Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 132 Market
There weren't many disciples in the entire sect, and since Zhang Chengdao mentioned that they could consider transferring to another peak in the future, it wasn't long before everyone filled out their applications.

Unsurprisingly, Lingxiu Peak received the most applications.

After all, if you're cultivating immortality, who wouldn't want to learn things like talismans, formations, magic, and supernatural powers?

However, Zhang Chengdao did not intend to force these outer disciples to do anything. At worst, he would issue more commissions and introduce some higher-priced and more effective spiritual foods and elixirs to urge the cheap cattle and horses to work more.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chengdao couldn't help but touch his neck.

Strange, why does my neck feel so cold?

He handed the application form, which he had just read through, to Xu Ying and instructed, "In that case, file it according to their application, and then issue the peak badges."

It's called an application form, but it's really just a "form" where new disciples need to fill in their names, the number on their identity jade tokens, and the name of the main peak they're applying to.

While this greatly facilitated the management's statistics, it also brought about a major problem...

Many people are illiterate!

The literacy rate among people in ancient times was ridiculously low!

Of the more than fifty new and old disciples, only two-thirds can read, and of those who can read, less than half can write their own names smoothly!
This forced Xu Ying and others to help fill out the application forms on behalf of the applicants, and then have the applicants put their fingerprints on them as evidence of their validity.

Even among Zhang Chengdao's two newly accepted gold card disciples, Huang Wu is illiterate.

Of course, he wasn't completely unfamiliar with the characters. He recognized some common words, such as "teahouse" and "restaurant" and could recognize them when placed together with the corresponding buildings. However, when it came to filling out the application form himself, he became so anxious that he scratched his head and could only "draw" the name and number on the disciple's jade tablet bit by bit into the form.

After reading half of the application, which was filled with crooked and illegible handwriting that was even worse than his own, Zhang Chengdao suddenly realized the importance of education.

Starting tomorrow, let Xu Wen teach the basic characters of the Thousand Character Classic!
How can a dignified cultivator be so illiterate? What kind of talk is that!

After completely dividing his disciples into different peaks, Zhang Chengdao finally breathed a sigh of relief and had some free time.

So he immediately went to the bulletin board in front of the main hall and posted a long-term job posting, mainly for cutting down trees and mining.

The entire sect was still in a rudimentary, makeshift state. Most of the buildings were not yet completed. The craftsmen hired by Ye Shuyun had only just finished laying the floor tiles and repairing part of the courtyard walls.

Many of the buildings and decorations that are unlocked after reaching the maximum level, which were originally decorative in the game but could be very useful in real life, haven't even had a chance to be crafted yet!
Furthermore, he had to use the peach blossom stones he had saved to buy a lot of weapon and equipment blueprints from the mall, and he also needed to craft some weapons and equipment for these disciples to sell at the market in order to recoup some of the spirit stones.

such as……

"How much are these Qiankun bags?" After lunch, Zhong Hui, who had nothing to do, was strolling around the market in the sect. Then he turned his head and saw a stall selling Qiankun bags. His eyes lit up as he looked at the variety of Qiankun bags on the stall. He was eager to buy one, so he asked the stall owner while giving him a sweet smile, revealing two dimples.

Ye Chengyu chuckled, captivated by Xiao Jiuwo's ​​dimples, and then explained, "It depends on the size and material. For smaller ones, those made of Yun brocade, silk, or Shu brocade start at twenty low-grade spirit stones, while larger ones cost fifty. However, if it's made of ordinary fabric, it only costs ten low-grade spirit stones, and larger ones cost thirty-five, regardless of the pattern."

As Ye Shuyun's "relative," Ye Chengyu originally had the same opportunity as An Chehexiang to undergo the trial of inner demons. However, although he passed the trial, he refused to become an outer disciple. Instead, he bargained with Zhang Chengdao and tried to do business with the Baishi Immortal Sect, hoping to become a purchasing manager like Ye Shuyun.

Zhang Chengdao then thought about it again and realized that once the Immortal Fate Conference was held, he would not lack disciples, but rather management talent. So he arranged for this member of the Ye family, the richest family in the world, to be the market manager, specifically in charge of the market's operation.

Of the few businesses currently operating in the market, apart from one stall that Xu Ying had privately obtained Zhang Chengdao's consent to sell the three books "Elementary Qi Refining Book," "Complete Explanation of Wind Control Technique," and "Three Sword Techniques" printed in cooperation with the Sword Casting Manor, the remaining four stalls were all set up by Ye Chengyu!
These four stalls covered almost all aspects of daily life: a stall selling cloths woven and embroidered by embroiderers, such as silkworm cloth; a stall selling dried peaches and smoked meat jerky; a stall selling various bamboo baskets, wooden basins, and other daily utensils; and a stall selling horses.

"They sell horses here!?"

Turning his head again, Zhong Hui stared in shock at the three horses tied together not far away, almost speechless.

Ye Chengyu continued, “Of course, Baishi Mountain is located in a remote area, and it is inconvenient to travel. Although you are all disciples of the Baishi Immortal Sect now, the sect does not prohibit its disciples from going out. So if you need to travel, you will need to buy horses!”

Zhong Hui hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Does the horse... also need to be bought with spirit stones?"

She didn't actually want to buy them; these horses were actually quite poor, the kind that were considered inferior. Her Green Dragon Steed at the Jade Void Sect was much better than these. She just wanted to figure out why there were horses for sale!

I've never heard of any sect that sells horses!

Although Ye Chengyu had a good impression of the cute and pretty girl in front of him, he remained firm on the issue of profit: "That's not necessary. This horse is an ordinary horse, so you can buy it with spirit stones or copper coins. It's fifty low-grade spirit stones per horse if you buy it with spirit stones, and ten strings of copper coins if you buy it with copper coins!"

"Huh? Only fifty low-grade spirit stones!?"

Zhong Hui stared in astonishment.

How come this horse has the same amount of money as a small purse?!

"This horse is just an ordinary horse, of course it's cheap! If you're asking about the Qiankun bag from earlier... that was a Qiankun bag! Do you know how much a very ordinary, lowest-grade Qiankun bag can sell for outside, as long as it can guarantee a bond with its owner?"

Ye Chengyu immediately understood Zhong Hui's shock, raised his head, and announced loudly, "Five hundred strings of cash!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Zhong Hui's eyes widen even more, so he said with even more smugness, "Even the best warhorses don't sell for five hundred strings of cash! You really think the spirit stones the sect gives you are worthless!"

(End of this chapter)