Chapter 312 – Florida Man Takes 'Junior Executive' to a Whole New Level: Appoints Minor as Store Manager - Now Offering Candy as Employee of the Month Bonus!
Several minutes later, Tang San understood everything. He was interested in Leo's shopping mall.
"Can I roam this place freely? Really?!"
Tang San had visited a few sects before, and their culture was different. For example, the Northern Star Sect, where his ex-fiancé and her new husband joined, never allowed outsiders to roam their territory to protect their Qi and cultivation resources in the sect. On the other hand, Leo operated a public shopping mall, which allowed visitors to stay and absorb the Qi in the environment.
"Yeah, you can."
"Can I absorb the Qi of this place, too?"
"Yes, you can."
"So, if I don't have enough essence cores to pay for the goodies, I can pay it with my lifespan?"
"Yes, you can."
"And I can work here to earn essence cores?"
"Yes, you can."
"Do I get free food from the shops here as well?"
"NOPE! You gotta pay. Don't trick me, kid."
"Ehehe. It's worth trying. Anyway, I would like to work for you. What job do I do?"
Leo pondered. He needed miscellaneous workers who could coordinate with the other employees in the store, but Tang San was too new here.
As Tang San wasn't suited for the task, he thought of other vacant positions in his store. Then, he remembered that there were plenty of entry-level jobs that Tang San could do.
"Can you swim, boy?" Asked Leo.
"Yes, sir."
Leo was relieved. He pointed at escalators, which led to the waterpark on the upper floor.
"There's a waterpark on the upper floor. I need a janitor for that place. You will assist my golems in managing the waterslides, machines, and sales booths."
"A janitor?" Tang San was surprised. In other sects, most cultivators employed commoners to work in such positions. "Me? A janitor?"
"Yes, you."
"B-But, sir. I'm a cultivator."
"I know."
"Can't you just hire some weak disciples or trainees?"
Leo rolled his eyes and glanced at the entrance of the mall. Tang San also noticed his eyes and followed his gaze.
On the first floor, not many people managed to get in. Aside from the elders of the Life Sword Sect, Esen's subordinates and Taxi's gang showed up to inspect the new changes.
Seeing less than a hundred people in the large shopping mall, Tang San remembered something.
"Ah, crap! The environment and the yin-yang essence in the air!" Tang San exclaimed.
"Right. I purposely increased the air conditioner's Qi output. I need to weed out those freeloaders in the shopping mall and give them a push. Otherwise, they will be too lazy and take things for granted."
Tang San didn't know about the previous conditions of Leo's shopping mall. He tilted his head, "What happened in the past, sir?"
"I allowed commoners and rogue cultivators to enter this place and encouraged them to open their stores on the second and third floor. Do you know what happened? They used this place as a cultivation hub or some sort. They loitered around here, leeching on my shopping mall's Qi instead of buying my stuff and going home."
Tang San nodded, "Ah, understandable. Weak cultivators are poor. I can understand why they did that."
"Anyway," Leo changed the topic. "There might not be many customers from around here, but some experts from other worlds might show up regularly. Some of them might be deities, sages, or entities. An immortal or a quasi-immortal like you is nothing in their eyes. Therefore, you aren't qualified for a better role yet."
"W-What? Other worlds?! You mean, the people from a higher world?"
"Something like that."
Tang San was excited, "Master… I mean, my former master told me that he was from a higher realm. Could you teach me what kind of places they are?"
Leo was tired of talking to this boy. He chased Tang San away, "Go to the upper floor and learn your job first. I'll lecture you when I'm free. I'm busy right now."
"…Oh."
Tang San was dejected. He lowered his shoulders and dragged his feet toward the escalators to the waterpark's floor.
.
After Tang San had left, Leo returned his attention to Meowmeow and whispered.
"Keep your eyes on the guy. I think he's a main character or something."
"I can tell." Meowmeow nodded and vanished. He became invisible and secretly followed Tang San.
The troublemakers were gone, but there was another annoying subordinate who had been waiting for Leo.
"What's up, my lord!"
Wu Buyi waved his hands. He had been patiently waiting for Leo to finish.
The alchemist wasn't the only one who came here to see Leo. Hua Jiashan and his people also arrived. When Leo looked at them, they saluted.
"Lord Florida Man…"
"Oh, boy." Leo sighed. This might take a while to explain.
.
.
In the end, Leo held a meeting with the top executives of his domain.
Tang Xuan, Tang Tian, Hua Jiasha, Dongfang Mei, Xu Nuan, Han Hao, Han Meng, Tiger Swordsman, Wu Buyi, Taxi, Ricardo, Marc, Ivy, Beatrice, Gao Yan, and Jin Yong attended the gathering.
Several hours after the explanation, everybody understood why Leo increased the density of the shopping mall's Qi. They were also stunned when they learned about the Qi generators and the new sources of immortal grass.
"I guess we're going to get busy from here on out." Tang Xuan visualized the busy workshops and factories, which would chug out countless longevity pills for sale.
Tang Tian believed he found the flaws in Leo's business scheme. He pointed out and warned Leo.
"Isn't this a method to cheat lifespan? We consume longevity pills to infinitely increase our lifespan. Then, we can exchange them for Lord Florida Man's artifacts and books."
Leo was aware of that. He tried to explain.
"Do you know what the maximum lifespan a person can have?"
"How many, my lord?"
"Two billion years."
"Two… WHAT?!"
Everybody counted their fingers. Wu Buyi even brought out toothpicks to count as he wondered how many zeros were there.
Two billion years was a long time to live. As the oldest among them was merely a thousand years old, they couldn't imagine what they would do in such a long time.
Cultivating in seclusion?
Enjoying the worldly matters?
Getting married and having many kids?
They daydreamed for a while. But everybody was quickly disillusioned by the abrupt questions in their mind.
What would happen if they suddenly forgot about the time during their seclusion and came out a million years later? Would their families and friends would be around at that time? Would anybody remember them at all?
What if the Yan Empire Planet was destroyed?
What would they live if Leo's domain was gone?
Would they be able to survive alone in the universe?
The thoughts frightened them. Many faces turned pale.
Leo snickered as he had gone through that phase before. He reminded them.
"Cultivation takes years. As for myself, I've lived over 50,000 years. I've seen a glorious civilization being reduced to ruins. I've seen a tiny cute rat mutated into a gigantic monstrosity. I've witnessed the sky changing color from white to red, to green, to rainbow, and to orange within a minute. I saw a humongous meteorite colliding with the ocean and creating an apocalyptic flame that devoured the world. I've dove into the deepest ocean floor and met the mutated creatures of myths. Well, life is about the exploration of the unknown. You shouldn't fear the immortality."
Everybody came back to their senses. They felt a lot better.
Leo reminded them, "Living a short and meaningful life is good and all, but you guys have the privilege that no mortal can have. You should enjoy it. Don't be afraid of living a long life even though it's such a pain sometimes."
The elders laughed as they understood it.
Tang Xuan's mood got a lot better. He came up with an idea.
"My lord. Since you're limiting access to your shopping complex, commoners and weak cultivators can no longer patronize your store. Without your help, their cultivation progress may likely stagnate due to the lack of cultivation resources. I would like to suggest that you should distribute the stores to the minor areas to expand your influence."
Leo tilted his head, "In short, you want me to open a branch for the commoners?"
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm trying to suggest."
Leo glanced at the others, "What about you guys? Do you want me to open new branches of my store in other places?"
Wu Buyi rubbed his hands, "Yes, of course! Your wares are too great to be kept exclusive in this place. There are still many islands and continents in this world that we haven't explored or visited. Just like you said, our life is long. We should explore everything and make it worth it!"
"…"
Leo frowned. He had flown around this planet several times, and he had already explored the map of this world. Aside from the Yan Continent, there were only three minor islands with civilizations.
Moreover, the islanders were mostly commoners. Even the local cultivators had a lower standard strength than the mainland.
"They are a bunch of commoners and weak cultivators, though."
"That's our point, my lord." Tang Xuan stressed, "We should increase the number of our customers and the strength of our world. By raising the commoners, you get more potential subordinates that you can employ in the future. Aren't you lacking helpers, my lord?"
"…"
Again, Tang Xuan hit his black heart. He couldn't help but agree.
"Alright. But who will be in charge of the new branch."
Suddenly, everybody raised their hands. Their eyes brightened as if they were kids who had found their favorite toys.
"Me!"
"Pick me!"
"Mine!"
"Me!"
Leo was speechless. He looked around and noticed that Gao Yan and Jin Yong also raised their hands.
"Even you?" Leo wryly smiled.
"Ehehe. We… just want to travel." Gao Yan bashfully laughed.
"…"
Leo had a headache. He couldn't decide as nobody seemed trustworthy enough for the job. After all, they all had an ulterior motive.
While Leo was in deep thought, Cat suddenly exited the alchemy workshop and walked toward Leo. She tugged his clothes.
"Papa, where nom-nom meow?"
"…"
Leo looked down and found Cat, who looked like a middle-grade schooler in the modern world. Because of her tanned skin and long ears, she looked like a cute dark elf.
Recognizing Cat, Leo patted her.
"Thanks for calling me 'Papa', Cat. But this daddy is busy."
"But my nom-nom?"
"Hmm."
Leo suddenly had an idea. He looked around and came up with an idea.
"If you take the role as the branch manager, you must take Cat along with you."
"EH?!"
The crowd was shocked. They looked at Cat in one direction.
Cat was also quick to learn. She mischievously grinned and urged Leo.
"Papa. I want someone kind and generous. I want nom-nom!"
"Oh hoh?"
Leo smirked. He had a clear idea who he could appoint as the new branch manager.
