The Way to Make Money

Ma Wu mentioned Li Banfeng, which was quite sudden.

Li Banfeng put down his chopsticks and silently watched Ma Wu.

The atmosphere wasn't tense, because Li Banfeng knew that if Ma Wu wanted to harm him, he would never eat at the same table with him, much less bring it up openly.

Ma Wu laughed and said, "Brother Li, I was referring to Li Banfeng, not you."

Li Banfeng is a friend of mine; we met in Medicine King Gully.

Although I'm down on my luck, I can still hear some news. I heard that Li Banfeng offended the Lu Family, Lu Family is looking for him in Medicine King Gully.

If you know Li Banfeng, please pass on a message to him: as long as he hides in Green Water Bay, this move will be the right one.

Green Water Bay the foundation of many prestigious families, and no Lineage dares to make any significant moves there.

Pro State is vast, and finding someone is difficult. Although the Lu Family is powerful, they won't look elsewhere if they can't find Li Banfeng in Medicine King Gully, since this is only Lu Xiaolan's side of the story.

Moreover, there have been many rumors circulating recently that Li Banfeng disappeared after going to the He Family, and many people believe that Li Banfeng has died at the hands of Lu Xiaolan.

Large Lineage don't have that much patience. Since Li Banfeng is nowhere to be found, they'll keep an eye on Lu Xiaolan. They'll assume Lu Xiaolan is lying, whether it's the Lu Family or the He Family. As time goes on, Li Banfeng will gradually be forgotten.

Brother Li, you must find a chance to convey this message: tell Li Banfeng to avoid crowded places, be patient, and endure the ordeal. He will surely get through this ordeal.

This is the vision of a wealthy young master.

This is Ma Wu's way of repaying Li Qi.

He knew that Li Qi was Li Banfeng, and the person in front of him was Li Banfeng.

Because he knew that Li Qi came from Outer State and looked somewhat similar to Li Banfeng in the photo.

The timing of Li Qi's appearance also coincides with the Lu Family's description of Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng took a sip of wine and said to Ma Wu, "You can tell the Lu Family that Li Banfeng is in Green Water Bay. The Lu Family will give you a lot of money, and may even give you a family business directly."

Ma Wu nodded. "I've thought about it, but I can't do it because when I was starving, Li Banfeng gave me food."

After a long silence, Li Banfeng filled the glass to the brim.

Ma Wu also poured himself a cup.

The two raised their glasses at the same time and drank them down in one gulp.

Li Banfeng took a bite of braised beef. "What are you planning to do next?"

Ma Wu laughed and said, "I've calculated the days, and I only have five or six days left to live. I'm going to take you around Blue Poplar Village and tell you about the special features of Green Water Bay."

Only five or six days left.

"Since there are still five or six days left, why don't you seize the time to cultivate? Do you really not want to live anymore?"

Ma Wu shook his head and laughed, "Back then, plenty of girls threw themselves at me. I never thought cultivation could be difficult. But now that I'm down on my luck, the difficulties have become much greater."

If you're looking for a partner, don't talk about mutual affection; start with financial stability.

I don't even want to think about getting past one more hurdle. Let's just say we're going step by step; it would still take three times a day, and getting paid for those three times wouldn't be easy.

Brother Li, I know you're a generous person. You might say you'll pay for it, and I appreciate your kindness, but this is a bottomless pit for me; no one can fill it.

Besides, I interrupted my cultivation for ten days, and my body has been severely damaged. Even if you were to offer yourself to me now, I would be useless.

Li Banfeng blinked. "You mean, it's completely hopeless?"

Ma Wu laughed and said, "Brother Li is very straightforward. It's not entirely hopeless. Right now, my meridians are weak but not yet damaged. If there are any elixirs, they can be nourished. Once my meridians are damaged, I can only rely on the Soul Return Soup to prolong my life."

But this isn't Medicine King Gully. Elixirs aren't so easy to buy here, and they're ridiculously expensive. As for the Soul Return Soup, forget about it; the Peddler is nowhere to be found. My fate is sealed.

Li Banfeng asked, "What kind of elixir could nourish you back to health?"

Ma Wu said, "The most common one is Snake Spot Pill. I don't know if Brother Li has heard of it. Taking seven Snake Spot Pill is enough to almost cure a disease, but Snake Spot Pill..."

Let alone seven pills, even one Snake Spot Pill is too much for Ma Wu to afford now.

"I don't have any Snake Spot Pill, so I don't know if this one will work." Li Banfeng took out a Red Pill and handed it to Ma Wu.

Ma Wu stared at it for a moment, then widened his eyes and exclaimed, "This is the Mystic Blaze Pill?"

Li Banfeng asked, "Can this elixir save you?"

"Yes, yes!" Ma Wu exclaimed excitedly, but then asked, "Why did you save me?"

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "It's not really about saving you. I haven't had a chance to sell this pill yet, and I need the money, so I'll just sell it to you for now."

If you recover this time, quickly find a way to make money, and pay me back as soon as you do.

If you can't pay it back right away, just give me an IOU, and we'll clarify the principal and interest.

"If you take the pill, prolong your life, and then wait to die, then I'm out of luck. Consider this pill as being buried with you."

Li Banfeng was telling the truth; he really wanted to sell the pills to Ma Wu.

Ma Wu clutched the pill, his fingers trembling uncontrollably, somewhat at a loss. "Brother Li, I don't know how to repay your kindness, I..."

"Why are you saying you don't know again? Are you playing dumb? Didn't I just say I'd have you pay it back with money? You're good at making money, so tell me how you make money?"

Ma Wu accepted the pills and earnestly began to explain to Li Banfeng his methods for making money:

"How fast you make money depends on your capital and the risk. It's very difficult to make 100 from 1 yuan, but it's much easier to make 10,000 from 100 yuan."

Li Banfeng said, "What if I wanted to make ten million from one million?"

Ma Wu pondered for a moment, "The fastest way is to go hunting in the new land. There are risks, but not too great. There is a 30% chance of losing half of your investment, a 20% chance of losing everything, and a 50% chance of making money. There is a 20% chance of making more than 10 million, and it's hard to say how much the remaining 30% will bring."

Li Banfeng nodded. "I'll go get you a million first, then we'll get started."

Ma Wu pulled Li Banfeng aside and said, "Brother Li, there's something I just told you. I'm being targeted. Whenever I have a little money, someone comes to rob me."

Li Banfeng frowned deeply. "How could this person do this? Robbery is wrong! Next time, introduce him to me. I'm an upright person, and I'll give him a good talking-to."

Ma Wu didn't understand Li Banfeng's meaning. "Brother Li, let me remind you, the people who come to see me are different every time, it's impossible to guard against them."

It's different every time?

Li Banfeng frowned and asked, "Do you know them?"

"I don't know him."

"If they don't know you, how could they recognize you and find you?"

Ma Wu couldn't figure out the reason either.

As Li Banfeng was pondering a solution, he suddenly heard a knock at the door. When he opened it, he saw that it was Wei Landlord.

"Excuse me, gentlemen, this is two months' rent, a total of five thousand yuan. Please accept it."

Li Banfeng was taken aback. "What do you mean? Are you kicking us out?"

Wei Landlord shook his head and pointed to his bandaged face. "I won't kick you out. You can stay here. The rent for these two months is my way of repaying your kindness."

He just saw Ma Wu help him.

"Tomorrow night Wilderness Contest. That son of a bitch Yu Mazi and I will wade through this Turbid Sky Arena. If we survive this ordeal, I'll consider myself lucky. From now on, you two can stay here for a hundred years, and I won't charge you any rent."

If I can't make it through tomorrow night, I'll cross the bridge. I can't help you two with your lodgings then."

After saying his goodbyes, Wei Landlord left. Ma Wu gave a wry smile, "This is Blue Poplar Village. It's hard to even find a stable place to stay."

Li Banfeng asked, "What did he mean by 'opposing the plate,' 'the Turbid Sky Arena,' and 'crossing the bridge' just now?"

Ma Wu explained, "A duel is a fight. Wilderness Contest's means a duel in the area where Blue Poplar Village was demolished but has not yet been rebuilt."

This is the rule of Blue Poplar Village: matters big and small can be decided by duel.

Fighting over trivial matters in the street, with neighbors as witnesses, and whoever wins taking the lead, could lead to disputes later on.

"Major matters must be handled in the wilderness, with the Song family as witnesses. Whoever wins will be in charge. If they later deny their actions, the Song family will step in to uphold justice."

"The Song family?" Li Banfeng was taken aback. "What's their background?"

Ma Wu said, "The Song family is the big boss of Blue Poplar Village. In Blue Poplar Village, even if you set up a stall to sell fried dough sticks, you have to get the Song family's permission. Even if you can only earn one yuan a day, fifty cents of that goes to the Song family."

In open field duels, witnessed by the Song family, if the fight takes place during the day, it's called Clear Sky Arena," and the fight continues until one side concedes defeat. If the fight takes place at night, it's called a "Turbid Sky Arena," and the fight continues until one side is killed.

Wei Landlord and Yu Mazi chose the Turbid Sky Arena, intending to fight to the death. If Wei Landlord crosses the Bridge of Helplessness tomorrow, meaning he dies in the wilderness, the houses in this area will belong to Yu Mazi, and we'll have to move as soon as possible.

Li Banfeng said in surprise, "Then we have to go and see who will win."

Ma Wu shook his head and said, "Tomorrow, all the idle folks in the village will go to the fields to watch the excitement, so you shouldn't go. You'd better hide where there are many people. I really have to go and see, and also to find some men to bring back."

We need to go hunting in the new area three times. The first time will require a lot of manpower, and we need to catch a lot of rotten fish, both as bait and as a distraction. Making money isn't difficult; the difficulty lies in fooling the Song family.

"Can we please not have rotten fish?" Li Banfeng hated the smell of fish, and he couldn't stand the smell of rotten fish even more.

Ma Wu looked at Li Banfeng sincerely. "We are people who are going to do great things, so it is only right that we suffer a little."

That evening, Li Banfeng went out again to familiarize himself with the surroundings.

After taking the elixir, Ma Wu slept until dusk the next day.

After sleeping for a day and a night, Ma Wu looked much better and went to the wilderness to watch the duel.

Li Banfeng, meanwhile, was in the village buying supplies in preparation for hunting.

At one o'clock in the morning, Ma Wu returned, bringing back good news and ten young men.

The good news is that Wei Landlord won the Wilderness Contest, so Li Banfeng and Ma Wu don't have to move for the time being.

These ten young men were their helpers on their hunting trip to the new land.

Ma Wu brought out paper and pen and signed a life-or-death agreement with several young men on the spot. "I am a straightforward man. If you work with me, you will definitely be paid well. But if any of you back down at the last minute or talk nonsense outside, don't blame me for being ruthless."

P. S.: Dear readers, I'll let you in on a little secret: they went to New Land to hunt for peaches, and those were peaches!