Even though Jing Zhe revealed Wenxiangju and Zhangjia Winery, no one understood how he had used the shops to connect the sect with the imperial court.
At this moment, Jing Zhe smiled and said, "Whether it's Zhang Family Winery, Wenxiangju, or Da'an Newspaper, they can't just stay in Jingzhou. Such good things should naturally be shared with the people of Anguo. So my next plan is to open them in various parts of Anguo!"
"Zhang Family Winery sells wine and supplies it to Wenxiangju. The newspaper can not only record interesting stories from various places, but also promote shops or sects. Of course, when traveling to various places, we can invite outer disciples of sects to enter the winery, Wenxiangju, etc., or if the sect is willing, it can send inner disciples to stay there, partly to help, and partly as recruitment points in various places."
"At the same time, we will not let the sect disciples help for nothing. They will receive a considerable monthly stipend, which will not only help alleviate the pressure of the sect's food and drink expenses, but also provide the sect with a steady stream of income!"
Jing Zhe spoke at length, and after he finished, everyone remained silent, carefully considering his suggestion.
It has to be said that if Jing Zhe's suggestion is implemented, over time, the sects and the imperial court will become inextricably linked!
But it smells so good!
Especially for some large sects, they are actually very envious of Wuxian Pavilion. After all, Wuxian Pavilion has Wuxian Garden, which not only allows them to send their own disciples there to relieve the pressure on their sect, but also to make money!
If they were to truly cooperate with the imperial court—or rather, with Jing Zhe—they could send many of their disciples out!
The sect leader of Mingji and Pei Chunjing exchanged a glance and smiled, clearly agreeing that the idea was feasible.
But they also knew there was no such thing as a free lunch, so they asked, "President Jing, what you've said is basically all about helping the major sects. Besides that, you should also tell us how to cooperate with the imperial court!"
"As expected, we couldn't hide it from Sect Master Mingji and Master Pei Jing! After all, we're not in the charity business, and we can't offer our services for free. The main point is that if, for example, the barbarians of the Western Frontier attack Liangzhou, or if the Southern Qi or the Eastern Yue Kingdom attack Anguo, and Anguo's military strength is insufficient, we can command our sect to help. I wonder if everyone thinks this is feasible?"
"..."
The Mingji Sect Master and Pei Chunjing exchanged a glance, but neither of them answered immediately. Seeing this, the other members of the smaller sects naturally fell silent as well, and the atmosphere instantly became quiet.
...
Jing Zhe wasn't in a hurry, because he felt that the conditions he offered were already tempting enough, and they would definitely agree in the end.
Concern can cloud judgment. Qingqiu and Pei Yunxi were getting anxious. If it weren't for the crowd around them, they would have asked their master to help Jing Zhe. Mu Qingren was even more anxious. Her man's affairs were her affairs, and she wouldn't allow him to lose face!
So he stepped forward and shouted, "Our Wuxian Pavilion agrees to cooperate with President Jing!"
"Whoosh!"
Everyone turned to look at her, some of them wondering why. In their opinion, even if they agreed, it shouldn't be the Wuxian Pavilion that agreed first, since they had the Wuxian Garden and their conditions were much better than those of other sects.
The only explanation is that they weren't just after the money; they wanted publicity for the newspaper!
Just as everyone was discussing this, Jing Zhe smiled bitterly to himself, thinking that Mu Qingren was still too young!
Jing Zhe knew perfectly well why the Mingji Sect Master and Pei Chunjing hadn't agreed. If they had agreed now, it would have attracted other sects to flock to them, and how could they have maximized their benefits?
So, unsurprisingly, they wanted to see him alone.
But Mu Qingren was only worried about him and certainly hadn't thought of this. Jing Zhe could only smile and say, "Then thank you very much, Pavilion Master Mu. However, this matter is of great importance, and I think the others also need to go back and consider it. So everyone, let's disperse for now!"
The others nodded in agreement and left, discussing amongst themselves.
After the other minor sects left, only the people from Qingyun Sect, Kunlun Mirror, and Wuxian Pavilion remained on the field. As for Tongtianque, they seemed uninterested in what Jing Zhe had said—which was understandable, since Tongtianque had the protection of the Prince of Jin in Jinxi, so why would it need to cooperate with the imperial court to gain benefits?
The Qingyun Sect left behind Sect Master Mingji and Qingqiu, the Kunlun Mirror Sect was led by Pei Chunjing and Pei Yunxi, and the Wuxian Pavilion was naturally led by Mu Qingren and Wang Yingqiu. The other disciples returned to their residences to pack their belongings in advance, since the selection of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader meant that they would have to leave Jinxi and return to their sects.
However, it's good that there are still a few people left. At least for Jing Zhe, there are no outsiders, and he can speak freely.
The sect leader of Mingji spoke first: "President Jing, your suggestion is excellent, and I am very interested in it as well. Why don't you come back to Qingyun Sect with me, President Jing, so we can discuss this in detail?"
Before Jing Zhe could answer, Pei Chunjing immediately said, "President Jing, our Kunlun Mirror is also very interested in President Jing's proposal, so we would like to invite President Jing to visit our Kunlun Mirror. Moreover, our Kunlun Mirror can provide the greatest support for cooperation with President Jing. Why don't you come with me in the car, President Jing, and we can chat while we ride? We can stay at Kunlun Mirror for lunch!"
"Master Pei, don't you respect the order of arrival?!"
"Sect Master Mingji, no one gave prior notice, so how can there be any distinction between first and last?"
"Is Master Pei planning to snatch people from our Qingyun Sect?"
"Sect Master Mingji is joking. How could this be considered kidnapping?"
"..."
While the two were exchanging blows, Mu Qingren watched in stunned silence.
What's going on here?
Why didn't either of them speak up for Jing Zhe just now, but now that he's gone, they're starting to fight over him?
Judging from their demeanor, they must all be very optimistic about Jing Zhe's suggestion just now, otherwise they wouldn't be acting like this now. Does this mean... it was all intentional just now?
Mu Qingren then recalled that Jing Zhe seemed to have winked when he spoke to her, as if it were a veiled meaning…
Her face suddenly turned red. She looked up at Jing Zhe and found that he was looking at her. Mu Qingren lowered her head in embarrassment.
At this point, no one needed to say anything more; she already understood what had happened. A classic case of good intentions gone wrong.
The subtle interactions between Mu Qingren and Jing Zhe might not have been noticed by the Mingji Sect Master and Pei Chunjing, but Qingqiu and Pei Yunxi certainly did. After all, women in the throes of love are the most sensitive—although Pei Yunxi wasn't in love, her relationship with Jing Zhe was in a very delicate state, so none of this escaped her notice.
She exchanged a glance with Qingqiu, then each of them moved closer to Jingzhe, reaching out their hands behind their sleeves—
"ah!!"
Immediately afterwards, Jing Zhe let out a scream.
————
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