As the sun rise broke the horizon revealing a beautiful morning, Wei Huoran was waking up. He sat down and ate a simple breakfast, had a quick shower, got dressed, and made his way over to tent city. He greeted the people as he made his way to the dining hall and upon arriving, he silently waited for everyone to finish their meal.
"Good morning everyone, I hope you slept well", he greeted them.
"Good Morning Boss", he heard in return. 'Well that acceptable', he thought.
"We need to a discussion on how we should operate starting today", Huoran offered.
A few of the team leaders walked forward, and Wu Long spoke first, "What do you mean by this Boss Wei?"
"Simply that I meant what I said back in North Wind City, I am hiring you for work. We need to come to agreement on terms, conditions, and pay", Huoran stated, "I will not treat unfairly, but I don't wish to negotiate everything with each and every person. I will propose an general standard and accommodate special cases as needed. So I believe the first step is for you have leaders that can represent your interests and I'll speak with them. While I won't interfere in who you pick, I would suggest five to seven people who are wise, knowledgeable, willing, and trustworthy. Take the time to pick your representatives and I'll sit down with them."
Wu Long looked confused at first but after a few moments he nodded and the rest followed. As they walked back to the tents, Huoran added, "Here is talisman that can notify me, when you are ready, break it and I'll be here within five minutes."
Wu Long and the others took it and walked back and Wei Huoran returned to his cave as well.
When Huoran returned home, he opened a scroll on talisman making and started memorizing. For most of the morning, he poured over scrolls and manuals and found the profession very easy to understand. A talisman maker would use special paper and ink or jade to infuse it with runes to achieve a certain effects. The pros were that anyone could activate a talisman, so fire attuned cultivators could use water talismans. The cons were that they were consumables, paper talismans could one be used once and although jade talismans could be used multiple times, once the uses were done, so was the talisman. The jade would be drained of power unable to be used again. It was approaching early evening when he felt the signal from the villagers, and so he rose and quickly made his way to their location.
When he arrived, everyone turned their heads to him and greeted him, and he returned the greeting.
"Can I ask everyone but the people chosen to leave the dining hall until our discussion is finished?" Huoran asked.
Everyone started leaving, with seven people staying at a table. As he walked over to the table, he saw five men and two women sitting there. He summoned a chair from the ring and sat down with them.
"I'd like to thank you for being here", Huoran said, "While I recognize a few of you, can everyone introduce themselves."
An elder man with long white hair and a long white beard spoke first, "Boss Wei, I am Ye Peizhi."
Another elder man went next, "Song Shi, it's good to meet you."
The next man was older but not as old as the first two, "Xia Yanlin."
An older woman spoke next, "Ren Baozhai, Boss Wei, I wish you good health and wealth."
Wu Long introduced himself and Fu Kai did as well. The last member a middle aged woman spoke last, "I look forward to our cooperation Boss Wei, I am Liang Huling."
"Very well, let us begin. This is what I propose, for the first year, I will bear the cost of shelter, food, and training for all the citizens under your care. I will be providing jobs and pay for agriculture, mining, construction, and other services. I will teach everyone reading, writing, and numbers. By now everyone must have felt the pressure from Qi in the air as well. I will start providing food that will allows everyone to start cultivating", Huoran offered.
"Boss Wei, this is a very sincere offer", Ye Peizhi interjected, "but nothing in the world is free, may I ask what the conditions are for receiving this?"
"Of course, I was getting to that", Huoran replied, "Anyone who agrees must stay and live here for ten years and after that they can renegotiate their contract or they can chose to leave. Any who leave can take their skills and training with them but they will be outsiders and if they return, they will have to pay just like any other nonresidents."
Liang Huling responded, "That doesn't sounds like a harsh sentence, wouldn't most people who learn a trade here leave for better money?"
Huoran addressed her concerns, "In ten years, I'm fairly confident no one will wish to leave, in fact if they wish to leave today I would make the arrangements. But I think within six months you will be glad you accepted my deal."
The seven people closed ranks and discussed for a few minutes before returning to their original positions and Song Shi announced, "We agree to bring your proposals to our people and by tomorrow we will follow their will."
"Excellent, I will return tomorrow then", Huoran rose up from his chair, stored it, and left.
The representatives made their way to the families and gathered them. After a lot of discussions and questions, they had made their decision.
The next morning, Wei Huoran returned and inquired, "What has been decided?"
"We all agree to a work together", Wu Long answered.
"Understood, then let's sit down and negotiate", Huoran spoke as he handed out scrolls to all adults. "Anyone who can read, please move over here while I read it to the others." After a few people moved over he began, "I,(), promise to stay on island for ten years. In return, I will be provided food, shelter, coin, protection,and cultivation resources. Should I breakthrough or become proficient in a profession, my time on island will increase but once time is served, I have the option to renegotiate my contract or leave the island. As a citizen of this island, I will fulfill my responsibilities and and enjoy it's benefits. I can own businesses and operate in a fair manner. I am subject to the laws of the island and will be an upright citizen", Huoran finished, "For all those that agree, sign if your capable, otherwise you can make a small cut in your thumb and sign with your blood. Once everyone is done, we will began assigning jobs for men and women."
Several people turned to look at Wei Huoran and Wu Long quickly spoke, "Boss Wei, the women here are mothers, isn't it inappropriate to have them working as courtesans?"
"Of course, that sounds very inappropriate," as Huoran spoke, people breathed a sigh of relief, "But I think you all have had a misunderstanding, ladies, if your children are still very young, it would be best to raise them. But for women who are bored at home, you are an adult and a citizen of this island, if you wish to work then tomorrow, if you have will and the qualities needed, you will be hired for the same jobs that the men are seeking as well. We, in fact, will not be building a brothel here or having courtesans but there is no reason to worry. The services and products we will offer in the future will be in high demand."
Soon everyone had negotiated their contract and had been assigned to their duties. Wei Huoran passed out meals to everyone over twelve years old and explained, "From now on based on your progress you will be provided with meals like this but don't eat it here and now. I recommend taking it to the bathhouse to eat which is why we beat a dining room there. Let me explain, when you start the first level of cultivation, you have to purify your body. When you eat foods like this, it's best to quickly enter the bath quickly because once it takes effect, you will start expelling impurities from your skin. It's not a pretty sight or something you want to smell so keep that in mind. Children under the age of twelve will still receive food made from ordinary ingredients."
A few people who was about to eat their meal stopped after hearing this and closed the container again.
Wei Huoran continued, "All members who were hired as agriculture workers, please follow me." And he started walking towards the farm.