Master Jiang Takes Office

The next morning.

Jiang Yuan rubbed his aching old waist and crawled out from between two fragrant, jade-like bodies.

Damn it, so life could be this colorful.

The past seventy years had truly been lived like a dog's life.

After two consecutive nights of indulgence, Jiang Yuan immediately felt that even his physical condition had declined somewhat, and he could not help but begin pondering life.

He was already seventy years old. He did not have many days left to squander.

With outsiders in the residence, things always felt somewhat inconvenient.

After all, he harbored many secrets he did not wish others to know.

"You two will live in the side courtyard from now on. If I need you, I'll call for you." Having climbed out of bed, Jiang Yuan suddenly spoke.

Upon hearing this, the two women's expressions changed. Tears welled in their eyes as they looked at Jiang Yuan. "My lord, have we failed to serve you properly?"

"No."

Jiang Yuan shook his head slightly. "It's only that having you here tests this old man's self-control too much. This old man still has many serious matters to attend to."

The two women understood at once. A flush crossed both their cheeks, and they nodded gently. "Yes, my lord."

Though they said so, an inexplicable sense of disappointment rose in their hearts.

My lord looked old, but his body was even fiercer than those brawny men.

It had to be said that the two sisters were indeed quite pretty, each with her own charm. Had they encountered an ordinary young master, he would likely have been so lovestruck that he would lose his soul all day long.

That very day, Jiang Yuan officially took up his post at the Black Market.

On the surface, the Black Market was a large merchant association. In truth, it controlled Jiangning City's outer city, managing a vast territory. To the local people, it was much like an earthbound emperor.

The managers of the Four Great Halls were chiefly responsible for overseeing all affairs within their assigned territories, including public order, collecting protection fees, mediating disputes, and so on.

Unless they received a special mission from the hall, their daily work consisted of wandering through their jurisdiction and ensuring that business dealings there did not go awry.

However, there were several lines of business he could not interfere with or manage, such as the gray-area trades Liu Mang had specifically mentioned to him.

Those businesses were personally managed by the deacons of each hall, regardless of territory.

The area under Jiang Yuan's management was called Sishui Street. The entire street had roughly thirty-odd shops, while market stalls were too numerous to count. Most belonged to nearby residents selling eggs, vegetables, and such to supplement their household income.

They were called residents, but even more were refugees. In Jiangning City, they were unregistered, unable to enter the inner city.

Though Black Market stall fees were expensive, it still gave them an opportunity to make a living.

Of course, that did not mean the Black Market was particularly righteous or enlightened. It merely wanted to collect protection fees and squeeze the common folk as hard as possible.

All under heaven bustled for profit.

"Who goes there?"

When Jiang Yuan arrived at Sishui Street, two burly men came forward and asked coldly.

There was no need to ask. These two were outer sect disciples responsible for keeping order on the street—commonly known as thugs!

Jiang Yuan smiled and took out his token from his robes, holding it before them.

The two men's expressions changed, and their attitude instantly became far more respectful. "So it is Master Jiang. This little one failed to recognize Mount Tai."

An official one rank higher could crush a man to death.

Outer sect disciples were the sort without official standing. If they failed the assessment, they might remain outer sect disciples for their entire lives. Their status was simply incomparable to Jiang Yuan's.

Just then, a rough-looking burly man ran over from afar. It was Li Yi, who had previously had some dealings with Jiang Yuan.

Li Yi hurried forward and first scolded the two burly men. "You two failed to recognize Mount Tai and actually dared stop Master Jiang?"

Then he revealed a fawning smile toward Jiang Yuan.

"Hehe... Master Jiang, these two are new here and do not know the immensity of heaven and earth. Please do not hold it against them. Deacon Liu specifically arranged for this little one to help you familiarize yourself with the place."

"You've put thought into it."

Jiang Yuan nodded. Liu Mang truly handled matters from every angle, even knowing to arrange an acquaintance for him.

Led by Li Yi, Jiang Yuan greeted the owner of every shop one by one, making himself a familiar face.

Every shop owner was stunned when they saw Jiang Yuan, finding it somewhat hard to believe.

At such an advanced age, he had still come out to manage a street?

Still, none of them dared offend Jiang Yuan. Instead, they all welcomed him with beaming smiles and privately forced some local specialties into his hands.

Jiang Yuan did not know whether to laugh or cry. On his first day on the job, he received gifts until his hands went soft—more than he had earned in an entire lifetime of storytelling at the teahouse.

Was this the benefit brought by power?

Still, Jiang Yuan thought, gifts were gifts. In the future, whatever needed doing would still need to be done.

These people merely wanted to make themselves familiar to him.

Jiang Yuan was making his rounds when he suddenly heard a burst of commotion in the distance, causing him to frown slightly.

"On my very first day at work, someone already dares make trouble on Black Market territory?"

As he approached, he saw a pale-faced man dressed in embroidered robes standing before a vegetable stall, picking a quarrel with a vegetable-selling father and daughter.

This man was named Zhang Xiaoshan. As fate would have it, he was precisely the nephew of Zhang Bo, a deacon of Black Tortoise Hall.

Zhang Xiaoshan was the wastrel young master of the wealthy Zhang family in Jiangning City. He idled about all day and loved bullying men and dominating women, until he carelessly caused a death.

Later, Old Master Zhang had paid an enormous price to get him out of prison.

But he could no longer remain in the inner city and could only come to the outer city to seek the protection of his second uncle, Zhang Bo, who worked for the Black Market.

Today was Zhang Xiaoshan's first day at the Black Market. Humming a little tune, he was strolling down the street with a birdcage in hand, followed by two or three sturdy lackeys, all arranged for him by Zhang Bo early that morning.

The moment some common folk who knew Zhang Xiaoshan saw him, they hurriedly avoided him, terrified of provoking the man.

What a living ghost.

They had fled to the outer city to settle down, yet they had still run into this wastrel!

Then Zhang Xiaoshan spotted a young woman of about eighteen or nineteen selling vegetables on the street, and his eyes instantly went straight.

The girl had a delicate, supple figure and a refined, pretty face. Her long legs were longer than his waist, and the surging swell beneath the clothes before her showed that she was broad of chest and ample beyond measure.

Zhang Xiaoshan could not help licking the corner of his lips. He immediately walked over, deliberately brushed against the vegetable stall, stained his white robe with a bit of grime, then skillfully began making trouble for the father and daughter.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Young Master Zhang! I'll clean it for you!"

At that moment, Old Man Qian, who sold vegetables, wore a bitter expression. He repeatedly apologized to Zhang Xiaoshan and stepped forward, wanting to help clean his clothes.

"Sorry? If saying sorry worked, what would we need the authorities for? Hmm?"

Zhang Xiaoshan glared and kicked Old Man Qian away.

"You old thing, do you know how much this young master's clothes are worth? Even if your whole family went bankrupt, you couldn't afford to compensate me!"

"W-we truly did not do it on purpose, Young Master Zhang. Please, be magnanimous."

Old Man Qian was nearly crying from anxiety. Pulling his daughter Qian Xiuxiu along, he desperately apologized to Zhang Xiaoshan.

He had elders above and children below. He could not let his family go bankrupt.

Besides, selling vegetables did not earn much to begin with, and more than half of it had to be handed over to the Black Market as protection fees.

Zhang Xiaoshan grinned. "Fine, you people aren't having an easy time either. This young master is a generous man. How about you sell your daughter to me as a bedchamber maid, and we'll call this matter settled?"

Old Man Qian and his daughter's expressions changed drastically. They had heard what sort of creature Zhang Xiaoshan was.

This fellow was no good man—he barely even counted as human!

After forcibly abducting women to his home, once he grew tired of playing with them, he sold them to brothels. He was simply a beast!

If their daughter fell into his hands, could she possibly come to a good end?

"What? You're unwilling?"

Zhang Xiaoshan frowned. "If you truly aren't willing, this young master isn't an unreasonable man either. Give me two hundred taels of silver, and I'll take off these clothes and sell them to you."

"Two hundred taels?"

Old Man Qian was nearly frightened to death on the spot.

Though his surname was Qian, he had never seen so much money in his entire life.

Even if they killed him, he could not come up with two hundred taels!