BXBX NOVEL Chapter 138 Restructuring
The Hall of Elders had witnessed the good days of the Monstrous Flame Sect as well as seen its darkest of night. But today, it would witness the birth of an organization whose members led the Sect to ruin.
In the Hall, Ikasa had gathered all the chief persona in his group. Feng Yan, Chu Kuang, Gu Dan, Yin Ying and Xin Ruo had taken a seat around the table.
With a preamble, Ikasa explained to them the purpose of the meeting.
"When I started, it was a small manual selling business. Now, it has grown and spanned over two cities. With the acquisition of Herb Garden, we are also taking care of the medicinal needs of Birch City."
"Today, I want to thank every one of you. Because you took care of the relevant fields, I never had to intervene; Never realized how big we have grown."
He met the eyes of every person seated around the table, letting them know the sincerity in his words. Every word he said was from the heart and true.
If not for the rebellion happening in Yin Ying's absence, he wouldn't have paused and looked back at the flaws in his growth.
The trial yesterday had opened the eyes of Ikasa. He knew he was growing but he had no idea how big he had become. Without a statistics sheet to show him his growth, he was oblivious to the number of people he employed!
Only when all his people gathered for the trial, Ikasa came to realize that more than 150 people were now under his employ. Of them, only a few had signed the contract!
Ikasa felt the urgent need to formalize and restructure his organization as soon as possible. Not only because he did not want to see such a rebellion in the future but also because he felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
He was no longer new to this world. Afraid of the third rate powers, he was not struggling to sneakily sell a few manuals.
Now, he was the strongest power in a Tier 3 City! He was the provider of over 100 families! From the salaries he gave his employees, their families were fed and clothed!
As such he could no longer ignore this issue. He needed a proper accounts department, a formal security wing and of course an appropriate pay structure.
He looked at the trustworthy people he had gathered during the past few months. There could not be more qualified people to head their respective departments.
Hence, Ikasa decided to officially establish the relevant department and appoint them to their positions.
Ikasa decided to start with the Herb Garden.
"Uncle Chu, you have done a splendid job in managing the production as well as the sales aspect of the Herb Garden. If you are willing, I want you to continue taking care of it. What do you say, Uncle Chu?"
Ikasa voiced his request as a question and waited for Chu Kuang's answer.
"It is my honor, Master."
"Good!" Ikasa sat up and clapped with joy. He immediately let him know his position while handing him the first set of instructions.
"Uncle Chu, You will be the General Manager of all things related to the Herbs and Herb Garden. Please give me a list of all the people working in the Herb Garden and their payments as soon as possible."
Chu Kuang's job had not changed. He was only promoted in name from Manager to General Manager. Nonetheless, it was an official position.
"Also, I almost forgot to tell you that Medicine Master Yi will also join the Herb Garden. He will be in charge of overseeing the production of medicines, so include him and his disciples in the list."
Ikasa added as Chu Kuang was yet to know about Elder Yi's role. He would put an appropriate pay structure in place after he had the list of employees and their current compensation.
Next, he turned to the security. What made him the strongest power was not only the Sense Trainers, but also his formidable militia.
"Yes, I will stay on as the Supreme Commander of your forces."
Before Ikasa could ask, Feng Yan answered pompously. Ikasa's lips twitched at his pomp. He immediately burst his bubble.
"First get me the list of men serving under you. I want each and everyone's name and number of family members."
Feng Yan balked at the amount of paperwork he would have to do. He was about to complain when Ikasa shut him up.
"Take a few of the kids to help you or assign this to your subordinates; I don't care. I want the list ready by next week or you can be someone else' deputy, maybe even Xin Ruo's?"
Feng Yan scoffed at the last part but immediately shut up seeing Xin Ruo glare at him.
"Yin Ying, now that we are expanding faster than ever, information is crucial for every step. I don't want to see a repeat of what happened during this battle again. So no matter what, you cannot personally take risks!"
She nodded blankly. The betrayal of the men who had accompanied her for so long had hit Yin Ying hard. This incident also let Ikasa know that if they are not under contract, they are not trustworthy.
Ikasa also understood that not every person working under her wanted to work as an informant. If they were forced to do so, he may have another rebellion at hand. Hence, aside from making them distrustful of each other, he had devised another plan.
"Henceforth we will divide the informants into tiers. Those who provide more information can get more benefits and those who want to pursue other goals can do so as well."
Yin Ying paid rapt attention to what Ikasa said.
"To begin with, let's divide them into inner members and outer members. You and Xin Ruo should go through the reports during your absence and find who provided the most trustworthy news. Promote them to inner members and get them to sign a contract."
"What about the rest?" Yin Ying asked.
"Let them be the outer members. We can make our outer membership like a mercenary organization. Anyone can join for a fee and exchange information for information."
Xin Ruo provided another fantastic idea. This way they could effectively use most of the mercenary and adventurer parties to their advantage. Now that the Hu Clan had fallen, they could easily take over their business as well!
Still, it was easier said than done. He would need a sticking glue to make the external users repeat customers.
Manuals would not work as they were the main source of his income. If he used manuals to attract customers in the information guild, who would go to his shop? Also, it may attract hostile attention as his identity would be easily exposed due to his unique manuals.
'Well, this is something to think about later.'
Ikasa put this idea on the back burner and gave his judgment.
"We will formulate a plan before implementing your idea Xin Ruo. For now, let's focus on existing members."
"Yin Ying, you will work with Old man Feng under the Security Wing. any threats you encounter, he will provide the first response."
As impulsive as he may be, Ikasa knew the old man was a seasoned veteran who wouldn't jump into danger willy nilly. So, he was assured on this front.
Now he only needed a qualified man to take care of his finances and he could unburden the last responsibility on him.
"Boss, everything is well and good but are you going to keep calling this huge organization Ikasa's Manuals?"
Gu Dan asked with doubt, silently marveling at the huge growth experienced by the organization in the last six months. Everyone else also turned to look at him, as it was indeed an inappropriate name.
When he started, Ikasa only had his eyes set on opening a shop selling his manuals. After entering the Birch City, he had also diversified into Herbs business. Ikasa's Manuals was indeed not a good name for an organization that wanted to dip its fingers into many pies.
Ikasa also understood their concerns. He had not given this a serious thought before, but now he had to. With growth, the name would become a brand and Ikasa's manuals would narrow people's perspective.
He had already made numerous divisions, just like one would in a modern day company. His name should also reflect this while suiting the tastes of this world.
"Gold Heart." Ikasa muttered.
"Our businesses are centered around making gold but most importantly helping commoners improve their lives. Hence, we have a Heart of Gold and our name should reflect that."
"Starting today, the Private force will be called Goldheart Guardians! The name of the manual store will remain unchanged but when we trade with other parties, we will use the name of Gold Heart Trading Company."
"Our internal currency, the contribution points, will be called Goldhearts!"