The first imitation appeared in a roadside stall.
A trader whispered about it as if sharing gossip.
"Endurance grain," he called it. "Half the price. Same effect."
Gu Hao did not go to see it.
He didn't need to.
The second appeared inside a mercenary camp.
Compressed pellets. Bitter taste. Strong smell of spirit herbs.
Two days later, a healer asked Gu Qing an odd question.
"Does your grain cause internal dryness?"
Gu Qing answered honestly.
"No."
The healer frowned. "Then someone else's does."
Reports followed.
Quietly at first.
Cultivators feeling hollow after use
Qi circulation growing erratic
Short-term endurance followed by long recovery crashes
The pattern was obvious.
They had copied effect, not structure.
Gu Hao reviewed the details calmly.
Too much spirit herb.
Too aggressive compression.
No rest cycle.
Classic shortcuts.
On Earth, he had seen energy supplements do the same thing. Borrow strength from tomorrow and call it performance.
Here, the cost was higher.
Qi did not forgive debt.
A minor clan learned this the hard way.
They distributed imitation grain to patrol teams.
For a week, efficiency rose.
For two weeks, complaints followed.
By the third, two cultivators failed breakthrough attempts they had prepared for years.
The rumor spread fast.
Not of failure.
Of regret.
Gu Jian reported that evening.
"People are asking if our grain caused the damage," he said.
Gu Hao nodded. "Good."
Gu Jian frowned. "Good?"
"If they confuse us with copycats," Gu Hao replied, "they'll listen when the difference appears."
And it did.
A caravan escort captain arrived unannounced.
He bowed deeply.
"We used the wrong grain," he said bluntly. "It nearly ruined my men."
Gu Hao listened.
"Your grain didn't do that," the man continued. "Why?"
Gu Hao answered simply.
"Because we don't sell speed," he said. "We sell stability."
The man bowed again.
This time, lower.
Gu Hao made no announcement.
No clarification.
No condemnation of imitators.
He let consequences teach.
Within a month:
Imitation grain disappeared quietly
Healers warned against "compressed rations" without guidance
Buyers became cautious, selective, patient
That last one mattered.
Gu Qing reviewed sales numbers.
"Demand hasn't dropped," he said. "It's… slowed."
Gu Hao nodded. "That's maturity."
They did not want the product.
They wanted the outcome.
And that could not be rushed.
That night, Gu Hao stood beneath the stars.
He felt no triumph.
Only relief.
On Earth, he had learned that being first meant nothing if you were not last.
Here, the lesson held.
He wrote one line in his private notes:
Shortcuts reveal themselves by who survives using them.
The Gu Clan remained unflashy.
Uncopied.
And increasingly trusted.
Gu Hao delayed the name longer than anyone expected.
That, too, was deliberate.
Products rushed into the world often carried the wrong identity. They were remembered for novelty instead of reliability.
Gu Hao would not allow that.
He stood in the storage hall, looking at the sealed sacks.
Plain. Unmarked. Effective.
"People already recognize it," Gu Qing said carefully. "They just don't know what to call it."
Gu Hao nodded.
"Then we give it a name that tells them how to treat it."
He chose the words himself.
Not poetic.
Not aggressive.
Steady Ration Grain.
No promise of power.
No implication of shortcuts.
Just endurance.
Gu Hao ordered a single mark burned onto each sack.
Not the Gu Clan emblem.
A simple seal:
稳粮
Steady Grain
No slogans.
No embellishment.
"Won't they copy the name?" Gu Qing asked.
"Yes," Gu Hao replied calmly. "But not the meaning."
He registered the mark formally.
Not through declarations.
Through repetition.
Every contract.
Every receipt.
Every instruction sheet.
The name appeared everywhere the grain did.
Quietly.
Persistently.
Only after the name was set did Gu Hao allow a full review.
The elders gathered.
This time, it felt different.
Not tense.
Grounded.
Cultivation Strength
Foundation Establishment
3 cultivators
Gu Hao
Gu Rui
Gu Jian
Qi Condensation
3 Peak
5 Mid
3 Early
Total cultivators: 12
Economic Position
Primary Products
Grain (mortal & work grade)
Steady Ration Grain (cultivator-facing, limited release)
Weekly income
Standard trade: ~80 low-grade spirit stones
Steady Ration Grain: ~18–22 stones (capped by policy)
Total weekly revenue~98–102 low-grade spirit stones
No debt.
No arrears.
Six months of reserves maintained.
Trade & Influence
Luo River Sect: stable long-term buyer
Multiple caravan groups: recurring clients
No exclusivity contracts
No buyer above 20% dependency
Gu Hao nodded as the numbers settled.
Healthy.
Not tempting fate.
Population & Continuity
Gu Yuan spoke last.
"Since last review," he said, "we have recorded seven births."
The room quieted slightly.
5 to mortal families
2 to cultivator households
All healthy.
All unnamed in records beyond necessity.
No aptitude testing.
No marking.
Gu Hao inclined his head.
"Good," he said. "Let them grow first."
That night, Gu Hao walked through the residential quarter.
Lanterns glowed softly.
He heard children crying. Someone laughing. Someone arguing over chores.
This, more than any breakthrough, anchored him.
He returned to his study and wrote the final note of the phase.
A name turns a product into a promise.
A promise turns repetition into trust.
Trust, once earned slowly, compounds faster than power.
He closed the book.
The Gu Clan now had:
Strength to standTrade to endure
A name the world could recognize
Children who would one day inherit something stable
Only now was it time to plan the next decade.