Change of Circumstance, Part Two

Carrying his book, Wei He continued towards the cloth shop. Before long, he noticed there was actually a wine shop by the roadside.

However, there was no longer any scent of wine coming from the entrance of the wine shop. Instead, a strong aroma of tea filled the air.

Even at this time of year, the wine shop was filled with the sounds of people boasting and talking.

Wei He paused, then walked over, lifted the curtain, and entered the wine shop.

About a dozen people were scattered throughout the shop, most of them dressed reasonably neatly.

In this era, those who could still maintain their appearance and come here for tea were mostly people with some financial backing.

In a corner by the wall, three gaunt, dishevelled people were squatting. In front of each of them was a wooden sign, on which were scrawled: Selling myself to bury father, Selling myself to bury mother, Selling myself to bury brother.

The three of them were lined up, looking utterly desolate, but for some reason, Wei He felt a sense of speechlessness.

He carried his book to an empty table and sat down.

Immediately, a young girl approached, poured him water, and carefully stated the prices.

Different teas had different prices. Here, transactions weren't made with coarse grain flour, but with Tongcheng Gang's relief tokens.

"Tongcheng Gang relief tokens?" Wei He asked in surprise. "What are those?"

"Esteemed guest, you may not know, but the esteemed leader of the Tongcheng Gang, pitying everyone's difficult lives, has issued batches of relief.

These relief tokens are used to claim relief rations. One relief token can be exchanged for a certain amount of coarse grain flour."

The girl explained fluently, clearly having said this many times before.

Relief tokens?

Would the Tongcheng Gang, one of the Three Gangs and Two Sects, be so kind?

Wei He didn't believe it. There was no such thing as good deeds without reason in this world. There must be a scheme behind it.

"If the guest does not have a relief token, they can also pay with gold beans from the Inner City," the girl reminded him.

Wei He did have gold beans.

He had recently killed quite a few mountain bandits, and the most common item in the money bags he'd looted were these so-called gold beans, which were actually copper coins mixed with gold.

Ten of these could be exchanged for a gold leaf, and ten gold leaves for an ounce of gold. They were the simplest circulating currency in the Inner City.

The Inner City's ability to maintain stable prices today was entirely thanks to the stability of the Seven Families Alliance.

He just didn't know how long the Seven Families Alliance could hold on.

Wei He sighed inwardly, ordered a pot of buckwheat tea, placed it on the table, and drank it quietly. The price was one gold bean, with some change left over.

The shopkeeper also gave him an extra plate of peanuts.

The peanuts had a slightly musty smell, but the pot of buckwheat tea was filled with buckwheat and coarse grain rice. After drinking the water, it could even be eaten as a meal.

Wei He sat down with peace of mind, intending to listen carefully to the current situation in the city. Places like wine shops and tea houses were excellent spots for casual chatter and boasting, and naturally, they were gathering places for the flow of information.

People who could come to such places were generally those who didn't worry about food or drink and had idle time. These people often had plenty of time to spend, and since their families didn't lack food or clothing, they were naturally not ordinary families; they all had some background and connections.

Therefore, the information they possessed was often well-informed.

When these people encountered any interesting or unusual events, they would often come here to publicize and share them with friends, thereby becoming the focus of attention in the city and gaining vanity and satisfaction.

The gathering of these people, in turn, attracted those who did business with them, such as storytellers, travelling singers, and musicians.

With more forms of entertainment, more people were drawn in.

And these storytellers, by travelling far and wide, could also bring in more information, some of which might be true and some false.

This was exactly the channel Wei He wanted. After all, with his Stone Hide condition, he no longer had Master Zheng's constant supervision. He had plenty of free time. Spending a day investigating the situation was a necessary task.

Yonghe Escort Agency.

On the somewhat desolate bluestone plaza.

Several Head Caravan Guards and the main male members of the Cheng family were present. Many caravan guards had also arrived from various branch offices.

Dozens, nearly a hundred people, were gathered together, a dense mass of heads, all waiting for news.

Cheng Shaojiu also stood at the forefront of the Cheng family's male members, quietly awaiting news.

Awaiting news from the Chief Escort, Cheng Zhengxing.

Before long, Cheng Zhengxing entered with a few caravan guards from outside the plaza.

His face was stiff, and he walked silently towards the speaking platform at the highest point.

The surrounding caravan guards automatically made way for him.

Before long, as Cheng Zhengxing walked past Cheng Shaojiu, he paused and glanced at his nephew, as if wanting to say something.

But he didn't speak, instead continuing towards the high platform.

On the high platform.

Soon, Cheng Zhengxing ascended step by step, stood at the highest point, and looked down at everyone.

All eyes focused on him.

The atmosphere, which had already been quiet, became even more so now, so quiet it was almost frightening.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the final news.

Cheng Zhengxing looked around. This massive escort agency caravan was something he had built from the ground up over decades.

And now...

He opened his mouth, wanting to speak.

But the sun was too harsh, beating down on him so intensely that he started to sweat.

He felt a tightness in his chest. Several deep breaths didn't relieve it; instead, the feeling grew worse.

Recently, he had been staying up late, rushing around, all to keep the escort agency alive.

And this final escort job was his entire stake for a comeback.

He had bet everything on it.

But...

Cheng Zhengxing's heart turned to ice. Despite the sweltering heat, a chill ran through his body.

He clenched his fist tightly, his palm completely devoid of warmth.

"I..."

He finally opened his mouth.

Everyone was staring at him.

Everyone was waiting for him.

Cheng Zhengxing opened his mouth again.

"I'll have everyone..."

Suddenly, he felt dizzy, his ears went numb as if blocked by something, and he could hear nothing.

His body involuntarily leaned back.

Thump.

He knew nothing more.

The Cheng family was going to fall.

This news spread like a storm, quickly carried by the escort guards who had left the settlement.

The escort guards had all been waiting to see if this last escort job could salvage everything.

But unfortunately, this job was finished, it had been robbed.

And Cheng Zhengxing, the Chief Escort they had placed all their hopes on, had fallen gravely ill and fainted on the spot.

Because the escort job was lost, the Yonghe Escort Agency faced a sky-high compensation payment.

With Cheng Zhengxing incapacitated by illness, there was no one at the agency capable of taking charge. The agency had already been struggling to pay the escort guards' salaries, and now with the Chief Escort down, the gathered escort guards could no longer endure.

Some of the older escort guards, who were more sentimental and had food at home, reluctantly stayed, waiting to see how things developed.

But most of the younger escort guards were transient anyway, and they quickly left to find other work.

Within a single day, the agency became sparsely populated. Cheng Shaojiu, with the assistance of two head caravan guards, inventoried all the family's grain and assets.

To his horror, he discovered they were still short of the amount needed to cover the value of the lost escort job.

"According to the double compensation rule... we're still short by at least seven hundred taels of gold," Cheng Zhangshi, Cheng Shaojiu's wife who came from an accounting background, said with a worried frown.

"Seven hundred taels?" Cheng Shaojiu gritted his teeth, looking at the boxes of supplies and provisions in front of him.

Normally, seven hundred taels of gold wouldn't be a problem; his escort agency was large and could afford it.

But now...

His uncle was ill and unconscious, and everyone in the family had pooled their private savings, with several head caravan guards also offering their strong support.

Yet, they were still short seven hundred taels of gold.

Who could he borrow this money from?

Who around him had that much money to spare?

Cheng Shaojiu's mind was filled with confusion, and a mountain of pressure bore down on his heart.

"Young Chief Escort..." Head Caravan Guard Cheng Kai hesitated, but thinking of the seven hundred taels of gold shortfall, he had no way to gather that much.

"They want us to give them an answer within these two days, otherwise, they'll take the Silver-Kissed Black Snake husbandry method as payment," his wife Cheng Zhangshi's voice echoed in Cheng Shaojiu's ears.

He gritted his teeth, having no idea how he managed to return to his room to rest.

The next day, in a daze, he said he was going to find a solution. He changed his clothes and headed in the direction of Huishan Fist Academy.

Upon arriving at the courtyard, he stood blankly in his usual corner, staring at the iron sand basin with its rising charcoal fire, unmoving.

His fellow disciples, who usually treated him like a brother, remained silent, not coming over to greet him.

As for Xiao Ran, Jiang Yan, and Jiang Su, they had also gradually distanced themselves from him and no longer paid him much attention.

He looked up, knowing everyone must be aware of the situation with the escort agency.

"Brother Cheng."

Suddenly, Wei He walked closer.

"I heard yesterday that the escort agency had trouble. If you need any help, just say the word."

Cheng Shaojiu and Wei He were very close. Wei He was also affiliated with the Yonghe Escort Agency, and now that the agency was in trouble, he worried Cheng Shaojiu wouldn't be able to handle it alone. He quickly came over to ask about the situation.

Cheng Shaojiu looked up at Wei He.

He opened his mouth, about to ask about the money, but then gave a wry smile.

That was seven hundred taels of gold. Wei He's income was even clearer to him; his affiliation only brought in about forty taels of gold a month at most.

How could he possibly come up with so much money?

The words on his lips, Cheng Shaojiu paused, then retracted them, a smile appearing on his face.

"It's fine, I can handle it. Don't worry, Little He."

Rather than saying it and making Wei He worry too, he preferred to keep it to himself.

After all, this was a Cheng family matter, and had nothing to do with Wei He.

Even if he told him, Wei He could only worry and would be powerless to help. Since that was the case, it was better not to say anything.

"Don't worry," Cheng Shaojiu patted Wei He's shoulder again, smiling.

"If you need anything, just ask. We're brothers, and I'm even Cheng He's godfather. Don't keep it to yourself," Wei He said earnestly.

He had been snatching people recently and had reaped good rewards. Coupled with his own savings, which he hadn't used much, he had accumulated over fifteen hundred taels in gold notes. He was thinking about whether he could help.

"I know, don't worry," Cheng Shaojiu said. The more Wei He spoke like this, the less he wanted to burden him.

This was his family's business, and he would handle it himself. How could he burden his brother?

"It's just that this month's salary will have to be suspended," Cheng Shaojiu said with a wry smile.

"That's fine, deal with your situation first, it's more important," Wei He nodded.

Seeing that Cheng Shaojiu seemed genuinely fine, he slowly felt reassured.

"Are you really okay?"

"I'm really fine," Cheng Shaojiu flashed a brilliant smile.

He knew people were watching him. At a time like this, he absolutely could not show fear or panic.

His uncle had already fallen. If he also showed fear and revealed his weaknesses, then the Cheng family's old rivals wouldn't just stand by and watch.

They would be like starving wolves, pouncing from all directions to tear at the Cheng family's flesh while it was weakened!