Welcoming a VIP

Jiang Shu still did not know how other martial artists made money.

But he made it far too quickly!

What others lacked, he possessed. Relying on the uniqueness of table salt and monosodium glutamate, in just two days, Zhou Family Restaurant's name had spread throughout Pingling County's Inner City, and its business had more than doubled.

Jiang Shu made a rough calculation. If business remained steady, he would be able to pocket one hundred taels of silver every month from now on.

Then he could exchange those hundred taels of silver for ten taels of gold. On Xuanxing, that would be a full two hundred and fifty thousand!

That came to roughly eight thousand a day!

Of course, Jiang Shu would not do that in the early stages.

Not to mention that Pingling County's gold reserves were limited, making continuous exchanges impossible. Even on Xuanxing, he was still only an underage teenager.

He had no stable job. As for this sort of gray income, he would have to wait until he became a martial artist.

Soon.

With a thought, the semi-transparent panel appeared:

Jiang Shu--

Great Jing Dynasty Language/Writing: Minor Accomplishment (20/1000)

Horse Stance: Great Accomplishment (430/1000)

Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance: Great Accomplishment (30/1000)

Hungry Tiger Breathing Method: Great Accomplishment (30/1000)

Tiger Form Three Styles: Great Accomplishment (20/1000)

Two days later.

Evening.

The setting sun slanted across the river, clouds and water blending into one, soft and stunning as silk.

The hotel.

The entire Jiang Family had already gathered together.

Grandfather and Grandmother sat at the head of the table, their faces brimming with delight.

The wine on the table had already been poured.

"Xiao Shu, you're this certain? You can even get into an Academy?" Having heard such good news, eldest uncle Jiang Yongren was the first to speak. "Come, let's raise a toast to Xiao Shu."

"Eldest Brother, where's Hongfei?"

"Him? The moment he arrived at the hotel, he ran into his section chief at the entrance. What a coincidence—the section chief happened to be celebrating his birthday today and is drinking in that private room on the second floor. How about you go call your brother, Xiao Shu? You can also broaden your horizons while you're at it. After all, school life is completely different from society."

"Society is different now. If you want to live well, you still have to go into politics. Don't you young people have a saying? The end of the Cosmos is a government post. Look at your eldest uncle—in outsourced engineering, he can be considered presentable enough, right? Yet didn't I still have your brother take the civil service exam? No industry is stable. Only this is the most stable!"

Jiang Yongren gave a thumbs-up as he spoke. Back when Jiang Hongfei had passed the civil service examination, he had thrown a grand banquet at the hotel. This little gathering was nothing compared to that.

University, huh.

It was only so-so.

It was no longer several decades ago, when Xia Kingdom was desperate for talent. Degrees were depreciating too quickly nowadays. He had never interacted with Academy graduates, but over the past few years, he had met quite a few graduates from key universities.

Those with ability could still earn several hundred thousand a year.

Those without ability running into walls everywhere in society were a common sight as well.

Academy students were probably the same.

Being good at studying did not mean being capable.

What was more, Jiang Shu had only gotten into an Academy through martial arts. Perhaps the value of his admission was not even as great as those who had gotten in through the College Entrance Examination.

Naturally, he would not say those words aloud.

"Hongfei really is the most capable among all of you." Grandfather, seated at the head of the table, spoke. "Ah Shu, go take a look at your brother and learn from him. Then come back and eat."

"What nonsense."

Under the table.

Jiang Yan Yue kicked Jiang Shu beside her, keeping her voice extremely low.

Then she took out her phone and sent him a message. "Grandpa is way too biased. You're about to get into an Academy, yet they're still saying Jiang Hongfei is amazing. It was the same last time. They told me that after finishing my studies, I absolutely had to take the civil service exam and get a government post, that I should learn from Brother Hongfei. Pah, pah, pah."

"It's fine. It's only one day. Just go along with them and let them be happy."

After replying to her message and giving his sister a reassuring look, Jiang Shu left the private room and headed toward the room number his eldest uncle had mentioned.

He knocked on the private room door. Before long, a young man in his twenties came to open it, his face flushed red. It was hard to tell whether it was from excitement or the alcohol.

"Huh? Why are you here, Xiao Shu?" Jiang Hongfei froze and asked instinctively.

"Grandpa told me to come call you back."

"Little Jiang, who's outside?"

The moment Jiang Shu finished speaking, a clearly drunken voice came from inside the private room. Then Jiang Hongfei, who had held his head high at every Jiang Family gathering ever since he had landed a government job, instinctively lowered his head, his voice turning several degrees more obsequious. "Section Chief Guo, it's nothing..."

Jiang Hongfei shot Jiang Shu a look, signaling him to leave quickly, while he himself hurried back into the private room. "Little Jiang will offer Section Chief Guo another toast. May Section Chief Guo remain forever youthful and rise step by step!"

"Little Jiang, you're not being honest. Is that person outside your relative?"

Section Chief Guo sat in his seat with a huge belly. From where he was sitting, he could see Jiang Shu's figure clearly—a boy of around seventeen or eighteen. At that age, coming to find Jiang Hongfei, he was probably some younger brother or cousin of Jiang Hongfei's.

After all, Jiang Hongfei seemed to be attending a relatives' gathering at the hotel today as well.

"Section Chief Guo, your eye is truly sharp." The hand holding Jiang Hongfei's wineglass paused, and he hurriedly raised a thumb in praise. He smiled along with his words, but inwardly, he was filled with resentment.

He had finally gotten this opportunity to attach himself to Section Chief Guo.

What was Jiang Shu doing here?

What was the point of making him go back?

Right now, what could possibly be more important than properly attending to Section Chief Guo?

What did it matter if he missed one meal at the family gathering?

"Enough. Someone came to call you, and your relatives at home must be getting anxious. Little Jiang, you should go back." Section Chief Guo took a sip of wine and waved his hand.

For his birthday gathering here, he had naturally informed those close to him long ago.

Only Jiang Hongfei was both peripheral within the department and incapable of handling matters, so he had been too lazy to notify him. Yet who would have thought that they would run into each other at the hotel entrance?

Truly, it was fate.

It was good that someone had come to call him.

"Section Chief Guo, there's nothing going on at home. I'll go back later. I've come to this hotel several times, and I even have Maotai stored here. I just told the waiter to bring over that stored liquor..."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes, yes, yes. My cousin didn't come to call me back either. He must have heard my dad and the others say that I'm following you now, Section Chief Guo. You have status and standing, Section Chief Guo, and it's your birthday today, so he wanted to come bask in your glory too. You don't know this, Section Chief Guo, but he happens to be taking the College Entrance Examination this year. Maybe if he borrows some of your good fortune, he can get good results."

As though enlightenment had suddenly dawned upon him, Jiang Hongfei spoke more and more smoothly, hoisting Section Chief Guo higher and higher with every word.

"Tsk, Little Jiang, if you had been this sensible earlier, wouldn't that have been better? Still, it's not too late now. Call your cousin in and let him have a drink."

"Alright, alright, alright!"

Thrilled inside that he had finally passed the test, Jiang Hongfei hurried outside, grabbed Jiang Shu by the arm, and pulled him in. In a low voice, he said, "Don't say too much! Congratulate him, then leave!"

"So you're Little Jiang's cousin. You're taking the College Entrance Examination this year—how prepared are you?"

Watching the two brothers stand before him, Section Chief Guo put on airs, reeking of alcohol. Just as his words fell, the phone that had been lying on the table suddenly rang.

A caller name lit up.

Section Chief Guo glanced at it. It was as though he had suddenly seen gold. He immediately rose to his feet, carefully answered the call, and even bent his body lower as he said, "Yes, Leader, this is Little Guo. Yes, yes, Director Zheng is about to arrive at the hotel. Alright, alright, I'll go welcome him at the entrance immediately. I guarantee I'll receive him properly. Mm, understood, understood, I will definitely complete the task!"

Section Chief Guo's voice was extremely loud. Everyone at the table held even their breathing tight, afraid that a single breath might disturb such an important matter.

"Little Jiang, when will your Maotai arrive?"

After hanging up, Section Chief Guo shook his head, cleared his throat, and tried to sober himself up. He picked up the complimentary beverage on the table, opened it, and gulped it down.

Then, as if recalling something, he turned to Jiang Hongfei and asked.

"It should... be soon. It usually takes around ten minutes to be delivered."

Jiang Hongfei stammered. Even Section Chief Guo had answered the call so carefully and called the other party Leader—who could it be?

He did not even dare imagine it.

Being within the system, he understood better than anyone how sharply defined its hierarchy was.

"Good! You handled this well! Stay here and wait for my message. Once Director Zheng arrives at the private room, bring the Maotai in."

Section Chief Guo patted Jiang Hongfei on the shoulder as he spoke, then lifted his glass. This time, however, it contained no wine, only a beverage. "The leader has assigned a task. Today's birthday gathering ends here. We'll hold another one next time!"

"Section Chief Guo... is Director Zheng the newly arrived one?"

At the wine table, someone bold enough and well-informed enough could not help asking.

"Of course." Section Chief Guo straightened his back, thrusting out his huge belly. He looked over the whole table, then at Jiang Hongfei's baffled face, and rarely offered a word of guidance. "When you bring the liquor in later, don't speak if you don't have to. If you're told to speak, speak as little as possible! Just make your face familiar. It'll do you good in the future."

"Then... Section Chief Guo, how should I... address him later?"

Jiang Hongfei stammered even worse. He had never imagined that today he would have such good fortune as to welcome such a major leader.

If he could catch that man's eye.

Wouldn't that mean...

Struggling to suppress the excitement in his heart, he could not help asking.

"His surname is Zheng. When the time comes, just call him Director Zheng."

Section Chief Guo drew two deep breaths and replied. Then, as though that still was not enough, he pointed at the ceiling and said:

"You understand what to do, right?"