I Can Add Points Infinitely - Chapter 59

The moment Shen Lian finished speaking, the workers instantly fell silent, all eyes fixed on him.

With a calm demeanor, Shen Lian continued, “Starting today, the mine will no longer provide any free food for everyone.”

A murmur erupted like a stone thrown into a pond, sending ripples of shock throughout the crowd. Upon hearing these words, the workers became panicked, shouting in confusion and anger. Many glared at Shen Lian with intense hostility, but nobody dared to act rashly due to the fear of the authority he had just demonstrated by easily killing Liu Zhiyong.

Only a few dozen people—those Shen Lian had brought along, like the bearded man and the workers he had rescued earlier—remained silent and calm.

Shen Lian had anticipated this reaction. His voice grew louder, infused with spiritual energy, making sure it reached every ear clearly.

He continued, “From now on, the raw ore you extract each day will be measured, and you will be paid accordingly. This will be your wages.”

“Paid wages?” The workers began to grasp the idea, looking at Shen Lian with a mix of hope and disbelief.

“Are you really willing to pay us wages?” someone asked, his voice filled with doubt.

“Of course!” Shen Lian nodded, pulling out a fist-sized piece of raw ore as an example. “Let’s use this as an example. Up until now, if you mined a piece of raw ore this size in a day, you could exchange it for two steamed buns, correct?”

“Yes,” the workers instinctively nodded in agreement.

“Good. As I mentioned earlier, there will be no more free food provided. Instead, I will pay you wages based on the size of the raw ore you mine.”

Shen Lian carefully guided the workers’ thoughts, understanding that the long period of hopeless labor had numbed their minds, making them forget how to think. He employed a strategy that would raise them from the depths of despair and rekindle their thoughts.

Speaking in a calm yet powerful tone, enhanced with spiritual energy, Shen Lian ensured that everyone listened closely.

“This piece of raw ore can be cut into seven to eight pieces of low-grade spirit stones,” Shen Lian explained. “I will calculate your wages at a rate of five copper coins per low-grade spirit stone. So, this piece of ore could be exchanged for forty copper coins.”

“Forty copper coins?” The crowd buzzed with surprise at the number.

“Is there a minimum amount required for exchange?” someone asked.

“No,” Shen Lian replied, anticipating the question. “The minimum exchange is set at the size of one low-grade spirit stone, with no upper limit. Whatever amount of raw ore you can mine, I will buy it from you at that rate.”

“Hand over the ore, and you get paid—fair and square!”

“Does that mean the more raw ore we mine, the more we earn?” someone quickly realized.

“But if we earn money, how do we handle food?” another worker asked.

“Naturally, you buy it,” Shen Lian replied. “Since you are helping Azure Cloud Sect mine, we will offer a discount on food. One copper coin can get you a steamed bun or one ounce of rice. Vegetables are one copper coin per portion, while meat dishes are two copper coins each.”

The workers immediately started doing the math. Under the old system, a day’s labor would only get them two steamed buns. With Shen Lian’s new system, however, they could now afford forty buns. The improved treatment was dozens of times better than before.

Everyone stared at Shen Lian in disbelief.

“You’re not lying to us, are you?” someone asked quietly.

“Why would I deceive you? You’ll know if I’m telling the truth after you finish today’s work,” Shen Lian replied with a smile.

“I believe you!” shouted one voice suddenly.

“I do too…” echoed another.

“Yes, we all believe you…”

Shen Lian turned his head to see that the ones speaking up were the workers he had rescued earlier. They explained things quietly to the others, and soon everyone began to look at Shen Lian with newfound respect.

“Alright, everyone, back to work,” Shen Lian called out. “I may not have known how things were run here before, but I promise, as long as I, Shen Lian, am in charge, your hard work will never be in vain.”

“Yes!” all the workers responded in unison, their enthusiasm and morale higher than ever before. With that, they turned and queued up to enter the mine.

After everyone had gone in, Shen Lian immediately called Yun Xiong and the others to count the workers’ families. He asked them to gather the women who could cook, selected an empty wooden house as the canteen, and instructed them to cook for all the miners. Luo Junyuan was sent to the capital to buy a sufficient amount of food, while Shan Qing was tasked with exchanging for a large quantity of copper coins.

Shen Lian himself had over a hundred thousand taels of gold and silver, more than enough to cover a month’s expenses for the workers. Any remaining costs could be covered by using a small portion of spirit stones, all of which could be considered reasonable operational expenses for the mine. After all, spirit stones were incredibly valuable, far more than gold, and this amount barely amounted to a drop in the ocean.

Having given his orders, everyone immediately got busy.

For Shen Lian, this level of reform was quite simple—just applying a bit of business strategy from his previous life to stir the workers’ enthusiasm completely.

As the mine’s operations improved and became more efficient, the output of raw ore began to rise sharply. Within just a few days, the daily production increased from over a thousand pieces to around fifteen hundred. This was despite the workers’ physical strength being low due to long-term malnutrition. Shen Lian was confident that as their health improved over time, the output would continue to increase.

Meanwhile, news of Shen Lian’s killing of Liu Zhiyong and his reforms at the mine quickly reached Fang Nan’s ears.

Upon hearing the news, Fang Nan could no longer remain calm. He was furious, pacing back and forth in his room.

“That bastard! It’s only been a few days, and he’s already killed Liu Zhiyong. What the hell is he trying to do, huh?” Fang Nan seethed with rage.

With Liu Zhiyong dead, no one under him dared to oppose Shen Lian, meaning all his efforts to secure this source of revenue were now in jeopardy. How could he not be furious?

“I thought Shen Lian would try to maneuver behind the scenes, attempting to either recruit or replace the mine’s management,” Tang Shisi said with a frown, his voice heavy with concern. “But I didn’t expect him to take such a reckless approach, killing Liu Zhiyong outright and then stirring the workers to reform, completely taking control of the mine.”

“Hmph, I told you before: power is the real truth. You all like playing these sneaky little games—what’s the use?” Chu Mingxu scoffed arrogantly. “If you ask me, just kill Shen Lian directly. Wouldn’t that solve everything? Just like he did with Liu Zhiyong—find an excuse and that’s it.”

Fang Nan paused his steps, staring hard at Chu Mingxu. After a long moment, he finally gritted his teeth and said, “Kill him!”

“Heh, got it. I’ll handle it right away,” Chu Mingxu stood up excitedly.

However, Tang Shisi held him back, saying, “Hold on. We can kill Shen Lian, but not with our own hands.”

“What nonsense is that? If not us, then who?” Chu Mingxu asked impatiently.

Tang Shisi pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned to Fang Nan and said quietly, “I heard that the Seven Fiends of Fallen Ghost Cavern have arrived in the city?”

Fang Nan was taken aback but quickly understood Tang Shisi’s meaning upon seeing the look in his eyes.