I was a charlatan in India

Chapter 60 Spiritual Leader

Recently, labor costs in Varanasi have skyrocketed.

The main reason, of course, is the Shenhe repair factory.

In terms of operational logic, the three newly opened stores are similar to the original one.

However, some problems were also exposed in the previous small-scale experiments.

For example, on the very night the ascetic practice began, half of the people ran away.

This is where optimization is possible.

Although they wouldn't lose out even if they only trained for one day, Shenhe still wanted to try to improve the retention rate.

Under his guidance, the recruitment rules underwent their first optimization.

Now, after working for 15 days, even the initial 7-day training is paid!

My goodness, not only are they providing education for free, they're even giving money?

The Gupta family are truly kind and honest people!

As a result, new user retention was further improved.

On the first day, needless to say, you'll be provided with good food and drink, and they'll just paint a rosy picture of a bright future for you.

You wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the next day, would you?

At least try something symbolic.

Moreover, there's the lure of a high salary.

After enduring so much suffering, I felt that if I left now, wouldn't all my suffering have been for nothing?

Besides, according to the leaders, as long as you practice hard for a while, the pain will go away.

Damn it, we'll endure it for the full fifteen days!

Many people who wanted to leave were gritting their teeth and counting down the days.

They clearly have no idea how many new tricks will emerge in fifteen days.

The exploitative practices developed over thousands of years are not something a group of people from the lower classes in ancient times could possibly understand.

The labor-intensive nature of the ascetic factories directly led to a rapid manpower shortage in Varanasi.

Apart from small groups like the Water Rat who have their own subordinates, most merchants have to hire people at high prices.

After all, these days, the lowest of the low just say things like, "If I get any less, I'd rather go and do ascetic practices!"

Actually, there were already signs of this situation as early as the initial period when ascetic practices could be exchanged for steamed buns or porridge.

But back then, the lowly people only managed to avoid starvation; now they have access to high-paying jobs with low barriers to entry, which has fundamentally changed the situation.

A saying has even circulated in the area.

"I'm practicing asceticism because I'm risking my life for myself, so at least people treat me like a brother or sister."

"Working for you is not only a hardship, but you also treat me like a slave. It's even more unfair to you."

"You recruiters should be paying more!"

This rather modernist theory was not initiated by Shenhe, but rather came from the mouth of a worker who had fled from him.

Don't let his inability to endure hardship and his pride fool you; he's a master at stirring up trouble.

His theories quickly gained a large following and became popular among the lower classes.

Of course, not two days later, the man was captured by the enraged merchant and beaten to death.

But nobody cared.

No one even knows about it.

Even today, many people still regard him as a spiritual leader, claiming that he received divine revelation during his ascetic practice, and that he was enlightening the lower-class brothers on behalf of the divine.

The direct victims of this phenomenon, namely those businessmen, naturally also have their spiritual leaders.

Dana, the head of the Nabu family.

Undoubtedly, it's because of his previous act of sharing quotas.

As merchants' goods gradually entered the city, the attitudes of those who had once begged Dana quickly became polarized.

One type is used and discarded, then immediately invested in their own business, even wanting to recoup the 20% cost.

Another group genuinely felt that Dana had saved their lives and regarded him as a noble and virtuous businessman.

Of course, Dana himself did not think this was a good thing.

Being a spokesperson for a group sounds prestigious, but at the slightest sign of trouble, you become the target of everyone's attacks.

What's more, he also planned to run away.

Just kidding. With neither power nor strength, staying here as a scapegoat is just waiting to die.

Dana was far too lucid.

However, this gave him a good excuse to cover up his recent unusual activities.

For example, secretly selling family property.

"Hey, you have no idea, I've been in the eye of the storm lately, how can I not be afraid!"

Others just teased him for being timid, while some speculated that he was preparing for a big business deal that required a lot of cash.

Only a very few people speculated that he might have other hidden reasons for preparing to leave, but it wasn't entirely certain.

After all, in everyone's eyes, Dana was doing quite well.

He can at least overcome the obstacles that others cannot, and he even has the capacity to share some of them.

More importantly, he has been asking around recently, trying to find cheap labor to help him assemble the raw materials on the trade route.

If they really wanted to leave, why would they still be recruiting at a time when labor costs are rising?

In reality, his goods had long been dismantled into pieces and distributed to desperate small merchants.

On the eve of the full moon festival, he had already prepared his valuables, ready to flee at any time.

But before taking action, he still wanted to reassure those with vested interests to prevent anyone from discovering something was wrong and stabbing him in the back.

First is Vasudiv.

Dana arrived with a beaming smile, bringing exquisite snacks and rather valuable gifts.

Even his favorite glass wine jug was inside.

"Master Vasudiv, I have come to ask you for a favor."

This time, Vasudiv was clearly very enthusiastic.

After all, once Dana was destroyed, all the business would belong to him.

To pave the way for Dana is to pave the way for yourself.

However, I'll have to take care of this huge business from now on.

Tsk tsk, not many days of peace and quiet are coming.

He sighed inwardly as he spoke enthusiastically.

"Brother Dana, with the relationship between our two families, what's there to ask for?"

"Just tell me, and I'll definitely do my best to help in any way I can!"

Dana narrowed his eyes, confirming his guess once again.

There's a problem with Vasudiv.

With the Full Moon Festival approaching, Saraswati, as a member of the priestly family, is at a busy time.

It's already good enough that they don't ask me to borrow people, so why are they suddenly being so generous?

Moreover, with the recent surge in labor costs in the city, Vasudiv should be avoiding it at all costs, given his personality.

The only possibility is that he truly sees his family business as his own.

Based on the previous suspicions regarding the share allocation, Dana could almost certainly conclude that Vasudiv had found a new partner and was plotting against him together.

But he remained calm and simply recounted his troubles in a straightforward manner.

"I still have some goods outside the city. I originally planned to send people over to assemble them, but I didn't expect there to be such a labor shortage in the city recently. I wonder..."

"How many people do you need?"

Vasudiv looked distressed, but still did not refuse.

Although he felt the business was his own, just as Dana had judged, labor was currently too scarce.

The servants they kept were too busy to handle the festival, so if they were to hire people from Dana, they would have to pay real money to do so.

"I want as many as you have."

Dana showed no politeness whatsoever.

He wanted to see just how far Vasudiv would back down.

The more you retreat, the bigger the problem is, and the more you need to get out of there as soon as possible.