Chapter 128

Qin Zhanhong walked side by side with Chen Wuji and asked, "You guess whose handiwork these are?"

"Zhang Yushi?"

"Huh?" Qin Zhanhong was somewhat surprised, "How did you guess that?"

Chen Wuji smiled faintly, "Since you asked that, this matter definitely wasn't cooked up by the county magistrate who handles one side's affairs. But from what I've recently learned, the magistrate probably didn't do nothing at all? He tried, but hit a snag and didn't succeed, and was finally sidelined by Zhang Yushi."

Qin Zhanhong was really somewhat surprised; she turned her head and stared at Chen Wuji for a moment, then broke into a light smile and sighed, "You really should become an official; being a hunter is a waste of your talent."

"Not a bad guess; Magistrate Zhu has hit countless snags in the disaster relief affair, he thought of many ideas but none succeeded. As far as I know, the fields Magistrate Zhu reclaimed were meant to allocate part of them to settle these disaster victims, but some people unwilling, Magistrate Zhu even sacrificed his own wife, yet nothing has been accomplished."

"It's not surprising; Zhang Yushi is out to take Magistrate Zhu's life, he definitely won't leave him any leeway. As for becoming an official, I don't want that; if I could manage it, I'd certainly be willing, but given my background, becoming an official is probably not easy." Chen Wuji shook his head and said.

"Besides, you really look good when you smile; smile more from now on."

Qin Zhanhong rolled her eyes, "I'm holding a knife, doing killing work; would it be appropriate for me to grin all day?"

"It's fine; when you smile, they'll be even more scared, and a fierce aura on the outside actually makes people look down on you more easily." Chen Wuji said lightly; this girl seems strong and cold, but actually she's still somewhat naive.

Things that are visible and can be seen at a glance make people wary, but they're absolutely not enough to make people afraid.

Qin Zhanhong fell into thought.

Those words seem to make some sense...

Does this guy like the way she smiles?

Alright, you can smile appropriately from now on.

Or maybe when riding him...

As they spoke, the two entered the city.

Qin Zhanhong took a detour to the Xianya, while Chen Wuji went to the blacksmith shop.

Just one day passed, and the scale of the blacksmith shop grew again.

The two neighboring shops have already moved out; at this moment, burly men with bare chests are building the furnace.

Yesterday's sales figures seem to have given Yang Tiejiang confidence; he's preparing to go all out.

Yuan Jinshi, Chen Qun and several others have already arrived, and are helping on the side.

What surprised Chen Wuji was that Chen Bushi, that old shameless fellow, actually showed up.

"You don't even need these few melons and dates; why are you joining the fun?" Chen Wuji walked over and asked.

Chen Bushi crossed his arms, watching the burly men build the furnace; hearing this, he spoke righteously: "How am I not lacking? I'm lacking a lot; I earn silver for a day's work here, not copper coins."

"Keep spouting nonsense, just keep spouting nonsense; if I believed a word of yours, I wouldn't even be a Chen. But I tell you, today you can't just mess around like yesterday; you can raise the price a bit, but don't be outrageous." Chen Wuji solemnly reminded.

He truly feared that his and Lao Yang's newly started business would be ruined by Chen Bushi, that old meddler.

Although the name he made up is his own invention, it definitely still has some influence.

"Got it, I have it figured out." Chen Bushi said.

Chen Wuji turned his head and asked, "What about Lao Yang?"

"He's exhausted, went to the back yard to sleep." Chen Bushi said, "He brought a bunch of sons and nephews who didn't sleep last night to forge iron, and they made fifteen pots, nearly working themselves to death."

"He's also a tough guy, risking his life for money; since he's sleeping, don't disturb him." Chen Wuji shook his head and called Chen Qun and the others over.

"These days you can choose to help here, earning thirty wen a day; or you can choose to go visit the populace, noting down those willing to buy a pot, then after delivering the pots ordered by Hengtong Business Business Business, you can directly deliver them—your choice."

Yang Tiejiang, with his sons and nephews, clanged away all night to produce fifteen pots; wanting to finish Hengtong Business Business Business's order of a hundred pots within five days is already somewhat difficult.

In recent days, this pot absolutely cannot be sold at all.

After Chen Wuji finished speaking, he specially and solemnly told Chen Bushi, "You've seen it; the stock is far from enough, there's nothing for you to sell. Go home and rest these few days; there's no place for you to be useful."

"I'll go visit!" Chen Bushi said.

"Don't worry so much; Laborer is your uncle San Shu, could I possibly cheat you?" Chen Wuji said nothing, merely giving Chen Bushi a look.

At serious times, he indeed doesn't cheat him.

At unserious times, every word is a cheat.

This person, he must be treated differently.

"Do as you please, but before Hengtong Business Business Business's goods are delivered, not a single pot can be sold!" Chen Wuji said solemnly.

"Do as you please, but before the goods are delivered to Hengtong Business Business Business, not a single pot can be sold!" Chen Wuji said solemnly.

Yang Tiejiang had spoken with full confidence yesterday, so he likewise went with the flow and decided to keep hammering what needed hammering, and also picked up the odd bits and pieces.

But upon seeing the results today, this pot truly cannot be sold anymore.

If he sells it again, he will definitely lose this major client, Hengtong Business Business Business.

"You know, you're nagging like a woman." Chen Bushi waved his hand and asked Chen Qun and the others, "Who wants to go out on the streets and follow me?"

Yuan Jinshi and the others all chose to follow Chen Bushi on visits, while only Chen Wuwei decided to stay behind to help, earning thirty wen in wages.

"What an idiot!" Chen Bushi shook his head, then led Chen Qun and the others away for a stroll.

Chen Wuji waited a while at the blacksmith's shop, but since Yang Tiejiang hadn't woken up yet, he also left.

First he went to the Coffin Shop, handed over the yellow fur ordered by Xu Zengyi, exchanged it for three hundred wen, then Chen Wuji strolled over to the tea house and spent an afternoon there.

Da Yu's tea house has always been a hub for news; here one can hear all kinds of information.

Chen Wuji originally wanted to learn about the Zhang Family from multiple angles.

As a result, he heard little about the Zhang Family, but instead heard quite a bit about his own affairs.

Whether it was Dongpo pork or the freshly heated pot, both became topics of heated discussion among the tea house patrons, and even Li Si Fencha made it onto the hot search list, being mentioned repeatedly by tea customers.

Chen Wuji had originally thought he would need a few days to spread the word and generate some buzz, but now he realized that it seemed no longer necessary for him to painstakingly create any buzz.

This buzz is already very hot.

The speed of news dissemination in this small town is far faster than he had imagined.

In the evening, Chen Wuji met with Chen Bushi and the others at the blacksmith's shop to discuss their progress.

At that time, Yang Tiejiang had also woken up, and having just finished hammering a pot, he joined the discussion.

As a result, after listening only a moment, he couldn't sit still, shouting he couldn't bear it, he rushed into the blacksmith's shop and began swinging the big hammer.

It was only because Chen Bushi, in just an afternoon's work, brought back a super-large order for as many as 150 pots, and agreed to deliver in fifteen days; he even brought back the deposit and contract.

Yang Tiejiang's debts grew even more.

Currently, the progress is negative 227 pots.