Chapter 187: The Dao of Business, The "Wasteful" Husband and The Genius Wife ( Bonus GT - VII )

Chapter 187: The Dao of Business, The "Wasteful" Husband and The Genius Wife ( Bonus GT Chapter VII )

With Elder Qian gone, Yu Liang stretched his arms and let out a comfortable sigh, before his eyes lit up with a new, ambitious fire. He waved his hand, and a detailed, glowing map of the Jade City’s inner and outer commercial districts materialized on the desk which he purchased from the library.

"MEI," Yu Liang said while tapping the map. "Now that we have the Auction House, the mines, and the pill workshops, it’s time to expand. My initial goal for these new ventures is simple: I want to make them big doesn’t matter if we spend money. A lot of money. I want to make them operate just like Heaven’s Table, running at a massive daily los– ahem, No, I mean looking absolutely spectacular and untouchable."

Internally, Yu Liang was rubbing his hands together. ’If I spend billions on ’operating costs’ and ’expansion’, the System will continue to trigger the multiplier! I need to find ways to burn through capital as fast as possible and earn even more back resulting in shower of System Points!’

He pointed at the map. "For the Auction House, I want to rip out all the existing spiritual wood and pave the entire main hall with High Tier Furniture. For the western spirit ore mines, I want to hire thousands of extra guards to stand in the tunnels which will look intimidating and will solve most of our problems. And for the pill workshop, let’s give every single alchemist a Hundred Thousand Mid Grade Spiritual Stones ’signing bonus’ just for showing up!"

Yu Liang looked at his wife, expecting her to be amazed by his ideas.

Mei Hua, however, just looked at him with a mixture of deep affection and helpless amusement. She gently picked up her teacup, took a small sip, and then set it down with a soft clink.

"My Love," she said, her voice was sweet but carried the undeniable weight of a seasoned merchant’s daughter. "You are trying to burn money again, aren’t you?"

Yu Liang blinked. "Burn money? No way, I’m just... just investing in business! And imagine if it does get big and If we run it at a loss, no one will dare to covet it, and it will also become a legendary establishment, just like our restaurant!"

He couldn’t tell her about the System. To her, he was just a husband with infinite, unfathomable wealth who had a quirky desire to run ’money losing’ projects. But Mei Hua was not just a pretty face, she’s the daughter of a behemoth Lin Family’s Patraich. She was raised on ledgers, supply chains, and market manipulation. Even though she knew her husband could afford to burn the entire city to the ground for fun, her business instincts absolutely refused to let him waste resources mindlessly.

"My dear husband," Mei Hua smiled, reaching across the desk to gently tap his hand. "I know you don’t care about wealth. But throwing money into a black hole doesn’t make a business look prestigious, it makes it look foolish. Paving the auction house with High Grade Furniture? Did you have plan for the design Otherwise it will be totally disaster."

Yu Liang paused as slight smile appeared on his face.

"Then what do you suggest?" Yu Liang asked as if he’s genuinely curious. Though if had to admit, he might have the System, but when it came to the actual mechanics of running an empire, he’s still a novice compared to her.

Mei Hua’s phoenix sparkled with a confident light.

This was her domain.

"First, the Auction House," Mei Hua explained, her fingers tracing the map. "Instead of paving it with High Grade Furniture, spend Five Hundred million Mid Grade Spiritual Stones to commission the ’Heavenly Illusion Array’ from the sect’s formation masters, and hire master craftsmen to carve the walls with ’Dao Seeking’ motifs using Star Iron Wood. It costs a fortune in ’labor and materials’ satisfying your desire to ’spend heavily’ but it also creates a unique, unreplicable aesthetic. Rich Cultivators requires experience so do the ordinary Cultivators, and the illusion array will make the auction house look like a celestial palace. It’s a massive expenditure, but it builds an unbreakable brand."

"Brilliant," Yu Liang murmured, genuinely impressed. "What about the mines? Extra guards is too much, right?"

"Guards are a recurring cost, and they make the miners feel like prisoners," Mei Hua countered smoothly. "Instead of hiring guards, spend your money build a ’Spiritual Gathering Array’ in the miners’ living quarters, and establish a ’Academy’ for their children in the outer city. It’s a huge project. But think about the result, the miners will breathe richer spiritual energy, increasing their physical stamina and ore might hits yield by twenty percent more and because you are educating their children, their loyalty will be absolute. You aren’t just spending money, think like this you are buying their generational devotion."

Yu Liang stared at her, his mind blown. He was genuinely suprised this time. Mei Hua had just turned his ’wasteful spending’ into a masterclass in human resources and long term infrastructure investment.

"You are are a investment genuis," Yu Liang laughed, shaking his head in admiration. "What about the pill workshop? The signing bonus?"

"A signing bonus is just a bribe. They will take the money and leave for a better offer if that is you didn’t have any better one," Mei Hua said, her tone turning slightly more serious. "Instead, spend money to purchase ’Spirit Spring Water’ from the southern area and distribute it to the local farmers for free to water their herb gardens. As it secures a monopoly on the future yield of the surrounding farms without inflating the current market price. The farmers will worship you, and your workshop will have exclusive access to the highest quality herbs."

Yu Liang sat back in his chair looking at his beautiful wife.

She perfectly understood his hidden goal, he needed to spend massive amounts of money to trigger the System’s multiplier. But instead of letting him ruin the businesses with blatant waste, she found the perfect middle ground. She was taking his ’wasteful’ spending and channeling it into ’logical spending’ and ’strategic investment’.

The businesses would technically run at a ’loss’ due to the massive upfront capital expenditure which Yu Liang needed, but they would look incredibly good which in return will secure absolute loyalty, and secure a monopoly for the future.

It was the perfect win win.

"Mei," Yu Liang said softly as his eyes filled with respect and adoration. "I thought I was being a generous. But you just showed me the true Dao of Business. You are building me an empire."

Mei Hua’s sharp demeanor instantly melted away. She blushed slightly and lowered her gaze, smiling shyly. "I just... I couldn’t let my husband look like a foolish nouveau riche who only knows how to throw money around. You are a heaven defying genius in cultivation. In business, you just needed a little guidance that’s all."

Yu Liang stood up, walked around the desk, and pulled her gently into his arms.

"You are my greatest treasure," Yu Liang whispered, kissing at the top of her head. "Not just because you are beautiful, but because you are my partner in every sense. With you managing the wealth and me managing the... well, the spending, this cultivation world won’t know what hit it."

Mei Hua let out a soft laugh, her arms wrapped around his waist. "Just promise me one thing, husband."

"Anything."

"Next time if you want to do something stupid... let me approve it first then."

Yu Liang chuckled. "Deal. I surrender the financial ’burden’ to the Young Miss. I’ll just focus on figuring out how to spend it."