Chapter 191: The Paid Vacation is Here and Increasing Loyalty

The next morning, the sun had barely risen over the Jade City when Elder Qian got to work.

He didn’t act like a greedy, plump elder anymore. Dressed in his pristine purple Cloudwater Sect robes, he arrived at the grand entrance of the Auction House, the crown jewel of the Zhao Family’s former assets, flanked by a dozen stern faced Cloudwater Sect enforcers.

The takeover was swift, ruthless, and highly efficient.

The first order of business was the purge.

Elder Qian sat in the manager’s chair, sipping tea as the remaining Zhao Family relatives and corrupt middle managers were dragged before him.

"You. Embezzled three thousand mid grade stones from the monthly ore yield," Elder Qian said as his was voice devoid of its usual flattery and it was cold as ice and began pointing at evryone one by one. "You. Harassed the female staff and took bribes from external merchants. You. Did nothing but play mahjong during work hours."

With a wave of his hand, the enforcers stripped them of their robes and threw them out into the street. "You all are fired. If I see any of you within a hundred miles of these properties, I will cripple your cultivation. Now Get out!"

The Zhao Family leeches wailed and cursed, but under the pressure of Elder Qian, they didn’t dare resist, scurrying away like beaten dogs.

Once the trash was cleared, Elder Qian ordered the remaining staff over five hundred low level workers, apprentices, guards, and mortals to gather in the massive central courtyard of the auction house.

The atmosphere in the courtyard was suffocatingly tense.

The workers stood in neat but trembling lines. They wore worn out, faded uniforms. Their faces were pale and their eyes darted nervously toward the new management.

Rumors had been flying all night that the Zhao Family was crushed, their Patriarch was deposed, and a terrifying, ruthless Honorary Core Disciple had taken over.

To the low level workers, a change in ownership usually meant one thing.

A Massacre

The new boss would slash their wages, enslave them in working conditions, or simply fire them into the streets to starve.

Elder Qian stood on the raised platform, looking down at the sea of anxious faces. He cleared his throat as his spiritual energy amplifyed his voice so it echoed across the entire courtyard.

"Listen well!" Elder Qian’s voice boomed. "The Zhao Family is gone forever. As of today, the Auction House, the western spirit ore mines, and the Blood Lotus pill workshop all belong to the Honorary Core Disciple, Young Master Yu!"

A ripple of fearful whispers spread through the crowd immediately, it seems their worst nightmare come true. ’Young Master Yu? The one who crippled the Third Young Master? He’s going to fire us all too just like those managers?’

"Furthermore," Elder Qian continued with his face turning serious. "Young Master Yu has ordered a complete restructuring of the businesses. Therefore, effective immediately, all operations are suspended. The auction house is closed. The mines are closed. The workshops are also closed."

Boom!

The words hit the workers like a physical blow.

The courtyard erupted into chaos.

"Closed?! Does that mean we are fired?!"

"No! Please! I have three children to feed!"

"My mother is sick, she needs the monthly spiritual herbs! If I lose my job, she will die!"

"We worked for the Zhao Family for ten years! You can’t just throw us away!"

Tears streamed down the faces of the mortal servants and low level apprentices. Some of the older miners dropped to their knees, begging desperately. "Manager! Please! Give us a chance! We will work for half pay! Just... Just don’t cast us out!"

The sadness and despair in the courtyard were palpable. They truly believed their lives were over.

Elder Qian watched them and his small eyes softened slightly. He had a low level outer sect disciple as a disciple, he knew how hard it was for mortals and weak cultivators to survive in this ruthless world.

"Silence!" Elder Qian suddenly roared, releasing a wave of spiritual pressure that instantly quieted the crowd.

He looked down at them as his expression shifted into a warm, benevolent smile. "Who said you are fired? Who said you are being cast out? Atleast let me finish what I was going to say."

The workers blinked in confusion, their tears froze on their cheeks. A young female apprentice sniffled, looking up with red eyes. "B-but... the shops are closed. If we don’t work, we don’t get paid..."

"Ah, that is where you are wrong," Elder Qian chuckled, stroking his double chin. "You misunderstand the greatness of our new Young Master. Young Master Yu is not a tyrant like the Zhao Family. He values EVERY single one of you."

Elder Qian raised his hands, gesturing to the crowd. "The shops are closed for restructuring, yes. But during this period, Young Master Yu has declared that all of you are on a PAID VACATION!"

’Paid... vacation? What is that?’

The workers stared at him blankly. The concept was completely alien to them. In the cultivation world, if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat. The idea of being told to stay home and rest, while still receiving money, was something only High Ranking Elders experienced.

"Let me explain it simply," Elder Qian laughed at their confused faces. "You do not have to come to work for the next month. You get to stay home, rest, and spend time with your families. And for that entire month, you will also receive your full, normal salary!"

Gasps immediately echoed throughout the courtyard. But Elder Qian wasn’t done.

"Furthermore," Elder Qian’s voice rose, carrying a hint of pride. "Young Master Yu knows that the Zhao Family underpaid you for years. So, to make up for it, he has ordered that along with your full salary, every single one of you will receive a twenty percent bonus that too paid upfront and right now!"

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Behind Elder Qian, the Cloudwater Sect enforcers stepped forward, carrying heavy, reinforced wooden chests.

They popped the lids open.

A blinding, beautiful golden light spilled out, illuminating the entire courtyard.

Inside the chests were thousands of glowing, perfectly stired Mid Grade Spiritual Stones. The pure, dense spiritual energy radiating from them made the air feel instantly refreshing.

"Line up! Receive your pay and your bonuses!" Elder Qian commanded.

The workers were paralyzed. They rubbed their eyes, thinking they were hallucinating. Mid Grade Spiritual Stones? Not Low Grade? And as a bonus?

Mortals are even more confused as they received salary in bronze coins and hardly got to see copper coin and now even they are getting spiritual stones as salary plus Mid Grade at that, it was like a dream, a very beautiful dream.

An old miner, trembling violently, stepped forward. An enforcer handed him a small silk pouch. The miner opened it, and the golden light reflected in his tear filled eyes. It was Fifty Mid Grade Spiritual Stones. It was more money than he had made in the last five years combined.

"It’s real... it’s really real..." the old miner sobbed, clutching the pouch to his chest.

As the workers received their pouches, the initial shock melted into overwhelming, explosive joy. The despair of the morning was completely obliterated, replaced by a euphoria so intense that some of the mortals actually fainted from the emotional overload.

"Thank you! Thank you, Young Master Yu!"

"Long live Young Master Yu! Long live Manager Qian!"

"He is a living Saint! A true immortal!"

When every single worker had received their money, Elder Qian raised his hand for silence one last time.

"Remember this grace," Elder Qian said as his voice turned solemn. "Young Master Yu is a generous and righteous master. He protects his own people like no one else. If anyone in the inner city tries to bully you, or if any remnants of the Zhao Family try to harass you for staying, you report it to me immediately. Young Master Yu will make sure to crush them personally!"

Clack!

Without any prior coordination, the five hundred workers dropped to their knees in perfect unison. The sound of their knees hitting the stone floor echoed like a drumbeat.

They bowed deeply, their foreheads almost touched the ground, their voices rang with absolute, unshakeable conviction.

"We swear our lives to Young Master Yu! We swear our loyalty to Young Master Yu! If anyone dares to speak ill of the Young Master, we will fight them to the death!"

This was not forced loyalty. This was absolute, fanatical devotion. Yu Liang had just bought their hearts, their souls, and the loyalty of their entire bloodlines with a fraction of his wealth.

Standing on the platform, Elder Qian looked at the kneeling crowd, a deeply satisfied smile appeared on his plump face. He patted the spatial ring on his finger, feeling the joy of his work as he was already enjoying it.

’Ah, the Young Master is truly a genius,’ Elder Qian thought happily. ’He spends a little money, and in return, he gets an army of fanatically loyal workers who will work themselves to the bone for him when the shops reopen. And I get to manage it all and get even more richer!’

"Alright, alright, get up!" Elder Qian waved his hand cheerfully. "Go home! Enjoy your vacation! Spend that money well! When the shops reopen in a month, I expect every single one of you to return with full energy!"

As the workers cheered and happily scattered to their homes, spreading the legend of the benevolent Young Master Yu across the outer and inner cities, Elder Qian turned and walked back into the auction house.

The foundation of the new empire wasn’t just built on spiritual stones and contracts. It was built on the absolute, unbreakable loyalty of the common people. And Yu Liang had just secured it perfectly.