Chapter 571 - 533: Competitive Mechanism

In the back hall, Chen Che received the Pill Hall's periodic task lists and the consumption data for Medicinal Herbs from recent years. He could hardly stand to look after just a single glance, because the material losses from Alchemy were simply too great.

Even for common Pills, the material loss was nearly forty percent. This was completely unbefitting the standards of a top-tier Golden Core Influence.

Of course, who knew how much tampering was involved.

Chen Che even discovered that in the past decade, there had been several "Fire Dragon Burned Warehouse" incidents and two cases of Xiao Chan raiding the medicine vault. In Chen Che's opinion, these were all just methods Wang Yinhu and his cronies used to cook the books.

Mixed in among them were even reports of Pill thefts.

Of course.

There were also significant discrepancies in the procurement prices for many medicinal ingredients and the sale prices for finished Pills.

It was only because his power base wasn't in the Primordial Sect and his personal strength was among the top ranks. Any other Golden Core cultivator, even if they wanted to enact sweeping reforms, would have been quickly hamstrung by the opposition.

For the past three days, Chen Che had pored over a century's worth of ledgers and records of goods coming and going, finally gaining a complete picture of the situation within the Pill Hall.

It was no exaggeration to say.

Those parasites had gnawed away at the great tree of the Pill Hall, leaving it riddled with holes.

"Chief, the Hall's roster has been reconstructed. We currently have over 24,000 Servant Disciples, over 5,200 Outer Disciples, and over 1,400 Official Disciples. There are also over 200 Stewards, 40 Managers, and seven Chief Stewards..."

Seeing that Chen Che had finished his review, Huang Baishong handed over the roster. Chen Che had spent three days in the back hall, and Huang Baishong had been with him the entire time.

"Including Wang Yinhu, several former Chief Stewards and Managers have been transferred out of the Pill Hall. Most were from the Wang Family, but a few people with ties to other Halls haven't been withdrawn..."

"Pay them no mind."

Chen Che was completely unconcerned.

These people hadn't left, which clearly meant they wanted to remain in the Pill Hall and see how things played out.

'If they can demonstrate sufficient value, I don't mind putting them in important positions. But if not, they'd better keep their heads down and behave. Otherwise, I'll kick them all out.'

"Chief, the Sect also has pending tasks..."

Huang Baishong stammered, handing over several more lists.

The lists detailed the quantities of various Pills required by the Primordial Sect—hundreds of types, ranging from Tier One to Tier Three. There were also several other lists for Pills to be supplied to Primordial City and its subordinate territories.

Since Chen Che took over the Pill Hall, frequent personnel changes had brought Pill production to a near standstill for the past three days. Many orders were now past their delivery deadlines.

"A minor issue."

Chen Che, however, was unconcerned. As the saying goes, sharpening the axe doesn't delay the chopping. Only by first getting rid of the useless dead weight in the Hall could they move forward unburdened.

His gaze swept over the seven Chief Stewards before him. After a moment of contemplation, he said:

"Starting today, the more than fourteen hundred Official Disciples in the Hall will be divided evenly into seven groups, with the seven of you as leaders. From now on, the Hall's primary tasks will rely on these disciples."

"Yes!"

The men accepted the order, unsurprised.

Servant Disciples performed menial chores like chopping wood, fetching water, doing laundry, cooking, and performing maintenance. Outer Disciples were a step above; while they were free from such chores, their skills were still lacking.

Only Official Disciples were completely exempt from labor to focus solely on their Cultivation.

And these disciples were the backbone of a Hall, and indeed, of the entire Sect.

"From now on, all tasks assigned to the Pill Hall will be divided evenly into seven portions for your seven groups to complete."

Chen Che picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and continued,

"Every month, I will rank the seven groups based on the quality of their Pills, their speed in completing tasks, and their material consumption rate in Alchemy. The lowest-ranked group will have thirty percent of their stipend deducted. The next two groups up will have twenty and ten percent deducted, respectively."

"If a group ranks last for three consecutive months, everyone from the Chief Steward down to the Managers and Stewards will be demoted by one rank."

HISS...

Hearing this, the seven Chief Stewards winced as if their teeth were set on edge.

This was tantamount to splitting the Hall and implementing a survival-of-the-fittest system, forcing the disciples in each group to compete against one another and give their all to Alchemy. With this structure, there would be no room for deception or collusion between the groups.

They could also perfectly imagine how fierce the competition within the Hall would become. It would be like a wolf pack: the old and weak would be cast aside first, while the strongest would reap all the rewards.

"Of course, that's not all."

Taking in their expressions, Chen Che grinned. 'Using brute force and suppression only yields temporary results. Over time, it leads to widespread resentment and a loss of morale.'

'So, you also have to offer sufficient rewards.'

"As for the top three groups, not only will you receive the stipends deducted from the bottom three, but you'll also be given priority for promotions, Pills, and Cultivation resources. Furthermore, you will receive a sixty-percent share of the profits from external trade, distributed according to rank."

!?

The Chief Stewards, and even Vice Chief Huang Baishong, couldn't help but be stunned.

The punishments he'd laid out were severe, and though they were unhappy, none dared to voice their complaints. They had simply been thinking about how difficult the coming days would be, never expecting Chen Che to follow up the stick with such a massive carrot.

The benefits of receiving extra stipends, priority for promotions, Pills, and Cultivation resources were self-evident.

But as for the profit-sharing from external trade, that was a far more complex matter. On this point, the Pill Hall's model was the same as that of Jinyun Valley; in fact, the rules of all the Major Sects were more or less the same.

After deducting what was needed for daily operations, disciple consumption, and strategic reserves, any surplus Pills the Hall produced would be sold to subordinate territories or traded with other Sects. Of the Spirit Stones earned from these transactions, seventy percent went to the Sect, while thirty percent was retained by the Hall.

Generally speaking, these retained Spirit Stones belonged to the Hall's private coffers.

Funds for future merit-based rewards, performance bonuses, and even the maintenance of the Hall's buildings were supposed to be drawn from this treasury. In reality, however, most of it ended up in private pockets.

However.

That treasury had been plucked clean by various factions, each taking a cut until there was next to nothing left. The coffers were so empty you could race a horse in them, leaving the Hall in a perpetual state of poverty.

With those parasites gone, the first thing to be replenished would be the treasury. And now, this new Chief was actually willing to take a portion of that profit and share it with the disciples...

This meant that the more Pills they refined, the more they would earn.

In this system, background and connections meant nothing; results were all that mattered. Far from complaining, the Hall's disciples would be incredibly motivated to work as hard as they could.

"If any of you have opinions on this, speak freely."

Chen Che casually set down his teacup.

"None, not at all."

The Chief Stewards shook their heads repeatedly, the surprise and delight on their faces beyond words.

All they could think about now was leaving as quickly as possible to start recruiting. After so many years in the Hall, they had a good idea of which disciples excelled at Alchemy. For the sake of their own status, their stipends, and the Spirit Stones, they had to get those disciples on their teams.

"Then you are dismissed."

Chen Che glanced at them. Their intentions were written all over their faces.

Of course, this was exactly the effect he had been aiming for.

"Huang Baishong, you will stay behind."

Chen Che tapped his fingers on the table, musing for a moment before speaking.

"I have two tasks for you."

"First, you are to personally handle all negotiations for Pill transactions and Spirit Herb procurement. All deals made before my arrival are now void. Renegotiate all the prices. If any party disagrees, cancel the deal immediately. Those transactions are far too inflated; they need to be squeezed dry."

"Second, select one hundred of the most talented disciples from the Hall for specialized training. This group will be promoted to Elite Disciples and you will personally mentor them. Both you and these disciples will receive a fivefold stipend."

"These Elite Disciples will have no other duties except to study Alchemy Skill and to have their daily Cultivation monitored. If you have talented members in your own clan, you may recruit them as well. Of course, there will be a monthly assessment. Anyone who fails will be weeded out."

"I will hold nothing back."

Huang Baishong's expression turned solemn as he readily agreed.

'The Old Ancestor's dying wish was to see the Pill Hall revitalized. Now that he is gone, I have no one else to rely on.'

'Besides, as the saying goes, the tea cools the moment the guest leaves. My family has been all but marginalized in the Pill Hall. Given this Chief's determination to enact sweeping reforms, if I show the slightest bit of indolence, I'll be replaced in an instant.'

'I absolutely must seize this opportunity.'

...