Jiang Fa pushed open the door of the wing, took out the heavy money bag from his arms, and put it aside.
He lit the oil lamp on the table, and the dim yellow light cast a vague shadow on the wall.
I've been out for nearly six days, and everything in the wing is still the same.
He casually put his coat on the bed rail, and suddenly there was a sound of footsteps outside the door.
The footsteps rushed from far to near, and finally stopped in front of his door.
This was followed by two knocks on the door.
"Junior Brother Jiang, have you rested?"
It's the voice of Lin Feng.
Jiang Fa was slightly startled, stood up, walked to the door, and unlatched the door.
The person standing outside the door is indeed Lin Feng.
He was wearing a navy blue robe today, and his fair face showed some unconcealable fatigue. There were two faint blue and black groups under the corners of his eyes. It was obvious that he had not rested much in the past few days.
"Senior Brother Lin?"
Jiang Fa stepped aside to open the door. "It's so late, what can I do?"
Lin Feng didn't answer immediately, but just stepped into the side room.
"I just came back from the trading house. I heard from my father that you would be arriving this evening, so I came over to take a look."
He turned around as he spoke, his eyes first passing over the blood marks on his face, and then he looked him up and down, with a hint of concern in his expression. "Is the injury serious?"
"The skin injury is not a problem."
Jiang Fa shook his head, moved the only bench in the room and handed it to Lin Feng.
"Sit."
Lin Feng took the stool and sat down, but did not speak immediately, as if he was considering his words.
Jiang Fa didn't rush him, he just walked to the table, picked up the teapot and shook it. There was still half a pot of herbal tea in it, so he poured two bowls, pushed one bowl in front of Lin Feng, picked up the other and took a sip.
After being silent for a while, Lin Feng finally raised his head.
He suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Jiang Fa solemnly.
"Junior Brother Jiang, senior brother is here to apologize to you first..."
Jiang Fa saw this and quickly helped him up. "Senior brother, what are you doing?"
Lin Feng said with a heavy tone, "This time it was senior brother's mistake. It almost caused a catastrophe, and almost caused harm to you, junior brother..."
Jiang Fa waved his hand and interrupted him directly, "Senior brother is not to blame for this matter. No one expected that Black Wind Stronghold would come out in force."
Lin Feng looked serious. "Junior Brother Jiang, without your mediation, not only would the convoy be in trouble, but my Lin Lineage batch of goods would never be safely transported to Lin County."
He looked at Jiang Fa sincerely and said word by word, "I, Lin Feng, have recorded this kindness."
"Senior brother, you are serious."
Jiang Fa quickly stood up and supported his arm. "Since I am worshiped by Lin Lineage, it is my duty to protect the caravan. What's more, my senior brother treats me well, and I should do my best to do so."
Lin Feng waved his hand, sat back on the wooden stool, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of herbal tea before speaking slowly.
"There are some things I should have told you earlier."
Jiang Fa stared for a moment and said nothing.
Lin Feng put down the tea bowl and sighed before saying, "That batch of goods is not some satin porcelain, it is Dark Iron Essence Gold."
The room was quiet for a moment.
"I, Lin Lineage, have been engaged in the medicine business for generations, and I have been operating in Qingshan County for decades. It is not too big or too small."
Lin Feng's voice is deep and gentle.
"Qingshan County Among the three Lineage, which one does not have its own financial path? Wang Family monopolizes the official salt, Liu Family controls the iron ore, Zhou Family controls the dock, and I, Lin Lineage, can only take second place. Under other people's roof, the medicinal materials business seems to be very profitable, but only I, Lin Lineage, know how risky it is. A truckload of medicinal materials is transported from the south, and 30% of the damage is lost on the road. When it reaches the end of the field, the price is lowered by peers. After a year of hard work, the money I get is not enough to the Wang Family a fraction of a salt well."
He smiled bitterly and continued, "So my dad has been looking for an opportunity. About three months ago, a herb mining team he sent out accidentally discovered a vein of minerals deep in Black Wind Ridge. The vein is not big, but the purity of the ore is extremely high. It is the finest Dark Iron Essence Gold."
Jiang Fa's eyes fell on the ghost-headed knife on the table.
Dark Iron Essence Gold is the same as Cold Iron, which can greatly improve the quality of weapons and is valuable.
If there is a mine, even if it is small, as long as it is managed well, it is indeed possible for Lin Lineage to become a top-notch force in Qingshan County.
"It's easy to find a vein, but it's hard to hold it."
Lin Feng's voice has a hint of heaviness,
"Once the news leaks out, with Lin Lineage's current strength, there is no way it can be defended, so my father decided to mine it secretly, transport it to Lin County in batches, and sell the ore through Lin County's forge. The money in exchange will be used to recruit people and expand our strength. When we have accumulated enough strength, we will make the mineral veins public."
"The last batch of goods was the fourth batch."
He raised his head and looked at Jiang Fa, with a hint of apology in his eyes. "Everything was fine the first three times, so this time I thought about letting you go with the car, firstly to practice, and secondly to earn some money, but I didn't expect that Black Wind Stronghold got the news from somewhere and turned out in full force."
Jiang Fa was silent for a moment and asked the doubts that had been in his heart for a long time, "How did Black Wind Stronghold know about this batch of goods?"
Lin Feng's face darkened.
"This is exactly what I've been thinking about these past few days."
He spoke slowly, with a coldness in his voice.
"When I, Lin Lineage, discovered the Dark Iron Essence Gold mineral vein, there were no more than ten people who knew about it. Apart from my father and me, there were only a few core accounting offices of the trading company and the team leader responsible for the mining. Black Wind Stronghold is dozens of miles away. How could he know the route, time, and escort force of this shipment so well?"
"Senior brother means..."
"The mole."
When Lin Feng spat out these two words, a flash of fierceness Jiang Fa had never seen on his face flashed in his eyes. "Someone in the business must have leaked the news."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became a little tense.
"There is no evidence for this matter yet. My father is already investigating it secretly."
He took a deep breath, and the sharpness on his face gradually subsided, returning to his usual gentle look. "But you don't have to worry about these things, I will take care of them at the trading company."
He reached into his arms, took out a brocade bag, and placed it on the table.
"This is a personal additional reward and medical expenses from senior brother." Lin Feng pushed the kit in front of Jiang Fa and said in a solemn tone, "There are one hundred taels in total, please keep it."
Jiang Fa frowned slightly. "One hundred taels? That much?"
"Not much."
Lin Feng shook his head and looked seriously. "For a master who can challenge Peak An Jin head-on at Early An Jin, not to mention one hundred taels, even five hundred taels is not too much, not to mention the preservation of my Lin Lineage team. These alone cannot be measured by money."
Jiang Fa was about to refuse, but Lin Feng waved his hand and said, "These money are not given in vain. To put it bluntly, if Lin Lineage is in trouble in the future, junior brother cannot stay out of it!"
Seeing Lin Feng like this, Jiang Fa had no choice but to accept it.
"Thank you, senior brother."
"Thank you, you deserve it. The stronger the junior brother is, the more beneficial it is to me Lin Lineage, isn't it?"
Lin Feng stood up, his face relaxed a little.
"It's getting late. Junior brother, I'm tired of traveling and traveling, so I won't disturb your rest."
Jiang Fa stood up and said goodbye, "Brother, please go slowly."
When Lin Feng walked to the door, he suddenly thought of something again and warned:
"My father has sent people to find out the whereabouts of Tu Lie, but Black Wind Ridge is so big. If he hides, he may not be found for a while. Junior brother has become enemies with him now. If you go out alone in the future, you must be careful."
Jiang Fa nodded. "I wrote it down."
Lin Feng didn't say anything else and pushed the door open.
The footsteps gradually faded away along the bluestone slabs on the corridor, disappearing into the depths of the night.