State of Development

One month later, in Pingrong County

On this day, a Ding-class flying boat from the Myriad Treasures Trading Company flew over Little Ring Mountain for the first time. Not long after the huge explosion, a giant flying boat covered in clouds appeared before the astonished Chongming Sect.

The Qiongqi's horns were filled with spiritual light, and the massive clouds were scattered and disappeared one by one.

At the same time, the newly engraved silencer array on the side of the flying boat began to rotate, making it difficult for the sharp whistling sound of the bronze gears to be heard. This ear-piercing sound only rang for a moment around the dragon mast, and after the mysterious light mirror above flashed a red light, the dissipated clouds condensed into a fine rain that fell to the ground, and at the same time, the movement of the giant ship came to an abrupt stop.

As the jade gangway descended, a young man in black, about to step out, bowed to a portly merchant beside him and said, "Thank you for your care, Manager Dou."

The latter smiled, his smile resembling that of Maitreya Buddha, and nodded several times. "Young friend, you have earned the trust of the two seniors, Ye Shui and Tianqin of the Fei Household. How could I, Dou, not do my best? Tengwen Prefecture is not far from here. Young friend, please don't forget to come and support my business."

After saying a few more humble words, Jiang Qing formally bid farewell to the Dou family manager. After walking up the gangway and avoiding the sharp metallic aura emanating from the flying boat, he stepped onto his flying sword and landed in front of his own mountain gate.

"Junior brother is finally back! Your hand is truly amazing, blessed by the Dao Ancestor. It's exactly the same as if it came out of my belly, it's really healed!!" Ye Zhengwen, the leader, spoke with joy overflowing from his mouth, but as soon as he finished speaking, he still looked at the giant ship slowly starting up in the sky with lingering fear.

Clearly, even with his experience, he was quite taken aback by such a behemoth.

As the giant ship gradually disappeared into the clouds, Ye Zhengwen thought to himself, "Even an ordinary cultivator would likely never be able to acquire such a flying ship in their entire life."

After exchanging greetings with Ye Zhengwen, Jiang Qing immediately asked, "Is Senior Brother Ye the only one on duty at home right now?"

The latter said cheerfully, "Our sect leader and Junior Brother Pei are both in seclusion, while Junior Brother Yuan and Junior Brother Zhou are still training the Azure Jue and Crimson Zhang at Wild Fox Mountain and cannot return for the time being."

Now, only Anle and I are managing things in the sect. Rongquan and Ming Zhe are both out working. It's good that Junior Brother Jiang is back. Everyone in the sect has been missing him for a long time. We can finally rest easy now that he's back."

"Didn't the eldest brother say in his letter that the land reclamation project entrusted by the Fei Household's ancestor Tianqin, was about to begin? How come it seems we haven't taken any action yet?"

"If you want to do a good job, you must first have the right tools. You can't rush it." Ye Zhengwen didn't explain in detail. He first led Jiang Qing into the courtyard, dispersed the group of excited disciples, and left Duan Anle by his side.

As soon as Jiang Qing entered the council hall, he noticed that it had become less shabby and more elegant than before.

Even though Sect Leader Kang Da was still inside the Jade Toad cave abode, the honored seat in the hall remained empty. As soon as Jiang Qing sat down next to Ye Zhengwen, a wisp of steam rose from the glass cup on the low table beside him, invigorating the lovely green spirit branch on the table.

As its buds unfurled, the pale branches gently drooped down, touching the rim of the glass cup. A refreshing fragrance suddenly filled the air, and then a stream of fresh dew flowed from the flower's stamens, slowly entering the cup.

The icy dew had barely entered the cup when several runes on the glass cup shimmered with spiritual light, turning into boiling water before it even reached the bottom.

The small pinch of fragrant dry tea leaves in the cup, after being steeped, stretched out comfortably, and then a refreshing tea aroma filled the entire hall, dispelling most of Jiang Qing Qingzhou's fatigue from the long journey.

"Senior Brother Ye, where did you get such a precious tea as 'Little Envoy of the Gentle Breeze'? You should use it to entertain distinguished guests. It's such a waste for us to drink this among ourselves." Jiang Qing was somewhat surprised as he looked at the amber-colored tea in the cup with a puzzled expression.

"The Yue Household sent quite a bit, most of it is stored with our senior brother, the sect leader. Each of us got a little to taste, just enough to have a taste. How could we drink more?" Ye Zhengwen said, a smile returning to his face. "Junior brother, you've become more and more like our senior brother since you came back. What you said just now was rather mercenary, not at all dashing."

"Ha, Senior Brother Ye, please don't joke around." Upon hearing this, Jiang Qing stopped asking questions, took a sip of the spiritual tea, and although he found it delicious, he could still detect the shortcomings in the tea-making technique.

This is where the true strength lies. Although Ye Zhengwen can be considered a knowledgeable person among the Foundation Establishment in Shannan Circuit, his tea ceremony skills are probably inferior to those Qi Refinement Refining maids in the Fei Lineage's territory who haven't cultivated for long.

Fortunately, Jiang Qing hadn't been corrupted by the rich and luxurious lifestyle and didn't care about such things. He gulped down the tea and then asked, "Why would the Han City Yue Household send spiritual tea to my family?"

"Yue Lin asked Brother Qin to visit and mediate, but the sect leader said, 'It's better to resolve enmity than to create it.'"

"Ha, this doesn't sound like something Senior Brother would say."

"His exact words were, 'When dealing with the Yue Household is as easy as turning one's hand, then I'll slap them to death.'"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qing's heart tightened slightly, and he secretly made a mental note of it. Then he smiled faintly and said, "That's the right flavor." He then stopped paying attention to the people outside and said slowly, "This time, Junior Brother has returned from Ying Prefecture and has certainly broadened his horizons."

The capital region is where Great Wei's true talents lie. Although his junior brother's status is humble, he has made many friends, including wealthy nobles and capable Rogue Cultivator, all of whom have their merits. Associating with them has indeed been very beneficial.

Ye Zhengwen wasn't too surprised to hear this. Just looking at how the Four Friends of Cold Mountain, who were a free-spirited and independent group in Hong County back then, had humbled themselves and become close friends with him, this newly promoted junior, it was Double Brightness Jiang Third's social skills were among the best in the area.

However, Jiang Qing's way of interacting with people was quite different from that of Sect Leader Kang Da, who was adept at understanding people's hearts. Accustomed to being straightforward, he preferred to be direct and honest. His personality was much more open and honest than that of ordinary people. In addition, he was handsome and good-looking, which naturally attracted people to him.

After exchanging pleasantries about the splendor of Ying Prefecture with Ye Zhengwen, which elicited repeated exclamations of admiration from the latter, Jiang Qing's smile faded, and he asked seriously, "Senior Brother Ye, how has our Chongming Sect fared these past few years?"

"With our sect leader here, things are naturally improving day by day, and progress is accelerating." Ye Zhengwen put down his glass cup, pointed at Duan Anle who hadn't spoken for a while, and urged, "Anle, quickly tell Junior Brother Jiang what's going on."

"Yes, reporting to Third Martial Uncle. Currently, our sect has 1,113 registered disciples, including seven Foundation Establishment disciples, twenty-one True Disciple, one hundred and fifty Inner Disciples, half of whom are Outer Disciples, and the remaining half are still being cultivated in the Nurturing Qilin Hall."

"One thousand one hundred and thirteen people." Jiang Qing's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, as if recalling the scene of him and his two senior brothers huddled together in the dilapidated sect, sharing food and relying on each other for survival.

But before he could finish his sigh, he heard Duan Anle speak again:

"In addition, thanks to Fourth Uncle's hard work over the years, there are already 1,800 mu of high-grade spirit fields under his jurisdiction, of which 11% are already Second Tier spirit fields. Except for half of them planted with Moon Fern, the rest are planted with Second Tier Spirit Plant, and they will be able to harvest within ten years."

Of the remaining First Tier spirit fields, the three types of spirit grains are currently not abundant, only enough to meet half of the sect's quota for disciples. The other half is allocated by the taxes of various families in Cold Crow Mountain, which is barely enough to satisfy them.

Among the three First Tier spirit medicine, Plain Snow Stamen has the largest area. This spiritual herb sells well and is a unique business of our Chongming Sect. Fourth Uncle has placed a seal on the spiritual seed, making it difficult for ordinary people to see its secrets. Therefore, we are not worried about it being stolen for the time being.

The three kinds of spiritual fruits and vegetables were cultivated using special methods purchased by Junior Brother Kang from Myriad Treasures Trading Company, resulting in their excellent growth. Even when Madam Qi was ordered by Sima Fei to inspect the army at Wild Fox Mountain, she praised them.

Even excluding the profits from Second Tier spirit fields, the sect will still receive over ten thousand Spirit Stone annually.

"Over ten thousand Spirit Stone?!" Jiang Qing exclaimed softly. Ye Zhengwen added, "In a good year, twenty thousand wouldn't be uncommon."

Duan Anle, having received a signal, continued, "The Chongming Small Pavilion and Jia-Chou Military Stronghold have also made considerable profits, totaling about eight thousand Spirit Stone a year. In addition, the Double Brightness Caravan has also seen increased profits due to the addition of Uncle He Household, with all the other families in the alliance contributing their efforts. After deducting all costs, they earn around three thousand Spirit Stone a year."

However, as Uncle He Household had mentioned before, they had invested too much money in smoothing relations with the surrounding states over the past year or two. Once the trade routes gradually stabilize, this figure would likely increase significantly.

This is not hard to understand. Although only three or four hundred households could be settled in Cold Crow Mountain, and most of them were poor, many of them could not even come up with Spirit Stone when they went out to trade and had to pay with goods. However, Chongming Sect did almost a unique business in Jia-Chou Military Stronghold, so it was not surprising that they made more money.

With the help of He Degong, a skilled trader, and the He Household members, as well as the dividends from each member of the Double Brightness Alliance, the annual profits of the Double Brightness Caravan have increased dramatically, which is not surprising.

"When I see Zhe'er later, I'll probably tell him to learn a lot from He Degong and try to master all his skills so that the empire he built won't end up being controlled by others."

The thought flashed through Jiang Qing's mind, and then he heard Duan Anle speak again, "As for the Beast Garden, Anle is useless. After so many years, it can still only produce 1,500 head of livestock, 100 spirit beasts, and 30 spirit birds each year. Most of them are still of low quality and not worth much. After deducting costs, it can only earn a little over a thousand Spirit Stone a year."

Ye Zhengwen shook his head and chuckled, thinking that his junior apprentice was being too harsh on him. Jiang Qing, however, said seriously, "Anle, don't underestimate yourself. Starting from nothing is already a remarkable achievement, and things will only get better in the future."

After listening attentively, Duan Anle bowed and then said in a low voice, "Besides that, selling spirit honey and commissions from various families in Jia-Chou Military Stronghold can also earn some Spirit Stone. In a year, you might be able to earn more than two thousand."

Then there's the 400-plus households of Cold Crow Mountain who contribute 71% of their income as tax to the state treasury. Madam Qi, Fearless Tower, and the Fei Household each contribute 71%, which is then distributed among the various households in the alliance. The remainder is then allocated to the clan. This portion amounts to around 6,000 Spirit Stone.

The more than four hundred households from Cold Crow Mountain and the more than two hundred households from Pingjin County contributed offerings to the sect, which amounted to more than ten thousand Spirit Stone. Although the rules had not been clearly stated beforehand, the master was benevolent, and the small change collected was generally distributed among the various families in the alliance, excluding the Stone Mountain Sect.

"If we calculate it at most, one could earn around 40,000 Spirit Stone a year?" Jiang Qing's voice trembled slightly, her eyes showing surprise. "That much?!"

"It seems like a lot, but..." Ye Zhengwen smiled bitterly halfway through his sentence. In recent years, Sect Leader Kang Da had often gone into seclusion to cultivate, while Yuan Jin had been engrossed in military affairs, constantly training on Wild Fox Mountain. So, he had been in charge of most of the important affairs of the sect.

"You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household," he said, far more aware than Jiang Qing of how quickly 40,000 Spirit Stone were spent. "Junior Brother Jiang, the annual salary of just over a thousand disciples in the sect is nearly 20,000, plus subsidies for each rank and position, which adds up to a solid 20,000 Spirit Stone stones per year."

In addition, there are matters concerning the greetings to all the superiors on the three festivals and two birthdays; the provisions for the Azure Jue and Crimson Zhang Guards stationed in various places are separate; the sect lacks farming masters, so it is necessary to hire rank-one farming masters from outside to cultivate the land; the Hundred Arts Pavilion teaches disciples and its equipment wears out; if a disciple dies in the line of duty each year, a pension must be issued according to their status; and the formations in various places must be repaired and maintained regularly. Just by roughly calculating these, although the total amount seems small, after putting them all together, there are not many Spirit Stone left."

These calculations weren't difficult. After silently reciting Ye Zhengwen's words for a while, Jiang Qing realized that this amount of Spirit Stone was indeed only enough for the sect's daily expenses. If any major event were to occur, they might have to use some of their past reserves.

Even though the resources are still not very abundant, they are far from being in dire straits. Moreover, Chongming Sect uses all its resources to cultivate its disciples, and as the disciples become more and more accomplished, the benefits will naturally increase.

When you earn 40,000 Spirit Stone, you might only be able to save 5,000 each year. But when you earn 100,000 Spirit Stone, even if your expenses increase, you might be able to save 40,000 each year.

The difference is significant, but to accomplish this, someone must be willing to put in a lot of hard work and even delay their spiritual practice.

"Managing a household is truly not easy," Jiang Qing thought, and suddenly felt a little sorry for his senior brother and Ye Zhengwen in front of him. Fortunately, his senior brothers had always taken care of him, which was enough to keep him away from these mundane affairs and allow him to Yixin on his cultivation.

Jiang Qing only heard about these things briefly. Ye Zhengwen only told him about them because of sect rules. In fact, there was no need for Jiang Qing, the elder of the Punishment Hall, to worry about them.

There are probably only a handful of people in the entire Shannan Circuit who can cultivate Sword Essence with only Foundation Establishment body. How could Ye Zhengwen let these trivial matters delay Jiang Qing's cultivation?

As Jiang Qing took the ledger from Duan Anle, he remarked with emotion, "I never imagined that after several years of seclusion in Ying Prefecture, the sect would have recovered to such a state. Over the years, it has truly been a hard-working effort by Senior Brother."

"Haha, Junior Brother, I dare not accept such praise. Otherwise, when Senior Brother Sect Leader comes out, he might blame me for stealing the credit." Ye Zhengwen laughed heartily, his facial features softening considerably, and even the single eye on his face seemed to have lost much of its fierceness.

The three talked for a long time, reluctant to leave, when just then a tall, imposing man strode into the hall. He didn't speak to the others first, but simply grasped Jiang Qing's jade-like right arm and shook it slightly before saying, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"

"How come you're out of quarantine already? Shouldn't it be another two weeks?"

Kang Dabao, whose eyes were still filled with the joy of seeing Jiang Qing, nodded in response to Ye Zhengwen's words, saying, "The Sima Office has sent an imperial edict; the land reclamation campaign is about to begin."