Chapter 131: Joyous and Jubilant

He Mingyuan's original plans were of no use at all; they were completely overturned.

What he saw and heard at Centai Academy today changed many of his thoughts and also greatly changed his view of Wen Gu.

That He Wenyu, who also shares the surname He, has no relation to their Huangcheng He Family, but He Wenyu's mother is Zhao Shaozhu's aunt, so they are quite close in terms of blood relation.

But, as a cousin, how is it that He Wenyu is the weaker party when facing Wen Gu, and even seems a bit wary?

Defining Wen Gu as an in-law of this Xinzhou and wanting to use him to build prestige—that is a huge mistake!

"Father set the target too high and strained his back!" Old Master He had also realized this over the past few days, and combined with what Liu'er said today, he made a decision.

"It was indeed my rashness. I will prepare a generous gift and go personally to apologize!"

After thinking it over again, Old Master He decided to first write a formal petition and send it over.

"This Ward Chief Wen Gu is usually busy with official business, so we must make an appointment in advance. We must be thorough with the etiquette."

Usually, Old Master He wouldn't care about such things, but that doesn't mean he doesn't understand them; it all depends on whether that person is worth his concern.

Since there is already a breakthrough for the family's future, he no longer thinks about making other moves; he will first concentrate resources to boost He Liu up!

With a clear goal, the bewilderment and anxiety they felt upon arriving in a strange place have been greatly reduced, and they sleep more soundly now.

Before going to sleep, Old Master He was still pondering about informing the Zhao Family of the location of the He Family's second nest—ahem, second stronghold—where there is a No. 2 Granary.

He has no other talents, but he has hidden enough grain.

Having done something wrong a few days ago, wanting to eliminate the negative impact of this matter isn't just about preparing a gift and going to apologize; one must show sincerity!

Not only must he appease Wen Gu's side, but most importantly, there is also Zhao Laoda above.

Hmm, he will also donate a small portion of the grain from the No. 2 Granary to Jingxing Fang.

By eliminating the negative impact, his subsequent plans can also achieve better results.

Whether He Liu can stay at Centai Academy, grab a permanent position, and what kind of position he can grab, that depends on He Liu himself and the capabilities of the family behind him!

When Old Master He's invitation was delivered to Jingxing Fang, Wen Gu was indeed not there.

He was very busy, running to the Zhao Fu for two consecutive days—not to Lady Shen's side, but to the courtyards of Zhao Shaozhu and Zhao Laoda.

Those who didn't know the inside story were still guessing in their hearts: Did Wen Gu poke the matter of the He Family and the Zhuo Family to Zhao Laoda?

But in fact, for Wen Gu, the matter of the He Family had long since been turned over. Such a small thing wasn't even worth mentioning.

He had been running to the Zhao Fu these past two days to discuss a major event—the weather has warmed up, and Zhao Shaozhu is about to head to other towns to oversee the battle!

The decision to go out to oversee the battle had actually been finalized before the New Year, but it had not been disclosed to the public.

Even if it wasn't said, others could still make guesses, so they didn't feel surprised when they learned the news.

Recently, Zhao Shaozhu has already been making preparations for the trip.

There is no other way; in times of crisis, there must be someone with the surname Zhao on the front lines overseeing the battle. In matters concerning the overall situation, the Zhao Family only has this one person who can step up.

Xinzhou City is located in the middle of Xinzhou, while Shuo City, located in the south of Xinzhou, is the county town under the most pressure and the most likely to suffer from Plague Ghost cluster attacks.

When Wen Gu came over last time, Zhao Laoda asked him if he was willing to go to Shuo City with Zhao Shaozhu to see how the pilot construction of the Defense Post is going and whether it is as he envisioned.

After careful consideration, Wen Gu expressed interest. Recently, they have been discussing this matter at the Zhao Fu.

After two years of confrontation and observation, people have gained more understanding of those Plague Ghost evil things outside.

In the political hub of Xinzhou City, apart from the more frequent and intense impacts suffered in the first year or so, the threat faced thereafter would be greatly reduced due to the major winter cleanup.

As for Shuo City, one of the survivor gathering places in Xinzhou, because it is closer to the south, it is also more prone to cluster attacks when the weather gets hot.

The Zhao Family cannot continue to shrink back in Xinzhou City; they must send someone with enough prestige who can represent the Zhao Family to oversee the battle.

"It is not yet the season for them to gather in groups, so we can set off."

"The Patrol Guard Division has already scouted the road once, and there are no other crises."

"The time has been roughly determined—"

Zhao Laoda looked at Wen Gu with a friendly gaze.

In truth, in terms of status in all of Xinzhou, the most representative Zhao Family and Shen Family simply cannot produce any other people who can handle things!

"On this trip to Shuo City, you should also go and see the first post."

The Defense Post System proposed by Wen Gu is a strategy they favor.

Zhao Laoda asked Wen Gu: "Have you chosen the person to manage the affairs of the two wards on your behalf while you are away?"

"Pei Jing is a good choice," Wen Gu said, referring to this non-staff member of Jingxing Fang.

He comes from a family of merit, has some talent, usually has free time, often runs to Jingxing Fang, is familiar with the personnel of Jingxing Fang, and has his brother Pei Jun as a backer.

At first, he was pulled over by Wen Gu to be a designer, but later, he also showed extraordinary talent in other matters.

He often comes over to visit, is familiar with the business, and can start work directly!

"Pei Jing is not very interested in government affairs, but he can be brought in to act as a substitute," Wen Gu said.

The Head of the Family Zhao thought about it; he didn't know Pei Jing, but he trusted Pei Jun. Pei Jun's own younger brother could barely be classified as a trustworthy person.

At the same time, Wen Gu also said that the other party is not very interested in government affairs, which shows that Pei Jing is not an ambitious person, saving future trouble.

His status is also sufficient. Nowadays, more and more nobles and wealthy families are entering and leaving Jingxing Fang, and someone with enough status is needed to suppress them.

Pei Jing was a noble before, and now people are even more afraid to provoke him, after all, his brother is Pei Jun, the head of the Patrol Guard Division.

"That is fine," the Head of the Family Zhao said.

With the major matters settled, other things were easy to resolve.

After Wen Gu came out of the Zhao Fu, he did not immediately return to Jingxing Fang, but went to the opposite Qingyun Fang to find someone.

Qingyi Daozhang has been in a bad mood lately, and he has no free time to refine his private goods.

Wen Gu has given him too many tasks, and if he wants to take on other orders privately, he has to calculate his time and squeeze out free moments to do them.

He couldn't say he had any regrets, after all, the things he got in exchange for taking on Wen Gu's tasks were all for supporting the Danguan.

He worked hard in the early stages just to support the Danguan. Every time he wanted to do something, that Gou Shusheng would always throw some tasks his way.

He didn't want to take them, but unfortunately, the other party gave too much, and the rewards offered each time were quite tempting.

He was indeed a bit afraid of Wen Gu, though not afraid of the person himself, but rather afraid of being unable to resist the temptation.

However!

Qingyi Daozhang braced himself.

Now that all the money and goods had been prepared, he could develop some other businesses.

Which benefactor or follower should he refine a "Dharma Artifact" for first?

Just as he was calculating the time to see if he could squeeze in a gap to take on private work, he suddenly received a report from a Disciple: "Master, Ward Chief Wen is here!"

Qingyi Daozhang's heartstrings tightened abruptly; amidst his surprise was a touch of guilt, and amidst the guilt, a hint of anger.

Wasn't it said that the guy had been very busy lately? How did he still have the free time to come here?

It was definitely nothing good!

Every time he heard that Wen Gu was coming, before the person even arrived, an invisible pressure would strike first, leaving one feeling restless.

It was that kind of situation where you know the other party is likely digging a pit ahead, yet you still have to ponder what posture to take when jumping into it so as not to lose face.

Qingyi Daozhang felt irritated.

When Wen Gu entered, he didn't give him a pleasant look either.

"What business do you have again?"

Wen Gu didn't mind the cold face of the "dog Daoist" and skillfully pulled out a piece of paper with writing on it: "There is something, please help me make it."

Qingyi Daozhang was extremely impatient, but he still skillfully took it and glanced at it.

Afterwards, his expression grew increasingly ugly; he wished he could immediately slap this paper back onto the face of this "dog thing" the way it came!

"Fire Powder? The Zhao Family has craftsmen who specialize in making this; go find them!"

Why are you looking for me for this kind of thing? It's not like there's no one else to make it!

"Zhao Laoda is your uncle-in-law; he will certainly satisfy such a small request. Go find someone else!"

Qingyi Daozhang refused to take this order.

Wen Gu naturally knew that the Zhao Family had a Fire Powder workshop.

Fire Powder had long existed, and in this dangerous world today, major forces in the north attached great importance to it, and craftsmen in this field were researching in the direction of greater explosive power and stronger lethality.

It was just that productivity and technical levels were limited; those Fire Powders were divine weapons against cavalry, but when facing swarms of monsters that had lost their reason and knew no pain, they were still not very satisfactory.

Wen Gu said: "Those craftsmen all have tasks on hand and cannot make it in a short time."

Qingyi Daozhang was even angrier: "So you come to make things difficult for me? Look at what is written on it—the lethality cannot be too great? If the lethality isn't great, why do you spend effort on Fire Powder? Setting off fireworks?"

Wen Gu explained patiently: "I cannot carry ones with high lethality."

Going on a business trip meant staying by Zhao Shaozhu's side, and many things could not be brought; him taking a Cen Tai Sword was already a special permission. Carrying Fire Powder would require an application.

The blades of the personal guards around Zhao Shaozhu were not for show; if the power was too great, he would easily get chopped.

Qingyi Daozhang couldn't understand: "This doesn't look like something used for sending messages either."

Wen Gu said: "It is written on it, it is mainly used to drive away Plague Ghosts and evil things. It doesn't need a very large explosive lethality, but if it can mask and interfere with scents in a very short time, the effect would be very strong."

Sound cannot scare those monsters, but scent interference can buy time for escape.

Wen Gu said: "If possible, add some combustion accelerant, the kind that can spray flames."

Qingyi Daozhang retorted: "Tsk, lighting a stick of incense would be more useful than this!"

So many requirements, just looking at it is annoying!

In fact, what was written on this paper was already the result of Wen Gu considering various possible crises, combining them with practical uses, and deleting and trimming until he finally listed the requirements to see if Qingyi Daozhang could pull it off.

Qingyi Daozhang continued to complain a few more times.

However, despite all his nitpicking and dragging things out, he was actually waiting for Wen Gu to throw out a "temptation."

This little thing actually wasn't difficult, but what could you bring out as a reward?

Yet after waiting and waiting, it seemed that this time, apart from the labor fee, Wen Gu didn't intend to give any other "temptation."

The labor fee was indeed not low, but this bit of money was long since not in Qingyi Daozhang's eyes. He was not short of money or food now, and he had expanded his connections; ordinary rewards could no longer move him!

Qingyi Daozhang's expression grew even uglier, extremely impatient.

Damn you!

In the past, when this "dog scholar" added tasks for us, he could at least exchange them for benefits; now he isn't even pretending, just wanting me to do the work, right?

You inch-taking dog thing, have I given you too much face?!

Who has the time to make these crappy things for you!

Get lost!!

Just as Qingyi Daozhang was about to fling the paper in his hand back, he heard Wen Gu say: "I have to go on a long trip. This decision was made in a rush, and many things are not prepared. Going to other craftsmen would require several more approval processes. After thinking it over, I must ask you, Daozhang, to go to the trouble."

Qingyi Daozhang gripped the paper in his hand, forcibly controlling his expression; his tone was a bit stiff and a bit hurried: "————Why the sudden decision to go on a long trip? Where to?"

Wen Gu said: "Another city in Xinzhou. I estimate I will have to stay outside for a period of time, so I am trying my best to prepare some life-saving things for myself."

Qingyi Daozhang was silent.

He remained silent.

After a while, he adjusted his tone before saying: "Fine, it is indeed a bit difficult to make according to the requirements above. I can only say, I will try first."

I will rush to get this done for you without even sleeping, and I will absolutely not delay your trip!

Please don't change your decision just because you aren't prepared!

Take the things and get lost early!

Wen Gu going out = not in Xinzhou City = no one adding pressure; this anticipation was like welcoming a long holiday after working overtime continuously. Tired, but happy!

Daozhang did not show it on his face, but he was reveling internally: Joyous~ Happy times~

Never expected such a good thing!

That upturned corner of his mouth couldn't be suppressed even by Mount Tai!