Chapter 103
"Zheng Fa has broken through!" On the eighth peak of Jiu Shan, Master Pang's eyes sparkled with excitement as he gazed at Zheng Fa's courtyard, exclaiming loudly as if he had never witnessed a breakthrough before, "His talent is truly exceptional!"
"Um... Master, I also broke through a while ago," Zhou Qianyuan reminded him softly, standing beside him.
"You broke through too?" Master Pang paused, glancing at him with a dismissive pout. "What's so great about reaching the third level of Qi Refinement?"
Zhou Qianyuan: "…?"
……
The next day, Zheng Fa could no longer spend all day cultivating at home.
The ferry boat they had sent out earlier had returned.
There were quite a few people on board—this ferry had visited three nearby sects and two markets where scattered cultivators gathered, bringing back over a hundred people.
With such a wave of customers arriving, the market was suddenly bustling with various issues.
For two consecutive days, Zheng Fa squatted in the market, handling all sorts of problems alongside Senior Sister Yuan:
Some merchants were eyeing these customers, planning to swindle them since they weren't from their sect.
Others had come just for the free ride and couldn't afford to buy anything, instead causing trouble in the market.
There were also merchants who had lost faith in Zheng Fa's ideas, having sold out their goods and now begging him to help them find new supplies.
In no time, the market was in chaos.
It wasn't just Zheng Fa and Senior Sister Yuan.
The disciples on duty in the market were also running around, with no time to rest.
Once the crowd of customers had left, others could take a break, but Zheng Fa was still busy—he needed to calculate the earnings from the ferry's round trip.
"We collected about twenty spirit stones in taxes this trip, and with the profits from selling talismans on board, we should have around fifty spirit stones in total."
After finishing his calculations, Zheng Fa turned to Senior Sister Yuan, who was waiting nearby.
The rent couldn't be changed for now.
The spirit stones they could earn from the ferry came solely from the difference in selling talismans.
The tax rates for various transactions differed, but on average, they ranged from ten to twenty percent.
Senior Sister Yuan was quite pleased to hear this figure: "Two trips a month means one hundred spirit stones!"
"Senior Sister, we still have to deduct the ferry's expenses and the wages for the brothers on board—those disciples on duty in the market have been quite busy too, so we might need to give them some bonuses to keep them happy."
"…How much will that be?"
Zheng Fa didn't have an exact number, but he estimated in his mind: "In the end, the net profit should be around twenty spirit stones."
"That's a bit low..."
Zheng Fa nodded.
Low was one thing.
The main issue was that everyone had worked hard, yet it seemed they hadn't seen much result—there would likely be some grumbling.
……
Han Qi and the others were walking towards the market, preparing to patrol—they were now considered Zheng Fa's subordinates and part of the market's disciples.
Along the way, they encountered some other senior brothers heading to the market.
Some were familiar faces from the ferry, and the three exchanged greetings, quickly gathering into a group.
"Have you heard? After all that fuss, we only made twenty spirit stones."
"…I think this ferry business won't last." One disciple scoffed.
"After all that hard work, we were all smiles on the way back, and now we’re exhausted… and we only made twenty spirit stones… We could earn that much doing anything else!"
The others chimed in, murmuring discontent. Though they spoke softly, Han Qi and his companions could hear them.
The three felt a mix of embarrassment and anger.
After all, they considered themselves part of Zheng Fa's team.
Now, this group was subtly expressing dissatisfaction with Zheng Fa, even if they didn't name him directly; it was clear to everyone.
A tall, thin disciple opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to speak, but Han Qi tugged at his sleeve to stop him.
Their pace slowed as they watched the group of senior brothers drift further away.
"Why didn't you let me scold them, Senior Brother..."
"What did they say?" Han Qi shot him a glare. "What were you planning to say?"
"…"
"Besides, those guys are all very respectful in front of Junior Brother Zheng."
"Two-faced snakes!"
The tall, thin disciple spat bitterly.
"Junior Brother Zheng is still inexperienced, and his cultivation is a bit low." Han Qi sighed. "These people fear him only because of Senior Sister Zhang and Senior Sister Yuan, but most of them still harbor resentment."
"But Junior Brother Zheng made spirit stones this time!"
"Yes, but the fuss it caused..." Han Qi sighed again. "They probably think that with this much power, they could earn even more."
The tall, thin disciple fell silent.
Han Qi continued, "Also, this ferry can't keep going to the same place. This time it was close, but what about next time—if it goes farther, the earnings will be even less."
"Will Senior Sister Zhang blame Junior Brother Zheng for this?"
"She definitely won't blame him, but whether this can continue is another matter."
Concern was etched on Han Qi's face.
……
With a less-than-pleasant mood, the three of them arrived at the market.
As soon as they entered, they sensed something was off.
"Senior Brothers! You've worked hard these past two days! Here, have some pancakes!"
As they walked by, a vendor selling meat pancakes handed them three pancakes with a beaming smile.
"You didn't eat breakfast, right? Here, have a date cake to tide you over!"
"Don't just eat; you'll choke! Have some water, Senior Brothers!"
Just walking down one street, they found their arms filled with goodies.
Not just them; the earlier arrivals among the duty disciples were also being handed all sorts of snacks.
Everyone was stunned, bewildered by the vendors' enthusiasm.
They couldn't quite grasp why the vendors were being so friendly.
"Senior Brother... when we used to see the duty disciples, they would avoid us like the plague. Now they're treating us like this..."
Han Qi blinked, then suddenly laughed: "The market may not have made money, but the vendors sure did!"
"Huh?"
Han Qi turned back to glance at the small building where the market manager was located.
Inside, Senior Sister Zhang was also smiling as she spoke to Zheng Fa about this: "Before today, the stalls that couldn't be rented out are now being fought over."
"Not just that... the important thing is the goodwill." Senior Sister Zhang gave Zheng Fa a meaningful look, then firmly stated, "We must continue sending out the ferry, even if it doesn't make money!"
Zheng Fa nodded, fully understanding Senior Sister Zhang's intent.
Right now, the most wronged in Jiu Shan Sect were the lower-tier disciples—most of the vendors were from this group.
With each ferry trip, nearly every vendor made a small profit.
This amount of money wasn't much for Zheng Fa and the others, but for these vendors, it could represent a month's worth of earnings.
For Senior Sister Zhang, getting the higher-ups of Jiu Shan Sect to share a bit more of the pie with the lower-tier disciples was something she couldn't do or agree to.
But bringing people from other sects and markets to spend—that was like cutting a piece of someone else's cake to share with the disciples of Jiu Shan Sect.
The more, the merrier!
Senior Sister Yuan came up from the first floor, arms full of items, looking a bit dazed: "Junior Brother Zheng, these are what the vendors left at the entrance on the first floor, all marked with your name—there's so much more, I can't carry it all!"
(End of this chapter)
Chapter 116: Late Arrival
It was manageable to carry, as a Golden Core cultivator, this small building could probably be lifted with a single hand by Senior Sister Yuan.
But she chose not to use her powers, insisting on carrying everything with her own arms.
Up and down she went, not minding the effort, her expression filled with an inexplicable pride and joy.
It was clear that these items were not sent by just one person.
Among the various foods, there were also talismans, elixirs, and handicrafts.
What Zheng Fa found most difficult to accept was—some clothing shop had sent over several dresses.
It felt like they had been delivered to the wrong person.
"Senior Sister Zhang, why don't you take this dress back and wear it?"
Senior Sister Zhang reached out and picked up the dress closest to her.
As the hem unfolded before Zheng Fa, he could see that the design was quite clever—
It was modestly covered where it shouldn't be, yet completely revealing where it should be.
Senior Sister Zhang simply stared at Zheng Fa, saying nothing, but her gaze was piercing.
Zheng Fa swallowed hard, awkwardly saying, "Ahem, I think I should take this back... I'll return it!"
He was quite shocked internally—who said that cultivators in the Xuanwei Realm were open-minded?
Couldn’t they keep their deliveries discreet?
There wasn't much in total; Senior Sister Yuan finished moving everything after three trips.
The value wasn't high—after all, the givers didn't have much money.
But the three of them stood around the pile of gifts, silent for a long time, until Senior Sister Zhang finally spoke:
"The ferry must not stop."
Zheng Fa and the others nodded gently.
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