Chapter 144: Chapter 144 New Mission
 

The six arts of a gentleman: Rites, Music, Archery, Charioteering, Writing, Arithmetic.

The Six Arts of Cultivation: Elixir Refining, Weapon Refining, Formation, Talisman Crafting, Spirit Plant Cultivating, Beast Taming.

Formation and Talisman Crafting, as important skills in the Cultivation World, have also developed specialized Array Masters and Talisman Masters.

The “Portable Spirit Gathering Array” that Jiang Cheng bought from the Tongbao Pavilion was crafted by a Talisman Master from the Tongtian Sect.

Compared to the simple and easy-to-use talismans, formations are often larger in scale, more effective and complex, with higher production costs and difficulty levels, leading to higher prices.

The third-tier Portable Spirit Gathering Array that Jiang Cheng just purchased was valued at 110,000 low-grade Spirit Stones.

It basically equates to eleven of the most expensive second-tier elixirs, Foundation Establishment Pills, or eighty of the more expensive second-tier talismans, the Giant Talisman.

In terms of unit price, within the same tier, it’s definitely Formation > Elixirs > Talismans.

But that’s not necessarily the case when it comes to profit.

Because from a cost perspective, the hierarchy is Talismans

Although talismans are sold cheaply, their production costs are relatively low too.

Compared to formations and elixir refining that often require rare and precious materials and millennia-old spirit plants, the material cost for crafting talismans is practically negligible.

Jiang Cheng’s timing wasn’t great today. Bai Xiaohe usually spent every day in the store, but just today, she happened to be out discussing business, so Jiang Cheng’s visit was in vain.

However, it was fortunate that the store clerk contacted Bai Xiaohe, saying that the manager would return soon.

“Jiang Cheng?” Bai Xiaohe rushed back in a hurry, carrying her bag.

The current predicaments of the Tongbao Pavilion Huayuan Road Store were crystal clear to Bai Xiaohe.

There were mainly two issues:

The first issue was the store’s remote location, and although its premises were large, the foot traffic around it was insufficient, attracting too few visitors.

The second issue was that compared to other stores, Tongbao Pavilion had no special distinctions; it had neither exclusive products to boast nor a pricing advantage.

Tongbao Pavilion used to have the backing of the Tongtian Sect’s reputation.

But now, with the Taixu Sect and Linlan Sect expanding within Liang Kingdom and the Tongtian Sect’s influence continuously weakening—coupled with the Liang State Court’s direct involvement in opening state-run shops—Tongbao Pavilion’s brand power took a serious hit.

Faced with the current situation, He had her own thoughts.

Her father was the Minister of the Army, holding a position at the Third Rank.

Essentially, he was the second or third most significant figure in Liang Kingdom’s military.

You would think that with her father’s prestigious position, she would have no worries about food and clothing, but that was not the case.

Bai Xiaohe’s mother was born into a decent family, lacking in background, education, and temperament. She was taken in as a concubine solely for her beauty, akin to a beautiful sparrow that flew onto a high branch overnight.

Then came the palace drama that everyone loves to watch. Bai Xiaohe’s mother stood no chance against the experienced primary wife of the Bai family, and her own weaker family background provided no help.

Later on, as the only child her mother gave birth to was a girl, there was no opportunity for competing for power; the two of them practically vanished from the scene in the grand Bai family mansion.

It’s often said that education can change one’s fate, and Bai Xiaohe was quite competitive, making her way to Ling University. After graduation, she entered the Taixu Sect’s Outer Sect, and could have completely broken away from her family to stand on her own.

However, the reality was that Bai Xiaohe ultimately could not extricate herself from her family.

With no business coming to the Tongbao Pavilion, Bai Xiaohe had no choice but to leverage her father’s reputation, wondering if she could secure some government orders.

Thanks to her father’s clout, an officer from the Weapon Department in charge of military supplies, holding a Fifth Rank, agreed to meet with her smoothly today.

As for the result,

an order was placed!

The officer gave Bai Xiaohe a business deal.

But Bai Xiaohe couldn’t fulfill it.

The price offered by the Weapon Department for the elixirs was so low that it was already 10 to 20 percent below the purchase price of Tongbao Pavilion.

The profit margin for Tongbao Pavilion was negative.

It meant that every elixir Bai Xiaohe sold would result in a substantial loss.

So, this business simply wasn’t feasible.

Nevertheless, these were all work-related problems, and He didn’t intend to let her work frustrations affect Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng and Liu Qing were happy to come and visit her for a play.

After chatting briefly with Jiang Cheng about recent events, it was already getting late.

“Now it’s almost evening, and you guys haven’t eaten yet, have you? Let me treat you to dinner,” He said to Jiang Cheng and Liu Qing.

“Let me treat you instead,” Jiang Cheng said.

“No, no, let me do it.”

“He, I recently closed two more contracts, I’m not short on money, so don’t argue with me about it,” Jiang Cheng said with a smile.

Having spent the afternoon at Tongbao Pavilion, Jiang Cheng had observed everything that was going on there.

He may not be clear about the specifics, but He’s situation was certainly not looking optimistic.

Seeing Jiang Cheng’s determined attitude, He did not continue to argue with him.

The three of them went to a restaurant near Tongbao Pavilion, found a private room, and casually ordered some homestyle dishes.

Liu Qing sniffed her nose, glanced at He, then at Jiang Cheng, and finally whispered, “Unhappy.”

Jiang Cheng: ?

Snake is unhappy?

I’ve been behaving quite well lately, even bought her enough snacks for an elephant today, why is she unhappy?

Liu Qing: ?

She suddenly smelled a strange scent on Jiang Cheng, he must be thinking of something that greatly upset her, something very bad.

But the scent only appeared for a moment before dissipating on its own.

Jiang Cheng looked into Liu Qing’s eyes, trying to ask why she was unhappy. Liu Qing’s eyes shifted slightly, looking towards He.

Oh, she means He is unhappy.

In fact, Jiang Cheng could also see that He was not in a good mood, but he had never directly asked before.

Now that Liu Qing had opened the subject, he couldn’t let down his teammate and had to follow up with his response.

“He, have you encountered any difficulties?”

“Difficulties? No, not at all, I’m doing pretty good.”

“That’s not right, He, you used to smile when you talked. You haven’t smiled much today. You must have run into some trouble, right?”

Upon hearing Jiang Cheng’s words, tears welled up in He’s eyes, and her mouth puckered like a duck.

She had been under such enormous pressure recently, carrying the whole store on her shoulders.

Her mother was indecisive, and her father didn’t like her.

She couldn’t count on other relatives either.

It could be said that she only had Jiang Cheng as a reliable friend.

“Jiang Cheng, can you teach me what to do? Woo.”

He didn’t want to cry, but she couldn’t help it and shed two large teardrops.

Jiang Cheng did not rush to reply but instead said to Liu Qing, “Go close the door of the room.”

A level 4 boss skillfully ordering a level 83 employee around.

As a Mahayana realm cultivator, Liu Qing didn’t feel anything wrong with Jiang Cheng’s Qi Cultivation Stage behavior.

Without saying a word the entire time, she obediently stood up, went to the door and closed it, then obediently returned to Jiang Cheng’s side.

Jiang Cheng said gently, “He, it’s okay, we’re all friends here. Whatever you want to say, just tell me and Liu Qing.”

He had been wanting to confide in someone about her troubles, and now that Jiang Cheng had taken the initiative to ask, she immediately poured out all the recent events she had encountered.

Although He’s narrative was quite fragmented, Jiang Cheng still managed to extract key information from it.

The situation at Tongbao Pavilion’s Huayuan Road Store was not optimistic.

He had found a deal, but the negotiation for the purchase price was nowhere near agreeable.

Beyond that, He had no other solutions.