Chapter 356: Arrogance and Condescension

"Also, the delivery date for this batch of cave spider silk is tomorrow, and the merchants from Treasure Tree are getting a bit impatient, you..."

In the past, Master Gan always signed off before wages were paid; now, Steward Zhao didn't know who to ask for a signature. Following the order of succession, it should be this Second Master Gan, but...

Second Master Gan was furious, slammed the table, and stood up: "Money, money, money! My brother is dead, my mother is unconscious, and at a time like this, you're still full of talk about copper? Do you have any human heart at all!"

"Second Master, please calm your anger." A human heart is something one should have, but the work must also be done; such a large Gan family still had to operate as usual.

"Get out, don't bother me with these trivial matters!"

Steward Zhao opened his mouth but didn't make a sound.

At this moment, the room door creaked open, and the old woman came out, saying, "The Old Madam is awake and crying, looking for the Second Master."

Second Master Gan hurried inside, not forgetting to warn Steward Zhao on the way: "The Old Madam cannot take any more shocks; handle these trivial matters as you see fit, don't come here to add to the trouble!"

Not long after he went in, Steward Zhao heard Old Madam Mao crying heart-rendingly again.

Second Master Gan also cried along with her, the two of them echoing each other, responding to one another, crying into a mess.

Steward Zhao sighed deeply.

As he walked out, he almost collided with another person rushing in.

"Gan Sanye?"

It was indeed Gan Sanye Gan, who had received the news and rushed back.

His eyes were slightly red, and hearing the crying from the inner room, he pulled Steward Zhao to the back hall to talk.

"Steward Zhao, what on earth is going on!"

Steward Zhao gave a rough account of what happened, focusing, of course, on how Master Gan had been killed.

Gan Sanye Gan listened with a blank stare, plopped into a chair, and after a long while, said with difficulty, "Have my eldest brother's funeral arrangements been made?"

"Ah, I just finished arranging them with the Second Master." It had taken a great deal of effort.

Because the Second Master had been choked with sobs and unable to speak, they had stopped several times along the way.

Gan Sanye Gan gave two grunts: "Then we, we later..."

Usually, the eldest brother held up the sky for the Gan family, but now the sky had collapsed; what would they do later? Zhao Fu waited patiently for his follow-up. With Master Gan dead, the control of the Gan mansion and the Chamber of Commerce would shift to other Gan family members. If they didn't take charge, what decisions could servants like them make?

Gan Sanye Gan held a glimmer of expectation: "Then, is the Second Brother temporarily handling the affairs of the Chamber of Commerce?"

"This... I don't know either." Steward Zhao gave a bitter smile. "The Second Master is overcome with grief and is unwilling to deal with these trivial matters."

Gan Sanye Gan coughed again: "Then wouldn't it be chaotic if no one is managing the Chamber of Commerce?"

"Is the Gan Sanye willing to take over?" Steward Zhao couldn't hide his surprise.

Gan Sanye Gan bit the bullet and said, "Tell me about it first."

"Alright, alright. Our Gan Family Chamber of Commerce has 112 people, mainly doing business in the Demon Nest, dealing primarily in cloth, herbs, and ores, and also involving seven minor categories; the Gan family has 400 mu of high-grade irrigated fields and 1,100 mu of medium-grade fields; as for shops, there are eight in Wu Ze County and twelve in Bai Long Township..."

Steward Zhao gave him a rough summary, which would have been 600 or 700 words if written down, and then said, "The rest can be seen in the accounting office; it's all clearly registered in the books... Gan Sanye?"

Gan Sanye Gan listened with his mouth half-open, his eyebrows knitting tighter and tighter.

So much, so troublesome?

He was a bit shaken and barely managed to say, "Fine, I'll go look another day. Do these usually have dedicated people managing them?"

"Some do, some don't. In the past, the Master would designate someone temporarily, and usually, Chief Steward An would coordinate everything." Steward Zhao added a bit of self-interest. "Sometimes the Master would also let me handle it."

The hint was so obvious, but Gan Sanye Gan just gave a "Hmm" and didn't express his stance.

Steward Zhao's heart went cold.

Sure enough, Gan Sanye Gan hadn't thought of entrusting it to him even now; nine times out of ten, he favored the one surnamed Luo to take over. Steward Zhao gave a secret snort and added, "Then there is one more most important matter at hand."

"Hmm? There's more?" Gan Sanye Gan's reluctance was no longer hidden. "Go ahead."

"The Gan Family Chamber of Commerce can be the sole dominant force in Wu Ze County, besides Master Gan's extraordinary methods, because it relies on the exclusive business of the Demon Nest." Steward Zhao was still working for the Gan Family Chamber of Commerce, so he had to say what needed to be said. "But this time, our caravan was held hostage by mountain bandits and taken to the Spider Queen's territory to cover them in stealing treasures from the underground palace. Although the mountain bandits didn't succeed in the end, the Spider Queen no longer trusts us as before, so she gave the token for entering and exiting the swamp to another youth."

"Oh..." Gan Sanye Gan nodded. "And then?"

He usually knew a little about what business the family did.

Steward Zhao saw his expression and knew he didn't understand the severity of the situation: "The trouble is, without the passage token, we can never enter the Demon Nest Swamp again; we will be blocked by the mirage mist on the periphery. In this way, the Gan Family Chamber of Commerce will never get the Spider Queen's exclusive business again, and I'm afraid we won't have any advantage in Wu Ze County in the future."

He gave a bitter smile: "The news of Master Gan's passing will spread throughout the county within two days. At that time, people's hearts will be restless." Only then would the Gan family's precarious moment arrive.

Gan Sanye Gan finally realized the severity of the problem: "This token is so important, why did the Spider Queen give it to someone else?"

"She trusts that youth more, I suppose." Steward Zhao explained. "The mountain bandits' failure was also due to this youth's interference. He pleaded for us before the Spider Queen, and his condition was that the Gan family caravan must escort him to the capital of the Beijia Kingdom."

Gan Sanye Gan breathed a sigh of relief: "That's easy to handle. Just say I agree, and he'll give us the token, right?"

"It's not that simple." Steward Zhao shook his head. "The Spider Queen requires us to deliver him to the Beijia capital before we can get the passage token."

"What?" Gan Sanye Gan was displeased. "We have to deliver him to the Beijia capital first? Then wouldn't we miss the autumn delivery period?" Even if he didn't care about business, he knew Master Gan was busiest in the spring and autumn.

"This is the condition for the caravan to leave the Demon Nest; we have no choice but to agree."

"After he walks to the Beijia capital, will he still give us the passage token? That's absurd; only a fool would believe that." Gan Sanye Gan sneered. "This is taking advantage of a crisis; the Gan family cannot be so naive!"

Steward Zhao reminded him: "Gan Sanye, this is equivalent to the Spider Queen putting the power to choose the caravan into the hands of this Young Master He; we must treat him with caution. Right now, he is at the Yuan Zhi Restaurant, waiting to meet with the Gan family."

After saying this, he saw Gan Sanye Gan's expression change suddenly, as if he were embarrassed and couldn't believe it: "Yuan Zhi Restaurant?"

"A tall guy, seventeen or eighteen years old, sitting by the window in coarse cloth clothes?" Don't, please don't! "Looking arrogant and condescending?"

He didn't seem that arrogant, did he? Steward Zhao gave an "Ah" sound: "Exactly, have you been to Yuan Zhi Restaurant just now?"

"..." Gan Sanye Gan coughed lightly. "Just passing by. By the way, I have other matters; you let the Second Brother handle the coordination with him."

"???"

Second Master? Besides comforting the Old Madam, the Second Master had long since washed his hands of everything else. Steward Zhao was speechless.

Gan Sanye Gan greased the soles of his feet and slipped away faster than he had come.

￥￥￥￥￥

He Lingchuan picked at his ear.

So that was it.

A quarter of an hour later, someone came upstairs.

He Lingchuan, sitting on the second floor, saw it in advance; it was Steward Zhao.

Steward Zhao was all smiles: "Young Master He, please follow me."

"The Gan family has time now?" He Lingchuan said with a forced smile. "They agree to let me in?"

"Ah?" Steward Zhao gave a dry laugh. "Why do you say that?"

"Just now, Gan Sanye Gan used his pet to hurt people and told me to wait here, threatening to make me look good." He Lingchuan spread his hands. "So I've been waiting here."

Steward Zhao was dumbfounded.

No wonder Gan Sanye Gan's expression was so spectacular when he heard Young Master He was at Yuan Zhi Restaurant.

Before the major matters were negotiated, he had already offended the person.

He cursed Gan Sanye Gan in his heart, but on the surface, he had to force a smile: "Could it be a misunderstanding? I..."

"I heard Second Master Gan never manages affairs, so you let Gan Sanye Gan talk to me, and I'm still here waiting for his arrival." He Lingchuan said lightly. "If he doesn't come within a quarter of an hour, I'm leaving. There's more than one merchant group surnamed Gan that can go to the Demon Kingdom capital."

Such a strong attitude? Steward Zhao heard his last sentence and immediately responded: "Ah, alright." Then he turned and left.

The Gan family had lost its leader, and it looked like a situation where a great tree was about to fall. He had the Shi Family Chamber of Commerce as a backer, so what was there to fear? The two waiters nearby also recognized Steward Zhao, and seeing him so respectful to He Lingchuan, they couldn't help but look at each other.

This was completely different from Gan Sanye Gan's attitude. What was the Gan family playing at? They didn't understand.

A quarter of an hour later, the restaurant's wooden stairs creaked again, but this time the sound was slow, clearly showing that the person coming up was somewhat reluctant.

That Gan Sanye Gan had arrived, followed by Steward Zhao.

Gan Sanye Gan came to the table and cupped his hands: "Many thanks to Young Master He for your righteous action in the swamp, saving my family's caravan."

He bit down on the word "righteous" with extra emphasis.

Would he feel embarrassed just by being complimented for righteousness? Gan Sanye Gan overestimated him. He Lingchuan didn't even put down his wine cup, just swirled it twice in his hand: "I've been waiting for the Gan Sanye, waiting for something 'good'."

"I was rude just now." Gan Sanye Gan's teeth were almost ground to dust, but he had to continue acting according to the script of being arrogant first and humble later. "I apologize to you here."

He Lingchuan gave an "Oh."

"Regarding the passage token..."

"Is that it?" Could He Lingchuan easily let him off? He had sat here dryly for over an hour; how should the time cost be calculated? Although his time wasn't very valuable right now. "Killing people in the market, smashing my venue here, and it's all over with a light apology?"

"You..." Gan Sanye Gan had turned 360 rounds of profanity in his stomach. "What do you want?"

He Lingchuan leaned lazily against the window: "First, the cost of this meal is on you, and the losses from the Yuan Zhi Restaurant being smashed are also on you; it cannot be less than two gold."

Paying money was embarrassing, but it was easy to handle. Gan Sanye Gan nodded to Steward Zhao, who immediately called the shopkeeper and handed him two gold.

The shopkeeper held the heavy little gold ingots, thinking he was dreaming.

The guest had really called it; Gan Sanye Gan, who ran rampant in Wu Ze County, would actually apologize to someone? "Secondly, the hunter you injured is lying in the Bei Song Pharmacy, it seems to be just two streets away. You go and compensate for his losses, and you must compensate until he is satisfied."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 357 =====