Chapter 12: Huang Deyou

The next day, after school, Jiang Ding wandered around the city.

"Selling steamed buns..."

"Pancakes... wontons..."

Jiang Ding pressed his hand against his sword hilt. It was early morning, and the aroma of various snacks on the street was pungent. He himself had no intention of tasting them; he would not consume food from another world.

Among the passing crowd, there were wealthy families in silk, well-off families in ordinary cloth, and laborers and hands in short jackets. Most looked quite healthy, and while there were beggars, they were few.

There were also many martial artists carrying sabers and swords. Occasionally, when bumped into by passersby, they would just curse, and no bloody incidents occurred.

"From the perspective of an ancient feudal society, should this be considered a prosperous age?" Jiang Ding thought silently: "This Marquis of Zhendong can be considered a capable official, the kind who has won the hearts of the people. Under such productivity, and with the interference and plunder of martial arts gangs, sects, and various local tyrants and officials... to be able to achieve this is very impressive."

Jiang Ding sighed, took the remaining seventeen-plus taels of silver from his purse, and handed it to him: "Start collecting from now on; I want them by tomorrow. Also, fix up the storefront of our shop."

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The green-robed attendant said carefully: "The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is a chamber of commerce and has always valued harmony to make money. As long as one does not kill members of the Long clan, there is generally no bloodshed. At most, they will retaliate by blocking trade routes or raising prices, so being suppressed in some places is perfectly normal."

Jiang Ding had nothing to do for the moment, so he followed the crowd.

The green-robed attendant whispered: "This Mo family blacksmith shop fits your requirements perfectly. The shop front is over three zhang wide, with a small courtyard in the back where fruits and vegetables are planted. In the past, people would rent it for fifteen or sixteen taels; now you only need five taels to rent it."

"One day is enough."

Jiang Ding took out a ten-tael official silver ingot and handed it to him, then took another two or three taels of silver.

Below the stage, an old man coughed, interrupting his grand speech.

"The asking price is one tael of silver per month. I used the silver you gave me to prepay for three months. If you are not satisfied, I will find someone else for you."

"Greetings, honored guest (Proprietor)." The two bowed to each other.

Huang Gui nodded and bowed, then left.

Wandering around the crowd, before long, a well-mannered green-robed attendant came before him and bowed: "Greetings, Young Master. I am Huang Gui of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce. You can just call me Xiao Gui."

"Fairy Feixue... is she the one from the Qixuan Sect?"

"This is just the beginning. One day, I will break through all enemies with my staff, step onto the Golden Iron Mountain, and rescue..."

"Naturally, it's a pity that our Dongling Prefecture has finally produced a Long Feng Ranking prodigy who might achieve the Primordial Realm in the future."

"Hi, what else could it be? One is the young master of the Dragon-Tiger Martial Hall, and the other is the young leader of the Yiqi Gang. They have looked down on each other since they were young and are both pursuing 'Fairy Feixue' of the Long Feng Ranking. They are evenly matched, and today, having both broken through, they wanted to show off, but didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that the other side also broke through."

This was their first meeting, and they weren't even familiar with each other, yet he had placed such a large sum of silver in his hands.

"My Yiqi Gang's young leader, 'Righteousness Saber' Yang Dong, is not weak either!"

Huang Gui smiled reluctantly.

Huang Deyou felt a shock in his heart when he touched the silver.

"Honored guest, please forgive me!" The green-robed attendant panicked: "I..."

Even if there was a suspicion of being used, the other party had stated it beforehand, and the price was indeed much cheaper.

"I want to rent a shop that sells goods in the front and has living quarters in the back. A remote location is fine. The rent should be around ten taels of silver a year. Do you have one?"

"Why are these two fighting?" someone asked.

"If I were to purchase this kind of specimen, how much money would be appropriate?"

The short, fat middle-aged man cupped his hands and said: "I am Huang Deyou, greetings, Proprietor."

Jiang Ding didn't see anything special and nodded.

Jiang Ding looked over; it was two young martial artists dressed in black and white fighting, both having the aura of someone who had just achieved the Internal Qi Realm.

Jiang Ding asked again: "In the current market, what is the monthly salary for an experienced general store manager?"

'Mixed River Monkey' Yuan Ye snorted, didn't even look at his defeated opponent, jumped off the stage, and left.

Not to mention compared to his Internal Qi Realm classmates, he seemed much weaker than Gong Caiyu or even the iron-spear martial artist he had encountered before.

"These two are both talents of our Dongling Prefecture. If they polish themselves for a few more years, they might have a chance at the Long Feng Ranking!"

"Brother Huang, I wonder how your chamber of commerce is handling the matter of the Fierce Tiger Stronghold bandits?" Jiang Ding asked with a smile. The other party was about twenty-six or twenty-seven, so calling him Xiao Gui was inappropriate.

Stuffing the silver into Huang Gui's arms, Jiang Ding walked into the dusty shop.

He was just an ordinary citizen with no ability or wealth, relying entirely on the Immortal Sect platform; he was no nobler than the other party.

"Manager Huang used to work with medicinal materials; that's a good match..."

The next day, opening the shop door, a bit of dust scattered.

"Brother Huang..."

"Only one point."

"That is not the case."

Jiang Ding said in astonishment: "Two for one wen? Wouldn't that be too little?"

The shop front was about a zhang wide, and the backyard only had two small rooms, barely enough for a few people to live in.

"Fine, let's do it this way. Whatever is left, no matter how much, is yours."

Yuan Ye was then invigorated.

"Oh? Just like that? Is the Fierce Tiger Stronghold some major power?" Jiang Ding was surprised. According to the information he had gathered, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce could be considered a large chamber of commerce in the entire Yue Kingdom, and Long San was not bragging casually. Jiang Ding said lightly: "Every specimen must be complete; the roots, stems, and leaves must not have any damage. Do you understand?"

"I was just about to introduce him to you, honored guest." Huang Gui said hurriedly: "This is my clan uncle, Huang Deyou. He was previously a manager in the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce in charge of purchasing medicinal materials. After Manager Long arrived, he replaced him with his own direct subordinates, so he has been idle."

Outside the door, the two were standing, covered in morning dew, not knowing how long they had been waiting.

"Brother Huang, who is this?"

"Your chamber of commerce has great foresight; it is admirable."

The green-robed attendant thought for a moment: "Honored guest, please come this way."

Huang Gui thought for a moment: "Five hundred wen and up. The more experienced they are, the better their past performance, the higher the monthly salary. It also depends on the size of the shop, etc."

"Do you know him?" Jiang Ding smiled.

Soon, the two arrived in front of a blacksmith shop with a closed door.

He took out a specimen board of a graminaceous plant he had made yesterday and handed it over.

The surrounding martial artists discussed it heatedly, and the young martial artists were envious.

Pondering for a moment.

"Can this be done?"

"Doing business here might often be looked down upon by others." Jiang Ding complimented: "But it can be opened everywhere, not envied by local authorities, achieving its name of 'Four Seas'."

"Fine, let's do it this way. Brother Huang, many thanks."

"No, it doesn't matter."

'Righteousness Saber' Yang Dong's face looked ugly.

Huang Deyou took the specimen board, feeling suspicious in his heart, but didn't ask further, examining it carefully for a long time: "Proprietor, it can be done. The herb-gathering children of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce can easily do this, and ordinary people can too, but they need to be taught more."

"It's not too little, Proprietor." Huang Deyou said seriously: "A sheng of rice is only twenty-one or twenty-two wen. Working five or six hours a day can earn two sheng of rice! And we are not collecting medicinal materials from deep mountains; wild grass found everywhere on the roadside will do."

Ding! Just as he was speaking, 'Mixed River Monkey' Yuan Ye smashed the long saber away with a staff, the brass staff stopping at his opponent's head, full of spirit: "Righteousness Saber is nothing more than this!"

The crowd lost interest, dispersed, and so did Jiang Ding.

Somewhere, a crowd gathered, mostly martial artists carrying weapons.

"Fine, let's do it this way."

Huang Deyou pondered for a long time and said: "Proprietor, if it were someone like me, a skilled herb gatherer could dig and prepare a dozen or so in half an hour. It's just that finding them takes time, and we don't do repeat purchases... In the beginning, one wen for two is fine."

The two wandered around and came to a more remote shop. Huang Gui took out the key and led Jiang Ding inside.

Between the saber and staff... it was hard to describe.

Jiang Ding was somewhat satisfied. His whereabouts were always uncertain, and it was naturally best if others had a sense of proportion, so he looked at the short, fat middle-aged man behind Huang Gui.

Jiang Ding waved his hand: "Let's change to another one; smaller is fine too."

"There is a small gang nearby called the Wild Wolf Gang. There is a small leader named Liu Qi who wanted to buy this property at a low price and has repeatedly sent people to the door, forcing the blacksmith to stop his business. If you open a shop here, you might also face this person."

"It's just that there are some loose ends..." "Brother Huang, please speak." Jiang Ding said lightly.

"Honored guest, please look."

"Greetings to both."

"The owner of this shop is asking for nine taels. In my opinion, seven taels should be enough to close the deal." Huang Gui said with a flattering smile.

Jiang Ding pondered for a moment and stated his requirements: "I want to purchase some plants. I want one of every plant, with complete roots, stems, and leaves, generally like this."

"Cough cough!"

"As expected of 'Mixed River Monkey' Yuan Ye, to break through to the Internal Qi Realm at such an age, he must have received the true teachings of 'Heaven-Turning Monkey' Old Master Yuan..."

"Achieving the Primordial Realm is not easy..."

"Let's stick to one wen for one."

!.

"I won't see the original owner; just bring the contract to me, and you handle the government side. Also, the cleaning, layout, hiring a manager, etc., that my general store needs—how many days will it take to get these done?"

But he didn't want to cause trouble.

"You flatter me. You can just call me Xiao Gui." The green-robed attendant said hurriedly.

"Reporting to the honored guest, the White Consultant of the Chamber of Commerce has already taken men up the mountain." The green-robed attendant said carefully: "The White Consultant is an expert with accomplished Internal Qi; he will surely make the Fierce Tiger Stronghold pay heavily and guarantee that after collecting the toll, they will no longer attack the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's goods."

Before they even got close, the sound of dense metal weapons clashing came from a ring, and a circle of martial artists gathered around to watch the excitement.

Jiang Ding was not surprised that the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce found him. His features were obvious, and as long as the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce had the influence they claimed, finding someone was easy.

"Hmph!"

The two turned left and right, passing through clean and tidy stone-paved streets, stepping onto dirt roads. The clothes of the passing crowd began to look worn, with many patches, and there were small puddles of water on the road from time to time.

Huang Deyou's face became serious: "Proprietor, rest assured, my pair of eyes have looked at medicinal materials for so many years; there will definitely not be the slightest mistake!"

"Hmm."

Jiang Ding stopped talking, his hand gently stroking the sword hilt, not knowing what he was thinking.

Huang Deyou bowed slightly and went to recruit people to get busy.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 13 =====