The Booming West District

White Tiger Hall, Zhu Residence.

Tap tap tap.

A flurry of hurried footsteps rang out beyond the door.

Wang Dai led several White Tiger Hall stewards as they stormed into the Zhu Residence. Every one of them wore an indignant expression, as though they had suffered some monstrous injustice.

Zhu Hu reclined in a great tiger-pelt chair, his face darkening. "You pack of dogs! Who allowed you to barge in?"

"Master Zhu, you must stand up for us!"

With a thud, Wang Dai dropped to his knees. A strapping man of seven feet, he was actually weeping bitter tears. "Master Zhu, that old bastard surnamed Jiang is a complete old beast! He is utterly inhumane!"

At those words, the other stewards who had been dissatisfied with Jiang Yuan also fell to their knees in unison, wildly denouncing Jiang Yuan's crimes.

"Master Zhu, Old Jiang actually wants us to serve those lowly rabble! Not only that, he wants us to work six shichen every day, six days before we get one day off. He's beastly to the extreme!"

"That's right, Master Zhu. Old Jiang's actions are simply ruining your reputation. His intentions deserve condemnation!"

"Master Zhu, if this continues, White Tiger Hall's reputation will be destroyed in his hands!"

After hearing them out, Zhu Hu's mouth twitched. Jiang Yuan had truly treated the Black Market's stewards like servants.

Still, he needed Jiang Yuan to make money for him right now.

Compared to Jiang Yuan, what were a few inner sect disciples? He knew perfectly well which weighed more.

With that thought, Zhu Hu put on a stern face. "Brother Jiang's will is this Hall Master's will. What he says is right. What use is the Black Market keeping a pack of useless trash like you?"

"Get the hell back to work, all of you!"

"Huh?"

The stewards' expressions changed dramatically. They had never imagined that Zhu Hu would side with Jiang Yuan to squeeze them dry.

"Master Zhu, your subordinate has suddenly been struck by a grave illness today. My chest often feels tight, and I fear I can no longer continue serving the Hall Master..."

Wang Dai looked stubborn, clearly intending to throw down his burden and quit.

"A grave illness? Hard to cure?"

"Yes! Very hard to cure."

"If it's so hard to cure, then don't cure it. This Hall Master will help you find release."

"Men, drag this bastard out and behead him!"

"Also, promote a capable inner sect disciple to be a steward. If you won't do the job, plenty of people will!"

Wang Dai was horrified, his face changing sharply. He hurriedly said, "Master Zhu, I'm suddenly better! My back doesn't hurt anymore, my chest isn't tight anymore—I'm perfectly fine now!"

"Hmph. Useless trash. If you can't even endure this little hardship, what great thing can you possibly accomplish?"

"Your subordinate will certainly work diligently and obey Master Zhu's and Master Jiang's orders. Whoever dares slack off, I'll be the first not to let him off!"

Wang Dai was on the verge of tears as he cursed Jiang Yuan a hundred times in his heart.

That damned Old Jiang is trying to squeeze us to death!

Time rushed by, and several more months passed in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Yuan's sweeping reforms and restructuring of White Tiger Hall had completely transformed the atmosphere of the entire West District of the outer city into something surreal.

With stall and shop rents cut in half, business became exceptionally booming.

Countless merchants and commoners wanted to set up in the West District. Even some peddlers who had originally done business in the inner city came flocking at the news. To be honest, if not for the Black Market's expensive rents and protection fees, business here would have been livelier than the inner city market by who knew how much.

As a result, the stalls in the West District were packed to capacity, and before long there was no room left to squeeze anyone in.

Jiang Yuan was grinning from ear to ear.

The rent appeared cheaper, but the total amount collected was actually several times greater than before.

Furthermore, after protection fees were changed into membership fees, many commoners chose to register as members even if they did not visit the West District regularly, bringing in even more income.

And there was one even more important reason why the West District was so bustling: the service was simply impeccable!

"Oh, isn't this Uncle Zhang? Which stall are you planning to rent today? How about I recommend one for you?"

"Oh, Auntie Shen, here to renew your membership? Wonderful. I recommend renewing for three months at once—we give you twenty percent off if you renew them together."

"Bastard! Whose young master are you? How dare you delay a widow from selling her sesame cakes? Drag him away!"

"Uncle, you've rented here for three consecutive days already. This is the sweet water we specially prepared for you. Have a drink—you've worked hard!"

Such voices could now be heard almost everywhere in the West District. It had become the ancient equivalent of a massive shopping mall.

Besides one steward overseeing each street, there were also large numbers of outer sect disciples who had become "waiters." The brawny men who had once looked fierce and savage now wore professional fake smiles as they received passing merchants and commoners.

"Ah, only after coming to the West District did I truly understand what it means for the customer to be king," someone sighed.

"For the first time, this old man feels that doing business can be so dignified," someone else sighed.

"Isn't that the truth? Enough talking—I'm going to rent for another month. Can't let someone else take my spot."

"..."

The more visitors came, the more merchants there were.

The more merchants there were, the more people came.

The more people came, the more money there was.

Jiang Yuan's textbook-style restructuring showed this bunch of roughnecks in the Black Market what it meant for traffic to be king!

Under this virtuous cycle, business in the West District became more and more booming, utterly unstoppable.

The stewards of every West District street were grinning from ear to ear, collecting money until their hands went weak.

Of course they were smiling. As the profits of the entire street rose, so did their share.

Thus, these stewards went from cursing Jiang Yuan for exploiting them at the start to admiring him so completely that they nearly wanted to kneel before the old man.

Now, wherever Jiang Yuan pointed, they struck. If he told them east, they would never go west; if he told them west, they would never go east. They treated his words almost like an imperial decree.

Faced with this situation, Zhu Hu did not know whether to laugh or cry. For a long while, he could not say a single word.

Who could have imagined that Jiang Yuan had actually made such a rotten idea work!

"I don't understand. I just don't understand!"

Inside the Zhu Residence, Zhu Hu stared at the account book in his hand and spoke with a baffled expression.

"Master Zhu, what is it?"

Below him, the two deacons Liu Mang and Ding Wu asked.

"See for yourselves." Zhu Hu casually tossed the account book to them.

The two took it and looked. Both their expressions changed drastically. "What? The income has tripled!"

That was right. Under Jiang Yuan's management, the West District's income had increased threefold in just these past few months!

Such terrifying results were enough to place their White Tiger Hall first in the second half-year's assessment, surpassing the other three halls in one stroke.

"Master Jiang is truly a god among men!"

After staring at it for a long time, Liu Mang could only sigh those words.

Zhu Hu reclined in his tiger-pelt chair, gazing uncertainly at the ceiling as he muttered, "Just who in the world is Old Jiang?"

"A mere storyteller—setting aside his profound methods, he can even make business flourish like wind and water."

"He truly becomes more and more intriguing."