Recruitment

Steward Wu felt a sense of unease as he watched Lin Zheyu walk up to the storytelling stage.

Xu Jingwu sat below for the entire duration, listening silently with a constant smile on his face.

When the story reached its climax, he would even applaud in approval, not looking at all like someone who had come to stir up trouble.

Jia Yanyong, on the other hand, looked thoroughly hostile, his swollen eyes narrowed into slits as he stared at Lin Zheyu.

Clack—

As time passed, the gavel struck the table. "To know what happens next, please listen to the next installment."

Sounds of reluctance rose up as they always did.

Lin Zheyu cupped his hands in a salute and stepped down from the stage.

"Mr. Lin, our gang leader would like a word."

Just as he stepped off the stage, Lin Zheyu was intercepted by two burly men.

Steward Wu signaled to Lin Zheyu from not far away, urging him to keep a good attitude and not to provoke Gang Leader Xu.

Endure for a moment and the winds will be calm; take a step back and the sky will be vast.

"Understood."

Lin Zheyu gave a slight nod to Steward Wu and followed the two burly men.

"Haha, Mr. Lin is here. Please, sit."

Xu Jingwu laughed heartily, generously gesturing for Lin Zheyu to take a seat.

"I wonder what important matter the gang leader has for me?"

Lin Zheyu sat down across from Xu Jingwu with composure and asked with a smile.

"As expected of the man who could write Legend of the Condor Heroes, you certainly have guts," Xu Jingwu said with a laugh, seeing that Lin Zheyu showed no fear.

"Does Gang Leader Xu mean that I should be showing fear?" Lin Zheyu countered. "Or are you planning to resort to violence here?"

"And what if I truly intended to use force?"

Xu Jingwu's smile vanished, and he looked at Lin Zheyu with an expressionless face.

"The gang leader is joking. This is the Inner City of Songyi City, where fighting and brawling are strictly prohibited," Lin Zheyu said.

"Haha, that is true."

Xu Jingwu's smile returned. "I invited Mr. Lin here because I would like to invite you to tell stories at my residence."

"Yesterday, I sent Jia Yanyong to invite you, but not only did you refuse, you nearly blinded him. That was truly unfriendly."

"Today, I have come in person. Will you give me some face, Mr. Lin?"

Xu Jingwu's smile faded as he looked calmly at Lin Zheyu.

"Will there be payment?" Lin Zheyu asked, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Interesting."

"There are plenty of storytellers who want to perform for me, but you are the first to ask me for money right off the bat."

Xu Jingwu looked at Lin Zheyu with a smile. "I can pay, but do you dare to take it?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"A scholar receives payment for storytelling, and if you enjoy it, you offer a reward—that is only natural!" Lin Zheyu said sternly.

"Haha, Mr. Lin is truly a fascinating person."

"Mr. Lin, you fled here from Jiunan City, right? You have no backing in Songyi City and no clan members to help you. I wonder if you have any interest in working for me?"

Xu Jingwu said with a smile.

Over the past few days, he had his men gather information on Lin Zheyu, and after learning about him, he found himself quite appreciative.

Lin Zheyu had a clean background. Although he was a scholar, he loved tales of the martial world, and the stories he wrote were filled with the rich flavor of the wandering heroes.

He liked that very much.

Furthermore, he learned from Jia Yanyong that Lin Zheyu was a man of integrity who valued gratitude.

To repay a debt of kindness, he had repeatedly refused the recruitment offers from his brother. In terms of character, he was excellent.

Such a person, having no one to rely on in Songyi City and knowing how to repay kindness, was the most suitable candidate to recruit as a subordinate.

"Oh?"

Lin Zheyu was genuinely surprised this time.

Previously, based on his preconceived notions, he had felt that Xu Jingwu was not a good person.

But after interacting with him now, the man left a very good impression, even appearing somewhat refined.

"What are the benefits of joining the Flying Rainbow Gang?"

Lin Zheyu became interested and asked, "Do you pay?"

He was currently worrying about how to expand his sources of income.

The number of stories Lin Zheyu knew by heart was limited; every time he told one, there was one less left.

It wasn't feasible to keep expanding his team of storytellers either.

If he expanded, the same story would be sold to too many people, and the amount of silver each storyteller was willing to pay would continue to drop.

In the end, the total profit would be even less than before.

Jia Yanyong: "???"

Upon hearing that the gang leader wanted to recruit Lin Zheyu, Jia Yanyong's mind was filled with question marks.

His swollen eyes, which had been narrowed into slits, suddenly widened, his gaze full of confusion.

What the hell.

Wasn't the gang leader here to settle the score?

And what kind of thing was this Lin Zheyu? Being able to work for the gang leader was already a massive stroke of luck.

He hadn't even joined the Flying Rainbow Gang yet, and he was already thinking about money? Was he obsessed with it?

"Haha, I, Xu Jingwu, never mistreat my subordinates."

"As long as your abilities are outstanding and your strength is sufficient, you can obtain gains here that you cannot even imagine," Xu Jingwu said with a smile.

He found Lin Zheyu to be a very interesting person, and he even felt a sense of appreciation for him.

"Then how does one define 'sufficient strength' and 'outstanding abilities'?" Lin Zheyu looked at Xu Jingwu and asked.

"With your learning and literary talent, Mr. Lin, you could be responsible for managing the gang's logistics. In your spare time, you can tell stories for me; if you tell them well, that is what I consider outstanding ability."

Xu Jingwu took a sip of tea and spoke.

"Then how do you judge 'sufficient strength'? Through martial arts duels?"

Lin Zheyu asked.

He was still more interested in this.

Relying solely on storytelling and logistics wouldn't earn him much money.

Most of his current income came from selling stories to other storytellers.

If he could join the Flying Rainbow Gang and use their influence to establish a copyright model in Songyi City, anyone who told his stories would have to pay.

That way, the income he could generate would be the highest!

"Does Mr. Lin mean that you don't want to do logistics work, but intend to rely on martial force to make a name for yourself in the gang?"

Xu Jingwu found this extremely amusing.

In his impression, Lin Zheyu was just a scholar with good literary talent, capable of writing great stories, possessing an interesting personality, and knowing how to be grateful.

Although he had heard that he practiced martial arts, he had been training for less than two months—what kind of achievements could he possibly have?

"Yes."

"Compared to those stuffy, scholarly matters, I yearn more for a life of eating meat by the mouthful, drinking wine by the bowl, roaming the world with a sword, and settling grudges with a free spirit," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

"Haha, Mr. Lin is truly a marvelous person. No wonder you were able to write such an interesting story as Legend of the Condor Heroes."

Xu Jingwu laughed out loud.

The more he interacted with him, the more he felt that Lin Zheyu was a very interesting person.

There was no deep-seated grudge between him and Lin Zheyu; it was just that his subordinate, Jia Yanyong, had gotten into a conflict with him.

But that didn't matter; his eyes weren't blinded, after all.

For those in the gang, getting a few bruises was a common occurrence.

"I heard that Mr. Lin has practiced martial arts for a period of time, so you must have some strength," Xu Jingwu said, using the phrase "some strength" as a tactful evaluation.

"When Jia Yanyong invited you, Mr. Lin, you two had a conflict. Although his eyes are currently uncomfortable, his overall strength is still quite decent."

"If you can defeat Jia Yanyong fair and square, then you can prove your strength."

"After this duel, the grudge between you two can be wiped clean. How about that?"

Xu Jingwu proposed.

After all, Jia Yanyong had been caught off guard by Lin Zheyu's sneak attack on his eyes, and he had to give his subordinate a chance to save face.

The opportunity was given; as for whether he could actually save face, that would be entirely up to Jia Yanyong himself.

Upon hearing this, Jia Yanyong was eager to try.

If it weren't for that bastard Lin Zheyu using chili powder to launch a sneak attack, he would have already pinned him to the ground and rubbed his face in the dirt.