Chapter 77: The Top Three Should All Go to Our Wang Clan |
Before the ugly girl left, she ate half a plate of donkey intestines, seemingly reluctant but moving her chopsticks as fast as lightning.
Zhou Yingxi: It's fragrant and stinky, but delicious.
It was also Old Tang's fault for being tactless. How could a little fairy eat donkey intestines? He should have been more alert when serving the dishes.
But Yulou did not take Zhou Yingxi's matter to heart.
He preferred doing practical things over empty talk.
Whatever Zhou Yingxi's attitude toward him might be, it would not change his established plans.
As long as one kept moving forward, many things would naturally fall into place, and the companions around them would be motivated as well.
As for what others thought, they could think whatever they wanted; Yulou didn't care.
Those whose minds swayed over a single female cultivator were destined never to become true grand cultivators!
This was Yulou's first time organizing such a complex event, and the first time the Wang Clan truly stood at center stage as a formal faction.
Both Yulou and the Patriarch wanted to execute this flawlessly, so they decided to brainstorm and see if there was any room for optimization.
The past Yulou hadn't been particularly interested in many aspects of this immortal cultivation world. But after experiencing the difficult process of bringing the racetrack back to life, he now only hoped to do his absolute best to manage everything within his control.
The accomplished are teachers; every senior with deeper qualifications and experience than him had their own unique insights. As long as he carefully absorbed opinions from all sides, the outcome was unlikely to be bad.
"Patriarch, our Wang Clan spent so many resources on this competition. If first place isn't one of our people, wouldn't we be taking a huge loss?"
Old Tang offered his perspective to the Patriarch. His logic was simple: since the Wang Clan was footing the bill, they naturally had to take first place.
This wasn't rigging; it was only natural!
Wang Yulou did not express his stance, but inwardly, he understood Tang Nianqiu's thoughts.
Old Tang had a penny-pinching personality. If a cook at the Flavorful Bistro dared to put an extra piece of donkey meat into a sandwich, he would point at the cook's head and scold him for half an hour.
"First place? How is first place enough? This competition is being held to make a name for the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.
"The goods of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion are provided by the Wang Clan. If you ask me, the top three places should all go to our Wang Clan. This way, the pavilion's goods will sell even better.
"Calculating based on our investment this time, if only one of the top three is a member of the Wang Clan, the family will be taking a loss!"
Tang Nianqiu only wanted to secure first place, but Wang Rongsheng took it further, directly insisting that the top three had to be Wang Clan members.
Because of his average aptitude, this clan uncle had left home at a young age to venture out, drifting through the cultivation world for half his life. In terms of strict budgeting, he went even further than Tang Nianqiu.
To say these two seniors were shortsighted wouldn't be entirely accurate, because the suggestions they raised were purely from the Wang Clan's standpoint.
But Yulou truly did not believe the Hundred Treasures Pavilion or the Wang Clan would lose out. The conversion of hidden costs was merely a change in accounting data, while the potential unquantifiable benefits were immeasurable.
With the endorsement of three Foundation Establishment realm cultivators and the borrowed prestige of Clear Stream Market, if this competition could be held long-term, the Wang Clan would experience a minor elevation in status within the market's sphere of influence.
Of course, the rewards for the long-term version would have to be reduced slightly; only then could it be sustainable.
The contest between factions and the model of profit distribution formed an extremely complex dynamic. Prestige and reputation could not be quantified, yet they tangibly existed.
The Patriarch supported Yulou precisely because he saw the potential of this competition, not out of mere favoritism or blind faith.
Favoritism and faith had their limits, but their shared ambition to expand the family was limitless!
"Alright, it's our first time hosting a similar event, so we still need to maintain basic fairness.
"However, there must be a certain degree of bias. We can't have our Wang Clan set up the stage only to let outsiders sing the whole opera.
"At the very least, our own people must play the leading roles and secure a spot in the top three!"
The Patriarch chose a compromise. The charm of a compromise was that it gave the decision-maker a sense of security.
During the process of collective decision-making, a compromise strategy could satisfy the greatest common denominator. Thus, if problems arose in the future, it would dilute the responsibility of the specific person who made the final call.
"Yulou, share your thoughts."
Hearing the Patriarch address Yulou, Tang Nianqiu and Wang Rongsheng also turned their heads.
Indeed, Yulou was the creator of the Talisman Master Competition. His opinion was very important.
"I agree with the Patriarch's opinion."
Since it was a collective decision and the Patriarch had the final say, what other opinion could Yulou have?
The situation was simple now. He had created something incredible, but the clan had taken over the leading role and didn't completely trust him yet. Yulou could only comply.
People with an excess of independence could not coexist within a collective.
The collective's interests were the big picture. Yulou hadn't yet reached the level where he was the big picture, so he had to conceal his edge.
Besides, the clan taking over the leading role wasn't entirely a bad thing.
The law of contradiction and transformation dictated that if an accident occurred or the competition's results were poor, the clan would naturally help Yulou shoulder the pressure.
With his current fragile standing, his ability to withstand pressure was insufficient.
————
Half a month later, Redwood Sect Master Cui Baihao brought the sect elder Du Zhongnian, driving a horse carriage into Clear Stream Market.
"Sect Master, this flow of people is comparable to the Clear Stream Grand Gathering from many years ago," Du Zhongnian remarked as he and Cui Baihao chatted at the front of the carriage.
"It's still far from that, but there are indeed more people than usual," Cui Baihao commented.
After the two parked their carriage at the stables, they led the sect's disciples to the Fortune Source Residence.
"Sect Master, this Fortune Source Residence is an inn rich in spiritual energy. Staying here requires spirit stones. Let's switch to a place that won't cost spirit stones."
"Hahaha, it's fine. The Wang Clan's Fortune Source Residence is quite decent, and they have discounted small rooms."
Leading the disciples into the Fortune Source Residence, Cui Baihao shed his majestic aura as a sect master and negotiated at the front counter.
"Waiter, open eight small rooms. The smallest ones you have. Two days will suffice."
"That will be two spirit stones. Fellow Daoist, here are your room tags."
Accepting the room tags, Cui Baihao led the Redwood Sect disciples into the backyard.
"Qi Induction realm disciples, two to a room. Qi Refining stage stewards and elders, one to a room. Come, step up and take your room tags.
"The washroom and toilets are outside. The conditions are a bit poor, but there's plenty of spiritual energy here; it's no worse than inside the sect."
After settling the sect's cultivators, Cui Baihao headed to the racetrack alone. The invitation Wang Rongsheng had initially given them contained a general schedule.
He now needed to confirm the Redwood Sect's viewing position in advance.
But once he entered the racetrack, he realized things were far from as simple as he had thought.
This was Cui Baihao's first time entering the racetrack. Its interior was so magnificent and grandiose that he stood stunned for a long time.
He had heard that this was also a property of the Anbei Kingdom Wang Clan. Was this the Wang Clan's grandeur?
After finding the racetrack's on-site manager, Cui Baihao obtained the Redwood Sect's spectator number plate.
"When you come tomorrow, remember to warn your sect disciples not to gamble on the horses casually. Since it's your first time, just watching will do."
The racetrack manager even thoughtfully reminded him. This was also a change brought about by Yulou.
Harvesting leeks was one thing, but they had to be mindful of appearances.
The racetrack's distribution rights system dictated that villains like Lao Gui would handle the dirty work. As the platform behind the scenes, the racetrack only had to play the role of a proper referee.
As expected of the renowned Clear Stream Market horse racing; it truly is extraordinary, Cui Baihao thought to himself.
"But there must be a certain degree of bias. We can't have the Wang Clan set up the stage only to let outsiders perform the entire play.
At the very least, our own people must take the leading roles and enter the top three!"
The Patriarch chose to compromise. The charm of a compromise lay in the sense of security it provided the decision-maker.
During a collective decision-making process, a compromise strategy satisfied the greatest common denominator. If problems arose in the future, it would dilute the responsibility of the person who had made the final call.
"Yulou, share your thoughts."
Hearing the Patriarch address Yulou, Tang Nianqiu and Wang Rongsheng also turned to look at him.
After all, Yulou was the creator of the Talisman Master Competition; his opinion was crucial.
"I agree with the Patriarch."
It was a collective decision, and the Patriarch had made the final call. What other opinion could Yulou possibly have?
The situation was simple. He had created something incredible, and the clan had taken over the leading role. Since they didn't completely trust him, Yulou could only comply.
People with an excess of independent consciousness could not exist within a collective.
The collective's interests formed the big picture. Yulou had not yet reached the point where he was the big picture, so he had to conceal his edge.
Moreover, the clan taking over the leadership wasn't entirely a bad thing.
The law of contradictory opposites transforming into each other meant that if an accident occurred or the competition yielded poor results, the clan would naturally help Yulou shoulder the pressure.
Given his current standing, his ability to withstand pressure was insufficient.
————
Half a month later, the Redwood Sect's sect master, Cui Baihao, accompanied by sect elder Du Zhongnian, drove a horse carriage into Clear Stream Market.
"Sect Master, this flow of people is comparable to the Clear Stream Grand Gathering from many years ago," Du Zhongnian remarked as he and Cui Baihao sat at the front of the carriage.
"It's far from that, but there are indeed more people than usual," Cui Baihao commented.
After parking the carriage at the stable yard, the two men led their sect's disciples to the Fortune Source Residence.
"Sect Master, this Fortune Source Residence is an inn rich in spiritual energy, and staying here requires spirit stones. We should switch to an inn that doesn't cost spirit stones."
"Hahaha, it's fine. The Wang Clan's Fortune Source Residence is quite good, and they have discounted small rooms."
Leading the disciples into the Fortune Source Residence, Cui Baihao set aside his dignity as a sect master and negotiated at the counter.
"Waiter, we'd like eight small rooms—the smallest kind. We just need to stay for two days."
"That will be two spirit stones, Fellow Daoist. Here are your room tokens."
Accepting the room tokens, Cui Baihao led the Redwood Sect disciples into the backyard.
"Qi Drawing realm disciples will share a room, two to a room. Qi Refining stage stewards and elders will each get their own room. Come over and get your room tokens.
"Washing areas and toilets are both outside. The conditions are a bit poor, but the spiritual energy is sufficient—no worse than inside the sect."
After settling the sect's cultivators, Cui Baihao headed to the racetrack alone. The invitation Wang Rongsheng had originally given them contained the general schedule of events.
He now needed to confirm the Redwood Sect's viewing location in advance.
But after entering the racetrack, he realized things were far from as simple as he had thought.
It was Cui Baihao's first time entering the racetrack. It was so grand and magnificent that he stood stunned for a long time.
He had heard that this was also the property of the Wang Clan of Anbei Kingdom. Was this the Wang Clan's imposing presence?
After finding the on-site person in charge, Cui Baihao received the Redwood Sect's viewing number plates.
"When you come tomorrow, remember to remind your disciples not to gamble on horses so easily. Since it's your first time here, just watching will do."
The person in charge of the racetrack even gave a thoughtful reminder. This was also a change brought about by Yulou.
Harvesting leeks was one thing, but they had to be mindful of appearances.
The distribution rights system of the racetrack determined that the villain roles would naturally be played by people like Lao Gui. As the platform behind the scenes, the racetrack needed to play its role as a referee well.
'As expected of the widely renowned Clear Stream Market horse racing—it truly is extraordinary.'
Cui Baihao thought to himself.
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