After some banter, they began talking about the Incense Gathering Cult, which had been roaming the Outer City with increasing frequency lately.
They also discussed the recent unrest around Hong Family Fort outside the city, one of the two major sects.
Cheng Shaojiu followed by recounting the terrifying monster his caravan escort team had encountered, which had dragged away a martial escort skilled in fists and kicks, strong and sturdy, in an instant.
The others all marveled, clicking their tongues in wonder.
At the mention of that monster, Jiang Su recalled something.
"Senior Brother Cheng, you said just now that when you encountered that monster, Black Madman, you were with your junior brother Wei He?"
"That's right." Cheng Shaojiu nodded and lowered his head to take another bite of braised pig ear.
"Wei He has always been hanging around with you. Come to think of it, I find it rather strange. His background is ordinary, his talent is average—perhaps even mediocre. He is no different from the other mediocre junior brothers and sisters. Why does Senior Brother Cheng alone regard him so highly?" Jiang Su asked casually.
She had always valued only those with talent, family standing, or some exceptional strength. She could not understand why Cheng Shaojiu would lower himself to befriend someone like that.
Before Cheng Shaojiu could answer—
Jiang Yan, seated nearby, shook his folding fan and laughed. "Susu, then you do not know the reason. When winning over people's hearts, the foremost thing is to send charcoal in snowy weather. Senior Brother Cheng is nurturing Wei He's heart—nurturing Junior Brother Wei He's loyalty."
"Loyalty?" Jiang Su seemed thoughtful.
"Precisely. Think about it. Wei He was born poor and lowly, reserved by nature, and a man of few words. What knowledge could he possibly possess? But let me tell you, the more someone has such a disposition, the more they cherish favors and human kindness.
"Now think again. If he were someone not quite so poor and lowly, would Senior Brother Cheng's efforts receive such a fine return? Would he gain such deep devotion from Junior Brother Wei He?
"Do not underestimate this move. If used well, Senior Brother Cheng might one day gain someone at his side who would fight to the death to protect him!"
Jiang Yan looked every bit like someone speaking from deep experience.
He had seen quite a few elders in his own family use such methods, and he immediately understood Cheng Shaojiu's intentions.
Xiao Ran and Jiang Su suddenly understood. Compared to Jiang Yan, both their families came from backgrounds weaker by more than a level.
Naturally, they were far less mature in such matters than Jiang Yan.
"In my view, Senior Brother Cheng must have learned this experience from Head Caravan Guard Cheng. And judging by Wei He's current condition, he is likely already utterly devoted to Senior Brother Cheng. Success is not far away." Jiang Yan smiled.
"Putting it that way, the two guard masters currently beside my father do seem to have been won over in this manner years ago." Jiang Su appeared to gain some insight from the comparison.
"My family is the same. Though we cannot compare to yours, my mother has a maidservant she brought back in this way. She does whatever my mother tells her to do, obedient beyond measure." Xiao Ran followed with a smile.
"If I had not accidentally gone too far later and made her jump into a well, then probably..." Even now, the memory left lingering fear in his heart.
"But that incident was good too. After that, my father gave me a savage beating, and I realized that wine and women truly are poisons to martial training. If you do not control the frequency and number of times, there will be regrets waiting for you in the future.
"So from then on, I joined Old Zheng's school and came to this courtyard full of men. I stayed away from wine and women and trained hard in martial arts. Now it has indeed proven my thoughts back then..."
After taking a bite of food, Xiao Ran smiled again. "Do you think I have been attending banquets every day lately? Heh, even while eating and drinking, I never forget to practice whenever and wherever I can. Did you really think I knew nothing? That I did not understand wine and women would slow my progress? I even bought specialized restorative medicine."
"It seems Junior Brother Xiao's achievements today are not all due to talent. Talent alone, without perseverance, could never bring someone to Junior Brother Xiao's level." Jiang Su sighed.
"I have never had such experiences since childhood. Is that why my talent is insufficient?"
As she spoke, she could not help laughing herself.
"Talent is inborn. There is nothing I can do about that. But if I could gather a few utterly devoted people to guard me thoroughly, would that not be just as comfortable?
"Susu, why not seek some advice from Brother Shaojiu? Even Senior Brother Jiang says Brother Shaojiu's methods are formidable. He certainly cannot be lacking in this area." Xiao Ran said with a smile.
Hearing that, although Jiang Su was strong-willed and believed personal strength mattered most, if she could win a few people over for her own use, her sense of security would rise greatly. She was immediately tempted.
Besides, she had originally been questioning Cheng Shaojiu from the start. Yet the other two had diverted the topic. She turned to look his way.
Only, while they had been chatting so merrily just now, they had not noticed Cheng Shaojiu's condition.
When she turned around, she discovered that Cheng Shaojiu had been silently burying himself in food and wine, saying nothing, as though he had not heard anything they had discussed.
"Senior Brother Cheng? You still have not answered my question from before." Jiang Su spoke up.
"Oh, I was too busy eating. My stomach was hungry. My apologies, my apologies. That was rather discourteous of me." Cheng Shaojiu finally raised his head as if waking from a trance and apologized repeatedly.
"Does Senior Brother Cheng have any good method?" Jiang Su continued, repeating what the others had just said.
"A good method...?" Cheng Shaojiu lowered his head again and fell silent for a moment.
He neatly picked up his chopsticks and laid them sideways across his spoon.
Then he lifted his head once more.
"I have always had an idea."
"What idea?" Jiang Su asked.
"That one day, I hope to make friends in every place under heaven, so that wherever I go, I can turn weapons of war into jade and silk. I hope to resolve every trouble without ever needing to fight."
Cheng Shaojiu smiled.
"So I feel that there is no need for any ulterior thoughts toward anyone. It is enough to treat people sincerely.
"Wei He—I regard him as a friend, so he regards me as a friend as well. There is no other meaning."
As soon as he said that, the expressions on Jiang Yan and the others' faces gradually restrained themselves.
Because something about those words did not sit right.
Once Cheng Shaojiu said this, who did not know that he had broad connections and could exchange a few words with people from every social stratum?
Put that way, his meaning was: I, Cheng Shaojiu, regard Wei He as a friend, just like I regard all of you as friends.
Was he not comparing them to people like Wei He and putting them on the same level?
"It seems Brother Cheng has had a little too much to drink." Jiang Yan's smile remained unchanged as he snapped his paper fan shut.
"Let us put this topic aside for now. Why not go see the new good things that have arrived at Hundred Treasures Tower? To be honest, silver money cannot be used now, and exchanging everything for gold leaves is truly rather inconvenient."
Jiang Yan stood first and called for the waiter to settle the bill.
Yet after what had just happened, all three of them had developed some thoughts about Cheng Shaojiu.
The four split into two pairs, with two in front and two behind.
Xiao Ran and Jiang Yan walked behind. Amid the crowded streets, the distance between them and the two in front gradually widened.
Xiao Ran glanced at Cheng Shaojiu's back.
"I never knew before that Brother Shaojiu was so... so pure."
"You mean naive, do you not?" Jiang Yan laughed. "Where in this world is there such a thing as equal friendship? You treat people sincerely, and they treat you viciously. There are no shortage of examples like that."
"Has Senior Brother Jiang encountered such examples?" Xiao Ran asked.
"Hehe, Brother Shaojiu has lived in the city for too long and sees human hearts a little too favorably. Those people he associates with—Zhou Yishi, Wei He, and the like—may appear obedient from the heart now, but believe it or not, if I offered a high enough price to recruit them, none of them would be able to resist." Jiang Yan said blandly.
"Senior Brother Jiang's insight is impressive." Xiao Ran nodded. "I believe it."
"So Brother Shaojiu is completely wasting his time. Winning people over is not done this way.
"At first, I thought he had some skill, but after hearing him explain it himself...
"He treats everyone equally and sincerely. But sincerity, when used too often, loses its value—just like silver money nowadays.
"He treats the poor and lowly one way, and the wealthy and noble the same way. Once word spreads, the poor and lowly will surely be grateful and fearful, while the wealthy and noble will grow dissatisfied.
"After enough time, even if he gains the gratitude of the poor and lowly, what use is that? The wealthy and noble will all stay away from him.
"Could those few poor and lowly people alone allow him to rise step by step? How many people could he encounter in an entire lifetime?
"In this world, are the poor and lowly powerful, or are the wealthy and noble? It is merely buying the casket and returning the pearl.
"Just watch. If Brother Shaojiu keeps doing this, it may seem generous and mild, but he will have plenty to regret in the future." Jiang Yan opened his folding fan, quickened his pace, and said no more.
Xiao Ran seemed to gain some understanding. He admired Jiang Yan even more, feeling that Jiang Yan and people like Jiang Su and Cheng Shaojiu were simply on entirely different levels. He hurriedly followed.
Cheng Shaojiu, however, still did not know that Jiang Yan and Xiao Ran behind him had already placed him among those not worth befriending deeply.
Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, a week passed.
The weather grew hotter and hotter. Though it was clearly golden autumn, there was still not the slightest hint of coolness.
After collecting his wages, Wei He immediately took Second Sister around with him to look for a place, intending to open a steamed bun shop for her.
A steamed bun shop did not require much space, but it needed to be somewhere with plenty of foot traffic.
At first, Wei Ying did not know he was buying a shop for her to open a steamed bun business. Following what her younger brother Wei He said, she believed it was for one of his junior brothers, helping him open a small shop.
She envied him in her heart, but she also eagerly offered all kinds of ideas and suggestions.
In the end, after Wei He chose a storefront according to her suggestions, negotiated the price, and bought it in one stroke—
Only when she saw the deed did she realize it had been bought for her to open a shop. She was immediately deeply moved.
Wei He was now considered one of the old hands in the courtyard. He had also separated from Cheng Shaojiu, and each of them led a newcomer in training.
That was also an old hand's duty.
His status was no longer what it had once been. After he said a few words to Old Zheng, Wei Ying was allowed to leave the courtyard and prepare her steamed bun shop.
As for Old Zheng's side, seeing how Wei Ying had found her way in, someone in the courtyard also sent in a new younger sister to work. She too worked for free, receiving only food and lodging.
This ensured safety while also allowing her to become a familiar face before Old Zheng and leave a stronger impression. It truly killed several birds with one stone.
How could the benefits gained in this manner be exchanged for with such a small amount of wages?
Old Zheng himself, however, had grown accustomed to Wei Ying's care. After suddenly being assigned someone else, he instead began muttering about Wei Ying's virtues.
Whenever the newcomer made a mistake, he could not help recalling Wei Ying's attentiveness. He always had to mutter a few such remarks.
After a while, when Wei Ying heard about it, she could not help returning every few days to visit and care for him, fulfilling the old man's wishes.
But because of this, the way many people in the courtyard looked at Wei He became even stranger.
Jiang Su was the foremost among them.
They all believed that Wei He had planned and calculated all of this long ago.
Now, through Second Sister, he had left a good impression on the old man and could receive quite a bit of care as well.
Thus, amid the rumors spread by Jiang Su and the others in the courtyard, many people's view of Wei He changed. They believed he was deeply calculating and not someone to be befriended lightly.
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