Chapter 159: Middle-aged Taoist

After leaving the Spirit Soldier Pavilion, Wang Changsheng did not return to his residence but went straight to the Sky Cloud Pavilion.

Under pressure from Wang Changsheng, Wang Qingze was looking for a job in Canglan City. Having never experienced hardship, he had high standards but lacked practical ability, and he couldn't find a suitable job for over two months. Wang Changren's aptitude was not great. Like Wang Changxing, he started working early. He was hardworking, resilient, perceptive, and good at reading people. He quickly found a job at the Sky Cloud Pavilion and even secured a position for Wang Qingze. Wang Qingze, who had read extensively about spirit herbs within the clan, was responsible for introducing alchemy materials to customers. His monthly salary was four spirit stones, including food and accommodation. Wang Changren, being more familiar with artifact refining materials, was responsible for introducing them to customers. Wang Changhui worked as a shop assistant in a rice shop, selling spirit grains. Wang Mingzhan and Wang Mingxiao were in charge of renting shops, and they frequently visited the management office to inquire.

Wang Changsheng planned to visit the Sky Cloud Pavilion to see Wang Changren and Wang Qingze and check on how they were doing. The Sky Cloud Pavilion was the largest raw material store in Canglan City, with excellent business and many cultivators frequenting it. The main hall was bright and spacious, with tall shelves filled with blank talisman paper, talisman blood, spirit wood, and demon beast fur – all materials for making talismans. More than a dozen attendants were serving customers, and business seemed to be thriving.

The second floor sold alchemy materials, and Wang Qingze worked there. Before Wang Changsheng even reached the second floor, he heard a heated argument. Wang Changsheng frowned and went upstairs to the second floor. He found that the argument was coming from a specific counter, and coincidentally, Wang Qingze was standing behind it, looking flustered. A middle-aged man in his thirties stood in front of the counter, holding a green ginseng in his hand, his face filled with anger. The middle-aged man had sharp, defined eyebrows and bright eyes. A green wooden sword was strapped to his back, and a green gourd hung from his waist. His face was slightly pale, and his aura was weak, suggesting he was injured. Judging by the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the middle-aged man, he was clearly a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"I clearly asked for five Azure Sun Ginseng and three Azure Cloud Ginseng, but you actually gave me three Azure Sun Ginseng and five Azure Cloud Ginseng!" the middle-aged man said indignantly. "Azure Sun Ginseng is a second-tier mid-grade alchemy material, while Azure Cloud Ginseng is a first-tier high-grade material. They differ by a whole grade. Isn't this cheating?! You must refund my spirit stones!" Azure Sun Ginseng and Azure Cloud Ginseng are somewhat similar; it's quite easy to mix them up without careful inspection.

"Senior," Wang Qingze explained, bracing himself, "you didn't check carefully at the time. According to our Sky Cloud Pavilion's rules, once an item leaves the counter, we don't offer refunds or exchanges." The store was quite busy; he worked six hours a day and served many customers. The sales of Azure Sun Ginseng had been very good recently, and he himself had forgotten how many he had sold the previous day.

"Hmph," the man scoffed, "are you implying that I, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, have nothing better to do than deliberately try to swindle you? I'm a long-time customer of Sky Cloud Pavilion; I always buy my materials here. I trusted Sky Cloud Pavilion, which is why I didn't inspect the items. I never thought your store would take advantage of its size to bully customers! Get someone in charge out here!" The middle-aged man's voice grew louder, attracting many onlookers.

Just then, a beautiful middle-aged woman in her early thirties came down from the third floor. The beautiful middle-aged woman saw the man and forced a smile. She politely said, "This humble one is Chen Ruyi, the manager of Sky Cloud Pavilion. Fellow Daoist, who has angered you so much?"

The middle-aged man immediately recounted the entire incident. He took out a piece of paper and handed it to the middle-aged woman. Pointing at Wang Qingze, he said, "Madam Chen, I am also an old customer of Sky Cloud Pavilion. You decide what to do. This is the receipt he wrote for me." Chen Ruyi glanced at the content on the paper, handed the receipt to Wang Qingze, and asked, "You wrote this, didn't you?" Wang Qingze quickly scanned it and nodded.

"Temporarily suspend business," Chen Ruyi commanded. "Immediately take inventory of the Azure Sun Ginseng and Azure Cloud Ginseng, and verify the ledgers." Each time goods were sold, the sales clerk would write two copies of a receipt: one for the customer and one for reconciliation. Before long, Chen Ruyi had clarified the situation: there were two extra Azure Sun Ginseng and two fewer Azure Cloud Ginseng. There were more than a dozen clerks, all of whom had sold Azure Sun Ginseng and Azure Cloud Ginseng. Even if they had made a mistake, it couldn't be such a coincidence that exactly two extra Azure Sun Ginseng and two fewer Azure Cloud Ginseng were found. Clearly, Wang Qingze had been careless, and he was fully responsible for the error.

"I knew it!" the man exclaimed. "It was your mistake, and you still wouldn't admit it."

"Fellow Daoist," Chen Ruyi said, "according to our Sky Cloud Pavilion's rules, goods cannot be returned or exchanged once they leave the counter. Of course, the mistake was ours this time. This humble one will host you at the Hundred Fragrance Building tonight as an apology. How does that sound?"

The middle-aged man's expression softened. He said, "For Madam Chen's sake, we'll let this matter go. However, Madam Chen, please recruit more sharp-witted people in the future. Don't hire careless people like this again." Chen Ruyi maintained a smiling face and agreed.

After seeing off the middle-aged man, Chen Ruyi's expression immediately turned cold. She said to Wang Qingze, "You don't need to come in tomorrow. You caused losses to the store, and your salary for this month is forfeited. Since you've been quite diligent in your work, we won't require you to compensate for the losses. Pack your things and leave!" Wang Qingze agreed with a bitter smile and left, his face filled with dejection.

As he walked out of the Sky Cloud Pavilion, he was surprised to find Wang Changsheng standing right at the entrance. "Ninth Uncle, I..." Wang Qingze looked wronged and wanted to say something to Wang Changsheng. Wang Changsheng waved his hand and said, "It's alright, I saw everything. We can talk about it when we get home. I hope Changren won't be implicated because of you."

Back at their residence, Wang Changsheng asked Wang Qingze to recount the incident. "You've been working at Sky Cloud Pavilion for almost two months," Wang Changsheng reprimanded, his face stern. "How could you still mix up Azure Sun Ginseng and Azure Cloud Ginseng? You're far too careless in your work!"

"Ninth Uncle, I don't know how I made the mistake," Wang Qingze replied. "I hope I didn't implicate Fifteenth Uncle."

"Think carefully about why you made the mistake," Wang Changsheng urged. "It's not a big deal to make a mistake, but you need to understand where you went wrong." Wang Qingze's face showed a thoughtful expression. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Oh, right, I remember now. The man was very impatient at the time and kept rushing me. He looked ferocious, and I was scared, so I made the mistake."

"Scared?" Wang Changsheng questioned. "Did he release his spiritual pressure to intimidate you?" As Wang Changsheng spoke, a powerful spiritual pressure surged from his body, directly pressing down on Wang Qingze. Wang Qingze retreated several steps and dared not even breathe. Seeing this, Wang Changsheng withdrew his spiritual pressure. Only then did Wang Qingze feel a little better. He said somewhat vaguely, "It wasn't spiritual pressure. I don't know why, but I was just scared at the time. I can't explain it; maybe I was just careless!"

"Alright," Wang Changsheng sighed, "find another job tomorrow! Be more diligent in your work from now on, and don't be careless."

"Understood, Ninth Uncle," Wang Qingze replied.

That evening, Wang Changsheng and five others gathered for dinner. Wang Changren was implicated by Wang Qingze and was also fired by Chen Ruyi. Wang Qingze felt deeply remorseful. Fortunately, Wang Changren didn't blame him, only reminding him to be more careful in his work in the future.

"Never mind, Qingze," Wang Changsheng said. "From tomorrow, you can learn artifact refining from me! I've already reached an agreement with Immortal Fairy Wang to refine artifacts for her. You can stay by my side, observe and learn; it's good to master a skill." Wang Qingze's face lit up with joy. He repeatedly agreed, "Yes, Ninth Uncle, I will work hard." Wang Changsheng was the most skilled artifact refiner in the clan, and Wang Qingze couldn't wish for anything more than to learn artifact refining from him.