Chapter 1640: Kindness is Met with Contempt

The affairs of Huoshan County could not be hidden. Exterminating the entire Bai household and killing the knife-wielders who followed Huoshan to launch a sneak attack would still leave fish that slipped through the net. After all, there were other servants and other disciples.

It could even be other people in the city, such as pharmacy clerks, minor officials in the yamen, or guards and servants from the Yang and Liu households. As a secret society rebel organization, the trust between people was too thin, so naturally, they had to solve problems from the organization, seeking perfection as much as possible.

Laying an ambush with one group also required another group to supervise, and it wouldn't be surprising if there was a third group hidden.

On the other hand, Wang Yan never issued a gag order. He was so high-profile that even if he wanted to seal it, he couldn't. As more than a month passed, naturally, through some commercial exchanges, the affairs of Huoshan spread out.

Of course, no one mentioned the White Lotus Sect; that was looking for trouble for oneself. Everyone preferred to be confused—if you don't mention the White Lotus Sect or rebelling, I will treat your affairs as normal struggles below.

So the relevant people just knew that a strong man had appeared in Huoshan and exterminated a local wealthy household in one night. However, the spread was limited. After all, Huoshan County was a small place, and the three households of Yang, Bai, and Liu only acted as tyrants in Huoshan County; they weren't enough to look at in big places like Liu'an or Shucheng.

Everyone just listened to it as a joke; no one cared about these small matters below, as long as it didn't delay their own affairs.

It was already the time of Grain Rain, the harvest season for Liu'an Gua Pian. As the origin of Liu'an Gua Pian, Huoshan County was naturally lively. The common people worked hard with the expectation of harvest, tea merchants from outside brought a large group of people into the city, and some traveling merchants brought rare things to sell here, hoping to earn some of the common people's money.

In the past, the number of outsiders in Huoshan could be counted on one's fingers. Now that it was so lively, with over a hundred outsiders pouring in, naturally, there were many people with bad intentions who took the opportunity to mix in...

The former Huoshan Wu Gong School had been changed to the Wang Wu Gong School, and all the young men were disciples in the martial arts school. Wang Yan had already moved Zhao Erhu and the others here, watching them practice martial arts every day and giving them extra training.

At this moment, Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang were shirtless, drenched in sweat, gritting their teeth and standing in a horse stance in the courtyard. Wang Yan was sitting on a chair to the side, reading a White Lotus Sect missionary text for curiosity, while beside him was a large tea table. Liansheng was there using fruit wood charcoal to heat water and brew tea—it was the first batch of Liu'an Gua Pian stir-fried this year.

"Master, the wealthy Yang household has brought tea merchants from Liu'an to seek an audience." A martial arts school disciple reported.

"Let them come over."

After a while, Yang Qianfan, the wealthy Yang household, walked in with a group of four people. Everyone paid their respects to Wang Yan, and after Yang Qianfan's introduction.

Wang Yan stood up politely to return the greeting, let everyone take their seats, and Liansheng took the opportunity to add a few more cups and brew tea for everyone.

"It is all new tea this year. Mr. Qian, please have a taste."

The one surnamed Qian was the leader who came this time, called Qian Boyuan.

When everyone was drinking tea, Yang Qianfan took the initiative to introduce the situation: "Master, Mr. Qian still has some views on the price and wants to lower it by another ten percent compared to previous years."

Wang Yan glanced at him: "Old Yang, I thought you brought people here to tell me good news."

"Uh..." The wealthy Yang household trembled a bit.

It couldn't be blamed on him; Wang Yan's fierce reputation was too great, and he had watched Wang Yan deal with people. Not to mention the Bai household that had been wiped out, even the hooligan ecology of the entire Huoshan had been cleaned up by Wang Yan. He truly didn't know who was happy and who was sad...

"Master, this matter is not Yang brother's fault; it is truly that we cannot afford a high price. The war in the south is raging, and the government troops are retreating steadily. Although it hasn't reached our side yet, the price of grain cannot lie. Master, you tell me, in such a year, how valuable can this tea be?"

"Mr. Qian, I come from a poor background." Having said that, Wang Yan drank his tea.

"I wonder what the Master means? Please speak directly." Qian Boyuan cupped his hands, his attitude very polite.

People from big cities with some background and power had to maintain sufficient respect for a local hooligan leader like Wang Yan. After all, Wang Yan was in a state between rebelling and not rebelling; in Wang Yan's place, one could live as long as heaven.

No matter how much Qian Boyuan looked down on him in his heart, he had to be polite on the surface. Far water could not quench near thirst. Moreover, he was here to seek wealth, so naturally, he wouldn't cause more trouble because of some attitude issues.

"It seems you have never been poor." Wang Yan shook his head. "Who drinks tea if they have no money? Those who can drink tea are all wealthy people. The war might have an impact, but it doesn't delay wealthy families from drinking tea daily. Among a hundred teas, this Liu'an Gua Pian is also a good tea with a reputation. Even if the price drops, how many big coins can it drop?"

"In previous years, you pressed the price too hard. The tea farmers worked themselves to death for a year, and in the end, you made the bulk of the profit. Do you say this is appropriate? I couldn't manage it before, but from now on, if you want to knock the bones and suck the marrow from my Huoshan tea farmers, that is absolutely not allowed!"

In previous years, the tea in Huoshan was monopolized by the three major households of Yang, Bai, and Liu, and then the three households discussed the price with the tea merchants above. Now that Wang Yan had unified Huoshan, the tea business was naturally up to him to speak, which could be considered to have room for bargaining.

He had already used the money of the three major households of Yang, Bai, and Liu to purchase the tea of the whole county at a price that was thirty percent higher than previous years...

"Master Wang! You come from a poor background, which is correct. Most of us tea merchants taking profit is also not wrong. But you should also think about it: tea merchants want to sell tea, but they also have to pay tribute everywhere and grease the palms. How much of the bulk of the profit can fall into our tea merchants' hands? Isn't it all divided by those masters above? And..."

Qian Boyuan deliberated on his wording, as if he were earnestly advising: "And all the tea in Anhui is acquired by our tea merchant association, and then traded with merchants from other provinces by the association in a unified manner."

"I understand, Mr. Qian. You mean if I don't sell to you at your price, no one will come to collect my Huoshan tea. I didn't misunderstand, right?"

"Don't dare, don't dare, Master. I have absolutely no intention of threatening you; it is just that our Anhui tea merchants are united as one, doing our best for the vast number of tea farmers. Master, you must not misunderstand us."

Wang Yan was a bit disappointed and a bit regretful: "I thought that killing people and establishing prestige would make people respect me. I didn't expect that not only would you not raise the price, you wouldn't even maintain the original price, and you even dared to threaten me. Damn it, I haven't threatened you yet, and you threatened me first."

"Master Wang! Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding! You must not have the same knowledge as me; I truly didn't intend to..."

"Enough, playing dumb is meaningless." Wang Yan waved his hand. "You don't want to pay more money, relying on the tea merchant association, then don't leave. Arrange for someone to send a letter to your family and the tea merchant association. I want to see how powerful the tea merchant association is. I will give you a bottom price first: you must collect the tea at a price fifty percent higher than previous years before you can leave. As for how much it rises to later and who pays for it, it depends on how the tea merchant association tosses about."

"Master! You can't be so..."

"Slap his mouth!"

Zhao Erhu walked over straight, swung his palm, and was about to slap him.

Qian Boyuan subconsciously closed his eyes tightly, shrinking his neck and moving his head, welcoming this upcoming slap.

However, just as this slap was about to land on Qian Boyuan's face, with a 'snap', the wrist was accurately grabbed by a burly man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a knife-like face standing behind Qian Boyuan.

Erhu frowned and looked over. He clenched his other hand into a fist and smashed it over, aiming straight for his face.

That person blocked it horizontally with his hand, then flipped his wrist, pushed out with a palm, and struck Erhu's chest, knocking Erhu back several steps until he stopped his figure.

Then the person didn't stop, followed by another person, and together they came to stand in front of Qian Boyuan, facing Wang Yan directly.

"Second." Wang Yan drank his tea and asked faintly, "White Lotus Sect?"

"Master misunderstands. Not everyone who has practiced boxing for a few days is from the White Lotus Sect. As for you, just watching the White Lotus Sect's doctrine like this, aren't you afraid I will report you to the government?"

"If I were afraid of reporting to the government, we wouldn't have such a face-to-face day. You are all the same problem as the one surnamed Qian, thinking that relying on the power behind you can make people hesitate. Especially you two who have practiced boxing, relying on your own bravery, so much so that we don't even have space to talk properly. You are also unwilling to listen to me."

"Master misunderstands. Isn't this still calling you Master?" This person smiled, looking quite sincere.

"Looking at your sinister and strange appearance, it is better to speak with fists."

"Good!"

That person was very excited because he could take the opportunity to directly take Wang Yan.

However, before he could say anything, Wang Yan walked over step by step, swung his arm, and slapped him. He subconsciously dodged, but found there was nowhere to dodge. When the thought arose, he was already spinning and flying out sideways.

The other person reacted and stepped forward with a collapsing punch. Wang Yan grabbed his fist lightly, and then the other hand swung a slap and slapped it over.

Both of them lay on the ground, covering their faces, looking at Wang Yan in disbelief.

They were both good hands, with high martial arts skills, and they had been fighting all the way since they started practicing martial arts. They didn't know how many exchanges they had experienced, and they didn't know how many people they had beaten to death. However, today, they didn't have the power to fight back at all, and they were slapped to the ground by Wang Yan with one slap. This was too terrifying.

Wang Yan looked around with a smile and pointed at the two: "Look at you, cheap skins, right? After being slapped, your eyes are clear. Second, what are you still standing there for? Give Mr. Qian the slap he is missing."

"Yes, Big Brother." Zhao Erhu laughed and walked up to slap Qian Boyuan.

However, his strength was not enough; this slap was not enough to pull out the person's teeth. Unlike the two who practiced boxing, who were slapped by Wang Yan until they were looking for their teeth all over the floor.

"Big Brother, now his eyes are also clear." Jiang Wuyang pointed at Qian Boyuan and laughed. "The look in his eyes when he first came, it didn't look like he thought much of us."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "So you understand now, if you want to live well in this world, you have to speak with your fists. Otherwise, they will all squeeze us out together. The dog-shit tea merchant association is just a group of people monopolizing Anhui's tea, not letting outsiders in, and not letting their own people out."

Mr. Qian covered his face, listening to Wang Yan say these unpleasant words, and could only accompany him with a flattering smile.

"You have two rebels coming out to stand up for you, and you take them as reliance. Mr. Qian, you truly don't want your life for money. Raise the price again; double it. If I don't receive this silver, then your good days will come."

Wang Yan waved his hand, ignoring Qian Boyuan's defense, and looked at the two rebels on the ground: "Get up. I only slapped you once and didn't use heavy force. Tell me what you came for."

The two hurriedly climbed up. The one who fought with Zhao Erhu earlier cupped his hands in greeting: "I am Song Cheng, a Dharma Protector of the White Lotus Sect's branch altar. Previously, there were many misunderstandings between Master and my White Lotus Sect, so I came to apologize."

Wang Yan laughed loudly: "I thought you rebels had how hard bones, but it turns out you surrender after one slap?"

"Master, it is truly to resolve the misunderstanding. The Altar Master sees that you are ruthless, have high martial arts, and can govern the place, so he wants you to join us in doing big things." Song Cheng looked sincere.

What he said might be true, because compared to their layout in Huoshan for many years, it was not as good as the situation Wang Yan had tossed about for more than a month.

This point, even if the Bai family had the same attitude as Wang Yan, it would be hard to achieve the same effect as Wang Yan. It was very simple: relying on the power here alone, they couldn't suppress the alliance of the wealthy Yang and Liu households and the government.

Unlike Wang Yan, who had high individual combat power and was quick to cut the Gordian knot, directly killing the possible problems. The wealthy Yang and Liu households and the government were all suppressed and dared not fight to the death.

And today, more than a month later, they had even less chance. Didn't you see the wealthy Yang household coming out to run errands for Wang Yan...

But how to join was a problem. Being caught by Song Cheng and others and cleaned up, and then given some sweetness was one way; being like this and acting like a dog was another.

Obviously, the idea they had was the first one, but Wang Yan slapped them twice, and it became the second one.

"Since you said so, then I will believe you. The White Lotus Sect is a big organization; killing you two doesn't solve the problem, unless I kill hundreds or thousands of you, then you will feel pain. I don't want to cause such big trouble; I just want to live a peaceful life. I will give you some face. You two, five thousand taels of silver each; when I see the money, you can leave."

Wang Yan sat down again and drank tea. "I will say the words first: I know the White Lotus Sect has great power and wide involvement. If you suffer a loss, you will definitely be unwilling and will definitely retaliate against me in the future. But you should think clearly: if I have any movement here, I will first go to Hefei and deal with your branch altar.

Do you think you are like rats in a gutter and I can't find you? Actually, you are very easy to find. Look, aren't you connected with Qian Boyuan?

You have designs on this side, maybe because the one in the south is going to attack. Then, among the merchants, officials, and hooligans in Hefei City, just look around and you will find your people. One pulls a string, and you can't run. That is all I will say; take care of yourselves.

Someone!"

A group of disciples walked in from outside and pressed these people into the county yamen's prison for detention.

The people who were guarding the entrance of the martial arts school and paying attention to the movement here also dispersed...

?? Thanks to (Sanli Akeman) big brother for the alliance support.

? Thanks to (Three Seconds into Sage Mode) (Tianshan Heroic Eagle) (Fei Fei Fei Fei is here) big brothers for their consistent support.

? Thanks to other big brothers who tipped; it's been a long time since I looked at the tips, and I can't thank them all. Kowtowing to the big brothers!!!

? Daily thanks to the big brothers who tipped, voted for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and silently read the book for their strong support! ===== CHAPTER 1641 =====