Thanks to the thorough preparations made in advance, Du Village Chief was able to immediately discuss all the details with Qin Jianghe and the others.
Based on the prices he had gathered and the estimated total cost, after deducting the subsidy from the local government, they settled on the amount to borrow and the contribution from Lingxian Sect, with both parties agreeing to a fifty-fifty split.
Finally, they agreed on the loan's interest rate, and Village Chief Du solemnly wrote out three copies of the loan agreement.
With that, Lingxian Sect's role as the financial backer was concluded for the time being, and they had no further involvement.
After bidding farewell to Village Chief Du, Liu Yunan returned to the mountain and discussed with Qin Jianghe. They decided to post an announcement in the sect, letting everyone know about the village's plans. They also put up a copy on Qingyun Peak.
This was to ensure that everyone would be informed, in case the village encountered any difficulties later, which might require the sect to issue tasks to send disciples down to help. Announcing it now would help everyone stay aware of what was going on.
Too lazy to find another spot, Liu Yunan immediately began writing the announcement at Qin Jianghe's desk in the Financial Hall.
While preparing the notice, something Lin Xiao had mentioned earlier suddenly came to mind.
"Hey, Jianghe, do you remember when Brother Xiao mentioned the 'sect monthly report'?"
Before going into seclusion, Lin Xiao had once suggested during a small meeting that they should start creating a monthly report for the sect. This would keep everyone informed about external affairs and help everyone understand the sect's growth better.
After all, it wouldn't do for Lingxian Sect members to be completely in the dark about the sect's developments.
Hearing this, Qin Jianghe, who was in the middle of organizing this month's transaction records, paused for a moment and nodded:
"Yes, I remember. Why? Do you want to start doing it now?"
Liu Yunan pulled out a small notebook from his storage ring:
"Exactly. Didn't Brother Xiao say we could decide when to start based on the situation? Now that we have new disciples, and things are getting busier inside and outside the sect, announcing every single thing is becoming tedious. Isn't this the perfect time to start making the sect's monthly report?"
Qin Jianghe thought about it and agreed:
"That does make sense. However, even though the report is just for internal circulation, we'll still need dedicated people to write and produce it. We'll need to establish a small department for it. The department doesn't have to be big, but it will need to handle the integration of all information across the sect, organizing and filtering it for the report."
Hearing this, Liu Yunan pondered:
"In that case, all the information we've been gathering from the capital will finally have a designated collection point, and we won't have to scramble to discuss everything over dinner anymore."
Qin Jianghe shrugged, stacking the ledgers he'd just organized and setting them aside. He reminded:
"But there's one tricky thing: finding the right person to lead this monthly report department."
"It's easy enough to find someone to write it, but sorting and filtering the information requires someone meticulous and discerning. They'll need to know what can be shared publicly in the sect and what's better kept under wraps. Otherwise, when the sect grows, spilling all sorts of information could lead to problems."
"That's true. Even though everyone in the sect has passed the Path of Self-Reflection, conflicts could still arise when numbers grow," Liu Yunan nodded. "But we do have several meticulous and discerning people in the sect."
Seeing how optimistic he was, Qin Jianghe decided to douse his enthusiasm with a bit of reality:
"Sure, but being meticulous and discerning isn't enough. They'll also need to be able to manage things. If we establish a monthly report department, it'll need proper management. And considering you want to start it immediately... Oh, by the way, let me remind you, Brother Xiao has given assignments to Yuanjiao, Yigao, your mother, and Senior Liao. They've been so busy lately, they haven't even had time for dinner."
In other words: Don't count on them helping with this.
"What are they busy with?" Liu Yunan wasn't discouraged but grew curious about Lin Xiao's latest tasks.
"Your mother didn't tell you?" "I haven't seen her in over half a month."
Both mother and son were indeed quite busy. Though half a month was a bit longer than usual, it wasn't all that strange.
Since Qin Jianghe had heard about it when Lin Xiao mentioned it on the wedding ship, and later when Sun Yigao came to the Financial Hall to request supplies for the alchemy room, he knew a bit.
He explained to Liu Yunan:
"Apparently, Brother Xiao tasked them with learning various techniques—hundreds, maybe even thousands of books."
"Hundreds or thousands of books?!" Liu Yunan was shocked.
So far, he had only learned the first layer of the sect's Cloud Sword Technique.
And he hadn't even finished that.
Seeing him react the same way he had when he first heard the news, Qin Jianghe nodded:
"Yeah, and they've been given a deadline—two months. So, if you were hoping for their help with the monthly report, forget it."
Liu Yunan: ...
He sighed, took the two announcements he'd written, and stood up:
"Looks like I'll have to handle it myself for now. I'll also see if there's any suitable disciple on Qingyun Peak to help."
He was, of course, quite busy.
As the head of the Miscellaneous Hall, Liu Yunan already had a lot on his plate.
But…
Looking at the notices in his hand, Liu Yunan gritted his teeth. It was better to get the sect's monthly report started as soon as possible.
Oh well, might as well push through now and set up a proper framework for the report. That way, when it's handed over, it'll be much easier to manage.
The reason he was in such a hurry to get the monthly report going was to ensure that the new disciples on Qingyun Peak could learn more about the sect's various affairs.
It would give them a stronger sense of involvement and belonging.
After all, the new disciples of Qingyun Peak didn't have the same level of familiarity with the sect as the older members.
From his interactions with the new disciples, Liu Yunan had noticed a subtle barrier between them and the established members of the sect.
Most of the new disciples naturally held a certain reverence and distance from the senior members and the sect itself.
While taking up positions in various departments and participating in sect tasks could gradually break down this distance, it was a slow process.
And not every new disciple was actively participating in work or tasks to earn spirit stones.
Thus, the sect's monthly report was undoubtedly an excellent way to bridge this gap.
With that in mind, Liu Yunan turned back to the Financial Hall, snatched the ledger Qin Jianghe had been reading, and shoved a new notebook into his hands:
"Come on, Jianghe, set aside your work for a moment and help me plan this!"