Chapter Summaries

Tang Wen returned to Su Mei Island, built modern prefabricated residences, and prepared to strengthen his settlement. The chapter ended with Head Constable Yang Yun visiting Tang Wen, who hosted him and heard about the dangers of voyages to the West.

• Tang Wen realized that time passed about thirty times faster in Yunhai City than in the Chu Kingdom, then had Zhan Dongwen and others assemble prefabricated buildings.
• Tang Wen urged Zhan Dongwen to strengthen the settlement and eventually take the initiative against the pirates who had attacked them.
• Tang Wen showed Zhan Junru and Gu Hanyan the modern rooms, flush toilet, and massage bathtub in their new residence.
• Zhao Du reported that Head Constable Yang Yun had arrived with constables, and Tang Wen received him in the new reception room.
• Yang Yun praised Tang Wen's West Lake Dragon Well and described a perilous royal expedition to the West whose surviving treasures had become rare heirlooms.

Tang Wen learned that Governor Zhang’s father had been driven mad by the loss of a Western painting and used his own painting of Athena to impress Yang Yun. Yang Yun explained how wartime donations could earn Tang Wen military merit, and Tang Wen agreed to pursue a higher title so he could eventually raise more guards for Su Mei Island.

• Yang Yun told Tang Wen that Governor Zhang’s father had been bedridden and distraught since a Western painting depicting Apollo burned, and that Liu Yuanzong’s copy had failed to capture the original.
• Tang Wen showed Yang Yun his painting of Athena and claimed it was a Tang family heirloom, earning Yang Yun’s admiration and an apology for his earlier disrespect.
• Yang Yun praised Tang Wen for defeating more than seventy pirates and described how war, famine, and the navy’s withdrawal had left the coast exposed to pirate attacks.
• Tang Wen said he wanted permission to recruit more guards to protect Su Mei Island, and Yang Yun described an emergency program that exchanged donations of silver, grain, and fodder for military merit and title advancement.
• Tang Wen calculated that becoming a Third-Rank Earl would eventually let him maintain three hundred guards, expressed interest in the opportunity, and Yang Yun agreed to report it to the governor.

Tang Wen entertained Yang Yun with rare Grape Wine and Tuna Can, winning his gratitude while revealing his own literary and political ambitions. After Yang Yun left, Tang Wen ordered inquiries into the demoted Martial Jinshi and approved beginning the dam work that afternoon.

• Tang Wen hosted Yang Yun for Grape Wine and Tuna Can, then sent him home with a bottle and a can as gifts.
• Tang Wen recited a poem that impressed Yang Yun and Gu Hanyan, and they discussed Tang Wen’s examination prospects and connections.
• Li Quan questioned Tang Wen’s generous gratuities to the constables, and Tang Wen explained that helping Yang Yun could prove valuable.
• Tang Wen told Li Quan to have Bu Feng investigate why Yang Yun had been demoted and explained that Martial Jinshi needed at least sixth-rank strength.
• Zhan Dongwen reported that the diversion channel was finished, and Tang Wen ordered the dam work to begin that afternoon.
• Ge Ziyun suggested choosing an auspicious day and setting off firecrackers before construction, but Tang Wen refused.

Tang Wen organized the dam construction while installing photovoltaic equipment that brought electric lighting to the island camp. After the lights amazed the islanders, he showed Zhan Junru and Gu Hanyan modern comforts in the prefab house.

• Tang Wen told Zhan Dongwen to use the excavators to prepare the dam foundations, follow his plans, and consult the veteran craftsmen he had hired.
• Tang Wen considered training locals to operate and maintain modern construction machinery.
• Tang Wen and Zhan Zhao led more than twenty people in installing photovoltaic equipment, which Tang Wen tested and adjusted over half a month.
• Tang Wen lit the camp and dam site with electric lights, stunning the islanders with their brightness.
• Tang Wen showed Zhan Junru and Gu Hanyan the electric lights and whirlpool bathtub, then left them to try it themselves.

Tang Wen confronted Gu Hanyan after she caught him watching her and Zhan Junru bathe, exposing that Gu Hanyan had disguised her face and was a skilled martial artist. He refused to let her buy her freedom, and the chapter ended with Gu Hanyan threatening him while Zhan Junru shielded him.

• Gu Hanyan caught Tang Wen watching her and Zhan Junru bathe, but Zhan Junru defended her master and said she willingly belonged to him.
• Tang Wen accused Gu Hanyan of hiding her real appearance, and she admitted she had disguised herself to protect her family from enemies.
• Tang Wen deduced that Gu Hanyan was a trained martial artist after she knocked him down, then showed her that his Bulletproof Vest could stop a blade.
• Gu Hanyan asked Tang Wen to understand her reasons and said she planned to buy her freedom and leave Su Mei Island once she had money and strength.
• Tang Wen declared that Gu Hanyan would remain his slave for life, and she threatened to kill him before Zhan Junru stepped in front of him.

Tang Wen’s island settlement drew the attention of Yanling officials, who planned to reward his pirate victories and tax his land while seeking his donation to the war effort. A month later, Bu Feng returned with refugees and reported that the large Thousand-Leaf Workshop was for sale, leaving Tang Wen considering a major purchase as his supplies ran low.

• Tang Wen stopped Gu Hanyan from leaving the household, insisting that she remain his personal maidservant after he had saved her life.
• Yang Yun showed Prefect Zhang Hongjiang Tang Wen’s rice and described his fortified camp, the pirate ambush, and his family’s history.
• Zhang Hongjiang and Yang Yun decided to credit Tang Wen with military merits for killing seventy-two pirates, promote his noble rank, and press him for a donation and taxes.
• Bu Feng returned to the island with several dozen refugees, but Tang Wen remained short of the workers needed to unlock the Great Landlord and nearly out of cement and steel for the dam.
• Bu Feng told Tang Wen that the Thousand-Leaf Workshop in Yanling City, covering more than two hundred mu, was for sale for over three hundred thousand taels.

Tang Wen investigated whether Li Chun'er had raised the prices of his goods and learned that Shen Xihe had bought her entire stock for sale in Jiangzhou. He then inspected the indebted Thousand-Leaf Workshop and arranged to meet its owner, while Qiao Xiao sensed something was wrong.

• Tang Wen traveled to Yanling with Qiao Xiao and sent Ge Ziyun and Bu Feng to gather information about the Thousand-Leaf Workshop and Li Chun'er.
• Tang Wen confronted Li Chun'er about the high mirror prices, and she said Li Dawang bought through other resellers rather than directly from her.
• Li Chun'er explained that Shen Xihe had bought her remaining mirrors, lipstick, and perfume for his Jiangzhou shops, and she gave Tang Wen the accounts and gold from the sale.
• Tang Wen visited the Thousand-Leaf Workshop with Qiao Xiao and Bu Feng, where Wu Nong said the business had shut down and owed its remaining workers tens of thousands of taels.
• Tang Wen asked to meet the workshop's owner the next day, and Qiao Xiao quietly told him that something seemed wrong.

Tang Wen learned that Qiao Xiao had been arrested after a fight with Kang Qingfeng of the Six Fan Gate, whose authority left Constable Yang unable to help. Yang Yun also told Tang Wen that his military merits had earned him promotion to Second-Rank Baron, and Tang Wen went with him to meet Zhang Hongjiang and claim the official documents.

• Qiao Xiao left to seize and question one of the people suspected of spying, but did not return.
• Constable Liu told Tang Wen that Yang Yun wanted to see him, and Tang Wen hurried to the Commandery Governor's Office.
• Yang Yun explained that Kang Qingfeng, a Deputy Director of the Six Fan Gate, had arrested Qiao Xiao and barred anyone from seeing him.
• Yang Yun told Tang Wen that his seventy-two military merits had earned him promotion to Second-Rank Baron and offered to take him to Zhang Hongjiang.
• Tang Wen asked to claim his new title immediately, and Yang Yun brought him to meet Zhang Hongjiang.

Tang Wen bargained with Zhang Hongjiang over Qiao Xiao’s release, military donations, and taxes on Su Mei Island. He paid 170,000 taels to gain an earldom and left hoping to secure more settlers for his island.

• Zhang Hongjiang presented Tang Wen with approved papers recognizing his military merit, while Yang Yun explained that Qiao Xiao remained imprisoned by the Six Fan Gate.
• Zhang Hongjiang and Yang Yun used Qiao Xiao’s arrest and Chu’s military funding quota to press Tang Wen for a large donation, and Tang Wen negotiated the price of reaching third-rank earl.
• After Zhou Tong calculated the promotion cost at over 170,000 taels, Tang Wen paid that sum, and Zhang Hongjiang agreed to speak to the Six Fan Gate about Qiao Xiao.
• Tang Wen asked for his taxes to be waived, but Zhang Hongjiang only halved the current levy to 2,000 dan of grain and set next year’s tax at 8,000 dan.
• Tang Wen argued that he could not reclaim enough farmland or support tenant farmers after the donation, while privately planning to use Su Mei Island to grow profitable medicinal herbs.

Tang Wen secured Zhang Hongjiang’s support for a promotion to count and discussed obtaining labor for Su Mei Island. He then met Li Dawang to negotiate for the Thousand-Leaf Workshop, using cigarettes and a lighter to impress the wealthy owner.

• Zhang Hongjiang dispatched Tang Wen’s count promotion request and decided to send Su Mei Island refugees and petty offenders as labor.
• Zhang Hongjiang suspected Tang Wen mainly wanted manpower and planned to raise his taxes after supplying it.
• Tang Wen and his companions suspected Qiao Xiao’s arrest was connected to efforts to force down the Thousand-Leaf Workshop’s price.
• Tang Wen met Li Dawang at the River-View Tower and asserted his imminent count title, causing Li Dawang to show him respect.
• Tang Wen gave Li Dawang a Phoenix Cigarette and demonstrated his lighter, impressing him with the unfamiliar smoking accessories.

Tang Wen negotiated to buy Li Dawang’s Thousand-Leaf Workshop by taking on its artisans’ unpaid wages, and he bought a stock of mirrors, lipstick, and perfume from Li Dawang. He then visited the jailed Tang Jun and offered to recover the workers’ wages in exchange for them entering Tang household service and helping develop Su Mei Island.

• Tang Wen offered to buy the Thousand-Leaf Workshop for 300,000 taels by assuming Li Dawang’s debt to the artisans, and Li Dawang agreed to let him settle with them first.
• Tang Wen sold Li Dawang 200 mirrors and 500 items of lipstick and perfume for 590 taels of gold, then exchanged the goods for payment.
• Tang Wen visited Tang Jun in jail, stopped Constable Liu from whipping him, and dismissed Liu from the cell.
• Tang Wen offered Tang Jun work and a way to recover the artisans’ wages by taking them into Tang household service to build up Su Mei Island.
• Tang Jun questioned Tang Wen’s motives and asked what the workers would have to do.

Tang Wen brought Tang Jun and the Thousand-Leaf Workshop artisans to Su Mei Island to show them the Tang household’s living conditions and persuade them to join. The chapter ended with the newcomers marveling at the camp’s modern facilities and being led to a plentiful meal.

• Tang Wen stood surety for Tang Jun’s temporary release and invited him to bring witnesses to inspect Su Mei Island.
• Fang Qiang and Luo Qing discussed Tang Wen’s interference and considered whether to seek Kang Qingfeng’s help against him.
• Tang Jun gathered the artisans, and Tang Wen set out with them for Su Mei Island that night.
• Tang Wen’s group arrived at the brightly lit, fortified camp, where Zhan Junru and Gu Hanyan welcomed them.
• Zhan Dongwen and the others showed the artisans the camp’s restroom, toilets, running water, and towels, astounding the newcomers.
• Zhan Junru led the artisans into the dining hall, where they saw hot food and white rice waiting for them.

Tang Wen recruited about three hundred people into his household, advanced his martial arts, and used his seventh crossing to return to Yunhai City, where he discovered that time passed at a different rate between worlds. He returned to Hengjiang Trading Company, promised to expand and fund it, and put Zhao Jiang in charge as he prepared to grow the business.

• Tang Wen persuaded about three hundred of the newcomers to enter his household, and they signed contracts of servitude.
• Tang Wen absorbed the gathered Popularity, advanced to the mid-stage eighth rank, and increased his crossing capacity and other Great Landlord Space figures.
• Tang Wen crossed back to Yunhai City and found that sixty days in the Chu Kingdom had passed in only two days there.
• Tang Wen met Zhao Jiang at Hengjiang Trading Company and instructed him to find larger premises with spacious warehouses and a private warehouse for Tang Wen.
• Tang Wen announced that he would inject another thirty million into the company, promised generous pay for loyal employees, and appointed Zhao Jiang as the final authority on company matters.

Tang Wen used the proceeds from selling gold to equip his company and build up his supplies, while Zhao Jiang revealed the grudge behind his departure from the special forces and pledged his loyalty. After Tang Wen crossed back to Su Mei Island, he began transforming the camp into a fortified residential compound as the system demanded more popularity for his next crossing.

• Tang Wen set salaries, sold gold to fund the company and supplies, and ordered weapons, prefabricated houses, and frozen food.
• Tang Wen trained Zhao Jiang, who confessed he had left the special forces after losing a bet and vowed to defeat his former opponent; Zhao Jiang also gave Tang Wen an M2000 handgun.
• Zhao Jiang told Tang Wen that the company had been reorganized as the Tang Su Mei Group, with Hengjiang Trading Company as a subsidiary.
• A month later, Tang Wen crossed back to Su Mei Island and learned that his eighth crossing required another 350 popularity points to upgrade the system to version 2.0.
• Tang Wen ordered Zhan Dongwen and Ge Ziyun to replace the camp’s tents with prefabricated houses and build warehouses, while workers installed utilities and poured concrete.
• Half a month later, the camp had several large warehouses and a ring of reinforced two-story houses around a central plaza, forming a fortified residential compound.

Tang Wen gave the Tang household new homes, winning the allegiance of nearly all its members, then learned about the Iron Sword Sect while traveling to Yanling City with Tang Jun. The chapter left them on the road as Tang Wen explored the sect’s strength and cultivation methods.

• Tang Wen announced housing benefits for his servants and encouraged them to form families, offering to arrange weddings and welcome spouses into the household.
• The servants moved into their new homes and celebrated with a feast, where Tang Wen drank heavily and was carried to his bedroom by Zhan Junru and Gu Hanyan.
• Tang Wen drunkenly tried to sleep with Zhan Junru, but Gu Hanyan intervened; Zhan Junru said she was willing to serve him, and Tang Wen apologized and sent both women to rest.
• The next morning, Tang Wen traveled to Yanling City with Tang Jun, who explained that he had been an eighth-rank perfection Iron Sword Sect disciple before Liu Fei had him expelled and hunted.
• Tang Jun described the Iron Sword Sect as a prominent sect of seven or eight hundred members, led by Luo Tiandao, and detailed its heaven-tier Thunderclap Heart Method and Thunderclap Sword.

Tang Wen learned how cultivation methods shaped a fighter’s limits, then negotiated with Li Dawang to settle the Thousand-Leaf Workshop’s land sale using modern goods instead of silver. The deal remained unfinished as Li Dawang eagerly asked the price of Tang Wen’s disposable lighters.

• Tang Jun explained that the Iron Sword Sect forbade him from sharing its earth-rank cultivation method and described how powerful sects and the Six Fan Gate deterred the authorities.
• Tang Jun told Tang Wen that heaven-rank methods could be bought in Sea Saint City for at least a million taels, while legendary mystic-rank methods were said to let practitioners reach the first rank.
• After reaching Yanling City, Tang Wen exchanged silver for banknotes and arranged to meet Li Dawang at the River-View Tower.
• Tang Wen and Li Dawang signed the contract for the Thousand-Leaf Workshop’s land, with Li Dawang accepting mirrors, lipsticks, and perfumes as payment at a reduced price.
• When the goods fell short by about fifty thousand taels, Tang Wen offered silver crowns; Li Dawang accepted sixty but noted that forty were missing.
• Tang Wen offered a disposable Windproof Lighter to cover the remaining value, and Li Dawang eagerly asked how much one cost.

Tang Wen completed a business deal, learned his title of Count had been approved, and used gifts and a reproduced painting to build relationships with officials. He left Lord Zhang considering an exchange of calligraphy for the painting, which could fulfill Zhang Hongjiang’s father’s long-held wish.

• Tang Wen sold Li Dawang two thousand lighters and gave him fifty extra, while Li Dawang waived three hundred taels from the Thousand-Leaf Workshop’s price.
• Tang Wen learned that his Count title had been approved and sent Tang Jun and Steward Ning to complete the deed transfer.
• Yang Yun told Tang Wen about his hopes of becoming Criminal Clerk, and Tang Wen offered to arrange a gift to help him seek the post.
• Zhang Hongjiang presented Tang Wen with his official hat, robe, documents, and command token, confirming his title as Third-Class Yanling Count.
• Tang Wen showed Zhang Hongjiang a reproduction of the lost Apollo painting, then offered it in exchange for two pieces of Zhang Hongjiang’s calligraphy.

Tang Wen secured Zhang Hongjiang’s help to free Qiao Xiao and began planning the reconstruction of Thousand-Leaf Workshop, while Kang Qingfeng and Fang Qiang plotted to use Qiao Xiao to seize the property cheaply. Tang Wen prepared a lavish gift for Yang Yun to help secure his cooperation, as Kang revealed plans to establish a Six Fan Gate sub-helm in Yanling.

• Tang Wen commissioned Zhang Hongjiang to write calligraphy for Su Mei Island and asked him to help release Qiao Xiao; Zhang arranged a dinner invitation for Kang Qingfeng.
• Tang Wen returned to Thousand-Leaf Workshop and outlined plans for a new storefront, warehouses, training ground, and guest club.
• Fang Qiang told Kang Qingfeng that Tang Wen had bought Thousand-Leaf Workshop, and Kang predicted Tang would pay dearly to recover Qiao Xiao.
• Kang Qingfeng revealed he was establishing a Six Fan Gate sub-helm in Yanling and persuaded Fang Qiang to offer him sixty mu of land.
• Tang Wen showed Yang Yun a gift box containing Grape Wine and a lighter, and Yang was impressed by the lighter and accepted the gift.

Yang Yun gave Tang Wen the Fish-Dragon Nine-Turn Art, while Tang Wen wondered whether his hidden cultivation came from the landlord space concealing his aura. At a tense dinner, Kang Qingfeng and Yu Hong tried to force Tang Wen to surrender the Thousand-Leaf Workshop, leaving Zhang Hongjiang asking how Tang Wen wanted to proceed.

• Yang Yun gave Tang Wen the upper-grade earth-rank Fish-Dragon Nine-Turn Art and explained its leaping and gliding techniques.
• Tang Wen wondered if the great landlord space concealed his martial aura from others.
• Tang Wen, Yang Yun, and Zhang Hongjiang met Kang Qingfeng and Yu Hong at the Nightfall Pavilion, where Kang insulted Tang Wen and his efforts on Su Mei Island.
• Tang Wen challenged Kang Qingfeng after Kang questioned whether anyone remained in the Tang family, and Tang Wen warned that the insult also implicated the Imperial Clan.
• Kang Qingfeng demanded the Thousand-Leaf Workshop for the Six Fan Gate branch and threatened Qiao Xiao, while Yu Hong backed his demand.
• Zhang Hongjiang proposed giving the Six Fan Gate part of the property for military merits, but Kang Qingfeng disputed how many merits Tang Wen should receive.

Tang Wen stood up to Kang Qingfeng’s pressure over Qiao Xiao and the Thousand-Leaf Workshop, while Zhang Hongjiang and Yang Yun warned Kang against provoking him. After Kang had Qiao Xiao brutally beaten but left him alive, Tang Wen prepared to strengthen his position and met Shen Xihe, who offered to buy a large batch of goods from the Western Lands.

• Tang Wen refused to sell the property beside the Thousand-Leaf Workshop to Kang Qingfeng for less than six hundred thousand taels and warned him against harming Qiao Xiao.
• After Kang Qingfeng left the banquet, Zhang Hongjiang reassured Yang Yun that Kang would hesitate to retaliate against Tang Wen, and told Yang to watch over Qiao Xiao.
• Kang Qingfeng first decided to abandon the interrogation, then changed his mind and had Qiao Xiao brutally beaten without killing him.
• Tang Wen received Yang Yun’s letter about the beating and told Bu Feng to stay in contact with Yang and watch the prison while the Tang family recruited more people.
• Tang Wen met Shen Xihe at the River-View Tower and demonstrated his Western goods, including a lighter, cigarettes, and a Silver Crown.
• Shen Xihe offered to buy one hundred thousand taels’ worth of goods and asked Tang Wen for a twenty-percent discount.