Chapter 34: The Wind Rises at the End of the Duckweed

Having delegated the expansion of new business to his subordinates, Lin Bai left the Kitchen God Rice Shop.

As long as the Negative Emotion and Residual Value kept rising, making money was secondary to Lin Bai; the speed at which the shop earned money was far behind the speed at which he could raise capital.

Relying on shop earnings was, after all, a lower-tier strategy.

What Lin Bai needed were resources, connections, and growing leeks.

……

Walking down the street, Lin Bai's ears were filled everywhere with the bewitching singing of "You love me, I love you, the Kitchen God Rice Shop welcomes you."

Aside from listening to music in the Goulan, there was almost no entertainment in Jiamu City.

Therefore, the brainwashing song spread with explosive speed.

Simple lyrics, a bewitching melody—one could remember it after hearing it at most twice.

As long as someone nearby was singing it, one would uncontrollably want to sing along; even while working, if it suddenly came to mind, one would unconsciously hum it out loud.

No one could resist the magic of the song.

At first, singing it felt shy, but when everyone was singing it, it became a habit, and there was even a trace of pleasure in it.

But after hearing it too much, this pleasure would turn into annoyance.

The singer would grow weary of everyone around them humming this line, weary of being unable to control themselves, and would uncontrollably sing it out...

Therefore.

Lin Bai's income of Negative Emotion was continuous, and his Negative Emotion Tree grew rapidly; in less than a day's time, it had already borne a cyan fruit, and he estimated that before dark, it would be ready for harvest.

Currently, it was only a small Jiamu City, but Lin Bai believed that with the circulation between various cities, sooner or later, this song would spread to every corner of the continent, bringing him even more Negative Emotion.

As for the Wanwu Youque System's task of having three thousand people experience a Flaw, relying on the wandering Flawed Lion Dance Troupe, the progress was also quite fast.

Lin Bai estimated that by dark, it would be nearly completed.

But the rewards the Incomplete System gave him always made him feel something was lacking.

He felt he should increase the speed of collecting Residual Value to grow quickly, so he wouldn't have to be timid and restrained when dealing with lackeys like Daoist Qingfeng.

……

"Master Zhang, good morning."

Knocking open the door of the Carpenter Shop, Lin Bai cupped his hands to greet Zhang Achun.

Seeing Lin Bai, Zhang Achun froze for a moment; unpleasant memories flooded his mind, and he couldn't help but let out a hum.

However.

Lin Bai had promised to settle his wages, and his son, who had helped out at Lin Bai's place yesterday, had even brought back one tael of silver in wages, so he didn't give Lin Bai a cold shoulder.

Putting down the plane in his hand, Zhang Achun returned the greeting: "Shopkeeper Lin, not entertaining guests at your shop, what are you doing here at my place?"

Lin Bai strolled into the Carpenter Shop and asked, "Master Zhang, I've come to bring Master Zhang money."

Zhang Achun looked at Lin Bai in surprise: "Shopkeeper Lin, are you going to settle my wages?"

"Wages are a small matter." Lin Bai smiled, "Calculate exactly how much is owed, tell Zhang Bao, and it can be settled at any time. Today, I've come to bring Master Zhang wealth."

"What wealth?" Zhang Achun immediately became alert.

"Allow me to keep you in suspense for a moment. Master Zhang, to speak from the heart, before I bought that shop, did you ever think I could run the business so prosperously?" Lin Bai asked.

Carpenter Zhang said gloomily: "That's because you have the ability to subdue ghosts; if it were an ordinary person, they would have been scared away by Lao Song's family long ago."

"Without the ghosts, do you think I could have made the shop a success?" Lin Bai asked again.

Carpenter Zhang was silent for a moment and said: "Shopkeeper Lin is good at mobilizing people's hearts and has a talent for business, so naturally, you could."

"Yesterday, I heard Blacksmith Zhang say that there is a Blacksmith Association in Jiamu City; I wonder if there is a Carpenter Association?" Lin Bai smiled and asked.

"Naturally, there is." Zhang Achun said.

"Master Zhang, then your wealth has arrived." Lin Bai laughed.

"I don't understand." Zhang Achun frowned.

"I plan to create a 'Flaw' model to promote the business style of the Kitchen God Rice Shop, and I need the help of Master Zhang and the Carpenter Association behind you." Lin Bai said.

"What do you mean?" Lin Bai's words were beyond Zhang Achun's range of understanding; his head was a mess.

"I want to make 'Flaw' a calling card for Jiamu City, to spread Jiamu City's reputation through 'Flaw', and make 'Flaw' a cultural symbol of Jiamu City." Lin Bai said, "Whenever people mention 'Flaw', they will think of Jiamu City, and if they want to appreciate the beauty of 'Flaw', they will think of coming to Jiamu City to experience it."

"Let all the common people no longer be limited to earning money from the small plot of land in the city, but to seize wealth from all over the world, and finally achieve common prosperity."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Carpenter Zhang frowned tightly.

"To put it simply, in Jiamu City, a Kitchen God Rice Shop with an incomplete sign and uneven couplets has already caused a sensation in nearly half the city; what if every household did this?" Lin Bai said, "Although I don't know how many carpenters there are in Jiamu City, what if only your sign was missing a piece?"

"Then they would think my craftsmanship is no good, and no one would ever come to the door again." Carpenter Zhang said with a dark face, "My reputation would be ruined."

"……" Lin Bai choked for a moment; he looked at Carpenter Zhang and shook his head, "Master Zhang, you don't understand the heart of a businessman. Without the Kitchen God Rice Shop, perhaps the situation you described would occur."

"Now it's different. You can advertise widely outside, telling others that the furniture for the booming Kitchen God Rice Shop was crafted by you. This is a successful case."

"It is a 'Flaw' package that you deliberately created. For example, your Carpenter Shop could learn from the Kitchen God Rice Shop and hang a couplet at the door: 'The carpenter's square can form square and round vessels,' 'The straight line adjusts the ridgepole'..."

"The ridgepole what?" When Carpenter Zhang heard the couplet, his eyes lit up, but the second line was suddenly missing a word, making him feel like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, restless and unable to sit still.

"That's it." Lin Bai spread his hands and smiled, "The same routine as the Kitchen God Rice Shop, the same style—isn't it very attractive?"

"I don't find it attractive; I just find it quite grating." Carpenter Zhang looked at Lin Bai and said, "Besides, if everyone does this, your shop will lose its meaning. Also, the things in your shop are very impractical. Shopkeeper Lin, even a carpenter like me understands this logic, let alone others."

"Master Zhang, small-scale tinkering naturally won't amount to anything. Therefore, I want Master Zhang to contact the Carpenter Association and have all the carpenter shops in Jiamu City launch this package simultaneously, using the Kitchen God Rice Shop as a lead to guide a trend." Lin Bai said, "This is a more brilliant way of doing business; if it succeeds, you can make a lot of money..."

"Shopkeeper Lin, I think I understand what you mean?" Carpenter Zhang looked at Lin Bai as if he were looking at a fool, "For something like this, you should go to the City Lord, not a carpenter like me, and I really don't see any wealth in it..."

"I will naturally go talk to the City Lord." Lin Bai smiled and took a banknote from his bosom, "But before that, I must have bargaining chips that I can show off."

"A small Kitchen God Rice Shop is far from enough, and the 'Flaw' package launched by your Carpenter Association is also not enough. Next, I will also go to the bookstore to engrave a collection of 'Flawed' poetry for publication and distribution, letting the world appreciate what true beauty of 'Flaw' is."

Lin Bai pushed the banknote toward Zhang Achun, "Master Zhang, the wind rises at the end of the duckweed; creating a trend must start bit by bit. Getting on the boat early can make you rich, but once everything is on the right track, you might not even get a sip of hot soup..."

A poetry collection?

Carpenter Zhang looked at the banknote Lin Bai pushed over, and a drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead: "Shopkeeper Lin, the poetry collection you mentioned—it wouldn't be the kind that is missing words and characters, would it?"

"What do you think?" Lin Bai smiled amusedly, cupped his hands, and said, "Master Zhang, I leave the Carpenter's Association to you. In just a few days, you will see my poetry collection released; it is destined to be a poetry collection that will make a name for itself throughout the world!"

As he spoke.

Lin Bai stood up and, amidst Master Zhang's bewildered gaze, walked out with a dashing air.

Isn't it that you only give me cultivation techniques and Internal Energy when you want the world to experience a Flaw?

If I'm going to play, I'll play big!

I want to let you know what it means for the speed of issuing tasks to be unable to keep up with the pace of my creating a Flaw...

(End of this chapter)