Chapter 890: Steward Feng

"The original owner of that manor is said to have vanished, and the servants in the manor have been dismissed. The farmers nearby all say the manor is basically abandoned and no one is tending to it." He paused, then added, "I suspect the authorities have been observing it for several months, felt there was a bargain to be had, and simply took it over to resell, wanting to make an easy profit. Who would have thought that people from Beijia would actually show up." He Lingchuan chuckled: "They wanted to scavenge the estate of a dead person but failed. It seems this isn't the first time the authorities have done such a thing. Can you find out who the original owner of that manor actually is?"

"It seems to be a State Preceptor? But the people around there can't say the specific name."

He Lingchuan's heart stirred: "Could it be State Preceptor Qingyang?"

In the past few months, the only State Preceptor in Beijia to fall from grace was State Preceptor Qingyang, and it even had something to do with him.

Furthermore, State Preceptor Qingyang had been high-ranking and powerful for over a hundred years; it wouldn't be strange for her to have property anywhere.

*Ahem*, he didn't expect that even after drifting thousands of miles away, he would still hear news of State Preceptor Qingyang. It really is fate.

"The authorities doing this is speculation; it's unprincipled and risky." No matter what, that was the family property of a Beijia person; could it just be confiscated at will?

Of course, He Lingchuan had heard of such things in his original world as well.

Taking advantage of others so crudely makes it very easy to kick an iron plate.

"How was this matter finally handled?"

"I don't know how the two sides negotiated, but the authorities returned the manor, and the original owner has already entrusted someone to sell it." Ding Zuodong coughed: "I see the manor's price isn't high, and it seems someone is already eyeing it. Does the Proprietor want to take it down?"

He quoted the price, and as soon as He Lingchuan heard it, it was indeed not high.

It seems State Preceptor Qingyang has made up her mind to dump all her foreign assets.

After she was demoted to a commoner, she was an old woman of nearly two hundred, and with no children of her own, what use was there in keeping so many untouchable assets? Better to exchange them for money to support herself.

From this alone, He Lingchuan knew her general situation.

"Let's wait a bit longer." He Lingchuan had less than three hundred thousand taels in his hands, which was already wealth an ordinary person couldn't earn in several lifetimes, but using it to start a business still felt like stretching the budget. Right now, every copper coin was very useful; he couldn't invest it casually. "If we are to buy it, use your name."

Ding Zuodong agreed and immediately withdrew.

The next evening, one of He Lingchuan's subordinates, Lu Qiuwei from Rongshan, also came to report: "The Lu family once had a steward surnamed Feng who was dismissed half a year ago. Because no one would hire him again, he has often gone to the Yellow Fish Tavern in the port to drown his sorrows these past few months, and whenever he gets drunk, he curses his former employer."

He Lingchuan had also been to the Yellow Fish Tavern. The liquor there was a bit low-quality, but the noodle soup was unexpectedly good.

Because the prices were low, the regular customers were mostly peddlers and porters moving goods at the docks.

"Is it Lu Zhensheng's steward?"

Lu Qiuwei shook his head: "No, no, he was originally the second steward at the home of Lu Zhensheng's cousin. I heard from people at the tavern that he was caught with his hands in the till while working for his employer, which is why he was dismissed, so he went everywhere cursing the Lu family. His former employer was displeased, accused him of slander, and had him eat prison food for half a month. After getting out, Steward Feng didn't dare stay in Qucheng, so he ran to Blade Edge Port."

That's right, the Lu family is the sky of Bailie; catching Steward Feng and putting him in jail couldn't be easier. Blade Edge Port is different; you can curse anyone you want here. He Lingchuan laughed: "Then he truly has no burden when cursing the Lu family."

"I treated him to two drinks, and he started calling me brother and even got into an argument with someone else on my behalf." Drunkards usually don't have defenses against outsiders. "A large fleet is arriving at the port tonight and needs to unload cargo at midnight; most people in the tavern will go over to work, so it will be quiet there. I want to take the opportunity to ask about some inside information on the Lu family."

"Is it safe?"

"The one selling the liquor says Steward Feng pours out the bitterness in his belly to anyone he meets; he's already poured it out dozens of times, and the tavern owner's ears are almost calloused. No one should care if I chat with Steward Feng."

He Lingchuan stood up immediately: "I will go with you."

The Yellow Fish Tavern didn't have a small storefront; it stood right near the port docks, making it convenient for regular customers to come for a drink right after finishing work. The faded sign looked somewhat old, but He Lingchuan knew business there had always been booming.

Cheap, but high volume.

Furthermore, the shop wasn't cramped at all; it could fit over twenty square tables at once, though the windows were a bit small and not very bright.

This was also intentional; when people drink too much, they become a bit afraid of light.

The tavern was indeed quiet today; most of the customers here had gone to the docks to work, and the pervasive smell of sweat had also lightened. Lu Qiuwei pursed his lips toward a small table in the very back: "That's him."

He Lingchuan looked over and saw the man sitting with his back to the entrance, propping up his head, with a pot of liquor still on the table.

Lu Qiuwei walked over and sat down at Steward Feng's table, while He Lingchuan sat by the window, two tables away from them.

The corners of the table had been polished smooth by use, very shiny.

The waiter served a dish of pickled edamame as soon as he saw a guest; He Lingchuan casually ordered a jar of shochu and a bowl of fish noodle soup.

He could drink good liquor and bad liquor alike; the shochu at this dockside tavern was dry, spicy, and burned the throat. First-time customers often choked, and if they drank too much, they would have a splitting headache the next morning.

Looking at Steward Feng again, the fabric of his clothes was decent, but it was wrinkled and had two patches.

He was drinking low-quality liquor that cost one copper per pot, and the only side dish was a plate of mixed dried shrimp.

But when he saw Lu Qiuwei, his eyes lit up. The latter patted his shoulder: "Why are you drinking alone again?"

Steward Feng mocked himself: "Heh, isn't it like this every day?"

Lu Qiuwei called the waiter, ordered a jar of red rice wine, and added several meat dishes like braised pig head meat and dried salted fish, then said: "Old Feng, I'm heading north in two days."

"Oh? Where to?"

"Qucheng. Our Proprietor is going there to open a shop and do business, to test the waters."

"Test the waters? Your Proprietor is running to Qucheng to test the waters?" Steward Feng took a sip of liquor: "Is your Proprietor's brain broken?"

Lu Qiuwei asked curiously: "What do you mean by that?"

He glanced backward calmly and saw the "Proprietor with the broken brain" was drinking by himself, looking very composed.

"Not just Qucheng, who owns all of Bailie?"

"The Lu family?"

Steward Feng laughed: "That would have been appropriate over ten years ago, but in recent years, Bailie's exorbitant taxes have been as numerous as cow hairs. Ask the people in this tavern; they've been open here for over twenty years and still have to ask people to intercede just to pay a little less in taxes. Blade Edge Port is like this, let alone Qucheng! You outsiders who don't know the situation dare to go to Qucheng to do business; they could fine you to death."

Lu Qiuwei was puzzled: "I heard Bailie has been peaceful for decades and hasn't fought any major wars, so why are they racking their brains to squeeze money from everyone?"

Bailie's geographical location is good; the Mu Nation to the west is a large nation, but its relationship with Bailie is good; the surrounding areas are all small nations, or even tribal territories like Bailie. Of course, the most unstable factor in the east is the rapidly rising Ya Nation.

If Panlong City could occupy this place, Zhong Shengquan would truly laugh himself awake in his dreams at night.

"Squeezing money, that's a good way to put it!" Steward Feng slapped the table with a *bang*: "They could clearly just rob you, but they still have to give you a pretext of a fine."

He asked his newly recognized good brother: "You know the origin of Bailie, right?"

"I know a little; I heard the people here are all remnants of the Bailie Nation, and after their old territory was occupied by Beijia, they came here."

"This territory of Bailie—" Steward Feng poked the table repeatedly with his middle finger, "actually, its original area was three times larger than it is now."

"Eh? That's not small." Lu Qiuwei was a bit surprised: "What happened?"

"Six hundred years, a piece was cut away in the east, a piece was borrowed in the west, and where there were disputes, they yielded, slowly shrinking to its current size." Steward Feng shook his head: "Bailie has only been able to be a bit tougher these past few years; for the previous decades, their stance was soft, swallowing their anger when encountering things, talking about 'self-reflection'..."

"'Reflecting on oneself'? That's a good term, how is it used in this context?"

"Right! Anyway, they didn't dare to provoke trouble outside."

"Oh, isn't it said that the Lu family patriarch's son climbed onto the high branch of the Mu Nation, and Bailie's revival is in sight?"

"Revival?" Steward Feng sneered: "It would be good if they didn't go bankrupt!"

"Bankrupt?" Lu Qiuwei looked disbelieving: "Sitting on such a large piece of land, and they can still go bankrupt? I heard Bailie has fertile soil, developed trade, and all industries are flourishing."

Looking at Bailie's geographical location, north of the bay and among the nations, it is a hub leading to various countries.

Even touching a piece of fat would get grease all over your hands.

At this time, the fish noodle soup He Lingchuan ordered arrived; the broth was milky white, fresh and fragrant, topped with a few specks of green onion, looking quite good.

It looked like plain noodles—indeed, there were no other ingredients—but this was actually a broth base boiled from a large amount of miscellaneous fish. The docks were never short of fish, and the shopkeeper specifically picked the miscellaneous fish from the bottom of the baskets that others had picked over, which was basically free.

So such a large bowl of noodles cost only three coppers, a fair price that even poor laborers working hard could afford, becoming one of the Yellow Fish Tavern's signature dishes.

He Lingchuan slurped it; the broth was rich and delicious, and the noodles were quite chewy.

Steward Feng heard the sound and turned to look at him, then continued to Lu Qiuwei: "Over ten years ago, although the Lu family was caught in the middle among the nations, they lived quite well behind closed doors; now they seem to be holding their heads high outside, but in reality, their internal accounts are a mess, and only they know it!"

Lu Qiuwei was surprised: "Saying it like that, did they use all their money to decorate the facade?"

Lu San was Lu Zhensheng's cousin, ranked third in the clan.

"That's exactly it!" Steward Feng sneered: "I was a steward at Lu San's house for over ten years. From the outside, his house looks like a high-ranking family, the mansion is large and imposing, but in reality, half of the courtyards inside have been closed for years, neither repaired nor cleaned. Two years ago, a side room in the west would creak non-stop at night; everyone thought it was haunted, but finally, it was discovered that a nest of weasels had moved in, and they often jumped over the well, pulling the rope and making the bucket rattle."

"That's because there are few people, right?" The Lu family seemed to have always been short of people.

"Indeed not many, but the salary they paid us stewards and servants was also very stingy, even less than what merchants in Qucheng paid. No one believed me when I said it before."

——Author's Note (Free)——

Readers in the background always ask me about my old books, so I'll recommend *The Great Demon King's Guide to Raising* (search on Qidian APP), which was my attempt at transitioning to the main Qidian site (2019-2022), a lighthearted and cheerful style. Although published in the original frequency, this is a male lead novel, from the male lead's perspective! The writing style is already very close to *The Immortal*, and the male lead has no direct psychological descriptions.

There are many boys who like *The Great Demon King*; those who have read it can leave a comment here to recommend or warn others.

Come, the microphone is yours.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 891 =====