.

The Lu Household Fangshi Mountain only had a few cultivators, and the two siblings had cultivated together for many years, but they rarely had time to spend alone together. Therefore, the Lu Household head never expected that Lu Yunniang would be waiting for him so late.

"There's been some progress on the acacia honey matter, and I'd like to discuss it with my brother." Lu Yunniang was not only plain-looking, but her voice was also a bit hoarse, lacking the gentleness of a woman.

"Yes, Yunniang, you're right. I've seen their locust tree; it's of high quality. If it can truly recover its vitality, our Black Spirit Bee aren't of high quality, so they might not be able to damage their locust blossoms while collecting nectar."

The head of the Lu Household nodded and listened attentively as Lu Yunniang recounted the details of the two families jointly harvesting locust honey.

Upon hearing the final words, Patriarch Lu Household realized that the Chongming Sect had most likely gained the upper hand this time, but he didn't feel much emotion.

Those in charge of a family should avoid narrow-mindedness and short-sightedness. Regardless of how much the Chongming Sect benefited their family, it is true that the Black Spirit Bee was able to advance using the locust tree's blossoms, and that is enough.

Lu Yunniang's idea was not wrong. As long as the Lu Household could truly control a large number of First-Tier Middle-Grade spirit bees, it would greatly help improve the strength of the entire Lineage.

It should be noted that if First-Tier Middle-Grade spiritual honey is consumed directly for cultivation, its effects are far superior to the Qi Condensation Pill taken by Early Qi Refining Stage cultivators, and it is almost comparable to some pills commonly used by Middle Qi Refinement Refining cultivators.

More importantly, First-Tier Middle-Grade spiritual honey can already slightly increase the success rate of some First Tier and even Second Tier pills.

Although their effect may be minimal, Alchemist are extremely wealthy, and even if it's just for good luck, they will keep some on hand for use when refining important pills.

If the Lu Household can truly reap such great benefits, then why not let Chongming Sect has a relatively harmonious relationship with the Lu Household, also gain some advantages?

Those who are capable of achieving success do not only consider their own interests when interacting with others; to gain respect, they must have the ability to share resources effectively.

Since Kang Dabao was chosen by a high-ranking official of the Immortal Dynasty to be a death-defying official, there was a high probability that he would die at any time.

Once Sect Leader Kang Da dies, it's uncertain whether anyone else in the Chongming Sect can do the job well.

If a few successful descendants of the Lu Household emerge at that time, they might still have a chance to turn their fortunes around.

Thinking of this, a hint of resentment flashed in the eyes of the Lu Household head. He thought to himself, "You think I'll risk my life to pave the trade routes, only to send your Chongming Sect to take over and reap the benefits? Don't think I can't see through you."

Now that Lu Yunniang had explained everything about the spirit bees and the spirit honey, she had nothing more to say to her elder brother, the head of the Lu Household. She bowed to the head of the Lu Household, took her leave, and returned to her room to rest.

The door leading to the backyard slowly closed, leaving only the head of the Lu Household in the shop filled with the sweet aroma of honey.

He squinted, stroking the string of white jade beads in his hand, and the Sect Leader Kang Da's somewhat annoying, chubby face came to mind. "I, Lu Xun, Huiyi always be suppressed by you, will I?"

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