Chapter 63: Recruiting Yan Zhendong

Yin Qi smiled gently and said, "Master Yan, may we step aside to talk?"

"Fine!"

Seeing that Yin Qi did not intend to use the one-hundred-tael silver note to buy his life, Yan Zhendong couldn't help but secretly heave a sigh of relief.

However, he did not reach out to take this one hundred taels.

A gentleman only loves wealth if it is obtained in the right way.

If he lacked moral boundaries, with his martial arts, there would be plenty of ways to make money.

Yin Qi did not force him, took back the silver note, arrived at a nearby restaurant, and ordered a table full of food and wine.

Yan Zhendong said, "I don't know how to address you, little brother, and what business you have with me?"

Yin Qi said, "My name is Yin Qi. Master Yan is a straightforward person, so I won't beat around the bush. I want to recruit Master Yan as a Guest, with a monthly salary of one hundred Silver Dollars, with extra for missions, and rewards for meritorious service."

Since he had run into Yan Zhendong, he naturally could not let him go easily.

Yin Qi thought of Yan Zhendong's wish, so he added, "If you want to open a martial arts school to take on disciples, I will also fully support you and provide you with the venue for the school free of charge. As long as you are there, I will never charge rent."

Yan Zhendong had already been tempted, and upon hearing Yin Qi's subsequent words, he no longer hesitated, cupped his hands and said, "Fine, it's a deal. I am willing to be a Guest of the Yin Family."

A base salary of one hundred Silver Dollars a month—even if one were to defect to those big shots, it would likely be no more than this.

Not to mention that Yin Qi had also promised to support him in opening a martial arts school.

Yin Qi took out two hundred taels in silver notes and handed them to Yan Zhendong, saying, "Master Yan, of these two hundred taels, one hundred is a one-month advance on your salary, and one hundred is the reward for the upcoming mission."

Yan Zhendong silently took them and said in a deep voice, "I don't know what the mission is?"

Yin Qi looked around; because it was only a little past 2 o'clock, the lunch customers had long since left, and the evening customers had not yet arrived, so they were the only table on the first floor, and the waiter was standing far away by the counter.

He withdrew his gaze and said solemnly, "The city may be a bit unstable in the near future. I hope you can protect the Zhang Family in secret. If nothing happens, that is of course for the best. If something does happen, I hope you can step in to protect the Zhang Family."

He had originally intended to go and tell the Zhang Family to leave the city to avoid disaster.

But having met Yan Zhendong, there was naturally no need for that.

First of all, if he informed the Zhang Family, they would certainly be suspicious of the reason, and afterwards, they might associate it with an uprising of the remnants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; if he knew in advance, wouldn't that mean he had known about it all along?

If someone went to the yamen to file a complaint, he would not be able to escape a charge of colluding with rebels.

Secondly, the Zhang Family was a great clan in Shaoxing; Zhang Youchu alone had five siblings, and she was only from the main branch, with other branches adding up to over a hundred people.

If one added the servants, it would be difficult not to attract attention if they all left the city to avoid disaster.

Therefore, rather than notifying the Zhang Family to leave the city, it was better to have Yan Zhendong, a Transformation Energy Grandmaster, protect them in secret.

The Zhang Family already had decent guards, and with Yan Zhendong sitting in, as long as Chen Yucheng did not take action personally, the Zhang Family would basically be worry-free.

Yan Zhendong looked at Yin Qi in confusion.

This person was clearly surnamed Yin, so why ask him to protect people surnamed Zhang?

And what he said about the city potentially becoming chaotic—what kind of chaos, and how did the other party know?

Yin Qi explained, "I just feel that the atmosphere has been a bit off lately, so I am taking precautions in advance. If something really happens and someone asks you, just say you were entrusted by me to protect Zhang Youchu in secret."

"Oh!"

Yan Zhendong realized, and he said confidently, "Fine, leave this matter to me."

Yin Qi said, "After we finish eating, I will take you to the Zhang Family so you can recognize the place and the people."

Yan Zhendong nodded, indicating there was no problem.

Because they were the only table of guests, the food was served very quickly.

Although the food was satisfying, Yan Zhendong ate with great poise, chewing slowly.

Yin Qi did not touch his chopsticks and asked curiously, "By the way, Master Yan, why did you think of heading south to Guangdong?"

Yan Zhendong put down his chopsticks and sighed, "If it were possible, who would want to leave their home? In the last two years, the martial arts world in the north has become increasingly chaotic, especially in our Shandong, where various gangs and secret religious societies are plotting no small things.

The leader of the Big Sword Society, Zhao Heavenly Secret, invited me to join, but I did not think highly of them, yet I dared not refuse, so I could only pretend to consider it for three days, and then escaped under the cover of night that very day.

I heard that Foshan in Guangdong and Cangzhou are the two great martial arts villages, so I wanted to head south all the way to Foshan to take a look."

Yin Qi realized.

No wonder in the movie Yan Zhendong traveled thousands of miles to Foshan; it turned out to be to avoid disaster.

As for what disaster he was avoiding, it was naturally the Boxer Rebellion two years later.

The mighty Boxer Rebellion could naturally not appear overnight, just as before a tree grows, it needs a long time to sink its Root System Realm into the soil.

One has to say, this Yan Zhendong is very alert.

Although the Manchu Qing was already decaying, a centipede dies but never stiffens, and it was not something that a mere civilian movement could shake.

After Yan Zhendong finished his meal, Yin Qi took him to the Zhang Family.

He was originally supposed to study medicine in the afternoon, but because of the events of the past few days, and the need to stabilize his Dark Energy cultivation, he had not been to the Zhang Family for several days.

Zhang Yunze and Zhang Youchu did not pay much attention to Yan Zhendong, who was following behind Yin Qi.

Yin Qi did not introduce him, treating him merely as an ordinary attendant.

After coming out of the Zhang Family, it was already evening.

Yin Qi said, "Master Yan, there is an inn not far from here; you can stay there. During this time, just find me to settle any expenses."

Yan Zhendong naturally had no problem with that and nodded in agreement.

…………

Night.

The study.

Yin Qi wrote furiously, drafting the action plan and organizational structure for the future Revival Society.

Writing and stopping, he did not stop until midnight.

He kept the best draft and burned all the other papers, leaving not a trace behind.

……

The next day.

Morning.

After Yin Qi finished practicing his Stance Technique, he went about handling business matters as usual.

In reality, Yin Chengtao had basically recovered and was able to get out of bed and walk, but Yin Mu did not want him to overexert himself and also wanted him to have a good rest, so all business matters were still handled by Yin Qi.

Yin Chengtao also intended for this to be the case; since his eldest son was gone, the business would eventually be handed over to Yin Qi in the future.

Since that was the case, he might as well start grooming him from now on.

If there was anything wrong, he could correct it in time or make up for it afterward.

After several days of observation, he had to admit that Yin Qi actually possessed remarkable methods in business; not only had he established brand-new systems for the various factories and increased production efficiency, but he also handled daily affairs just right.

Such skillful methods were even more seasoned than his own.

Yin Chengtao could only click his tongue in wonder, sighing that some people were truly born to be suited for a certain line of work.

Naturally, he did not know that Yin Qi had, at any rate, handled state affairs for many years in the Fengshen World; compared to managing the vast Great Shang Celestial Dynasty, a few mere factories really amounted to nothing.

Yin Qi was discussing business matters with the head steward at the Yin Family.

Suddenly, a servant ran over in a hurry, looking flustered as he said, "Second Young Master, Second Young Master, it's bad. Many foreigners have come outside the mansion and specifically asked to see you; it looks like they have ill intentions."

(End of this chapter)