Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 58 Class Division
Xu Ning said, "Master, in my opinion, shouldn't we build a few more mansions? The original plan was to build ten, and now with Qi Xiaobai and Carissa, we can't just move them all into the new mansions and leave them crammed into this shabby room. Or, if we have guests coming over, maybe new junior brothers and sisters will join us in the future, so we need to keep some vacant mansions for them."

"You can handle this matter as you wish! Just tell Senior Brother Wenyuan if you need anything." Song Xian said, "Let me first tell you about the results of this trip to Muhe Grassland!"

"Although this trip made a profit of three or four hundred spirit stones, I had already paid three hundred spirit stones for the pass from Senior Yang, and I also had to pay another hundred spirit stones when I encountered the Red Dragon and Black Skull bandits along the way. So this trip was essentially for nothing."

"But don't be discouraged. Although we didn't earn many spirit stones this time, this pass will last until the end of this year."

"In addition, I have opened an alchemy room in the market for Junior Brother Qi to use. He will be responsible for refining a new elixir for our sect. This is a top priority for our sect's future development, and the entire sect needs full support. Whether our sect can gain a firm foothold and develop here depends on how well he develops this elixir."

Everyone was surprised to see how serious Song Xian was. Except for George Lam and Zhong Wenyuan who already knew the truth, everyone else showed curiosity.

"Refine elixirs? Master, what kind of elixirs are our sect going to develop?" Jiang Zichen couldn't contain his curiosity and asked immediately.

"Junior Brother Zichen will surely remember the unique fragrance of the spices Carissa smeared on her body that day! I want to promote this spice to the cultivation world and sell it as a pill. I'm calling it the Jade Fragrance Pill. Junior Brother Qi is currently developing it. Once it's completed, we'll sell it in shops. This is a crucial step in the development of our sect. As long as we can overcome this hurdle, our sect will surely achieve great things."

Zhang Yi frowned and said, "Selling spices as elixirs, is that even possible? How are you going to sell them, Master? How much spirit stones will it cost?"

Song Xian smiled slightly: "Such a good thing can't be too cheap, it should be sold for at least ten spirit stones."

"Ten spirit stones?"

Everyone was shocked.

Before anyone else could ask, Song Xian said, "It's enough for everyone to know about this matter. There's no need to ask how to sell it or who will buy it. I have my own plans."

"Besides this, there is another matter that I want to discuss with you all."

"Yesterday I went to our shop in Nanyuan Valley, and the situation was not optimistic. There were no customers at all. Moreover, the women we recruited were all very lazy and didn't work hard at all."

"We must do our best to promote this shop brand and not let it fend for itself. To motivate the shop managers, I have decided to restructure the shop and abolish all the previous Qingyun Sect rules."

"From now on, a portion of the profits from the shop's transactions will remain in the shop for the shop managers to allocate at their discretion. Of course, this needs to be based on a standard, and I will provide a detailed plan later."

Zhong Wenyuan frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. In front of so many people, even if he disagreed in his heart, he would not openly oppose it. The authority of the headmaster needed to be guaranteed. This was a concept that had been deeply rooted in his bones after many years of managing the sect's internal affairs.

"Does anyone have anything to say? If not, let's disperse!"

No one spoke. Jiang Zichen glanced at everyone and raised his hand, saying, "Master, I have something to ask."

"Junior Brother Zichen, please speak."

"The headmaster just said that the pass is valid until the end of the year. Do we have to make another trip to Muhe Grassland this year?"

"It depends on the situation! Right now, our most urgent task is to refine and sell the Jade Fragrance Pill. We need to save some spirit stones to prepare for the promotion of the Jade Fragrance Pill. We can put the trip to the Muhe Grassland on hold for now."

"If I go to Muhe Grassland again next time, I want to go with you and see it for myself."

"Okay, you can go with the team then."

Seeing that no one else had anything to say, Song Xian announced the end of the meeting and everyone dispersed.

"Master, let me take you to see the new mansion!" Xu Ning said.

"it is good."

The two of them left the palace together and came to the vast and majestic mansion.

This mansion is opposite the main hall, only a hundred feet away.

Inside, there was only an empty courtyard, a few pavilions, and one or two trees. There were no pavilions, waterside pavilions, or gardens.

"Master Xu, Master Xu." As soon as he entered the first floor of the mansion, he saw two men sweeping the courtyard. Upon seeing the two men, he immediately stepped forward and saluted respectfully.

"Brother Xu, who are they?"

"These were all mortal servants who used to work at the foot of the mountain. Now that the mansions are complete, we have them serve in the courtyards of each family."

"Oh! I almost forgot. We have already recruited thirty mortal servants. Is that three servants for each house?" "No, there are ten servants in the master's house: five men and five women."

"Ah? There are so many people, what about the other brothers?"

"Senior Brothers Zhong and Lin each have six servants in their mansions, and the other brothers each have four. This is Senior Brother Zhong's instruction. He said that as the headmaster, the most respected of the sect, cannot have only three or four people serving in his mansion. If something needs to be done, there will be no one to handle it, which is extremely inconvenient. Therefore, ten servants have been ordered."

"So, there must be fifty people. Could it be that twenty more servants have been added?"

"Yes, due to a shortage of manpower, Senior Brother Zhong sent someone to find twenty more men and women, and they have now been assigned to the various courtyards."

"My house looks much bigger than those of my fellow apprentices!"

Xu Ning said calmly, "This is also the instruction of Senior Brother Zhong. The master's house has five entrances and five exits. Senior Brother Zhong and Senior Brother Lin have four entrances and four exits, and the other brothers have three entrances and three exits."

Song Xian sighed inwardly. Zhong Wenyuan, the Qingyun Sect's peculiarities, remained the same. Even with only a dozen or so members now, they were divided into upper, middle, and lower ranks, with different levels. Even the court officials and servants were clearly divided into different levels.

Song Xian broke the distinction between inner and outer disciples of the sect in order to show that all disciples of the sect were equal. However, by doing this, the class division became apparent again.

In fact, it would not be a big deal to have one or two more courtyards in the mansion and a few more servants to command. Although Song Xian did not agree with this, since Zhong Wenyuan had made such arrangements, he could not say anything.

"How much are these servants paid annually?"

"Brother Zhong has instructed that servants in the headmaster's residence receive five taels of silver per month, servants in his and Brother Lin's residences receive four taels of silver per year, and servants in the other brothers' residences receive three taels of silver per month. Furthermore, he has selected two servants to serve as the supervisor and deputy supervisor. The supervisor receives ten taels of silver per month and is stationed in your residence. The deputy supervisor receives eight taels of silver per month and is stationed in his residence."

Xu Ning had a blank expression on his face as he kept following Senior Brother Zhong's instructions. It was obvious that he was not very satisfied with Zhong Wenyuan's arrangement.

"So, the monthly salary for fifty people is about three hundred silver coins, which is about three spirit stones. That's thirty-six spirit stones a year. Add in the daily expenses for food and clothing, and it should be fifty spirit stones!"

"I don't know about that. Senior Brother Lu Yuan is in charge of the finances. The headmaster should ask him."

"Oh, there's one more thing. I've already ordered the camel caravan to deliver the ten blood camels we bought earlier to the sect. When they arrive, Senior Brother Xu can find someone to look after them, or you can just keep a few people from the caravan. Anyway, we'll need these blood camels next time we go to the Muhe Grassland."

"Okay, I see."

After the two arrived at the main courtyard, Xu Ning found the servant supervisor, a strong middle-aged man named Xu Jian.

Soon, Xu Jian called everyone in the mansion to his presence and asked them to kneel down before him.

Song Xian said a few words casually and let everyone go.

Not long after Xu Ning left, Lu Yuan came and talked about the salary payment of the disciples.

"Master, three months have already passed. We originally agreed that the salary would be paid in March, but because all the sect's spirit stones were sold, I have no spirit stones on hand. Plus, you're not here, so I've been holding off on paying."

"It's time to send it out. The sect must be honest. Although we are in financial difficulties now, we can't delay it any longer. I was just about to look for you. We still have more than 2,500 spirit stones from our trip to Muhe Grassland. You can keep them!" Song Xian took out all the spirit stones from the storage ring and handed them to him.

"Some time ago, I took 1,100 spirit stones from Junior Brother Zhang's shop. With this, I now have 3,700 spirit stones. After deducting everyone's salary for the past three months, there will still be 2,600 left."

Song Xian smiled and said, "We have been here for three months. Although we haven't been able to make any profit from this business and have spent a lot of money, the amount of spirit stones we have on hand has increased instead of decreased."

Lu Yuan sighed, "I have more spirit stones, but my inventory is getting smaller and smaller. Now I only have two mid-grade magic tools, three low-grade magic tools, and some talismans and pills. After selling all of these, I'll be completely broke. At this rate, I can only last a year at most."

"Don't worry, there will be a way to solve it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhong Wenyuan walked in.

"Junior Brother Lu is here too!"

"I've come to see the Sect Master to verify the issue of the sect's disciples' salaries. Didn't I talk to Senior Brother Zhong about this last time? Senior Brother Zhong said the Sect Master would make the decision after he returns, so that's why I'm here. Senior Brother Zhong, please take your time. I won't bother you anymore. Sect Master, I'm leaving first."

Lu Yuan knew that Zhong Wenyuan had come at this time and must have discussed something with Song Xian alone, so he got up and left.

(End of this chapter)