Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 463 Development Situation
——————One month later, Pingrong County
On this day, a Ding-class flying boat from the Wanbao Trading Company flew over Xiaohuan Mountain for the first time. Not long after the huge explosion, a giant flying boat covered in clouds appeared before the astonished cultivators of the Chongming Sect.

The Qiongqi's horns were filled with spiritual light, and the massive clouds were scattered and disappeared one by one.

At the same time, the newly engraved silencing array on the side of the flying ship began to rotate, making it difficult for the shrill sound of the bronze gears to be heard. This ear-piercing sound only rang out for a moment around the dragon mast, and after the mysterious mirror above flashed a red light, the dissipated clouds condensed into a fine rain that fell to the ground, and at the same time, the movement of the giant ship came to an abrupt stop.

As the jade gangway descended, a young man in black, about to step out, bowed to a portly merchant beside him and said, "Thank you for your care along the way, Manager Dou."

The latter smiled, his smile resembling that of Maitreya Buddha, and nodded for a moment: "Young friend, you have earned the trust of the two seniors, Ye Sui and Tian Qin of the Fei family. How could I not do my best? Tengwen Mansion is not far from here. Young friend, please do not forget to come and support my business."

After saying a few more humble words, Jiang Qing formally bid farewell to the Dou family manager. After walking up the gangway and avoiding the sharp metallic aura emanating from the flying boat, he landed on his flying sword in front of his own mountain gate.

"Junior brother is finally back! Your hand is so good, so good, blessed by the Dao Ancestor, it is exactly the same as if it came out of my belly, it is really healed!!" Ye Zhengwen, the leader, spoke with joy overflowing from his mouth, but as soon as he finished speaking, he still looked at the giant ship slowly starting in the sky with lingering fear.

Clearly, even with his experience, he was quite taken aback by such a behemoth.

As the giant ship gradually disappeared into the clouds, Ye Zhengwen thought to himself, "Even an ordinary cultivator would probably never be able to acquire such a flying ship in his entire life."

After Jiang Qing clasped his hands in greeting to Ye Zhengwen, he immediately asked, "Is Senior Brother Ye the only one on duty at home right now?"

The latter said cheerfully, "Sect Leader and Junior Brother Pei are both in seclusion, while Junior Brother Yuan and Junior Brother Zhou are still training the Qingjue and Chizhang Guards at Wild Fox Mountain and cannot return for the time being."

Now, only Anle and I are managing things in the sect. Rongquan and Mingzhe are both out working. It's good that Junior Brother Jiang is back. Everyone in the sect has been missing him for a long time. We can finally rest easy now that he's back.

"Didn't the eldest brother say in his letter that the land reclamation project entrusted by the Fei family's ancestor Tianqin was about to begin? How come it seems that we haven't taken any action yet?"

"If you want to do a good job, you must first have the right tools. You can't rush it." Ye Zhengwen didn't explain in detail. He first led Jiang Qing into the courtyard, dispersed the group of excited disciples, and left Duan Anle by his side.

As soon as Jiang Qingfu entered the council hall, he noticed that it had become less shabby and more elegant than before.

Even though Sect Leader Kang was still inside the Jade Clam Cave, the honored seat in the hall remained empty. As soon as Jiang Qing sat down next to Ye Zhengwen, a wisp of steam rose from the glass cup on the low table beside him, invigorating the lovely green spirit branch on the table.

As its buds unfurled, the pale branches gently drooped down, touching the rim of the glass cup. A refreshing breeze suddenly filled the air, and then a stream of fresh dew flowed from the flower's stamens, slowly entering the cup.

The icy dew had barely entered the cup when several runes on the glass cup shimmered with spiritual light, turning into boiling water before it even reached the bottom.

The small pinch of fragrant dry tea leaves in the cup, after being steeped, stretched out comfortably, and then a refreshing tea aroma filled the entire hall, dispelling most of Jiang Qingzhou's fatigue from the long journey.

"Where did Senior Brother Ye get such a precious tea as 'Gentle Breeze Messenger'? Such a rare item is meant to be served to distinguished guests. It would be such a waste for family members to drink this." Jiang Qingyu was somewhat surprised as he looked at the amber-colored tea in the cup with a puzzled expression.

"The Yue family sent quite a lot, and most of it is stored with the sect leader. Each of us got a little to taste, but we can't drink too much." Ye Zhengwen smiled again as he said this: "Junior brother, you've become more and more like the sect leader since you came back. The things you said just now were quite mercenary and not at all elegant."

"Ha, Senior Brother Ye, please don't joke around." Upon hearing this, Jiang Qing stopped asking questions, took a sip of the spiritual tea, and although he found it delicious, he could still detect the shortcomings in the tea-making technique.

This is where the foundation lies. Although Ye Zhengwen can be considered a knowledgeable person among the Foundation Establishment cultivators in Shannan Dao, his tea ceremony skills are probably inferior to those Qi Refining maids in the Fei family's territory who haven't cultivated for long.

Fortunately, Jiang Qing had not yet been corrupted by the rich and luxurious atmosphere, and did not care about such things. He drank it down in large gulps and then said, "Why would the Yue family of Hancheng send spiritual tea to my family?"

"Yue Lin asked Brother Qin to visit and mediate, but the sect leader said, 'It's better to resolve enmity than to create it.'"

"Ha, this doesn't sound like something Senior Brother would say."

"His exact words were, 'When dealing with the Yue family is easy enough, I'll just slap them to death.'"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qing's heart tightened slightly, and he secretly made a mental note of it. Then he smiled faintly and said, "This tastes just right." He then stopped paying attention to the people outside and said slowly, "This time, Junior Brother has indeed seen the world since returning from Yingzhou."

The capital region is where David's true talents lie. Although his junior brother's status is humble, he has made many friends, including wealthy nobles and capable independent cultivators, all of whom have their merits. Associating with them has indeed been very beneficial.

Ye Zhengwen wasn't too surprised to hear this. Just by looking at how the Hanshan Four Friends Association, which was a self-contained and unrestrained group in Hong County back then, had humbled themselves and become close friends with him, it was clear that Chongming Jiang San's social skills were among the best in the area.

However, Jiang Qing's way of interacting with people was quite different from that of Master Kang, who was adept at understanding people's hearts. Accustomed to being straightforward, he preferred to be direct and honest, and his personality was much more open and frank than that of ordinary people. In addition, he was handsome, which naturally attracted people to him.

After exchanging pleasantries about Yingzhou with Ye Zhengwen, which left the latter in awe, Jiang Qing's smile faded, and he asked seriously, "Senior Brother Ye, how has our Chongming Sect fared these past few years?"

"With the sect leader here, things are improving day by day and thriving." Ye Zhengwen put down the glass cup, pointed at Duan Anle who hadn't spoken for a long time, and urged, "Anle, quickly tell Junior Brother Jiang what's going on."

"Yes, reporting to Third Uncle. Currently, our sect has 1,113 registered disciples, including seven Foundation Establishment disciples, twenty-one True Disciples, one hundred and fifty Inner Disciples, half of whom are Outer Disciples, and the other half are still being cultivated in the Yulin Hall."

“One thousand one hundred and thirteen people.” Jiang Qing’s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, as if recalling the days when he and his two senior brothers huddled together in the dilapidated sect, sharing food and relying on each other for survival. But before he could dwell on it for long, Duan Anle spoke again:
"In addition, thanks to Fourth Uncle's hard work over the years, there are already 1,800 mu of high-grade spirit fields under his jurisdiction, of which 11% are already second-grade spirit fields. Except for half of them planted with moon ferns, the rest are planted with second-grade spirit plants. They will be able to harvest within ten years."

Of the remaining first-tier spirit fields, the three types of spirit grains are currently not abundant, and can only meet half of the sect's quota for disciples. The other half of the quota is allocated by the taxes of various families in Cold Crow Mountain, which can barely meet the needs.

Among the three first-tier spiritual herbs, Su Xue Rui has the largest area. This spiritual herb sells well and is a unique business of our Chongming Sect. Fourth Uncle has placed a seal on the spiritual seed, making it difficult for ordinary people to see its secrets. Therefore, we are not afraid of it being stolen for the time being.
The three kinds of spiritual fruits and vegetables were cultivated using several special methods purchased by Junior Brother Kang from Wanbao Trading Company, resulting in their excellent growth. Even when Lady Qi was ordered by Commander Fei to inspect the army at Wild Fox Mountain, she praised them.

Even excluding the profits from second-tier spirit fields, the sect will still receive over ten thousand spirit stones annually.

"More than ten thousand spirit stones?!" Jiang Qing exclaimed softly. Ye Zhengwen added, "In a good year, it wouldn't be uncommon to find over twenty thousand."

Duan Anle, having received a signal, continued, "The Chongming Pavilion and Jiachou Military Camp also profited quite a bit, totaling about eight thousand spirit stones a year. In addition, the Chongming Caravan's profits increased significantly because of the addition of Uncle He from the He family, and the corresponding contributions from all the other families in the alliance. After deducting all costs, the annual income is around three thousand spirit stones."

However, as Uncle He had mentioned before, they had invested heavily in cultivating relationships with neighboring states over the past year or two, and once the trade routes stabilized, this investment would likely increase significantly.

This is not hard to understand. Although only three or four hundred households could be settled in Hanya Mountain, and most of them were poor, many of them could not even come up with spirit stones when they went out to trade and had to pay with goods. However, Chongming Sect did almost a unique business in Jiachou Military Camp, so it was not surprising that they made more money.

With the help of He Degong, a skilled trader, and the He family members, as well as the fact that each family in the Chongming Alliance received dividends and was willing to contribute, it was not surprising that the annual profits of the Chongming caravan had increased dramatically.

"When I see Zhe'er later, I will probably tell him to learn more from He Degong and try to learn as much of his skills as possible, so that the country he has built will not end up being controlled by others."

The thought flashed through Jiang Qing's mind, and then he heard Duan Anle speak again: "As for the Beast Garden, Anle is useless. After so many years, it can still only produce 1,500 livestock, 100 spirit beasts and 30 spirit birds every year. Most of them are still of low quality and not worth much. After deducting costs, it can only earn a little over a thousand spirit stones a year."

Ye Zhengwen shook his head and chuckled, thinking that his junior apprentice was being too harsh on him. Jiang Qing, however, said seriously, "Anle, don't underestimate yourself. It's already a rare achievement to have something from nothing. Things will only get better in the future."

After listening attentively, Duan Anle bowed and then said in a low voice, "Besides that, selling spirit honey and commissions from various families in Jiachou Military Stronghold can also earn some spirit stones. In a year, you might be able to earn more than two thousand."

Then there's the 400-plus households of Hanya Mountain who contribute 71% of their income as tax to the state treasury. Lady Qi, Wuweilou, and the Fei family each contribute 71%, which is then distributed among the various households in the alliance. The remainder is then allocated to the clan. This portion amounts to around 6,000 spirit stones.

The more than four hundred households from Hanya Mountain and the more than two hundred households from Pingjin County contributed offerings to the sect, amounting to over ten thousand spirit stones. Although the rules had not been explicitly stated beforehand, the master, being benevolent, generally distributed the remainder to the various households within the alliance, excluding the Shishan Sect.

"If we take a high estimate, one could earn around 40,000 spirit stones a year?" Jiang Qing's voice trembled slightly, his eyes showing surprise: "That much?!"

"It seems like a lot, but..." Ye Zhengwen smiled bitterly halfway through his sentence. Over the years, Sect Leader Kang had been frequently in seclusion to cultivate, while Yuan Jin had been engrossed in military affairs, constantly training on Wild Fox Mountain. As a result, most of the important matters of the sect were handled by him.

"You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household," he said, far more aware than Jiang Qing of how fleeting 40,000 spirit stones were: "Junior Brother Jiang, the annual salary of just over a thousand disciples in the sect is nearly 20,000, plus subsidies for each rank and position, which adds up to a solid 20,000 spirit stones per year."

In addition, there are matters concerning the greetings to all superiors on the three festivals and two birthdays; the provisions for the Qingjue and Chizhang Guards stationed in various places are separate; the sect lacks farming masters, so it is necessary to hire rank-one farming masters to cultivate the land; the Hundred Arts Pavilion teaches disciples and its equipment wears out; if a disciple dies in the line of duty each year, a pension must be issued according to their status; and the formations in various places must be repaired and maintained regularly. Even just these rough calculations, though seemingly small, leave not much spirit stone after all.

These accounts weren't difficult to calculate. After silently reciting Ye Zhengwen's words for a while, Jiang Qing realized that this amount of spirit stones was indeed only enough for the sect's daily expenses. If any major event suddenly occurred, they might have to use some of the stored grain.

Although the resources are still not very abundant, they are far from being in dire straits. Moreover, Chongming Sect uses all of its resources to cultivate its disciples, and as the disciples become more and more accomplished, the benefits will naturally increase.

When you earn 40,000 spirit stones, you might only be able to save 5,000 each year. But when you earn 100,000 spirit stones, even if your expenses increase, you might be able to save 40,000 each year.

The difference is significant, but to accomplish this, someone must be willing to put in a lot of hard work and even delay their spiritual practice.

"Managing a household is truly not easy," Jiang Qing thought, suddenly feeling a pang of sympathy for his senior brother and Ye Zhengwen before him. Fortunately, his senior brothers had always taken care of him, allowing him to stay away from these mundane affairs and focus on his cultivation.

Jiang Qing only heard about these things briefly. Ye Zhengwen only told him about them because of sect rules. In fact, there was no need for Jiang Qing, the elder of the Punishment Hall, to worry about them.

There are probably only a handful of people in the entire Shannan Dao who can cultivate sword essence with only a foundation-building body. How could Ye Zhengwen delay Jiang Qing's cultivation because of these trivial matters?

As Jiang Qing took the ledger from Duan Anle, he was still sighing with emotion: "I never expected that after sitting in seclusion in Yingzhou for several years, the sect would have been restored to such a state. Over the years, it has indeed been hard work for you, Senior Brother."

"Haha, Junior Brother, I dare not accept such praise. Otherwise, when Senior Brother Sect Leader comes out, he might blame me for stealing the credit." Ye Zhengwen laughed heartily, his facial features softening considerably, and even the single eye on his face seemed to have lost much of its fierceness.

The three talked for a long time, reluctant to part, when at that moment a tall, imposing man strode into the hall. He didn't speak to the others first, but simply grasped Jiang Qing's jade-like right arm and shook it slightly before saying, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"

"How come you're out of seclusion already? Shouldn't it be another two weeks?"

Kang Dabao, whose eyes were still filled with the joy of seeing Jiang Qing, nodded and replied to Ye Zhengwen, "The Sima Mansion has sent an imperial edict. The campaign to expand the territory is about to begin."

(End of this chapter)