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

Chapter 331 Shocking Emperor Ruyan
The history of the Mohe people's founding of their state is not complicated. Like most minority regimes, it was simply that after the Central Plains people had a better life, they started to cause trouble. Then, as the climate cooled down and the natural living conditions in the wild gradually deteriorated, some ethnic minorities who originally relied on forestry and animal husbandry for a living had to go south to "hunt for grain," which means to steal the grain accumulated by agricultural civilization.

Of course, you can't say they're bad. What else can you do if you don't rob them?

Nature will not make an exception for you because of your "civilization" and "morality." If you don't rob, you will starve to death or even face extinction.

When these ethnic minorities, who originally lived a pastoral civilization, unexpectedly conquered the territory of an agricultural civilization, they were naturally assimilated into an agricultural civilization out of their desire for stability and prosperity, just like the Northern Xiao Kingdom today.

History is like this, repeating itself endlessly, until modern industrial civilization brought about an unprecedented and enormous impact.

Because the Northern Xiao Kingdom originated from the Linmu civilization that arose in the northern Liao region, it still retained the place where it originated. However, while some people left those places, new people would eventually come to settle there, so the area remained poor, destitute, and cold.

Strictly speaking, Baishan Heilang's ancestors should have been slaves of the Baishan clan. However, as the population increased, the Mohe people placed more and more importance on the "head tax." From this perspective, the slave system was abolished, which led to Baishan Heilang's transformation into a member of the Baishan clan, and even a "direct descendant" of their branch. This is why he has achieved his current "achievement": serving as the prefect of a prefecture in the land where the dragon rose.

As the head of one of the Baishan clans, Baishan Black Wolf actually had a considerable fortune, and could even be said to be the wealthiest in the entire Guangning Prefecture.

But unfortunately, this place was so poor that no matter how much fur, pearls, and gold and silver they had, they couldn't buy any luxury goods. Not only was smuggling these things illegal, but merchants from the Southern Chu region rarely transported them here!
Therefore, when Zhang Chengdao and his two companions arrived at the villa of Baishan Black Wolf, which was known as the most luxurious villa in the entire Guangning Prefecture, even Ye Shuyun, who was usually very respectful, couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.

How can one describe this villa known as "Pearl Villa"...?

It was indeed luxurious. For example, the screen wall at the entrance was inlaid with eighteen luminous pearls, which emitted a soft glow even in the daytime, clearly indicating that it was no ordinary object.

However, the screen wall inlaid with those eighteen luminous pearls was carved with an extremely vulgar peony pattern...

Ahem, don't get me wrong, it's not that the flower "peony" is vulgar, but rather the carving and colors on it are vulgar—bright red, bright green, and bright purple, paired with a gaudy golden pheasant. The highly saturated color scheme is like mental pollution, stimulating everyone's eyes to the extreme, truly an eyesore.

Even the originally "high-end" and "precious" luminous pearls, when set against this screen wall, look like eighteen plastic fluorescent beads that cost 9.9 yuan on Taobao with free shipping.

The three silently walked around the screen wall, and then they saw an even more shocking scene.

As is well known, people in the Jiangnan region like to create landscapes in their courtyards, using Taihu stones, which are characterized by their uniqueness, ingenuity, and exquisiteness. These are paired with winding waterways and carved corridors, creating a unique and elegant atmosphere.

In short, we will never pursue "big".

The “fake Taihu stone” in front of them was a huge rock that Bai Shan Hei Lang dug up from somewhere. It was more than ten feet tall, and the three of them had to look up at it!
Most strikingly, this giant rock is placed alone in the middle of a huge lake, the entire lake as calm as a deep peacock green mirror, and the huge rock just stands there blankly in the middle of the lake, which is very abstract.

Seeing the three men staring intently at the giant rock he had painstakingly acquired, Bai Shan Hei Lang chuckled and explained, "I've heard that people in the south like to put large rocks in the water. This is the biggest rock I could get someone to haul over. Hehehe, please excuse my poor skills!"

Murong Ruyan took a deep breath, feeling utterly humiliated.

Zhang Chengdao was impressed by the unique aesthetic and taste of the Baishan Prefect.

Only Ye Shuyun, being very polite, chimed in with a "Hehehe, very good, very good, it has a unique... spirit."

The three continued walking until they reached the main room, where an even deeper silence fell.

This "White Mountain Black Wolf" seems to be dedicated to highly saturated, vibrant colors, and has used these vibrant colors to decorate the entire house, including curtains, cushions, table runners, carpets, etc., which looks gaudy and has a similar style to the fiery red of Northeast China's large floral patterns.

"Let's get down to business!"

Murong Ruyan forcibly suppressed the shame in her heart, and after sitting down with her master Zhang Chengdao and junior brother Ye Shuyun, she went straight to the point, trying to make everyone ignore the eye-searing environment.

"Since Guangning Prefecture is the coldest, let's use it as a pilot site. Master, what do you think of the climate here in Guangning Prefecture? Is it suitable for doing something?"

Zhang Chengdao struggled to lift his eyes from the huge red and green carpet beneath his feet and pondered, "Logically, we can cultivate some cold-resistant medicinal herbs here, and spirit rice should be able to too."

In another time and space, further northeast of this place is one of the largest rice-producing areas. Although it is necessary to study cold-resistant rice to achieve this, for spirit rice, high temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius and low temperatures of minus 30 degrees Celsius are not a problem. At least in such a cold place as the White Stone Mountain that Xunmu raised, spirit rice planted on Spirit Cultivation Peak can grow and produce normally. In this place, as long as the deficiency of spiritual energy concentration is solved, there will definitely be no problem!
White Mountain Black Wolf's eyes widened: "Spirit rice? It's so cold here, how can we grow spirit rice?!"

Of course he knew that the spirit rice was "rice" grown by immortals, and he also knew that even if it was "immortal rice," it should at least be able to grow in a relatively warm and humid place. Guangning Prefecture was so cold and harsh, how could it be possible?
Thanks to the surname "Baishan", he was able to get some at a high price back then. Although he heard that the price has dropped a lot recently due to the large production volume, it is impossible to transport it to Guangning Prefecture in a short time. The nobles in the capital have already snatched them all up, so how could he possibly get any?
However, if it is true that spirit rice can be grown here in Guangning Prefecture, even if 90% of it has to be handed over, I can still keep 10% for myself!

The more he thought about it, the more wonderful it seemed. Bai Shan Hei Lang couldn't wait to agree to plant the "spirit rice" on the spot, but unfortunately, the decision-making power was not in his own hands at all.

Murong Ruyan, who had the authority to make decisions, did not reject Zhang Chengdao's suggestion. She nodded respectfully and said, "Then let's set up pilot areas for each of these things. Anyway, Guangning Prefecture is very large. By the way, the people here have been hunting in the forest all year round and are very good at taking care of livestock. Master, do you think we should also develop the breeding industry?"

Zhang Chengdao smiled and nodded: "If there is a suitable place, that's fine too."

Zhang Chengdao didn't mind Murong Ruyan's little scheme. In fact, the more primary industries the Liaoxi region developed, the more beneficial it would be for the Baishi Immortal Sect.

Undoubtedly, how much money can you make exporting primary agricultural products? White Stone Mountain, under the jurisdiction of the White Stone Immortal Sect, is a training base for advanced immortal cultivators. Isn't it more appealing to directly export processed products and high-level magic weapons and talismans?

The so-called discussions didn't actually last long.

It's simply a matter of Zhang Chengdao coming to inspect the actual location, giving suggestions, and then Murong Ruyan making the final decision. Ye Shuyun is responsible for calculating costs and benefits, as well as the profit-sharing ratio.

As for Baishan Heilang... he doesn't need to have any opinions, he just needs to cooperate.

"Hey, senior sister, what do you think of this plan..."

Soon, Ye Shuyun finished calculating the approximate price and said, "According to the output data from Linggeng Peak, the output of spirit rice every six months is 900 jin per mu. Assuming two harvests a year, that's 1800 jin."

"Taking a 500-mu (approximately 33 hectares) planting estate as an example, the initial cost of rice seeds, technical guidance disciples, and spiritual pools for nurturing spiritual energy provided by the Baishi Immortal Sect is about 3000 high-grade spirit stones, while the annual output is 900000 jin (approximately 450,000 catties), which is equivalent to about 5000 high-grade spirit stones."

"In this way, we will divide the profits over five years. In the first five years of the planting estate's profits, we will return 15% of the total spiritual rice production to the White Stone Immortal Sect each year, and sell at least half of the remaining spiritual rice to the White Stone Immortal Sect at the market price."

"And after five years, the White Stone Immortal Sect will no longer charge any fees for this place, how about that?"

This profit-sharing plan and model was the result of discussions between Ye Shuyun and Zhang Chengdao.

First of all, from a businessman's perspective, this plan is extremely unpopular, and even makes Zhang Chengdao, the "investor," seem ridiculously foolish.

The problem is that Zhang Chengdao is not a commercial investor, and his "targeted assistance" to western Liaoning was never aimed at making money.

Looking further ahead, once the overall concentration of spiritual energy in the world increases, the price of spiritual rice will definitely continue to decline until it stabilizes at a point where ordinary people can afford it. At that time, the price of a pound of spiritual rice will not be the price that Ye Shuyun is calculating now.

Therefore, the "one and a half percent" split, which will only last for five years, is the result of Zhang Chengdao's careful consideration.

This isn't a tourist area where some unscrupulous merchants gather and rely solely on one-off transactions. The White Stone Immortal Sect isn't so stingy as to scrimp and save on the produce of these ordinary people who work hard to grow spirit rice!

However, the conclusion of "one and a half percent" stunned Murong Ruyan.

As for the White Mountain Black Wolf standing to the side, he went from disbelief to silently pondering whether this so-called "one and a half percent" had some other hidden meaning...

"This... only 15%? And only five years!?"

Murong Ruyan was also somewhat incredulous and asked again and again.

“Ruyan, this is not a business deal, it’s a ‘targeted assistance’ program. I am the sect leader of the Baishi Immortal Sect, and I am not a businessman.” Zhang Chengdao explained with a smile: “The reason it’s not a free gift is because no one would cherish something given away for free. This plan is precisely the kind of plan that will allow the Baishi Immortal Sect to break even and will also allow the entire Liaoxi region to become rich quickly.”

Upon hearing this, Murong Ruyan fell silent.

Although she had long known that her master was not someone who acted solely out of self-interest, and was even broad-minded with a vision for the entire world, knowing this was one thing, but when she actually acted on it herself, she still couldn't help but assume that everyone else was someone who pursued profit.

Whether it's the junior brothers and sisters or the master.

Oh, the eldest brother doesn't count. He has a problem with his head and can't reason like a normal person.

In short, this arrogance meant that she originally planned to take at least half of the White Stone Immortal Sect's land, and that it would be divided among generations. This was practically equivalent to planting crops for the White Stone Immortal Sect!
Even so, Liaoxi definitely profited, and I profited even more.

The western part of Liaoning is bitterly cold. If there were a stable industry and source of income, the people would be better off.

As the person whose fief is in Liaoxi, I can pay higher taxes. Furthermore, by promoting the Daoist path, I can completely win over the Baishan clan, who are backed by the Empress Dowager, to my side. How long can that old hag live? I don't see the end of my lifespan for the time being!

At that time, with the earliest immortal forces and subordinates in the entire northern land, as well as abundant spiritual resources, it would be a piece of cake to take over the neighboring Bohai Kingdom!

Once the Bohai Kingdom is in our hands, I will be the emperor of the Bohai Kingdom, with a status equivalent to that of my master as the sect leader of the White Stone Immortal Sect!
But now, in front of her upright master and junior brother, her thoughts seemed utterly shameful and even made her feel ashamed.

However, this emotion only lasted for a moment before Murong Ruyan forcibly suppressed it and readily agreed to the plan calculated by Ye Shuyun.

"Okay, let's go with this plan. I've already gotten a huge advantage!"

Then she asked, "How should the medicinal herb garden and the breeding farm be divided?"

When discussing cooperation, Ye Shuyun adopted a more businesslike attitude: "It will still be a five-year period. However, whether it is the medicinal herb garden, the breeding farm, or the previous spirit rice planting estate, only one can be implemented. This is because the White Stone Immortal Sect is really short-handed. The disciples of the Spirit Cultivation Peak, all in all, do not even have thirty. If five or six of them come over to take turns, it will be too difficult and will also affect their studies."

Murong Ruyan nodded and said, "Okay, no problem. However, I can tutor these outer disciples who come to take turns in private. I also have five personal disciples of my own. Without affecting their cultivation progress, I can have them come and help. That way, we might not need too many outer disciples to come."

"Okay, let me calculate the figures for these two industries..."

As Ye Shuyun spoke, she took out several ledgers and record books from her Qiankun bag and began to calculate in her mind.

Before long, he had finished calculating the rough costs and estimated profits of the medicinal herb garden and the breeding farm. The specific profit sharing was similar to that of the Lingdao Planting Manor, and the share to be paid was even lower than the taxes that farmers paid to the government!

(End of this chapter)