Chapter 73 - 67: So This Is What It Feels Like to Be Filthy Rich?

Chapter 73: Chapter 67: So This Is What It Feels Like to Be Filthy Rich?

WHOA!

The crowd erupted again.

Most of them were in their second year at their respective mansions, planning to fight for a spot in the Flesh Tower before breaking through to the Physical Body Realm.

In other words, in their first year alone, the supply of Qi Cultivation Pills was equivalent to a monthly salary of one hundred taels.

This was a salary most of them could never hope to earn in their entire lives.

Zhao Ci smiled faintly. "Everyone is welcome to the banquet. Also, please help spread the word for the Ninth Prince’s Mansion. You can bring more of your peers over. Even if they don’t get a Mansion Official position, it’s good to share a meal and make friends."

After speaking, he cupped his fists to the crowd, then pulled Zhu Li through the main gate.

For a moment, everyone present just stared at each other, completely dazed, as if they were drunk.

They could hardly believe that this was actually real.

They had visited a few other Prince’s Mansions here and there, but the Ninth Prince’s Mansion had looked down on them, and the other mansions weren’t very interested either. After all, those mansions could just wait until after the Prefecture Examination to pick their people; there was no need to invest in them beforehand.

Unless someone was a business prodigy, most mansions would think twice before offering an extra salary.

They might be willing to spend on a Mansion Official from a great clan, but for one from a common background... well...

But here, they were offering a Top-Grade Qi Cultivation Pill every single month.

Just for those twelve Qi Cultivation Pills a year, they would gladly forgo any merits for all three years!

"Everyone! Only we know about this, so we must not let it get out!"

"Right! If more people find out, we’ll face more competition."

"We have to keep it a secret."

...

"Secret, my ass!"

Zhao Ci’s five senses had grown much sharper, so of course he could hear their private whispers outside.

’Forty-odd people... is it possible for every single one of them to keep their mouth shut?’

’Besides, there are passersby!’

Zhu Li, however, looked solemn. "Your Highness! I have to say, you’re a real rich bastard. The cost of supporting Mansion Officials is too high! Five officials, twelve pills each a year... that’s six thousand taels thrown away..."

Zhao Ci grinned. "Why don’t you calculate what sixty pills actually cost us?"

Zhu Li was taken aback for a second, then thought about it and smiled. "Oh, right!"

Right now, the Xingyu Pill Association’s pill prices were the lowest, but its profit margins were the highest.

After all, they had six times the output, and labor was the primary expense in that industry.

Plus, the Xingyu Pill Association was his own business, so he could get the pills at cost.

It really didn’t cost him much at all.

But this offer was enough to gather the five most promising candidates from the entire Prefecture Examination.

There was an advantage to recruiting these kinds of people: they weren’t so arrogant and ambitious. As long as the pills were plentiful, they wouldn’t covet his merits; they might even be willing to offer their own merits to him.

After all, based on past experience, Mansion Officials from commoner backgrounds always traded their surplus value for a future.

’Cheap!’

’Hardy!’

’An absolute steal!’

’I may not have a deep foundation.’

’But a rich bastard like me has an ultimate technique: the superpower of money.’

’It’s just that...’

Zhu Li sighed. "It’s just that you established your mansion far too late. Any of the so-called geniuses from the great clans were snatched up long ago. As for the rest, they’re unwilling to take the risk because you’ve offended the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince.

I think you’re a pretty decent guy.

But you have no sense of planning. It’s like you only start looking for a latrine when you’re about to crap your pants.

And you’re so stupidly high-profile. You were so arrogant yesterday. Didn’t you see the Crown Prince’s and the Fourth Prince’s faces turn green?"

Tsk!

’You think if I wasn’t arrogant, people would be lining up to be my Mansion Official?’

Zhao Ci raised an eyebrow. "As I recall, you were even more arrogant than I was. Also! You didn’t come up with these words yourself, did you?"

Zhu Li’s face flushed with embarrassment. She stuck out her neck and retorted, "Luotang told me all this! She’s my best friend. What she thinks is what I think. Our combined intellect is unmatched in this world!"

Zhao Ci: "..."

He rubbed his head. "Why did you come straight to my place so early in the morning? Didn’t you say the Pill Association is closed today?"

"Oh!"

Zhu Li finally remembered her real reason for coming. She took a wooden plaque from her robes. "Luotang asked me to bring you a message. She wants to meet at the Yanghe Tea Pavilion at noon today. She has a favor to ask.

Right! She said this is her own private matter, so you don’t have to do it for my sake. If you don’t want to help, just refuse. It won’t affect the relationship between you and me, your Chief Mansion Official."

"As if you have any ’sake’ for me to consider!"

Zhao Ci took the wooden plaque. He had seen this thing before; it was an entry pass for the Yanghe Tea Pavilion, which was a kind of high-end private club.

It had a lot of class and was perfect for secret meetings.

He was a little curious about what Kan Luotang wanted with him.

Still, it couldn’t hurt to meet her. While he wasn’t particularly fond of this fiancée-in-name-only, he didn’t dislike her either.

’Maybe I can complete a mission or something while I’m at it.’

"Well, I’m going back to rest then?"

Zhu Li yawned.

Zhao Ci nodded. "Alright. After you’ve rested today, remember to get back to work tomorrow! I have a two-hundred-thousand-tael order that needs to be rushed."

Zhu Li waved her hand dismissively. "Of course! Your life practically depends on me now!"

Zhao Ci: "..."

He watched the "assembly-line queen" depart.

Zhao Ci stretched lazily and walked directly into his Practice Room.

He remembered Xiang Yunzhan saying that Feng Kucha was very eager to join a mansion and would probably come looking for him this morning.

’Might as well practice my spear work while I wait.’

He walked to the weapon rack and couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the heavy spear Xiang Yunzhan had forged for him.

The tip of the spear was made of high-quality Profound Iron, the shaft’s exterior was made of extremely hard tungsten steel, and the core of the shaft was even filled with lead.

It didn’t look the least bit bulky.

But in reality, it weighed a full three hundred and fifty jin. For most people who had yet to condense a Flesh Body Divine Pattern, this was a completely unimaginable number.