Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 362 Backbone

"You guys, don't be too happy yet."

Li Xiangming shook his head and smiled, "The spirit fields in Xiaolan Valley are all newly cultivated. At present, they can only grow some low-grade spirit herbs and spirit rice, which is far inferior to the spirit fields we had in Green Cloud Cave."

"That's better than nothing."

Yin Feng chimed in, his tone tinged with optimism.

Everyone was initially a little apprehensive upon arriving in the unfamiliar Puxian County.

Leaving aside the revitalization of Green Cloud Cave, just ensuring the daily expenses of the disciples' cultivation is already a huge problem.

We are gathered together because of the bond between our sects.

But working together doesn't guarantee you won't go hungry.

Green Cloud Cave still has to face the harsh reality: how can they, with their depleted financial resources, operate the sect in order to support more than ten late-stage Qi Refining cultivators?
Yin Feng came from a family of modest means, but they had some knowledge of business management.

They knew the hardships the Yin family had endured to rise to power.

The Yin family started from nothing. Their ancestors planted spirit rice and sold spirit herbs. Even if they only earned three or five spirit stones, they would be happy for a long time. It wasn't until decades later that they accumulated enough wealth to form the scale they have today.

What about Green Cloud Cave?

Inner disciples dream of miraculous elixirs; true disciples dream of achieving Foundation Establishment.

How could you possibly give them three or five spirit stones to get rid of them?
If people's hearts were so easily satisfied, Shao Zhen wouldn't have thought of betraying his sect.

Unfortunately, Green Cloud Cave is now destitute, and it is foreseeable that in the next three to five years, or even more than ten years, the disciples' treatment will be far worse than before.

To put it bluntly, Green Cloud Cave simply cannot support more than ten cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining.

Even if they force themselves to hug each other, they can't keep warm.

That's why some people choose to leave secretly.

Although Yin Feng was indignant about this, feeling that they had betrayed Green Cloud Cave, he did not harbor much resentment. He simply held the attitude that those who walk different paths should not work together.

Unexpectedly, the sect leader, Li Xiangming, had prepared such a big surprise.

Even a few dozen acres of the lowest-grade spirit fields, even if it's just rented out, are still a rare and valuable asset.

With it, Green Cloud Cave was able to have a stable source of income from the very beginning of its establishment in Pu County.

This will undoubtedly be a great encouragement to everyone.

"What is the rent for these spirit fields?"

Zhang Min, who was standing nearby, quickly asked.

Li Xiangming pondered for a moment and said, "It mainly consists of a deposit and land rent, calculated on an annual basis. The deposit is 10 spirit stones per mu, which will be refunded the following year based on the quality of the spirit field. Generally speaking, as long as the spirit field is not deliberately damaged, the full amount can be refunded. If you want to continue renting, you will need to pay the deposit again, and so on in a cycle."

"Land rent takes many forms, currently including fixed rent, flexible rent, and sub-rent. Fixed rent means that regardless of the harvest from the spirit field, a certain amount of spirit herbs or spirit rice must be paid, the specific amount depending on the type of spirit plant. Flexible rent does not have a pre-determined rent price; the Li family will announce the amount on-site based on the yield and market conditions after the spirit plants mature. Sub-rent is similar to fixed rent, but it is not based on quantity, but rather on a percentage of the harvest."

After the explanation, the disciples of Green Cloud Cave began to discuss among themselves.

Needless to say, they also had to pay a deposit when renting a cave dwelling at Qiyun Pavilion.

The cost of building a spiritual field is far lower than that of a cave dwelling.

But if you add up dozens of acres of spiritual fields, then it's a different story.

To prevent tenants from arbitrarily damaging the spirit fields, most organizations that lend out spirit fields stipulate that they will collect a deposit.

Ten spirit stones per mu is not cheap.

But it's not exactly expensive, since you can rent it for a whole year.

Moreover, most spirit farmers take great care of their spirit fields in order to increase the yield of spirit plants, often resulting in the spirit fields being even better the following year than the previous year.

In this way, the deposit can be fully refunded.

Some spirit farmers can even bet ten spirit stones for more than ten years without any problem.

The other three types of land rent are also quite common.

The advantage of fixed rent lies in its stability. Although the number of spiritual plants to be handed over is determined by the host, once it is set, it generally will not change.

Even if changes are necessary, they usually involve all tenants changing together.

This is by no means a trivial matter.

Therefore, many spirit farmers prefer fixed rents, as they can make a good profit as long as they work hard to increase the yield of spirit plants.

Even if there is a bumper harvest this year, there is no need to worry about the land rent increasing the following year.

However, a bumper harvest can be followed by a poor harvest, or even a significant reduction in production.

At this point, renting out a room becomes less convenient.

The landlord won't care about your harvest; even if you harvest nothing, you still have to pay the rent.

In comparison, flexible rental seems much more humane.

The landlord collects rent depending on the circumstances; in years of famine, the rent is often reduced.

As a result, the burden on Grennon was also reduced.

Even when production is good, the landlord will still raise the land rent, always squeezing the Lingnong's profits into a very small space.

If a Ling farmer is looking for stability, he would prefer this type of rental.

Subleasing combines the characteristics of the two leasing methods mentioned above.

The method of collecting land rent proportionally maintained stability and reduced the burden on barren farmers during years of disaster.

Moreover, if the barn farmer has a good harvest, the master's income will be high; if the barn farmer has a poor harvest, the master's income will be low.

Therefore, the host family will give extra preferential treatment to the sub-rental spirit farmers, such as being willing to lend or even provide spirit seeds and spirit fertilizer for free.

However, the price is an extremely high revenue sharing ratio.

"Seventy percent?"

Zhang Min hesitated visibly when she heard the number.

She prefers to rent spirit fields through a subletting model because Green Cloud Cave can't even afford spirit seeds and spirit fertilizer.

But having to give up 70% of the spiritual plants that you've worked so hard to grow is a bit of a pain.

Li Xiangming chuckled: "These are some things that non-family spiritual farmers need to pay attention to when renting Li family spiritual fields so far. I've explained them to you clearly, but renting to Green Cloud Cave is naturally a very different story."

"Moreover, I mortgaged Green Cloud Cave to Yingyue Market and obtained 5000 spirit stones. Apart from the 1500 spirit stones I spent to save Ren Kui, I still have quite a lot left. So we have spirit stones, and you don't need to worry about spirit seeds and spirit fertilizer."

Upon hearing this, Fang Renkui blushed.

His experience at Yingyue Market was one of the most humiliating.

This made things even worse for the already struggling Green Cloud Cave.

On the way to Puxian, several of his close fellow disciples invited him to leave together.

But he was too ashamed to just run away like that.
Li Xiangming, oblivious to Fang Renkui's expression, continued, "Our Green Cloud Cave is renowned for cultivating spiritual herbs, and everyone here has considerable experience. I still recommend choosing a fixed-rent arrangement. This way, if the spiritual fields are managed well, the speed at which you earn spirit stones in the early stages will be faster. Don't worry about the rent; I'll arrange for a one-year rent-free period and a two-year rent reduction."

"Can you even get rent waived?"

Zhang Min and the others were both surprised and delighted.

Li Xiangming smiled. Half of the spiritual fields in Xiaolan Valley belonged to the Chi family, and the other half was his private property.

Rent exemption or rent reduction is just a matter of his word.

The reason for using the Li family's name is actually to make things clearer.

After all, these spiritual fields had cost him a considerable amount of money. His ultimate goal was to make a profit, and he couldn't keep using them to support Green Cloud Cave indefinitely.

However, he did not want to leave behind such a bizarre handle as "the sect leader charging rent to his own disciples," which would damage his image of "selflessness."

Then we'll have to keep it a secret for now.

Ultimately, Green Cloud Cave decided to lease thirty acres of spirit fields and pay a deposit of 300 spirit stones. However, Zhang Min and the others did not have any spirit stones at all, so the spirit stones had to be transferred from one pocket to another by Li Xiangming.

After finalizing the matter of Green Cloud Cave disciples settling in Xiaolan Valley, Li Xiangming continued, "For a sect to develop in the long term, it must have a rigorous organizational structure, and Green Cloud Cave is no exception."

In the past, Green Cloud Cave had a master-apprentice two-level structure.

All the disciples in the cave are apprentices of Fairy Green Cloud.

However, these disciples are further divided into true disciples, inner disciples, and nominal disciples.

This is actually quite common, or rather, most emerging sects in the cultivation world are like this.

For example, Lingwu Gate!
Like Fairy Green Cloud, Master Lingwu was the absolute authority within the sect.

However, as the first leader passes away or abdicates, the second leader often faces a lack of prestige.

After all, at this time, everyone around him was his fellow disciples of the same generation.

They probably all know that the new leader wet the bed when he was a child, so where is his authority?
He Jing refused to submit to Pei Wen, which ultimately led to internal strife within the sect.

To avoid this situation, the new sect leader had to support some fellow disciples who possessed both strength and prestige to serve as "elders" to assist him in managing the sect.

As a result, the organizational structure of sects began to become more complex, with various institutions emerging one after another.

Most sects have come this way.

Now, Green Cloud Cave has also reached this stage.

Li Xiangming looked at everyone and said, “Our master has passed away. We are all of the same generation and have fallen into such a state. It would be inappropriate to have distinctions between true disciples and inner disciples. I intend to abolish these distinctions and call them all disciples of Green Cloud Cave.”

These words caused some commotion among the disciples of Green Cloud Cave.

The status of a true disciple and an inner disciple is something they have fought for for many years.

It not only represents the difference in qualifications and cultivation, but also symbolizes power and status—during He Xuan's leadership, Green Cloud Cave allocated resources according to the disciples' status.

However, despite some surprise and anxiety, no one voiced any objection.

The reason is simple: who among those present wasn't a true disciple or an inner disciple?
Having left Green Cloud Cave and without the contrast of being a disciple, these identities have become worthless.

Seeing that no one objected, Li Xiangming continued, "In addition to the disciples, I also plan to add two elders: the Transmission Elder and the Protector Elder. The Transmission Elder will be responsible for teaching new disciples magic, while the Protector Elder will stay behind to guard the sect and protect the Daoist scriptures..."

"Are there only two elders?"

Fang Renkui couldn't help but ask.

Li Xiangming glanced at him: "We are small, so too many positions are meaningless. When the sect grows stronger in the future, other elders and deacons will naturally emerge."

"I wonder who the sect leader prefers to serve as an elder?"

Fang Renkui gritted his teeth and pressed for an answer.

Li Xiangming looked around at everyone and found that everyone's eyes were on him.

Clearly, everyone values ​​the positions of these two elders highly.

The reason is simple: Green Cloud Cave has just leased a large area of ​​spiritual fields, and the days ahead will definitely be very busy. If they can become elders ahead of time, they may have more time to cultivate.

Moreover, the elders' status is definitely above that of the disciples, and they can also benefit from higher salaries.

All of these factors naturally make people's hearts flutter.

Li Xiangming didn't keep them in suspense and said directly, "Senior Brother Mao has extraordinary cultivation, extensive knowledge, and is good at guiding his fellow disciples. He is the most suitable person to serve as the Transmission Elder."

Mao Jingze quickly stood up and respectfully cupped his hands in greeting: "Thank you for your trust, Sect Leader."

Upon seeing this, everyone offered their congratulations.

Mao Jingze, as a former true disciple, has always enjoyed high prestige in Green Cloud Cave. Unfortunately, he was seriously injured and did not receive timely treatment, which damaged his Dao foundation, and he has now become a "cripple".

But this "useless person" means they have no further opportunities, not that they are truly disabled.

To this day, Mao Jingze has only dropped half a realm, from the Great Perfection of Qi Refining to the Ninth Level of Qi Refining.

Even so, his cultivation level was still among the top tier in Green Cloud Cave.

Most people generally approve of his appointment as the Elder of Transmission.

"As for the Dharma Protector Elders..."

Li Xiangming's gaze fell on a young cultivator with nasolabial folds, and he said calmly, "Luo Changqing will take on this role."

"Luo Changqing?"

The scene immediately became lively. Even Luo Changqing was surprised that he could become an elder.

"Junior Brother Luo lacks experience; perhaps he is not qualified to serve as an elder?"

Fang Renkui forced a smile.

Li Xiangming ignored him, but patted Luo Changqing on the shoulder and said with a smile, "It's just guarding the Daoist scriptures and our sect's unique skills. There's no need for much training. Protector Luo already has the cultivation of the ninth level of Qi Refining, which is more than enough for you."

Besides guarding the "Daoist Laws," these Dharma Protectors are also responsible for helping the sect and dealing with troubles when necessary.

Therefore, these positions are usually filled by the most powerful cultivators within the sect.

Luo Changqing's cultivation at the ninth level of Qi Refining was naturally not weak, but it was not particularly outstanding.

At least two people were present: Long Yang and Fang Renkui.

Long Yang, needless to say, is the second most powerful disciple of Shan Yun Sect after Zhao Yue. His strength is unmatched, and even Mao Jingze and Zhang Min, who is at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, are no match for him.

However, Long Yang's identity is somewhat awkward. Even though he now considers himself a member of the Green Cloud Cave, he still feels alienated from other Green Cloud Cave disciples.

Especially disciples like Luo Changqing and Yin Feng, who knew about the Shanyun Sect's conspiracy.

However, Zhang Min, for the sake of the overall situation, ordered them not to mention the past, thus suppressing the conflict.

However, if Li Xiangming appoints people based on merit and elevates Long Yang to the position of elder, it will inevitably ignite this conflict and cause extremely negative consequences.

Having no other option, Li Xiangming had to consider other candidates.

Fang Renkui is also qualified to serve as a protector. This fellow has been hovering at the ninth level of Qi Refining for many years and also has considerable talent in combat.

However, Fang Renkui had previously disagreed with him, and Li Xiangming naturally wouldn't consider him until he demonstrated sufficient loyalty.

Luo Changqing was Zhang Min's confidant, and Zhang Min listened to him without question, so he could be considered Zhang Min's confidant.

Therefore, this is entirely a multiple-choice question.

Upon hearing Li Xiangming call out "Protector Luo," Fang Renkui reluctantly shut his mouth. The other disciples discussed for a few words, then fell silent.

Even if you don't care about the monk's feelings, you should still care about the Buddha's feelings. Luo Changqing and Zhang Min have a close relationship. Opposing Luo Changqing is not only opposing the appointment of the sect leader, but also opposing Zhang Min, the senior sister who has always taken care of everyone.

Nobody wanted to be the one to stick their neck out.

Seeing this, Li Xiangming took the opportunity to promulgate some sect regulations, including a system of tasks and rewards, a system of salaries, and so on.

However, this is just a framework; its final implementation will require a long period of practice.

In particular, the salary was merely a formality due to financial constraints.

Nevertheless, seeing Li Xiangming eloquently describe the future of Green Cloud Cave, the disciples were filled with excitement, and the hesitation and confusion on their faces lessened considerably.

Is this the role of a pillar of support?
(End of this chapter)