Chapter 334: Sharing Wealth

Outside of the Heavenly Master Religion, every other religious entity in the Great Han Empire was classified as a cult by law, and that naturally included the Imperial Heavenly Dao.

However, compared with the height of its power, the imperial court's control over the empire had weakened significantly. Furthermore, there was a massive population of ignorant and uneducated people who were very easy to deceive, and as a result, all kinds of cults were thriving within the empire's borders.

The Imperial Heavenly Dao was a dominant force in Yong Province, and it was naturally taking advantage of its position to amass wealth.

Like most cults, it primarily relied on scare tactics, scams, and donations to exploit its followers for money.

The fraud who claimed that he could cure Sun Xian by putting him in a steamer was a self-proclaimed follower of the Imperial Heavenly Dao.

Of course, the Imperial Heavenly Dao had also secretly ventured into business, but most of those ventures had proven unsuccessful.

Furthermore, in recent years, Yong Province had been blighted by a series of natural disasters, so it was becoming increasingly difficult for the Imperial Heavenly Dao to coax money out of its followers. That was why it had set its sights on the neighboring Spirit Province.

It was also why Luo Binghong had been sent to Spirit Province, but in the short span of just three months, she had burned through almost all the money given to her.

In an act of desperation, she began robbing shareholders, and her attempt to rob Wang Cailiang was what ultimately led to her capture at the hands of Chu Qiguang.

After hearing Chu Qiguang's question, Luo Binghong's pulse immediately quickened.

She could already envision herself raking in huge profits from the stock market and being hailed as the savior of the Imperial Heavenly Dao, perhaps even claiming the position of pope in the future.

"Hello?" Chu Qiguang called out as he waved a hand in front of Luo Binghong's vacant eyes. "Did you hear me? If you don't wanna do it, I won't force you."

"No! I do want to buy stocks!" Luo Binghong hurriedly replied as she snapped out of her reverie. "But... but I don't have much money left."

"That's fine, I just wanted to gauge your attitude," Chu Qiguang said with a smile.

He was well aware that she didn't have much money left, but his true objective was to reach the Imperial Heavenly Dao through her.

"Right now is a really good time to enter the market, so it's a real shame that you don't have much money to invest. Now that trade relations have been established with the northern fiends, the entire cotton industry is booming, and the Azure Sun Trade Association is leading the way with its water-powered technology. You saw how much money I've made in just the past month. Your Imperial Heavenly Dao has to work so hard to make money, but how much do you actually make in a year?

"Not only that, but you also have to compete with other entities like the Immortal Dao while avoiding persecution from the imperial court. While it's obviously a good thing that you have so many followers, the more followers you have, the more expenses you incur. Right now, you're still young, so you can go out every day to spread the teachings of your religion and recruit followers, but what about when you're older? Are you just going to keep running around like a headless chicken every day?"

"Isn't that just how things are supposed to be?" Luo Binghong asked hesitantly.

"That's what most people think," Chu Qiguang said with a smile. "Most people work day and night for measly compensation, and as soon as a disaster strikes, they die. People who have to work for an active income will never understand what it's like to stand at the top of the world. Today, I'm going to teach you the secret to unimaginable wealth."

Chu Qiguang instructed Wang Cailiang to fetch him a brush and some paper, then wrote down the number "100,000."

"Say you have a hundred thousand taels of silver right now, and you invest all of it in shares. If you make a profit of ten percent per year, then after one year, your investment will be worth one hundred and ten thousand taels of silver."

Luo Binghong nodded in response. The numbers made sense to her, and after seeing how much profit Chu Qiguang had raked in over the past month, she felt that ten percent was a massive understatement.

"The next year, you earn another ten percent in profit, bringing the value of your investment to one hundred and twenty-one thousand taels of silver. This interest continues to compound year after year..."

Luo Binghong watched as the number on the page grew larger and larger, and after the tenth year it had already swelled to 259,730. By the end of the twentieth year, the number had risen to 672,740.

"Starting from the twenty-first year, you'll earn 67,274 taels of silver in annual interest alone, and that's without having to do anything."

By this point, Luo Binghong was utterly astonished.

"Do you understand what the most important thing is now?" Chu Qiguang asked.

"I do," Luo Binghong replied with tightly clenched fists. "Buying shares is the most important thing!"

"That's right! I knew you were a fast learner," Chu Qiguang praised with an encouraging nod. "Do you know why I didn't kill you? It's because I saw the potential in you. I think you could become a great investor."

"Really?" Luo Binghong asked with an elated expression.

Chu Qiguang nodded with a sincere expression, then said with a sigh, "It's just a shame that you don't have any money. Otherwise, I'd be willing to sell you tens of thousands of shares."

Luo Binghong's eyes instantly lit up.

"You'd be willing to sell me tens of thousands of shares when the market is doing this well?"

"My money doesn't belong entirely to me," Chu Qiguang explained with a smile. "Much of my wealth was borrowed from other wealthy investors, and it's time that I returned their principal, so I have to start selling. If I'm going to sell anyway, why not sell to someone I get along with, like you?"

By this point, whatever shred of rationality Luo Binghong had left had already been drowned out by the tantalizing profits Chu Qiguang had laid out before her.

"I don't have much money left, but I can apply to our pope for more funds."

Qiao Zhi cast Luo Binghong a sympathetic glance. He knew that a financial calamity was about to befall the Imperial Heavenly Dao.

This was exactly what Chu Qiguang wanted to hear, but he maintained a composed expression and said, "If you're going to do that, then I suggest you act fast. You know how popular these shares are right now. I have a long line of buyers waiting to take them off my hands, so if you take too long, there won't be anything left."

Luo Binghong hurriedly nodded, then asked hesitantly, "You're just going to let me go?"

"Yes," Chu Qiguang replied. "I have faith that you're an intelligent investor. Only a fool would pass up such a golden opportunity."

After Luo Binghong left, Chu Qiguang turned to Qiao Zhi and instructed, "Send some cat fiends to follow her."