Lord of the Magical Beasts

The profits shocked them when they tabulated the accounts on the first night. Not only had the hundred ordinary rooms been completely filled, but even the ten villas were fully booked. After deducting the cost of manpower and the free wine, they earned a full five hundred Purple Crystal Coins.

Five hundred Purple Crystal Coins in a day!

To the rich of the Banto and Rossi Empires, five hundred Purple Crystal Coins in a day might seem like a negligible amount. But in a place as remote as Wissen Town, even five hundred Black Crystal Coins was seen as an immense profit, much less five hundred Purple Crystal Coins. After all, an average family’s monthly expenses weren’t more than a hundred Black Crystal Coins.

Originally, the old butler Murbaqi did not approve of the idea of providing the alcohol for free. But he immediately got the brewery to deliver another batch of alcohol to the inn when he received a large sum of crystal coins that night. Murbaqi was more hardworking than anyone, and over the last month, he and Goode had spent a great deal of effort in maintaining a balance in the castle’s flow of cash.

“Sir, if the business of the inn is this good, it’s best to expand the scale of the business immediately!” Seeing that the inn that he had spent so much effort in preparing was turning this much of a profit, Goode, who normally did not wear his expressions on his sleeve, was also smiling widely.

“Yes yes yes, expand the scale of the business immediately. The bigger the better!” the old butler Murbaqi agreed loudly. According to the rule Yang Ling set for himself, he had to increase the pay of his subordinates and servants every year. If they could not think of ways to obtain larger profits, where would they find the money when the time came?

Sofia, Casey, Rumi and the rest were in agreement with Murbaqi and Goode’s proposal, each of them advising Yang Ling to quickly expand the scale of Shangri-La.

“Hehe, agreed, five hundred Purple Crystal Coins in a day isn’t worth mentioning!” Yang Ling gently shook his head after taking a sip of his jasmine tea. “Tell me, how can we consistently earn a large number of crystal coins?”

“This…” Looking at Yang Ling’s imperceptible smile, Murbaqi was a little hesitant. Even though he had stayed in Harribell’s manor for many years, he was more adept in dealing with household affairs. Asking him to do business was stretching his expertise.

After finishing the wine in his glass, the dwarf Rumi said loudly as he poured himself another glass, “That’s simple, isn’t it? Think of ways to get at the money that people have in their pockets, wouldn’t that be enough?”

To Rumi, thinking deeper was simply a waste of time. Back when he was in the tribe, they only did simple transactions. When they ran out of money, they would just sell another batch of weapons.

“Casey, what do you think?”

“This…” Seeing Yang Ling question him, Casey rubbed the back of his head. He had a thought. “Sir, rally the people and hunt in the forest, then sell the hides and Essence Crystals of the Magical Beasts in large quantities. That way, we will be able to earn a large number of crystal coins every day!”

“Yes yes yes, Terras Forest is rich in resources. We could be rolling in money just by selling the resources alone! We wouldn’t have to worry about our finances then!” Seeing the group voice their opinions, Alice also steeled her nerves and expressed her thoughts. Even though her family had opened a wood refinery in the past, they were not considered well-to-do. Not having to worry about food and clothing had been her greatest wish as a child.

Shaking his head and seeing the tactician Goode sitting silently at the side,Yang Ling said, “Goode, tell us what you think!”

Seeing the group turn to look at him, Goode deliberated for a moment before slowly saying, “Sir, Wissen Town is rich in resources. If we can ship them out, each of our specialties would earn us a large number of crystal coins. The key lies in transportation. If we can find a cheap and convenient way to transport the goods, then with Wissen Town’s unique conditions, we would have an endless stream of crystal coins!”

A cheap and convenient way to transport the goods? Hearing Goode’s point, the group agreed after thinking for a moment. Only Yang Ling was still shaking his head.

“Sir, what ideas do you have?” Seeing Yang Ling still shaking his head, the old butler became a little curious.

Looking at the curious gazes of the group, Yang Ling gently took a sip of the refreshing jasmine tea and slowly told them a story.

…

In the past, two merchants discovered two crystal mines respectively. One of the merchants employed a large number of vagrant workers with little wages to excavate the mine, and he prepared to leave after the excavation was finished. The wages he gave to the workers were so low that they could only barely afford to fill their stomachs. As a result, the turnover rate of the vagrant workers was high. Near the mine, the only places of entertainment were a casino and a brothel. There was nowhere else to spend their money, even if the workers wanted to.

The other merchant also recruited a large number of vagrant workers, but he would raise their salaries once every fixed amount of time. At the same time, he worked hard to develop amenities such as bars, inns, and schools, allowing the vagrant workers to slowly start to live stable lives. At the same time, he could also turn a profit on his bars and hotels, which would then be invested into building other amenities.

Five years later, when the mine dried up, the first merchant started looking elsewhere for opportunities, and the vagrant workers under him also left, leaving behind only a ravaged, barren land. In the second area, under the careful management of the merchant, the area surrounding the mine was not only still intact, but a bustling city with a steady stream of merchants had been set up beside the mine.

Another five years later, the first merchant had nothing to do. He lost all his money in the casino and ended up on the streets. The latter merchant made the city even more bustling, not only earning a large amount of profit, but also establishing a good reputation for himself amongst the commoners. He was then conferred the title of Earl by the king.

…

After finishing his story, Yang Ling once again gently took a sip of the jasmine tea in his cup. Goode, Sofia, and Murbaqi were deep in thought, while the others looked at Yang Ling blankly, as if they could not wrap their heads around the story and were unable to understand what the story truly meant.

After deliberating for a moment, the old butler Murbaqi said in excitement, “I understand, sir, you mean to throw a long line to catch Gossfish. To first let the citizens of Wissen Town live comfortable lives and boost economic activity, then earn a larger number of crystal coins!”

“That’s right. Terras Forest is the mine in the story. Wissen Town is our headquarters. If the townspeople here cannot afford to eat well, then there would be no way that we could earn large profits. What we would be doing would definitely be small in scale!” Yang Ling nodded in approval as he looked at the excited Murbaqi. “Thus, there is no need to expand the ordinary rooms of Shangri-La Inn. Let the rest of the people earn from the customers we cannot entertain!”

“When the citizens of Wissen Town have more disposable income, then we can start building other facilities to boost the development of Wissen Town one step at a time. That way we can continuously earn more crystal coins!” After a moment’s hesitation, the intelligent Sofia also stated her opinion.

“Yes, one step at a time! What we need is the continuous ability to turn a profit. From a certain angle, it is as Murbaqi says; throwing a long line to catch Gossfish!” Yang Ling praised the elf beauty beside him.

There were countless tall trees in the Terras Forest which spanned tens of thousands of miles, and Magical Beasts teeming at every spot. In the eyes of others, this place was incredibly dangerous. But to Yang Ling, it was a place of unparalleled safety. Wissen Town, which was near Terras Forest, was basically his headquarters.

The most secure way to get someone to work for you was not to give them a lump sum of crystal coins, but to give them a share of the pie, tying them tightly to his own chariot. That way, they would profit together, but also share a loss together!

Unlike the rest of the people who were anxious to expand Shangri-La’s scale, Yang Ling was clear of the fact that setting up various amenities here would not only help him earn money, but more importantly, it would slowly form a symbiotic, friendly relationship of mutual benefit with the townspeople. Only that way could he truly have a stable standing in this town. Only by having a stable standing here could he quickly probe into the mysteries of this world, enjoy his new life, and search for any ways to return to the original Earth.

Of course, earning money was not the most important thing, but he could not afford to not earn any money!

Shangri-La was branded from the start as a mid to high tier inn. An ordinary room could not turn much of a profit in a day, and its main point was to attract a flow of customers. The truly profitable portion of the inn was the villas at the back. He could consider building a few more of those.

Wissen Town was rich with resources, but it was definitely impossible to earn a monstrous profit just by selling the resources alone. Yang Ling understood that only by building large scale refineries of various kinds and setting up merchant associations to sell the finished products could he continuously turn a good profit.

At the same time, obtaining capital meant that he could continuously increase the wages of his servants and subordinates and improve their standards of living and spending ability. Only with a disposable income would they increase their spending, and that would attract merchants seeking profit. At that point, he could set up more refineries and entertainment facilities to obtain even more crystal coins. Investments, obtaining capital, and reinvestments. A cycle like this would slowly boost Wissen Town’s economy.

After deliberating for a moment, Yang Ling simplified and told everyone his ideas. After a moment’s surprise, his inner circle was in agreement, once again solidifying their impression that Yang Ling must be from a rich family. Even the experienced old butler Murbaqi was no exception, instinctively thinking about the intelligent and far-sighted Miss Harribell.

Yang Ling was young. There was no way that he could have thought that deep and far. The only explanation was that he was like Miss Harribell, learning this way of doing things from his family since he was young, and being taught by a famous teacher.

Yang Ling convinced them. Only Yang Ling knew that what he said was the theoretical way of doing things. There would be many complications when he set out to truly accomplish the feat, given his incomplete theories and lack of experience. He would face troubles that he could not even think of at the time being.

“Yang Ling, do you mean that our pay will increase soon?” After deliberating for a moment, the rest of the people basically understood Yang Ling’s point. Only the slightly drunk dwarf Rumi was still a little confused.

“Hehe, increasing your pay is no problem, but you would have to pay for the wine you drink in the future!” Yang Ling shook his head when he looked at Rumi, who viewed alcohol as his life.

Hearing Yang Ling say this, Rumi quickly hugged his barrel of wine tightly. “Forget it, there’s no need to increase my pay. We are brothers, talking about money would only hurt our relationship!”

Looking at the nervous Rumi, the group broke into laughter. They were all hopeful for the future after having heard Yang Ling’s intentions. The tactician Goode was even more convinced by Yang Ling’s foresight. He knew that with Yang Ling’s help, he would one day be able to save his family members. He believed that with Yang Ling’s improving abilities, that day was not far away. Perhaps he could even fight back against the villain that had framed him all those years ago.