Calculating Cultivation

I left the compound with the female servant Ting right behind me. Half Moon City was quite large and divided up into sections. The compound owned by my father, Yuan Chen, was in the rich estate section of the city. It was the third biggest estate.

The central part of the city was the commercial section. Then there was the nearby crafts section and entertainment section. There were slums somewhere, but my tutors didn’t talk about them. I got into a rickshaw, and Ting sat next to me.

“Main commercial district,” I ordered, and the puller took off. He was a tall man and exceptionally strong. I guess when you are pulling rickshaws all day, you get a superb physique. I snagged another two motes and discovered that if I didn’t focus on them, they would drift right through me. That was why people weren’t just randomly collecting them while going about their lives.

After about five minutes of pulling, we arrived and, while busy, things weren’t packed. There were no festivals or other events. So, it was just travelers and people going about their daily business. Ting paid the rickshaw driver a bronze coin. I was glad that counted as a household expense. I really didn’t want to be nickeled and dimed out of my stipend.

While the purpose of it was to move about, I wasn’t going to half ass my business either. Multi-tasking was the key to success in any life. I would cultivate while getting rich and then leverage my wealth when entering the sect or for other projects.

Regardless, more money gave me more options. I had been observed in my last two trips into the city, by my mother and then by a tutor. They controlled where I went. This time, I controlled my itinerary.

The first stop was the largest and grandest looking store. Wearing a high-quality robe and having a servant meant I got through into the store with only a glance from the guards. They were clearly standing around to keep the lower class out from looking.

“Greetings, young master. How can this humble servant assist you today?” I had to give the guy credit. That was the perfect hand bow and greeting one could give to a child like myself. I was up front, so there was no confusion where we stood.

“I am Yuan Zhou, son of Yuan Chen. I am looking at the various businesses and your cultivation supplies caught my eye,” I replied.

“Of course, young master Yuan, we only offer the finest and certified items from the Alchemy Guild in our store. In fact, we are even a licensed seller, so we can direct requests their way.”

“Forgive my ignorance. I have heard of the Alchemy Guild and would like to know more about them and their products,” I replied.

“Of course, of course, young master Yuan. Right this way, let me show you some of our displays. The great sects themselves licensed the Alchemy Guild to produce and sell cultivation resources outside the sects. They pay a tax to the sect in control of the city or province, and their product is insured and verified to the highest level of quality.” That meant they paid protection fees, and they were insanely expensive with the quality being used as justification. Also, they had a monopoly which would further inflate the prices to the maximum possible.

“We sell the standard Qi illuminating candles. A single candle in a room will illuminate all Qi motes and is good for ten days of use. Cheaply priced at only ten tael. It is exactly what an aspiring cultivator needs to quickly progress.”

“Is that ten continuous days?” I asked.

“Ah, only the standard ten hours of cultivating, so a hundred hours total. You can see little marks in the candle itself showing how much time has passed, with one every five hours.” I noticed nothing odd about the candle except its dark blue color and enormous size.

“Perhaps. But illuminating Qi is not my concern at the moment,” I replied.

“I completely understand, young master Yuan. The next item here is a Qi pill containing 100 motes of Qi. Only fifty taels.” I wanted to cough up blood at this. A common expression in this culture to indicate shock. That meant motes were priced at half a tael apiece. Getting 120,000 motes would cost 60,000 taels.

“How many pills can one take?” I asked.

“There is no limit but the size of your coin pouch,” the salesman said. Brutal, absolutely brutal. “But we don’t recommend taking more than one a day. So, it is important to buy them early, so you don’t lose any Qi while consuming them.”

“I will consider it a possibility if I struggle,” I replied. The salesperson kept smiling as we moved onto the next item.

“Now this is a rare item, and we only carry a limited stock. An incense lighter to attract Qi for one day, 100 taels, best combined with an illuminating candle.”

“Consider this item, a qi sensing rod, only 1,000 taels.”

“Our top item. A qi sensing pill, 5,000 taels. Guaranteed to increase your ability to sense qi.”

I thanked the store clerk, whose smile never wavered the entire time, and left. He clearly knew I didn’t have the money as a child, but I could bother my father, who was rich. I had no doubt the salesperson knew every rich person’s name in the city.

There was even a good chance my father was involved with that store somehow. I just knew he was a merchant, not exactly what he was a merchant of. The other stores were fancy, but just standard stores. There was nothing that stood out, or an easy way to start up a business.

I didn’t want to invent something, since it wasn’t simple. Manufacturing was a nightmare and would require an enormous investment. The physical production of anything was a massive hassle. But there was no internet, or a service I could think of that people would pay for.

Ting purchased some lotion and beauty products for my mother while I considered the situation more in depth. Alchemy seemed like a profitable area, but that would have a lot of rules and overhead. Still, I was curious, and we took a rickshaw to the Alchemy Guild, which was at the edge of the craft district, a good twenty minutes of pulling.

I entered the building and could smell the powerful odor of plants and herbs. There was an older female receptionist. I walked over and inclined my head slightly to show respect. “Greetings. I am Yuan Zhou, son of Yuan Chen. I was wondering if there is someone I could ask a couple of questions about the Alchemy Guild.”

I saw her eyes go to Ting, who was standing behind me, and then she looked back at me. “Of course, young master Yuan. What questions can I answer for you?”

“What are the requirements and salary for being an alchemist?” I asked. She smiled kindly at me.

“You must pass an entry exam. The guild journeymen will tutor novices for a price. It is around one tael per lesson.” Highway robbery! “Once you are confident enough and pass the entry exam, which costs ten taels per attempt, you can then assist in making pills as a journeyman yourself. You would receive one tael per month as a salary for a set number of pills. You can teach or make more on the side. After ten years, they would promote you to master alchemist and allow you to take the lead on pill production if your work is up to standard.”

“There you would earn ten taels a month. A grandmaster is someone who has created a new pill recipe and the guild would guarantee them half the profits from all sales.”

“I am guessing one cannot quickly become a master alchemist?” I asked.

“No, young master Yuan. Once you are a master, no one would supervise your work. If you made a mistake, then it would bring great shame to everyone in the guild. That is why only those who have proven themselves are promoted.”

“Ah, thank you. This information was quite useful,” I replied and bowed my head. I then left the Alchemy Guild depressed. No easy or quick way to make money there. If I didn’t need to move about to collect motes of Qi, I might have considered it a possibility.

I stood outside the Alchemy Guild thinking about where to go and what to do next. I had been discreetly picking up motes during the day and had already collected twelve. It was about mid-day so I was making decent progress.

“Young master, shall we return to the compound?” Ting asked me.

“No, there is still light out. But there is a small noodle shop. Let’s rest there for now,” I replied, and Ting nodded. She followed me as I entered the noodle shop, which was more a street stall with seats. We were much better dressed than the other customers, but I wasn’t worried.

During my time going about the city, I had seen several guards patrolling. I suspected that the compound, commercial, crafting, and entertainment districts were all carefully monitored. This city was in the backyard of the Cloudy Moon Sect, so it made sense there was an iron grip on the city. Criminals didn’t last long. Justice was harsh and swift.

“Do you want ramen?” I asked Ting, who gave an affirmative.

“Two miso ramen please,” I asked the stall worker, who nodded as Ting handed him some bronze coins.

“So, what is a rich brat like you doing wandering about?” one man sitting at the counter asked me. “A bit short, aren’t you?”

“I am looking for business opportunities, but nothing catches my eye,” I replied.

“Business, good luck. If you aren’t at the top, no way you are getting there,” the man replied. Well, so much for some luck and having a random person giving me a brilliant idea to make lots of silver. The market in the city was very stable.

That was the problem with a world like this. Cultivators lived for a very long time. Yi Rong had lived for a thousand years and nothing much had changed in that time. I knew other higher stage cultivators lived longer.

It would be like someone living in ancient Rome all the way to the modern age. They would have those Roman values. Since all the top people were old and powerful, they would lock those values into place.

Also, there was no need for weapons development. Cultivators were the weapons. So, no arms race to beat another country. It was all about personal training. Even if someone invented something, it would never find traction, since the wealth was very locked up with certain people.

Sure, there might be a little wiggle room, but it wasn’t like America, where someone from a normal background could rise easily. Even me, a young master, was nothing compared to the cultivators. Even my father would have to bow his head.

The ramen was served, and I slowly ate. It was decent and filling, but not that impressive compared to the food at the compound. “Well, we always appreciate every customer here, young master,” the ramen stand worker replied.

Food was an option. “You prepare the noodles by hand?” I asked.

“Of course. How else would I prepare them?” the ramen stand worker asked me. I considered opening up fast food, but there were too many challenges without a modern distribution network and again that got into the problem of sourcing raw ingredients and hiring people.

I either need something everyone could buy for one or two bronze coins, or something high value which only I could make and sell. After Ting and I finished our ramen, we took a rickshaw on a scenic route through the crafting district.

That was when it hit me as we drove past another food stand and the people around the city. Meat was very expensive. We had it at the compound, but there was little meat available in the city. “Ting, why don’t more food stalls sell meat?” I asked her as we headed back towards the commercial district.

“I would say cost. Meat is pricey, and you need food to feed the animals. It is a sign of class as well. The rich can eat meat while the poor struggle to. It is one business your father is in.”

“Really? What does he do exactly?” I asked.

“I believe he handles selling and buying food and other supplies on behalf of the Cloudy Moon Sect and large portions of the city, but I am not entirely sure.” I had seen the high-class restaurants in the center of the city, and they weren’t cheap.

A full meal would easily cost a hundred bronze coins. If you got insane with the specialty drinks a person could easily spend an entire tael. This was before one even touched on rumored cultivator meals that had to be specialty ordered and prepared.

I knew nothing about plants, so I couldn’t start up a farm. No one here needed to understand using AI to manage traffic lights. I continued walking and looking around the commercial district. There was a toy shop that had board games.

Now there was an idea. I took a look through the shop. They had chess, go, checkers, dolls, cultivation action figures all made of wood. Perhaps someone else from Earth had beaten me here and used the idea. No game store or game craze would be possible.

“We are going to the entertainment district,” I told the rickshaw puller as we got in. Ting gave me a look, but I ignored it.

About ninety percent of the district was brothels. I didn’t care about those. The rest of the district had a single playhouse, bars that weren’t brothels, and a sweet shop. I let out a sigh and called it a day before it got dark, and we returned to the compound.

I collected 45 motes of Qi today. Each of them is a singular pricking point inside of me. I had taken to pushing them into the center of my body, building up a thick cluster, keeping them arranged in a tight grid pattern.

Each mote was miniscule. A point in space, rather than having any real volume. I could feel them. Calling them needle size might even be a bit too large. The end of a strand of hair might be better. A very wispy strand.

While today had been good, I was still lacking any good ideas on a business. I thought for sure there would have been something, or an idea would come to me while going about the city. There was no convenient stock exchange either to quickly build up wealth.

Everything else the city had covered. Glass blowers, blacksmiths, woodworkers, jewelers, toy makers, and everything else under the sun that wasn’t something related to modern machinery. While everything was handcrafted, the market was very stable, from what I could tell.

I sat in my room at my desk, using my stylus to draw shapes in the sand tray and then smoothing it over with a pull of a lever that caused a bar to sweep back and forth. Even simple mechanical devices were covered. They clearly had the printing press, since I had checked a bookstore and there were loads of books with uniform symbols stamped on their pages.

Sitting there morosely, I randomly drew circles trying to come up with something. That was when I paused. I was such an idiot. The idea had been in front of me all day. Bicycles, there were no bicycles anywhere. They pulled everyone around in rickshaws.

I frowned and realized the main issue. Metal was expensive around here. Wood was cheap. There was also no rubber that I could spot. That meant a bicycle would be a super luxury item, not something any common man could invest a bit of money into purchasing.

The drink selection was quite varied, so I couldn’t cut in on the alcohol market either. These people weren’t idiots. That was why all the low hanging fruit had already been picked. Anything more complex would require a much larger investment.

I went to bed feeling frustrated and woke up the next day in the same mood. While I had been collecting a lot of motes, I was stuck. “Ting, what medical services are available?” I asked her.

“A doctor can be called for you, if you desire. Your father employs one for the household. For regular people, it is quite expensive to see a doctor. There are many back-alley people who try to make a living doing this, but their quality is questionable.” I nodded at this and began picking at my breakfast, that was quite decadent. Fresh bread, butter, fruit, and some cheese.

“I am sure you will find something, young master,” Ting told me. She was no doubt trying to reassure me as I had told her what I was doing yesterday. I gave her a weak smile.

It was annoying there were no clocks. I paused midbite on some buttered bread. Okay, a mechanical clock. Then I realized I had seen a grandfather clock in my father’s office. I let out a sigh, of course someone had already invented it.

I went back to chewing my food. I finished breakfast and went back to my room and got changed. I then jogged around our courtyard in the family compound. My mother came out, saw me, sighed, and then went back inside. Probably to behave dramatically some more.

She didn’t dare punish me, since I was a genius and her meal ticket with my father. After running for half an hour, I slowly walked and cooled down while thinking about a business. There were food carts that sold street food. Another idea crossed off the mental list.

“Ting, do people sell businesses?” I asked her as she cleared some of the breakfast platters.

“Normally not, young master Yuan. They pass down in the family line.” I nodded slightly, since that was what I had figured. Everyone, their mother, their donkey, and their fat friend had squeezed out all the easy possibilities, and this world was static.

For stuff to remain unchanged for thousands of years, it came down to two major factors. The cost of goods, primarily metal. Metal was expensive. There was high-quality steel, but none of it was cheap. My tutors had taught me that mines in the wilderness attracted beasts seeking energy from the lower earth and there were occasionally underground monsters. Mining was a high-risk occupation normally involving debt slaves and minor criminals.

I hadn’t really thought too much about the issue, but there would be no industrial revolution. That was why almost everything was made of wood. Metal was just too valuable. One couldn’t do steam engines, electricity, or any other inventions higher on the tech tree without metal.

So that cut off innovation and mass distribution at the lower levels. At the higher levels, everyone was a cultivator who lived forever, was insanely rich, and had top social status. These sects selected people and by the time someone reached a thousand years old, they wouldn’t be easily motivated to change things and it would take away from their time cultivating.

That was why innovation had been maxed out, people seeking any edge for thousands of years, but tech hadn’t progressed since the materials just weren’t there to make a business. That was why there were luxury goods like typewriters and printing presses, but bicycles weren’t possible. Just have a servant pull you around instead. A human was cheaper. There was no rubber or plastics either, which made things even harder.

They priced services based on what people could afford. A worker earned about ten bronze coins a day for their labor. A skilled tradesman might earn up to fifty bronze coins in their craft. But the amount of disposable income was limited.

All the space inside the city was used up as well. The slums were outside the city walls, and then there was farmland. Past the farmlands was an outer wall meant to hold back beasts and monsters. There was the occasional push to take more farmland, but that risked inciting a beast tide, which would see the farmland destroyed and years of famine and starvation while the city recovered.

This meant being a landlord wasn’t feasible. After thousands of years, the space in the city was utilized as efficiently as possible. Most buildings were three stories tall and made of wood. They made a few more important buildings out of stone or concrete.

I was finished with my breakfast, and Ting took it all away. I went back to my room and got a bucket bath. Basically, buckets of water dumped over my body and a cloth to wipe me down. It was one of my many eccentricities, cleaning myself instead of having a servant do it.

Getting changed, I thought about how I wanted to handle the day. I got 89 motes yesterday, which was an insanely good amount. It would take less than four years to reach the goal of 120,000 motes if that was the case.

“Ting, we are going out again,” I said to the servant.

“Yes, young master.” My mother had insisted she go with me if I left the compound, and I had no complaints about that. “Unfortunately, I do not have the funds for such a trip,” she replied and bowed her head.

“How much did we spend yesterday?” I asked.

“Twenty bronze coins for the rickshaws and four bronze coins for the food, young master Yuan.” In thirty days at the same rate of expenditure would put my expenses around 720 bronze coins, leaving me with 280 bronze coins of wiggle room.

“We are going to be doing a lot more traveling. How much would hiring a full-time rickshaw cost?” I asked.

“Around ten bronze coins a day. That is the cost for a full day hire.” I nodded at this.

“Pay for a full day and we will go to a money changer. I will pay back the ten bronze. Also, don’t let my mother know about the money changer. I know you report to her. I would consider a bronze coin a day for your silence on more sensitive matters.”

Ting considered that for a moment and then nodded. “Of course, young master. I will not let her know about the money changer.”

“And other things that might come up. She is easily excited.”

“I understand, young master.” We left the compound again, and Ting hired a rickshaw for a full day. Our first stop was a money changer. This was in the center of the city. A silver tael was for high-value purchases, and I couldn’t easily spend it.

Entering the building, I saw a posted sign listing the exchange rates. The place was called the Coinage Guild. For silver to bronze, it was 1:950 and the other way around it was 1050:1. Of course, there would be a transaction fee. There were also a lot of guards standing around. I also saw they offered loan services, so I had an idea.

“Young master, how can I help you today?” the clerk sitting at a desk asked me. A servant quickly put a cushion on the seat before I sat. I gave them a nod of thanks. It helped a bit, but I was still quite small.

“I am planning to exchange some money, but was hoping to speak to you about businesses I could buy or invest in.” The clerk nodded.

“We offer transactional services and affordable loans. But these are all handled individually and with utmost confidence.” I nodded at this explanation.

“I completely understand. But perhaps there is a business that has defaulted on a loan that I could purchase from your organization. I understand there might be a higher risk, but it would be a chance to recover from some losses and not concern yourself with the business anymore,” I offered. The clerk looked thoughtful for a moment.

“There is one business that comes to mind. The owner has connections, which has made it troublesome to request repayment of the loan he took to get it started and revenue has been non-existent.”

“I might be interested once I learn of the business, the debt, and some details,” I replied.

“I would need to speak to the shift manager. May I have your name, young master?” He was basically asking for my connections to confirm I had resources and connections.

“Yuan Zhou, son of Yuan Chen,” I replied. The clerk smiled even more at that.

“Then there should be no problem. Excuse me one moment and enjoy some refreshments while you wait.” He waved a servant over, who served fruit juice, cheese, and bread. I only picked a single piece of fruit to be polite. Stuffing my face would not set a good impression.

Soon the clerk returned all smiles. “I have permission to discuss the details with you, young master Yuan. It is quite impressive you are already seeking business opportunities at your age.”

“My father calls me a genius, and I am humbled. Now this business?” I asked.

“Of course. An apprentice woodcarver by the name of Ling struck out on his own to make specialty chairs. Unfortunately, they have not sold, and the designs are questionable. He took out a loan to start up his own shop.”

“I will need to see the shop and speak with this Ling. What were the loan terms?” I asked.

“We took twenty percent of his business for five taels worth of silver, with the understanding he would pay a tael a year. It has been three years and no repayment. We were going to repossess everything and sell it for a tael, but that would be quite a loss.”

“The deal is for twenty percent. Is that revenue or profit?” I asked.

“Revenue,” the clerk answered.

“I am interested, but I would need to meet with this Ling and see his workshop for myself before deciding.”

“I completely understand, young master Yuan. Do you wish for me to accompany you to make an introduction?”

“Yes, please, and before we go, I will need to exchange a tael for some bronze.” I got my 950 bronze, and we left. Our rickshaw followed the clerk. I paid Ting 20 bronze coins for the rickshaw cost for today and her silence. She pocketed the money with a smile and thanks.

We reached the wood workshop. It wasn’t in the best part of the crafting district, but not the worst. We entered the front of the workshop and I saw two chairs. A young boy was slowly cleaning the place and looked surprised that people had entered.

“Father, people,” he called out. That was rude, but he was only a year or two older than me at best. A hurried and worn looking man smelling of sawdust came out of the back. I saw his face pale as his eyes landed on the clerk.

“Honorable clerk, welcome. I have had a few more leads-“

“While I am here to discuss business, it is of a slightly different nature. Young master Yuan Zhou here has inquired about purchasing your debt woodcarver Ling.”

He turned to me and bowed deeply. “Welcome, young master Yuan.”

“Thank you for your welcome. I wish to speak to mister Ling privately. I will return to the Coinage Guild and let you know what I have decided after speaking to him,” I told the clerk. The clerk just kept smiling at me and nodded.

“Of course, young master Yuan. I will take my leave.” I waited until the clerk left and I looked at the two chairs before sitting in one. It was comfortable, but you could only make a chair so comfortable. I noticed a lever on the side but couldn’t reach it.

I got off and gestured for Ting to take a seat and have her pull the lever. Woodcarver Ling was quiet while he watched us look at his chair. She pulled the lever, and a footrest extended and the back reclined. A reclining chair.

“Interesting. So, you invented this?” I asked.

“Yes, young master Yuan.”

“How much does it sell for and how much does it cost to make?” I asked.

“Two hundred bronze coins is the price, and it costs fifty bronze coins in materials and about five days of labor.” The margins were poor, and it was an expensive item, but not upper class. It was kind of middle class, but too expensive.

It needed to be half of that price realistically to attract people. He would need to sell at least one every five days to maintain a bare living. “What are you doing currently, since I don’t see a lot of these chairs built?” I asked.

“Simple items, priced at guild rates, but people would prefer more senior masters and the specialty products they have.” Key items like stools, ladders, chairs, benches, tables, all had set prices by the Woodcarvers Guild. It was to prevent a race to the bottom.

A wood carver could price things higher or specialty products with no limits, but there was only so much market share. “I am trying to make the metal parts out of wood, but it takes time, and they are more prone to wearing out.” I nodded absently as I thought about the situation.

“What about rocking chairs?” I asked.

“Rocking chairs?” Ling replied with a question.

“A curved bottom instead of legs?” He thought about that for a moment and then shook his head.

“I have seen nothing like that.” I smiled. Finally, I had a way into a business and niche I could take.

“I am interested in doing business with you. But I am taking a colossal risk. Half.”

“Half!” He said in shock.

“Yes. I want half your business. There will be no requirement on minimum returns, but if I purchase your debt, we will have a new contract made, half,” I replied. He was between a rock and a hard place. Thankfully, I had watched a lot of Shark Tank. Always attack when they are weak and take all the equity you could get.