The market opens
As luck would have it, the next day, Kang Dabao finally had a breakthrough and used the Spirit Stone to follow the Yue Household servants through courtyard after courtyard until they arrived at a side hall filled with Spiritual Qi, where they were finally able to meet the Yue Household patriarch.
The impatient monk who got slapped yesterday happened to be the person in front of him in line.
His facial injuries hadn't fully healed yet, but he was all smiles, fawning over the old man.
This appearance startled Kang Dabao for a moment, but after thinking about it, he understood.
Such people are not uncommon. They are violent when they see those of lower status, but become naturally less assertive when they see those of higher status. It's not surprising.
Finally, under the master's impatient gaze, the impatient monk left as he had hoped.
"Every word he said yesterday was correct."
Kang Dabao sighed briefly, then strode into the hall, presented the prepared gifts, and bowed, saying, "Junior Kang Dabao, humbly requesting your greetings."
"You roughneck, you actually know your manners." The gentleman in the hall opened the gift, laughed for a while, and showed a satisfied expression, praising him.
He then asked, "What brings you here?"
Kang Dabao explained his purpose and then showed the gentleman a map he had prepared beforehand.
"Check if there are any other markets open around here." Kang Dabao was well-prepared and explained the situation clearly in just a few words, which made the master of the Yue Household nod repeatedly. He then sent someone to check.
The young attendant went into the inner room to examine the map, and returned with a stern face to report.
Just as he passed by Kang Dabao, a pouch of Spirit Stone stones was put into his own pocket.
The servant was first surprised and then delighted. After he quietly held it in his hand and weighed it, he saw the servant's expression change and he revealed a smile.
He turned and bowed to Master Yue Household, reporting, "Master, there is no market nearby."
The patriarch of the Yue Household sat at the head of the table and laughed heartily. No matter how incompetent he was, he was still a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, so how could he not see through the little actions of the two juniors right under his nose?
But what does it matter? That old market wasn't run by any of his relatives.
But the young servant who just collected the Spirit Stone was indeed his own son, albeit an illegitimate one.
That's the downside of being afraid of one's wife. Even though he had plenty of Spirit Stone in his hands, he was afraid that his hen would find out, so he didn't dare to give any to his illegitimate son, which made the father -Yue Household feel quite guilty.
This big, fat man is so thoughtful.
Kang Dabao's actions deeply moved Master Yue Household, who then accepted another fifty Spirit Stone from him. He took the Kang Dabao license, used the official seal, examined it, and added another entry to the one-year term on the license, increasing it tenfold.
"Go then."
Kang Dabao took the business certificate, glanced at it briefly, then suppressed his joy and respectfully withdrew.
As soon Fang Yi Sect Leader Kang Da stepped out of the side hall, he straightened up, his face full of joy.
He thought to himself that those dozens of Spirit Stone hadn't been wasted. He'd remember to give this wild son some more benefits next time he came, and this master would probably return the favor.
Having obtained the trading permit as he wished, Kang Dabao did not delay any longer and rode his Black Blood Colt back to Chongming Market, covered in dust.
First, the business license was shown to several families. When they saw that the license had been in effect for ten years, everyone was overjoyed.
Xue Hu, who had always thought Kang Dabao was incapable of accomplishing this, was secretly alarmed. "Kang Dabao is incredibly capable. If this continues, this area will become like it has been decades ago, a place Chongming Sect."
Xue Hu was both happy and worried. He was also a man of ambition. He thought that his Xue Household had been quite wealthy in their early years, with dozens of Qi Refinement cultivators, no less than the Hong County He Household today.
He practiced the incomplete Hong Grade Cultivation Method, "Sweet Dew Buddha Ghost Record," at home, believing that given time, he could at least rival the Chongming Sect.
It's fine for the two families to work together on some business now, but if they were to become a nominal vassal of the Chongming Sect like the Ye Household and the Lu Household, and if the hierarchy were clearly defined, the Xue Household family would never be willing to do so.
"For now, let's make some Spirit Stone while we can, and plan for the long term," Xue Hu thought to himself.
But he didn't see that Sect Leader Kang Da was also watching him with a sinister look, thinking the same thing, "Hmph, once you get used to eating the meat the master gives you, you'll have no choice but to be his dog, even if you don't want to."
A month later, the Chongming Market quietly opened for business.
According to Sect Leader Kang Da, this was to avoid provoking those unscrupulous merchants in Linghe Market too much.
On the opening day, there were quite a few cultivators at the market, numbering two or three hundred, with more selling goods than buying them.
This is because after Sect Leader Kang Da went to Han City, he broadened his horizons and gained a much longer-term perspective.
Before the opening, Sect Leader Kang Da announced that during the first year of operation, no rogue cultivators would be charged a single Spirit Shard for Rogue Cultivator a stall.
Although this rule was met with unanimous opposition from the other three families, it was still implemented after Kang Dabao argued his case logically.
Just as Sect Leader Kang Da had predicted, this greatly boosted the market's popularity.
At least the worst-case scenario that Kang Dabao had envisioned did not occur: fewer people visited the store than were open for business.
Yes, even Rogue Cultivator who are determined to set up a stall and sell goods will eventually spend Spirit Stone.
Why keep the Spirit Stone you earn to let others steal them? Of course you should buy suitable pills, Law Artifact, and Cultivation Method to practice!
If you're lucky, you might even encounter a vicious bandit cultivator right after leaving the market, just like the protagonists in those folk tales.
First, he pretends to be weak to outsmart the enemy, then he rescues a damsel in distress, and from then on, he travels with her, building a foundation in a hundred days and achieving the Golden Elixir in ten years.
All the stories in the myriad worlds are the same, with a cheap and stale feel to them!
These are all written by down-and-out scoundrels for other down-and-out scoundrels to read, so they can go back to daydreaming.
This proves the saying, "The more you lack something, the more you crave it."
The market operated smoothly for two months. During this time Kang Dabao stayed in the market, and business was much better than he had expected.
Business on the first floor is actually not very good. Most of the people who come to Chongming Market are Rogue Cultivator at the bottom level who don't have enough Spirit Stone to buy proper elixirs and Law Artifact.
After earning some money, I'll go to the stalls to find some cheap but unreliable pills to take, and look for fragments of Law Artifact to carry around.
Those who are a little richer can go to the Lu Household's Spirit Honey Shop to buy a few Spirit Honey Dates. Although they don't have much effect on cultivation, they can still taste something new and find some comfort.
Therefore, unless you encounter a desperate fugitive hunting beasts on the outskirts of the Cold Crow Mountain Range, you can come in to the first floor to buy some supplies and make a slightly larger deal.
Normally, it would take several days to see a simply dressed rogue Rogue Cultivator, his face flushed, clutching a handful of fragmented spiritual stones, walking in as if he had mustered a great deal of courage.
As a result, even the ordinary shop assistants hired on the first floor had nothing to do and spent their days dozing off at the counter.
The second floor is doing better business, with its twenty-odd rooms mostly fully booked.
Cultivators from other places who come to the outskirts of the Cold Crow Mountain Range to hunt beasts usually choose to stay here for about ten days, either to recuperate or to prepare.
This gave Chongming Small Pavilion the opportunity to earn Spirit Stone. Kuai Wu his cousin, a spirit chef who was skilled at preparing mountain delicacies.
The craftsmanship was indeed extraordinary. The various delicacies satisfied these mountain guests who didn't value their lives, and they were even willing to spend a lot of spirit Spirit Stone.
Sect Leader Kang Da took out the accounts that day, he calculated that the investment would be recouped in three years, a situation far better than he had anticipated!
He had just finished settling the accounts when the young man, Ye Pinglin, rushed in, shouting, "Oh no, Sect Leader Kang, disaster has struck!"
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