novel-bin 62, keep 1 hand
62, keep 1 hand
Rice shop.
The shopkeeper, Li Guangmin, was explaining the accounts of the past two days to Ren Qingshan, his face beaming with joy.
Newly opened shops often do good business, but to this extent... Li Guangmin, who has been in business for decades from apprentice to manager, has rarely seen anything like it.
The host family has a lot of influence.
In comparison, the Lu family is somewhat inferior.
Ren Qingshan glanced through the accounts and mentally calculated the available funds. After deducting all necessary expenses, he estimated that he would still have about three thousand taels.
"Manager Li, we still need to acquire land. Solid land deeds are the foundation of a rice business."
Ren Qingshan explained the principles of harvesting dry land to him and the six people in the shop again, and then set the task:
This month, the budget is three thousand taels of silver, which must be used entirely to purchase dry land.
We need to buy at least 300 acres within ten days.
If there aren't enough people, then hire more.
Although Manager Li was somewhat surprised, he obeyed without question and quickly instructed the group on the procedures for doing things and keeping accounts, various precautions, and the standards for travel and food expenses.
He had already done these things for Ren Qingshan once when he was with the Lu family, so they were not unfamiliar to him.
After Hu Xiaofeng and the others finished the meeting and received their tasks, they all had a hint of joy on their faces.
This job is lucrative and perfectly legitimate.
If you're paid enough, you'll naturally have more energy to work!
Seeing everyone's excitement and enthusiasm, Ren Qingshan offered a few more words of encouragement before smiling and heading out.
Don't worry about the money.
If you can become the number one martial artist in Huaiyin County, you can have as much money as you want.
Let alone being the first person, even now, as long as you're willing to go all out, shameless, and want money, you won't be short of cash.
……
After arranging everything at the grain store, Ren Qingshan returned to his home in the inner city.
The oil lamp in the main hall was lit.
Xing'er curled up in the chair, petite and sleepy, waiting.
Hearing the door open, she immediately stood up and said obediently, "Master, Tao'er has been keeping watch over Madam until she falls asleep. I'm keeping warm a midnight snack for you: rice, braised beef, smoked chicken, and ginseng soup that Madam specially consulted with Aunt Fang today. It's been simmering for seven or eight hours."
Ren Qingshan nodded and smiled, a warm feeling rising in his heart.
I've finally managed to enjoy these good days.
"Okay, go to sleep, don't worry about it."
With a wave of his hand and a smile, Ren Qingshan responded casually, but she didn't move. She seemed a little embarrassed, her face flushed, looking hesitant and stammering.
"My...my wife instructed me to...I will warm the master's bed tonight."
She spoke in a voice barely audible, too ashamed to look up.
This was both the lady's order and her own idea. The master was a martial arts expert with a large family but few children. If she could have a son or daughter with him, she might be favored and rise from a maid to a concubine, thus securing her future.
Ren Qingshan was momentarily stunned, then looked at her pretty face and couldn't help but chuckle.
Madam...you are truly a virtuous and capable wife!
I felt really embarrassed about it.
But this is what a "chamber maid" is like; it's her duty, and it's perfectly reasonable.
Well... as the old saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Listen to the old saying.
……
In the days that followed, Ren Qingshan went to the Martial Arts Academy every three days. When he had free time, he practiced martial arts, ran the shop, socialized, and prepared for the examination to become a martial arts scholar.
The assessment consists of three parts and will be completed in two days.
The first day tested strength and speed.
Strength is like lifting a stone lock.
The speed test involved a journey of 100 li (approximately 50 kilometers). The chief examiner would wait at the examination site, while an official would be stationed 50 li (approximately 25 kilometers) away to collect the tokens. Candidates had to run 100 li as fast as they could, with the fastest time being the best, while also meeting the minimum standards set by the imperial court.
The practical test on the second day was even more difficult than the main exam.
The big exam is a battle among candidates, where the best are eliminated.
The preliminary examination for candidates involves a battle against examiners at the Jade Marrow Realm level, limited to one hundred moves. Those who survive one hundred moves pass the test.
There's a possibility that things will be handled leniently at this stage, but there's also the possibility that it will be deliberately made difficult.
Fortunately, the assessment was conducted under the watchful eyes of the public, and the details of the battles had to be meticulously recorded in the files. In addition, due to the influence of interpersonal relationships, most of the time, the examiners from above would not make things difficult for the local magistrate.
……
Killing the tiger.
Fang Yonggang arrived at the scene at full speed, carrying a knife box sealed with sealing wax.
He came to deliver the knife.
Ever since Ren Qingshan rose to power, Fang Yonggang couldn't help but feel uneasy. Although he couldn't understand why this person's strength had improved so quickly, and even felt jealous, after weighing the pros and cons, he still confessed to the master and told him about the mistakes he had made.
He knew Lu Haichuan's character well: he could tolerate mistakes, but he could not tolerate deception.
The master truly forgave him and entrusted him with an important task, saying that once completed, it would be a great achievement and the previous mistakes would not be pursued further.
at this time.
Fang Yonggang waited patiently in the distance until the caravan had gone far away and no one else was coming up behind them, then he quickly left.
This matter was to be handled privately and kept secret.
"Hey, Mr. Fang."
The bandit leader here today is the same one who sent Lu Jiu to deliver the message earlier. He recognizes Fang Yonggang, and his eyes narrow slightly. When he sees the knife case, a look of joy appears on his face.
In the end, the matter was resolved.
"Brother Wan, this is the treasured sword of the One-Line Blade. My master bought it back from Ren Qingshan and specifically instructed that it is best not to publicize this matter."
"Of course, of course, but I would appreciate it if you would kindly come with me to personally hand over the knife to my master, so as to avoid any mishaps along the way."
Fang Yonggang's eyelids twitched when he heard this, and he secretly groaned inwardly.
Kill Tiger Pass is a mountain with high mountains and dense forests, a dangerous place with poisonous miasma, and can be called a den of demons. To be honest, I don't really want to go up there.
"Well... I guess I won't go up?"
"The knife case is sealed with sealing wax. My Lu family's caravans travel this route year-round; how could we dare to deceive you?"
Fang Yonggang made excuses for a while, trying to persuade him, but in short, he didn't want to go up the mountain.
The bandit surnamed Wan carefully examined the knife case, weighed it in his hand, and was eventually persuaded by him. He did not insist and they all left.
……
The bandit nicknamed "The Jack-of-All-Trades," carrying his knife case, instructed his brothers to continue collecting money before hurrying up the mountain towards the stronghold.
Surrounded by mountains and water, after passing through two swirling forests and crossing an iron chain bridge spanning a cliff, we shouted the command to the brothers guarding the area before entering the mountain stronghold.
After asking where the leader was, he went to the training ground and soon saw the leader, shirtless, smashing his head against a boulder the size of a small mountain. Stone fragments flew everywhere, and the attack was incredibly fierce.
The leader's surname was Hu. After joining the bandit gang, he no longer used his real name and was known by his nickname Hu Shan Kui. His two younger brothers were Hu Shan Lang and Hu Shan Bao.
After explaining everything clearly, Wan Jinyou presented the knife case and respectfully left.
Hu Shankui looked at the object with great interest, crushed the sealing wax, took out a knife, waved it around with a flourish, and carried it to a stone house next to him.
"Brother Liang, I've gotten your knife back!"
Inside the stone house, a thin man strode out.
He looked at the knife and was about to reach out to take it.
But then Hu Shankui feinted with his sword, then chuckled and slung it behind his back.
"Giving you the knife is no problem; we've known each other for over twenty years. But you must tell me what secret this knife holds. Is that too much to ask?"
Liang Junzi gave a bitter smile and sighed.
"Brother Bian told me before that if he died, no matter who killed him, I must do everything I could to get his knife back. There was a secret inside, as a way of thanking me for saving his life."
"But what secrets are hidden here? He wouldn't have told me while he was alive!"
"We're all in this together, you know, whether it's martial arts or treasure, you always have to keep something in reserve. If you keep it in reserve, it'll all be gone!"
……
……