Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 30: Which good sect needs to register with the government?

"The one in charge, the one in charge of affairs!?"

Xu Ying stammered, and after a long while, as if finding his tongue, he asked, "But the leader of this sect must have some skills, right? I'm only at the ninth rank in martial arts, and I haven't even begun cultivating immortality yet, this, this, this..."

"The position of 'head of affairs' is responsible for handling general affairs... cough, what skills are required? The most important thing is the ability to handle general affairs!"

Zhang Chengdao pointed and said, "A constable can catch thieves, and an embroiderer can sew clothes. That's enough. On the contrary, that silly boy Ping An is just not good at these things!"

“Since Immortal Zhang has spoken so earnestly, it would be rather ungrateful of me to refuse,” Xu Ying said excitedly, bowing deeply. “Although I am not destined to become Immortal Zhang’s disciple, I am honored by your appreciation and appointment as a manager. This is truly a life-saving grace, and I will do my utmost to repay it!”

"You flatter me. I only have one disciple, Ping An, and I still need you to take care of all the affairs. I am ashamed."

"Master Zhang, you flatter me!"

……

After the verbal agreement was reached, Zhang Chengdao entrusted Xu Ying with handling all matters related to the Sword Casting Manor.

Ever since Wan Qizhang's victory, the Sword Casting Manor has been coming over every day to "show concern and care," and they've also brought all sorts of things—food, drinks, ornaments, and the Four Treasures of the Study—everything imaginable.

After Zhang Chengdao refused twice, the other party still persisted and came every day, which annoyed him to no end. He didn't want to hit the smiling person, so he couldn't bear the harassment.

With Xu Ying taking over, and after some discussion between him and the people from the Sword Casting Manor, things became quiet for the next two days, making Zhang Chengdao even more satisfied with his decision.

It's true that large companies need professional managers to get things done!
However, another matter became urgent: the name of the sect.

One day, Xu Ying came with a brand-new account book and asked, "Immortal Zhang, under what name should our sect register with the government?"

Zhang Chengdao was taken aback: "To register your name at the government office?"

I've never heard of any novel mentioning that sects in the cultivation world have to register with the government.

Xu Ying explained, "Immortal Zhang has been in seclusion for a long time and may not know that when the Great Xiao Kingdom was founded, it established the Martial Affairs Commission to oversee all martial arts affairs. All martial arts sects and forces must register their names with the local government in each prefecture and also register the identity cards of at least three important figures in the sect, such as the sect leader and elders. In particular, martial arts cultivation is important. If it is below the sixth rank, it is generally assessed by the local government and recorded. If it is above the sixth rank, it must wait for someone from above to assess it."

"However, different countries have different methods for dealing with martial arts practitioners. The Great Xiao Kingdom is relatively well-off; as long as taxes are paid in full, they don't interfere much with martial arts affairs. The strictest is the Chu Kingdom in the south. I've heard that anyone with a cultivation level of rank 6 or above must be registered with the government, otherwise it will be considered treason and punished with a serious crime. It's really frightening."

Zhang Chengdao frowned: "But our path of cultivation is not judged by martial arts, so how do we evaluate it?"

Xu Ying smiled wryly, "This is also my predicament. The government is actually happy to keep records of sects and forces, and even grants them a certain amount of permanent land based on their cultivation level, but they have to cultivate it themselves. The higher the rating of a sect or force, the more taxes it pays. For example, I've inquired privately, and I've heard that the Sword Forging Manor probably has to pay over a thousand strings of cash a year!" "So much!"

Zhang Chengdao was also taken aback upon hearing this.

One string of cash is worth a thousand coins, or even a thousand strings of cash, which is more than enough to support several thousand people!

Don't forget, in ancient times, when people boasted about their wealth, they only said "wealthy with ten thousand strings of cash around their waist," which was all the wealth of an extremely rich person!
Xu Ying replied, "The Sword Forging Manor is a bit special. They can deal in weapons and are registered with the government. Some military orders end up with them, so their tax revenue is higher. If we only consider the head tax, it's only 500 coins per head."

Upon hearing that it only costs 500 coins per person, Zhang Chengdao was immediately relieved and asked, "Then if there are only 3 people, it only costs 1500 coins per year?"

Xu Ying replied, "It also depends on the businesses operated within the sect. It all depends on what kind of businesses Immortal Zhang intends to operate!"

"industry……"

Zhang Chengdao pondered for a moment and began rummaging through his backpack.

Agriculture is a must. There are so many seeds of spiritual crops in the mall. Why not plant them? If you grow them and put them in this martial arts and cultivation world, they will be a game-changer, irreplaceable. Don't think he doesn't know why the Sword Casting Manor has come here time and time again. Their intention to find out about "Immortal Wheat" is too obvious!

In addition, the casting industry, or "weapon refining", is a unique industry in this martial arts and cultivation world. He can also run it. There are many things to sell just from the various upgrade and unlock blueprints and recipes. For example, if you put something like the Qiankun Bag in the martial arts world, wouldn't it cause a bloodbath?
And then there are elixirs! If you're cultivating immortality, how could you possibly neglect alchemy? The later-stage [Alchemy Workshop] has a massive alchemy furnace! Even ignoring all that, just consider the [Kudzu Root Soup] and [Traumatic Injury Powder] that we can currently make—they can even reconnect severed meridians of true qi. Aren't they priceless treasures in the martial world?
Not to mention the clothing items like the [Silk Robe] and [Heavenly Silk Robe] that can be unlocked in the future, as well as various materials... those different kinds of wood and minerals are also spiritual things, and their status is definitely far superior to the ordinary things in this world!

This is all money!

Seeing that Zhang Chengdao had fallen silent, Xu Ying kindly reminded him, "If Immortal Zhang is unsure for the time being, you may choose a few first, and then register them with the government after the new properties are established."

"That makes sense. Let's start with these fields, and then a few trees and such..."

As Zhang Chengdao spoke, he pointed to the two peach trees at the entrance of the courtyard.

These past few days, he has been diligently building farmland, almost creating a farm itself, having built over a hundred farmland plots.

However, the farmland built with the cheat code is different from real farmland. Although the yield is not low, the area it occupies is very small, about the size of a thatched house. With more than a hundred farmlands added together, it doesn't look like much. Even if it is recorded by the government, it probably won't be considered a lot of industry.

Xu Ying naturally thought of this as well. He smiled, shook his head, and said, "A few trees don't count, but the farmland does. However, it doesn't add up to much. How would the government know about your miraculous abilities? Even if they did, they couldn't collect extra land taxes."

Then, he added, "After all, most martial artists are highly skilled. If it weren't for pressure from above or the Martial Arts Commissioner sending a venerable one to take action, no local government would deliberately make things difficult for everyone."

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(End of this chapter)