Chapter 400: The City Gate Fire and Its Aftermath
Chapter 400: The City Gate Fire and Its Aftermath
December 4th, 2024
"Changlin, do you mean that we should discuss this with Jiang Cheng and share the responsibility for the five percent reduction?" Gao Ling asked tentatively.
"What do you think of this idea?" Gu Changlin asked.
"I think it's not a good idea in the short term," Gao Ling said, scratching his head.
"Because just a few days ago, we reduced his share by one percent. If we reduce it again now, everyone will have objections. Moreover, he's been doing well lately. He used to submit four furnaces of elixir daily, but now he works overtime for several hours each day and submits five furnaces."
"You're right, and that's one of my concerns," Gu Changlin said, his eyebrows furrowed.
"And the alchemists here all have at least a three percent share. Ding Lei and the others are like that. I think Jiang Cheng is also aware of this. If we reduce his share to two percent, it wouldn't be reasonable. However, we can ask him to refine more elixirs later."
Gao Ling smiled and said, "Now he's submitting five furnaces daily. In the future, he can increase it to six or even seven furnaces. If he reaches seven furnaces, the daily profit will be 35 million, and even after we take our share and give half to the family, there will still be a considerable amount left."
"I know you're not satisfied, but there's no other way. After all, you can't go against the family, right? And if you want to become the family head in the future, you'll need the support of some of them."
"I understand," Gu Changlin said, taking a deep breath.
The distribution ratio couldn't be easily changed, and it wouldn't be easy to change it for a long time in the future.
They could only make adjustments in terms of quantity.
However, the time Gao Ling mentioned was too long.
"By the way, what do you think if we install surveillance on each alchemist?"
"That... wouldn't be a good idea, would it?" Gao Ling asked, his eyebrows forming a deep crease. "The family has tried this before, but it caused a huge backlash. Almost no alchemist would agree, and other families haven't done this either."
As he spoke, he suddenly realized Changlin's intention.
"Changlin, you want to monitor Jiang Cheng's alchemy process through surveillance to see if he's hiding any elixirs, right?"
"Exactly," Gu Changlin nodded.
"Do you remember what I told you last time? I think there's a high probability that he hides a bottle or even two bottles of elixir every day."
"I understand," Gao Ling replied.
Gu Changlin was trying to cut costs.
He was looking for ways to recover some of the losses.
"I understand. I'll have someone install it in a few days, but we might need to improve their treatment a bit, or else..."
"Mhm, go ahead. These people are working for me, and their treatment is already good. If anyone has objections later, just kick them out. It'll serve as a warning to the others."
"Okay."
Gao Ling ended the communication and took a deep breath.
Gu Changlin's actions would definitely cause some alchemists to leave, either voluntarily or by being poached by other forces.
Fortunately, the profits these people generated were insignificant compared to Jiang Cheng.
The latter might have objections, but he had nowhere else to go. Moreover, Gu Changlin had specifically instructed that if Jiang Cheng were to leave, they must stop him and notify him immediately.
Therefore, there was no possibility of any unexpected incidents occurring.
As time passed, several days went by.
If it weren't for the additional Moonstone Pendant, which could be used to grind for proficiency, Jiang Cheng felt that these days were no different from the past.
However, as soon as he unlocked the door to the alchemy chamber with the key early that morning, he sensed something new in the room.
A camera, hanging in the northeast corner, its small red light blinking.
"Was this installed last night?"
Jiang Cheng glanced at it and calmly averted his gaze.
But in his heart, he sighed.
With this camera monitoring, his plan to secretly consume two extra furnaces of pills for self-enhancement was now ruined.
Not only that, but the spiritual energy recovered during meditation could no longer be used for visualization diagrams, as it would be easily discovered.
From then on, he was reduced to being a mere tool for alchemy.
This situation was still tolerable, but the crucial issue was that Gu Changlin had used a Moonstone Pendant worth two hundred million to impersonate a Jade Coiling Dragon Pendant worth a billion.
This made Jiang Cheng feel like a marked fool.
"I was planning to stay here a little longer, but now it seems unnecessary."
He shook his head and began his alchemy work.
Meanwhile, this incident caused quite a stir among the other alchemists.
Someone directly called Gao Ling to inquire about the situation.
Gao Ling's reassurance and promise of increased pay gradually calmed the situation, but this was only on the surface. Only each person knew what they truly thought.
Time flew by, and soon it was noon.
Jiang Cheng was pulled into a private room by Ding Lei and a few others, where they discussed the morning's events.
"No other families have done this, and even within the Gu family, no one else has experienced this. It's clear that Gu Changlin's actions are a sign of distrust towards us." Ding Lei said, somewhat angrily.
"That's right. They gave us a small raise, but we all know the truth."
"Jiang Cheng, what do you think?" The woman among them looked at Jiang Cheng.
Upon hearing this, the others turned to him as well.
After all, some things were common knowledge among them.
Among the group, Jiang Cheng was the most skilled alchemist, and Gu Changlin's actions had caused him the greatest loss.
Therefore, if Jiang Cheng took the lead, there was a high probability that Gu Changlin would change his mind and remove all the cameras from the room.
Jiang Cheng forced a bitter smile, "I think it's fine. Although it's a bit uncomfortable to think that someone might be watching through the camera while I'm practicing alchemy, we're all just employees. There's nothing wrong with what they're doing, right?"
While others might not understand, his heart was all too clear.
Gu Changlin's actions were likely targeted at him.
Ding Lei and the others were just caught in the crossfire, like fish in a pond when the city gate caught fire.
Moreover, from an ethical standpoint, there was nothing wrong with Gu Changlin's decision to install surveillance cameras.
It was like a chef stealing from the kitchen; it was undoubtedly wrong.
The group fell silent, looking at each other awkwardly.
"Yes, that's how it is."
"Yes, it's a bit uncomfortable."
"Forget it, we're just venting. Come, let's all have a drink."
The others weren't sure if Jiang Cheng was being naive or deliberately feigning ignorance.
However, it wasn't appropriate to continue the conversation, as there might be Gu Changlin's informants present.
The atmosphere in the private room quieted down.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
