Watching Natya depart, Wang Fugui turned and returned to his office, immediately beginning to write a report for his boss.
Not long after, in Prince Xue Xing's mansion, Prince Xue Xing received news of a strange Title Douluo appearing in Tian Dou City.
Wang Teng's earlier guess was correct; the biggest boss behind the slave market in Tian Dou City was Prince Xue Xing of the Xue family of the Tian Dou royal family.
Upon receiving the news, Prince Xue Xing immediately prepared a carriage and headed to the Tian Dou Imperial Palace.
After all, this was a powerful Title Douluo, worthy of attention. Moreover, his subordinates said this Title Douluo was unfamiliar; he wondered if he could be won over like Dugu Bo and made a retainer of the Tian Dou Empire?
Of course, being a retainer meant little binding power; it was merely a matter of maintaining a good relationship. It was impossible for the Title Douluo to risk his life for it.
Most likely, it would just be a mutually beneficial arrangement! Soon, the speeding carriage entered the palace.
Emperor Xue Ye, who was handling official business, suddenly heard the voices of the guards outside.
"Your Majesty, Prince Xue Xing requests an audience!"
"Xue Xing? Let him in."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Prince Xue Xing then entered.
"Xue Xing, what is it?"
Emperor Xue Ye asked curiously as Prince Xue Xing entered. "Your Majesty, a strange Title Douluo appeared in the slave market earlier. She seemed very young and possessed a ninth spirit ring of 100,000 years."
"What?! A Title Douluo with a 100,000-year spirit ring?"
Emperor Xue Ye's eyes widened immediately. Title Douluos were numerous on the continent, but those with 100,000-year spirit rings were extremely rare.
"Indeed."
"Do you know his identity? Can you recruit her?"
With the Spirit Hall's growing strength, the Heaven Dou Empire felt increasing pressure. Emperor Xue Ye now desperately wanted top experts to join the Heaven Dou Empire.
For example, Dugu Bo, who had previously broken through to Title Douluo, had successfully recruited the Heaven Dou Empire and become a retainer.
Although they didn't expect Dugu Bo to truly serve the Heaven Dou Empire, the title of Title Douluo itself carried immense intimidation.
However, it was clear that the Heaven Dou Empire's ambition to contend with the Spirit Hall was wishful thinking. It could be said that, apart from the Spirit Hall's high-ranking officials, outsiders truly didn't know the Spirit Hall's true strength—it was a force teeming with Title Douluos.
"That Title Douluo is appearing for the first time; his identity is still under investigation."
"Alright, but even once we find out, don't act rashly. Arrange proper etiquette."
"Yes."
...
On the other side, Wang Teng and Natya brought five beautiful young women into their shop. Wang Teng turned to look at the five.
"Alright, from now on, this will be your workplace."
"By the way, what are your names?"
Looking at the five beautiful young women, Wang Teng didn't know their names!
"Young Master, we don't have names. We only had numbers at the slave market."
"Uh! Then why did you become slaves?"
"We don't know, we've been slaves since we were children."
This damned world! Listen to that, they don't even have names! How cruel is that?
"Alright, then I'll give you names!"
However, Wang Teng's naming-challenged syndrome flared up again. After a long while, the new names of the five young ladies were revealed—Chunhua, Qiuyue, Xiahe, Dongshuang, and Ruyi. Chunhua was the oldest, sixteen years old, while Ruyi was the youngest, only fifteen.
"Young master, what will we be doing from now on?"
"From now on, you will be the waitresses of this shop!"
"Waitresses?"
The five girls' eyes widened. What the heck? This wasn't what they had expected!
"Uh... what's with those looks?"
Looking at the five girls' eyes, Wang Teng was a little confused.
"Weren't we supposed to be bed warmers?"
Ruyi whispered.
"What? Speak louder, I didn't hear you!"
Because Ruyi's voice was too soft, Wang Teng didn't hear her clearly.
"Pfft!" Natya, on the other hand, had already laughed.
"Natya, what are you laughing at?"
"Nothing... I'm not laughing!"
Natya denied it outright, indicating that she wasn't laughing.
"Didn't Manager Qian say that you wanted a bed warmer, young master?" Ruyi spoke up.
Upon hearing this, Wang Teng felt as if he'd been struck in the knee, staggering.
"Damn it! What does Qian Duoduo take me for? Damn it! I should have beaten him up before leaving."
This misunderstanding was quite serious; a waitress had become a bed warmer—a huge difference. Could he return her? But since he'd already bought her, Wang Teng had no choice. Fortunately, changing his profession wasn't a problem.
"Ahem, alright, that's enough. So, from now on, you'll be the shop's staff."
"Young master, what do we sell in this shop?"
Chunhua looked around the shop, completely unaware of what Wang Teng would be selling.
"For now, we'll mainly sell recovery potions; we might add soul tools later."
They knew about soul tools, but what were recovery potions? They didn't ask.
"The second floor of this shop is also ours; it will serve as your dormitory from now on. In addition, I will pay you wages of 10 gold soul coins per month."
"Thank you, young master!"
Originally, Chunhua and the others, being slaves, didn't need wages.
However, Wang Teng didn't truly treat them as slaves, and since he didn't need to exploit employees to make money, this small amount was insignificant compared to the profits from the recovery potions.
In Tian Dou City, prices were significantly higher than in other places; after all, living in the capital was difficult, and Wang Teng, being wealthy, directly provided them with the treatment of a Great Soul Master.
"Natea, currently, we only sell recovery potions, and there are daily limits.
Soul Master level potions cost 10,000 gold soul coins per vial, with a daily limit of four vials. Soul King level potions cost 30,000 gold soul coins per vial, with a daily limit of two vials. Soul Emperor level potions cost 100,000 gold soul coins per vial, with only one vial allowed per day."
It's fair to say that Wang Teng has directly increased the price tenfold, a typical example of a ruthless capitalist. And this limited sale has its reasons.
After all, this stuff is incredibly expensive; only Soul Masters with substantial wealth can afford it. Even if they do buy it, it's basically used as a life-saving potion in emergencies.
These potions are quite effective; as long as they're of the same rank, they can restore half of a Soul Master's health or Soul Power.
And although daily sales seem low, it still amounts to 200,000 Gold Soul Coins, totaling 73 million a year, with Wang Teng's profit being a whopping 90%.
As for taxes? He'd like to see if Emperor Xue Ye would collect taxes from Title Douluos!
Of course, the prerequisite for making a fortune is selling the recovery potions. However, Wang Teng estimates that there are many wealthy people in Heaven Dou City.
For example, Ning Fengzhi, that super-rich guy, spent 180,000 gold soul coins on a cat girl in the original novel. He seemed incredibly wealthy, although it might be related to his being a pervert. But it also shows that there are still many rich people in this world.
Speaking of which, I seem to remember Ning Fengzhi always using a cane. Could it be that he's been plowing the fields too much, causing his back problems?