Chapter 277: A Midnight Conversation (1)

Night gradually deepened.

Aside from the sleepless streets specially authorized by the imperial court, Emperor’s Hold had sunk into slumber.

Countless specks of blue light dotted the Chancellor’s Manor, merging into a shimmering sea. From the windows of the outer study spilled the glow of inscription lamps.

A young man in blood-red robes sat behind the desk, writing with a wolf-hair brush. Crimson light burned within his eyes, evidence that he was circulating his cultivation art. Using a cultivation art to write made things a whole lot faster.

Across from him sat a squinty-eyed old man whose hair and beard were both snowy white.

This particular study in the Chancellor’s Manor was somewhat similar to the Emperor’s imperial study. Xu Yinhe normally used it to receive important advisers and trusted officials.

Tonight, however, Xu Yinhe was in the main hall discussing cooperation with that undying old fossil Luo Daofan, so Xu Yuan had simply commandeered the place.

Hua Hong had dragged him here and forced him to work overtime. No writing, no sleeping. There was no deeper reason for it.

Xu Yuan could not beat him. He had tried calling for reinforcements, but nobody paid him any attention. After all, no one was willing to offend the Chancellor’s Manor’s very own God of Wealth.

With a sigh, he glanced at the miserable old codger opposite him and grumbled inwardly. Mhm… Day one of missing Big Sister Lou Ji.

Power within the Chancellor’s Manor was now extremely centralized. His father’s word was law, plain and simple. Yet despite that, one of his father’s subordinates still dared to lay hands on him, the crown prince of the household. There truly was no justice left in the world.

“What are you staring at?” The old man, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened those nearly invisible slits and glanced at Xu Yuan. “You still have to meet the Ninth Princess tomorrow. Hurry up and write.”

“Tch.” Xu Yuan rolled his eyes. He lifted the sheet of rice paper, its ink still wet, gave it a quick look, then passed it across the desk to Hua Hong. “I’m done. Have a look.”

Hua Hong silently accepted it. Stroking his white beard, he scanned the densely packed writing across the page, and his eyebrows rose slightly.

Xu Yuan, meanwhile, stopped circulating his cultivation art and immediately slumped back in his chair to doze off. He was exhausted. The old man had used brute force to make him write until now. The roosters would be crowing any minute.

Still, he was more than happy to write down the so-called secrets of business Hua Hong wanted. They were all on the same side, after all.

When most people heard a piece of information, it went in one ear and out the other. Those with real vision were already thinking about how to turn it into profit. Reforming a system for cultivating talent would give any faction a tremendous shot in the arm.

The Third Prince was already making preparations, and naturally, Hua Hong was doing the same. Unfortunately, every such reform was limited by the abilities of the people beneath them, as well as the deeply ingrained habit of passing skills down through bloodlines and guarding them like family treasure.

In this era, mastering a single useful craft meant securing an iron rice bowl that could be handed down for generations. The more people who learned it, the less valuable one’s own family became. Unless someone had something wrong with their head, no one would willingly teach outsiders. Any attempt at reform would therefore meet tremendous resistance.

For a time, the study fell silent. Yet only two minutes later, Hua Hong had already gone over several times everything Xu Yuan had spent six full hours writing.

High-ranking cultivators were walking engines of productivity. Not only could they work a schedule, from midnight to midnight, seven days a week, but they were also orders of magnitude more efficient than ordinary people.

Hua Hong carefully folded the sheet of rice paper Xu Yuan had written on and slipped it into his Sumeru Ring. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Changtian, this business bible of yours contains plenty of practical material, but it’s only a general framework, isn’t it?”

Exhausted, Xu Yuan propped both legs on the desk and covered his mouth as he yawned. “Of course it’s only a framework. If you want me to write the whole thing in detail, go ask my father. If he agrees, I’ll take my time compiling it for you.”

The corner of Hua Hong’s eye twitched at Xu Yuan’s spoiled-young-master posture, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly.

He knew Xu Yinhe would never hand the boy over to him. Compiling a comprehensive treatise on commerce would be little different from writing an entirely new grand compendium. It would consume an enormous amount of both time and energy.

Right now, the Third Young Master’s most important task was improving that pitiful cultivation of his. Everything else had to wait.

After thinking for a moment, Hua Hong recalled the contents of the paper. “It’s still too rough. Write me another, more detailed version when you have the time.”

“Sure.” Xu Yuan did not refuse. Writing it out little by little would not take much effort. After a brief pause, he asked, “If I give you the framework, can you find people to fill in the details?”

Hua Hong smiled kindly. “Of course. The merchant guilds of the realm may still be in a period of wild, disorderly growth, but some experienced managers already understand many of the things you wrote. What they lack is a unifying outline to organize it all into a proper system.”

Xu Yuan shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. Will the people under you really put their backs into it? You’re asking them to smash their own rice bowls.”

Smashing a man’s rice bowl and cutting off his road to wealth was no different from murdering his parents.

At those words, a cold gleam flashed through Hua Hong’s narrow eyes, though his smile never faded. “If they refuse to contribute their effort, they can contribute their lives instead. The Calm Sky Merchant Association needs fresh blood and new competition. Otherwise, once our generation is gone, those managers who hold power may form new hereditary clans within the Chancellor’s Manor.”

Xu Yuan smiled but said nothing.

The miserable old bastard might have had a violent temper, but his loyalty to the Chancellor’s Manor was beyond question. Because knowledge was so tightly monopolized, the abilities of many senior managers were effectively irreplaceable.

Without them, the Calm Sky Merchant Association would suffer tremendous losses.

Given enough time, those people would establish entrenched hereditary factions within the merchant association, and eventually throughout the entire system of the Chancellor’s Manor. In other words, they would become new aristocratic clans.

A powerful head of the family could still keep them under control. But the moment a weak one took charge, they would become the same sort of problem that powerful cultivation clans posed within sects.

Leaning back in his chair, Xu Yuan tapped a finger against the armrest. “Old Hua, you want to turn them into parts that can be replaced at any time?”

“Parts?” Hua Hong’s eyes flickered. He smiled and nodded. “That is an interesting way of putting it, Changtian, but yes, that is essentially the idea. Their uniqueness must be erased. And I am not the only one thinking along these lines. Jiang He also has plans to restructure the Institute of Applied Research.”

“I see…” Xu Yuan murmured, a trace of wistfulness entering his eyes. He was beginning to realize that this world had already shown the first signs of something resembling the Industrial Revolution, reforming systems of production to unleash greater productivity.

Of course, it was developing according to the rules of a supernatural world.

“All right… I understand. I’ll help when I have the time, but compiling a book like this isn’t something that can be done overnight.”

Hua Hong smiled from the heart, his gaze softening. “Take this matter seriously, Changtian. Everything we old fellows are doing is for your generation. Only by stripping the people beneath us of their irreplaceability and ensuring they can be replaced at any time can the family head’s power remain permanently centralized.”

Xu Yuan lowered his eyes without offering an opinion.

Seeing this, Hua Hong did not press him. Instead, he changed the subject with a smile. “By the way, you brat, where did you learn all this during your trip?”

Xu Yuan spread his hands. “I picked it up through exposure. The more you see and the more you think, the more naturally you come to understand.”