Night Talk

After Zhou Yixiu, along with Sect Leader Kang Da and others, harvested the alfalfa, he called Duan Anle to come over in a beast-drawn cart, and together they pulled it into the newly built granary of the Chongming Sect.

Since Commander Tie had said at the Pingrong County that the state court would henceforth purchase large quantities of goods from the government-run markets, Sect Leader Kang Da thought it best to keep this batch of alfalfa as silage and sell it to the state court later.

How to store the harvested Spirit Plant is also a skill, so Zhou Yixiu called Kang Rongquan and Mo Ku over.

The old man carefully explained how to spray a decoction made from several herbs. Afterward, he talked about how to set up a protective barrier and called Wei Gu, who still looked disappointed, over to help.

The various arts of cultivation are not independent; they are closely interconnected.

At this point, there was no shortage of people, Sect Leader Kang Da ordered the rest of them to disperse and return to their respective duties.

The group immediately dispersed, never expecting that the prize proposed by Han Yundao would actually be won by Duan Anle, this unassuming fellow.

He has always been determined in his work. In the alfalfa harvesting competition, he not only outperformed Zhou Xinran and Wei Gu, but even the old hand Ji Wuwu, was a step behind him.

Zhou Xinran and a group of his fellow disciples were surrounding him, grabbing his collar and refusing to let him leave, insisting that he agree to treat them to a meal.

Duan Anle, being an honest man, naturally agreed with a smile, stuffing all the Spirit Stone he had just acquired into Jin Shilun's hand. "Yes, junior brother, I'll trouble you to prepare tonight. All of you fellow disciples, please come to my little courtyard."

Jin Shilun's injuries have healed considerably now, and he should stretch his muscles and bones. He certainly wouldn't refuse an opportunity to practice. "Senior brother is as generous as ever."

Although this sum of Spirit Stone may not seem like much, it is actually equivalent to the annual income of many Rogue Cultivators. Duan Anle, however, handed it to Jin Shilun without hesitation, showing that he is indeed a generous person.

The fellow disciples chatted and laughed as they dispersed. Soon, night fell, and they all returned to Duan Anle's courtyard.

The person greeting guests at the door was Duan Anle's cousin. The Duan Household had always been a small family in the Chongming Sect. Duan Anle's cousin looked exactly like him, and his personality was just as honest and reliable.

After all the children had arrived, Little Wu Meng, along with Mo'er, Song Hui, and Dong Liu'er, helped serve the wine and dishes, and then took their seats, one person per table.

"My fellow disciples have taken time out of their busy schedules to come and grace my humble abode with their presence." Duan Anle, as the host, had been holding back for a while, wanting to speak politely to his guests like a senior, but he still stammered.

Zhou Xinran, who was sitting in the middle, was so happy that she quickly stopped him from speaking. She stood up gracefully and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, we know you're happy that Junior Brother Duan came. Don't act like those scholarly types. Today's banquet is a feast to be enjoyed until we're drunk!"

Upon hearing this, all the children cheered.

Duan Anle showed no displeasure at Zhou Xinran's somewhat overbearing behavior; on the contrary, he felt relieved and cheerfully raised his glass, saying, "Senior Sister is right, let's drink until we're drunk!"

"We won't leave until we're drunk! We won't leave until we're drunk!" Kang Rongquan, the chubby boy, was the most enthusiastic among them. He had been working hard lately helping Zhou Yixiu tend to the alfalfa, and he had only come tonight after taking leave. Pei Que to pull him up several times but failed, and was almost pulled up by him instead.

However, he made the place quite lively because of this, and several of the younger children also put their chopsticks down on the Spirit Cuisine plates they had already been eyeing.

Jin Shilun's return to public life was marked by a lavish feast; he used all the Spirit Stone given to him by Duan Anle on the ingredients for tonight's meal.

None of the fellow disciples came empty-handed. Zhou Xinran brought the spirit wine stored in Zhou Yixiu, Pei Que brought the spirit liquid he obtained from Pei Yi, Ji Wuwu brought his treasured old ginseng wine, Mo Ku brought his homemade spirit rice crusts.

Even Song Hui and Dong Liu'er, who were just starting out, knew to pick a basket of red berries from the mountain before they felt comfortable coming together.

These things were distributed equally, filling the already small table in front of everyone to the brim, just like a festival.

The younger generation ate with great relish, exclaiming how delicious the food was and praising it repeatedly.

They said they wouldn't leave until they were drunk, but Jin Shilun and the other older folks were all sensible and wouldn't let the younger ones drink too much.

Even Kang Rongquan only gave them a bowl of spirit wine, Song Hui, Yuan Changsheng, Dong Liu'er and the others could only share a ladleful to taste it.

Even so, they were delighted, their eyes crinkling with happiness. Normally, their teachers wouldn't let them taste the spirit wine, so they certainly couldn't let it go to waste.

While they were enjoying their meal to the fullest, Kang Dabao was also having a late-night chat with his fellow disciples in the quiet room. Compared to the younger generation who were feasting on delicacies, they each had only a cup of cold tea in front of them, making them seem quite meager.

Sect Leader Kang Da took a sip of the spiritual tea before him, cleared his throat, and said solemnly, "The reconstruction of Chongming Market has two major advantages. First, the state government is allocating funds and leading the construction, so we don't need to spend a single spirit fragment. We can even earn Spirit Stone by providing materials and labor to the state government during this process."

After he finished speaking, he pointed to the old site of the Linghe Market on the map and continued, "Secondly, the state government felt that the original Chongming Market and the Linghe Market were too close, so it decided not to rebuild the Linghe Market. As a result, there is only our market left in the vicinity, and it will not be diverted by other markets, so business will naturally be better."

Furthermore, the newly built market will be much larger, even larger than the Grass Witch Market of the Grass Witch Cult. At that time, in the entire Pingrong County, only the Fish Mountain Market Chongming Market of the Fellow Cultivators Association will be comparable in size to the Chongming Market."

"But there are always some drawbacks," Ye Zhengwen said, frowning.

After listening, Sect Leader Kang Da nodded. Discussions are a time for collective wisdom and effort, so he was naturally happy for someone to speak up.

"That's right. Although the state court appointed me as the city commander, they still assigned two city accountants to me. They said I was only in charge of checking the accounts, but in reality, they still kept an eye on me and supervised me."

"Secondly, although the state government has stated that it will provide compensation for the dead and injured merchants in the Chongming Market, it has not said whether they will be given the opportunity to rent shops again in the future."

Their cooperation with us had been fairly smooth so far, and we had some close ties. If they could continue to stay in the market, it would be a great help in dealing with the changes coming from the state court. If I have some free time in a few days, I'll have to go to Commander Tie and plead with them on their behalf."

"Thirdly, after the market was rebuilt under the jurisdiction of the state government, the Xue Household, Lu Household, and Ye Household were only given the privilege of being exempted from rent for half a year for each shop. Their original share was thus nullified. In addition to being treated the same as the three families, our Chongming Sect was only given the additional privilege of being able to receive 10% of the annual taxes from the market."

Currently, I am only in charge because the state court has granted me the position of Market Commandant. If one day the state court removes me from this position, then Chongming Sect will only have a profit-sharing relationship with Chongming Market, and will no longer have any jurisdiction over it.

Jiang Qing disliked these mundane affairs, and frowned as he listened, saying, "Senior Brother should decide these matters."

Since Pei Yi had devoted himself to Yixin and cultivation, he had become even more unwilling to get involved in such matters, and he echoed Jiang Qing's words.

Compared to them, Yuan Jin was more decisive. He immediately spoke up, "Should we ask Uncle Black Shoes' opinion first?"

After a moment of contemplation, Sect Leader Kang Da nodded and replied, "Hmm, that makes sense. Although Uncle-Master Black Shoes said we shouldn't focus too much on these external things, I still need to report to him when he emerges from seclusion."

Everyone present knew that although the Daoist Black Shoes still held the title of sect leader of the Hemu Dao Sect, he had actually become a permanent resident of the Chongming Sect as a Supreme Elder.

His fellow disciples came to invite him again and again, but the Daoist Black Shoes would never see him, let alone invite him back.

However, the cultivators of Hemu Dao have been living quite comfortably lately. Many well-known families have been exploited and swallowed up by them, and people have flocked to their fields, Spirit Vein, mountains, and mines.

Compared to the hard work of accumulating resources, cunning and plunder are undoubtedly a more convenient and effective method.

The current disciples of the Daoist Black Shoes in Hemu Dao are living a much more comfortable life than the Chongming Sect leader, who is still struggling to survive for the state court.

The fact that the Daoist Black Shoes was unwilling to return might not be entirely unrelated to the unworthy descendants of these people.

After listening to Kang Dabao finish speaking, Ye Zhengwen said softly, "The original merchants of Linghe Market have now lost their homes. Their strength and capital surpass those of the merchants who are close to our Chongming Market. Some of them also have good reputations. Now is a good time to make contact with them."

Ye Zhengwen, as expected of someone who had run a shop and done business, impressed Sect Leader Kang Da, who nodded in agreement; it was indeed something worth doing.

"Attracting a few well-known and reputable merchants can make it easier to attract customers. However, we don't necessarily need to focus on the existing merchants in Linghe Market."

Our Chongming Market is one of the closest markets to the Cold Crow Mountain Range in Cloud Horn Prefecture. The mountain goods, delicacies, and spiritual flowers and herbs here are so abundant that many Foundation Establishment sects send specialists to collect them. Inviting twenty Qi Refinement forces wouldn't make as much of a splash as the presence of just one Foundation Establishment force."

After a leisurely speech, Sect Leader Kang Da Ye Zhengwen his one eye around, thought for a moment, and then said, "There aren't many Foundation Establishment sects in the surrounding counties, and most of them already have their own markets. If you want to invite them to set up shop here, Sect Leader, you'll have to put in some effort."

"While it's difficult to invite Foundation Establishment forces nearby, we can inquire about those a bit further away." Kang Dabao kept this a secret for a moment and didn't elaborate further.

"However, it's always faster to walk on two legs. Junior Brother Ye knows many people in Linghe Market. You can try to make contact with some of the families with good reputations. If possible, it would be best to invite that Alchemist Chen Yu over. The two market accountants that the state court is sending haven't arrived yet, and many procedures may not be as simple as we imagine. Junior Brother, you can make contact, but don't make any promises."

Kang Dabao's words were insightful, and Ye Zhengwen nodded in agreement without saying anything more.

"Alright, let's stop here for tonight. Tomorrow morning I'll first pay my respects to my martial uncle, and then I'll head to Xuanwei City."

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