You Cultivate, I Farm

“No need to rush, take it slow,”

Lu Xuan said gently.

“Furthermore, we need to hire a cultivator as the temporary shopkeeper to handle the buying and selling of the various treasures in the store,”

“After all, I mainly focus on cultivating spirit plants and practicing my cultivation and have no spare energy to look after the shop,”

“Does Taoist friend Mu have any good suggestions?”

“Hiring a cultivator as a shopkeeper is not a small requirement. We need someone who is honest and reliable, sharp and agile, good at reading people, and well-versed in the knowledge of magic artifacts, charms, elixirs, and so on.

As far as I know, there are generally two ways: one is to find one through a Tooth Row, which is usually reputable and saves time and effort, though the price is a bit high,”

“The other way is to select one on your own in the Loose Cultivation Market, which is relatively cheaper but the cultivators found may not be reliable.”

“Oh right, there is another method. I wonder if Senior Lu would accept it,”

“Senior can try borrowing a cultivator from the Commerce Association and pay a monthly remuneration,”

“Generally, those who come out from the Commerce Association have undergone many years of training, have clear backgrounds, are adept at understanding human nature, and have wide knowledge, hence are trustworthy,”

“If Senior is worried about them possibly absconding with the store’s treasures or spirit stones, you can purchase some array talismans that can monitor every corner of the shop, or tracking strange insects or formula methods, or you can also establish a contract with the other party to constrain their behavior,”

The tall elder talked at length, and each suggestion was quite useful to Lu Xuan.

“Okay, then I’ll borrow a manager from the Commerce Association to be my shopkeeper, gender doesn’t matter, cultivation level should be at least high-grade Qi Practitioner to Foundation Establishment First-term Stage,”

Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan felt even more convinced that this method was feasible.

The Sea Tower Chamber of Commerce is the largest merchant in the Liyang Region, and the cultivators they trained would certainly be of much higher quality than those from the Tooth Row. Combined with the fact that he himself was a Guest Elder of the Commerce Association and had considerable bonds with them, it could be said to be the best choice.

“Then I will trouble Taoist friend Mu to help me find the store and a suitable cultivator,”

He said to the tall elder with a clasped fist.

“It’s my duty,”

Wood Daoren returned the gesture and left the Commerce Association’s branch building in a hustle.

Lu Xuan went up to the higher floors of the branch building to deal with some tedious matters.

The Commerce Association Headquarter had sent some strange and unusual spirit plants from all directions, and since Lu Xuan, as a Guest Elder specializing in spiritual plants, was proficient at identifying them, these tasks were entrusted to him.

Lu Xuan, with his special ability, easily identified most of the species and uses of those spirit plants.

To avoid drawing too much attention, he deliberately glossed over certain areas, not revealing all the information about the spirit plants he knew.

However, even just the information he did reveal made the high-ranking members of the Commerce Association extremely satisfied, greatly enhancing their opinion of Lu Xuan.

“Senior Lu, I’ve found a shop space. Would you like to come and see it with me?”

One day, Wood Daoren came to Lu Xuan, looking somewhat excited.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Lu Xuan nodded and accompanied him to the vicinity of the shop space.

The shop was situated in the mid to lower section of the Star Plucking Building. Each floor of the Star Plucking Building was extremely spacious, and the tall elder led Lu Xuan to the end of a street.

“Right there, the shopkeeper is planning to transfer the shop due to a family emergency,”

Lu Xuan observed the surroundings and saw many cultivators coming and going, mostly Qi Cultivation practitioners with a small number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Nearby were several small shops, each selling different cultivation resources—some specialized in charms, while others sold only array plates.

“The location is fairly good,”

He followed Wood Daoren into the interior of the shop.

The space inside was not very large, with several antique wooden shelves that were empty. In the back was a small door leading to a little room, which could be used for daily rest or for storing some of the treasures for sale.

“Overall, it feels suitable. How much is the rent?”

“Fifteen thousand low-grade spirit stones per month, and if you’re buying, then it would be at least several hundreds to tens of millions of low-grade spirit stones,”

The elder replied.

“Tsk tsk,”

Lu Xuan silently clicked his tongue in his mind, lamenting the high rent. Fifteen thousand low-grade spirit stones could almost buy two four-level magical tools, yet here it could only rent such a small shop for a month.

But he could understand, after all, this was Star Plucking Building, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold. There were countless cultivators, and as long as the business was above passing level, one was sure to make a profit without any loss.

“The division building of the Sea Tower Chamber of Commerce over there is dozens of times larger than this place; the rent must be an astronomical figure,”

He once again realized the wealth foundation of the commerce association.

If he wanted to buy this shop, he did not have enough spirit stones on him and had to rent it for the time being.

Seeing that Lu Xuan agreed to rent the shop, Wood Daoren called over the shop owner, signing a three-year lease with Lu Xuan, with rent to be paid every three months.

“I’ll name you ‘The Miscellaneous Grocery Store,'”

He murmured looking at the blank signboard above the door.

“Congratulations to Senior Lu on acquiring the desired shop. I wish for your business to thrive and your wealth to widen,”

Wood Daoren said with a smile, congratulating him.

“Thank you, Daoist friend. Also, could you help me look for a trustworthy and honest member of the commerce association to manage the shop’s affairs?”

“No problem at all, leave everything to me,”

Wood Daoren assured, patting his chest.

He was extremely efficient, and in less than half a day, he brought over a young man with a stable and honest appearance.

“Senior Lu, this is Wen Qian. He’s a collateral relative of Master Wen of our division building. With perfect Qi training cultivation, he has attempted to advance to Foundation Establishment three times without success, and so he has joined the commerce association to help manage the business.”

“Wen Qian, this is Senior Lu, who is also a guest elder of our commerce association. Serve the senior well and do not let him down,”

“I’ve seen Senior Lu!”

Wen Qian greeted with some excitement, bowing and keeping his head low.

“Not bad, the person Wood Daoren helped to find, I can trust,”

“I’ll trouble you with the matters in the future,”

Lu Xuan said with a gentle smile.

“Serving the senior is an honor for me!”

Wen Qian immediately responded.

“I won’t be staying in the shop on regular days, so I’ll leave all affairs to you to handle. Contact me in urgent situations, or directly seek out Wood Daoren. I’ll come by periodically to provide various items and take away the spirit stones.”

“Let me be straightforward, if you wish to gain my trust, you must enter into a contract. Are you willing to do that?”

“The junior has no objections,”

The two set up a contract. If Wen Qian violated any clause of the contract and harmed Lu Xuan’s or the shop’s interests, he would suffer immense pain, worse than death.

“How much does the association usually pay you as compensation?”

“One thousand eight hundred low-grade spirit stones per month.”

“After you come to me, there might be more things to take care of. So, here’s what I’ll do: I’ll pay you three thousand low-grade spirit stones every month. How does that sound?”

Lu Xuan directly raised the remuneration by a substantial amount.

“Thank you, senior!”

Wen Qian thanked him genuinely from the bottom of his heart. When he learned that he was to become the manager of a small shop, he was somewhat reluctant, as he had already established a foundation in the commerce association branch building, and the monthly spirit stones he earned were surplus. If he saved for a bit longer, he could afford the spiritual medicine needed to supplement his foundation for another attempt at Foundation Establishment.

But, due to Lu Xuan’s status as a guest elder, he had to follow Wood Daoren here.

Upon hearing the remuneration Lu Xuan offered, the slight displeasure in his heart instantly vanished, turning him completely loyal.