Chapter 11: Making the Water God Cult Great
Furina stared at the dense plans in Neuvillette's notebook, feeling her head grow two sizes larger. Building schools, hiring teachers, expanding bases, developing industries... how much money would that burn! How many points would it burn!
Just thinking about it made her heart ache, but then she reconsidered: nothing ventured, nothing gained. She stomped her foot and steeled her heart—as for points, she could just earn more after spending them!
Having made up her mind, she hunched over and slipped back into her room, closed the door, and began to wrestle with the System.
"System, System! I want to exchange for gold coins! Give me... a hundred first!" Watching a thousand points get deducted with a 'clatter', Furina's heart bled. But when a pile of glittering gold coins stacked up on the table with a crash, she felt the deal wasn't a loss.
"Give me five hundred more silver coins!" Well, another fifty points down the drain.
Looking at her remaining balance of six hundred and thirty points, Furina steeled herself and exchanged for another fifty gold coins. Now she had a hundred and fifty gold coins and five hundred silver coins in hand; she finally felt a bit of confidence.
But her points were down to five hundred and eighty... She stared at the number with a long face when suddenly a flash of inspiration hit her—right! The Medicinal Pills in the mall!
"These Blood Coagulation Powders are produced by Yao Lao; even if they're only Tier 1 Medicinal Pills, they'll be hot items here on the Douluo Continent." She muttered to herself, her eyes growing brighter, "Healing-type Spirit Masters are so rare, and portable healing medicine is even scarcer..."
Gritting her teeth, she dumped all her remaining points into it, exchanging for nineteen packets of Blood Coagulation Powder. Now, her points were completely zeroed out, and she was penniless.
"I'm going all in!" While dragging the heavy money bags and Medicinal Pills outside, she shouted, "Neuvillette! Come give me a hand! The startup capital is here!"
Neuvillette looked at the bulging cloth bag and was momentarily stunned: "These are..."
"Our startup capital!" Furina raised her chin proudly, "Is it enough? If not, I'll find another way!"
When Neuvillette opened the cloth bag and saw the glittering gold and silver coins inside, along with those exquisitely packaged Medicinal Pills, he fell silent for a long while. "This is indeed enough to start the plan. But where did you..."
He wondered privately: could she have hidden some private savings? Although he knew this Pope always had some unexpected methods, this was too sudden.
"Trade secret!" Furina quickly interrupted his questioning, "Anyway, the source is legitimate! Go arrange it quickly! By the way, these Blood Coagulation Powders are good stuff; they'll sell for ten gold coins a bottle without any trouble!"
Neuvillette looked at the Medicinal Pills thoughtfully but ultimately didn't ask further: "Fine, I will have someone handle it."
With financial support, Neuvillette pushed the plan forward with vigor. First, he set up a believer registration where everyone had to report their name, age, address, special talents, and what their Martial Spirit was like. Mademoiselle Crabaletta held a crab pincer to handle the stamping; although she had to dip it in ink for every stamp, making her quite flustered.
He also established a few simple religious rules: no fighting or brawling, helping one another, and attending activities at least once a week. Violators would be punished with cleaning duties, and serious cases might even have their 'sacred objects' suspended.
What excited the believers most was the selection of cadres. Neuvillette established several positions: Order Maintenance Officers to manage the lines, Hygiene Supervisors to manage cleaning, Enlightenment Assistants to teach children to read, and Material Managers to look after supplies. Every position came with a subsidy, and those who did well would have priority access to Cultivation resources.
"I want to be a cadre too!" a little kid shouted, jumping up and down. "Me too! Me too!"
Furina watched the lively scene and couldn't help but snicker. Just then, a 'ding' sounded in her head:
[New Mission: Make the Water God Cult Great]
[Content: Build the Water God Cult into a proper, organized group; don't just give out Cake and awakening services all day]
[Requirements: Reach 500 believers, establish at least 3 functional departments, and have a stable income]
[Reward: 5,000 points, Growable Divine Artifact 'Splendor of Tranquil Waters' x1]
Furina's eyes lit up instantly! Five thousand points! And a Divine Artifact that can level up!
She immediately hopped over to Neuvillette's side: "Neuvillette! We need to speed up the progress!"
Under Neuvillette's management, the Water God Cult looked more and more like the real deal. They rented the empty house next door and converted it into classrooms and dormitories, hiring an unrecognized old scholar for two gold coins a month to teach the children to read and write.
Several skilled believers were also scouted: an old man who could weave baskets, an uncle who did carpentry, and an auntie who had worked in a restaurant. Neuvillette gave them startup capital to set up small workshops within the cult.
The basket-weaving old man's works were sold at the entrance, the carpentry uncle made simple furniture, and the auntie set up a snack stall. The cult took a twenty percent cut of all income, and the rest belonged to them.
The most popular item was still Furina's'Special Cake'. Now, besides the free standard version, she also created a 'Deluxe Version' with better ingredients and better effects, selling for five to ten silver coins each. Although not expensive, the high volume of sales made it a major income source for the cult.
Furina even organized several 'artistic performances', leading a few believers with acting talent to set up a stage in the courtyard to sing and dance. She personally performed solos; although her singing wasn't great, it was lively and always attracted many passersby, developing a few new believers in the process.
The nineteen packets of Blood Coagulation Powder sold like crazy on the market. Spirit Masters and nobles scrambled for them, and the hundred and ninety bottles were soon sold out. Even at ten gold coins a bottle, demand exceeded supply; they really made a fortune.
After a month, the Water God Cult actually achieved profitability! Previously, it relied entirely on Furina exchanging points for money to survive, but now it could finally be self-sufficient. The number of believers had also grown to over three hundred.
The seven children who had awakened spirit power became the focus of cultivation. Neuvillette set a strict schedule for them: academic classes in the morning, physical training in the afternoon, with breaks and meditation interspersed. Furina would occasionally give them extra treats, handing out cakes to replenish their energy.
"Lord Pope," a child named Xiao Lei asked curiously, "when we reach level ten, can you really help us get a spirit ring?"
"Of course!" Furina patted her chest and guaranteed, "Leave it to me! But you have to Cultivate well first!"
She thought to herself: anyway, the mall sells spirit rings. Although they're a bit expensive, it's safer than going out to kill things. Besides, aren't there those three little ones? They can even beat up Dai Huabin, so getting a thousand-year spirit ring shouldn't be a problem... right?
That evening, Furina looked at the burgeoning Water God Cult and felt delighted. Lanterns in the courtyard cast a warm glow, children were seriously cultivating in the classroom, the snack stall wafted pleasant aromas, and several believers were cleaning up.
Neuvillette walked over and handed her an account book: "This month's income and expenditure. We have a surplus of three hundred gold coins."
Furina took the book in surprise: "We made money?"
"Yes," Neuvillette said with a faint smile in his eyes, "it's not much, but it's a good start."
Looking at the neat records in the ledger, Furina suddenly felt a surge of accomplishment. Although the Water God Cult was still small, it was getting better bit by bit. And she, Lady Furina, was the creator of it all!
"Neuvillette," she said suddenly, "when we have more money, let's repair this broken courtyard first? At least replace that creaking front gate."
Neuvillette nodded: "It's already in next month's budget."
The two looked at each other and smiled, continuing to plan the future of the Water God Cult. And that System mission was already more than half-completed without them realizing it. Furina had already begun to fantasize about herself holding the Splendor of Tranquil Waters, looking heroic as the true Water God.