Calculating Cultivation

We returned to his house and the clerk, and I went inside the carriage to hammer things out. “Ten thousand taels with deferred interest for five years,” I started right off, and the clerk grinned at me. It was a bit more sinister than usual.

“Twelve thousand, no deferred interest. We run a business, not a charity,” he replied.

“Deferred interest is a must. The farm needs time to recover.”

“Then we would wait for ourselves. Cashflow is the most important thing and what my bosses look at,” he replied. I frowned at this. I needed cashflow and could not fund 200 taels a year. Even with the success of rocking chairs, I wouldn’t be seeing that kind of cash flow, even with custom orders.

“If this farm fails, what will you do?” I asked the clerk.

“Sell it to another person, just like we did to this guy. Keep going and slowly upping the price until they pay us back,” the clerk said unashamedly. What a scam. But like he said, they weren’t running a charity.

“I can’t defer the interest with my name?” I asked.

“Not in these sums. Your father could, but not you,” the clerk replied. I considered the situation.

“I am confused why the Coinage Guild doesn’t look more long term,” I said, while trying to understand where the clerk and his bosses were coming from.

“We have found that long-term investments are not worthwhile. Our goal is turning a profit and to keep commerce moving. Not to entrench ourselves in the various businesses of the city. It seems odd, since many other people look at the long term. The Coinage Guild was founded to address short-term commerce and is our primary mandate,” the clerk explained.

That made sense weirdly. Cultivators would live a long time. What was a hundred-year investment plan when you would live a thousand years or more? But in the meantime, it would cause stagnation of various financial interests.

“I am guessing you already discussed things with your superiors?” I asked.

“Indeed. After your recent success and inquiry, we deliberated this exact situation. We could gamble on your success, but we are the Coinage Guild, not the Gambling Guild.”

“Twelve thousand, deferred interest for two years, compounded yearly, and my stake in the various patents as collateral,” I countered. The clerk was silent for a bit.

“We reserve the right to audit you. If you default, you understand you will be repossessed as well to cover the debt and your body auctioned. Your patents will not be enough. If your father covers the debt, he would likely disown you afterwards.”

“The land wouldn’t cover the debt along with my patents?” I asked, and the clerk shook his head.

“Unfortunately, not. The land would cover ten thousand taels, your patents would cover another two thousand taels, but then interest that has compounded would be left over. After two years, you are looking at an additional four hundred and eighty-nine tael's worth of interest you would owe.” He was clearly up on his mental math.

“Two percent interest is incredibly reasonable,” I replied suspiciously.

“That is the standard rate for farming properties. We are heartless, but not savages.” The Coinage Guild had a monopoly on loans. If they raised the rates too high, then people would go behind their back. They were also fueling growth and development, which was probably their purpose on behalf of the sect.

“Alright, I accept.” The clerk's eyes widened a bit, and he seemed a bit surprised.

“Very well, Young Master Yuan. I have the documents already prepared. We can begin signing right away.” We completed it in under an hour. I now owned fifty percent of this farm, a 12,000 tael debt, and three years to get things in order.

“Begin doing everything you can to recover the farm,” I told Jian before I left, and he gave me a nod.

“Thank you, Young Master Yuan,” he replied, and bowed deeply.

“I believe in you, but please forgive me if I am overbearing in checking in. This is an enormous investment and risk‌,” I said.

“I understand, and I won’t let you down,” Jian said. I gave him a nod and got into the carriage. We departed the farm. Ting was looking slightly worried, and the clerk was smiling, as always.

“Don’t worry Ting. I already did the math on the yields for the farm and confirmed the size. I could handle the debt in three years with the current yields.” It would be rough, and I would bleed tael, but it was doable.

“It is an enormous debt, Young Master.”

“It is. But with great risk comes great profits. I have seen a market need and this farm will address the issue perfectly with a bit more preparation. I suspect I will pay off the debt in under five years with a bit of luck,” I replied. The clerk who had been listening in clearly perked up at that.

“Really, Young Master?” he asked me.

“I would not take the risk if I did not see the potential to make a lot of money. If I am not willing to put myself on the line, how can I ask these businesses to give up such a large share if I am not willing to shoulder some of the risk?”

We returned to Half Moon City, and we dropped the clerk off at the Coinage Guild. After that, I purchased an empty warehouse in the crafting district. I purchased a quantity of glassware, burning through the savings I had built up from my forays into wood carving.

I hired a servant to cut up and ground various portions and parts of peppers and began testing each and every one of them. Boiling and then drying the liquid. Drying the peppers out. It took time and trying to remember how my Earth father made his homemade death sauce.

It took half a month before I finally hit on the solution. The peppers needed to be dried, then they needed to be fried for a couple of minutes. Once that was done, add water, vinegar, garlic, and salt. Grind everything until it becomes very fine. Once that was done, I would adjust it more with salt and vinegar. After that, I could boil the liquid a bit to thicken or was ready right then.

I had created hot sauce. I had my final batch put into several glass bottles and sealed, but kept several as a control to see how long they would stay good for. After consideration, I took two bottles with me and arranged a meeting with Yuan Niu, my fourth brother.

“You wanted to meet and eat steak?” he asked me as we sat down in a restaurant that specializes in steaks, which he was the primary, or possibly the only, supplier.

“I have invented this. It is very hot. But I can see it appealing to people.” I set a bottle of hot sauce in front of Yuan Niu. He gave it a careful look before picking it up with his large hand. He carefully pulled the wax sealed cork out of the bottle and gave it a sniff. Yuan Niu leaned back and then gave me a look.

I held out my hand, and he passed me the bottle and then I carefully added a dab of the sauce to my steak and cut a piece. I noticed my strength had been increasing the more motes I took inside of my body. As I ate the piece, my eyes watered, and I drank some water. Yuan Niu reached out and put a slightly larger dallop on his steak.

He shoved the piece of streak in his mouth, didn’t spit it out and chewed, then swallowed it. He was sweating heavily and then had some water. “What devilry is this?” he asked.

“Hot sauce. A potent spice I have extracted from peppers,” I replied.

“Alchemy?” he asked in a worried tone. I shook my head.

“I checked and got a signed letter from the Alchemy Guild. As long as there is no cultivation involved, and we solely derived the product from a common plant, they considered it a recipe and not alchemy,” I said with a grin, and he nodded as well.

“It is unique. I will give you that. But will it really appeal to people?” he asked.

“The youth will brag about how much they can take, and it will liven up any food that is served. For a cultivator, perhaps a kick to feel something strong. We would add warning labels, of course. Huge warning labels and call it Inferno Sauce. Then make a stronger version called Death Sauce. The danger will attract people.”

Yuan Niu grew thoughtful. “You want to use my channels to sell and distribute this sauce?” he asked. I nodded at this.

“Yes. I have arranged a farm for long-term production. It will take time. But we can run more tests to perfect the recipe. We can initially release it in limited quantities and make it exclusive to discerning clientele for a huge markup.”

“Then once word spreads and your production is built up, we can spread it through the city and beyond,” Yuan Niu finished for me and I nodded at this. He added some more to his steak and began chewing on the piece.

“It burns the mouth even after.”

“Guess what counters that?” I asked him with a smile.

“What?”

“Milk.” I replied.

“Milk,” he said slowly and chuckled. “Now that, my dear brother, is quite brilliant. So how would this work, and what is the price per bottle?” he asked me.

“I would sell to you and make an agreement to not find a new supplier or cut me out. In exchange, I could get the price of 50 bronze per bottle. The glass is the expensive part and I would need to work on making the hot sauce production more efficient, but I could sell it in bulk to you.”

“That is quite low. Would you even be making money?” he asked me.

“Yes. You can price it whatever you want, but you buy what I make. All of it. I estimate in three years, I could produce around a hundred thousand bottles per year.” His eyes went wide at that. I could make them for about 20 bronze coins once I got everything streamlined. That meant three million bronze coins, or three thousand tael per year for me.

It would take work and a lot of effort to streamline, but it could be done. “Most likely I will switch to wood bottles for mass production and keep the glass battles for the elite batches,” I replied, and Yuan Niu nodded absently. “What I need to know is, will you be able to handle the volume?” I asked him.

“How long will they stay good for?” he asked me.

“I am testing that. But there is salt in the mix which should act as a preservative. My goal is one year.”

“A year is fine. We can export to the other cities in that timeframe with the trade caravans. Two years would be best,” he replied.

“I am working on it, but I wanted to confirm you can handle the volume before I go all in on this. It is a sizable investment‌,” I replied.

“You don’t care what I price them for?” Yuan Niu asked.

“No. But my price won’t go lower or higher once I complete the process in the next couple of months. If the market contracts, you would be on the hook to purchase them regardless,” I replied.

“A set price. I can work with that, and it would be exclusive?” he asked me.

“Yes, minus the requests of cultivators,” I countered, and he nodded at that.

“That is fine, as long as other people can’t buy this in bulk. I can see this making an impact. How much do you have on hand right now?”

“Twenty bottles,” I replied. My brother pulled out a tael and set it on the table.

“I will take them all and will want to test them out with some friends to confirm things.” I pulled out a contract and set it on the table. It was just an initial agreement, outlining our intent to do business together and the main clause of him not being allowed to cut me out or make the hot sauce without me.

Yuan Niu looked at the piece of paper and then at me. “Very well,” he replied and signed it and the second exact copy I had laid out. I let him keep one and he pocketed the other.

While he could screw me, he would lose a lot of face if the contract came to light. I set the small crate of bottles on the table and took the tael he had set down. It was good to have cash flow again. With that completed, I got to work.

It had been tempting to ask for a percentage of the sales, but the risk was too high. Once I nailed the production down, I wanted a guaranteed contract to produce hot sauce and he would buy it all without exception. If I took a percentage, then there would be additional risk.

I wasn’t in this to make money but to move about and collect motes. The money was secondary, and I couldn’t afford to lose big. Yuan Niu would shoulder the risks of the market, while I just produced and sold him hot sauce.

If he bought it all, I could expand and if he didn’t buy, I could sell to others. So, he would buy at the cheap price I had set. It would be a minor luxury item, but even poorer households could afford it if he didn’t go crazy about the price. In time, as I produced more, his margins would shrink, but mine would remain consistent.

It wasn’t trickery, but long-term business planning. He just saw all the taels he could make at the start and was blinded to the long-term implications. His margins would shrink while mine would remain constant. I knew that my father, Yuan Chen, would have seen through my scheme, but business was business. It wasn’t charity.

With the recipe nailed down, I began working on the process in the warehouse. Shelves with trays for the peppers to dry on. Then they would be deseeded and chopped up before being tossed into large pots. I had specific size cups prepared with markings to show the exact amount of ingredients that needed to be added. I was trying to make the process as idiot proof as possible.

I would boil the pots while I would lower a grinder from the ceiling and spin inside the pots, mixing and grinding the ingredients. Once the mixture was boiling, a spigot would be opened, and it would divert the liquid into fifty bottles at once.

After which they would be quickly sealed with a cork and wax and then packaged. I would use glass bottles for all the hot sauce. Wooden bottles just didn’t work, unfortunately. I added labels onto the bottles afterwards, with the date made, a warning, and the name of the product.

The money was pouring out of my woodcarving venture into getting the production facility all set up. I got the manufacturing price down to 23.5 bronze coins per bottle. I had been buying up the supply of peppers for my test runs and the price had been creeping upwards. Thankfully, I had a farm ready long term to offset this.

Yuan Niu had confirmed the hot sauce was a hit and wanted everything he could get his hands on. So, Inferno and the much more concentrated Death Sauce began rolling off the production line in my warehouse and the tael began flowing in.

It would take a year or two before my farm began producing peppers in large quantities, but I had shown Jian what I was making and he agreed to switch to pepper production as long as I purchased all the peppers, which I agreed to. Vertical integration of businesses allowed me to dominate the hot sauce market, and I didn’t even need to find buyers. Yuan Niu was doing the headache inducing part, moving the product.

It had been a year since our last meeting, and I approached the sliding paper door once again and knocked. I then waited. After a while, a voice called out for me to enter. I entered the room and kowtowed once more to Yi Rong.

“Raise your head, child. I found your gift of a rocking chair amusing.”

“I humbly thank you for accepting such a gift,” I replied to the cultivator.

“So, a year has passed in a blink of an eye. Tell me, how many motes have you gathered?” he asked.

“I have gathered 79,281 motes,” I replied nervously. I suddenly felt a tremendous amount of pressure. A hand gripped my chin and forced me to look into Yi Rong’s eyes.

“Truly? How?” he asked.

“I can see them without aid,” I replied. He let my chin go and sank back into a sitting position, letting out a sigh.

“The heavens truly do favor you, child. Only five years old and far more talented than cultivators, far older. So, do you plan to keep gathering them until you are twenty?” he asked.

“You warned me that the more I gathered, the harder it would be to align them all during the next stage. But I needed to have the strongest foundation if I wanted to keep advancing.” Yi Rong nodded.

“Indeed. There are two paths before you. I will support you on either one and you will name me your first master.” There clearly was some significance to this, but I needed this man’s help and understanding.

“Yes, Master Yi Rong,” I said and kowtowed.

“We will do an official tea ceremony tomorrow. It is how these things are normally done. Raise your head. For now, we will discuss your future.” I did so. “The first path is the path of surety. You would stop at 150,000 motes and then apply to the sect with my recommendation. They would hail you as a genius of geniuses. It would make your path forward easy until you reach the first bottleneck.”

“There you will struggle as all do and there would be a chance it would cut your path to immortality short.” I nodded at this. “The second path is the path of defiance. You would gather as many motes as you can until you are twenty. Then you would join the sect. You would be ridiculed and laughed at for going beyond any reasonable amount. Each stage, you would have to push forward at the greatest possible speed, for time would be against you.”

“But, once you complete the fourth stage of Core Formation, you would easily pass the bottleneck by having all your meridians and channels feeding into a core. So easily, that all will be jealous and your path to immortality would be far easier. You do not need to decide now. But once you reach 150,000 motes, you must decide then. Trying to split the difference will only lead to failure.”

“Has anyone ever done this path of defiance?” I asked.

“No. It is a thought experiment that is considered. What would be the best possible level of cultivation without time that one could achieve? There are countless books written in the sect’s library of elder cultivators speculating on such a topic. But to attempt it and risk the path of surety?” Yi Rong shook his head.

“That is why it is called the path of defiance. For you would defy everything. The heavens, the wisdom of those who have come before you, and the very nature of cultivation itself to surpass all boundaries. But it would be a gamble that you could advance quickly enough in the following stages,” Yi Rong replied.

“I already know what I would choose,” I said, and Yi Rong nodded. “The path of defiance,” I replied. He stopped nodding and looked at me in shock.

“Hah, I guess I am just a foolish old man. Very well then. You are sure?”

“Yes. I am confident in my ability to overcome challenges placed in front of me and preparation long term is key,” I replied with a firm nod.

“Then let us discuss the optimal number of motes. We must work backwards from the fifth stage to truly understand the best possible foundation you would need. The key to advancement of the fourth stage for soul cultivators is to detonate your core, pushing out the motes and clearing all energy from where your soul is.”

“This would allow you to form your nascent soul, which is the fifth stage. A clear space is needed, since astral souls are fragile things, and the force of the astral plane will push and degrade one trying to form against the pressure. So, an explosion is necessary where you risk everything in a single moment.”

“Many die and fail in this attempt. A large core is necessary for a large enough explosion,” Yi Rong explained.

“What about multiple explosions?” I asked, and he shook his head and then paused.

“I could not say if such a thing is even possible. That is why I called it the path of defiance. To generate a core, you draw in astral energy through your meridians and channels. We construct these through and around the structure of your aligned motes.”

“I am sworn not to reveal the meridian structure the Cloudy Moon sect primarily uses. Any mote structure they have would not be suitable anyways with the amount you would eventually get. But you must learn and prepare. For once you arrive at the sect, there will be no time.” Yi Rong let out a long sigh.

“We shall go to the sect tomorrow after the tea ceremony, and I will speak to your father. We will be there for one month, to register you as my personal disciple and for you to read and learn from the mistakes of your ancestors to properly plan out a Formation stage layout for your motes.”

“Thank you Master Yi Rong,” I blurted.

“No kowtows and no thanks are needed. If I shall really name you as my student, then such things are unnecessary. You will be obliged to enter the Cloudy Moon sect no later than twenty-one years of age, should I name you my student. If you enter another sect, we will consider you a spy.”

I quickly nodded at this and confirmed I knew what I was getting into, and then I was dismissed. I made preparations for my departure, but everything was running fairly smoothly, at least without my constant input.

Ting was now a full-time member of my staff, and I paid her directly. I had her handle the personnel affairs since she was quite good at that and to monitor income flowing through my businesses. Hong would remain to guard her while she made the rounds in my stead.

Since it wasn’t a secret, the fact that I was being taken as an apprentice or disciple of Cultivator Yi Rong was quickly making rounds. No one would want to offend me now, in case I bore a grudge.

The next day, we set off in a carriage with four horses rushing quickly out of the city immediately after a tea ceremony where I made Yi Rong tea, which he drank, and then acknowledged me as his personal disciple. “Will my father be unprotected?” I asked Yi Rong, who was sitting with me.

“A month does not matter, and he does not need protection inside the city. My presence is merely a sign of favor to him and a place to rest outside the sect in comfort before I die.” I slowly nodded at this.

“While I could get to the sect in less than a day, you would not survive unscathed. Mortals fare poorly when around cultivation.”

“Mortals? Is that an insult?” I asked. Yi Rong grinned a bit.

“Indeed. For while very few cultivators are immortals, it is common to look down on everyone else. That is why they are called mortals. When we reach the sect, do not speak unless asked a direct question. They will evaluate you for demonic taint and other issues.”

“Like reincarnation. What are the issues with that and demonic taint?” I asked curiously.

“Demons are beasts that appear as humans. We are at war with the beasts. We made many mistakes over the years. That is why all entrants and anyone returning from a mission are checked, no matter their rank.”

“As for reincarnates, it is the same issue, but with different sects. They seek to steal knowledge, but they are also a waste of resources. They forcibly shove or move their spirit into a young physical body. But cultivation involves the astral soul. That is why they appear as geniuses.”

I gulped at this. “But such a technique is impossible before the fifth stage and once in the fifth stage there would be signs present. Marks on one’s astral soul. In addition, absorbing motes of Qi would be impossible and they would use a technique to fool people.”

“They would go that far for secrets?” I asked.

“Indeed. For secrets and to ambush cultivators. While the basic knowledge is common, mote structure, meridian layout, core techniques, and then‌ higher-level techniques all form the backbone of any sect. For that knowledge smooths out the path to immortality and forewarns of bottlenecks one might face.”

“To steal such knowledge successfully, would see a cultivator honored and rewarded. But to take such a risk closes off their own path forward. But there are all types in this world of ours, and we are just a fraction of a fraction, in a small corner of the Firmament.”

“Anything else I should be aware of?” I asked.

“I will probably be dead by the time you fully join the sect. I feel my end getting ever closer as my soul slowly becomes more unstable. A few years left at best. You will inherit my meager collection of contribution points that I have left, and be granted the title of Inner Disciple.” Yi Rong must have seen the confusion on my face.

“They divided the sect up into the outer, inner, core, and Personal disciples with the additional rank of Senior for the first three ranks. Each rank has more privileges than the previous, and you must always show respect to those ranked above you.” I nodded at this.

“Most children born in the sect become inner disciples. Elders would have their disciples named as core disciples. And the sect leader could name a single Personal Disciple of the sect that stands above all others.”

“Moving from outer to inner disciple grants more privileges and access. With contribution to the sect giving the title of senior, along with cultivation. We consider members in the fourth stage members, not disciples, and the fifth stage and higher are elders.”

“They would consider me a Senior Member of the sect. But even to the few people younger than me at the fifth stage, I must bow my head, since they are my seniors. Respect is very important, more so than the mortal world.” I nodded at this. I didn’t want to cause issues.

“I can tell you don’t want to cause issues, but your very existence is like a great boulder crashing into a tranquil pond. A true heaven-sent genius. If you claim a master after my death, I will have no objection. But you will most likely be treated with ridicule once you return when you are older.”

“The path of defiance,” I replied, and Yi Rong nodded.

“Exactly. The other cultivators might say you are wasting heaven’s favor. My advice is to remain true to your path and watch out for sabotage from members and disciples. Jealousy grips all. The elders will be curious if they decide to take an interest.”

“Thank you for the warning, master,” I said.

“It is the least I can do. There are more rules and little things you will come to understand, but the sect will explain such things when you enter. For now, we need to have you evaluated, registered, and then you will be allowed into the sect library. You will not be allowed to write or record anything, but you can read. The evaluation will most likely take a week and you will have around three weeks.”

“Any suggestions on reading material?” I asked.

“Just to understand the stages of cultivation. I will have the main introductory tomes prepared, but after that, it will fall onto you. All cultivators, once they reach the fourth and eighth rank inside the sect, are required to write what they did.”

“Their writing varies wildly from the analytical to the flowery. Many people look to the tomes of cultivators who have passed that were successful at breaking through the fourth stage. While you may find understanding there, you will not find inspiration. There are many failures.”

“The higher ranked tomes?” I asked.

“Once you become an elder, you are allowed access. Knowledge of the fifth stage and above is jealously guarded and is of limited use to you until you break through the bottleneck at the end of the fourth stage. Once we are at the sect, answer honestly and without hesitation for the evaluation will be long and tiresome.”

I was worried, but hopefully everything would be all right.