Chapter 148

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Chapter 148: Big Steward

Wilderness, the stronghold of the Five Elements Sect

The stronghold of the Five Elements Sect is more like a city than a stronghold. Its diameter is over a kilometer, and the population has exceeded ten thousand. It has everything that should be in a city.

The management style is similar to that of Medicine City. They follow a set of rules that are not related to the sect system. Chen Xuanhua is the City Lord, Zhang Wanjing is the Deputy City Lord, and Lin Jiang is currently the Chief Administrator, responsible for all the businesses in the stronghold.

This is a legitimate and important position, a position of power that only those trusted by the City Lord can hold.

At the beginning of his term, Lin Jiang didn’t make any changes. He silently observed how the Five Elements Sect’s base operated.

After a while, Lin Jiang finally understood what was going on. The business environment at the base was quite complex.

The first thing he noticed was the Five Elements Sect’s own shops, which sold pills, talismans, tools, formations, food, cloth, taverns, and inns. All these were managed by a company called Xingyuan Building, which was similar to a state-owned enterprise.

In addition to Xingyuan Building, there were other shops affiliated with the Five Elements Sect. They followed the sect to make money. Xingyuan Building was directly under the control of the sect and didn’t need to pay taxes, while the affiliated shops enjoyed some tax reductions.

Apart from that, there were other shops and stalls that were more complicated. Some were small forces, some were independent cultivators, and others were secretly set up by members of the sect. Lin Jiang was responsible for managing all of them.

"Though small, it has everything."

Lin Jiang commented that the Five Elements Sect’s base was like a miniature version of Medicine City. It had everything that Medicine City had.

After understanding the situation, Lin Jiang didn’t make any big changes immediately. He just reviewed the base’s account books stored over the years and got closer to a few lower-level stewards.

·······

"Three months have passed, both of you tell me, what have you learned individually?"

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Wanjing and his apprentices had been at the base for three months. Zhang Wanjing finally asked about their progress.

"The guarding team has been dealt with. I taught a few troublemakers a lesson and sent them to patrol outside the city."

Zhang Shuhua spoke first. He is now in the middle stage of building foundations. He challenged and defeated several experts in the late stage of building foundations, and then sent them to patrol outside the city.

Both inside and outside of the base, there are guarding teams patrolling. However, it’s tough outside the base. Besides enduring harsh weather conditions, it’s also dangerous. It’s nothing like the comfort inside the city.

Now Zhang Shuhua has control over the guarding teams. In their positions, personal strength is highly valued. Without strength, they won’t be able to keep their subordinates in check.

"What about Xiao Yi?"

"He hasn’t made any moves, but I have gathered all the evidence against them. We are waiting for our master to deal with it."

"Tell me the details."

Inside the stronghold, the largest business is called Ju Yuan Lou, which can be said to dominate about 60% of all the business. It is very prosperous, but the biggest problem arises from Ju Yuan Lou.

How should I put it, it’s about corruption. They eat and drink for free, buy low and sell high, confuse their responsibilities. If the master wants to rectify the situation, I can guarantee that the stronghold’s income will increase by about 30% this year.

"30%, you’re not tricking me again, are you?"

When Zhang Wanjing was at Cold Crow Mountain, he also encountered a situation where the sect leader boasted about increasing production by 30%, almost tricking him.

"Master, am I that kind of person?"

"Alright, I’ll trust you once more. Do you have any evidence?"

"Yes, as soon as I took office, I sealed the account books. I have gone through them thoroughly for the past few months. Based on these account books, all those stewards and such should be sent to the Law Enforcement Hall."

"Give the evidence to Shu Hua, arrest people according to the evidence, and don’t let anyone escape."

"No, no, no, this kind of thing is a conspiracy. If we really start arresting people, all of them should be taken away. I suggest we prioritize arresting the leaders and let the subordinates go. Otherwise, I will have no one left to use."

Lin Jiang said. The Five Elements Sect’s base is far from the mountain gate, which means it’s really far away. It’s beneficial for us to share the workload. If we were to be strict, there wouldn’t be anyone left to do the work.

"Okay, we can prioritize capturing the important ones and release the less important ones. However, anyone with relationships inside the sect should be removed. We need to make sure that only our people remain."

"That means we will drive away about half of the people. The master will have to request more people from the sect, otherwise we won’t be able to operate."

"That’s not a problem."

"Great, Brother, wait for me to visit my home."

Lin Jiang nodded. He had been playing the role of a smiling tiger for the past three months, and now it was time to show his fangs.

That evening, Zhang Wanjing and Zhang Shuhua took action. They went door-to-door with their team, capturing most of the high-level members of the business.

The next morning, Lin Jiang gathered the remaining high-level members of the business for a meeting. Half of the seats were empty. Lin Jiang looked at the remaining people, and they all seemed uneasy, as if there were nails on their chairs.

"Don’t worry, everyone. The ones we needed to capture were already captured last night. If you can still sit here today, it means everything is fine."

"Boss, we…"

I won’t dwell on the past, but from now on, I have the final say here. Things must be done according to my rules. The restaurant and inn are major problem areas. Remember, from now on, anyone who comes to eat or stay must pay, even if it’s a senior member of the sect. If someone refuses to pay, let me know.

Also, for those in charge of renting houses and the business section, make it clear which areas and prices are involved. Charge accordingly…

Lin Jiang continued. There are many issues within the base, such as disciples from the Five Elements Sect who come here and need accommodation. But most of the accommodations aren’t that great, so they end up staying at restaurants and inns without paying.

The same goes for meals. They eat and drink excessively under the pretense of it being covered by the sect. The shops in the business section are also a mess. The pricing for good and bad locations varies greatly, and they have the power to set the prices. They randomly set prices, and those with connections can get prime locations at prices several times lower than neighboring ones.

I don’t need to say more about the other methods they use to embezzle money. They really know how to play dirty and make a profit.

"If any of you still disagree, you can lodge a complaint with the sect. I will handle it. If that doesn’t work, we can settle it with a demonstration. After all, as cultivators, strength is what matters most."

"We dare not."

"If you’re too scared, then go back to work. The new appointment list for each branch’s steward’s promotion to manager remains the same."

Lin Jiang took out a list, and most of the people arrested last night were the managers of various shops. Today, the stewards from before were promoted, and a group of low-ranking officials also received significant promotions.

These low-ranking officials used to be lower-level staff. Lin Jiang has been working on persuading them for the past few months. Now, he is promoting them to the middle level. Once they are familiar with the business, he will get rid of the current managers and let them take over. This is now a transitional phase.

Lin Jiang told everyone to disperse and do their own work. As soon as he stepped out, he saw someone he knew waiting for him.

"Junior Brother Xiao, oh no, Senior Brother Xiao, Senior Brother Xiao, it’s me, Yue Qing."

When Yue Qing saw Lin Jiang come out, he warmly greeted him.

"How come Senior Brother Yue is here?"

Lin Jiang pretended to be amazed, even though he had known that Yue Qing was here for a long time.

Previously, Zhang Wanjing wanted to bring about reforms, so Lin Jiang cut off all his business cooperation with him. However, the reforms didn’t happen, and Zhang Wanjing was also marginalized. Without Lin Jiang providing information, Yue Qing couldn’t continue his business here.

In the following years, Yue Qing disappeared from the gate of the mountains. It was said that he went out to explore. At first, Lin Jiang didn’t know where he had gone, but after coming to the stronghold, he found out.

Yue Qing, this kid started doing business in a brothel. He has everything that a brothel should have, but Yue Qing’s brothel is quite low-end, only a little better than the ones on the street. Lin Jiang is used to elegance, so he finds the common ones unbearable. He took a glance and ran away.

"Oh no, I’ve been here for several years. I just came back from the mountain gate recently and didn’t know that Senior Brother had come. Otherwise, I would have greeted Senior Brother earlier."

"Does Senior Brother Yue need something?"

"I’m here to pay my respects to Senior Brother. Take care of your junior brother in the future, as we’ve slept together for three years as brothers."

"Can we not mention that?"

"Senior Brother, have you forgotten about your junior brother?"

Yue Qing made a very sad expression and said. We promised to be prosperous together and not forget each other. It’s only been a few years, and you’ve already forgotten.

"Stop it, don’t you realize where we are?"

"That’s right, let’s go to my junior brother’s place."

"Let’s go eat, you can skip your fancy Chunfeng Tower, it’s too common."

Lin Jiang shook his head, Yue Qing’s brothel is called Chunfeng Tower, sounds nice but it’s actually quite ordinary inside.

"Alright, let’s eat, I’ll invite Jiang Shu, he’s also here."

Yue Qing was thrilled, Zhang Wanjing is currently in charge of the stronghold, this is a big connection, he must hold onto it tightly.

Before long, Jiang Shu arrived too. The many sworn brothers of Yue Qing in the past, only Jiang Shu managed to build a foundation and follow in Yue Qing’s footsteps. The rest had failed, they were too old and couldn’t venture out with him. They were all doing small business at the mountain gate or in Medicine City.

For example, the lunch boxes they used to make, they are still continuing. Of course, they couldn’t make as much profit as the Medicine Conference did. They sell a few hundred or a thousand portions a day, earning just enough for their living expenses.

"Senior Brother Xiao, it’s been many years since we last met."

"Jiang Junior Brother, it’s been many years too. How is it at this stronghold?"

"Not bad, better than Medicine City. As long as we don’t go out, it’s still safe."

Jiang Shu said that the stronghold is very safe, and the monster beasts can’t get in. Other cultivators dare not provoke the disciples of Five Elements Sect.

"That’s fine."

"Senior Brother Xiao, our Chunfeng Tower may not be to your liking, but it’s good here in the Wilderness. Other people don’t mind, and we make quite a lot of money every month. Otherwise, Senior Brother Xiao, would you like to invest?"

Yue Qing said that the quality of his Chunfeng Tower area is not great, it’s mostly a group of old folks, but they really make a lot of money. Prices are much higher than in Medicine City.

Because this is the Wilderness, cultivators who come here to hunt monsters have to face great mental pressure. Monster beasts, poisonous insects, and toxic vapors could be deadly at any time. Other cultivators are also a huge threat, so once they return to the stronghold to rest, they must go to two places – a tavern to drink, and a brothel to vent.

Unfortunately, the Wilderness is dangerous, and many people are too afraid to come here, so the quality here is also very poor.

"Forget about investing."

Lin Jiang directly refused, as he believed himself to be hypocritical. He could enjoy listening to music occasionally, but he couldn’t manage that kind of business himself.

"What kind of thing does Senior Brother want? Junior Brother will get it for you."

Yue Qing clenched his teeth and reluctantly accepted, even if it meant spending a lot of money to have two people serve his senior brother.

"What kind do you want, Senior Brother Yue? Have you heard of someone powerful named Qiang Ni from Medicine City?"

"Who is Qiang Ni?"

"He opened a new banquet hall called Palace Banquet. It’s said to be amazing! With a touch of elegance, like feathers coated in colorful haze, it won’t attract any unwanted attention. Oh, it’s really something!"

"Senior Brother, what is all this?"

Yue Qing looked confused. Has he been away from Medicine City for too long? He couldn’t understand.

"Since we have nothing to do today, let’s go and check it out ourselves. Then you’ll understand what’s considered classy and what’s considered vulgar. I won’t say much more, I won’t say much."

Lin Jiang once again pretended to be mysterious, successfully changing the topic. The two of them didn’t know what else to say.