Huang Deyou

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

"Steaming buns..."

"Pancakes... wontons..."

Jiang Ding rested a hand on his sword hilt. It was early morning, and the fragrance of all kinds of street food wafted up from the roadside, 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 dressed in silk, well-off families in ordinary cloth, and laborers and shop hands from every trade in short working clothes. Most looked healthy enough. There were beggars too, but few of them.

There were quite a few martial artists carrying sabers and swords as well. Even when they were occasionally bumped by passersby, they merely cursed in anger; no bloody incidents broke out.

"By the standards of an ancient feudal society, this should count as a flourishing age of great order?" Jiang Ding thought silently. "This Marquis of Eastward Pacification must be a capable and diligent official, the sort who has won the people's hearts. With this level of productivity, plus martial artists, gangs, sects, and all manner of local tyrants and officials interfering and plundering... to achieve this much is truly impressive."

At one spot, the flow of people converged, most of them martial artists carrying weapons.

Having nothing to do for the moment, Jiang Ding followed the crowd over.

Before he even drew close, dense clangs of metal weapons striking each other rang out from an arena, surrounded by a circle of martial artists watching the spectacle.

Jiang Ding looked over. Two young martial artists, one in black fitted attire and the other in white, were fighting. Both gave off the aura of having just entered the Inner Qi Realm.

Between saber and staff flashing back and forth... it was hard to put into words.

Forget compared to those Inner Qi Realm classmates of his—even Gong Caiyu and that iron-spear martial artist he had encountered before seemed far stronger than them.

"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 Sky-Flip Monkey Yuan's true teachings..."

"Our Brotherhood Gang's young gang leader, Righteous Blade Yang Dong, isn't weak either!"

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

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

"What are these two fighting over?" someone asked.

"Ha, what else could it be? One is the young hall master of Dragon-Tiger Martial Hall, the other the young gang leader of the Brotherhood Gang. They've never been able to stand each other since childhood, and they're both pursuing Flying Snow Fairy of the Dragon-Phoenix Ranking. Neither could gain the upper hand over the other. Today, after breaking through, one wanted to hold his head high for once—only to discover that, by sheer coincidence, the other had broken through too."

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

"Of course. It wasn't easy for our Eastspirit Prefecture to produce a Dragon-Phoenix Ranking prodigy. She may even achieve the Innate Realm someday."

"The Innate Realm is easier said than reached..."

Clang!

As they spoke, River-Mixing Monkey Yuan Ye smashed the saber away with a single blow of his staff. His brass staff stopped above his opponent's head as he declared spiritedly, "So the Righteous Blade is nothing more than this!"

Righteous Blade Yang Dong's expression turned ugly.

Yuan Ye grew even more fired up.

"This is only the beginning. One day, I will surely break all enemies with my staff, climb Metal-Iron Mountain, and bring back..."

"Ahem, ahem!"

An old man below the stage coughed, interrupting his grand speech.

"Hmph!"

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

With the excitement gone, the crowd dispersed, as did Jiang Ding.

As he continued wandering with the crowd, a properly featured young servant in blue approached him before long 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, and if the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce truly wielded the influence they claimed, finding someone would be easy.

"Brother Huang..."

"You flatter this lowly one, sir. Just call me Little Gui," the servant in blue said hurriedly.

"Brother Huang, how has your chamber handled the matter of 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 feel appropriate.

He himself was merely an ordinary commoner, with neither ability nor wealth. Everything rested on the platform of the Immortal Sect; there was nothing particularly noble about him compared to the other man.

"In reply to our honored guest, Chamber Consecrated Bai has already led men up the mountain." The servant in blue spoke cautiously. "Consecrated Bai is an Inner Qi Realm expert at the major completion stage. He will surely make Tiger Den pay a heavy compensation and ensure that, after collecting tolls in the future, they will no longer attack the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's goods."

"Oh? Only that? Could Tiger Den be some major power?" Jiang Ding was surprised. From what he had learned, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce counted as a major merchant association throughout the Yue Kingdom; Long San had not simply been boasting.

"That is not the case."

The servant in blue said carefully, "The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is, after all, a merchant association. We have 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 through methods such as blocking trade routes or raising prices. Therefore, being suppressed in some places is perfectly normal."

"Your chamber has far-sighted wisdom. It is truly admirable."

"Others may often look down on such methods," Jiang Ding praised, "but they allow you to open branches everywhere without arousing the jealousy of those in power locally, thus earning the name Four Seas."

Huang Gui managed a strained smile.

After pondering for a moment.

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

The servant in blue thought for a moment. "Honored guest, this way, please."

The two wound through several turns, crossing clean and orderly stone-paved streets before stepping onto dirt roads. The clothes of the people passing around them gradually became more worn and patched, and small puddles appeared on the road from time to time.

Soon, they arrived before a smithy with its main doors shut tight.

"Please have a look, honored guest."

The servant in blue lowered his voice. "This Mo Family Smithy suits your requirements perfectly. The 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 can rent it for only five taels."

"It's just that there is some unfinished business..."

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

"There is a small gang nearby called the Wild Wolf Gang. One of its minor leaders, Liu Qi, wants to purchase this property at a low price. He has repeatedly sent people to the door, pressuring the owner so much that the blacksmith can no longer keep his business going. If you open a shop here, you may likewise end up crossing paths with this man."

"Do you know him?" Jiang Ding smiled.

"Honored guest, please forgive me!" The servant in blue panicked. "This lowly one..."

"No, it's fine."

Jiang Ding waved a hand. "Let's find another one. Smaller is fine."

Even if there was some intent to take advantage of him, they had made it clear beforehand, and the price truly was much cheaper.

But he did not want trouble.

After circling around for some time, the two arrived before an even more secluded shop. Huang Gui took out a key and led Jiang Ding inside.

The storefront was only about a zhang wide, and the rear courtyard held just two small rooms, barely enough to house several people.

"The owner is asking nine taels for this place. In this lowly one's view, seven taels should seal the deal." Huang Gui smiled ingratiatingly.

"Fine. Let's do that."

Jiang Ding asked again, "At current rates, how much is the monthly wage for an experienced general store manager?"

Huang Gui thought about it. "Five hundred copper coins and up. The more experienced they are, and the better their previous performance, the higher the monthly wage. 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 or so.

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

"One day will suffice."

"Good. Then do it. Whatever is left over, no matter how much, is yours."

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

The next day, when the shop doors opened, a small cloud of dust scattered.

Two people stood outside, covered in morning dew. Who knew how long they had been waiting.

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

"Hello, both of you."

Jiang Ding was rather satisfied. His movements had always been unpredictable, and it was naturally best when others knew how to keep proper boundaries. He looked at the short, stout 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 men, so my uncle became idle."

"He asks for one tael of silver a month. Using the silver you gave me, I have paid three months of wages in advance. If you are dissatisfied, I can find someone else for you."

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

Jiang Ding could not make much of him, but he nodded.

"Fine, let it be so. Thank you, Brother Huang."

Huang Gui nodded and bowed repeatedly before leaving.

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

Jiang Ding pondered for a moment, then stated his requirements. "I want to purchase some plants. I want one of every kind of plant, with roots, stems, and leaves complete—roughly 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 did not ask questions. After examining 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 accomplish this, and ordinary people can do it as well, though they will need more instruction."

"If we purchase one specimen like this, what price would be appropriate?"

Huang Deyou considered for a long time. "Proprietor, for something like this, a skilled herb gatherer can dig it up and make over ten specimens in half a shichen. Finding them takes time, of course, and we will not purchase duplicates... In the initial stage, one copper coin for two specimens will do."

Jiang Ding said in astonishment, "One copper coin for two specimens? Wouldn't that be too little?"

"It isn't too little, Proprietor." Huang Deyou said solemnly, "A sheng of rice costs only twenty-one or twenty-two copper coins. Working five or six shichen a day can earn two sheng of rice! And we are not collecting medicinal herbs from deep mountains; even wild grass found everywhere by the roadside will do."

"Make it one copper coin per specimen."

Jiang Ding sighed, casually took the remaining seventeen taels and a little more silver from his purse, and handed it over. "Start collecting from now on. I want them tomorrow. Also, fix up the front of our shop and the rest."

The moment Huang Deyou touched the silver, his heart jolted.

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

"There is only one point."

Jiang Ding said blandly, "Every specimen must be complete. The roots, stems, and leaves must not suffer any damage whatsoever. Understand?"

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

"Mhm."

Jiang Ding said no more. His hand lightly stroked the sword hilt as though he were thinking of something.

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