Chapter 6

At the end of the month, Haozi directly took the cash for the bonus. Although everyone knew they would make a lot of money from the booming business at the window every day, the satisfaction of holding a thick wad of cash in hand was truly incomparable to just seeing numbers on a ledger. Each person received a wad, and Qifeng got five, which together felt like a small cart.

"Alright, let's start the meeting." Old Feng saw everyone had gathered and closed the dormitory door. From the beginning, everyone had agreed not to spread the news about the business (Lily from the Lao He family was not considered an outsider), and to keep a low profile. So even though the small window had become quite famous in the entire school, the 514 dorm board of directors was still largely unknown behind the scenes.

The business at the window was very good, but due to the limited daily supply of the signature product, braised beef, the profit ceiling was basically set here. After calculations, everyone found that expanding the window's business scope would not only require several times the manpower but also not significantly increase competitiveness, while management difficulties would increase greatly, making it not worth the effort. After all, they were still students, and the current state of being mostly hands-off was the best.

Dormitory leader and chairman Old Feng summarized, "We just need to maintain the promotional efforts. Of course, the procurement channels will still be handled by Qifeng. Lao He, you're in charge of promotion. Do you need any help?"

Lao He laughed and threw his notebook onto the table, pointing to the screen, "Look, we don't even need to do the promotion ourselves anymore."

"Oh?" Everyone curiously leaned in to look.

It turned out that due to the window's beef being both cheap and of high quality, and being run by students, the response on the BBS was growing larger and larger. A group of loyal fans, calling themselves "Beef Fans," had formed, posting advertisements on various forums. The number was quite substantial!

"Wow!" Everyone was amazed by the fans' enthusiasm. Lao Wu shook his head, "If I didn't know we hadn't hired anyone to post, I would have thought these were shills."

Lao He nodded, "That's right, many people think so too. So there are often doubts in the comments, and arguments can go on for dozens of floors."

Indeed, the students who had been admitted to the prestigious science and engineering university in the capital were all "elite" students from various regions. Instead of working hard for the country's modernization, they could argue over such trivial matters without getting tired, which only showed that the江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the complex social network and power dynamics in Chinese society) was everywhere in our great country.

Old Ji clapped his hands lightly, "Alright, since someone is helping us with the promotion, it seems we don't need to worry about publicity." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Old Feng looked around and saw that everyone had no objections, except for Qifeng, who was silent, and asked, "Qifeng, do you have any thoughts?"

Qifeng snapped back to reality and looked up, "What thoughts? Ah, I do have one." He patted the stack of soft currency beside him, "What should I buy with this money first?"

This immediately sparked enthusiasm in the dorm. None of them were second-generation rich, and none of them had ever experienced having so much spare cash in their hands. They quickly started a heated discussion. These science and engineering geeks were mostly interested in digital products. Old Feng wanted a DSLR, Lao Wu wanted to upgrade his computer, Lao He wanted a pair of couple iPods, Haozi and Old Ji were interested in the first-generation smartphones from the fruit company. They quickly agreed and decided to go to the Zhongguancun in the capital to go shopping.

"Qifeng, aren't you coming? You earned the most."

Qifeng shook his head, "I plan to save some money for investment, so I'll keep it for now."

Everyone was speechless, "You really have high aspirations. No wonder you're the major shareholder. We'll go first."

Qifeng parted ways with everyone and went to the bank, not to deposit money but to withdraw it. Earning 50,000 in a month, another 100,000 would only take another month, but Qifeng felt very frustrated that he could only shuttle back and forth with beef, and he didn't want to wait any longer. With the window's impressive financial report, Qifeng confidently asked his parents for funding to expand production. Qifeng's parents originally did not approve of him doing business while studying, but with the distance and Qifeng's actions, they had no choice. Seeing that Qifeng's small business plan was indeed successful, his mother approved a 50,000 yuan loan, without requiring repayment, but Qifeng would have to cover his living expenses for the rest of his college years. Qifeng readily agreed and even boldly stated that he would cover his tuition as well, thus achieving financial independence.

In response to Qifeng's declaration, the Empress Dowager only said, "Little brat, your wings are hard now, huh? I'll deal with you when you come back!"

Qifeng exchanged 30 silver bars, each weighing one kilogram, and put them in a large bag, which was very heavy. He casually pushed open a door and arrived at the Yuelai Inn. A few days ago, when he came to buy beef, he had already agreed with Brother Xiaobao that he would bring silver in the next few days, and they would exchange money for goods. So Brother Xiaobao had been waiting.

"Hey, Brother Qifeng is here?" Brother Xiaobao, with his sharp eyes, saw that Qifeng's backpack was small but very heavy, and knew that Qifeng had brought a large sum of silver.

Qifeng put the bag on the ground and rubbed his shoulders, "It's so heavy. Brother Xiaobao, check it. There's at least 700 taels here. I want a copy of the 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' first."

Don't be fooled by Brother Xiaobao's small stature and thin build; he was much stronger than Qifeng. He lifted the bag with one hand and weighed it, "More than 700 taels, Brother Qifeng, please wait." He took out the silver bars one by one and weighed them, smiling, "720 taels! I should give you 20 taels back."

Qifeng waved his hand, "No need to give it back. Brother Xiaobao, just give me something cheap to offset the 20 taels. It's easier than dealing with loose silver." Qifeng knew that Brother Xiaobao had no useless items, so he was just buying something casually.

Brother Xiaobao rummaged through his bag, took out the 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' and handed it to Qifeng, along with a small black bottle, "This is the Nine Flower Jade Dew Pill. I usually sell it for 50 taels. Let's offset it for 20 taels. Don't underestimate this pill..."

Qifeng laughed and interrupted Brother Xiaobao, "How could I not know the Nine Flower Jade Dew Pill from the Peach Blossom Island? Only 20 taels, it's more than worth it. Thanks, Brother Xiaobao!"

Brother Xiaobao smiled self-deprecatingly and slapped his forehead, "I forgot again, Brother Qifeng is the All-Knowing."

Qifeng, who had been dreaming of this treasure, was so excited that he almost jumped. He ran out of the Yuelai Inn in a flash.

As soon as he returned to the dorm, Qifeng made a surprising discovery!

"This, this is... a storage space?"

It was hard to describe. Qifeng felt that he could open an item slot in his mind just by imagining it. The 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' and the Nine Flower Jade Dew Pill were inside, each occupying one slot. He could simply think of them, and they would appear in his hand, almost like magic.

Before Qifeng could get too excited, he realized he couldn't put any other items in! "Ah, there's a limit. It seems only game items can be placed in the item slot." Why did his ability have so many restrictions?

But Qifeng didn't dwell on it and took out the 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra,' feeling incredibly excited, "Ha, the ultimate martial arts, within reach! It was worth it to transport beef every day for a month."

Why did he choose the 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra'? Because Qifeng clearly remembered its characteristic: easy to start! Qifeng knew nothing about martial arts or internal energy, and the 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' required no foundation and was particularly easy to start. The book stated that even the most foolish person could reach the first level after a year of practice.

Qifeng opened the manual and studied it with a seriousness that he never showed when reading his textbooks. If he had had this enthusiasm in high school, he might have been able to get into the prestigious university in the capital.

He read for two hours straight. Qifeng closed the manual and took a deep breath. He finally understood why the 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' was so easy to start.

Martial arts, external skills are easy to practice, but internal skills are hard to master. The hardest part of internal skill practice is the initial stage. Just finding the qi sensation is enough to keep many people from entering the true path of martial arts. After finding the qi sensation, one must control this natural breath, use it to flow through the meridians, and nurture and strengthen it. Only when a small cycle is formed can one be considered to have truly entered the path. Without a highly skilled master, nine out of ten martial artists cannot complete this step.

But the 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' is different. This esoteric treasure takes a different path. It does not require the practitioner to find any qi sensation! Not to mention moving true qi. The 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' is a martial art that achieves internal skills through external practice!

That's right! The 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' only requires you to follow the movements in the manual. Unconsciously, your internal energy will naturally flow, unblocking your meridians and expanding your acupoints. With enough effort, the internal energy will complete the small cycle on its own! Then the great skill will be formed! Reaching the first level. At this point, the internal skill is fully mastered. At this stage, talking about qi sensation and moving true qi is no longer a problem! The practitioner unconsciously jumps over the hardest initial stage of internal skill practice! Even more amazing, this method has no risk of going wrong! It's truly incredible.

Qifeng went through the entire mechanism in his mind and realized that he only needed to treat the first level of the 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' like a school radio calisthenics, doing it several times a day. Even the most foolish person could practice internal skills after a year!

"Is this possible?" Qifeng felt a bit sweaty, "No wonder it's a supreme esoteric skill, so unconventional!"

Since that's the case, why wait? The first level of the 'Dragon Elephant Bodhimanda Sutra' only has a dozen movements, accompanied by some shouting-like breathing. With no one in the dorm, Qifeng started practicing according to the images and text in the manual.