Huang Deyou

The next day, after school, Jiang Ding wandered aimlessly through the city.

"Steamed buns for sale..."

"Pancakes... wontons..."

Jiang Ding rested a hand on his sword hilt. It was early morning, and the fragrance of all manner of street food wafted into his nose, but he had no desire to sample any of it. He would not put food from another world into his mouth.

Among the passing crowds were wealthy families clad in silk, well-off households in ordinary cloth, and laborers and shop hands from every trade wearing short work clothes. Most looked well-fed. There were beggars too, but very few.

There were also plenty of martial folk carrying sabers and swords. Even when they were occasionally bumped by passersby, they merely cursed angrily. No bloody incidents occurred.

"By the standards of ancient feudal society, this should count as an age of great peace and prosperity?" Jiang Ding silently thought. "This Marquis of the East is a capable and diligent official, the sort who commands the people's hearts. With productivity at this level, and martial artists, gangs, sects, local tyrants, and officials all interfering and plundering everywhere... being able to achieve this is truly impressive."

Up ahead, people had gathered in a crowd, most of them martial folk bearing weapons.

With nothing else to do, Jiang Ding followed the flow of people over.

Before he even drew close, the dense clang-clang of metal weapons striking each other rang out from a fighting platform, surrounded by a circle of martial folk watching the show.

Jiang Ding looked over. Two young martial artists, one in black fitted clothing and the other in white, were fighting. Both carried the aura of those who had just entered the Inner Qi Realm.

As their saber and staff swept back and forth... it was hard to describe.

Let alone compared to his classmates in the Inner Qi Realm, they seemed far weaker than Gong Caiyu, or even the iron-spear martial artist he had encountered before.

"As expected of River-Mixing Monkey Yuan Ye. Breaking through to the Inner Qi Realm at such a young age—he must have inherited Old Master Yuan, the Sky-Flip Monkey's true teachings..."

"Our Brotherhood Gang's young gang leader, Righteous Blade Yang Dong, is no weakling either!"

"These two are both outstanding talents of Eastspirit Prefecture. If they temper themselves for a few more years, they may well have a shot at the Dragon-Phoenix Ranking!"

The surrounding martial artists discussed it animatedly, while young martial artists looked on with envy.

"Why are these two fighting?" someone asked.

"Ha, what else could it be? One is the young hall master of Dragon-Tiger Martial Hall, and the other is the young gang leader of the Brotherhood Gang. They've looked down on each other since childhood. They're also both pursuing Flying Snow Fairy of the Dragon-Phoenix Ranking, and neither can gain the upper hand. Today, after breaking through, each wanted to hold his head high and exhale in triumph—only to find that the other had broken through as well."

"Flying Snow Fairy... could that be the one from the Seven Profound Sect?"

"Of course. Eastspirit Prefecture finally produced a Dragon-Phoenix Ranking prodigy. She may even attain Innate in the future."

"Innate is easier said than done..."

Clang!

As they spoke, River-Mixing Monkey Yuan Ye sent the longsaber flying with a blow of his staff. His brass staff stopped above his opponent's head as he declared with high spirits, "So the Righteous Blade is nothing more than this!"

Righteous Blade Yang Dong's face turned ugly.

Yuan Ye grew even more exhilarated.

"This is only the beginning. One day, my staff will shatter all enemies in its path. I will climb Metal-Iron Mountain and save..."

Cough, cough!

An old man beneath the platform coughed, interrupting his grand speech.

"Hmph!"

River-Mixing Monkey Yuan Ye snorted coldly. Without even sparing a glance at his defeated opponent, he leapt down from the platform and left.

With the excitement gone, the crowd dispersed, and so did Jiang Ding.

As he wandered around with the crowd, a properly featured Azure Garment-clad servant came before him after a short while and bowed. "Greetings, young master. This lowly one is Huang Gui of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce. You may call me Little Gui."

Jiang Ding was not surprised that the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce had found him. His features were distinctive enough, and if the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce was as powerful as Long San had claimed, finding someone would be easy.

"Brother Huang..."

"You flatter this lowly one, young master. Just call me Little Gui," the Azure Garment-clad servant hurriedly said.

"Brother Huang, how has your chamber dealt with the Tiger Den bandits?" Jiang Ding asked with a smile. The other man was around twenty-six or twenty-seven; calling him Little Gui did not seem appropriate.

He himself was merely an ordinary commoner, without ability or wealth. He relied entirely on the Immortal Sect's platform and was no nobler than the other man.

"Reporting to our honored guest, Attendant Bai of the chamber has already led people up the mountain." The Azure Garment-clad servant said carefully, "Attendant Bai is a master at the peak of the Inner Qi Realm. He will certainly make Tiger Den pay heavily and ensure that, after collecting tolls in the future, they no longer attack the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's goods."

"Oh? Only that? Could Tiger Den be some great power?" Jiang Ding asked in surprise. From what he had learned, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce counted as a major chamber throughout the Yue Kingdom. Long San had not merely been boasting.

"Not at all."

The Azure Garment-clad servant carefully explained, "The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is a merchant organization and has always sought harmony to bring wealth. So long as no members of the Long Clan are slaughtered, there generally will not be bloodshed. At most, we retaliate by blockading trade routes, raising prices, and such methods. Thus, being suppressed in certain places is perfectly normal."

"Your chamber is farsighted and discerning. Admirable indeed."

"Your methods may often be looked down upon by others," Jiang Ding flattered him, "yet they have allowed you to spread everywhere without arousing the jealousy of local rulers, thus earning the name Four Seas."

Huang Gui forced a smile.

After pondering for a moment.

"I want to rent a shop with merchandise sold in the front and living quarters in the back. A remote location is fine. The annual rent should be around ten taels of silver. Do you have anything like that?"

The Azure Garment-clad servant thought for a moment. "Honored guest, this way, please."

The two turned corner after corner, passing through clean and orderly flagstone streets before stepping onto dirt roads. The clothes of the people around them gradually became shabbier, with many patches, and small puddles appeared on the road from time to time.

Very soon, they arrived before a smithy with its main doors shut.

"Honored guest, please take a look."

The Azure Garment-clad servant said in a low voice, "This Mo Family Smithy perfectly meets your requirements. Its storefront is over three zhang wide, with a small courtyard behind it. Fruits and vegetables are grown inside. It used to rent for fifteen or sixteen taels, but now you need only five taels to rent it."

"It's just that there are some loose ends..."

"Please speak, Brother Huang," Jiang Ding said calmly.

"There is a small gang nearby called the Wild Wolf Gang. One of its minor leaders, Liu Qi, wants to purchase this property cheaply. He has sent people to the door repeatedly, forcing the owner, the smith, out of business. If you open a shop here, you may likewise come into conflict with him."

"You know him?" Jiang Ding smiled.

"Honored guest, please forgive me!" The Azure Garment-clad servant panicked. "This lowly one..."

"No, it's fine."

Jiang Ding waved a hand. "Let's look for another. Smaller is fine too."

Even if there was an element of taking advantage, the other man had told him beforehand, and the price truly was much cheaper.

But Jiang Ding did not wish to invite trouble.

After wandering through winding streets, the two arrived before an even more remote shop. Huang Gui took out a key and led Jiang Ding inside.

The storefront was only about one zhang wide, and the backyard contained merely two small rooms, barely enough to house several people.

"The owner of this shop is asking nine taels. In this lowly one's opinion, seven taels should seal the deal." Huang Gui smiled apologetically.

"Fine. Let's do that."

Jiang Ding asked again, "At current rates, how much monthly pay would it take to hire an experienced manager for a general store?"

Huang Gui thought about it. "Over five hundred copper coins, I would say. The more experienced they are, the better their past performance, the higher their monthly pay. It also depends on the size of the shop and so on."

Jiang Ding took out an official silver ingot worth ten taels and handed it to him, then took out another two or three taels of silver.

"I won't meet the original owner. Just bring the deed to me. Handle the government matters as well. Also, how many days will it take to clean, arrange, and hire a manager for this general store?"

"One day will do."

"Fine, then. Whatever remains is yours."

Stuffing the silver into Huang Gui's arms, Jiang Ding walked into the dust-covered shop.

The next day, he opened the shop's main doors, scattering a little dust in all directions.

Two people stood outside, covered in morning dew. No one knew how long they had been waiting.

"Greetings, honored guest. Greetings, proprietor." The two bowed respectively.

"Greetings to you both."

Jiang Ding was rather satisfied. His whereabouts had always been unpredictable, so it was naturally best when others understood proper boundaries. He looked toward the short, plump middle-aged man behind Huang Gui.

"Brother Huang, who is this?"

"I was just about to introduce him." Huang Gui hurriedly said, "This is my clan uncle, Huang Deyou. He previously served as a manager purchasing medicinal herbs for the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce. After Shopkeeper Long arrived, he replaced him with his own trusted people, so my uncle has been idle since then."

"He asks one tael of silver a month. Using the silver you gave me, I prepaid three months' wages. If you are dissatisfied, this lowly one can find someone else for you."

The short, plump middle-aged man cupped his hands. "This lowly one is Huang Deyou. Greetings, proprietor."

Jiang Ding could not make much of him at a glance, so he nodded.

"Fine, this will do. Thank you, Brother Huang."

Huang Gui nodded and bowed, then departed.

"Manager Huang used to deal in medicinal herbs. That does fit the work..."

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Ding stated his requirements. "I wish to purchase some plants. I need one of every kind of plant, with the roots, stems, and leaves intact. More or less like this."

He took out a specimen board of a grass-family plant that he had prepared yesterday and handed it over.

"Can this be done?"

Huang Deyou accepted the specimen board. Though puzzled, he asked no questions. After studying it carefully for a long while, he said, "Proprietor, it can be done. The herb-gathering boys of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce can easily do this, and ordinary people can as well, though they will need more instruction."

"If we buy one specimen like this, what price would be suitable?"

After thinking for a long time, Huang Deyou said, "Proprietor, for something like this, a skilled herb gatherer can dig up and prepare more than ten specimens in half an hour. Finding them takes time, though, and we will not purchase duplicates... in the early stages, two specimens for one copper coin will do."

Jiang Ding said in astonishment, "Two specimens for one copper coin? Isn't that too little?"

"It is not little, proprietor." Huang Deyou said seriously, "A sheng of rice costs only twenty-one or twenty-two copper coins. Working five or six shichen a day earns two sheng of rice! And we are not collecting medicinal herbs from deep mountains. Even wild grasses found everywhere along the roadside will do."

"Let's make it one copper coin per specimen."

Jiang Ding sighed and casually took out the remaining seventeen taels and a little more silver from his purse, handing it to him. "Start collecting from now on. I want them tomorrow. Also, fix up the storefront and the rest of this shop."

When Huang Deyou touched the silver, his heart jolted.

They had only met for the first time and barely gotten acquainted, yet Jiang Ding had placed such a large sum of money directly in his hands.

"There is only one point."

Jiang Ding said calmly, "Every specimen must be intact. The roots, stems, and leaves must not suffer the slightest damage. Understood?"

Huang Deyou's expression turned solemn. "Rest assured, proprietor. These two eyes of mine have examined medicinal herbs for so many years. There will not be the slightest mistake!"

"Mm."

Jiang Ding said no more. His hand lightly stroked his sword hilt, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Huang Deyou bowed slightly and went to hire people and get busy.

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