Chapter 15: The Boss

Under a blazing sun like a raging fire, he was sun‑scorched for a long while.

Zhang Gui's pores seemed welded shut, not a drop of sweat remained. His skin grew redder and redder, as if a fire burned inside him.

"Hoo" he exhaled a puff of hot steam from his long‑stomach rice.

He leapt from the bed, sprinted several zhang to the well, shook the well's wheel and filled a bucket with warm water, then poured it like a thirsty mouse, gulping it down with gurgling sounds.

Still not satisfied, he filled another bucket and drank it dry; only then did his skin gradually return to normal.

But the black‑red sunspots remained, still painful, numb, and piercingly itchy.

"It looks like just basking in the sun can make you stronger—simple, carefree, fitting the 'Heaven‑Mandated Pig Trotter' setting.

But in reality it's far too slow and laborious, a bottom‑tier, mindless grind."

Zhang Gui brushed the scar on his chest, muttering to himself, then hopped back onto the low‑legged bed to continue 'sun‑drying fish'.

"Chief Gui, we're off to lunch; shall we bring you any dishes?"

After a while, a voice came from outside the second courtyard, politely calling out; it was Senior Clerk Zhang Jiuhan of the Dongfang Market Office.

Since Zhang Gui rose in rank at Dongfang Market, he has practically been hands‑off, caring about nothing, but there are two advantages.

First, he is not harsh.

He does no work himself; his subordinates do. As long as the result is acceptable, any minor mistakes during the process are never nitpicked.

Second, there are no deductions.

Managing the market naturally yields profit, and everyone shares the bounty.

Moreover, Zhang Gui increased his share by 1.5% over the usual practice, buying icy fruit, yogurt, and tea for his subordinates to cool off.

The workers say it's truly hard to manage, but saying it's easy to manage is also very simple.

When you have a boss who doesn't stir up trouble, shows ability without flaunting, and consistently offers small kindnesses that warm hearts, what more is there to say?

Even if Zhang Gui is odd all day long.

Clearly, he stays in a two‑courtyard compound in broad daylight, yet for days no one sees him, and no one says a single word of disapproval.

On the contrary, they wish such days could last forever.

Thus the subordinates call out to Zhang Gui at lunch and dinner, counting it as a daily greeting.

It looks respectable.

Zhang Gui, following the usual custom, replied, "You go ahead, no need to bring me food, thanks."

"Of course." Zhang Jiuhan also gave the customary three‑word reply; silence returned outside the gate.

Zhang Gui returned indoors, fetched a slab of Ganguoren Tangguo from the corner, and began gnawing it with raw eggs.

The Ganguoren Tangguo of Heimu Town is made from the sweet sap of Luan Ya's sugarcane, boiled in a huge pot until it thickens so that a chopstick stays upright.

It is poured over piles of dried fruit fragments, fully coating them.

Then a thousand‑pound stone presses it flat into square cakes.

During long sea voyages, breaking off a three‑to‑two‑tael piece and eating it ensures a robust sailor won't lose strength for a day.

It also prevents the dreadful bad‑blood syndrome.

However, if ordinary people fill every meal with this, they easily become short‑lived diabetics.

But a Spirit Cong wielder, since the Spirit Cong absorbs internal impurities, need not worry.

This is also the most commonly heard tale among the city's extraordinary stories:

"Descendants of gods, demons and monsters, if the ancestral shade on their bodies is cultivated, the downside is susceptibility to demonic afflictions.

The upside is they can live long without illness or suffering."

But lack of restriction doesn't mean it's tasty.

The sweet cloyness of the candy mixed with the raw egg's gamy scent made Zhang Gui's head spin.

Yet he can eat three jin of it in one sitting to suppress hunger—convenient and efficient.

He kept gnawing.

From the market outside came a clamor, and crackling firecracker sounds rose and fell without ceasing.

It raged for a full half‑hour without quieting.

Zhang Gui, irritated, unusually dressed neatly, tidied himself and stepped out to investigate.

On the street, a layer of bright‑red hemp‑fire whips, thick as snow, covered the ground.

Crowds of people argued endlessly, yet none knew the exact news.

Zhang Gui, finding no information, sauntered toward the Xifang Market Office.

He intended to see what news the higher‑ranked, better‑informed companion had.

Before he reached Xifang Market, a bright‑red notice, led by a Patrol Guard, had already been posted on the town center's four‑sided bulletin board.

It read prominently:

"Pingyang Zhang Family's Four Seasons Trading Firm, Luan Ya, Heimu Town's Chief Manager Zhang Yan, whose ability is outstanding, has for fifty‑four years devoted himself wholeheartedly and diligently to the firm.

All members of the main family can see it with their own eyes.

The Clan Head, moved by his loyalty, ability, will, and courage, recorded him in the clan genealogy under the new name 'Zhang Qiyan'.

He was appointed External Affairs Elder, returning home to receive his command."

In a noble family, an External Affairs Elder, though not as lofty as a Temple Inner Family Elder who can depose or install a family head during extraordinary times, still appears elevated.

But ordinary actual authority is greater.

It seems only a step away from Chief Manager, yet it is a transformation from a senior worker into a board member.

It is a completely different essence.

Moreover, an External Affairs Elder of a Pingyang Zhang Family of this caliber routinely supports over five hundred devoted subordinates.

Zhang Yan's loyal subordinates throughout his half‑life now also have a place to go.

From this, the sincerity within the clan is evident.

"It's not even the Owner of the Headquarters of the Four Seasons Trading Firm, but the External Affairs Elder of the Pingyang Zhang Family.

That means all the past debts to Zhang Yan have been settled in one go.

Moreover, with such a fallback as security, even if Zhang Yan harbors second thoughts, his close aides might not stay united.

The Pingyang Zhang Family has capable people.

Could the matter truly transition peacefully?"

In the world, some things are obvious even to a fool, yet those high‑ranking bigwigs either can't see them clearly or simply refuse to.

Because they don't even want to humiliate themselves in death.

For example, Zhang Yan's past life provides such a case.

The city where the Prince resided was swiftly captured by the rebel army.

Yet he refused to allocate the Prince's treasury to reward the defending troops who were risking their lives.

As a result, he was seized by the rebels and boiled together with small animals—a true tale of being cooked, eating meat and drinking porridge.

The larger the organization, the more such reckless people appear, and the more rotten it becomes.

And those who can shatter these seemingly absurd rules, daring to redistribute the cake anew, are all the outstanding figures of the age,

making Zhang Gui involuntarily sigh:

"When I was just goofing around at home, pretending to be a kid, I thought, as a transmigrator arriving in this feudal‑system alternate world,

Even if extraordinary powers exist, at the very least one can have a lofty perspective in thought,

Tactically one might not match the elite among the natives, but strategically one can certainly deliver a dimensional‑reduction strike.

I didn't expect that once stepping into society, besides the super‑good opportunities, my intelligence would lag a bit.

How did the plot shift from 'the hidden dragon and phoenix chick lie in the wild, moving at the right moment' to the storyline of a landlord's foolish son?"

(End of chapter)