"Greetings, Steward Zhang!" Qu Qizhong said with a bow as he entered the courtyard and saw Zhang Deming sitting there.
Zhang Deming smiled. "It seems you’ve been doing quite well for yourself these past few days."
"Thanks to you, Steward, I’ve managed to open the shop. All the goods you gave have been sold."
"Here are the Spirit Stones from the sales. The four Spirit Nurturing Beads sold for a total of thirty-three Spirit Stones," Qu Qizhong said respectfully.
"An average price of about eight stones each, then?" Zhang Deming murmured as he accepted the Spirit Stones.
Qu Qizhong replied, "This is just the beginning. Once most people realize that the Tier One Spirit Nurturing Pearls we sell have a higher success rate than the ordinary ones on the market, the price should go up by a fair bit."
Zhang Deming nodded. "You’ve done a great job. I contacted you this ti because, for one, I figured you might have run out of stock, so I’ve brought you more."
As he spoke, Zhang Deming took out a small pouch containing nineteen Spirit Nurturing Beads he had recently stayed up late to produce.
"And second, I need to lay out the procedure from now on. I can’t et with you in person like this every ti."
"Especially once you’ve made a na for yourself. Considering how rare Spirit Nurturing Masters are, plenty of people will start getting curious about your supplier."
"The Qu Family might not treat you well, but you’re still one of them, after all."
"You probably won’t be in any imdiate danger, but there will be no shortage of people wanting to find out about the Spirit Nurturing Master backing you."
Zhang Deming paused before continuing, "That’s why we can’t et in person for pickups anymore."
"From now on, you’ll receive a ssage, just like you did today. All you have to do is go and collect the goods."
"As for the Spirit Stones from the sales, deposit them directly into the Hongng Spirit Manor. I’ve already opened an anonymous account there."
"This is the deposit card for the account; it can only be used to put money in, not take it out."
Zhang Deming said, taking out another card.
Qu Qizhong listened quietly, only taking the card and the small pouch after Zhang Deming had finished. He glanced at the dozen-plus Spirit Nurturing Beads in the pouch and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he wouldn’t run out of stock anyti soon.
"Understood."
Zhang Deming looked at him and said, "Don’t worry about stock issues, but don’t be too conspicuous. You can go ahead and sell off a batch in the next few days."
"After that, once things have stabilized, you can sell them at a maximum rate of two per day."
"If you exceed that rate, you might run out of stock."
"My supply schedule will roughly follow that rate as well, and I’ll deliver them in batches."
"The timing of these batches won’t be fixed; it might be once a week, or it might be once a month."
"It will depend on the schedules of our other mbers. After all, I can’t just dispatch soone to make a special trip solely to deliver a handful of Spirit Nurturing Beads."
’Well, my cash flow is tight right now, so I have to co up with so excuse.’
’Besides, we’re supposed to be a top-tier organization. Having our mbers run errands for a few dozen Spirit Stones? That would totally ruin our image, wouldn’t it?’
’So, for the sake of the Alliance’s reputation, I need to master the art of pulling excuses out of thin air!’
’This isn’t just BS, this is... um... proactive strategic phrasing.’
’It’s entirely possible that future Alliance mbers won’t be running around for a few dozen Spirit Stones! Right?’
Hearing this, Qu Qizhong hesitated for a mont. "Steward Zhang, could you possibly provide a few more?"
Zhang Deming laughed. "Where do you think these Spirit Nurturing Beads co from? They’re a ’perk’ provided to for developing this new branch."
"Aside from this initial batch for getting things started, the sales quota of two per day can’t be increased until you’ve produced significant results."
"If it were up to , I’d have them allocate a huge batch of Spirit Nurturing Beads directly. There’s a huge market for this stuff; do you think I’m worried about not being able to sell it?"
"Besides, selling on such a large scale would exceed the production limit of a single Spirit Nurturing Master."
"Could you handle that kind of pressure?"
"When people co looking for answers, wouldn’t that just beco my problem?"
’Making just two of them takes at least five hours of intense work. Any more than that, and when the hell am I supposed to find ti for my own Cultivation?’
’When would I get anything else done?’
Qu Qizhong gave an awkward laugh. "I was just... thinking about earning more Spirit Stones for you, Steward."
Zhang Deming waved his hand dismissively. "That’s enough. If there’s nothing else, you may leave."
"In that case, I’ll head back to the shop. I won’t disturb you any longer, Steward Zhang." With that, Qu Qizhong stood up and left the courtyard.
Zhang Deming sat for a while longer before removing his disguise, securing the courtyard, and leaving.
He would never return to this place. Once the lease expired and the landlord rented it out to soone else, not a single traceable clue would remain.
After today, as long as he was careful, no one—aside from a few major players—would be able to trace him through Qu Qizhong.
He wouldn’t et in person for any future pickups.
Zhang Deming weighed the bulging bag of Spirit Stones. ’Now that I have money, why do I always get the urge to buy sothing?’
’Is there sothing wrong with ?’
Speaking of shopping, Zhang Deming’s thoughts drifted to that one-Spirit-Stone Tier Two Technique, the Summoning God Skill, which he hadn’t been able to bring himself to buy before due to a lack of funds.
Tier Two Techniques usually cost thirty to fifty Spirit Stones, so he hadn’t even considered buying one before.
Now, however, he could afford to buy it and see. It was only one Spirit Stone, after all.
Besides, since there were no more gods or Earth Spirits, it was impossible to even learn the basics of the skill.
’So, what would happen if I... edited it?’
A jolt of excitent ran through Zhang Deming at the thought.
No sooner said than done. Zhang Deming set off at once, heading back to the Blue Sky Branch.
Greeted by the sa smiling clerk, he extravagantly paid the "high price" of one Spirit Stone for the seemingly useless Secret Level Mid Grade, Tier Two Collection Technique.
After placing the technique in his bag, Zhang Deming left the shop.
Weighing the remaining Spirit Stones, he once again felt the urge to buy sothing. ’I really must have a problem,’ he mused.
But then he rembered he still owed Qin Shizhong sixteen Spirit Stones for goods, plus the two he’d borrowed from Zong En. It was best not to spend recklessly.
After paying his debts, he’d only have a little over ten Spirit Stones left.
Until his capital started to snowball, one careless spending spree could plunge him back into a deficit.
Looking at the two new specks of light that had appeared in his Spirit Nurturing Technique, Zhang Deming had originally planned to do so field investigation to expand his two-mber Blue Sky Alliance.
Just then, the Identity Card in his pocket began to vibrate.
Zhang Deming pulled it out and saw it was a ssage from Feng Mingyou, asking to et.
’Has he made his decision?’
After a mont of contemplation, he stopped dawdling and turned to head back to the Sect. The investigation could wait.
...
About an hour later, Zhang Deming was back at the Sect.
He went straight to Feng Mingyou’s courtyard on Little Qing Mountain. Upon entering, he saw Feng Mingyou sitting there, fiddling with a tea set.
"Steward Feng, your leisurely life is truly enviable," Zhang Deming said, sitting down at the stone table. "It’s nothing like mine, running around all day without a mont’s rest."
Feng Mingyou glanced up at Zhang Deming. "I offered to trade places with you, but you refused. So spare the sarcastic comnts."
Zhang Deming shook his head. "I’m genuinely envious."
Feng Mingyou began to brew tea, saying without looking up, "Qingyou Pool is dozens of tis better than this place."
’Hm, looks like he’s still wary. He must have done a background check on before making his decision.’
’Then again, that’s just his personality. It wouldn’t be Feng Mingyou if he just made a snap decision.’
Zhang Deming gave a wry smile. "The conflict there is also dozens of tis greater."
Feng Mingyou’s hands paused in the act of brewing tea. He spoke again. "If you’re tired of it all, you could just report your progress to the Sect. Mastering three Techniques in a matter of months..."
"I didn’t notice last ti, but I see now you’ve already beco an Advanced Apprentice."
"With a Talent like that, the Peak Master of Little Hui Peak would welco you with open arms. Getting into the Inner Sect would be a simple matter of an application."
Zhang Deming smiled. "I’d love to. If my Spirit Root were just a dozen points better—enough to reach the genius threshold of forty—I wouldn’t need you to remind , Steward. I would’ve acted long ago."
"But with a score of twenty-one? If I reported my progress, how many of the old masters do you think would suspect I’m hiding so other secret?"
Both n sensed a shift in the conversation. It was starting to feel like a showdown.
Feng Mingyou’s hands froze. He looked up at Zhang Deming and, after a long mont, sighed.
"It seems I have to take a gamble," he said. "Otherwise, I’m afraid I might not be leaving this courtyard today."
Zhang Deming smiled. "I didn’t realize you had such a sense of humor, Steward Feng. Just a month ago, I was still tilling the fields."
"If anyone’s not getting out of here, it’d be . One cup of poisoned tea is all it would take to finish off."
"Besides, Steward, you’re the one who asked here. Surely it wasn’t just for tea..."
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