Chapter 158 - 121: "There Are So Many Geniuses in This World.
"So many geniuses in this world."
Chen Fan let out a soft sigh and said no more. It had been a long, busy day, and he was tired.
The situation in Jiangbei City was settled for the time being.
Next, he needed to finish the basic infrastructure of the Mortal Realm and prepare for the auction in a month’s time. He planned to open trade routes between Jiangnan and Jiangbei to dump all his high-quality, low-priced goods onto the market.
Even if the others weren’t happy about it.
They would just have to stomach it.
If he was in a good mood, he’d let things flow and earn his profits slowly over time.
If he was in a bad mood, he’d roll out the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage and hold a liquidation sale.
...
Jiangbei City.
"..."
The Pavilion Master of the Jiangbei Marketplace, a Level 2 Architect, was kneeling expressionlessly before his family’s ancestral shrine. He stared at the portraits of his ancestors hanging on the wall and muttered, "Oh, honored ancestors, you must have really been pulling some strings for me down there."
"How did we suddenly become the strongest faction in Jiangbei City?"
"I wasn’t even prepared for this."
The Jiangbei Marketplace.
The Jiangbei Marketplace had originally been ranked as the fourth-strongest faction in Jiangbei City. But as a neutral power, it was rarely mentioned; when people spoke of Jiangbei City, they only talked about the other major factions.
Though he’d wanted to break into their ranks and make it the "four great factions," it had been too difficult.
After the rainy season ended...
The Hill and Valley Royal Family came to him and mortgaged their own camp. He knew then that his opportunity had arrived. Perhaps he could replace the Hill and Valley Royal Family and become one of the three great factions of Jiangbei City. But things escalated too quickly after that.
Too fast for him to even react.
First, the Mortal Realm arrived in Jiangbei City and wiped out the Jiangbei Chen Family. Then, the Wild Wolf Gang announced that their entire group was joining the Mortal Realm.
In a single night, the three great factions of Jiangbei City had vanished.
His Jiangbei Marketplace had become the strongest faction in Jiangbei City.
This windfall of fortune was too sudden.
He hadn’t done a single thing.
How had he suddenly reaped such a bountiful harvest?
...
Soon, day broke.
At Nameless Mountain, a crowd was busy working outside.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan had gathered Lame Monkey and the others for a meeting on the City Wall to discuss the camp’s future development.
"Right now, in the Mortal Realm..."
"We’ve absorbed the Hill and Valley Royal Family—forty-two people, including twelve women. These are Wang Qiuhao’s relatives. They will also be official members of the Mortal Realm, responsible for logistics."
Chen Fan sat on the City Wall, planning.
"I plan to assign these women to the Life Workshop. Xiaoyu, how many people do you need?"
"As for the women, three will be enough."
Xiaoyu thought for a moment before speaking. "They can handle some of the miscellaneous tasks. But a lot of the work in the Life Workshop requires swinging sledgehammers, so I’ll also need three men. For now, that should be enough people."
"Alright."
Chen Fan nodded. "Go down and pick them out yourself later."
"We’re establishing the Mortal Realm’s Logistics Pavilion. Xiaoyu, you will be its first Pavilion Master. This department will be responsible for all of the Mortal Realm’s logistics, including the Life Workshop and the Vehicle Workshop. Once the Alchemy and Artifact Refining Workshops are built, it will manage them as well."
As he finished speaking,
He took a token he had forged the previous night from his robes and handed it to Xiaoyu. "You are the first Pavilion Master of the Mortal Realm’s Logistics Pavilion. This is your Identity Token, and it is also your Life Token."
"It grants you partial authority over the Mortal Realm’s structures."
"For now, there’s no one suitable for the role of Vice Pavilion Master. Once the Logistics Pavilion gets busier, I’ll find a fitting candidate to assist you."
Xiaoyu took a deep breath before rising to his feet. With a solemn expression, he accepted the token with both hands and said in a rough voice, "I will not disappoint you, Domain Lord."
The others looked at Xiaoyu with undisguised envy.
Wang Kui, in particular, was filled with a sense of wonder.
It wasn’t long ago...
It wasn’t long ago that Xiaoyu was his subordinate back at the Wilderness outpost. Now, he was the master of a pavilion in the Mortal Realm, wielding great authority over logistics.
Everyone knew.
Today was the day the fruits of their labor were being divided.
They had all struggled together for so long during the rainy season, and today was the day they reaped the rewards. Getting an important position at this juncture meant that as long as you didn’t make any major mistakes, your status would rise right along with the Mortal Realm’s.
They wouldn’t need to worry about promotions.
The Mortal Realm itself would rise.
And as the Mortal Realm rose, so would they.
"Mm."
Chen Fan chuckled and motioned for Xiaoyu to sit. "The Logistics Pavilion doesn’t have many responsibilities right now. Use this time to adapt and learn, so you’ll have a handle on things when it gets busy later."
He had chosen Xiaoyu for three reasons.
First, Xiaoyu was genuinely skilled with the Life Workshop.
Second, Xiaoyu’s performance during the rainy season had been commendable; he had risked his life, venturing out of the city to retrieve Ghost Stones.
Third, he was one of the old guard and was trustworthy.
With these three points, there was no reason for him not to promote Xiaoyu.
...
"Next is—"
"The Hundred Valleys Pavilion."
"It will be responsible for cultivation and animal husbandry in the Mortal Realm. This includes the medicinal herbs we brought from the Pill Sect and the future Hundred Herbs Garden. The Hundred Valleys Pavilion will be in charge of anything related to planting and raising."
"This includes feeding Hey Hey. The Hundred Valleys Pavilion will be responsible for that as well."
"Qi Chong will serve as the first Pavilion Master of the Hundred Valleys Pavilion, and Ah Le will be the Vice Pavilion Master."
Once again, Chen Fan produced two Identity Tokens he had forged the previous night and handed them to Qi Chong and Ah Le.
"Thank you, Domain Lord."
The two rose in unison to accept their tokens. They exchanged a look, and each saw the excitement in the other’s eyes.
Qi Chong vaguely recalled something Ah Le had once told him.
’ "It’s not what you do that matters; it’s who you do it with." ’
’ "Follow the right person, and you get promoted. Do the right thing, and you get rich. Follow the right person while doing the right thing, and you get promoted *and* rich." ’
’ "Farming brings honor to the clan, raising pigs brings glory to the ancestors. With you and me together, that’s what you call bringing honor and glory to the family!" ’
He had to admit,
Ah Le’s foresight was truly on another level.
Before, they were just a couple of lowly farmers.
And what were they now?
Now, he was the Pavilion Master of the Mortal Realm’s Hundred Valleys Pavilion—Qi Chong!
"You two have a heavy task ahead of you for the next month."