Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 192 Lingyuan Cooperation
After everyone left the main hall, Ding Wenxiang hurried over, "Master Song, Master Wang, Master Wu. It's rare for us to get together, and since we're in the market today, how about I show my hospitality?"

Without waiting for anyone else to respond, Wang Qian took the lead and said, "Thank you, Daoist Ding, for your kindness. My sect has important matters to attend to, so I can't stay any longer. I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, he said hello to Song Xian and Wu Yao and left.

The relationship between the two sides is very strained because the Ding family seized the Qingyuan Sect's market business and had repeatedly refused the Qingyuan Sect's requests for help.

After the peace talks were concluded, Ding Wenxiang proposed to treat several people to a banquet, mainly to ease the relationship, but Wang Qian was not grateful at all.

Ding Wenxiang didn't care. The Qingyuan Sect was now a tiger with its teeth pulled out, and posed no threat to the Ding family. On the contrary, the Hunyuan Sect had developed very well in the past two years, and the sect was thriving. He also married the niece of Wen Yiren, the wife of the Luoyun Sect's headmaster.

What is even more unexpected is that he was able to persuade Wen Yiren to come forward and find Yang Jin and Yang Dacheng to negotiate peace between the various sects in Bianxia Town, which shows how important he is in Wen Yiren's heart.

Ding Wenxiang had already found out that this peace talk was facilitated by Song Xian, and it was Wen Yiren who came forward to find Yang Jinzhang, so he sent Yang Yude and Tianshan Sect here.

This made him pay more attention to Song Xian.

"Master Song has made a great contribution to this settlement. Master Wang has important matters to attend to, so that's enough. Master Song and Master Wu, please don't leave in a hurry. Let's have a good drink today."

"I'm really sorry, I have some important matters to deal with in my sect. I'll visit Palace Master Ding again some other day." Wu Yao responded with a forced smile.

The relationship between the Xuri Sect and the Ding family is not very good. When they attacked Qixia Mountain, the Ding family did not contribute at all, which led to the defeat of the Xuri Sect.

Song Xian would not stay, so he left the market after saying a few polite words.

.........

"My husband is back." In the house of Guzi Peak, Song Xianfang pushed the door open and walked in. Su Zhirou immediately came to greet him.

"Today I asked you to take a look at our sect's financial account files. Have you read them all?" The two of them sat down, leaning against each other.

The couple have been in love and inseparable since they got married. Today, Yang Yude called a meeting, and Song Xian asked her to stay here to check this year's accounts. It happened that the end of the year was approaching, and financial meetings were about to be held.

She is now in charge of the sect's financial supervision and has full responsibility for the supervision of the sect's finances. This year is also her first time to participate in the year-end financial meeting. She may have to say a few words at that time. She cannot be completely ignorant of the sect's financial situation.

"Looked."

"Then let me test you. How much did our sect spend this year? How much did it exceed the budget?"

"I forgot."

"Didn't you just read it today? How could you have forgotten it?"

"So many expenses, line after line, who could possibly remember them all? I didn't pay much attention to them, I just flipped through them casually."

Song Xian shook her head helplessly. This girl was good at everything except management. Asking her to manage the sect's finances and understand every detail would be really difficult for her.

"The year-end meeting is coming up soon, and as a financial inspector, you should at least say something! If you don't know anything, you'll be laughed at!"

Su Zhirou said in a delicate voice, "I didn't want to take care of it in the first place, but my husband insisted. I don't know how to do it. I haven't looked at the accounts since I was a child."

"If you don't manage this, what are you in charge of? You can't even manage the accounts, let alone the people. Accounts are static, but people are dynamic, and the human heart is hundreds of times more complicated than those account books. Besides, I don't want you to manage it. Just get a general understanding, and let Senior Brother Lu Yuan handle the specific matters."

"I just want to control my husband. Wherever he goes, I will follow him and supervise him at all times."

As the two were talking, footsteps were heard outside, followed by a knock on the door.

"Who?"

"Son-in-law, the housekeeper reports that Master Zhang Ningyuan wants to see you regarding something important." Xiaohong's voice came from outside.

"I see. Take him to the living room."

"Yes." Xiaohong responded and left.

.........

In the spacious and bright hall, Zhang Ningyuan and a dark-skinned old man in his fifties were sitting and chatting.

Seeing Song Xian coming in, the two of them quickly stood up. Zhang Ningyuan bowed and saluted: "Master, Fellow Daoist Wei is here."

"Friend Wei, long time no see. How have you been?" Song Xian looked at the old man. This man was none other than Wei Lian, who had once cooperated with Hunyuan Sect. It was he who managed the spiritual field in Qianyuan Valley. Later, it was taken away by Qixia Mountain, and the cooperation between the two parties was terminated.

"Thank you, Master Song, for your concern."

"Please take a seat!" Song Xian smiled and waved his hand, then went straight to the main seat and sat down. "Fellow Daoist Wei, Senior Brother Ning Yuan should have told you everything! Our sect has acquired a piece of land with first-grade, mid-grade resources. It's a spiritual garden located in Xuanhuan Town. We'd like to ask you, a professional spiritual plant master, to take charge of its management. I wonder if you're willing to take it on?"

In the last Luoyun Sect competition, Lin Zixiang finally won the fourth place and was allocated a first-level medium-grade spiritual garden, where redwood cloud spirit trees were originally planted.

Unlike spiritual fields, the spiritual energy contained in spiritual gardens is mainly distributed in the air rather than in the soil, so it is impossible to grow spiritual medicines there, and only tall spiritual trees and other cultivation resources can be planted.

Song Xian called Wei Lian here this time in order to continue the previous form of cooperation, leasing the resource area here to him for him to manage, and only requiring him to pay a fixed amount of spirit stones to the sect every year.

The reason why I didn’t look for anyone else was because I specifically looked for him.

One is that the two parties have cooperated before and established a certain foundation of trust.

The second is that he did a good job when he was in charge of the spiritual fields. The spiritual medicines that were originally sparse flourished during the six months he was in charge, and he saved many spiritual medicines that were about to wither, which was enough to prove his professional ability.

He originally worked for half a year for free, but was eventually taken away by Qixia Mountain. Not only did he live for half a year in vain, he also almost lost his life.

This time it was considered as compensation for him, and it was also said at that time that if there was another chance, he would be asked to manage the spiritual field again. If the sect wants to grow and develop, it must establish a good image to the outside world and maintain its reputation and credibility.

"Thanks to Master Song's kindness, I am willing to rent out the cemetery for your sect." Wei Lian responded without hesitation.

"Since Fellow Daoist Wei is willing, I won't say any more. However, our sect has established a new rule this year: all cultivators who take over our assets must join the sect and become registered disciples."

"This is to deepen the connection between the sect and you. Being a registered disciple is just a title. You don't need to take on any sect affairs, and of course you don't receive a sect salary. You just need to be responsible for the industries you have taken over, and you will be responsible for your own profits and losses."

"But no matter what, since you're a disciple of the sect, there are definitely benefits. For example, you don't have to pay a deposit. If your luck is bad in a certain year and the industry you're responsible for suffers losses, the sect can appropriately reduce the amount of spirit stones you have to pay, allowing you to make up for it when you have more money."

"At most, when the sect is short of manpower, we might ask you to run errands or deliver something. We will never let you participate in any other dangerous missions."

"The three industries that our sect inherited from the Beast Taming Sect have now been handed over to the independent cultivator team. They have all joined our sect and become registered disciples."

"Would Fellow Daoist Wei be willing to accept it?"

Wei Lian nodded and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang has informed me of this matter. I am willing to become a registered disciple of your sect." "Fellow Daoist Wei, have you seen the sacred garden?"

"I saw it on the way here."

"With Fellow Daoist Wei's abilities, if he were to manage that Spirit Garden, how much Spirit Stone income could he expect to earn annually?"

"According to my estimation, an annual income of 1,800 spirit stones shouldn't be a problem."

Song Xian remained calm on the surface, but his mind was as clear as a mirror. Even a seemingly honest person like Wei Lian could not avoid being cunning and deceitful when faced with the temptation of interests.

A first-grade, mid-quality spiritual garden, carefully cared for by a professional spiritual plant master, would earn far more than 1,800 spirit stones per year.

You know, when Wei Lian was in charge of the first-level spiritual field in Qianyuan Valley, he promised an annual income of 1,500 spirit stones. Of course, at that time he didn't know that Song Xian was going to hand over the spiritual field to him.

Although the spiritual trees planted in the spiritual garden are not as valuable as the spiritual medicines grown in the spiritual fields, how could it be impossible for the value of a first-grade, mid-quality spiritual garden to be almost the same as that of a first-grade, low-quality spiritual field?

He said this simply because he wanted to pay less to the sect and earn more for himself.

Song Xian had long ago learned from Xiao Ling that the annual income that Luoyun Sect earned from the Spirit Garden was basically around 1,500 spirit stones on average.

As an insider and a professional spiritual plant master, Wei Lian must be aware of the market situation, so he reported a slightly higher profit than Luoyun Sect.

The people in charge of the spiritual garden in Luoyun Sect are of course the spiritual plant masters and disciples trained by the sect, but this does not mean that the spiritual garden only earns 1,500 spirit stones every year. This is only the amount that is handed over, and no one knows how much is privately swallowed.

For a sect disciple, being in charge of a spiritual garden is an absolutely lucrative job. They have to take care of everyone from top to bottom, and offer tributes every year. All the relevant personnel involved will make a profit. Even so, there will still be 1,500 spirit stones in the sect's accounts.

According to conservative estimates, its actual profit is at least 2,600 spirit stones.

"With Fellow Daoist Wei's ability, one thousand eight hundred spirit stones is too low! Even with a first-grade low-grade spirit field, Fellow Daoist Wei can achieve an annual income of one thousand five hundred. Doesn't this mean that the value of a first-grade mid-grade spirit garden is approximately equal to that of a first-grade low-grade spirit field? Even a fool knows that the two are not equal!" Song Xian put away his smile.

Wei Lian also knew that the price he quoted was too low. He gave the quote casually in a hurry without thinking too much about it, with a bit of bargaining intention.

Seeing Song Xian's displeasure, he quickly said, "I misunderstood you. What I meant was that I could hand over 1,800 spirit stones to your sect every year."

"Fellow Daoist Wei, I am treating you with sincerity, and I hope you will be frank. I will offer a condition. If you can accept it, our cooperation will begin. If not, then forget it. Our sect will find someone else."

"Master Song, please speak."

Song Xian said, "Our sect takes 80% of the profits from independent cultivation teams that take over the industry, but only 70% from professionals like you. Because the spiritual plant industry is so unstable, the harvest mainly depends on the skill of the spiritual plant master in charge of planting."

"So I'm going to set a minimum price of 2,000 spirit stones per year. No matter what happens, you must pay at least 2,000 spirit stones to our sect every year. Even if you lose everything, this minimum price cannot be reduced."

"I just said that as a registered disciple of our sect, we will take good care of you. Even if you really suffer a loss and cannot pay it out right away, you can temporarily owe it to us and repay it next year when you get your money back."

"If Daoist Fellow's annual profit exceeds 2,700 spirit stones due to his superb skills, the excess will still be turned over at 70%."

"Our sect will regularly send people to audit the accounts. If we discover any concealment, whether it's modifying the accounts or secretly selling the planted spiritual wood, we will impose corresponding punishments."

Wei Lian thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I accept Sect Leader Song's request, but there is one condition. The Red Bin Cloud Spirit Wood takes three years to mature, and I can't afford that many Spirit Stones in the first two years. I hope to harvest once every three years, and then hand it all over after selling it."

"Also, your sect needs to find a stable sales channel for me. Spiritual wood is not as easy to sell as spiritual medicine. Almost all large shops will buy spiritual medicine, but spiritual wood is only used by some specific industries."

"Don't worry, fellow Daoist. The Red Bin Cloud Spirit Wood in Luoyun Sect's Spirit Garden was originally sold to the Beastmaster Sect, and they will purchase it at the previous price. Luoyun Sect will not hand over the Spirit Garden to our sect until early next year, and Fellow Daoist Wei can go there then."

The two sides discussed the specific details of the cooperation for a long time and finally determined the conditions.

After discussing the cooperation, Song Xian ordered people to prepare a banquet and invited Wei Lian to join.

The banquet was a great pleasure for both the host and the guests, so there was no need for further words.

He treated Wei Lian well and offered him such good conditions in order to make him a better person. This would have a positive effect on the subsequent recruitment of talents or the search for skilled partners for the sect.

...............

As the days passed and the year drew to a close, heavy snow covered the sky in Bianxia Town. In the main hall of Guzi Peak, the sect held its annual financial meeting as scheduled.

This year, the sect’s total income reached a new high, totaling 62,000 spirit stones.

This included the income of 20,000 spirit stones from the Qingyuan Sect as a reward for its victory in the war.

The Yuxiang Pills from Qingfengfang in Bianxi City were sold 3,800 this year, earning 28,000 spirit stones.

In addition, the market shop that Jiang Zichen is in charge of sold more than 500 Jade Fragrance Pills this year, earning more than 3,000 spirit stones.

The market shop that Xu Ning was in charge of sold 300 Jade Fragrance Pills and earned 2,000 spirit stones.

There was also a shop in the market that Mu Hong was in charge of, which sold 500 Jade Fragrance Pills and earned 3,000 spirit stones.

The market shop that Zeng Yuan was in charge of sold more than 300 Jade Fragrance Pills and earned 2,000 spirit stones.

The market shop that Zhang Qian was in charge of sold more than 200 Jade Fragrance Pills and earned 1,500 spirit stones.

The three industries taken over from the Beast Taming Sect also successfully completed their tasks and earned two thousand spirit stones.

This year's expenditure totals 35,000 spirit stones.

Among them, the disciples who participated in the battle of Luoyun Sect were rewarded with 10,000 spirit stones.

The sect disciples’ salary is about 10,000 spirit stones.

The rent for the six shops is 14,000 spirit stones.

The raw materials for Yuxiang Pill cost seven thousand spirit stones.

The materials for the Puppet Hall cost two thousand five hundred spirit stones.

There are also some miscellaneous expenses plus various travel expenses of 1,500 spirit stones.

After deducting expenses from income, the profit this year was 28,000 spirit stones. Everyone received a dividend of spirit stones according to their proportion, and the rest went into the treasury.

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PS: (I have a blind date tomorrow, so I’m taking a day off.)
(End of this chapter)