Wei Shao

The floor-to-ceiling windows are three zhang high, and the eaves of the building cut through the sky like sharp swords. Beams of light shine through the wooden lattice of the windows, and dust motes dance in the air.

The entire first floor was almost a plaza, with flat square bricks paving the ground, extending hundreds of steps in all directions.

Since there are no beams or pillars, the entire hall is visually divided by several huge pieces of cloth, each over ten feet long and wide.

The thick down fabric, adorned with the iconic Celestial Ship Merchant Guild Sky Ship Wave-Space Design, was stirred by the river breeze, rippling like ocean waves.

Magnificent and beautiful.

Such a large building, entirely built on a single tree? But where did the tree come from?

Ran Zhongshi seemed to be referring to "life"? Liang Qu recalled the key words, glanced around, then turned to look at Ran Zhongshi, pointing to the giant tree. "Life? From childhood to adulthood?"

How exactly did Celestial Ship Merchant Guild manage to plant such a huge tree in Ping Yang County within just a few months? "It's 'forced growth,' I've seen it done elsewhere before."

Ran Zhongshi folded his fan and gestured a cylinder in front of his chest with his palm.

"A small sapling as thick as a person's embrace, watered with some Heavenly Essence Milk, can grow to the size you see now in two months."

Moreover, the shape of the Jade Rainbow Bridge Tree is very strange. It grows like a floor slab, layer upon layer, with obvious stratification. It will grow three layers within two hundred years and will never grow any longer.

Therefore, apart from the mother tree in the Imperial Capital, all other Sky Vessel Tower you see are three stories high. Once the tree has grown to a suitable size, the craftsmen will add building materials and timbers.

"Two months longer? Doesn't that mean the craftsmen finished building it in just over a month?"

"It's not as complicated as you think. Celestial Ship Merchant Guild is very familiar with this system. Most of the buildings are standardized. They just need to be transported to the location and assembled. It will take about three months from start to finish."

Liang Qu's eyes were opened wide, and he couldn't help but look around.

Ran Zhongshi laughed loudly.

"When I was eight years old, I first entered the Sky Vessel Tower in the Imperial Capital. The first floor was five zhang high, two zhang higher than the three zhang here. My expression was exactly the same as yours, Brother Liang."

Actually, don't think it's that powerful. The Jade Rainbow Bridge Tree is just pretty and looks impressive, but it's not practical and is incredibly troublesome.

Trees can be encouraged to grow, but they can't be stopped from growing. Killing them would be too much of a loss. A living Jade Rainbow Bridge Jade Tree Heart every year, which is truly a valuable resource.

So it needs to be repaired every now and then, with the growing branches and protruding roots being pruned. The maintenance alone costs a lot of money, purely for appearances.

Ran Zhongshi chatted as they walked.

Xiang Fangsu, who was standing next to her, had her eye on a jade piece and was haggling over the price.

There were still 25 minutes to half an hour before the auction started, so there was no rush to enter.

Liang Qu had taken a look at it once before, and it was indeed exquisite. The base was mutton fat white, and there was a streak of blood red floating on the surface of the cauldron, as if fresh blood had been dripped into milk.

"Does the young master like this jade piece? It's top-quality blood jade, only a hundred gold pieces, absolutely not expensive."

Liang Qu was taken aback and subconsciously reached for the Silver Note in his pocket.

Today he brought out all his belongings, which, including his previous savings and recent income, amounted to no more than nine hundred and fifty taels.

The exchange of silver for gold was similar to the exchange of copper coins for silver, both involving a certain premium.

A hundred taels of gold—that's a real amount, more than a thousand taels.

Furthermore, he didn't perceive anything unique about the jade; it was clearly just an ordinary ornamental piece.

Xiang Fangsu shook his head. "The material is good, but the carver is not. Don't think I'm a frog in a well from the countryside. I've seen better Dragon Blood Jade than this, for seventy gold coins."

With a single word, he cut off more than three hundred taels of silver, making Liang Qu feel a tightness in his chest.

Ran Zhongshi explained from the side, "In the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild, most of the money on the first floor comes from rent and commission. Anyone can come here to sell things."

The condition is that it must be reviewed by the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild, so there is no need to worry about buying counterfeit goods. Even if there is a premium, it will not be too much.

Once you get to the second floor, you'll find the high-quality goods that the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild itself produces.

Ordinary paintings, porcelain, and jade; high-end Treasure Plant, medicines, and treasures; if you want to find someone to make medicine or refine weapons, the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild can also contact masters on your behalf.

The third floor above is where auctions are held; when there are no auctions, it is rented out to other people.

Having a Celestial Ship Merchant Guild in a place is quite beneficial in many ways; it certainly makes things much more convenient.

Liang Qu nodded.

As soon as he walked in, he realized that without a certain population base, he would definitely not make a profit from this business; it would be a pure loss.

No wonder it only exists in the center of a prefecture or state, and Martial Artist all like to go to big places, which is not much different from the direction of talent inflow in later generations.

After a while, Xiang Fangsu returned carrying a small cauldron.

Ran Zhongshi asked with a smile, "How much did it cost?"

"Eighty-four gold pieces, the material is indeed excellent. I'll find a good craftsman to redo it and send it back to my mother; she likes blood-red jade."

Ke Wenbin clapped his hands. "That reminded me. Perfect, I'll go buy two too, one for each of us."

Ran Zhongshi raised an eyebrow. "One for each person? You're even giving one to your father?"

"Zhong Shi is mistaken. This guy must have given it to his fiancée."

Ran Zhongshi raised his voice several decibels. "Fiancée? When did Wen Bin get a fiancée?"

Ke Wenbin smiled without saying a word, then limped away happily, leaving only his back view.

Ran Zhongshi looked at Xiang Fangsu, Xiang Fangsu pouted.

"Just the day before yesterday, his family sent a letter saying they had proposed marriage to him. You know Zhong Shi, she's the granddaughter of Scholar Su, her Su Xiaoran. When she was little, she used to follow us around and play with us."

"Oh, I remember now. Damn it, that bastard really kept it hidden! Make him pay for the June meeting!"

"Absolutely! Absolutely!"

After walking with Ran Zhongshi for a while, Liang Qu inadvertently spotted Xiang ChangSong and others strolling around in the crowd.

"Big Brother Ran, Brother Xiang, I've seen some of my senior brothers."

The two nodded.

"Senior Yang is the head of the River Conservancy Office and also Brother Yue Long's uncle. He's practically one of us, so we should go and greet him. We'll meet again on the third floor."

"Okay, see you on the third floor."

After saying goodbye to the two, Liang Qu headed in the direction where he had seen the senior brothers earlier.

Unexpectedly, halfway there, someone suddenly walked out from the side and stopped him.

The newcomer was tall and strong, with a lithe physique, clearly a martial arts practitioner from a well-off family; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to develop such a physique.

Liang Qu raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by this, brother?"

The newcomer raised his hand in a bow and smiled, "My name is Wei Shao. I have always wanted to meet Brother Liang, but unfortunately, it was never the right time. I never expected to meet you here."

The surname is Wei?

Liang Qu immediately understood the other party's identity.

Everyone knows that Wei Lin likes to adopt sons, but he wasn't afraid of being in public and responded with a bow.

"I wonder what business Lord Wei has with me? My fellow disciples are right here, and I was just about to go find them."

"Brother Liang, since you're in such a hurry, I'll be frank with you."

Throughout history, the power of the second-in-command has always been far less than that of the first-in-command.

The deputy commander wasn't even eligible for a Great Merit merit award, while the Chief Supervisor had a certain number of Great Merit awards every month.

So, come work for us. If you agree to come, I'll personally give you a Yellow Dragon Pill. What do you think, Brother Liang?