Miao Yi wouldn't care about the price of some furniture. Instead, Daoist De Ming was becoming more and more like a businessman, which made Miao Yi look at him in a different light. The change was obvious. He was no longer the timid and honest Daoist he used to be.
"Daoist, you've learned to beat around the bush. Just say what you want." Miao Yi chuckled.
De Ming was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I know what you mean. You think I'm helping Xiahou Longcheng. It's not just you. The Sect Master and Senior Uncle don't like Xiahou Longcheng either. They think he's despicable and evil. But what I want to say is that it's not easy to gain a foothold in Heaven's Street. Our Vitality Sect came here with a beautiful dream. We came to Heaven's Street empty-handed. We have no power, no influence, and no financial resources. If you hadn't helped the grocery store, it wouldn't have become what it is today. I'm sure you understand how difficult it is for the grocery store to survive in Heaven's Street. I'm not speaking up for Xiahou Longcheng. Although 20% is a lot for Xiahou Longcheng, I think it's worth it. If it weren't for Xiahou Longcheng's relationship, the Sundry Goods Store would have been crushed a long time ago.
"Yes! I think it's worth it too. "Miao Yi nodded. Looking at him, he knew he wanted to say more than that.
De Ming was a little emotional. "But the Sect Master and the two Senior Uncles don't think so. They think my flattery is no different from a despicable person. It goes against the Vitality Sect's principles. I'm under a lot of pressure. There are some things they don't know. The Sect Master is in charge of the Vitality Sect. Senior Uncle Yu Lian is obsessed with his own business. Senior Uncle Yu Xu is here, but he doesn't go out at all. The grocery store's business is mostly managed by me. I know better than them how difficult it is to run a grocery store with a background like the Vitality Sect. Without some connections, the grocery store can't continue. In just a few hundred years, the Vitality Sect has nurtured twelve Golden Lotus cultivators and taken in thousands of disciples. It's impossible without the grocery store's financial support. Once the grocery store collapses, the Vitality Sect will have neither the strength nor the financial resources. Without a background, where's the way out? "
"The grocery store collapses?" Miao Yi asked doubtfully. "Is it that serious?"
De Ming shook his head and said, "I'm not trying to scare you. If Xiahou Longcheng hadn't appeared to block the calamity back then, would there have been Huangfu Jun? Y provided information support. I'm afraid that the Sundry Goods Store would have collapsed before you could come back. "
"Huang Fujun? Y also helped? "Miao Yi was very surprised.
De Ming said, "Yes! Because the operation of the Sundry Goods Store threatened the core formation business of the Hall of Heroes. Huangfu Jun? Y first paid a visit and went straight to Uncle-Master Yu Xu for a chat. He said that it wouldn't be good for us if our appetite was too big. He hoped that the Sundry Goods Store would give up on the core-formation business. Martial Uncle Yuxu refused. What about Huangfu Jun? Y then went to Planet Non-Phase to talk to the Sect Master. The Sect Master said that it was a fair competition and refused. At that time, the Sect Leader and Martial Uncle's thinking was too simple. There was no such thing as fair competition in business. It was not a lie to say that there was no business without evil. We were the ones who refused a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Huangfujun? Y turned around and informed Xiahou Longcheng. The situation was already explained. Xiahou Longcheng immediately forced us to give up the core-formation business. Otherwise, he would seal the store and arrest people. You know what kind of person that commander is. There's no reason to reason with him. "
Miao Yi naturally knew about Xiahou Longcheng's character. He nodded slightly and asked, "Huangfu Jun? How did Y help us? Would she be so kind as to help us for no reason? "
"Business is business. Naturally, she wouldn't help us for no reason. Helping us would definitely be beneficial to her. After forcing us to give up the core-formation business, she came to us again. She said that to compensate us, she provided us with all the other things that the Hall of Heroes obtained other than the core-formation business. She became our biggest supplier. You should know that the Hall of Heroes is very powerful. There are many experts in there. Every year, there's no telling how much they harvest. It's indeed inconvenient for them to sell those miscellaneous things separately. On the other hand, we can sell those miscellaneous things quickly. If they send those things to us for sale, it will only benefit them. It's a win-win situation for everyone. I once asked her the reason. She said that even her Hall of Heroes didn't dare to monopolize all the business and only dealt in the core-formation business. How could your Morality and Sundry Goods Store be able to do that? Her words were like a wake-up call! Later on, the development of the situation proved her words. Some of the shop forces united to make a move against us. We were not well-informed and only realized it after a while. It was she who secretly revealed the news in advance and reminded me to ask Xiahou Longcheng for help. That was how the Vitality Sect was able to escape the disaster. She once warned me that I should learn more from you when doing business. If there's a relationship, I should use it. If there's no relationship, I should try my best to curry favor with them. She said that I'm not just a little bit inferior to you in this aspect. "
"Is she praising me or scolding me?" Miao Yi rubbed his nose.
"I can tell that she actually admires you very much. She said that it wasn't easy for you to help the Vitality Sect open up a new path with a bright future, but we didn't know how to cherish it. It's such a waste. She even said that if you're willing to go to the Hall of Heroes, she's willing to let you be the shopkeeper. "At this point, De Ming probed," What do you think, Sir? "
Miao Yi chuckled. "I'm not interested in being the shopkeeper of the Hall of Heroes, because I don't want to be controlled by others. Of course, with her beauty, I'd be more than happy if she's willing to be my concubine. She's a beauty, after all. No man would complain about having too many. "
De Ming could only let out a dry laugh. He didn't want to comment any further, and continued, "Later on, when someone tried to imitate the general store's operations, she was the one who taught us how to suppress them, and secretly helped us crush our competitors. Now that the general store is facing a crisis, she's also the one who warned us. Even though the general store has a firm foothold on Heaven's Origin Planet, and no one can match us, there are so many celestial streets in the Chaos Realm. Once someone else opens up in other places, establishes their business, gains a firm foothold, and gains a sufficient supply of goods, they'll launch a counterattack on Heaven's Origin Planet. At that time, our general store will be no match for them at all. She said that since we've entered this line of work, even if we don't fight with others, others will take the initiative to fight with us. There's no need to talk about reason when it comes to benefits. She has already received news that someone is slowly stockpiling goods in the dark. Once the time is ripe, they'll open up shop in other celestial streets. She wants us to quickly open up shop in other celestial streets before the other party makes a move. As for the shop, she will use her connections with the Hall of Heroes to help us secure land in other celestial streets. "
Miao Yi pondered for a moment, then said, "This is a good thing, but you have to understand that even if she has the connections to help us secure land, the land in the celestial streets isn't cheap. Not to mention that there's more than one place we need to buy. The financial resources aren't something we can afford at all. "
De Ming said, "She said that she can help us secure the land through her connections. If we don't have enough money to buy the land, the Hall of Heroes can think of a way to raise the money and lend it to us."
"There's such a good thing?" Miao Yi immediately put on a vigilant expression. "Daoist Master, don't be blinded by benefits. This woman definitely won't do anything without a purpose. You have to be more careful when there's nothing good that comes knocking on your door."
De Ming said, "Of course she won't help for free. She'll help us secure land and borrow money as the price. She wants twenty percent of the Morality Miscellaneous Goods Store's shares. In other words, the Hall of Heroes will have to invest twenty percent of the shares. After this is done, if the Morality Miscellaneous Goods Store runs into trouble in the future, the Hall of Heroes won't just stand by and watch. "
Miao Yi furrowed his brows. "I'll take twenty percent, Xiahou Longcheng will take twenty percent, the Hall of Heroes will take another twenty percent, and the Morality Miscellaneous Goods Store still has to take out ten percent of the profits every year to build some connections. Doesn't that mean that the Morality Sect will only be left with thirty percent?"
De Ming hurriedly said, "It seems like we're losing out, but it's actually not. Scholar, think about it. Thirty percent of one place or thirty percent of ten places, which is more important? As long as it's done. The Morality Sect's benefits are greater, and their gains are far greater than what we have now. More importantly, with the help of Xiahou Longcheng and the Hall of Heroes' connections, our business will be much more stable in the future. Our connections will also expand, and it will only be beneficial to the Morality Sect's future development. "
Miao Yi was still doubtful. "If there's such a good thing, why won't the Hall of Heroes do it themselves? Why do they have to work on us? "
De Ming smiled bitterly. "It's still the same thing. The Hall of Heroes won't dare to extend their hands everywhere. It's already too much for them to monopolize the Core Formation business. They can only do this in the dark, and won't stand out in the open. Otherwise, this benefit wouldn't have fallen into our hands. The only thing we have to worry about is that once the business gets bigger, it will attract the attention of even more influential people. They might even want to have a share in it. "
Miao Yi nodded, then asked, "What about manpower? You're expanding everywhere. How can you do without manpower? You can only be at ease if the control of the business is in your own hands. Your strength and background aren't as good as others, and if you can't even control as well, sooner or later, you'll be eaten up by others until not even your bones are left. "
De Ming said, "The Morality Sect has always accepted disciples without any, and it's not the Sect Master and the others' intention to suddenly accept a few thousand disciples. It's the result of a secret discussion between me and my Senior and Junior Brothers. The disciples were all chosen by my Senior and Junior Brothers as soon as possible. After the business expands, we won't be lacking in manpower. The Morality Sect gathered all their resources to support twelve Purple Lotus disciples into the Golden Lotus realm. It was also the result of me coming up with all sorts of excuses and persuading the Sect Master and the two Senior Aunts. These Golden Lotus disciples will be suitable to be shopkeepers in various places in the future. "
Miao Yi chuckled. "Since you're already prepared and confident, just go ahead and do it. I don't have any objections."
"The problem is that I can't convince the Sect Master and the two Senior Aunts. They're worried that the Morality Sect's reputation will deteriorate sooner or later, so they're not willing to let the Golden Lotus disciples come to the grocery store to learn. If they don't learn, they won't know anything. How can they be shopkeepers in the future? Even if the sect doesn't agree to it, I have no right to expand the grocery store's business! "De Ming was heartbroken. He looked like he couldn't let this opportunity slip by.
Miao Yi was silent. He understood that Sect Master Yuling and the others' worries weren't without reason. The sect's disciples were expanding rapidly, and they were now embroiled in a whirlpool of profits. When the time came, it would be difficult for them to maintain the Morality Sect's simple nature.
Miao Yi looked at the anxious De Ming again. To be able to push a group of Senior and Junior Brothers to take in a few thousand disciples, it was obvious that this guy had already obtained the support of the majority of the sect. This meant that under this guy's secret manipulation, the middle and lower echelons of the Morality Sect had already had a serious disagreement with Sect Master Yuling and the others.
Miao Yi suspected that if it weren't for the fact that Sect Master Yuling was his father, and that De Ming had the support of Xiahou Longcheng and the Hall of Heroes, as well as the support of the majority of the Morality Sect's disciples, he might have done something like overthrowing Sect Master Yuling. After all, this guy already had the strength to do so.
Miao Yi understood what De Ming meant. De Ming hoped that he could intervene. He frowned and said, "Master Daoist, it's not appropriate for me to intervene in the Morality Sect's internal affairs. Not to mention, I have no right to intervene."
De Ming immediately said eagerly, "Sir, you're wrong. It's indeed not appropriate for you to intervene, but you're different from me. I'm a disciple of the Morality Sect, and you're just a Guest Elder. Most importantly, Sir, you have twenty percent of the Morality Goods Store's shares. You're one of the owners. You have the right to intervene in the Morality Goods Store's operations and how it should develop!"
Miao Yi was speechless. Once the Morality Sect focused all of its attention on business, the Morality Sect would be destroyed. Wanting to maintain that 'Heaven and Earth has Morality' would become empty talk. When faced with the corrosion of profits, Morality and conscience would have no choice but to surrender. When the time came, profits would come first.
Great Palace Master Miao had a deep understanding of this. He already felt that he was no longer the person he used to be. It was easy for him to do immoral things. In some aspects, his conscience had already been eaten by dogs. Hence, in his eyes, the Morality Sect had a valuable side to them. He really couldn't bear to destroy them. Hence, he hesitated and said, "Let's talk about this later. I'm already in trouble myself. I haven't explained the matter of the Spiritual Island being robbed …"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
