Detachment Commander

He tapped the house's address plaque. Azure light flashed, and he entered the spacetime tunnel, hurtling away.

Before long, he landed.

This time, Tang Wen had brought back 41,300 taels of gold.

However, when he checked international gold and silver price trends, he found that gold had dropped by two thousand yuan per tael, to around ten thousand.

Silver, on the other hand, had risen by a hundred yuan, reaching three hundred yuan per tael.

As a result, the ratio of 1:50 had become roughly 1:30.

With taxes taking another twenty percent or so, and costs deducted on top of that, his actual profit from the price difference had shrunk considerably compared with before.

The forty-one thousand taels of gold sold for 402 million yuan. After paying over eighty million in taxes, he used the remaining 340 million to repay the forty million he had borrowed from the Luo Family to buy prefab houses, leaving only three hundred million.

Tang Wen spent 210 million to buy seven hundred thousand taels of silver, then used the remaining hundred million to buy cement, reinforcing steel, crossbows, longbows, long arrows, swords, and sabers.

He also added three excavators, two cranes, and two road rollers.

There were ten Dongfeng heavy trucks, along with a batch of medicines and medical equipment, wine, lighters, and other miscellaneous goods.

Of course, Tang Wen had not forgotten to buy himself a military-green Land Cruiser off-road vehicle.

Once the road along the lake had been excavated, he could take Zhan Junru and Gu Hanyan out for a stylish, exhilarating drive.

Of course, Tang Wen had another important task on this trip: recording instructional videos on driving vehicles, operating machinery, and making simple repairs, then converting the simplified Chinese text into seal-script subtitles.

Otherwise, the craftsmen of the Chu Kingdom would not understand them.

Science and technology were the foremost productive forces. Tang Wen intended to establish a long-term training program and continually train his servants.

He wanted them to gradually master these simple modern skills, such as driving and operating cranes and hoists.

Although the ancients' lack of knowledge limited their ability to grasp modern technology,

Tang Wen believed that with continuous training, he would eventually produce a group of skilled workers.

Thus, literacy lessons, as preparation for this undertaking, were also placed on the agenda.

Once he returned, he would first have to set up a few literacy classes. Otherwise, how could craftsmen who did not recognize a single written character understand the subtitles?

However, Tang Wen did not intend to teach them modern simplified Chinese. He would still focus on the Chu Kingdom's large seal script.

Otherwise, everyone would be able to read the writing on the goods he brought back, and those goods would lose their mystique.

Once that mystique was gone, they would gradually figure out the prices of the goods he bought, and he would lose his chance to demand sky-high prices.

Therefore, he absolutely could not let them learn simplified Chinese.

By the time he had finished all this, half a month had passed, and Tang Wen was preparing to return.

Just then, Luo Jun called, saying that an older friend wanted to meet him. Tang Wen drove straight to the clubhouse.

Upon entering the private room, he found a mature-looking young man with bright, piercing eyes.

"Mr. Tang, this is my brother, Chen Guozhang, the detachment commander of the Great Eastern Republic's War Dragon special forces."

"Hello, Commander Chen." Tang Wen nodded in greeting.

"Forget the commander business. This isn't an army camp. I'm older than you, so just call me Brother Chen." Chen Guozhang smiled amiably.

"All right, then. Better to accept than stand on ceremony." Tang Wen smiled.

"Brother Tang, Luo Jun gave me a few of your pills, too. They felt quite effective," Chen Guozhang said.

"Of course. They're all made from medicinal herbs gathered in primeval jungles. Brother Chen, I'm not boasting. Go ask Wudang and Shaolin whether they can make medicine this good," Tang Wen said with a nod.

"They make some pills as well, but they normally treasure them so much that they won't sell them at all.

"Sometimes, we procure them on behalf of the state. When they have no choice, they'll give us a tiny amount.

"But the effects still aren't as good as your pills," Chen Guozhang said.

"Brother Chen and his men often go abroad on secret missions, wading through blood and fire. It's extremely dangerous, and sometimes your medicine can save lives. That's why they'd like to buy a batch, too," Luo Jun chimed in.

"I did prepare another batch after coming back this time," Tang Wen said.

"That's good. But we're purchasing for the state, and we need a substantial quantity. Could you lower the price a little more? Otherwise, we really can't afford it," Chen Guozhang said.

"Of course. I'm a citizen of this country, too, and it's only right to do my part. However, these medicinal herbs really are hard to find. I can only give you ten percent off," Tang Wen said.

"Thirty percent!" Chen Guozhang said.

"That's impossible. Too low." Tang Wen shook his head.

"Heh, Mr. Tang, I hear you're an expert. How about a little sparring?" Chen Guozhang suddenly asked with a smile.

"I wouldn't call myself an expert. I only know a few flashy moves," Tang Wen said.

"Let's go out into the courtyard." Chen Guozhang rose and headed out. Clearly, he wanted to test Tang Wen's abilities. The three went to a corner of the courtyard.

"Watch my fist!" Unexpectedly, Chen Guozhang suddenly punched straight at Tang Wen's face.

Tang Wen swayed, shifted his feet with the Willow-Floating Step, and tilted his head, evading the blow.

But Chen Guozhang's second and third punches were already coming.

Tang Wen raised a hand to block. Chen Guozhang leaned sideways and swung a sweeping punch at him.

Tang Wen suddenly leaped straight up, vaulting over the head of the now-crouching Chen Guozhang.

His leg shot out, and he kicked backward with his heel, striking Chen Guozhang in the back.

Chen Guozhang pitched forward and hurriedly ran seven or eight steps before he managed to avoid falling flat on his face.

"Good! Take another punch!" Fired up at once, Chen Guozhang roared, kicked off the ground, and pounced down like a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

Tang Wen spun behind Chen Guozhang and gave him a shove, sending him pitching forward again.

This time, he was not as lucky. He plunged straight into the flowers, smashing several pots.

But suddenly, Tang Wen's vision blurred. Chen Guozhang rolled toward him at an uncanny angle and slammed into his shoulder, knocking him sideways and sending him flying.

Tang Wen proved his mettle. Activating the Fish-Dragon Nine-Turn Art in midair, he became light as a swallow, spun two and a half turns, and descended.

But Chen Guozhang's foot was already flying toward Tang Wen's crotch.

Damn it, are you trying to cripple me...?

Tang Wen grew a little angry. He abruptly shifted his posture, tucked his body in, and scooped out a hand.

He caught the sole of Chen Guozhang's foot and yanked. Chen Guozhang spun and tumbled away, rolling straight into the flower bed and leaving another groundful of broken pots and ruined flowers.

"Thanks for going easy on me!" Tang Wen cupped his fist.

"Heh, excellent, excellent. Mr. Tang, you truly are an expert," Chen Guozhang said with a smile.

"Brother Chen, you must have only just entered the Eighth-Rank Realm," Tang Wen said with a smile.

"You flatter me. I've trained for ten years, and a few days ago, after taking your Qi Condensation Pill, I felt that I'd entered the Eighth-Rank Realm.

"Luo Jun told me you were an expert, so I got the itch and came over.

"But I'm still no match for you, Mr. Tang. Forgive my rudeness," Chen Guozhang said with a smile.

"I only barely dodged you. I'm not much better than you, Brother Chen," Tang Wen said with a smile.

"All right, we'll take your pills. We're both doing our part for the country, so how about fifteen percent off?" Chen Guozhang said.

"Fine. Since you're doing this for the country, Brother Chen, I'll be straightforward, too. Fifteen percent off it is." Tang Wen smiled.

"Mr. Tang, have you considered joining our War Dragon special forces?" Chen Guozhang asked once the transaction was complete.

"I'll have to pass. I'm used to being free. I definitely couldn't manage it.

"I'd end up holding the team back.

"And it would be even worse if I accidentally messed something up." Tang Wen shook his head.

"I knew you wouldn't agree. Still, the benefits in our War Dragon special forces are quite good.

"And there are plenty of privileges outsiders can't enjoy.

"For instance, once you join, your identity becomes classified. Even the police, procuratorate, and courts have no authority to investigate you.

"We can also arrange multiple identities for you to make things easier..." Chen Guozhang said.

"I'll still have to pass. I really couldn't do it." Tang Wen shook his head firmly.

"All right, then. In the future, if we have any questions about martial arts, I hope you'll be generous with your guidance, Mr. Tang.

"After all, the better our team members can fight, the greater their chances of completing their missions.

"And the greater their chances of staying alive," Chen Guozhang said.

"That's fine. However, I often go into seclusion to cultivate, and my phone will be switched off," Tang Wen said.

"That's all right. Just call me back when you see my call." Chen Guozhang nodded.

Tang Wen invested all twenty million yuan from selling the pills into the Hengjiang Trading Company, leaving Zhao Jiang to run things.

Then he traveled back to the Chu Kingdom.

"Ding-dong! For your ninth crossing, you need to accumulate 400 points of popularity and expand your land by five hundred mu."

As soon as he landed, a response came from the Great Landlord Space.

His popularity had not increased much, but this time, a Land Index had been added.