Let Ideas Take Flight for a While

After listening to the instructions, he bid farewell to Master Li.

Today is the 5th day, and tomorrow we will set sail again to return to Fenglinfang.

A lot has happened recently, giving him a bad feeling.

Upon returning to the caravan's encampment, Chen Lu was astonished to find that all the caravan members, including the escorts, had gathered together.

The table was laden with a sumptuous feast, and in the past, everyone would laugh and joke around, having a great time.

But today it was rather quiet; he was just drinking by himself, his face expressionless.

He wondered if the cultivators from Yuansheng Sect had escaped, but after asking Zhao Dalong, he learned that they had not run away and were being held in the windowless single room next door.

They also put two layers of chains on everyone, and gave them the highest doses of Drunken Spirit Powder. Now they are all so dizzy that they don't even have the strength to speak.

"Where is the Third Chief Escort?"

"I've gone to wait for the message from the flying sword. It should be back in about two hours."

Zhao Dalong took a jar of wine and handed it to Chen Lu, then told him about the fact that their biggest client wanted to lower the commission rate.

"The profit margin has been reduced from five percent to three percent?!" Chen Lu was astonished upon hearing this.

In the past, half of the profits were set aside and kept on file, without any accounting or profit sharing, to prevent the company from being unable to pay compensation if a shipment was lost.

This is an old rule in the escort agency industry, to ensure that the agency's reputation is not damaged after an accident, and that it can continue to take on cargo in the future.

The remaining two and a half points were split equally between the escort team and the escort agency.

If the commission rate for escorting goods is reduced by two percent, then each escort's income will be halved!

Reduce from one hundred prayers to sixty prayers!

Unfortunately, they had no other choice; they couldn't do anything else.

Even if the income is reduced by half, it will still be more than most ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

Moreover, they have 20 days of vacation each time, and if their income is not enough to supplement their household expenses, they can take advantage of the vacation to earn extra money.

That sounds acceptable.

However, this is the ideal situation, because in reality, there are other escort agencies that are sabotaging and causing trouble, so not only will you get less money, but the danger will also be higher.

Whenever this topic comes up, people are always shut down by one sentence: "If you leave this industry, you won't know anything."

Some suggested that he could become a bodyguard, since both are about protection, only one guards inanimate objects and the other guards living people, so it's not far from his original profession.

But the proposal was rejected by everyone as soon as it was put forward.

That kind of work is simply inhuman. Although it's one day on, one day off, with flexible hours, you have to be protected around the clock during work hours and be treated like a servant and scolded.

The key issue is that the pay is so-so, about 70 spirits a month. Unless one is desperate, no one is willing to suffer like this.

These are all ideas that everyone has been discussing. In reality, the outcome depends on what the Wang family decides.

The atmosphere fell silent again, and after a long while, the sound of horses' hooves gradually subsided outside the door.

Everyone raised their heads and looked towards the door with expectant expressions.

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) opened the door, took an envelope from his pocket, and threw it on the table.

"Look, this is the family's decision. If you agree, sign your name now and you can continue to stay with the escort agency."

"I don't agree. Once I get back and settle the bill, I can leave."

Wang Shengsong picked up the envelope first, glanced at it, chuckled helplessly, paused, and then read aloud:

"Notice regarding temporary salary adjustments"

The industry is currently highly competitive, and revenue has declined significantly. To ensure the survival of the escort agency...

After rambling on with a bunch of meaningless nonsense, read the last point – that's the important thing.

"The base salary for escort leaders, escorts, and escort crew remains unchanged. The commission for escorting goods will be temporarily suspended, and the resumption time is yet to be determined."

We encourage our guards to volunteer as relay team members, two per relay, each receiving a reward of 10 spirit stones. We hope you will all stand with our escort agency through this difficult time.

Surprisingly, no one expressed anger or dissatisfaction in the face of reduced salaries.

Instead, it was filled with relief and joy at surviving a disaster.

After all, everyone knows the situation. If you put yourself in their shoes, the escort agency really has no way to deal with it.

Chen Lu felt that this was like boiling a frog in lukewarm water, and that once the bodyguards got used to it, he might use other methods to reduce their wages.

After everyone had signed their names, the third镖头 (bodyguard/escort) continued:

"The family gave the new contract directly to the cargo owner, and after signing it, they didn't show it to me. They just sent it back via flying sword."

There must be something wrong with the contract, but nobody cares anymore; keeping their jobs is the most important thing.

Some bodyguards even planned to rent a spiritual field when they returned, and use their long vacation time to plant spiritual plants.

"Losing so much money must be tough for the brothers. There's something I'd like to discuss with them."

The three镖头's expression shifted, and after thinking for a moment, he continued:

"It's the brothers who take the risks and suffer the consequences. The Wang family doesn't contribute a single bit of effort, yet they take away more than half of the profits!"

Is this fair? This is not fair! Why do they get paid more than us when they do nothing?!

The bodyguards thought it over carefully and realized that this was the biggest injustice.

The crowd's emotions were stirred, and they all expressed their indignation and shared their opinions.

After waiting for a while, and until everyone had calmed down, the third镖头 (bodyguard/escort) continued:

"Since the escort agency won't take a cut from our earnings, we can find our own business, bypass the escort agency, and split the profits equally!"

I've been thinking about this for the past few days. If we escort those smuggled goods ourselves, we can earn 50 more spirit coins than before!

For example, Alu and Amo, you two earned 100 spirit coins last month, including the profit.

We escort them ourselves, and with our base salary, we can earn 150 lower spirits a month!

Let me make this clear from the start: if the stolen goods are lost, you only need to pay half! Before, the family had to pay, but now we'll pay ourselves.

However, in all the 15 years I've led the team, we've never lost a single item!

As long as we brothers work together, no one can take money from our pockets! Not a single one!

The镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) hesitated. The risk of losing the goods was too great; if they lost even once, the compensation would be enough to destroy their entire family.

Right now, even if I earn less, I can still make a living.

"Third Chief, how about we reconsider? This is too risky, the brothers can't afford it," Wang Shengsong said cautiously.

"Yeah, I know it's risky, that's why I discussed it with my brothers."

There are so many ways to make money; sooner or later, one of them will suit us.

The three镖头 (bodyguards) had long anticipated this outcome.

But he wasn't in a hurry; sometimes, you have to let your ideas take flight.

Wait until next month, or the month after, when changes occur at home.

When he saw the hesitant look in his wife's eyes.

When he heard that his child was being bullied by his classmates at the private school because his father's income had decreased.

These people will change their minds and realize that everything else is fake, only the spirit stones they have are real!