Chu Zheng's smile froze on his face due to Meng Zhou's question, but Yu Peng beside him quickly explained:
"Uncle Zhou, you have wronged my teacher and the association!"
Meng Zhou said: "Then what's the matter with the rogue cultivators who have frequently gone to Hongsong Ridge recently and been robbed and killed? Is it true that many robbed cultivators suddenly appeared?"
"This..." Yu Peng opened his mouth but stopped talking.
"Let me tell you." Chu Zheng suddenly said.
"More than half of the robberies and killings were committed by Heshengtang and the Hongsongling Anle Gang. Although other major forces in Nuanyun Valley did not do it deliberately, if they happened to encounter it, they would solve it easily."
Chu Zheng immediately reported the answer as soon as he opened his mouth, and then he unfolded the details in front of Meng Zhou more carefully.
“After realizing that He Sheng Tang’s family could not ensure trade security by relying on force alone, we also brought in forces such as Zhen Fu Pavilion, Bai Yi Tang, Ling Pu Yuan, and Bai Qi Tang.
The Anle Gang is the partner we have found in Hongsong Ridge, and its power in Hongsong Ridge is not inferior to forces such as Zhen Fu Guan and Bai Yi Tang."
"During this period, more and more casual cultivators from Nuanyun Valley also spontaneously formed teams to participate.
Although they cannot compare with the big forces backed by associations, they are still able to get goods from Nuanyun Valley at a slightly lower price and sell them in Hongsong Ridge since they are in Nuanyun Valley where there are many professionals.
Their advantages lie in their small size and flexible channels.
In order to change hands quickly, they also made a fuss about the price, buying it at a slightly higher price in Nuanyun Valley and selling it at a slightly lower price in Hongsong Ridge.
According to Heshengtang and the Anle Gang, the atmosphere in Nuanyun Valley and Hongsong Ridge is being corrupted bit by bit, and we must decisively stop this trend."
Meng Zhou was silent.
The essence of the matter is very simple. The association is connected in the middle, completely opening up the trade channels between Nuanyun Valley and Hongsong Ridge.
After becoming a member of the interest group, everyone quickly formed a consensus - to monopolize all the dividends that this channel can generate and resolutely prevent others from getting involved.
Of course, the association cannot become a white lotus because of Chu Zheng's explanations.
However, Meng Zhou was not a messenger of justice. After roughly understanding the outline of the incident, he had no idea of going into details.
Meng Zhou looked at Chu Zheng and suddenly said: "Old Chu, have you realized that the association's situation is deteriorating rapidly."
Chu Zheng sighed and said in a low voice: "I know."
Associations can use common interests to connect different forces together and quickly create a new situation.
But the association cannot really dictate what other forces can and cannot do.
When the interests connected by the association form a common interest demand, even if it is inconsistent with the association's philosophy, or even completely contrary to it, it does not prevent them from pushing the situation in the direction they need.
The association is being built up little by little.
The voice of the association will become less and less important.
Its only value is to transform raw materials into various finished products.
Eventually, it might turn into a ruthless production machine.
This is not to say that it is really heartless, but it is the same whether it is heartless or not, and it cannot have any impact on the situation.
When he first gave Chu Zheng advice to promote the establishment of the Professionals Association, Meng Zhou never expected that the situation would change so quickly.
At this moment, Chu Zheng suddenly placed two jade slips in Meng Zhou's hands.
Meng Zhou raised his head in confusion and looked at Chu Zheng.
"It's not a good thing to have too many allies and your own strength cannot match them."
Chu Zheng sighed with emotion first, and then explained:
"The top management of the association has reached a consensus not to get too involved in the trade between Nuanyun Valley and Hongsong Ridge.
After all, our original purpose was just to find channels for raw materials so that the association could mobilize these resources.
Now, we no longer need to take action, a steady stream of resources will be actively fed to our mouths by all parties, for fear that we will not eat enough."
"The next focus of the association will shift to the discovery and training of professionals. Of course, sorting out and improving each career path is also a top priority."
Then, Chu Zheng introduced the two jade slips he gave to Meng Zhou.
"These two jade slips are the result of my listening to your suggestions that day.
Although everyone's inheritance either stops at the first level or is an incomplete second level inheritance, fortunately there are enough professionals in the association.
Through collection and sorting, several second-level inheritances of some common professions have been pieced together, and there are even more incomplete second-level inheritances."
"In this jade slip, there is a complete second-level inheritance of an alchemist, a weapon refiner, a talisman maker, and an array master.
There is also an incomplete second-level talisman master's inheritance, and an incomplete second-level alchemy master's inheritance;
The incomplete second-level puppet master inherits one school, and the incomplete second-level pharmacist inherits another school;
And the inheritance of the incomplete second-level beast master."
Chu Zheng was just like telling the names of dishes, telling each of the inheritances recorded in the jade slips.
As he spoke, he stared closely at the changes in Meng Zhou's face. Seeing his surprised look, Chu Zheng also smiled.
"Your contribution to the association cannot be overstated, and you deserve no matter how you are rewarded.
I have long thought about what to give you, and after much thought, I think these are the most suitable.
It can not only represent the characteristics of the association, but also be the most cost-effective. Apart from the cost of the jade slips, there will basically be no other expenses."
Having said this, Chu Zheng seemed to be impressed by his sense of humor and burst into laughter.
After a while, he pointed to another jade slip and introduced:
"This jade slip contains some information related to foundation building. I hope it can bring you some help.
However, don't hold out too much hope.
Compared with the jade slip that contains nine kinds of inheritance, the content inside is pitiful, which is also a huge shortcoming of the association.
In the future, we will increase the speed of collecting information in this area, but this is all we can do now."
The master and apprentice stayed for nearly two hours before saying goodbye and leaving.
Meng Zhou carefully looked at the two jade slips in his hands before putting them into his storage bag.
Originally, Meng Zhou, who was inspired by Miao Lin's notes, wanted to share some inspiration with Chu Zheng during the next meeting to help the association continue to take off.
But during this meeting, Meng Zhou did not mention this matter a word.
It wasn't that he had a grudge because of what happened to Wang Wei and others, but that he suddenly realized that although he didn't show up directly, he had brought too many new things and changes to Nuanyun Valley in a short period of time.
Time is too short, there are too many changes, and they come too fast.
Everyone from top to bottom was involved in it, either actively or passively, before they had time to prepare or react.
If you take too big a step, you may pull off your eggs.
This applies not only to individuals, but also to a force, or to Nuanyun Valley, which encompasses many forces.
Therefore, Meng Zhou chose to shut up this time.
Please give me monthly votes. Please give me some monthly votes to encourage you, okay!
Let's not talk nonsense, how about playing a little game?
Within today, if there are ten more monthly tickets, how about I add one thousand more words on top of the four thousand?
Let’s see if I can get more than 10,000 updates per day before I put it on the shelves!
