Chapter 240: The Promotion

The name Dao Xuan Deity felt utterly alien to most residents of the county town. Though a handful of common folk had sought medicine from Third Lady and heard the deity’s revered title, they knew the name without any knowledge of the being behind it.

Regarding what kind of immortal this deity truly was, they remained completely bewildered.

Yet, these past few days brought change.

That small group of devout believers could actually recount a few stories about the deity now.

Take this scene: two believers crossed paths in the street and exchanged greetings.

“Hey, Old Zhang, did your child’s ailment recover?”

“All better! Thanks to the devotee bestowing the divine medicine from the Deity upon us.”

“Heh, I used to think Dao Xuan Deity was like that ‘Medicine Dispensing Immortal’, only good for handing out remedies. Just a few days back, another senior brother enlightened me: the venerable Deity possesses immense magical powers, capable of vanquishing demons and monsters!”

“Well, what a coincidence; I know it too. And what’s more, I’ve got a book!” Old Zhang reached into his sleeve, pulled out a small comic, and pointed triumphantly at the cover. “Literate? Didn’t think so, haha! This line here says ‘Dao Xuan Deity’s Demon Elimination Tale’. It recounts precisely the tales of the Deity subduing demons and monsters.”

“Oh! Tell me about it!”

“No need for me to tell it. Even illiterates can understand this book.” Old Zhang flipped open the comic with pride, showing the pages one by one. “See this? The Deity’s magical powers could make one hand swell to enormous size. With a single slap down—THWACK!—monsters were flattened…”

“Wow, spectacular! Truly spectacular! Where’d you get this book? I want one too.”

“This book was given to me by a devotee. If you want one, go and petition one yourself. If she deems your heart sincere, she’ll surely gift you a copy.”

“Great! I’ll make a trip to the City God Temple then.”

Exchanges like this spread among the minority… Initially, it was just ten or so individuals passing it on. In the blink of an eye, it reached twenty or thirty. Soon after, hundreds were talking about it. The poorest folks in the county town, those too sick to afford a doctor or medicine, all began extolling the tales of “Dao Xuan Deity’s Demon Elimination Tale”.

Several days later…

A massive logistics team arrived at the gates of Chengcheng County.

Leading them was Mr. Wang, who had invested heavily to acquire Chengcheng Bookstore. The old sentry guarding the gate recognized Mr. Wang’s face and hurried over to greet him. “Sir, back in town again?”

Mr. Wang smiled. “After securing the bookstore, I’ve been away, busy for most of the year. Now that I have a little free time, I need to return and give the bookstore business some attention. Can’t let such a large bookstore lie idle without just cause.”

The old sentry felt a pang of awkwardness inwardly: Although Mr. Wang is a good man, he’s terribly naive! What era is this? How could books still sell? Leaving the bookstore idle was fine – not earning, but not losing money either. Once you start striving earnestly to sell books, you’ll likely lose your shirt. In times like these, idleness doesn’t kill you, but ambition might! Entrepreneurship is the express lane to bankruptcy!

Casually inspecting the book transport team, the sentry found the front carts filled with thick comics. Scanning the latter part of the convoy, however, he noticed the larger carts contained only white flour.

Seeing the flour, the sentry instinctively touched his belly and swallowed hard. “Mr. Wang, are you switching business again? Grain merchant maybe? These days, grain trade can turn a tidy profit, way better than a bookstore.”

Mr. Wang chuckled. “No, no, no. As a scholar, a bookstore suits me best. This grain isn’t for starting a grain business. It’s for a promotion.”

“Promotion? What’s that?”

Mr. Wang stroked his beard, amused. “A novel term. It means ‘an activity conducted to boost sales’.”

The sentry shook his head, still bewildered.

Mr. Wang elaborated, “Simply put, if you buy a book from me, I give you two taels of flour as a bonus. Managed this way, won’t books sell like hotcakes? That’s what I call a promotion.”

Upon hearing this, the sentry’s jaw literally dropped. “Th… this is your plan?”

Mr. Wang: “Not feasible?”

Sentry: “I’ll take fifty books! No, no, five hundred books!”

Mr. Wang: “Limit of one per person.”

The sentry froze for a second, then disregarding his gate duty entirely, turned and sprinted towards his home. “Mr. Wang! Wait for me! I’m fetching everyone from my household. One book per person is allowed, right?”

Mr. Wang suppressed an internal chuckle but called out, “Don’t run so fast, careful you don’t fall!”

But why would the sentry slow down? With such a glorious offer – buy a book and get two taels of valuable grain thrown in – where else would such a bargain come along? Slow down? Impossible! Full speed only! Despite his advanced age, he momentarily erupted with speed worthy of light-foot martial arts. The famed “Cloud-Dashing Ladder” of Wudang or the “Floating Steps Over Water” of the Xiaoyao Sect were put to shame before his dash. Even the mythical act of materializing steeds from qi could only claim parity. His figure merely flickered twice before vanishing around a distant street corner.

Mr. Wang thought with secret delight: This promotion tactic from the Deity is absolutely unreasonable. Strikes right at the core of human nature! Well, now the city gate lacks its watchman entirely. Tsk.

The transport team made its way through the county’s main street, passing through large clusters of ragged refugees. The scent of flour wafting from the carts drew gaunt heads peering out from alleyways. Eyes, dulled by hunger, fixed on the convoy passing by.

Escorting the convoy was the Gaojia Village Militia. Each man was robust and formidable-looking, clearly not ones to be trifled with. The refugees dared not attempt a riot; they could only watch with listless eyes as the grain carts passed before them.

Li Daoxuan observed this scene, a pang of sorrow touching his heart.

Looking down towards Gao Yiye, who was mingled within the team, he instructed, “Yiye, relay a command: order the militia to deliberately overturn two grain carts.”

Gao Yiye, disguised with a bamboo rain hat and palm bark cape amidst the troop, immediately straightened up. It was her first visit to the county town; she was curiously gazing left and right. Childhood held vibrant dreams of the bustling county town, but this visit revealed a space gray, dilapidated, and lifeless – far cry from the prosperity of Gaojia Village. She leaned towards Mr. Wang and whispered the Deity’s decree in his ear.

Mr. Wang understood. Just as he was about to turn back to convey the order to the rear carts, a loud “OOF!” suddenly erupted from Ground Rabbit, responsible for the last cart. Seemingly stumbling dramatically, he gave his own cart a forceful shove, BANG!, ramming it squarely into the grain cart Zheng Gouzi was pushing ahead of him.

Both grain carts toppled over instantly, sacks of flour spilling onto the street.

Zheng Gouzi instinctively tried to save the sacks, but Ground Rabbit let out another “OOF!”, feigning a tumble right onto Zheng Gouzi. Both men went sprawling, rolling aside together.

Meanwhile, the ropes securing the mouths of the flour sacks seemed mysteriously loose. As sacks tumbled, pristine white flour cascaded onto the street.

Nearby refugees witnessed this spectacle. How could they resist? With a roar, they surged forward. Scooping up handfuls of precious flour, they broke into frantic sprints, disappearing down alleyways.

Ground Rabbit whistled softly, deliberately not obstructing them. Instead, he grabbed hold of Zheng Gouzi, making a show of helplessly watching the refugees carry off every bit of grain from their two fallen carts.

Mr. Wang and Gao Yiye exchanged stunned glances, both murmuring under their breath: That fellow… he deliberately knocked the carts over without even receiving the Deity’s command first… how dare he act on his own initiative?