Chapter 219

The floor-to-ceiling windows were three fathoms high, and the building's eaves sliced through the daylight like sharp swords. Beams of light penetrated the wooden lattices of the windows, with dust motes dancing in the air.

The entire first floor was almost a plaza, with smooth square bricks paved on the ground, extending for hundreds of paces in all directions.

Because there were no beams or pillars, the visual space within the hall was divided by several giant pieces of cloth, each over ten fathoms long and wide.

The thick goose-down fabric was dyed with the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce's iconic Heavenly Ship and Waves pattern, lifted by the river breeze that filtered in, undulating as if they were ocean waves.

Majestic and magnificent.

Such a large building, all built on a single tree?

It's just, where did the tree come from?

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi seemed to say it grew?

Liang Qu recalled the keyword, scanned the area, then turned his head to look at Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi, pointing at the giant tree: "Grew? From small to big?"

How on earth did the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce manage to plant such a giant tree in Pingyang County within a few months?

"It's forced growth. I've seen it elsewhere before."

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi put away his folding fan and used his palm to gesture a cylinder in front of his chest.

"A sapling as thick as a person's embrace, watered with some Heavenly Origin Milk, can grow to the size you see now in two months.

Moreover, the Jade Hongqiao Tree has a very strange form. It grows like floorboards, layer by layer, with clear stratification. It only grows three layers within two hundred years and will never grow more.

So, except for the mother tree in the Imperial Capital, the Tianbo Towers one sees elsewhere are all three-story buildings. Once the tree grows enough, the craftsmen will attach the architecture and wood materials to it."

"Grows for two months? Doesn't that mean the craftsmen only took a little over a month to build it?"

"It's not as troublesome as you think. The Tianbo Chamber of Commerce is very familiar with this set. Most of the architecture is standardized; they just transport it to the location and assemble it. From start to finish, three months is plenty."

Liang Qu's horizons were broadened, and he couldn't stop looking around.

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi laughed loudly.

"When I first entered the Imperial Capital's Tianbo Tower at eight years old, the first floor was five fathoms high—two fathoms higher than the three fathoms here—and my expression was exactly the same as yours, Brother Liang.

Actually, don't think it's that amazing. The Jade Hongqiao Tree is just good-looking and good at bluffing, but it's not practical; it's a huge pain.

The tree can be forced to grow, but you can't stop it from growing, and killing it is too much of a loss. A living Jade Hongqiao can grow a foot of Jade Tree Heart every year—that's solid, good stuff.

So it has to be repaired every so often, trimming away the branches that grow out and the roots that bulge up. Just the maintenance costs a lot of money; it's purely for face."

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi chatted as they walked.

Beside them, Xiang Fang Su had taken a fancy to a piece of jade and was bargaining.

There were still two quarters of an hour—half an hour—until the auction started, so there was no rush to enter.

Liang Qu went over to take a look. It was indeed exquisite; the base was mutton-fat white, and a wisp of blood-red floated on the surface of the tripod, as if fresh blood had been dripped into milk.

"Does the Young Master like this jade piece? Top-quality blood jade, one hundred gold—absolutely not expensive."

Liang Qu was startled and subconsciously reached for the silver notes in his bosom.

Today, he had brought all his worldly possessions. Counting his previous accumulations and recent income, it added up to no more than nine hundred and fifty taels.

Exchanging silver for gold and copper coins for silver was the same; there was always a certain premium.

One hundred gold—that was a solid one thousand-plus taels.

Furthermore, he hadn't felt anything unique from the jade; it was clearly an ordinary ornamental piece.

Xiang Fang Su shook his head: "The material is okay, but the carver isn't. Don't think I'm a frog in a well from the countryside; I've seen even better Dragon Blood Jade than this. Seventy gold."

With one sentence, he slashed over three hundred taels of silver, making Liang Qu's chest feel tight.

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi explained from the side: "Inside the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce, the first floor mostly makes money through rent and commissions. Anyone can come here to sell things.

The condition is that it must pass the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce's inspection, so there's no need to worry about buying fakes. Even if there is a premium, it won't be too excessive.

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Once you reach the second floor, those are the good goods the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce manages itself.

Ordinary paintings, porcelain, jade; high-end precious plants, precious medicines, treasures. If you want to find someone to make medicine or refine tools, you can also have the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce contact a master on your behalf.

The third floor, further up, is where the auctions are held. When there's no auction, it's rented out to others.

A place that can have a Tianbo Chamber of Commerce is quite good in every aspect; it really is much more convenient to get things done."

Liang Qu nodded.

Walking in, he felt that without a certain population base, opening this thing would definitely not earn back the cost; it would be a pure loss.

No wonder it only exists in the center of a prefecture or department. Martial artists also like to go to big places, which is not much different from the flow of talent in later generations.

After a while, Xiang Fang Su returned carrying a small tripod.

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi asked with a smile: "How much did it cost?"

"Eighty-four gold. The material is indeed good. I'll find a good craftsman later to redo it and send it back to my mother; she likes blood-red jade."

Ke Ko Wenbin clapped his hands: "That reminds me. Perfect, I'll go buy two pieces too, one for each."

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi raised an eyebrow: "One for each? You're sending one to your father too?"

"Seeing Ran Zhongshi guessed wrong. This guy is definitely sending it to his fiancée."

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi's volume rose a few degrees: "Fiancée? Since when did Ko Wenbin have a fiancée?"

Ke Ko Wenbin smiled without a word, bouncing on his toes as he left happily, leaving only his back behind.

Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi looked at Xiang Fang Su, and Xiang Fang Su curled his lip.

"Just the day before yesterday, his family sent a letter saying they had proposed marriage for him. You know her too, Seeing Ran Zhongshi; it's Scholar Su's little granddaughter, nicknamed Su Su Xiaoran, the one who often followed behind us playing when we were little."

"Oh, I have an impression. Damn it, this dog hid it so deep! I'll make him pay for the June small gathering!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Following Ran Seeing Ran Zhongshi for a while, Liang Qu inadvertently saw Xiang Xiang Zhangsong and the others also strolling around in the crowd.

"Brother Ran, Brother Xiang, I see my few Senior Brothers."

The two nodded.

"Senior Yang is the River Warden, and also Brother Xu Yuelong's uncle, so he's one of our own. We should go pay our respects. We'll meet again on the third floor."

"Mm, meet again on the third floor."

Bidding farewell to the two, Liang Qu headed in the direction where he had seen his Senior Brothers.

Unexpectedly, halfway there, someone suddenly stepped out from the side and blocked him.

The newcomer was burly and robust, a standard martial artist with a good family background; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to raise such a physique.

Liang Qu raised an eyebrow: "What is the meaning of this, brother?"

The newcomer raised his hands in a bow and smiled: "I am Wei Shao. I have always wanted to meet Brother Liang, but unfortunately, it was never convenient. I didn't expect to have the fate to meet here."

The surname Wei?

Liang Qu immediately understood the other party's identity.

Everyone knew Wei Lin liked to adopt sons, but in public, he wasn't afraid, so he bowed in response.

"I don't know what business Lord Wei has with me? My Senior Brothers are right there; I was just about to go find them."

"Brother Liang is in a hurry, so I will speak plainly to you.

Since ancient times, the power of the second-in-command has always been far less than the first.

The Deputy Commander doesn't even have the qualification to grant Great Merits, but the Chief Commander has a certain quota of Great Merits to grant every month.

So, come work for us. As long as you are willing to come over, I will take the initiative to grant you a Yellow Dragon Pill. What does Brother Liang think?"

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