Chapter 718: Bean Shop—Lies and

Facing the many gazes that were curiously and cautiously probing him, Jier widened his eyes and glared back; regardless of their age, those people were like startled birds, hurriedly lowering their heads.

With a huff, Jier carefully tied the reins in his hand to the hitching post at the shop's entrance.

This hitching post did not look like it was used often; it was covered in some dust and grime.

Xueya Site also helped the young girl who had been riding the same horse as him down from the Muan, and after whispering something to her, the girl nodded, hurriedly turned, and followed him as he walked quickly into the bean shop.

"Jier, let us part ways here. It is still early, so I will go wander around the taverns in town that the guards frequent, and tonight I will go to the taverns where people of all tiers and professions gather. I might not return tonight; ha, please do not worry about me, I have been to this place before, and it is actually quite friendly to outsiders."

"As long as you have money in your pocket!" After finishing with that witty remark, the thirty-something-year-old Xueya Site waved his hand as if he were many years younger, urging his horse toward another street.

Jier shrugged; he simply did not like this place, feeling that the social tiers of the people here were too fractured, and unlike other places, it lacked a sense of warmth or concealment.

The people living and residing here had an extreme disparity between them.

There were debtors with a net worth in the negatives, poor people living in places like birdcages or honeycombs, and ordinary people who looked like they were addicted to gambling or had one or two dirty ways of making money.

These people living in misery accounted for at least half of the town's population.

Besides them, those who made a living relying on various shops and those from the Merchant Guild accounted for the other half. Yet, they worked hard only to provide various services and labor for the very few "big shots."

Although Jier did not care about this place, he did not like it.

A thug who did not look very sturdy walked out of the bean shop; in the eyes of others, this person probably still had some intimidation, perhaps even having killed before, and was some Bandit who did not want to make a living by plundering, but at this moment, this thug walked over cautiously, stood next to the Tianxuecao, and whispered to Jier, who was looking over: "M-my lord, I will watch your horse for you."

Jier nodded, said nothing more, and walked into the shop.

"Abundant Pods," this shop specializing in selling various beans and grains, had an entrance similar to other nearby shops, or perhaps it could be said, similar to most shops in the entire Duoen Town.

The shop entrance had a thick wooden door, currently open for people to enter and exit. At the same time, the door was not large, and the mud-brick and timber formed equally thick walls, looking very sturdy at a glance.

The main entrance of the shop had no windows, but the roof had a double-layered ventilation and lighting roof; the wooden window between the two layers was controlled by a Rope, and by pulling it, it could be opened to ensure ventilation and lighting during the day.

At night, by pulling the Rope again, the wooden window could be closed to ensure the shop would not be broken into from the roof for theft.

Aside from the thug who had just walked out to watch his horse, as soon as Jier entered, the shop was filled with more Shop Assistants and thugs with their arms crossed, in addition to a few customers still picking out beans and grains.

Behind the original wooden counter, the shop's owner was nowhere to be seen, and the two, including Ms. Feiniya who had entered not long ago, were also not there.

Following the gazes of some people, a wooden door leading to other rooms at the back of the shop was being nervously watched by them.

Clearly, the Shop Assistants and thugs in the shop had no heart to continue working; they had all been distracted by some action? taken by Ms. Feiniya, who had entered a step ahead.

Only then did they notice Jier, who was wearing heavy Full-body Metal Armor; Jier was not wearing a Helmet, so his young face was exposed, and although it made him seem very young, that oppressive, sharp aura still made everyone afraid to act rashly.

Not a single person even came up to ask Jier what he was doing.

It was truly unqualified.

Jier did not care; he walked clanking through the wooden-floored shop, and like other customers who had come to buy beans, he carefully distinguished between the various kinds of beans.

In the rectangular shop, the middle was filled with barrels upon barrels of large quantities of various beans.

There were green, red, brown, black, white, and blue ones. Among them, Jier could only barely recognize the white-and-yellow chickpeas and the green, spherical fresh green peas.

Most of the others were sun-dried beans, and Jier had not really seen them before.

Casually picking up a grain to examine it on his finger and crushing it, Jier was very bored.

Secretly seeing Jier crush the bean like that, the surrounding thugs and Shop Assistants all trembled, but no one dared to say anything. The other few customers in the shop, noticing a Warrior like Jier who should not have appeared in an ordinary grain shop, were also startled, clutched their money bags tightly, and hurried out of the shop entrance.

Jier just stood there, staring eye-to-eye with the others in the shop.

Whoever was stared at by his eyes would quickly become stiff, cowering toward the shop walls, as if only the seemingly sturdy shop walls could make them feel safe.

Even though there were eight people in the shop excluding Jier, the atmosphere felt as if Jier alone had surrounded the eight of them.

Fortunately, this suffocating, awkward atmosphere ended quickly.

The wooden door leading to the back rooms for lodging and rest was opened, and Ms. Feiniya walked out with the only girl she had left, along with another tall, thin middle-aged man.

That middle-aged man had a neat, thin beard and looked like a shrewd person; as soon as he came out, he noticed the armored Warrior who had appeared in the shop.

Just as he was sizing Jier up, Ms. Feiniya walked to Jier's side and waved to summon the Shop Assistants and the thugs responsible for security: "Come over, all of you, come over, I have something to announce."

At this time, these thugs and Shop Assistants walked over while sticking to the walls, glancing at the shop's owner and Steward.

Although the tall, thin middle-aged man usually managed this grain shop, everyone knew that the true owner of the shop was actually this Ms. Feiniya.

And every time Ms. Feiniya took the time to come to Duoen Town to inspect the shop, she would distribute small gifts to those among them who worked hard and performed well.

Thugs might be gifted a brand-new Dagger for self-defense, while Shop Assistants would receive a new set of cloth clothing.

For their wages, these were not cheap.

Moreover, most of the thugs vaguely knew that behind this Ms. Feiniya was a somewhat famous Bandit Group leader on the Shanglu—Shanlang Bani.

Shops in Duoen Town basically all had some kind of backing; after all, if you did not have a background or backing, you could not open a shop, right?

But for the "Abundant Pods" grain shop, the backing was exceptionally strong.

Seeing that everyone was present, the only remaining person who was still outside the shop helping Knight Jier watch his horse was now also peeking into the shop.

Ms. Feiniya walked to Jier's side, stood a step behind him, faced these people with Jier, and then said: "Everyone, this is Knight Qiao-Jier; although young, he is already a very formidable and powerful Knight."

Hearing that this young man Jier was a Knight, the crowd, who had already guessed as much, still whispered, and only the middle-aged Steward of the shop had a bad expression.

Ms. Feiniya continued.

"This Knight lord is currently leading hundreds of young Refugees in search of a safe settlement to hide from these chaotic times. Those Refugees were originally people migrating west to avoid the chaos, but because of the deliberate obstruction at the Baishi Chengqiang Guanka, many of them are stranded there. Now, as a Knight with noble character, Knight Jier is taking on this responsibility."

These words were inexplicable; many people did not understand Ms. Feiniya's meaning and muttered to themselves: "Might as well just live here."

"Shit, if you really come to this rotten place, it's hard to leave."

"That's right, might as well find a place to keep being a Bandit; the world seems pretty good for being a Bandit now, right?"

Those chattering words did not affect Ms. Feiniya. The middle-aged Steward, who had already known what the lady was going to say, clenched his fists, glanced at Ms. Feiniya with a cold, sinister gaze, and muttered some unpleasant words.

"When Knight Jier led his team past my inn, my friend Bani and I..." Here, the name Bani was emphasized; although others might think it was a hint for them, Jier knew that this emphasis likely contained a fair amount of gnashing of teeth, hence the emphasis.

"My friend and I, we unanimously determined that Knight Jier's actions are a great act of charity, one that can be praised by all who know of it. We discussed it and have provided a sum of supplies and a small amount of armament to the Knight lord and the Refugees under his command. Of course, this is not enough, far from enough."

Saying this, Ms. Feiniya wore a full, high-level performance smile, like a gorgeous flower in bloom: "Fortunately, I have another shop in Duoen Town specializing in selling bean grains, and the empty-handed Refugees are in need of these beans that can fill their stomachs. Therefore, I have decided here to donate all the cash used for transactions in the shop, as well as all the stock of beans, to Knight Qiao-Jier! To support his noble act of charity!"

After finishing, Ms. Feiniya happily raised her hands high, excitedly smashing this news like a Stone thrown by a catapult, Boom—into the ears of the Shop Assistants and thugs who were stunned by the outrageous news.

"No, this."

"Is it true, Boss, that all the beans in the shop are being donated?"

"Then what will happen to the shop's operations?"

"But Mountain Wolf Bani knows, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"What are we supposed to do? The shop's money and the beans are all gone."

The thin, middle-aged Steward with a sour expression reached out and pressed down; he held high authority among the Shop Assistants and hired thugs, so with just this simple gesture, the others stopped complaining.

After a light cough, he cast a wary, secret glance at Jier, then said in a dry, hoarse voice: "Since it is the Boss's decision, and the Boss herself is here, what is the use of you lot saying such things? Besides, Feiniya, you have surely arranged work for everyone afterward, right? After all, it is not good for the shop to sit empty; losing a day of profit is a loss."

He then added with ill intent: "It is just a pity that the reputation accumulated over many years of business will be gone. If you are going to change the shop's operations later, you and I will have to go to the Merchant Union together to explain, as grain shops are an indispensable part of the town."

Ms. Feiniya narrowed her eyes and said with a ripple of laughter: "I certainly know that; naturally, there is a series of plans for later. To be honest, selling beans and the like really does not match my status. At the ladies' banquets in town, I am always embarrassed to explain why my shop sells beans instead of some beautiful things."

The Shop Assistants and hired thugs could not interject in the conversation between the two bosses, so they had to prick up their ears and listen carefully to what the two were saying.

Vaguely, the words seemed somewhat confrontational.

"Now, everyone. Lao'er, go and fetch the shop's operating contract; I have a use for it."

The middle-aged Steward narrowed his eyes: "What do you need that for? What exactly are you trying to do?"

"There is no need to inform you; Bani knows what I am doing. Do you want to go over and ask him? Hmm? Do you dare?"

"What is there not to dare?" Although he said this, the middle-aged Steward's tone suddenly dropped, and he still cursed under his breath as he returned to the back room to retrieve the hidden shop operating contract.

This contract represented the shop owner's permanent right to operate within the shop's area on this land.

It was a type of deed issued to shop owners by the Duoen Town Chamber of Commerce Union after they established the center of town and the surrounding shops, and collected the fees.

Because this land belonged to a certain high-ranking Noble, and the high-ranking Noble leased the land use rights for Duoen Town and its surroundings to the Merchant Union, the Merchant Union issued these operating and usage contracts after establishing the initial town and setting up a management system.

Because the land belonged to the Noble, this item, which was similar to a shop deed, could only exist in the form of an operating contract.

"Shop Assistants, all of you go out now and find me empty wagons, and sacks for the beans, a large quantity! Before this afternoon ends, I want all the beans in the shop transported to the open ground outside the town where the Refugees live."

"And you, my old fellows." This time, Ms. Feiniya was speaking to the hired thugs: "You all take the sacks out of the shop now and fill them with beans immediately; get moving. I do not want to see these beans for even one more day."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Everyone responded, then began to busy themselves.

At first, there was some reluctance, but once they started working, they could no longer concern themselves with that.

The Shop Assistants ran out of the shop, heading off to nearby Merchant Guilds to rent wagons and to general stores to buy bundles of packing sacks.

Since they were all shops on the same street, they did not even need a deposit; relying on face and trust, they could use them first and pay later. Especially in these depressed times, other shops and Merchant Guilds were eager for work to do.

The hired thugs in the shop rolled up the sleeves of their Linen Cloth clothes, revealing their relatively sturdy arms, moved the existing sacks out from familiar places, and then used large wooden shovels to scoop the various beans stored in the wooden barrels outside into the bags. Once full, they used thin Rope to tie the bags shut repeatedly.

With a 'Crack!', a Dagger cut the excess Rope, and a bag of beans was ready.

Ms. Feiniya signaled to the young woman under her command to take out all the cash from the shop's Money Box.

"Knight Jier, there, as promised, everything in the shop is yours now."

Ms. Feiniya whispered close to Jier's ear.

Jier had not said a word more before this, but at this moment, he chuckled, took the small Money Box without embarrassment, opened it to take a look, and then closed it.

"You've given everything to me; can you handle these people? Won't they eat you alive once they know the truth?"

The two were very close, and they spoke softly, so the other hired thugs in the same room could not hear what was being said.

Ms. Feiniya also whispered: "Oh, you feel sorry for me now? When you were setting the conditions, you didn't consider how this poor person would live in the future."

"I'm joking, I was just asking, don't take it seriously. I know you must have a way, or a backup plan? Let me guess, are there other shops in Duoen Town? Or a sum of money saved in some Merchant Guild to ensure survival?"

The lady's expression did not change; it seemed Jier might have guessed correctly, or perhaps he had not.

"Rest assured, Knight Jier, since I have promised, I will satisfy your greed; the agreed conditions are the agreement. You don't need to worry about my side; as for those foolish men, before they can aim their anger at me, I will give them a new goal and diligently exhaust myself for it."

Jier knew what the other party's reliance was; he did not point it out, only saying: "Am I also one of those foolish men?"

"No, you are not a man; if you ask me, you are still just a boy."

"Hmph."

Jier was angry; he turned his body away, folded his arms, and stopped talking.

Behind him, there was only Ms. Feiniya's hearty laughter: "Knight Jier, thank you, truly thank you. A Feiniya'er Meigui that previously could only rely on others to grow will henceforth grow and bloom on its own. Instead of withering in a dark, gloomy Shandong."

Jier snorted through his nose: "I only hope this rose does not get used to using its own thorns to prick every passerby it sets its sights on."

"That is hard to say; beautiful flowers will always have men approaching them unconsciously, oh ho ho ho."

After a while, the thin, middle-aged Steward walked over with a foul face. He first noticed that the shop's Money Box had been placed at Knight Jier's feet, but he dared not say anything about it, so he had to signal to Ms. Feiniya with his eyes to ask what was going on.

Taking the operating contract tucked into the ledger, Ms. Feiniya explained something in a low voice. Although the middle-aged Steward was reluctant, he still pursed his lips and accepted it.

"You take this useless ledger; we will not be operating in grain from now on. Two of you, come with me."

After Ms. Feiniya finished speaking, she took the young woman under her command and two of the sturdier hired thugs and went out the door. The middle-aged Steward still wanted to chase after her to ask what Ms. Feiniya was doing with the operating contract.

But he was blocked by the lady's words: "You take good care of the Knight."

Jier chuckled, waved his hand at the middle-aged Steward: "Find me a sturdy chair; I want to sit and rest."

"Yes, yes, my Lord. I will get you a chair right away."

The other party brought over a wooden chair that looked sturdy, but Jier lifted his foot and stepped down, crushing the wooden chair with one kick.

"Didn't you hear clearly? Sturdy! Chair!"

Jier frowned as he looked at him. Stared at by the Knight, the middle-aged Steward immediately broke out in a cold sweat, his teeth chattering as he replied: "Understood, understood."

Then, with stiff movements, he searched around and finally dug out a wooden barrel.

"My Lord Knight, although it is not a chair, this thing is definitely sturdy and solid! Please, please use this."

Jier rolled his eyes at the other party, then pulled the empty wooden barrel over, lifted his Cloak, and sat down.

He picked up the shop's Money Box, opened it, and began to casually count the various coins inside.

"What are you looking at? Come over and help!"

Scolded by this young man Jier, the thin, middle-aged Merchant had no choice but to walk over and, trembling, help the Knight sort and organize the Money Box and coins he had originally managed and owned.

Jier knew roughly what Lady Feiniya had gone to do, so he dragged this middle-aged Steward, who might have guessed and potentially caused trouble, aside to provide some support and prevent the matter from having any more complications.