Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 187 Using Both Kindness and Strictness to Command the Pearl Divers
The next day, before dawn, Chen Ye walked out of the stone house on time.

The effects of yesterday's swift and decisive actions were obvious; these unruly desperados have all become much more obedient.

As soon as the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) arrived, without Chen Ye urging them, all the pearl divers had already gathered on the shore, each with their heads down, not daring to meet Chen Ye's gaze.

The burly man who led the provocation yesterday was also among them, but now his eyes were filled with fear as he looked at Chen Ye.

"These are your supplies for going into the water. One set for each of you. Take them and go into the water."

As he spoke, Chen Ye took out a stack of things from his storage bag.

These are supplies distributed by the Blood Lotus Sect; they consist of some talismans and pills.

A slightly bolder pearl diver stepped forward and carefully took a portion from Chen Ye's hand.

When he saw what was in his hand, he froze.

"This...this is a top-grade Yin-dispelling talisman?" he stammered, his voice filled with disbelief.

They had previously used mid-grade or even low-grade Yin-repelling talismans, which were very ineffective. Each time they went into the water, they had to rely on their cultivation and physical strength to withstand the effects.

But now this new manager is actually serving top-grade items!
You should know that the effect of one top-grade Yin-dispelling talisman is equivalent to the three or four they used before!
The other pearl divers also became agitated upon seeing their companions' reaction.

"What are you standing there for? Don't you want it?" Chen Ye raised an eyebrow, his tone still icy.

Everyone was startled and quickly lined up to receive the supplies.

When everyone received the supplies that far exceeded those of the past, their gazes toward Chen Ye became even more complicated.

There was fear, there was confusion, but mostly there was bewilderment.

They couldn't understand why the steward, who had been ruthless and nearly tortured them to death yesterday, would suddenly become so generous today.

"Don't think you can slack off just because you've received benefits." Chen Ye said coldly, "The reason I gave you these things is to help you complete your tasks better. Anyone who dares to cheat or fail to meet their quota will bear the consequences."

Upon hearing this, the pearl divers all lowered their heads and dared not speak. Chen Ye waved his hand, and then they boarded the boat one by one to begin their day's work.

Chen Ye didn't need to supervise from behind, because they were under heavy restrictions and wore iron rings. If they dared to make any unusual movements, they would be discovered immediately and then face extremely cruel punishments. Therefore, Chen Ye only needed to direct from the island.

So Chen Ye returned to the stone house and began to look through the work logs left by his predecessor.

These logs record the past output of the Black Stone Beach area, including the areas where spirit pearls were produced, the types and habits of underwater monsters, and various unexpected events.

"The Golden-Striped Black Serpent often appears in the deep ditches of the Western Third District..."

"The Spiny-backed Demon Fish is a gregarious creature with a highly aggressive nature; its spines are extremely poisonous..."

"Three months ago, the No. 2 pearl-diving team encountered a hollow evil spirit, and three people disappeared without a trace..."

Chen Ye observed very carefully, memorizing every piece of useful information.

His goal was clear: to obtain spirit pearls of grade five or higher.

Spirit pearls of this rank are not as common as ninth-rank or eighth-rank spirit pearls found in the outer waters.

They typically live in the most dangerous waters, sometimes even guarded by powerful underwater monsters.

Relying on these pearl divers to try their luck is like looking for a needle in a haystack; it's extremely inefficient and the casualty rate would be ridiculously high.

Therefore, he had to go into the water himself.

To navigate safely in the treacherous inland waters, one must have an intimate knowledge of them.

Therefore, these work logs became his best source of intelligence.

Time passed day by day, and half a month had gone by in the blink of an eye.

Life on the small island of Black Stone Beach gradually stabilized.

Every day at dawn, the pearl divers would gather on time, receive supplies from Chen Ye, and then set sail to collect pearls.

At Shenshi (3-5 PM), they dragged their tired bodies back and handed over the day's harvest.

Chen Ye never said a word to them, but simply counted the spirit pearls with a cold face.

Having completed their task quota, they waved for them to disperse.

If someone falls short, he won't immediately activate the restraints to torture them, but will note it down and make up for it the next day.

This business-like, impartial management style, devoid of any personal emotion, surprisingly gave these pearl divers an unprecedented sense of... security.

Before Chen Ye arrived, they had been living a hellish existence.

The previous outer sect disciples in charge had all become somewhat psychologically twisted due to practicing demonic arts, so these pearl divers became their punching bags.

If I'm in a bad mood, I'll activate the restrictions and torture them, just to hear their screams.

Feeling bored, they would also activate the restrictions to torture them, and enjoy watching them struggle in pain.

Under such high pressure and endless torment, no one knew when they would completely collapse. Therefore, the ferocity in their bodies was both hatred for the Blood Lotus Sect and despair for their own fate.

But things changed a little after Chen Ye arrived.

Although they still have to go into the water to collect pearls every day, life is much better than before.

Because this new manager, although he always had a cold, unapproachable look on his face, he... didn't torment people.

He seemed to have no interest in appreciating the suffering of others; in his eyes, there was only the mission and the Spirit Pearl.

As long as you complete the tasks he assigns, he won't bother you.

This feeling was simply a luxury for pearl divers who had struggled for so long in the abyss of despair.

That night, several pearl divers sat around a dilapidated shed, talking quietly by the dim moonlight.

"I've collected two more Grade 7 Spirit Pearls today, finally making up for yesterday's shortfall." A man with a scar on his face breathed a sigh of relief, his voice full of exhaustion.

"Old Zhang, you really pushed yourself too hard today. You stayed underwater longer than anyone else," someone next to him said.

"We have no choice but to fight!" Scarface Zhang gave a bitter smile. "Manager Lin is keeping track of the accounts. If we don't make up for it today, who knows if he'll end up like those other people before..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence, a hint of lingering fear flashing in his eyes.

"Probably not," another pearl diver said hesitantly. "In the two weeks that Manager Lin has been here, have you seen him use the token without reason?"

Silence fell over the shack.

Indeed, aside from the first day when he was trying to establish his authority, Chen Ye never used that token that made them wish they were dead again.

“He’s different from the others.” Man Shan, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. He was the burly man who had tried to intimidate Chen Ye earlier.

Everyone's eyes were focused on him.

“Those people used to treat us like animals, like amusement.” Manshan looked at his large, rough hands and said slowly, “They weren’t thinking about how to collect more pearls, but how to squeeze every last drop of profit out of us, how to make us suffer more.”

“As for this Forest Steward,” he paused, as if searching for a suitable word, “he probably treats us as tools.”

"Tools?" The group was puzzled.

“Yes, tools.” Man Shan nodded. “Tools need to be repaired when they break, and maintained when they don’t work well. That’s why he gave us good yin-repelling talismans and pills. He wants us to use these tools to collect more spirit pearls. He doesn’t care whether we live or die, he only cares whether we can complete the mission.”

These words left everyone stunned.

But upon closer reflection, it does seem to make sense.

This steward Lin treated them as tools to complete the sect's missions, so all his actions were based on efficiency and output.

"Being a tool... is better than being an animal," Old Zhang with the scarred face muttered to himself, his words filled with an indescribable bitterness.

Yes, tools may lack dignity, but at least they won't be abused or slaughtered for no reason.

"Boss, do you think... he'll stay like this forever?" a young pearl diver asked hopefully.

Manshan fell silent.

he does not know.

In a place like the Blood Lotus Sect, any small act of kindness or normalcy seems so out of place and so fragile.

Perhaps tomorrow, this Manager Lin will revert to his old ways because he's in a bad mood or has been influenced by some slander.

"Don't think too much about it." Man Shan took a deep breath. "Tomorrow, let's all cheer up and work hard. As long as we can complete our tasks every day, or even exceed them, so that he can make a profit, he shouldn't change his mind easily."

This was the only way he could think of to keep this peaceful life going.

"Yes, boss is right!"

"I'll dive a little longer tomorrow and try to bring up a couple more!"

The atmosphere in the shed seemed to gain a touch of life because of this shared goal. Chen Ye, sitting in the stone house, heard all of these conversations, not only because his divine sense covered the entire island, but also because the restrictions on these people allowed Chen Ye, who had the authority, to easily perceive what they were doing and what they were saying.

As for why those managers didn't even understand the simple principle of using both kindness and severity, and instead tormented the pearl divers like madmen, it can only be said that because of their cultivation techniques, they had been brainwashed by the violent spiritual energy of this world, and their temperaments were no longer like those of normal people.

This is also the current situation for the vast majority of disciples of the Blood Lotus Sect.

Because of the influence of this violent spiritual energy, some people became extremely violent, while others became extremely selfish.

The Blood Lotus Sect didn't care about this at all, and even intentionally or unintentionally indulged this behavior, so it can be said that the name of the Demonic Sect is well-deserved.

However, Chen Ye was not interested in these things, because he was currently organizing the data.

"The eastern reef group contains mostly seventh-grade spirit pearls, with occasional sixth-grade ones."

"The southern part is a rocky beach with shallow water, but it contains poisonous algae, so the quality of the spirit pearls there is not high."

"The deep ditch to the west is rarely visited by pearl divers. According to scattered records, spirit pearls of grade five or higher have appeared there, but they were accompanied by traces of golden-patterned black snakes."

Chen Ye's fingertips gently tapped the words "Deep Ditch to the West".

His Spirit Clam Sensing Skill has a range of only twenty meters.

In a vast body of water, this area is far too small.

Therefore, Chen Ye needs a more precise target.

And this deep ditch to the west seems to be a good choice.

However, this Golden-Patterned Mystic Serpent is a problem, because according to records, this kind of water demon is extremely powerful. Not to mention the Condensation Sea Realm, even the Inner Landscape Realm cultivators would have to be cautious if they encountered it underwater.

However, Chen Ye was not in a hurry. Anyway, there was plenty of time, so he could take his time.

Time flies, and a month has passed quickly.

During this month, the Black Stone Beach island remained calm, and the pearl divers displayed astonishing enthusiasm for their work under Chen Ye's performance-driven management model.

The number of spirit pearls submitted each day not only consistently met the quota set by the sect, but even exceeded it by a considerable amount.

On this day, Chen Ye, carrying all the spirit pearls he had collected over the past month, sailed to the stone island where the management center was located.

On the dock, the skinny disciple named Monkey was dozing off against the railing. When he saw Chen Ye's boat approaching, he lazily raised his eyelids.

"Hey, Junior Brother Lin, here to hand in your mission?" The monkey yawned and walked over.

"Hmm." Chen Ye jumped off the boat and tossed a heavy storage bag over.

The monkey scanned the area with its divine sense, and its expression immediately became quite interesting.

"So many?" He looked up in surprise and examined Chen Ye again. "Junior Brother Lin, you...you're using those pearl divers to the point of exhaustion?"

In his view, the only way to harvest so many spirit pearls in a month was to increase the exploitation efforts, completely disregarding the lives of the pearl harvesters.

"I just let them do what they were supposed to do," Chen Ye said calmly.

The monkey pursed its lips, clearly not believing it.

However, this matter had nothing to do with him; he was only responsible for inventory and handover.

"Alright, you're great." The monkey said while counting, "The quantity is correct, and the quality is right too. I'll report it later, and then this month's contribution points will be transferred to your token."

He handed Chen Ye's identity token back.

In addition to the fixed contribution points, the outer disciples in charge of the Blackwater Lake duty can share the excess of their duties proportionally.

This is why people still occasionally take on this arduous task.

Chen Ye completed his tasks exceptionally well this month, and naturally earned a considerable amount of extra income.

"Is Senior Brother Zhou here?" Chen Ye asked casually as he took the token.

"They're having tea inside," the monkey said, pointing to the main hall. "What, Junior Brother Lin, are you going to have a chat with your senior brother?"

His tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

Everyone knows that inner disciples like Senior Brother Zhou look down on outer disciples like them.

As a newcomer, even if Chen Ye completes his tasks perfectly, trying to curry favor with others will likely only lead to him making a fool of himself.

"No, thank you." Chen Ye shook his head and turned to leave.

He never intended to cultivate a good relationship with that Senior Brother Zhou. Asking him a question was just a formality. To him, the more these people ignored him, the better.

Watching Chen Ye's departing figure, Monkey clicked his tongue and said, "That guy really is a weirdo."

Chen Ye did not return directly to Black Stone Beach, but instead sailed to the supply exchange point on the other side of Stone Island.

There is a small branch of the Merit Hall here, where you can exchange contribution points for some basic supplies.

"Senior brother, give me 100 catties of spirit beast minced meat and 300 catties of coarse rice." Chen Ye walked to the counter and said to the steward inside.

The deacon looked up at him, his eyes filled with a strange expression.

Spirit beast scraps are leftovers from processing spirit beasts in the sect's food workshop. They are mixed with bone fragments, internal organs, and blood clots, and have an extremely foul smell. Usually, only disciples who raise ferocious beasts would buy them as animal feed.

As for brown rice, it refers to ordinary rice that does not contain any spiritual essence, and it is what the lowest-ranking disciples of the outer sect eat to fill their stomachs.

Why would this seemingly respectable junior brother buy all these things?
However, the steward didn't ask any further questions. He accepted Chen Ye's contribution points and quickly threw out two large bags of things.

Chen Ye packed the items into a storage bag, steered the boat back to Black Stone Beach, found a large pot, and threw everything into it.

When the large pot of steaming stew, exuding a rich aroma of meat, appeared before the pearl divers, the entire island fell silent.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, staring blankly at the large pot, their Adam's apples bobbing up and down.

They couldn't see what was simmering in the pot, but the long-lost aroma of meat was like an invisible hand, gripping their stomachs tightly.

"Meat...it's meat!"

"Am I dreaming? There's actually meat to eat!"

The pearl divers' eyes were all red, and their breathing became heavy.

They couldn't remember the last time they had tasted meat.

"You've done a great job this month, exceeding your targets." Chen Ye's voice was as cold as ever. "So this is your reward."

"And this too." Chen Ye tossed out a large bag of brown rice. "Rice is plentiful."

After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave.

"Manager Lin... thank you!" Man Shan suddenly spoke, his voice a little hoarse.

Chen Ye turned to look at him and saw that some people were so excited that they kept crying.

They weren't grateful to Chen Ye; they were just excited that they could still eat meat and be treated like human beings.

This humble wish was fulfilled at this moment, causing their emotions, which had been suppressed for too long, to burst forth instantly.

Chen Ye watched this scene quietly, his eyes showing no emotion.

He understands how these people feel, but he won't offer any further comment.

The way to manage subordinates is to use both kindness and severity.

He understands the principle of giving a stick followed by a sweet treat better than anyone.

"Remember, if you exceed the requirements for any task I assign you in the future, you will receive this reward," Chen Ye said coldly. "But if you fail to do so, or try to cheat, you should know the consequences."

After saying that, he didn't linger and went straight back to his stone house.

Until his figure completely disappeared, the pearl divers looked at each other, and finally all their eyes were focused on Manshan.

Man Shan stood up, took a deep breath, and said in a hoarse voice, "Everyone... don't just stand there, this is a reward from the manager, eat it!"

With a loud bang, the crowd erupted in chaos.

They rushed toward the large pot like madmen, stuffing food into their mouths with their hands, broken bowls, and anything else they could find.

Those chunks of meat mixed with bone fragments and internal organs were considered the ultimate delicacy by them.

As for the rice, they swallowed it whole without even chewing it properly.

Inside the stone house, Chen Ye listened to the commotion outside, calmly spread out a piece of animal skin on the table, picked up a pen, and began to draw a detailed map from all the intelligence he had collected over the past month.

(End of this chapter)