Chapter 108: Miscellaneous Matters

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Chen Jin inserted the USB drive into the computer port to read its contents.

There was only one file on it.

He clicked on the file, and immediately a window popped up.

This file didn’t rely on any external software to open; it was an independent interface, much like a webpage.

He guessed it must have been created by those people from the Association.

Chen Jin quickly skimmed through the content and then clicked close.

As soon as he closed it, the file vanished automatically—without a trace, nothing left behind.

But Chen Jin had already memorized the contents, so he didn’t care whether it disappeared or not.

He also learned who those people were: they were a group of cultivators who had left China during the chaos and regime changes a hundred years ago. At that time, it was still the age of the end of Dharma, and cultivators were rare. These people were essentially wandering martial artists. Because China was too chaotic back then, they couldn't survive and feared getting caught up in wars, so they fled abroad.

Now that the earth’s primal energy has returned, these “overseas exiles” have formed an organization called the Sanqing Dao. They’ve gradually gathered other cultivator lineages, and with the support of some foreign powers interested in chaos, they have started causing trouble back in China. The Cultivators’ Association has already clashed with them several times.

In any case, these people had little to do with Chen Jin.

The Sanqing Dao was divided into many branches. For example, the people Chen Jin caught this time belonged to the Plum Blossom Hall’s Cold Plum Division. Just the name sounded impressive, and it seemed they had a substantial number of members. They did have quite a few people, but still not as many as in the vast land of China.

The Sanqing Dao had three leaders, though they didn’t dare to use the name “Sanqing Dao” openly—who would dare to? That would be courting death nowadays. Instead, they each took a Daoist title: Lord Yu Zhen, Lord Kong, and Lord Liao Cang. All three had cultivation levels around the Perfected Stage of Mental Stabilization or Foundation Consolidation.

In short, they were formidable, but they couldn’t enter China. Their faces and aura had been recorded by the Cultivators' Association, so they would be hunted down the moment they crossed the border.

Moreover, they were listed as internationally wanted criminals by China, so they couldn’t return unless their power someday surpassed the entire Chinese cultivation world. Otherwise, they had to stay abroad quietly.

Chen Jin breathed a sigh of relief upon reading this. It meant that even if members of this group entered China, they were mostly at the same level as him, and Chen Jin was confident in his ability to subdue them.

He was virtually invincible at his level, so he wasn’t too worried about those at the Mental Stabilization Stage.

Thus, in the following days, Chen Jin went to work happily and came home happily, encountering no terrifying incidents.

However, he wanted to change his phone SIM card because recently he had been bombarded with calls, all demanding to know about their company’s agency for the Vital Energy Pills.

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Chen Jin was truly annoyed. In the end, he had no choice but to get a new phone number. Then he saved the important contacts and called everyone to inform them of the change.

As for the Vital Energy Pills, the matter was basically settled; now they just had to wait for the delivery.

These pills were channeled through the Cultivators’ Association, so they were safe. Though reckless people still existed, the Association was no pushover.

Chen Jin wondered why the state was so generous as to allow various regional companies to act as agents for such a crucial product instead of holding it tightly in a national enterprise—like setting up a Chinese Cultivators’ Pill Company as a state-owned enterprise. Instead, they went through these convoluted steps, letting private companies handle distribution in different regions.

Could it be a strategy to enrich some first, who would then help enrich others... like a “first to ascend to immortality” driving the rest?

Well, whatever the reason, Chen Jin was on the profitable side. He wasn’t the kind of philosopher who wasted time reflecting on the flaws of his social class. He just wanted to live well himself.

…

On the day before the New Year, the Cultivators’ Association delivered the Vital Energy Pills to the company, making that day extremely busy.

Furthermore, to store the pills, the company had specially dug thirty meters underground to build a secure storage vault. The keys were controlled by Chen Jin’s father, mother, and Chen Jin himself. The vault door required all three keys inserted simultaneously and the fingerprints of all three to open.

It was taken very seriously. Upon learning that Chen Jin could set up formations, they also had him place many defensive, monitoring, and offensive formations. The vault’s formations maintained a constant temperature, which was only possible because the earth’s primal energy had somewhat revived. If the primal energy remained at its previous low level, maintaining the formation would be questionable.

Thus, no one without cultivation could enter and steal from the vault.

They also gave some explanations about how the Vital Energy Pills would be accessed and sold, as well as how many shipments the Association would send monthly.

Originally, the pills were to be sold offline through dedicated counters.

But after discussion, everyone agreed that such a sales model was unwise. Nowadays, even jewelers get robbed; how much more so a store selling such precious pills?

After much thought, they decided to sell online, with delivery handled carefully to avoid robbery. Still, it was complicated.

In the end, Chen Jin’s father made the executive decision to use physical counters. After all, worrying too much would hinder business.

These counters were currently bound to existing furniture and building material stores, with a large-scale pilot in the Xiahu County area and smaller pilots in other cities.

In truth, selling these pills was no different from selling precious goods.

The price per bottle of Vital Energy Pills was 6,666 yuan, with five pills per bottle—far beyond what ordinary people could afford.

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In the future, when production increased, the price might be lowered, but not for now. This price was a national standard.

Chen Jin’s store was part of the sales pilot.

From the state’s perspective, this sales method was feasible and potentially safer. They could have sent troops to protect the shipments.

However, sending armed troops seemed inappropriate for business. Who wants a gun pointed at their back while shopping?

In any case, Chen Jin was puzzled why the state would delegate the agency rights for such a crucial product. Was the Vital Energy Pill really not as strategically important as, say, oil?

Well, he decided not to overthink national policies. Maybe someday they would find a reason to reclaim the agency rights.

…

The Chen family’s New Year celebrations were typical: a big family gathering with many relatives, nothing special.

Chen Jin’s grandparents’ generation had passed away early, so his father was the eldest elder.

Every year, the whole family gathered at Chen Jin’s home since they were the wealthiest branch. Other family members had their own businesses: some cousins sold gold and silver jewelry in the Magic City, and an uncle managed a mountain farm raising local chickens and ducks. Despite being “rustic,” the business was large, with annual sales exceeding ten million yuan.

In short, the family was prosperous and harmonious, so Chen Jin couldn’t boast or put on airs.

But that wasn’t a loss—having the family together happily was the best.

With nothing embarrassing to mention, the New Year passed quietly.

And Chen Jin faced his fourth transmigration.

…