Superficial Compliance and Insincere Scraping Cream

The sun was high in the sky, its warm rays reflecting off the snow.

Water droplets cascaded down the eaves, forming a curtain of droplets that swayed gently in the breeze, like a light drizzle in early spring.

Inside the main hall of Cui Shu Lou.

Yan Chen leaned against the window, one hand supporting his forehead, a wolf-hair brush between his teeth, his gaze fixed intently on a thin account book.

On one side of the table by the window, dozens of account books were piled up haphazardly, creating a mess.

Several sheets of clean white Xuan paper dangled along the corner of the table and onto the floor, revealing a few lines of hastily written characters. The ink was not yet dry, indicating that they had only been written for a short time.

"Doing business is so hard!"

"What about 'the bottom account of silver and silver, the actual amount of cash,' 'the four pillars of the account, the rolling savings and losses'... It looks so complicated and tedious, like reading a book from heaven. Even Taoist books and techniques are not this difficult and boring."

Yan Chen tried to hold on for a few more moments, but eventually gave up. He casually tossed aside the account book, raised his arm to move his shoulder blades and elbows, and made a crackling sound.

"I sat at the desk for half a day, but I only managed to finish reading the dozen or so accounts that my junior sister Yu had sent me."

"Continuing like this is definitely not a solution."

Yan Chen flicked the hem of his Taoist robe, sat cross-legged on the ground, propped himself up on a low table with one hand, and couldn't help but sigh:

"It seems I'm indeed suited to being a hands-off manager..."

"From now on, let Junior Sister Yu handle all these trivial matters. With such intensive training, how could she not become a talent?"

"But before that, there is one thing that needs to be done."

With this thought in mind, Yan Chen calmed down, raised his hand to pick up the still-wet Xuan paper, and spread it out in front of him.

In an instant, lines of scribbled handwriting came into view.

These were all the strange things that Yan Chen noticed and copied down while looking through the account books.

Among these ten or so lines of writing, there was one line that particularly caught his attention.

Yan Chen's gaze slowly moved downwards, finally landing on the two words "Tax".

His expression was solemn, his thoughts racing.

The term "road tax" was not unfamiliar to him.

Back when I went to Mount Gumang to cultivate the land, I already knew the key to it. In essence, it was nothing more than a tax that ordinary people paid to the orthodox tradition in order to survive.

The three major clans of Xuchunfang were not local clans, yet they were able to control the operation of the market. Apart from not inheriting any lineage, their status was comparable to that of a fifth-rank Daoist clan.

Naturally, one should also express gratitude for the "blessing" of the Taoist tradition and pay the corresponding "Taoist tax".

This is nothing unusual.

However, there was one thing that Yan Chen was quite concerned about.

"There is no distinction of primary or secondary among the three major surnames. Why is it that only the Zhao and Huang families paid this 'road tax,' while the Li family's seal was not seen?"

"Furthermore, this 'Taoist tax' was not turned over to the valley, but instead fell under the name of my Cui Shu Lou, and was concealed under the guise of 'miscellaneous donations'... Why is that?"

Yan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve.

It was that one qi-regulating pill I bought from a street vendor.

At the same time, Yu Shimei's words unconsciously came to mind, and he kept comparing and integrating them with what he had gained from reviewing the account books over the past half day.

After a while.

Yan Chen flicked his sleeves, suddenly stood up, and a look of realization finally appeared on his face.

He thought to himself:

"I wondered why... Cui Shu Lou is backed by two valleys, so whenever the valleys produce pills or magical artifacts that do not meet the standards of the Eight Meridians' 'Dao Transmission,' they are transported to Cui Shu Lou and sold in its cabinets."

"Everyone knows this matter, but the perspective of a 'superior cultivator' is incomparable to that of an ordinary person. The former discards it like worn-out shoes, while the latter regards it as a treasure."

"So they screened and examined them again, dividing them into three, six, and nine grades, and only the coarsest part was allowed to flow into the outside world."

"Although this matter is the responsibility of the manager of Cui Shu Lou, it is impossible to do everything personally, so it is delegated layer by layer and passed through several people."

Therefore, there is considerable room for maneuver and significant potential for profit in this area!

Thinking of this, Yan Chen smiled coldly and murmured:

"No wonder there was such a 'miscellaneous donation' that ended up under the name of Cui Shu Lou. So, the Zhao and Huang families are using my money to bribe me?"

"How utterly laughable!"

After calming himself down a bit, Yan Chen slowly returned to his desk and sat down, pondering:

"Such measures will not only affect the position of 'manager'. If the 'good stuff being passed off as inferior' that Junior Sister Yu mentioned really exists, then the interests of the entire Danlan Valley will be damaged."

"Scraping and applying ointment may not be noticeable in a short time, but over time it can lead to a significant loss."

"Not to mention Danlan Valley, even the supervisors of the three lower courtyards should be aware of this."

"It's just that for certain reasons, they might not have thought of this."

Yan Chen made a decision in his heart.

Perhaps we should find a way to let those supervisors know about what's going on here.

The best strategy is to "drive away the tiger to devour the wolf".

He himself sat comfortably on the sidelines, sheltered from the wind and rain, enjoying ease and reaping the benefits. How wonderful!

Thinking of this.

Yan Chen's eyes flashed with golden light, and in an instant, several lines of tiny, tadpole-like characters flowed out—

You have formed a karmic bond with Yu Shunan, a mortal disciple of Danlan Valley.

……

You have formed a karmic bond with Cui Yong, a mortal disciple of Danlan Valley.

……

You have formed a karmic connection with Zhao Dengke, a mortal disciple of Danlan Valley.

……

You have formed a karmic bond with Huang Lie, a mortal disciple of Danlan Valley.

……

【You and…】

……

More than ten causes and effects cascaded down like a waterfall.

Yan Chen was not surprised by this; on the contrary, it was quite reasonable.

The reason why cause and effect are formed is because of the entanglement and entanglement of causes and conditions, and even destiny.

He and these people belonged to the Jade Sleeve Sect. He had already met many of them in the Zhiyu Hall in Danlan Valley.

Now that he has reached the second level of Qi Refining and become the manager of Cui Shu Lou, he has established a subordinate relationship with these mortal disciples.

It was this "bond-like" relationship that made it easy for him to form karmic connections with each of them.

It's no longer as time-consuming and mentally taxing as before.

The thought flashed through Yan Chen's mind, and without the slightest hesitation, he spoke in his heart:

"Immortal Official, please inquire about the karmic situation of Zhao Dengke, a mortal disciple of Danlan Valley, over the past two days."

Because the contact time was short and no actual conflict arose.

He has not yet formed any karmic connection with Zhao Qingyun or Huang Zaiyuan.

So we can only settle for the next best thing and gain insight into Zhao Dengke, who also belongs to the Zhao family of the "three major surnames", hoping to gain something.

At the same time, the [Celestial Official Jade Pendant] responded—

[Target of Insight: Zhao Dengke.]

[Time required: One hour.]

……

"One hour... let's wait patiently."

Yan Chen suppressed the golden light in his eyes and murmured to himself.

Suddenly, a few arguments could be heard from outside the corridor.

I could distinguish the voice and tone, yet it still sounded very familiar.

Yan Chen raised an eyebrow and got up to walk outside.

Before even leaving the lobby, the argument in the corridor was already clearly audible.

"Zhao Dengke, why didn't you handle official business at Cui Shu Lou this morning? Why did you rush home? Has something happened?"

"Cui Yong, I have many things on my mind today and do not wish to humiliate you. I advise you not to invite further disgrace and lose face unnecessarily!"

"You're all talk and no action. You always talk about how great we local people are, but the fact that you got a job at Cui Shu Lou is all thanks to your surname 'Zhao'!"

"What exactly do you want?"

"I just wanted to remind you that in three days, Danlan Valley will send a senior brother to oversee the procurement and sale of pills and spiritual herbs. Your Zhao family and that Huang family, don't try anything sneaky or underhanded. If I find out, you'll be in big trouble!"

"nonsense!"

Immediately, the sound of footsteps could be heard, gradually fading into the distance.

……

Inside the hall, Yan Chen's expression changed several times, his brows furrowed, and he thought to himself:

"Cui Yong... I almost forgot about him."

"Isn't this the one who tried to cheat during the assessment at Zhiyu Hall, but was caught by Senior Brother Wang, which ultimately led to Steward Zheng changing the assessment content?"

"If I remember correctly, Cui Yuan, the supervisor of the Hundred Herbs Courtyard, should be his third uncle, right?"

……