I run a casino in the immortal realm.

Things didn't go as smoothly as Su Qingwan had hoped.

The day after the fifty transfer machines were deployed, Su Zhendong assigned three people to patrol along the three main streets. When it was time to collect the accounts in the evening, the three men stood in the accounting office with subtle expressions.

"Miss, today's total is 631 coins inserted and 711 coins dispensed."

Su Qingwan's pen stopped in mid-air.

"You lost money?"

"We lost eighty coins."

Su Qingwan remained silent. She turned the spirit paper over and examined the data for each machine. Of the fifty machines, twenty-three had zero coins inserted all day—no one played them at all.

The data for the remaining 27 machines was also quite poor. Most of them only had a few odds of winning, and the winning rate fluctuated greatly due to the small sample size. Some machines even won the spirit sword pattern two or three times in a row, with the number of winnings being more than double the number of winnings.

where is the problem?

Su Qingwan recalled the scene from her inspection during the day. The transfer machines stood at the shop entrance, their spirit wood shells gleaming with a clear varnish sheen in the sunlight, and their copper wheels and spirit crystal panels looked exquisite.

But nobody stopped to look.

The independent cultivators walked by, glancing at the scene with curiosity before continuing on their way. Occasionally, someone would stop, watch for a while, unsure how to play, and too embarrassed to ask, before leaving after a few moments.

The reason why the data looked good on the first day was because Su Qingwan was personally present. She demonstrated each machine to the first batch of customers, and the novelty of the first day helped to support that number.

The next day, without any demonstration or guidance, those machines became mere wooden cabinets by the roadside.

On the third day, the situation improved slightly.

A total of 912 coins were put in, 882 coins were dispensed, and the net profit was 30 coins.

Thirty spirit coins, fifty machines, a busy day, and I earned thirty coins.

Su Zhendong did not come to the accounting office that night. Su Qingwan sent someone to inquire, and the person returned saying that the eldest young master was practicing martial arts and that they should talk about it tomorrow.

Su Qingwan sat in the accounting room, looking at the pitiful "30" on the spirit paper, and remained silent for a long time.

She picked up her pen and sent a message.

"Chief Inspector Zheng, the transfer machine has been in operation for three days. On the first day, it made a net profit of 822 coins, on the second day it lost 80 coins, and on the third day it made a profit of 30 coins. The main problem is that there are too few participants, and most of the machines are ignored all day."

My older brother isn't really taking this project seriously anymore. Do you have any suggestions?

The communication talisman flew out of the market and headed towards the Qingyun Sect.

The reply came very quickly.

Zheng Yifei's handwriting is as simple as ever.

"That's normal. During the product's cold start period, there's no user base, so we need to artificially create momentum. Here are three ways to do it."

Su Qingwan unfolded the memorial paper and read it word by word.

"First, find forty or fifty people to act as players and arrange them during the peak hours. Give each person twenty spirit coins and have them just keep putting them into the machine. If they win, shout loudly. If they don't win, keep putting them in. Make a big splash. The spirit coins lost by these people will be counted as marketing costs and will be included in the total budget."

"Second, let these people linger next to the machine to create a crowd effect. People are herd-oriented. When they see a group of people surrounding something, passersby will come over to take a look. The more people watch, the more people will try it."

"Third, when you win a prize, the machine is too quiet. Change the formation to make the coin-dispensing sound three times louder and the speed at which the spirit coins are dispensed half as fast, so that the sound of each spirit coin falling into the coin slot is clearly audible."

The human ear is most sensitive to the sound of metal clashing; if you hear the sound of spirit coins falling onto a plate within ten feet, your feet will unconsciously turn in that direction.

Remember this: no one will willingly try something unfamiliar, but everyone will follow the trend and try something that "others are making money from."

Su Qingwan read the message talisman three times.

The third requirement is to modify the formation, which requires finding Xu Jian and cannot be done in a short time, but the first two can be done tomorrow.

The next morning, she went to find Su Zhendong.

Su Zhendong was practicing his sword in the courtyard. After listening to Su Qingwan's words, he sheathed his sword and wiped the sweat from his hands with a cloth.

"Hiring shills?"

He frowned.

"It's not called hiring shills, it's called market promotion."

Su Qingwan's wording was very deliberate: "When any new thing is launched, it needs a process for people to get to know it. We are not deceiving people. The transfer machine itself is a legal gambling device. It's just that no one knows how to play it or how to win money. We just need to let them see it."

Su Zhendong thought for a moment.

"How many people do you need?"

"Forty or fifty, chosen from the servants, those who are quick-witted, not shy, and preferably those who like to join in the fun."

Although Su Zhendong didn't take it too seriously, he knew his sister's personality, so he didn't say anything and turned to make the arrangements.

The Su family employs several thousand servants, guards, and laborers. Selecting fifty people from among them is not difficult. In half a day, the list and grouping plan were finalized.

The fourth day, at 3:45 AM.

The flow of people on the three main streets of Sujiafang City has started to increase.

The independent cultivators went out to purchase spiritual materials, sell spiritual herbs, and accept bounties at the mission hall. Shops on both sides of the main street opened one after another, with shouts and the sounds of spiritual weapons clashing mixed together.

In front of each of the fifty transfer machines stood a servant of the Su family, dressed in the clothes of an ordinary rogue cultivator, mingling in the crowd, clutching a handful of spirit coins in his hand.

At the entrance of Dingfeng Spiritual Artifact Shop on East Street, a servant in his early twenties walked up to the fortune-telling machine, took out a spirit coin, and deliberately threw it in with an exaggerated motion.

"Come on, let's try our luck!"

He spoke softly to himself, but just loud enough for people within a five or six-zhang radius to hear.

Pull the lever. The wheel spins. Click-clack-click-clack.

Spiritual fruit, spiritual sword, gold ingot.

I didn't win.

"Again!"

The second one went in. Elixir, fruit, elixir. Missed.

The third one. Spirit fruit, spirit fruit, spirit fruit.

Ding ding ding ding—

Five spirit coins were dispensed from the coin slot, rolling around in the copper coin slot with a crisp sound.

"Wow! I won! Five times the payout!"

The servant's voice rose two octaves.

A middle-aged rogue cultivator who was picking out spiritual weapons nearby turned around and glanced at it.

The servant continued throwing. The fourth shot missed. The fifth shot missed. The sixth shot—

Spirit sword, spirit sword, spirit sword.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding—

Ten spirit coins rolled out of the coin slot one after another.

"Ten times! Ten times!"

The middle-aged rogue cultivator had already moved over. He stood behind the servant, craning his neck to look into the spirit crystal panel. The three rotating wheels still retained the pattern of three spirit swords, the bronze engravings gleaming under the spirit lamp.

"What is this?"

"Lucky Draw Machine! Insert one spirit coin, and if three patterns match, you win! Spirit fruits are five times the prize, spirit swords are ten times, spirit pills are twenty times, and gold ingots are one hundred times!"

"A hundred times?"

The middle-aged hermit's eyes lit up.

One hundred times the return: insert one spirit coin, receive one hundred spirit coins.

Although the probability is unknown, these three words are enough.

"Hey bro, why don't you give it a try?"

The servant stepped aside.

The middle-aged rogue cultivator hesitated for a moment, then took out a spirit coin from his storage bag and put it in.

Pull the lever, the wheel spins. Gold ingots, elixirs, and magical fruits. Missed.

He frowned slightly and reached into his storage bag again.

Similar scenes were playing out simultaneously in more than a dozen locations along the entire East Street.

Su Qingwan stood at the second-floor window of the teahouse at the end of the street, overlooking the entire street.

The servants' performance was quite impressive.

Some cheered loudly, some calmly counted their coins, and some chatted with the onlookers. Their methods varied, but the effect was surprisingly consistent: as long as someone put in a coin, made a sound, or won a prize in front of the machine, three or five onlookers would gather around them in no time, and one or two of them would be unable to resist trying it out.

The more people gathered, the more those who came later wanted to squeeze in to see.

This is what Zheng Yifei called the "herd effect".

Around noon, a line of seven or eight people had already formed in front of the busiest transfer machine on East Street.

The servants had long since left, and those queuing up were all genuine independent cultivators, including middle-aged men, young people, and even two old ladies.

Ding ding ding ding—

Every time the coin was dispensed, someone in the line would crane their neck to look.

"I won again! Five times the amount of spirit fruit!"

"I only won once out of three attempts... Let's try again!"

Su Qingwan held the teacup, a slight smile playing on her lips.

The same scene was also happening on Zhongjie Street and Xijie Street.

Within three hours, the Su family servants had used up all twenty spirit coins they had collected, completing their task of "lighting the fire," and then quietly withdrew. But the fire was already burning, and no one needed to add more firewood.

That evening, the three inspectors delivered the data to the accounting office.

Su Qingwan unfolded the spirit paper.

Total coins inserted: 8,743.

Total coins issued: 7,010.

Su Qingwan's gaze shifted downwards.

After deducting the cost of 1,000 spirit coins invested by the servants for promotion, the net profit is 733 coins, or 170 low-grade spirit stones.