Winning Over

Fortunately, the books he read in Li Danshi's study came in handy.

Distinguishing between good and bad is naturally easy.

Chen Lu picked through the selections and pointed to a few more: "Then... how about these?"

"Seven times the spirit, eight times the spirit, three times the spirit."

These are the other two main ingredients and one auxiliary ingredient.

"Well... okay, I'll take another look."

Chen Lu stood up sullenly and walked to other stalls.

With so many stalls here, there's bound to be one with a lower price; every penny saved counts.

I asked a few more, but they weren't as good as the first one I asked. I sighed helplessly and decided to go back and see if I could negotiate the price.

But just as he was returning, a familiar voice suddenly called out to him:

"Brother Lu! This way!"

Chen Lu turned his head and saw a strong man raising his hand and calling him over at a tea stall not far away.

That man was Amo, another bodyguard in the escort team, whose full name was Wang Shengmo.

He and Wang Shengsong are both of the "Sheng" generation, but he is a few years younger, and their cultivation level is the same, at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Beside him sat a man who looked almost identical to him.

That person was Amo's older brother in the market guard team, Wang Shenglong, a squad leader with the cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Amo's brother patrols the market year-round; perhaps he has a way to find some cheap elixirs.

Chen Lu squeezed through the crowd, approached, and asked curiously:

"Brother Mo, Brother Long, what are you doing here?"

Amo chuckled and said helplessly:

"My salary was reduced, but my brother was promoted to team leader. He is in charge of the whole market and has several team leaders under him. His salary has doubled!"

"Tell me, everyone's working so diligently, how come there's such a big difference?"

Chen Lu looked down at the waist tag and saw that it was indeed different from the previous one.

"Congratulations, Brother Long! After serving as a squad leader for so long, you've finally reaped the rewards and taken another step forward!"

Wang Shenglong smiled and waved his hand, saying some perfunctory and meaningless words.

Then, pointing to the stalls, he asked curiously:

"Brother Lu, I noticed you didn't seem to find anything suitable at those stalls."

"Whatever you want to buy, just tell me. As long as it's available in our market, I guarantee I'll get it for you!"

He solemnly assured him.

The reason he suddenly called me over was definitely not to solve his problem; there was probably something else going on.

Although he desperately needed Wang Shenglong's connections, it would seem too easy for him to manipulate if he were to reveal them now.

Chen Lu waved his hand and gave a few perfunctory replies.

Amo glanced at Wang Shenglong, then turned and called over the stall owner, ordering three jars of fine wine and some snacks to go with it.

"Well, no matter what, my brother's promotion is a good thing, worth a few drinks!"

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, they chatted for a long time about everyday matters.

After finishing the last drop of wine in his bowl, Amo complained:

"Sigh, now that there's no commission, we'll only be able to drink these cheap drinks at the market from now on."

Chen Lu simply echoed his sentiments without saying anything else.

The two observed Chen Lu for a while. He looked at many stalls, but ultimately gave up on them all because of the prices.

However, after meeting, he didn't mention the matter for a long time, firmly holding onto the power of conversation and refusing to be careless in the slightest.

Having finished several jars of strong liquor and already slightly tipsy, Chen Lu, being cautious by nature, would probably leave decisively if he continued drinking.

The idea of ​​getting drunk and negotiating cooperation through excessive drinking won't work.

I glanced at my brother and saw that he shared the same idea, so I decided to stop hiding it and asked directly:

"Brother Lu, there's a stable business opportunity that's sure to make a fortune. Are you interested?"

"What kind of business?"

"Well..." Amo glanced at the noisy surroundings and said in a low voice, "How about we find somewhere else to talk?"

Wang Shenglong immediately stood up and went to settle the bill with the stall owner.

The three then left the market and went to a brothel frequented by the caravan.

Discussing business over tea is simply not their style.

More often than not, it's more practical to enjoy yourself comfortably after the discussion.

After reserving a quiet private room, Amo finally got to the point:

"Brother Lu, we're family, so let's be frank."

Chen Lu nodded and listened attentively.

"The enforcement department often confiscates goods that violate the laws of the immortals, which, according to regulations, should be centrally destroyed."

But those things, in terms of quality, have no problems.

Therefore, the law enforcement office in Chizhu Immortal City often selects good items to sell at low prices, which are then resold at a discounted price in the market.

Amo paused, looked at his brother, and realized that he was only in charge, while the truly important matters were best left to him.

The two had already discussed it beforehand, and Wang Shenglong immediately took over the conversation:

"Some time ago, a new leader came to oversee the market, and I was promoted as well."

With a new leader, everything naturally has to change.

I figured my younger brother had connections, so I volunteered and took on the job.

Instead of using a security escort agency, you can handle the shipment directly. All the paperwork will be complete, and no one can find fault with it.

No escort agency, no bandit gang, no mountain bandit group dares to touch the goods of the law enforcement office!

Chen Lu frowned, quickly assessing the risks involved:

"Brother Mo, what should we do about the escort agency?"

Taking on private jobs will get you fired from the security escort agency.

Some things require careful consideration; you can't just look at what's on the surface.

The security escort agency's work cannot be lost in the short term.

Amo remained calm, having prepared himself: "Rules are made by people. The family is declining. We may lose our assets, but we cannot lose our talent. As long as we have people, there will be a chance for everything."

What was truly important to the family of the escort agency was not the income, but the control over information in the entire market.

"You can know immediately what goods are plentiful, what goods are scarce, which goods have increased in price, which goods have decreased in price, and whether the new regulations are good or bad."

Amo then took out a piece of paper and, while calculating, said:

"In the past, the commission for escorting goods was five percent of the value of the goods. They would give us two percent and keep the remaining three percent."

That is, they get 1,000 for each round trip, and the ten escort teams earn a total of 100,000 spirit coins per year.

Now that the cost of the darts has decreased, the annual income will be 60,000 spirit coins in the future.

The family owns tens of thousands of acres of spiritual land, and the rent from just over 6,000 acres is enough to match the income of the escort agency, not to mention other more profitable businesses.

Previously, the profits from escort agencies were quite substantial, but in the future, things will only get worse, and this is irreversible.

Until one day, the family was willing to give up this income of spirit stones in order to maintain the escort agency's role in controlling information.

They can give up spirit stones, but we can't!

"If we're willing to trade our reputation for theirs, then what's wrong with putting their money in our own pockets?"

Chen Lu fell silent. Once you get involved with spirit stones, things become very troublesome.

Therefore, he has always been unwilling to think about these things that cannot be changed and would only cause him more trouble.

Now that Amo has sorted things out and recalled his time working at a large factory in his previous life, he suddenly had a feeling of enlightenment.

Seeing that Chen Lu was tempted, Amo continued to persuade him, "We don't care about reputation. As for those things that can't support a family, can't make a living, and can't improve cultivation, they can take them if they need them."

Whatever coordination is required, we don't care!

We will prioritize and ensure that the goods they assign will, as always, be safe and sound.

Our requirements are simple: 50 spirits a month is the minimum, and we cannot be prevented from attracting our own business and making our own money!

They got the information, and we got the spirit stones—a win-win situation!

From now on, our escort team and the escort agency will have a cooperative relationship, not a relationship where we can simply follow their orders!