The Greedy Third Master Hu

Inside Third Master Hu's residence in Shunyi Ward.

Third Master Hu held the list Huang Bingcheng had given him, smiling without a word. Beside him, the middle-aged scholar gripped his folding fan tightly, his face full of shock.

"Master Li, what do you think of my adopted son's methods?" Third Master Hu asked, looking up.

With a sharp snap, Master Li opened his fan and said gravely, "He's ruthless, decisive, and resourceful. Most importantly, he knows when to advance and when to retreat."

Third Master Hu spoke unhurriedly. "Exactly. The most important thing is that he knows when to advance and when to retreat. Otherwise, all the tricks in the world would be useless. In that case, I'll take the Shunde Casino's assets."

"How much should we leave for Su Xin?" Master Li asked.

"Just two thousand taels. Give him the Shunde Casino's original plot of land, too. We only want the cash." Third Master Hu waved his hand casually, but he was still in a good mood.

Tens of thousands of taels in cash was a fortune, even for him, a top leader of the Flying Eagle Gang.

Most importantly, he had come by this money without a trace of guilt.

Su Xin had crippled the men, and he had raked in all the silver.

Third Master Hu only had to step in and smooth things over with the authorities, using his status to grease palms up and down the chain.

Even if the authorities tried to settle accounts later, they couldn't pin the charge of seizing someone's property on Third Master Hu—even though he was taking nine-tenths of the silver.

At Happy Forest, Huang Bingcheng excitedly told Su Xin what Third Master Hu had decided. Su Xin, however, showed not a trace of excitement. He only sneered inwardly.

His adoptive father had a much bigger appetite than he'd imagined. With one word, he'd swallowed up nearly all the silver, leaving Su Xin just two thousand taels.

Fortunately, Third Master Hu had little interest in the Shunde Casino's plot of land, so it was ultimately left to Su Xin.

"Old Huang, after setting aside thirteen hundred taels from the two thousand, we'll have around seven hundred left. Is that enough to give the Shunde Casino a simple makeover and turn it into our headquarters?"

"You want to set up a headquarters, Boss? There's enough money. We don't even need to renovate it—we could just replace a few signs and buy a new batch of tables and chairs. But it wouldn't be proper." Huang Bingcheng scratched his head. It seemed he'd never be able to keep up with the way his boss thought.

Su Xin asked, "Why wouldn't it be proper?"

Huang Bingcheng explained, "In the Flying Eagle Gang, only leaders at the top-leader level are qualified to set up headquarters. The other small-time leaders just rent a residence for themselves."

Su Xin tapped the table. "You said they're qualified. So the gang rules don't actually say that only top leaders can set up headquarters, do they?"

Huang Bingcheng paused. "I don't think so."

"In that case, what's the problem with me setting one up?"

Su Xin had only one reason for wanting to establish a headquarters: to strengthen the unity of his subordinates.

Holding meetings in a shabby little hut and holding them in a spacious, well-lit headquarters were two entirely different things.

Huang Bingcheng thought it over and began to understand.

It wasn't that small-time leaders were forbidden from setting up headquarters; it was that nobody ever did.

A small-time leader in the Flying Eagle Gang managed at most three or four streets. His monthly allowance topped out at around a thousand taels, and some got only a few hundred.

Building a headquarters, on the other hand, cost tens of thousands of taels for the land alone.

Rather than spend that kind of money on a headquarters, they might as well keep it and enjoy themselves.

"All right, I'll leave this to you. Once you've covered the necessary expenses from these seven hundred taels, keep a hundred for yourself and hold on to the rest as well." Huang Bingcheng was a little slippery, but he was meticulous in his work, and Su Xin trusted him.

If you wanted someone to serve you, you first had to give them enough benefits. Otherwise, why would they risk their lives for you?

So, both in his previous life and now, Su Xin had always been generous with his subordinates.

"Thank you, Boss! From now on, this old Huang's life is yours!" Huang Bingcheng thumped his skinny chest, moved to tears.

Of course, there was more flattery than sincerity in the gesture, but he truly was somewhat touched.

He'd been with the Flying Eagle Gang for over ten years. Though he was slick, his limited ability had kept him from ever earning the gang's trust.

Now Su Xin had not only given him authority but also entrusted him with all the silver he had on hand. Huang Bingcheng felt as though he'd finally found someone worth dying for.

After sending Huang Bingcheng off, Su Xin returned to his residence. Along the way, he bought a roast chicken to take home.

As soon as he opened the door, Xin'er rushed over, her little nose twitching. She cried out in delight, "Oh! Roast chicken!"

"All right, you little glutton. Go wash your hands and then we'll eat." Su Xin tousled Xin'er's hair.

Xin'er nodded quickly and obediently ran off to wash her hands.

After dinner, Su Xin had someone bring two wooden posts and set them up in the courtyard. Then he summoned Huang Bingcheng and told him to get two swords for him while he was greasing palms at the yamen.

The weapons made by ordinary blacksmiths were too shoddy. Su Xin would rather use the scrap of iron he had in his hand than wield one of those.

The finest weapons in Changning Prefecture came from the Imperial Court.

The swords, spears, halberds, and other weapons kept in the Changning Prefecture yamen were castoffs from the Imperial Army, distributed to the constables in the various prefectures. They were made from excellent materials by military craftsmen in large batches, and every one had been sharpened and blooded.

Huang Bingcheng went to the yamen and returned with two long swords for Su Xin, having spent only fifty taels.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had seen far fewer wars in recent years, and many troops had been disbanded. Some of their equipment was distributed to the various prefectures, and there was plenty of it.

The Changning Prefecture storehouse alone held enough weapons and armor to equip over a thousand people, while the entire prefecture had barely more than a hundred constables.

So most of the equipment just sat in the storehouse, rusting. The guards were happy to sell it for twenty taels, let alone fifty.

One of the swords was slender, three feet long and two fingers wide, light and nimble.

The other was a heavy sword, a full four feet long and four fingers wide, solid and weighty, suited to cleaving foes apart.

Both blades were sharp. Only faint traces of old combat could be seen in a few places; they had probably been sharpened again and were almost as good as new.

Su Xin held the slender sword in his left hand and the heavy sword in his right, repeatedly thrusting at the wooden posts.

But he wasn't practicing the strength of his strikes. He was practicing their precision.

Each thrust had to stop the instant the blade touched the wood. If it left even a mark, he counted it as a failure.

Su Xin now knew two sword styles: Jing Wuming's Quick Sword and the Great Sumeru Sword Style.

The Great Sumeru Sword Style leaned toward defense and had complicated forms. Su Xin mainly wanted to use it to cover the openings left when he used the Quick Sword to kill, so he wouldn't be left with no tricks if someone countered it.

As for Jin Wuming's Quick Sword, although he couldn't raise his proficiency to one hundred percent, it was the simplest of killing arts, demanding only speed, ruthlessness, and precision taken to the extreme.

Those three qualities weren't limited to Jing Wuming's Quick Sword; they could also be applied to training in other martial arts.

So Su Xin was focusing on improving his proficiency with Jing Wuming's Quick Sword, which also served as good basic training.

Seeing her brother practice with his swords, Xin'er sat obediently on the steps in front of the house and watched.

When Su Xin had practiced until he was drenched in sweat, Xin'er brought him water and a towel to wipe his brow.

"Brother, can I learn swordplay?" Xin'er asked, her wide eyes fixed on the slender sword in Su Xin's hand. There was even a hint of fondness in them.

"Of course. But why do you want to learn swordplay, Xin'er?" Su Xin asked in surprise. Girls her age usually liked things like dolls. Swords were the sort of thing boys liked.

Xin'er clenched her little fists. "If I learn swordplay, I can protect you, Brother. I'll drive away all the bad people who bully us."

"Good. I'll be counting on you to protect me, then." Su Xin smiled and tousled Xin'er's hair.

Su Xin handed her the slender sword. Xin'er took it happily, then looked up at him with a miserable, pleading expression.

Though it was called a slender sword, it was made of hundred-forged steel and weighed more than ten pounds. For a seven-year-old like Xin'er, it was far too heavy.

She could barely lift it with both hands, let alone swing it.

Seeing her struggle, Su Xin smiled and took the sword back. He cut a strip from one of the wooden posts and quickly whittled it into a wooden sword for Xin'er. Then the two of them stood before the posts, repeatedly thrusting their swords at the wood.

A month was neither especially long nor especially short.

Su Xin stayed in his little courtyard without stepping outside, devoting himself to training. Meanwhile, all the shops in Happy Forest had finished renovations and were getting ready to reopen.

Now that the moment had come, the owners of Happy Forest found themselves committed. They had already given Su Xin a share of their profits, renovated their shops, and poured in heaps of silver. Their success or failure would come down to this one attempt.

Night fell. Carriages rolled into Happy Forest one after another. This was the time when Happy Forest truly came alive.

Young Master Sun of the Sun Family, from the eastern part of the city, stepped down from his carriage. Looking at the transformed Happy Forest, he exclaimed, "Oh, it's been renovated pretty nicely since I was here a month ago. I'm going to have a good time tonight!"

The Sun Family was the largest smuggling outfit dealing in medicinal herbs in the eastern part of the city. They specialized in smuggling all kinds of rare medicinal herbs from the Southern Barbarians and the Three Xiang Region into the Eastern Jin.

The business was dangerous: if the Great Zhou Dynasty's border troops caught them, they'd be beheaded on the spot. But it was extraordinarily profitable, and the Sun Family's wealth ranked among the greatest in all of Changning Prefecture.

With the Sun Family's wealth, Young Master Sun could have gone elsewhere while Happy Forest was being renovated, but he'd stayed home for an entire month.

The reason was simple: Young Master Sun was a sentimental man.

When he was thirteen, his no-good uncle had dragged him to Happy Forest to experience his first time. So he truly felt an attachment to the place.