We Refuse to Suffer!

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu started to manage Blue Poplar Village, and their first step was to change some of the village's rules.

The first is the rule regarding operating fees.

In Blue Poplar Village, no matter what business you start, you have to give half of the profits to the Song family. This is a bit too much of a squeeze.

Of course, it wouldn't make sense to operate in Blue Poplar Village without paying anything. After all, Li Banfeng and Ma Wu had to ensure the safety of the area. After discussing it, the two agreed on a new profit-sharing arrangement: each household would pay 20% of the profits.

Besides business, there's also hunting.

Hunting in Xindi and shipping the goods to Ma Wu is easy; the price is negotiable and will be no lower than the price set by the Song family back then.

But if they don't ship their goods through Ma Wu, will Ma Wu care?

This is something that gives Ma Wu a headache.

He didn't want to get his energy tied up in this.

You have to understand that Song Jia Sen put in 80% of his energy just to keep an eye on the villagers of Blue Poplar Village every day. How much of a future can someone like that have?

But if you ignore it completely, it's like losing a huge chunk of income.

After careful consideration, the two came up with a good solution.

First, those willing to sell their goods through them will definitely not lose out on the price. The price of many prey items has more than doubled, and for some rare and valuable items, the price can be negotiated according to the market.

Secondly, they don't stop people from shipping their goods here, but if anyone picks up or steals goods in Blue Poplar Village, they will absolutely not tolerate it and will deal with them one by one.

Third, if you want to use them to sell your goods but feel that their prices are not reasonable, you can sell them on their behalf, but you will have to bear the risks of making or losing money. They will only take 20% of the profits and will not care about anything else.

Once the news was posted, the young people in the village became very enthusiastic, and the village was bustling with people coming and going every day. Almost 90% of the villagers went to them to ship their goods.

The reason is simple: not everyone can find a way to ship their goods.

Three or five young men went fishing and caught a bag of Earth Jade Peach. Ask them if they can deliver them to Green Water City.

Going to Green Water City might earn you more money, but the people of Green Water Bay are so honest and kind; what if someone robs you on the way? Don't you need money for food and other expenses? What if there's wind or rain that delays your trip and the peaches rot? Who can you complain to?

These are all unavoidable issues.

With more people shipping goods, Li Banfeng and Ma Wu were finding it hard to keep up. They didn't have enough money, and after investing all their funds, they were having trouble making ends meet.

Ogawa suggested, "Why don't we just hang up the sign tomorrow and focus on consignment sales for now, without accepting any goods?"

Ma Wu shook his head and said, "That won't do. That's the most taboo thing in business. If you're going to do business, you can't just change the rules."

Li Banfeng rubbed his chin and said, "Looks like I need to make some quick money."

Where can I get quick money?

Li Banfeng is a law-abiding and good person; he shouldn't just go out and rob people.

Just when they were at their wits' end, Xiao Chuan came to report, "Fifth Master, people from the Liu family have arrived."

Ma Wu was startled. "Who's here?"

"Accountant Hu Juncai."

Ma Wu frowned. "This one is not easy to deal with."

Li Banfeng asked, "What's he here for?"

Ma Wu sighed and said, "Coming here on this day is probably to collect debts."

Xiao Chuan asked cautiously, "He wants money, should we give it to him?"

Li Banfeng raised an eyebrow. "No way, what are you going to give if you don't have money?"

Ogawa then asked, "So, what if we make money in the future...?"

"He won't give me the money he earned! It's not like he earned it, why should he get it!" Li Banfeng's attitude was very firm.

Xiao Chuan looked at Ma Wu.

Ma Wu sighed softly, "Let's invite him in first, and talk in the bridal chamber."

The new house refers to the house owned by Wei Landlord.

Yesterday, Wei Landlord signed an agreement with Li Banfeng, giving all of his houses to Li Banfeng free of charge. The house deeds and land deeds are in Li Banfeng's hands. The agreement was signed by Wei Landlord himself and voluntarily. Ma Wu can testify to this.

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu still live in their original wooden house, while the three-story building where Wei Landlord, lives has now become a place for entertaining guests and offices.

Hu Juncai sat down in the living room and said with a smile, "Fifth Young Master, I went straight to the Song family's mansion when I came here today, but it turned out to be an empty lot. I thought I had come to the wrong place."

Ma Wu laughed and said, "That old house was too old; it swayed in the wind. I'm going to build a new one."

Hu Juncai nodded and said, "Building a new building is appropriate. A newly opened business should have a new storefront. Fifth Young Master knows how to manage a business. With Blue Poplar Village under your leadership, it will surely achieve great things in the future."

I have two things to say today: first, to congratulate you, and second, to take a look at the account books.

Upon hearing that he wanted to see the account book, Ma Wu understood what Hu Juncai meant; this fellow really had come to ask for money.

He didn't want to show the account books to others, but there was no way around it; the Liu family's power was far beyond what the Song family could match.

He took the ledger over, Hu Juncai glanced at it before frowning. "Oh dear, Fifth Young Master, you've only been in business for three days, and you haven't made any money; in fact, you've lost quite a bit."

Ma Wu laughed and said, "I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed. My business has just opened, so I'm losing money to gain some publicity."

Hu Juncai shook his head and said, "The price you're paying for these goods is too high. It won't be easy to run this business in the future."

Ma Wu smiled but didn't say anything.

Xiao Chuan glanced at Hu Juncai from the side.

Old man, how much knowledge do you have? You dare to teach our Fifth Young Master how to make money?

Hu Juncai closed the ledger and said, "I trust Fifth Young Master, but we also need to clarify the rules. When the Song family did business in Blue Poplar Village, 80% of their income had to go to our manager. We don't keep all that money; it also has to be transferred to the Si Family. There's written documentation about this, it's not something I just said offhand."

The document also clearly states that regardless of profit or loss, the monthly payment must not be less than three thousand silver dollars. If you don't believe me, I can show you the document.

Hu Juncai handed the document to Ma Wu, Ma Wu carefully read it and confirmed that Hu Juncai had not lied.

Ma Wu was prepared for this. The reason why the Song family exploited them so ruthlessly was largely because the Liu family was ruthless.

The Liu family is ruthless because the Si Family also demands a lot. After the Si Family takes the money, they also have to pay tribute to the Lu Family. It's a chain of events, with each family being more ruthless than the last.

Ma Wu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Old Hu, I really can't come up with that much money right now. Could you give me a few more days?"

"Fifth Young Master, you're putting me in a difficult position. The rules for collecting debts on the due date haven't changed for over twenty years. How about this, I'll go to your warehouse, pick out a few items, and take them back with me at a price."

Let him pick the goods?

He can empty your warehouse.

The price he quoted was definitely not something Ma Wu could accept.

Seeing that Ma Wu remained silent, Hu Juncai sighed and said, "Fifth Young Master, we can't come up with the money, and we don't have the goods either. I'll have a hard time explaining this when I get back."

Ma Wu raised his head and said, "Old Hu, could you please tell Manager Liu that I'm really short of money right now? I'll send it to the old manager when I've made some money in a while."

Hu Juncai frowned more and more deeply, remained silent for a long time, then stood up and said, "Fifth Young Master, if the rules are broken, business will be difficult. I'm just giving you this advice; you can decide how to handle it yourself."

Hu Juncai left, Ma Wu went back to the house to discuss the matter with Li Banfeng.

"Brother Li, how much money do you think we should give him? I think three thousand silver dollars is a bit too much. I'll talk to him about it another day and give him two thousand."

Li Banfeng put down the newspaper in his hand and looked at Ma Wu, saying, "Didn't we already say that we won't give him any money?"

Ma Wu said helplessly, "I have to give it to them, or they'll plot against me."

"How could they have ambushed us and managed to infiltrate Blue Poplar Village?"

"That's not the case," Ma Wu shook his head and said, "Given the Liu family's nature, they won't fight us openly, but their underhanded tactics are particularly ruthless. Liu Liangyi is a former bandit, and if I'm not mistaken, he'll block our shipping route."

Li Banfeng was taken aback. "I really overlooked that."

Ma Wu said with a solemn expression, "This matter cannot be ignored. A batch of goods will be delivered to Green Water City the day after tomorrow. If the goods are stolen, we will not be able to make money, and our business will have to close down."

Hu Juncai returned to the paper horse shop and told the old shopkeeper Liu Liangyi what had happened.

Liu Liangyi smiled calmly, "He really is a young master from a wealthy family, not wanting to spit out a single penny."

Hu Juncai said, "I looked at his ledger, and he really didn't make any money. He paid too high a price for the goods."

Liu Liangyi shook his head. "Old Hu, this is what you don't understand. In Pro State, Ma's fifth son is second to none in making money. When the price of the goods is high, more people will hunt. The first few months may be a little tough, but after he breaks even, he will earn much more than Song Jia Sen."

"Then let's give him a few months' rest."

"We can't delay. Rules are rules. Once they're broken, it's hard to put them back in place. Whether he borrows money or pays off debts with goods, he can't pay a penny less."

Hu Juncai nodded and said, "I'll go to Blue Poplar Village again tomorrow and explain the reasoning to him again."

"What's the point of talking? The truth of the world isn't just about words," Liu Liangyi called over Liu Changyu. "Didn't you want to meet Ma Wu a couple of days ago? This time I'm sending you, but not to Blue Poplar Village. I'm sending you to Jue Ding Mountain to ambush him on the mountain path."

This mountain road is the only way from Blue Poplar Village to Green Water City. On this road, if you see any carts or horses, stop them immediately. They'll take anything from Blue Poplar Village that's on the carts; they only steal the goods, they won't harm anyone.

Ma Wu is a smart man; he probably won't be in a rush to ship the goods in the next couple of days. You'll have to wait a couple more days. It's freezing cold; can you endure that?"

Liu Changyu patted his chest and said, "Dad, don't worry, I can endure this hardship, and I guarantee I'll get things done."

Liu Liangyi nodded and said, "Remember this: only take the items, don't hurt anyone."

"I've got it, Dad. Should we give our names? Otherwise, Ma Wu might not know who to beg for mercy from later."

Liu Liangyi laughed and said, "No need to register your name. Jue Ding Mountain is our territory. He should know what's going on if we get robbed here."

Liu Changyu led his men to the Jue Ding Mountain and set up an ambush by the roadside.

This child is hardworking. In November, the cold wind blowing on his face felt like it could peel off a layer of skin.

Liu Changyu and his men took turns lying in ambush, while his Ghost Servant stood guard all around, without the slightest slackening.

A caravan passed by on the road, Liu Changyu immediately sent men to stop it. After inspecting it, they discovered that it was delivering pottery jars to the city.

There were many craftsmen in the surrounding villages, so this thing was naturally not produced in Xindi. Liu Changyu let them go and then waited by the mountain road.

Li Banfeng was walking alone along the mountain path when he heard a sound coming from the roadside. He listened carefully with the help of his Thread-Pulling Earring and found that someone was indeed lying in ambush.

He glanced around with his Golden Eyes Autumn Down and saw that there were still many dead souls nearby.

Ma Wu's prediction was correct; the Liu family had indeed cut off their route to ship their goods.

Li Banfeng glanced at the weather. It was snowing today, and the snow melted as soon as it hit the ground. It would be so miserable to be squatting in the wilderness in this weather.

It wasn't easy!

These people are clearly capable of enduring hardship!

Li Banfeng was just a passerby, without any carriage or horses, and was very easy to overlook, so Liu Changyu naturally wouldn't stop him.

Upon arriving in Green Water City, Li Banfeng rented a house, moved the goods out of Portable Abode, and went to Yu Fangzhai to find Manager Zhu and ask him to send someone to receive the goods.

Manager Zhu accepted the goods and paid the money on the spot, taking the account book with him.

Li Banfeng collected the money at Portable Abode, went to Wonderful Sound Phonograph Store to buy some fuel and Machine Oil, and also picked out a few records.

After leaving the record store, Li Banfeng found an old restaurant, ordered a hot pot meal, cooked a jar of Shaoxing wine, and invited two girls to sing songs to entertain him.

After eating and drinking his fill, Li Banfeng wiped off the rouge and powder from his body and returned to his Portable Abode.

"Hey~ It's the coldest time of winter, my husband must be freezing. Come to Little Slave side quickly."

The Wife deliberately exhaled a puff of steam and held Li Banfeng in her arms for a good night's sleep.

The next morning at dawn, Li Banfeng returned home and passed by Jue Ding Mountain, where he found people still on duty by the roadside.

Liu Changyu is a hardworking child. His father instructed him to stay here and guard the place. Except for sleeping, he has not moved from the spot.

Well done!

Only by enduring the bitterest of hardships can one endure the bitterest of hardships. These people have perseverance, and they will surely face endless hardships in the future!

Li Banfeng silently praised it a couple of times before returning to Blue Poplar Village.

P. S.: Dear readers, it's mid-month now, such a wonderful book, please vote for Salad!