Interests

Interests "How much is this kitchen knife?"

Chu Mu hefted a kitchen knife and looked at the Stall Vendor before him.

The Stall Vendor immediately piled on a smile. "Good eye, sir. This is—"

"Cut the crap. How much?"

Chu Mu glanced at the fawning, smiling Stall Vendor, his voice growing a little heavier.

"What are you saying, sir? If you want it, just take it. What need is there for money? Consider it this humble one's tribute to you, sir..."

Though he said that, the pained look on the Stall Vendor's face was perfectly clear.

"Name a price. Don't worry, I won't take your knife for nothing."

Chu Mu studied the kitchen knife in his hand, replying without even raising his head.

"Four... no, sir, just give two silver and that'll do."

"Two silver?"

Chu Mu's brow lifted. "Meaning, you sell it to other people for four silver?"

"Sir, it's really not that I'm selling it dear. Iron on the market has risen to thirty copper a jin now. Forging knives has losses too, and I still have to hire people. There really isn't much profit in it. It's all blood-and-sweat money!"

"Iron is that expensive now?"

Chu Mu's gaze shifted slightly. He glanced at the billowing black smoke still rising halfway up the mountain and said, as if offhandedly, "With iron on the market so expensive, are there no other sources?"

At Chu Mu's words, the Stall Vendor's expression changed. He hurriedly looked around, then edged a little closer to Chu Mu and said in a low voice, "Sir, if you can get some, this humble one will give you this price!"

Chu Mu lowered his head for a look. The Stall Vendor's gesture was very clear: a one, and a five.

"You take half. Your heart's a bit black."

Chu Mu shifted aside and casually tossed the kitchen knife onto the Stall Vendor's table.

"Sir, it's not as if you don't know. The County's iron is all held in the hands of those few Masters in the County. There's only that little bit on the market. Even if we get it, we don't dare move it in our own county. We have to transport it to the neighboring county!"

"Back and forth like that, people eating and horses chewing on the road, and we still have to grease palms from top to bottom. There really isn't much profit."

Chu Mu said nothing, merely watching the chattering Stall Vendor with cold eyes.

"How about this, sir. If you have a large amount, I'll give you twenty. If it's a small amount, this humble one will give you sixteen..."

"Fine. If I have news, I'll come find you."

Chu Mu patted his armor. Without waiting for the Stall Vendor to answer, he turned and strode away, leaving only the Stall Vendor standing there in a daze, as if he still hadn't quite reacted for a moment.

"Sure enough, my understanding was still too narrow..."

Chu Mu pressed his lips together. The conversation with the Stall Vendor just now had already formed a clear thread in his mind.

Without question, no one was willing to do business at a loss, and even less would anyone knowingly do business at a loss and still stubbornly persist again and again. If there was such a person, then there had to be a reason behind it.

And in Qinghe County, the lofty Masters clearly were not making a loss.

Even if Prefecture City took the lion's share, what remained was enough to let those Masters eat until their bowls and basins overflowed. And with Prefecture City taking the lion's share, it even brought about the effect of making goods precious by scarcity.

As for the Masters in the County, all they had paid was the price of a paper order.

Those above ate meat; those below naturally drank soup.

What that Stall Vendor had said just now undoubtedly proved this point as well.

The Mine and the Iron Refinery were both managed by Patrol Inspectors. Clearly, there had long been bold ones borrowing their authority to drink the soup!

Moreover, it was certain that this "drinking soup" was absolutely not an isolated case. Otherwise, that Stall Vendor would never have dared say it so easily.

After some thought, Chu Mu seemed to understand.

Around Nanshan Iron Mine, a great net of interests had long formed throughout Qinghe County, from top to bottom.

Those who ate meat ate meat, those who drank soup drank soup. From top to bottom, they were jackals of the same lair, already rooted too deep to pull up.

It was obvious that unless a great change occurred from the bottom up, this great net was basically impossible to shake.

If he wanted to slowly climb upward in Qinghe County, there was no way he could avoid this great net.

Amid his wild thoughts, before long, his own residence appeared within Chu Mu's field of vision.

Just as Chu Mu had expected, Xu Yuan was indeed already waiting at the Courtyard Gate.

"Mu Ge'er, what were you doing? Why're you only back now?"

"I strolled around the street for a while."

Chu Mu casually brushed him off. Taking out his key, he opened the locked Courtyard Gate.

"I bought a fish. Mu Ge'er, make Braised Fish tonight, will you?"

"Fine. Put it in the Kitchen, then go wash some rice and cook it. I'll be over in a bit."

Chu Mu waved a hand and went straight into the bedroom. After setting down the books in his arms and removing his armor and Saber, he then walked into the Kitchen and got busy.

Before too long, three dishes and a soup were laid out on the table. Xu Yuan, that kid, was still wolfing it down just like usual, as if he hadn't eaten in eight lifetimes.

Only this time, after the meal, Xu Yuan did not cling around unwilling to leave as usual. As soon as he set down his bowl, he wiped his mouth, tossed out a sentence, and rushed out.

"Mu Ge'er, the Squad Leader said to have me go to his house and help out after I finished eating. I'm heading over first."

"Sure. Take it slow."

Before Chu Mu had even finished speaking, Xu Yuan had already charged out the main gate and vanished from sight.

"That kid..."

Chu Mu shook his head, set down the bowl and chopsticks in his hands, and leaned back in his chair for quite a while. Only then did he slowly rise, briefly tidy away the dishes after the meal, and by the time he left the kitchen again, the sky had already gone completely dark.

Chu Mu clearly had yet to reach his leisure time. He picked up the school bag containing his writing supplies and, braving the night, went out the door once more.

Chu Mu naturally knew the route to the private school by heart, and he did not delay on the road. After leaving home, he headed straight for the private school.

Every day after dinner came night reading. Old Mister Chang naturally did not have enough energy to accompany Chu Mu alone like that, so aside from the first two days, when Old Mister Chang had still acted as his teacher, it had always been one of Old Mister Chang's disciples teaching Chu Mu to read and recognize characters.

Though he was a disciple, he had also studied poetry and books bitterly since childhood, a student with ambitions for scholarly honors. Teaching Chu Mu to read and recognize characters was naturally more than enough.

Over the course of one evening, more than two double-hours of focus brought Chu Mu about thirty newly learned characters.

That one elementary primer Chu Mu had stumbled through who knew how many times had clearly become much smoother to read as the number of newly learned characters increased.

When Chu Mu walked out of the private school, it was already nearly curfew.

The alley was pitch-black. The lanterns of the households along the side swayed in the wind, adding a little brightness, yet also adding a few traces of inexplicable terror.

"Hurry up, move sharp!"

The faint voice drifting over from the darkness immediately made Chu Mu subconsciously slow his steps.

The alley was narrow, extending in all directions. In this darkness, it was somewhat difficult to distinguish directions, but Chu Mu was at least someone who often walked night roads. Very quickly, Chu Mu locked onto the direction the voice had come from.

Chu Mu leaned against the corner of the alley wall, turning sideways as he looked at the cart parked before the gate of one household in the alley, as well as the figures currently carrying wooden chests and burlap sacks.

In this darkness, the sound of iron pieces clashing inside the sacks was very clear.

Added to that, those distinctive suits of patrol inspector armor...

What scene lay before him was undoubtedly very clear...