Chapter 681

Having said something that might seem a bit stern, Mr. Tian softened his tone and continued, "I know you carry a great deal of resentment in your heart, but before you reach a high position, whether you act or not is utterly useless—it may even backfire."

Sun Chuanting was silent for a long while, simply riding along on his horse. Only then did he let out a breath and say, "We should reach He Family Village before dark."

As they advanced, the scenery along the road truly grew better and better—farmland well-tended, irrigation ditches crisscrossing. Though the autumn harvest had already passed, one could still tell the year's yield had been good. More and more large carts appeared on the road, all piled high with goods, and mounted warriors coming and going grew increasingly numerous, making the guards around Sun Chuanting ever more tense. Only later did they realize these people had nothing to do with them.

"Compared to Qulipu, it seems less bustling." Sun Chuanting's mood had settled, and he now had the presence of mind to observe his surroundings.

Mr. Tian nodded from horseback, simply replying, "But there aren't as many common folk here—mostly traveling merchants."

Because their emotions had been so stirred, they hadn't had much mind to pay attention to their surroundings along the way, so the group did not stop and lost no time on the road. By the time they reached He Family Village, the sun had yet to set.

Upon seeing the outskirts of He Family Village, Sun Chuanting and the men around him involuntarily reined in their horses and stared blankly ahead.

What a large market town! What a prosperous place! What an orderly location!

"Isn't this Xuzhou city? But where has the city wall gone?" someone murmured. No one paid him any mind. Had they not seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed that a place without a city wall enclosing it could be such a location.

Straight streets, uniformly styled houses, interspersed with two- or three-story buildings. The roads were level and broad, with pedestrians, carts, and horses coming and going. The rays of the setting sun in the west spilled over these structures, making one feel this place was forged from gold!

Looking from afar, these were all they could see, yet every heart was shaken. In their minds, only a walled city could be a true center, the sole place capable of such prosperity and wealth. But what lay before their eyes seemed like a mirage conjured out of thin air. None could fathom how it had come to be, or why it had appeared here.

"Damn, aren't they afraid of mounted bandits or brigands coming? This place would be picked clean…" one of the household retainers couldn't help but say.

Without city walls to block and guard it, how could it withstand bandits and the calamity of war? A prosperous place like this was tantamount to leaving gold and silver sitting in the middle of the road, waiting for others to come and seize it. Could the merchants doing business here truly be unaware of this? How could they dare to operate here with peace of mind? And besides, after the canal was rerouted, hadn't Xuzhou fallen into utter decline? How could it be built so orderly and thriving? Without the commercial convenience brought by the grain tribute transport, relying on farming for harvests in a desolate place like Xuzhou, it was bound to wither and decay. How had it reached this state?

All sorts of thoughts swirled, yet no one could utter a word. However, the people near He Family Village seemed thoroughly accustomed to such a sight. A city rising from flat ground—anyone seeing such a neat and prosperous market town, without city walls surrounding it and not at a canal hub, would stand stunned and dumbfounded.

"Good sirs, my inn is clean and spacious. Our cook's braised lamb draws people even from Feng County and Pei County. You can also drink the famous Han Well liquor here. Come stay with us!" They hadn't been standing there long before an inn attendant came over to solicit them.

"Seeing a young master like you, the journey must have been grueling. My place has a private courtyard, with maidservants to attend you—everything perfectly comfortable. If you want a meal, you can order dishes from the Zhenxing Restaurant next door. Satisfaction guaranteed!" Another man approached.

Only then did Sun Chuanting snap out of it. He shook his head with a sense of loss and said, "We're going to Cloud Mountain Inn."

They had stayed at Cloud Mountain Inns for two nights along this journey and had come to find them orderly, clean, and convenient—reliable places to stay. He hadn't expected that as soon as he said this, the attendants soliciting customers below all burst into laughter. One of them said, "Young master, this must be your first time at He Family Village. Cloud Mountain Inn isn't considered the best around here. Not that it's bad, but it was converted from a cart inn—the space isn't spacious enough."

Sun Chuanting couldn't be bothered to waste more words with them. The attendants didn't pester them either, dispersing on their own to solicit the next batch of customers. Sun Chuanting and his group prepared to go look around the streets. Before they could even enter the street, a young man who looked like a local militiaman came over and stopped them. Sun Chuanting's household retainers exchanged glances; some grew wary, while others fished out loose silver, on guard against being shaken down by local strongmen.

"You good sirs must be new here! The rules of this street forbid riding horses. Either settle in first and stable your horses, or lead them inside on foot. Otherwise, there's a heavy fine," the young man said expressionlessly.

Sun Chuanting frowned. Not allowed to ride horses inside—what sort of rule was this? He had assumed it was a pretext for extortion, but seeing everyone else either dismounting or walking, he knew the man was merely giving a warning. He nodded and swung down from his horse.

As soon as they dismounted, a middle-aged man in his forties grinned and sidled over, bowing and scraping as he said, "This young master must certainly be visiting He Family Village for the first time. The rules here are different from other places, and doing business has some novel aspects. It's very inconvenient without a guide. I'm Qi Wu, and guiding and explaining is my trade. There's only about an hour and a half until dark—I'm willing to guide you for just a hundred cash. What do you say?"

The young man who had come out to remind them to dismount paused in his steps, glanced over, and raised his voice: "In this area, if you're bullied, cheated, robbed, or anything of the sort, you can always seek justice from the Cloud Mountain Trading Company or the Sun Family Trading Company. They'll definitely give you an answer."

"Little Lian, what kind of talk is that? Do I look like that sort of person, brother?" Qi Wu turned his head and scolded him with a laugh.

Sun Chuanting and his group didn't hesitate and directly hired this Qi Wu.

At the start, Qi Wu first asked Sun Chuanting's group what kind of business they intended to do, saying he had many familiar contacts to introduce. Sun Chuanting and the others said they were just looking around. Qi Wu didn't mind, grinning as he said he knew where furs sold for higher prices, which buyer in the market had what preferences, and that if they wanted to buy liquor, he also had connections—though the quantity couldn't be large, because the liquor shipments heading to Shanxi had all been contracted by Old Master Wang.

"You're quite knowledgeable. Coming from Shanxi, we are indeed here to trade furs and buy liquor," Mr. Tian said with a smile. By now, everyone understood Qi Wu's role: besides earning a guide's fee, he was also looking for an opportunity to act as a broker.

Seeing that Sun Chuanting's group had no interest in taking him up on it, Qi Wu then said he was familiar with the inns nearby and could lead them over to get a discount. When he heard they had already booked an inn, he showed no disappointment, simply grinning as he led them around sightseeing. In his words: "In the past, there were criminals who set traps here to swindle traveling merchants, but they were caught after doing it just once and sent straight to the Jingshan coal kilns. They'll never get out in this lifetime. So us small folk all do business honestly and by the rules!"

"The outlaws of the rivers and lakes just let it be?" one household retainer asked with feigned surprise.

"Master Jin is the big Dragon Head of the northern bank region of Southern Zhili. This 'Heavenly King Zhao' isn't a title given for nothing. With the old man himself having spoken, who would dare come here and stir up trouble!" Qi Wu said very matter-of-factly.

"…On both sides here are the residences of the salt merchants. They might stay here two months out of the year at most, but these people have plenty of silver and love their comforts…"

"…When these residences were built, Master Jin set a rule for them: they could only build in one area and the houses had to be of similar design. Everyone says Master Jin is obsessed with rules, but this uniform neatness is quite pleasing to the eye once you've looked at it long enough…"

"…You're asking about that person carrying a basket on his back? That's a trash collector. There are also people on the streets keeping watch—anyone who litters gets punished with hard labor. And there are public latrines for everyone's convenience… Don't laugh, but Master Jin's love of cleanliness is also a bit of an obsession. The old man says doing this prevents epidemics, so we just listen. Anyway, being clean is comfortable too…"

"…They put a lot of effort and a great deal of money into the roads here. This side is ordinary—just crushed gravel roads. Over on that side, for the ox carts, they're paved with bluestone slabs. The labor force from two nearby villages now specializes in this road-building and road-maintenance trade. It's no worse than farming!"

"…These small courtyard houses are all living quarters for the shopkeepers and assistants from the market. The courtyards aren't big, divided into many rooms inside. Anyway, for people working for others, having a place to sleep is enough…"

This Qi Wu was extremely familiar with this market district and had a glib tongue, truly telling them everything he knew. Sun Chuanting and his men found it quite an eye-opener. From the outside, it had seemed extraordinary, but once inside, it just looked like somewhat cleaner residential courtyards and streets. Yet chatting like this, they discovered this was no ordinary market town. "…Everything here is for business, for doing better business…" Mr. Tian summarized.

Walking a bit further, they saw a large residential compound. What set this compound apart from others was a mat shelter erected in front of its gate, under which stood several large black wooden boards. Two servant boys were using brushes to scrub away white characters painted on the boards. Gathered around were a crowd of people dressed like accounting clerks and scribes, carrying cases of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on their backs, standing in scattered groups chatting idly. Seeing this scene, Qi Wu said with a smile, "Young master, you've come at a good time. This is one of the sights of He Family Village, and you've happened to catch it today."

After saying this, Qi Wu raised his head to look at the sky, then added with a smile, "Just wait here a moment."

Naturally, no one minded. The sun was sinking in the west, already half-set below the horizon, and it was growing somewhat dim here. Someone came out from the compound carrying lanterns to brighten the area. Qi Wu pointed and explained, "Everything about the market and the salt exchange is managed inside this compound. Under the Chief Steward are dozens of managers and accountants, and over a hundred assistants and servant boys, busy every moment of every day. I've heard that even Master Jin's estates and businesses elsewhere are all accounted for here!"

"Who is the Chief Steward?"

"Cao Ruhui. Back when he was still a monk, he pledged himself to Master Jin's service. At that time, this Cao Ruhui was already a guest prefect at Cloud Mountain Temple. Everyone said he had no judgment, but looking at it now, it was truly divine foresight. Under Master Jin, besides this Chief Steward, there's also Head Manager Zhou Xuezhi. That gentleman is over in Qingjiangpu now, and I hear the scale of things there is even greater than what you see before you!" When it came to recounting the roster of Xuzhou's notable figures, everyone could speak with great familiarity.

Only a few hours left until this month ends. Everyone, take a look at the monthly tickets in your hands and cast them for Great Ming Warrior, or else they'll go to waste!