Chapter 537: 491 Spending Money

While the Young Master was taking people out shopping, the dye house was in chaos; yet, some remained calm and composed, such as Tang Zhao and Xing Cang.

It should be said, Xing Qi and Xing Cang.

Xing Cang lived in the back quarters of the dye house, occupying a courtyard alone. The noise from the front could not reach here, making it very quiet and suitable for secret talks with confidants. His conversation with Xing Qi took place here.

Xing Cang had originally intended to exchange a few words of confidence with Xing Qi and then dismiss him, but he had not expected Xing Qi to show signs of being inexhaustible.

That Xing Qi spoke with extreme detail, recounting his experiences along the journey without missing a single thing, mixing in commentary and analysis of the Young Master's and his attendants' temperaments, and then asking for Xing Cang's opinion; this heart-to-heart talk lasted for several hours.

The vast majority of these experiences were true; half were heard from the real Xing Qi, and the other part were his own experiences. The accuracy rate was as high as ninety percent. The remaining ten percent were not blatant fabrications but rather vague, Spring-and-Autumn-style brushwork. In short, it sounded like a very real and accurate travel experience, full of details and subtle points that invited deep thought.

The reason he spoke in such detail was, of course, because... he was stalling for time.

While he was chatting with the Grand Steward, the others all had work to do, more or less. They were to figure out the bottom line of this small dye house and basically master several key locations; all of this had been arranged long ago.

This process was very simple because the dye house did not have many people to begin with. The manor's strength was not deep, and thanks to the Grand Steward's very swift actions, he had hacked the old manor master's remaining foundation to pieces while the Young Villa Master was away, further weakening their strength. Of the remaining Sword Guest power, half were on the mountain; only two Sword Guests and a dozen servants had been brought down.

The servants could not be counted as power, only as something to be taken over. The two Sword Guests each had someone assigned to deal with them, leaving only one old bone, which was left for Tang Zhao to gnaw on.

It was best if he could stall with words; if the words went off the rails, then they would completely turn hostile. Still the same saying: if you don't want to be Xing Cang, there are plenty of people who can be Xing Cang.

Perhaps it was because his strength gave him confidence—so-called self-confidence shining bright—that he performed excellently. Having said so many things, true and false, he still hadn't revealed his bottom line. It could also be because Xing Qi himself was a chatterbox, and the role he played was fitting.

In short, Tang Zhao and the Grand Steward chatted as a happy host and guest until dusk, and not a single person came to report or disturb them.

It seems everyone is quite capable.

Not until the conversation truly ran out of words and his mouth was about to go dry did Tang Zhao take the initiative to bid farewell. Xing Cang felt that this Xing Qi was quite sensible; the conversation just now was not without sincerity. Although he did not believe this person had no ulterior motives after such a journey, at least his attitude was correct. To stabilize people's hearts and serve as a "thousand-gold horse bone," he should also give some comfort, so he personally saw him out, and the two parted at the door.

Tang Zhao finally lowered his voice and said, "Grand Steward, I have observed along the way that the Young Master has wild ambitions in his heart. His experience outside is different from ours; he thinks in terms of the outside world and cannot stand the old customs of the mountain. He might make big moves in the manor to establish a career. Moreover, he is not the type to plan before acting; he does whatever he wants and cannot wait a moment. If he acts drastically, the Grand Steward should be mentally prepared."

Xing Cang, however, was much more cautious than Tang Zhao had imagined. These words were fine to say inside, but outside, they could not invite the slightest suspicion. He smiled and said, "I am of one heart and mind with the Young Master, only here to assist him with peace of mind. What preparation are you talking about?"

Tang Zhao nodded repeatedly and said in a very low voice, "Regardless, we will follow the Grand Steward's lead." With that, he bid farewell and left.

Xing Cang was noncommittal. Only after Tang Zhao left did he tidy his clothes to go see the Young Master.

Xing Cang was the oldest in the manor; as the saying goes, an old man becomes a spirit. He keenly sensed that "Xing Qi" had the intention of sowing discord at the end and sneered inwardly: This thing followed the Young Master for the whole journey and sure enough, developed many crooked thoughts; he is no longer the original Xing Qi. He hid it so well while talking before, but revealed his true colors at the last moment—truly, he is young and cannot hold his breath. These sword slaves have never read books; even if they luckily become Sword Guests, they cannot become anything great.

Of course, it could also be that the Young Master told him to do so, in order to make himself take the initiative and reveal a flaw.

"These people... having clearly seen such a big world outside, how can their minds still be so small?"

This white-haired old man sighed and arrived once again at the place where the Young Master was resting.

At this moment, a beautiful woman was walking to the door; she was one of the two women the Young Master had brought to serve by his side. Xing Cang remembered her name was probably "Bai Zhi"—anyway, it was the name of some medicinal herb.

These two women were neither maids nor concubines; they were seductive, frivolous, and pretentious. Xing Cang looked down on them—in fact, he looked down on all young, lively, and energetic life.

"Trouble the young lady to announce me; Xing Cang wishes to see the Young Master."

Bai Zhi smiled and said, "The Young Master is not here; come back later."

Was he being blocked?

Xing Cang's heart stirred: Is he starting to openly lose face for me already? This Young Master's patience is truly poor.

Just as he was about to speak with a smile as well, Bai Zhi suddenly bowed and said, "Young Master."

Xing Cang turned his head and saw that it was indeed the Young Master returning from outside. It was clear he really wasn't there before, and his own little thoughts just now were all wild guesses.

However, he had no time to feel ashamed, for he caught sight of the white-haired person behind the Young Master.

Xing Wu!

It was exactly one of the two most trusted Sword Guests he had brought down!

To think he had followed the Young Master out without his knowledge.

And looking at Xing Wu's expression, it was not at all perfunctory; rather, it was extremely respectful—not just respectful, but also in awe, with a kind of heartfelt admiration.

No matter how you looked at it, it was the appearance of getting along happily.

It's only the first day, and they've already gotten together?

Is there such an urgent need?

The Young Master is like this, and so is Xing Wu. Can't they wait even a day?

As the three met, both Xing Wu and Xing Cang were stunned, feeling involuntarily awkward. The Young Master, however, did not care at all and said, "Grand Steward is here? Why, looking for me? What is the matter?"

Xing Cang was the first to react. He immediately thought this was the Young Master's tactic. From a logical standpoint, if the Young Master wanted to call Xing Wu out, how could Xing Wu dare not to go?

How could a Sword Guest in the manor resist the Manor Master?

Since he could not resist, the Sword Guest was inherently a head shorter. So, what was strange about being shaken by a few words of grace and power, or even some empty promises?

But, this was, after all, the first day.

It is said that the Sword Hearts of the Sword Guests of Wangliang Mountain are fragile, but they are still Sword Guests; how could they be shaken so easily? Even if the Young Master intended to win them over, he wouldn't succeed all at once. There was no need for him to overreact; instead, he should be calm and make amends. He calmed down and said to the Young Master, "Young Master, I wanted to ask for your instructions regarding your move to Wangliang Mountain."

The Young Master said, "Oh, that matter... that is not urgent. I still have things to do."

You are not urgent, but your father lying on the mountain is a bit urgent. He hasn't been buried for half a year; even with methods to preserve him, his state is not very good now.

But the Young Master did not let him speak and said, "It just so happens I have something to ask of you. Xing Wu, go back first."

Xing Wu agreed, bowed to the two, and turned to leave.

The Young Master entered the room first, and Bai Zhi signaled for Xing Cang to go ahead.

Once inside, Xing Cang was also startled.

This main hall was one he had specially tidied up for the Young Master to stay in. To flatter this future manor master, he had specially decorated the room to be very luxurious; basically, except for the space not being large, it was about the same as the main hall of the mountain villa.

However, upon entering the room, he discovered that the furnishings and decor had all been changed. They were bright, shiny, and fragrant; all the furniture and decorations were things he had never seen or heard of, as if he were in another world.

In fact, the Manor Master of Wangliang Mountain was very rich because, for a long time, they had colluded with powerful officials to engage in illegal trade, and the "taxes" collected by Wangliang did not require worldly goods. The wealth of those manor masters could be described as piling up like a mountain.

But Wangliang Mountain was, after all, deep in the desert and shrouded in shadows all year round. Supplies were not as abundant as in the Central Plains, and procurement channels were relatively circuitous. Apart from abusing manpower, these manor masters lacked imagination in terms of enjoyment.

And Jian Dashaoye, from the colorful world of the Central Plains, had given old Xing Cang a lesson.

As soon as Xing Cang entered, he saw the Young Master already sitting in a soft chair as comfortable as a cloud, with a white fox sleeping soundly beside him. Bai Zhi served a wine glass—it was a five-colored glazed cup, and inside was blood-like wine. The Young Master took it, signaled slightly, and Bai Zhi served Xing Cang a cup as well.

Xing Cang took it and thanked him. He did recognize this wine; it was a famous wine brewed from locally produced grapes. In fact, it existed in the manor, and he had drunk it too. But he did not love wine; he drank a little occasionally, which was said to be good for health, but he never drank much because it would shorten his life.

"Good wine." The Young Master took a light sip and said, "Grand Steward, you came just in time. I had Bai Zhi take stock of the dye house's wealth this afternoon, and it doesn't look very optimistic. I am just about to need money, isn't this a blow to the head?"

Upon hearing "take inventory of the assets," Xing Cang's brow twitched, and he immediately said, "Young Master, this dye house is merely an industry at the foot of the mountain; it never had much wealth to begin with. The true assets are all on the mountain. Those treasures are all waiting for you to inherit them. If you are in urgent need of money, as for the foot of the mountain, if we search every place, we can scrape together twenty thousand taels of silver."

Twenty thousand taels of silver was certainly not a small amount. Even if a manor lord made money quickly through black-market dealings, twenty thousand taels was still a large sum; after all, this was liquid silver excluding real estate, which would be more than enough to buy several streets in some county towns.

If Xingshao wanted to buy something, it would be enough for almost anything money could buy. Anything money could not buy would be meaningless no matter how much there was.

If it were used for gift-giving, this would also be a generous gift worth presenting.

The YoungMaster shook his head and said, "That won't do. Twenty thousand taels is far from enough. I have a use for money immediately; how many days could twenty thousand taels last? We need to increase income and reduce expenditure."

Xing Cang's brow twitched wildly as he listened, thinking: What is he planning to do? Twenty thousand taels is still not enough? And 'a few days'? How many days does he intend to stay? He asked, "Young Master, are you planning to buy treasures at the Deep Shadow?"

The YoungMaster raised his hand and said, "Deep Shadow? Isn't that a month from now? How could I think about such distant matters? I am about to host a banquet immediately."