Lord of the Desert

Chapter 415 Practical Learning
August twenty-fifth.

The sky is as blue as the sea, with several lines of southern geese floating on it.

Sixty miles due north of Xijing, the steep rocks of Zhixin Mountain are shaking in the north wind.

The Jinci Sect is located on this peak.

"After the autumnal equinox, Yao River crabs are at their best. Look at these. Every one of them is bright yellow when you open it."

Cao Hanhai advised earnestly.

On the opposite side of the small square table, Hong Fan scooped up some crab roe with a copper spoon. It was indeed rich and fragrant, so he ate it with relish without any hesitation.

After a while, the two of them used the Flying Crab Technique to kill five fat crabs each, and then they took a break.

"I heard that the news of the great victory at Shakou arrived three days ago, but the officers in the Xijing camp didn't believe it at the time."

Cao Hanhai took the hot towel from an outer disciple to wipe his face and mentioned the recent hot news.

"A mere 3,000 or 4,000 garrison troops from the border areas actually killed a general of the Five Sacrifices Snake People and killed 500 in a field battle. Who would believe this? Now that the news has really spread, I see that people in Xijing City are saying that your Jinhai Hong family will achieve the feat of having two geniuses in one family. Looking at the current list of geniuses, you are the only one except the Yi family of Langya Kingdom!"

"Brother Cao, thank you for your praise."

Hong Fan smiled back.

"Two geniuses in one family are just empty names. My elder brother already has the best martial arts talent in Liangzhou, and it is only a matter of time before he breaks through to the Xiantian realm."

When these words were spoken, the several outer disciples of the Jinci Sect who were accompanying them had different reactions, and they all disagreed.

But Hong Fan did not care. He just glanced at the plaque on the beam that read "Handling Iron Like Flowing Water" and silently read the couplets on both sides that read "Gold is broken by hardness, water is preserved by softness; mountains are high and valleys are low and peaceful."

"Brother Hong and I are both experienced people, but we can't let outsiders hear this."

Cao Hanhai sighed.

"We live for a living. We must know that the false reputation of 'you are late and I am early' has wasted countless young talents..."

These words touched everyone's heart, and the hall was silent for a moment.

The two took this opportunity to kill several female crabs with the help of vinegar.

"Except for your brother Hong Sheng, Kai Ming Xing has also become famous this time."

Cao Hanhai changed the subject.

"I saw someone try out your flintlock a few months ago. At the time, I thought it was too complicated to operate and useless for warriors. I never thought it would be so powerful in battle."

"Brother Cao is right. This is actually the reason why I came to visit you this time."

Hong Fan saw that the time was ripe and stated his purpose.

Cao Hanhai exchanged glances with him and waved away the outsiders.

"After this battle at Shakou, the business of my Kaiminghang will surely increase, but the craftsmanship is not yet mature, and some links really need the help of your warriors."

Hong Fan said.

"I know about this, but hasn't your big shopkeeper Qian already recruited more than ten people?"

Cao Hanhai asked, hesitating for a moment.

"Brother Cao, it is too difficult to recruit disciples who have graduated from your sect. The people that Kaimingxing has hired before are either of low level or disabled, and there are not enough of them."

Hong Fan shook his head.

"I don't want five or ten people, but a larger and more stable workforce."

Cao Hanhai could understand Hong Fan's meaning.

The Jinci Sect is not a famous or large sect, and they do not care about qualifications when recruiting people. As long as the candidate can pay 200 taels of silver as tuition, he or she can complete seven years of training in Zhixin Mountain. Those who fail to complete the training within the period will be forced to leave the mountain, and those who succeed can choose to stay or leave.

Most of those who can afford this expensive tuition are the sons of small landlords or wealthy merchants. Normal salaries are not attractive to them, and the few poor children with outstanding qualifications who are admitted by exception are all expected to carry high expectations. Once they have achieved something in martial arts, they must return to their hometown, otherwise it would be like walking at night in gorgeous clothes.

Therefore, what Hong Fan wanted was the people in the mountain gate that the Jinci Gate could control.

"To be honest with you, Brother Cao, I have a cooperative project in mind called 'Practical Learning'."

Hong Fan whispered seductively.

"Your sect has 200 to 300 disciples. These disciples who have not yet graduated are honing their martial arts skills at Xinshan every day. They are working on metallurgy anyway. Why don't they go to Kaimingxing to help me fill the gap in production capacity?"

"Of course, I have said before that this favor is definitely not for free. The Kaiming Guild will pay a 'subsidy' based on working hours - one cent of silver per person per day in the Inner Vision Realm, and five cents per person per day in the Transmission Realm. How do you think?"

This plan was simple and clear, and naturally beneficial to Hong Fan—the subsidized price was 30% lower than hiring fellow practitioners as warriors in the market.

Cao Hanhai was also tempted. The work of Kaimingxing was not life-threatening, and it could indeed help him practice the control of the Iron Hand. The subsidy was even more attractive. Assuming that the sect and the disciples split the profits 50-50, and the dynamic "internship" scale of dozens of people was maintained every day, the net profit of three to four thousand taels a year could be achieved, which was equivalent to 70% of the current annual net income of Jincimen, which was very considerable.

Cao Hanhai did some mental calculations and the more he thought about it, the more interesting it became. He even felt that Hong Fan asked for too little.

According to this mobile internship model, Jincimen will not only make money, but also will not lose control over its disciples. Instead, after a few years, it will accumulate huge influence on Kaimingxing.

But Hong Fan obviously didn't care about that.

In his eyes, the Iron Hand Warriors are living machine tools or even industrial mother machines. They are catalysts for enlightenment and can quickly bring various product lines back on track.

After more than three years of traveling, Hong Fan has grown from an unknown person in Jinhai City to a top-ranked innate. If in a few years he is unable to control a second-rate sect in Xijing, it would be better for him to retire and return to Jinhai to farm.

"This matter will benefit both sides. I have no objection. The headmaster is also in the sect today. I will ask for his instructions later. I'm sure he won't have any objection either."

Cao Hanhai said this, but his face looked embarrassed.

"But I'm afraid now is not the time."

"You also know that our martial arts sects have a lot of waste. The tuition alone is not enough to cover the food and drink expenses of the upper and lower classes. Therefore, our sect has always had dealings with several business houses. We provide military protection and upper-level relationships in exchange for shares in the business houses."

"However, things didn't go smoothly after the beginning of this spring. The two new tea and brocade businesses I invested in were not successful and I lost a lot of money. It happened that the governor had just opened a new road policy, so I worked hard to make progress and got the project to renovate the official road north of Xijing."

He looked regretful.

"Things like bidding are always a matter of skill, but we put in more effort, so it's inevitable that others will be dissatisfied."

"You mean the Jiang family? Qian Hong mentioned it to me."

Hong Fan added.

"Yes. At first, it was a quarrel in the air, and then it was a trip behind the scenes. It got more and more intense. Even Jiang Hongchou said at the dinner table that he would definitely make it impossible for us to succeed."

Cao Hanhai was both angry and worried.

Hong Fan had heard of the name Jiang Hongchou a long time ago.

He is the father's generation of Jiang Danhu. He is in his octogenarian years and one of the two innate masters in the Jiang family. Now, almost all the mundane affairs of the Jiang family are handled by him.

"This matter has been going on for three months. Since August, the Jiang family has used all possible means. They have fought several times, but no one has been killed yet."

Cao Hanhai forced a smile.

Although he didn't want to show weakness in front of outsiders, he could not hide the sadness between his eyebrows.

Hong Fan understood his anxiety.

The Jinci Sect is just a local sect. Including the old sect master who is over a hundred years old, there are only three innate realms and twenty Hunran realms, a total of less than four hundred people, and only a few dozen of them can really do things on the stage.

Compared with the Jiang family of Xijing, they are far inferior in both manpower and financial resources, not to mention the difficult to deal with Jiang Tanhu.

"How big is the sign you're holding?"

Hong Fan asked suddenly.

"The construction period is two years, and the net profit is about three to four thousand taels."

Cao Hanhai hesitated for a moment, but finally confessed.

[It’s not small, but it’s not too big either.]

Hong Fan thought about it and made a decision.

"Brother Cao, maybe I can try to help you settle this matter, as a reward for your cooperation."

Cao Hanhai was really surprised.

"Brother Hong, I heard that you have no friendship with the Jiang family, but rather some grudges against them?"

He hesitated for a moment and advised gently.

"After all, the Jiang family is powerful, and we don't want to escalate the situation any further. If we alarm the Jiang family's 'Shocked Hundred Miles', things will become even more difficult..."

Hong Fan was stunned when he heard this, and then he looked at Cao Hanhai's expression and realized that the other party was worried that he would play hard to get - after all, from the perspective of others, Chisha had been either arresting people or challenging them to fights since his debut in Xijing, and every bit of his fame was gained by stepping on others.

"Brother Cao, don't worry."

Hong Fan assured with a smile.

"I have no intention of taking action. Just wait for my news."

(End of this chapter)