Chapter 73: The Immense Tycoon

Shen Liu believed he had guessed his uncle-in-law's thoughts.

Wen Gu, however, felt keenly that there might be some other developments afoot.

Even if Lao Zhao and Xiao Zhao did not place much importance on the collateral branches of the Zhao family, they would usually issue a warning or two upon hearing news of a fight between two *fangs*; this time, they were simply ignoring it entirely.

Did they truly not want to get involved, or were there other matters they could not attend to?

It likely was not a bad thing.

If they were truly in a bad mood, those young masters from either the Zhao family or the Shen family could all be strung up and given a beating.

But for now, it remained as it was before: ignoring what should be ignored, yet still remaining relatively tolerant.

This indicated that no bad things were happening for the time being.

As the weather grew colder, although Shen Liu complained with his mouth that Jingxing Fang was too small and dilapidated, he still ran over to Jingxing Fang frequently, coming every day to see what progress had been made on the site for the garden, and incidentally, to share the gossip of the *fangs* with Wen Gu.

It was also a source of information.

Wen Gu did not concern himself with the affairs of Wanfu Garden; he sat at his desk and asked Cheng Zhi to summarize and report on certain information collected during this period.

For instance, which teams had arrived from the south during this time, and roughly how many soldiers of the Xianshou Army were there to meet them.

But after calculating back and forth, Wen Gu felt something was wrong.

The main force of the Xianshou Army that had gone out seemed not to have returned yet.

The City Defense Army was busy with perimeter security and defensive fortifications, but what about the Xianshou Army? Where had the main force gone?

The Six Great Clans could not possibly start a fight among themselves, so the main task of going out in winter was to hunt evil entities and escort wealthy families.

The number of Xianshou Army soldiers escorting the successive waves of northern-migrating aristocratic and wealthy clans was far lower than expected.

Logically speaking, given the current situation, they would not travel too far when going out to meet them; they would need to come and go for supplies, rest, and shift rotations every so often.

But as of now, the numbers did not add up.

Several military *fangs* in the Outer City District belonging to the Xianshou Army remained empty, and the main force that had gone out had still not returned.

Either they were carrying out some secret strategic deployment, or they had gone to meet some immense tycoon, or perhaps both.

Wen Gu took out the map of the *fangs* drawn by Cheng Zhi; during this time, He Da had been continuously collecting information on each *fang*.

There were some large *fangs* near the core area where entry and exit were strictly managed, requiring a wooden pass to enter.

He Da also did not know the situation inside those *fangs* and could only judge who lived inside through scattered information he had gathered.

Wen Gu's gaze swept across the various *fangs* and stopped at a certain location.

This *fang* had not been noticed before; it neither belonged to the Zhao family's relatives nor did it seem to be home to well-known dignitaries.

The people coming and going usually looked more like craftsmen building houses and tending to residences.

With the information summarized, this place actually hid quite a few mysteries.

The name of the *fang* had been chosen by one of Lao Zhao's subordinate civil officials, and it revealed no characteristics of its status.

But, one could change a name after it had been chosen.

Could it be that there was still an immense tycoon who had not yet arrived?

A certain port facing the sea in the east.

The coastline in the east of the country was dotted with many ports; this place was originally not a large port, but it could still be considered a wealthy seaside town.

There were large mansions built against the mountains, and small houses built by the sea.

After the Evil Plague, this place became a scene of death, and once winter arrived, it appeared even more silent.

Only from time to time could one hear bursts of beast-like rumbling sounds, which were hair-raising.

Until one day, when thunderous hoofbeats arrived here.

The black shadows hiding inside the houses roared, wanting to dash out, yet the snow was flying and the weather was cold, and the low temperature severely restricted their movements.

Bowstrings twanged everywhere, and lightning-fast blade flashes and the cold glint reflected by armor flickered one after another.

In the surrounding woods, trees were felled and collapsed, emitting a series of *crack-crack* sounds in this snowy weather.

In the gullies further away, black smoke from burning rose up.

Several days later, this seaside port town had completely changed its appearance.

House after house was cleared out and then smoked with thick fumes.

More cavalry and infantry Soldiers arrived one after another to set up camp.

Nearly half of the Zhao Clan's Xianshou teams gathered here after their hunt.

They were to build a major military town at this abandoned port while meeting the distinguished guests arriving from afar.

The weather grew colder and colder, and the general leading the team watched the sea surface that was about to freeze, his mood becoming increasingly anxious.

Fortunately, the distinguished guests they were waiting for arrived just as the sea surface was about to freeze.

Under the gloomy sky, the shadows of sails appeared on the boundless sea.

If one looked from above while close by, several large seagoing vessels were in the lead, surrounded by dozens of medium-sized seagoing vessels, and further behind, countless small and medium-sized ships followed closely, dense and numerous, extending far into the distance.

The general guarding the port looked at the fleet approaching from afar and finally revealed the first smile he had shown in many days.

The wealthy maritime merchants coming from the south lived up to their reputation; this display was worth the Head of the Family going to such great lengths to contact them repeatedly.

Xinzhou City.

Wen Gu analyzed the information at hand and believed that it was very likely another immense tycoon would arrive this winter.

We must stir up some trouble before the immense tycoon arrives!

The Shen family's Wanfu Garden could not be built for the time being; there was too much preparatory work.

Wen Gu pondered whether he should do something else first.

He strolled over to the opposite Qingyun Fang to give the dog Daoist a few words of encouragement.

Taking advantage of the Shen Family building the garden this time, Wen Gu conducted a round of talent screening.

One has to say, wealthy families with deep foundations really know how to hide things!

Although the wealthy dogs only provided a small portion of craftsmen for the construction of Wanfu Garden this time, even this small portion allowed Wen Gu to complete some of his plans ahead of schedule.

Seeing Wen Gu approach, the young Daoists looked at their master, and after waiting for their master to nod, they all withdrew. The Ward Chief and their master had important matters to discuss, so it was not convenient for them to listen in.

Wen Gu walked into the room, and before he could speak, the other party spoke first.

Qingyi Daozhang: "I heard you pulled the Shen Family over to build the garden and amassed quite a bit of wealth?"

Wen Gu frowned and flatly refuted: "That is not the case; do not believe rumors, do not spread rumors!"

If he were truly amassing wealth, he would have participated in the profit-sharing.

What he was plotting was something else; how could he be amassing wealth?

Rumors! It is all rumors!

Wen Gu asked again: "I heard the Daoist Priest is looking for a new position?"

Qingyi Daozhang flicked his sleeves: "Where did you hear that? Do not believe rumors, do not spread rumors!"

He threw the same words back.

Wen Gu stopped bickering about rumors with him and handed over a piece of paper.

Qingyi Daozhang looked away, refusing to take it, his expression listless: "The list you gave last time has too many problems that haven't been solved yet."

Wen Gu: "The blueprints for the Danguan."

Qingyi Daozhang snatched it up at lightning speed: "You should have said so earlier!"

Looking at the Danguan diagram drawn on the paper, the Daoist Priest's eyes shone, he was full of energy, and his face flushed red from excessive excitement.

Wen Gu handed over another piece of paper.

The Daoist Priest raised his hand to take it.

Oh, this time it is a task list.

He wanted to toss it aside, but because his reading speed was too fast, he involuntarily read some content related to his profession.

"Improved Three-in-one Soil that removes sticky rice?" The Daoist Priest was surprised and suspicious.

"I heard a rough idea of this during my Study Tour in the past, but the exact proportions and how to improve it still require a professional like the Daoist Priest to complete," Wen Gu said. "I know you have the top-secret technique for sealing alchemy furnaces."

What are the requirements for sealing an alchemy furnace?

High-temperature resistance, ease of molding, and good airtightness.

Different Daoists have different secret recipes, but generally speaking, in this regard, Daoists who practice Alchemy are clearer about it.

Qingyi Daozhang looked over vigilantly.

Wen Gu glanced at him: "I don't want your secret recipe; if you improve this and can meet the minimum requirements, the task is considered complete."

To prevent the Gou Shusheng from being perfunctory, Wen Gu added: "Your Danguan will also be built using this when the time comes."

Involving the Danguan, Qingyi Daozhang became serious.

The Gou Shusheng's schemes really are one layer after another.

How to put it, scolding is scolding, but there is indeed a need.

Wen Gu persuaded: "Put in more effort; if you can achieve a technological breakthrough, I will go report the merit to those above, which can help the Zhao Clan save sticky rice."

"There are also some technologies I want to try while building Wanfu Garden to see if I can achieve a breakthrough. If possible, they might be applied to defense projects and warfare later on. These are all great merits."

Qingyi Daozhang understood; if he could produce results, those above would provide things, perhaps he wouldn't even need to spend his own money to build the Danguan, and it would be built quickly too.

"Fine, I understand!"

Qingyi Daozhang's expression was impatient; he wanted to toss the list aside again, but then he saw a new problem.

"Why do you need me to refine auxiliary materials for firing Glazed Ware? Didn't you bring over many craftsmen?"

"Firing Glass, look at the characters clearly," Wen Gu reminded.

Qingyi Daozhang looked again: "You firing this has..."

"It is transparent enough for windows; your Danguan can also use it. Once the lighting problem is solved, the design of the Danguan can be more daring," Wen Gu said.

"Hmm, firing this is indeed useful," Qingyi Daozhang noted down.

Wen Gu spoke again about the things to be produced next, urging Qingyi Daozhang to refine more so that the materials needed for the Danguan could be gathered as soon as possible.

Nowadays, several small kilns have already been built in Qingyun Fang; large kilns haven't been built yet, but if there is a need, one can just go and borrow them.

The Zhao Clan has large brick and tile kilns where prisoners perform hard labor.

If there is a need, going to find the uncle and cousin should be no problem.

Qingyun Fang is just a place for experiments; large-scale production still has to be done at the Zhao Family's workshop, so there is no need to worry about affecting the surrounding living environment.

Wen Gu himself still lives here.

After whipping the Gou Shusheng into shape, Wen Gu went to check the kilns for firing ceramics, Glazed Ware, and Glass to see if the finished products made by the craftsmen today had improved.

Inside the room, after Wen Gu left, Qingyi Daozhang flipped through the papers in his hand and set them aside.

He recalled the news he had heard in the past few days about the major financiers of Wanfu Garden.

Look, this is the gap; once the Gou Shusheng makes a move, he pulls over wealthy households from several wards!

There is no need to worry about not meeting wealthy nobles here; once the garden is built, those people will come in batches every day!

Qingyi Daozhang felt a sense of urgency.

His Danguan must be built before the Wanfu Garden opposite is completed!

Wen Gu has been paying close attention to the craftsmen and kilns in Qingyun Fang recently, traveling between the two wards more frequently.

Sometimes when he stayed too late and the ward gates were closed, he would stay at the residence in Qingyun Fang, but there were also many affairs in Jingxing Fang.

Although he, as the Ward Chief, could control the opening and closing of the ward gates, there was no need to commit a taboo on this matter.

It is not that there is no way to bypass the rule of closing the ward gates.

Dig a tunnel?

Tsk, I can't just think about exerting effort underground; it's not like I'm doing something shameful.

He walked briskly from Qingyun Fang to Jingxing Fang, came back out, and stood in the alleyway in between.

His gaze gradually shifted upward.

He could also build upward.

(End of chapter)