Chapter 106: Not Enough Hands?

The Pei Family.

After the third day of the lunar new year, the Patrol Guard Division official Pei Jun began to be busy with official business.

The family's social obligations were mostly shouldered by Pei Jing.

As for Father Pei, hmm... he would stir up trouble as soon as he had the energy, so he was "confined to bed by illness."

Once the family affairs were finished, Pei Jing went to stroll around Jingxing Fang.

It had been a while since he last went, and he still felt quite unaccustomed to it.

Although Jingxing Fang was noisy and clamorous, and he often saw the crudeness and rudeness of the common folk, he would not have been able to tolerate it in the past.

He went to Jingxing Fang initially for the models there; later, even after the models were finished, he still wanted to go over for a turn from time to time, to see that rare, vigorous vitality in these chaotic times.

This time he came to Jingxing Fang to remind Wen Gu of something; since Wen Gu came at the end of last year, he might not necessarily understand some matters.

Upon arriving at the Jingqing Public Office's study, he did not see Wen Gu.

Cheng Zhi was there, busy organizing the bookshelves.

Pei Jing knew him.

The many letters, manuscripts, and ledgers on the bookshelves seemed to be arranged according to some specific pattern, but at times it made people unable to see clearly, and after looking for a long time, it instead felt messy and gave one a headache.

One did not know how this Civil Official surnamed Cheng organized and placed them, but every time Wen Gu needed something, Cheng Zhi could always find it precisely.

Perhaps it was some kind of secret code?

He Xiaodi served Pei Jing a pot of tea, then turned and went over to help Cheng Zhi.

Pei Jing did not disturb them; he sat and waited for a moment before hearing Wen Gu's movements outside.

His gaze looked through the glass window.

Wen Gu was lifting his feet to walk this way, and that person called He Da was quickly chasing after him from behind, seemingly wanting to say something.

Wen Gu only paused slightly, continued walking this way, and even signaled for that He Da to continue speaking.

When the two entered the door, Pei Jing saw this and wanted to avoid them first, but Wen Gu raised his hand, greeted him, and said, "Sit here and wait a moment."

Pei Jing was not one to be coy; since Wen Gu said so, he just sat there.

This study in the Jingqing Public Office had the most glass windows, and the light was the brightest.

Looking more closely, there were also more glass ornaments, which were very exquisite and had a certain unique artistry.

Pei Jing did not deliberately listen, but the conversation over there still carried over.

He Da was asking for instructions on some matters at the construction site; Pei Jing noticed that while Wen Gu was speaking, He Da took a palm-sized booklet, held a Charcoal Pencil, and recorded rapidly.

Once Wen Gu finished giving instructions, He Da asked two questions he was confused about, and after receiving answers, he left quickly to head to the construction site.

On such a cold day, He Da wiped the sweat from his forehead and jogged out of the Jingqing Public Office.

That Tao San was like he had been injected with chicken blood; how could the equally ambitious He Da be willing to fall behind?!

Inside the study.

Wen Gu apologized to Pei Jing: "Please wait a moment longer."

Pei Jing did not mind: "No matter, you go ahead with your work."

He sat to the side and watched for a while longer.

Every time Wen Gu said a keyword or made a gesture, Cheng Zhi could precisely and quickly take what Wen Gu wanted from the bookshelf nearby.

Pei Jing had not even finished half a cup of tea, and it was still hot, yet things over there had already ended.

Recalling the construction site problems He Da brought, how many were there? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... anyway, quite a lot.

Things like water wells, personnel arrangements—in the blink of an eye, it was already over.

And on Cheng Zhi's side, with so many documents on the table and shelves, page after page flew back and forth, *swish swish swish*, and it was done again.

Pei Jing: "..."

Stunned.

Wen Gu finished handling official business and walked over, sat on another guest chair, and poured a cup of tea to moisten his throat.

"Are the family matters finished?" he asked.

Pei Jing came back to his senses: "Not busy for the moment; I came to find you today because I wanted to say..."

He paused.

What was I going to say?

He had been so impacted by the scene just now that he couldn't remember for a moment.

Oh! He remembered!

"It's about the merchant caravans!" Pei Jing said.

Between the Six Great Clans of Beidi, there were merchant caravans running back and forth; regardless of whether there were spies planted inside or sensitive information being passed, at the very least, all parties currently tacitly allowed the existence of these caravans.

When some large families moved north, they split into several teams and settled in different spheres of influence; many private merchant caravans were supported by them, either used for passing messages or for other purposes.

The Six Great Clans themselves also cultivated merchant caravans openly and secretly. As for what these caravans did when they traveled, it could not be stated clearly.

After the new year, before the weather warmed up, merchant caravans would definitely arrive in Xinzhou City.

The personnel of the merchant caravans were complex, and Pei Jing wanted to remind Wen Gu to be on guard.

Wen Gu had heard Lady Shen speak of the merchant caravans, and Pei Jing also provided some useful information. After chatting about the caravans, Wen Gu invited Pei Jing to go for a walk around the construction site together.

"You are also one of the financiers of Wanfu Garden, you can understand the progress here."

Unlike the Shen Family, which arranged for supervisors to report progress, Pei Jing actually did not put much thought into Wanfu Garden; at the time, it was just to consume the things in the storehouse that were not being used, to save that troublesome father of his from wasting them. It was also to maintain a good relationship with the Shen Family.

He didn't expect that Wanfu Garden would actually succeed!

After Pei Jing left.

Wen Gu returned to the study and told He Xiaodi: "Go call Zhou Shan and Tao San over; see if your brother is there, and call him over too."

When they arrived, Wen Gu briefly told them about the merchant caravans coming and going.

The security work in Jingxing Fang is primarily the responsibility of Zhou Shan. Having served as a County Lieutenant, he has a very keen eye for such matters.

Most of the time, Zhou Shan can tell who has ulterior motives; it just depends on whether they act on them, and how they do so.

Wen Gu arranged new tasks, and the three of them accepted without a single word of complaint.

Once only Wen Gu and Cheng Zhi remained in the study.

Cheng Zhi was worried; he analyzed the manpower they could mobilize and reminded him, "The people in the Fang are already mixed, and if a merchant caravan comes, the people we have arranged might not be able to keep a close eye on everything."

Wen Gu smiled and said, "There is no need to use only our own people; doesn't the escort agency have plenty of men?"

Cheng Zhi:... Huh?

He hesitated: "Although Huwei Escort Agency hasn't been here long, it has developed quite quickly, and they do have many people..."

As the escort agency's reputation rises, their commission fees are rising too!

Wen Gu said, "Go call Head Escort Lin over... never mind, I'll go over directly." Head Escort Lin's brain isn't quite up to the task.

He set down his teacup and stood up.

Although Lin Wei is the Head Escort of Huwei Escort Agency, he is not the only one who makes the decisions.

Seeing that Wen Gu had already left, Cheng Zhi hurriedly put down the things in his hands and chased after him, calculating the cost of hiring escort guards in his mind.

Hiss... even if they give a discount for friendship, the money and grain required will still be significant!

Could it be that our Ward Chief has raked in a lot of money for the Fang during the New Year? Recently, there have been many rumors, both true and false, in the Fang; indeed, some say Wen Gu obtained a great deal of wealth from the Zhao Family.

Could it be that the Ward Chief intends to use his own private treasury?

Huwei Escort Agency.

Wen Gu chatted with Head Escort Lin and Lady Liang about the merchant caravan.

He also mentioned: before the appearance of escort agencies, merchant caravans took on multiple tasks. Generally speaking, the most important is certainly trading goods; besides that, there might be escorting personnel, intelligence gathering...

Especially in these chaotic times of the Evil Plague, those who dare to come out to trade are ruthless people with combat power and backing, and they are also aiming for greater profits.

If the escort agency wants to develop and gain experience, it can observe those merchant caravans more.

Listen more, watch more, observe more, recognize one's own strengths and weaknesses, and formulate better development plans.

"I presume you have also heard some news; I am merely offering a suggestion," Wen Gu said gently.

Lady Liang bowed slightly and said, "Many thanks for the Ward Chief's guidance!"

After a pause, she added, "We will also instruct the brothers of the escort agency to be careful, so as not to cause any disturbances."

This was also telling Wen Gu that their escort agency would not interfere in certain matters, but if they received useful information, they would inform Wen Gu.

Wen Gu returned a sincere smile.

Head Escort Lin also cupped his hands in a salute: "Many thanks for the Ward Chief's trust! Our Huwei Escort Agency is not like those street thugs; we do things according to the rules!"

Wen Gu nodded in agreement: "I am certainly at ease with Huwei Escort Agency handling things!"

Not staying long, after Wen Gu left, Head Escort Lin thought carefully about what Wen Gu had just said.

They have recruited many people now, and with the news in the Fang being well-informed, they knew a merchant caravan would arrive soon and had already considered this aspect, but the suggestion Wen Gu just made made their thinking clearer.

"Sister-in-law, Ward Chief Wen makes sense! Our foundation is still shallow; we really should observe more!"

He even sighed loudly: "This Ward Chief Wen is truly righteous! Even though his status is different now, he still thinks of us!"

Lady Liang gave him a look with an ambiguous meaning.

Hesitating for a moment, she still did not explicitly state Wen Gu's other intention.

If Head Escort Lin's mind were too flexible, it might not be a good thing for the escort agency, and Wen Gu would not let their escort agency grow too strong.

Therefore, Lady Liang suppressed the words that were about to come out and instead echoed, "Yes, Ward Chief Wen is indeed, at all times... think-ing... of... us!"