Cultivating Confidants

During the day, the Black Market closes its stalls.

The mobile vendors and hawkers have all left. However, shops with permanent storefronts within the Black Market remain open as usual.

This is quite similar to a town's market day. On days with a '3', '6', or '9', merchants from surrounding villages and towns would bring their goods to sell, and locals would also come to buy, creating a bustling scene with concentrated business. But after the market day, the mobile vendors would depart. The town's shops, however, would not close.

The Blood Ridge Black Market is the same. During the day, mobile vendors are absent, but the shops operate as normal. Some regular customers also come during the day to make purchases.

These shopkeepers who have permanently resided in the Black Market are the core merchants of the Blood Ridge Black Market.

A significant portion of Xie An's job is to maintain relationships with these core merchants.

On the weapons street, there are two established blacksmith shops that specialize in crafting ironware, weapons, and the like. Both blacksmith masters are highly skilled.

One of the blacksmith masters is surnamed Liu, and the master of the other blacksmith shop is surnamed Liang, named Xiang.

Xie An went to Liang Xiang's blacksmith shop without exception.

The reason was simple: Liang Xiang is Liang Zhi's cousin.

Since he had decided to cultivate Liang Zhi as his confidant, he would start showing favor and winning him over from this moment on.

"Steward, why have you come? Please come in for some tea." Liang Xiang, though appearing as a rough man, knew the proper etiquette. He greeted Xie An with a smile.

Xie An didn't state his purpose directly, instead inquiring, "Master Liang, how has business been recently?"

As Liang Xiang poured tea for the masked Xie An, he replied, "Much better than when Steward Zhang Biao was in charge. It's all thanks to you, Steward, for cleaning up the atmosphere and organizing the order. We who rely on our work can finally earn some silver. It's just that with this Plum Blossom Monster incident now, I fear it will be restless again soon."

Xie An reassured him, "Master Liang, there's no need to worry. The Blood Ridge Black Market is backed by the Tiger Wolf Gate. A mere Plum Blossom Monster cannot stir up any significant trouble."

Hearing this, Liang Xiang indeed felt much more at ease.

Xie An then took the opportunity to state his purpose.

"The Steward wishes to forge a heavy saber? I have a few finished ones here. Would you like to try them, sir?" Liang Xiang immediately brought out several broad sabers.

Xie An weighed them a few times but lost interest.

One weighed eight jin, another about ten jin. The heaviest broad saber was no more than a dozen jin. For ordinary swordsmen, this weight would be considered on the heavier side.

But for Xie An, who could lift eight hundred jin with one arm, they were far too light.

Liang Xiang sensed his meaning from Xie An's expression. "How heavy a saber does the Steward wish to forge?"

Xie An began to ponder.

A saber isn't necessarily better the heavier it is, as combat is often a prolonged affair. If the saber is too heavy, the initial few strikes might be powerful, but in prolonged combat, the saber's weight would become a burden.

Finally, Xie An stated a more suitable weight: "Forty jin."

"That is an extremely heavy saber. Usually, only swordsmen in the Muscle Realm would consider a saber of this weight. However, since the Steward has a need, I will naturally fulfill it. Do you have any requirements for the saber's shape?" Liang Xiang, though surprised, was also pleased.

Forging a forty-jin heavy saber was a significant undertaking.

Xie An asked Liang Xiang to bring paper and a brush. On the paper, he sketched the shape of a broad saber: the blade width of two inches, length of four feet, the spine thickness of about half an inch, the latter half of the blade straight, the front half curving slightly upwards, and a sharp tip.

Once the rough drawing was complete, Xie An handed the paper to Liang Xiang. "Master Liang, can this be made?"

Liang Xiang examined the drawing carefully and frowned. "The blade is too sharp. Ordinary iron ore won't be durable enough for this. We'll need to use fine steel. But the price..."

According to the Great Qian Dynasty's prices, ordinary pig iron was about ten-plus wen per jin, which wasn't expensive.

But fine steel was a material for high-end blades and swords. It was a type of steel. Only wealthy swordsmen, or constables from the yamen, and officers from the garrisons would be equipped with blades and swords forged from fine steel.

The price was more than a hundred times that of ordinary pig iron.

One jin was about nearly one tael of silver.

For forty jin of fine steel, the material alone would cost forty taels of silver. Adding materials for the hilt, guard, and craftsmanship, Xie An estimated the cost to be around forty-five taels.

Liang Xiang charging around fifty taels would be reasonable.

With an estimate in mind, Xie An said, "Money is not an issue. Name your price."

Liang Xiang made an estimation and said, "Steward, you favor my humble business, so I won't make a profit from you. Forty-two taels. Recently, the bandits in Great Yin Mountain have been active, and the government is vigorously forging weapons to prepare for the suppression. The price of fine steel is fluctuating. Even if I lose money, it will be on my head. In three months, I will deliver the heavy saber."

Xie An knew Liang Xiang wasn't making any profit. He smiled and took out a large ingot of silver weighing fifty taels, placing it on the table. "How can I let Master Liang work for free? Fifty taels, a fixed price. I will pick up the saber in three months."

Xie An didn't give Liang Xiang a chance to refuse and left immediately. He could still see Liang Xiang chasing out of the shop entrance with the silver ingot from a great distance.

Seeing Xie An walk away, Liang Xiang had no choice but to accept the silver and muttered to himself, "This new Steward is truly different from that Zhang Biao, who only knew how to exploit us."

A short while later, Liang Zhi walked over.

"Third brother, what did the Steward want with you?"

Actually, Liang Zhi had seen Xie An from afar earlier but hadn't come over to inquire. He thought Xie An might have something unpleasant to discuss with his cousin.

Liang Xiang did not hide anything and told him everything.

After listening, Liang Zhi looked at Old Liu's blacksmith shop next door and sighed in his heart: Master Liu's blacksmithing skills are clearly better than Liang Xiang's, yet the Steward specifically came here. He's looking out for me; this is a favor...

In fact, over the past few months, Liang Zhi hadn't had much contact with Xie An. Each time was just a normal work report, with no other communication. Therefore, Liang Zhi had always thought this old Steward was stern and unapproachable.

He never expected that this old Steward's few actions would stir up a deep sense of gratitude within him.

Meanwhile, after leaving the blacksmith shop, Xie An did not return directly to his residence but instead found Zhou Xing to examine the stall owner who had been killed by the Plum Blossom Monster.

Since the Plum Blossom Monster had extended its reach into the Blood Ridge Black Market, Xie An, as the person in charge here, naturally needed to understand the situation to be well-informed.

In the simple room lay a corpse, covered in a white cloth and stained with blood.

Zhou Xing bent down and pulled off the white cloth. "The physicians from White Feather Hall just finished examining the body. They said the neck was severed by a sharp weapon... a single, fatal blow."

Xie An squatted down to examine it closely.

He saw a subtle wound on the neck.

Judging by the marks, it seemed to be caused by a thin, sharp weapon. The cut was very clean, with no signs of struggle. It was clear that the stall owner died before he could even react.

A sword? Or some kind of thin thread?

Xie An took a deep breath. "Where is Brother Zhang?"

Zhou Xing replied, "The boss is asleep. Oh, right, the boss also asked me to inquire if the black market will be open today, sir."

After this incident, there was panic both inside and outside the black market, and rumors of a closure were spreading.

Xie An could understand, but he still made a decision. "Open. Keep it open. However, we need to strengthen our defenses. Guards should not patrol alone. Each guard will be equipped with a whistle. If there's any sign of trouble, they are to signal immediately. Tonight, I will patrol myself."

If the Blood Ridge Black Market were to close just because a merchant died.

If this news got out, where would White Feather Hall's reputation stand?

Moreover, his superiors would also reprimand him for his incompetence.

As a newcomer, Xie An didn't intend to manage the black market exceptionally well. At the very least, he didn't want any incidents to occur. He just wanted to quietly practice his skills and develop, without any mishaps.

Hearing that the new steward would be patrolling personally, Zhou Xing was greatly encouraged. "Everything will be as the steward commands, sir. We have many people. As long as we patrol in groups, we might not necessarily fear this Plum Blossom Monster."