Chapter 114: Arrangements

Chen Mo looked at the banknotes in his hand, as well as the dozen or so clerks under his command.

"My foster father just sent an official document ordering me to head to the Capital, but he did not appoint anyone to come and take over my official post, so I am still the General Manager of the Salt Transport Department."

Chen Mo did not hide the matter of his foster father's transfer; this army of over a thousand men was not a group of a few dozen, so it was impossible to keep such a mobilization a secret.

"Therefore, you cannot leave; you must remain here and continue to work for me."

If Chen Mo left, as long as these clerks and the various Salt Transport General Commissioners and Salt Transport Commissioners remained, the affairs of the Salt Transport Department could basically continue to operate normally.

Conversely, if these clerks all left, the entire Salt Transport Department would have to cease operations for a period of time until someone arrived to take over.

Therefore, although they were his foster father's Personal Soldiers, they could not be mobilized for now and had to remain here.

"I will state the arrangements for the time being; as long as you work steadily, there should be no major problems within half a year.

If I have not returned by then and there is still no one to take over this position, then have someone send me a letter, and I will rush back to arrange matters."

Chen Mo's expression was stern as he gave instructions to the group in a solemn voice.

The group bowed one after another to accept the orders, and Chen Mo gave detailed instructions on various matters, handing over the more important tasks to two of the foremen to handle.

He then took out the banknotes and arranged for them to be escorted one by one; these banknotes had to be delivered to several officials.

As for his foster father's share, he would keep it on his person for now and give it to the old man later.

After arranging these matters, Chen Mo dismissed the many clerks, though he finally urged them not to speak of the army's mobilization casually.

While this matter certainly could not be hidden, it could not be broadcast all over the streets either.

As the few clerks left, He Luoyun, who had been waiting outside for some time, walked in.

"My Lord." He said with a respectful expression, bowing in greeting.

"I have received a Command Order and will be leaving this place in a few days; the duration may be quite long," Chen Mo said slowly.

He Luoyun was stunned at first, then immediately reacted and congratulated Chen Mo, "Congratulations, My Lord, on your promotion."

He naturally understood that with Chen Mo's backing and background, it was impossible for him to be transferred away as a punishment.

Most likely, this official position was another step up.

"Although I am being transferred this time, it is only a temporary departure, and no one will come to take over my position in the short term. After I leave, the situation in this Salt Transport Department will be maintained as it was in the past.

During this time, everything should continue as usual; you tell those salt peddlers, big and small, not to act recklessly," Chen Mo instructed in a serious tone.

"Rest assured, My Lord, this subordinate understands," He Luoyun bowed and saluted again.

Half a year was enough time to do many things; at the very least, it would allow his own business ventures to become completely stable.

Coupled with the fact that he had established a connection with Chen Mo, even if the next General Manager of the Salt Transport Department came, his business would certainly be able to continue operating.

"During this period, if someone comes to take over my position, then you give this letter to him," Chen Mo took out a letter he had already written.

He Luoyun was a talent who did his work well and could be considered helpful to him.

If he were truly to be transferred, he should take care of him and allow him to continue his business steadily.

Additionally, since he would not be here in the future, he still needed him to help look after Wei Xia's family.

"Thank you, My Lord." He Luoyun held the letter with both hands, understanding its value.

With this letter, even if Chen Mo were truly transferred, the next General Manager of the Salt Transport Department would at least give him some face and allow him to continue working here.

"Remember to do the things I instructed you to do," Chen Mo smiled and urged, then stood up and walked out of the barracks.

He actually had quite a few things to take with him this time, including weapons, armor, and two pairs of Giant Hammers weighing four hundred catties each.

These items were the truly bulky ones, weighing over a thousand catties in total.

Fortunately, with a Storage Bag, all these things could be packed away; he only needed to prepare a carriage to carry some personal furniture and private belongings.

Taking the two pairs of Giant Hammers he had newly commissioned to be forged in the barracks, Chen Mo set off for home.

Zhao Yu was having her maidservants help organize the things that needed to be taken.

"I want to hire someone to stay at home and help us look after the residence; perhaps we might still come back," Zhao Yu walked to Chen Mo's side and said softly.

The house in Xiaopao Town was a thatched cottage, not worth much money, and not worth spending silver to have someone look after it.

But this courtyard was a bluestone residence, and its price was already quite expensive; it had to be arranged for someone to look after it and clean it frequently to prevent the house from falling into disrepair.

"Fine, you handle it as you see fit," Chen Mo smiled, then lowered his voice and added, "The silver is still in the small wooden box under our bed; there should be three or four hundred taels inside, just take whatever you need."

Ever since he had the Storage Bag, Chen Mo had directly put many banknotes into it, as it was more convenient.

Otherwise, for a large stack of small-denomination banknotes, he would have to make a trip to the money shop to exchange them for large-denomination banknotes for easier storage.

Therefore, there were usually only three or four hundred taels of silver in the money box at home now, for daily use.

"Alright, then I will leave Xiao He behind later," Zhao Yu pondered briefly and already had a candidate in mind.

Among the several maidservants in the house, Xiao He was not the smartest or most clever one, but she was the most honest and reliable; letting her look after the house would put her at ease.

Chen Mo walked into his practice room and carefully tidied up inside.

The cultivation insights recorded on his desk and some miscellaneous items were all packed up by him one after another, the most important of which was that heart.

The Qi and Blood nourished within this heart could not only be used by himself, but other Martial Artists could also absorb it if their strength was sufficient.

Chen Mo had been to the Hong Family Market twice in the past few months, and each time he sold the heart blood nourished within the heart, he gained a considerable profit.

It was also because of this that the Qi and Blood in his Transformation Pearl had now accumulated to fifty percent; according to this progress, he would be able to welcome the next improvement in another four or five months.

Furthermore, he had not neglected his Martial Dao cultivation during this time, and the Eighteen Thunderous Shocks had been cultivated by him to the perfection of the ninth layer.

Chen Mo's current explosive physical strength reached a massive eighteen thousand catties.

Not only that, but under the nourishment of Wei Xia's Nourishing Spirit Liquid, Chen Mo's Divine Sense grew increasingly powerful, and his perception of this world became increasingly keen.

Fortunately, this perception was only relatively clear and was still far from being as clear as that of a Qi Refiner.

In fact, Chen Mo could already feel that wisps of Divine Sense power were condensing within his Shenhai.

He was now qualified to attempt to breach the first aperture of his Shenhai, but Chen Mo was not in a hurry to do so.

Because once the attempt failed, he would inevitably face a backlash; his plan was to wait for another period of time to ensure stability before attempting a breakthrough.

He could try to make the attempt on the road during this trip to the Capital, as there would be plenty of time on the journey to allow himself to slowly cultivate again.

The Capital is very far from Zhu Niu Ji, a full six thousand li or more.

If it were just himself, the speed could naturally be faster; at his full burst of speed, he could reach the Capital in at most five or six days.

But having to take Zhao Yu along makes it difficult to travel too quickly, not to mention having to bring along quite a lot of household goods.

Fortunately, this trip is for official business, so he can use the Post Station along the way to change horses without stopping, covering one or two hundred li a day.

This journey of over six thousand li will take just over a month.

Moreover, there is no need for him to rush, because his speed is certainly faster than his foster father's.

They are a group of over a thousand Scholar soldiers, and with a long-distance trek, their speed is definitely not as fast as his, even if they set off some time before him.

Of course, Chen Mo does not intend to catch up with the main army; his foster father said in his letter that he is also bringing his family, so it is not convenient to travel with the main army.

Furthermore, traveling to the Capital City from Zhu Niu Ji is a completely different route than setting off from Xiaopao Town.

There is no need for them to travel together; they can just meet up after some time when they reach the Imperial Capital.

Chen Mo tidied up the things in the practice room, leaving behind only the desk and two Putan.

He took out a rather exquisite Purple Sandalwood Box from his Storage Ring; the box was carved quite intricately, with some parts even having hollowed-out structures.

A Purple Sandalwood Box like this costs enough to build a small bluestone courtyard.

The wooden box Chen Mo originally wanted was just something very simple; any material would have done, and leaving a few rough ventilation holes would have been enough.

But after he gave the order, He Luoyun treated it as a very important matter, finding precious materials, hiring skilled craftsmen, and spending great effort to meticulously craft it.

Thus, he had this Purple Sandalwood Box in his hands.

He placed the heart into the box and sealed it tight; to allow it to better accumulate heart blood, it certainly could not be kept in a Storage Bag.

The carriage in the courtyard was already prepared, and Zhao Yu was successively putting some things into the carriage.

It would still be a few days before they truly left, so he had to start preparing in advance now so that he wouldn't be flustered when the time came to leave.

"We are leaving; are you a bit reluctant?" Chen Mo walked to Zhao Yu's side and spoke.

"Mm." She responded softly and reached out to hug Chen Mo.

Having lived here for a long time, she was naturally reluctant; most importantly, many things that made her happy and joyful had happened in this courtyard.

"It's fine, no matter where we go, we will be together." Chen Mo held her hand tightly and comforted her.

Zhao Yu nodded vigorously; she knew that Chen Mo had never broken any promise he made to her.

The two of them whispered and nuzzled for a good while before slowly separating.

After eating lunch at home, Zhao Yu carefully arranged the things that needed to be done before leaving.

The accounts run up at various shops had to be settled; these accounts were originally settled once a month, but since they were leaving unexpectedly, they naturally had to settle the accounts with people in advance.

In addition, the wages for the hired maids had to be calculated, and the employment contracts had to be returned to the middleman.

These were all trivial household matters, and she handled them all personally.

After Chen Mo finished his meal, he took out the Nourishing Spirit Liquid to consume for cultivation.

Nourishing Spirit Liquid is different from Qi and Blood power; he cannot absorb it without limit and can only slowly draw out the power within it.

The Nourishing Spirit Liquid condensed by Wei Xia is completely sufficient for Chen Mo to use, and even more than enough.

He had originally planned to wait a few months for the excess portion and sell it when the annual auction at the Hong Family Market opened.

It seems there is no such opportunity now, but he could sell it after entering the Capital; he imagines it should fetch a good price.

Cultivating until the early hours, Chen Mo quietly set off to leave home; since he was leaving, he naturally had to inform Wei Xia of this matter.

He would also see if she was willing to go with him.

(End of this chapter)