"Drugs?" Wang Gang's heart jolted. He had never ventured through the jianghu, after all, and knew little of such sinister tricks. "What drugs?"
"You don't know?" Qin Hongmian sneered repeatedly, pointing at a pile of powder on the grilled fish. "You've made it so obvious. Do you take us for fools?"
Wang Gang followed her fair finger with his gaze, then suddenly laughed and pointed at the powder. "Haha... you mean this? This is indeed medicinal, but I use it as seasoning!"
Qin Hongmian continued to sneer, clearly unconvinced.
Wang Gang picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and ate it, then smiled. "Well?"
The aroma of the grilled meat had long since set Gan Baobao swallowing her saliva. "Senior Sister, can we eat now?"
"He might have taken the antidote beforehand!" Qin Hongmian remained wary.
Wang Gang shook his head with a smile. "If I had ill intentions, why would I need to drug you?"
"Exactly! His martial arts are so powerful, he has no need to drug us!" The fragrance had Gan Baobao beside herself with craving, and she chimed in, "If he wanted to force... forcibly kill us, he could just do it!"
Seeing her junior sister show so little backbone, Qin Hongmian grew annoyed and snapped, "Eat if you want! Why keep wagging your tongue at me?"
"Then I'll test it for poison for you, Senior Sister!" Gan Baobao took a bite as she spoke. It was crisp, fragrant, and crunchy, and her taste buds seemed to explode. Her eyes lit up. "Delicious!"
Wang Gang spoke as he ate. "There are still too few of these spices. They're all used as medicinal ingredients. If I have money in the future, I'll build ships and sail overseas, seize a few spice-producing islands, and make them affordable for everyone in Great Song!"
"Aren't you rich enough already?" Gan Baobao was astonished. She had spent the whole day touring the Wang Family's property, and everything she had seen and heard was new to her. She thought Wang Gang was about as rich as anyone could be.
"Far from it! Never mind anywhere else-there's no telling how many people in Gusu alone are richer than me!"
"Then why don't they sail overseas to find spices?"
"They have!" Wang Gang pointed at the plate. "Aren't these right here?"
"Isn't there plenty? Why don't they bring more back?" Gan Baobao asked in puzzlement.
"If there's more, it gets cheaper, and they earn less!"
"Then wouldn't you offend a lot of people by bringing back loads of spices?"
Wang Gang nodded. "Of course! That's why I need to become even stronger!"
"You already live so well. Why go offending people?" Gan Baobao stopped eating and looked at him.
"Where do you think people like us get our money?" Wang Gang answered with a question of his own.
"By earning it, or inheriting it from your ancestors!"
Wang Gang nodded, then shook his head. "Yes and no! To be precise, our money all comes from oppressing and exploiting other people!"
"Ah!" Gan Baobao looked shocked.
"People like us don't engage in production. All our money comes from the labor of the estate hands and the shop assistants. In truth, they're the ones supporting us!"
"Oh, that's what you mean. Isn't everyone like that?" Gan Baobao breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought Wang Gang was the sort of villain who seized things by force.
"Everyone is like that! But that doesn't mean it's right!"
As he spoke, Wang Gang stole a glance at the two women and found them eating away without a care. He was rather speechless. He had originally hoped to reform their thinking before sending them back to Dali, but now it seemed he had been imagining too much!
Weren't they utterly heartless and carefree? They did not even care that their internal power had been crippled. Wang Gang had thought they might deliberately get close to him and then strike to kill!
Early the next morning, Wang Gang had only just stepped outside when he saw the two women waiting nearby.
Only after asking did he learn that Gan Baobao was bored and had dragged Qin Hongmian along to go out and have fun with him.
Wang Gang also worried that the two might cause trouble in his residence, so he simply decided to put them on the estate for reform through labor! He could not keep feeding them for doing nothing. Idle people would stir up trouble!
When the three reached Crimson Cloud Estate, Wang An came out to meet them from afar. He showed little surprise at seeing the two women, and after paying his respects, said, "The equipment in the distillery has been installed. Wang An brought people over first thing this morning and started boiling the wine!"
"Then let's take a look. If there are problems, we can make adjustments in time!"
Wang Gang nodded and walked straight into the estate. Passing several newly built pigsties, they saw several people holding down a piglet while another approached with a knife. Gan Baobao asked curiously, "Why kill such a little pig?"
"They're not killing it. They're castrating it!" Wang Gang replied casually.
"What does castrating mean?" The two women looked at each other, neither understanding.
Wang Gang's eyes shifted, and he explained in a low voice, making both women's pretty faces flush.
"Shameless!" Qin Hongmian rebuked him.
"Pah! Why don't they castrate you too?" Gan Baobao scolded. "Mutilating these perfectly healthy piglets!"
"Once castrated, the pigs grow faster and have no unpleasant smell, so they fetch more money, and these tenant farmers can live a little better!"
"That still doesn't mean..." Gan Baobao was about to argue, but then she saw those tenant farmers, still wearing only thin clothing in late autumn. She shut her mouth in frustration and could only glare at Wang Gang's back, silently cursing, Rich and heartless!
The group walked a little farther and caught a faint scent of wine. The farther they went, the stronger it grew.
"That smells wonderful! Senior Sister, shall we try some of this wine later?" Gan Baobao held Qin Hongmian's arm and exclaimed excitedly.
"Then I suppose I'll be basking in your reflected glory," Qin Hongmian said with a half-smile.
"What a pointless thing to say..." Gan Baobao was just about to say more when a door suddenly swung wide open. A fat man with a white cloth covering his face jumped out, laughing. "It worked! It worked!"
The fat man grew even more excited at the sight of Wang Gang and shouted, "Young Master, we did it! There's no off smell at all!"
"Well done, Wang Cai!" Wang Gang patted the fat man's shoulder. "Let's go inside and look!"
Gan Baobao forgot about arguing with Qin Hongmian and followed them into the room. She immediately felt as though she had stepped into a wine vat. The whole room was filled with alcoholic fumes, and even a single breath left her slightly tipsy.
Then she saw an enormous stove with a large pot set over it, connected to several bamboo poles. Streams of liquor were flowing out through the bamboo tubes.
"Let me taste it!" Wang Gang stepped forward, scooped up a ladleful of liquor, took a sip, and smacked his lips. It tasted good and seemed to be only twenty or thirty percent alcohol, but given the conditions of this era, achieving this much was already quite good.
"I want to try it too!" Gan Baobao bounded over, took the wooden ladle, and had a sip. She immediately stuck out her tongue and cried, "It burns!"
"Hehe, you'll get used to it!" Wang Gang took the wooden ladle from her hand, then turned to Wang An. "Once this liquor is ready, send it straight to Drunken Immortal Tower. After deducting all expenses, give fifty percent to the estate."
"To whom on the estate?"
"Have the tenant farmers choose a few trustworthy people themselves to manage the money, then distribute it according to everyone's labor at the end of the year."
"Yes!"
Mount Song, Shaolin Temple.
Huijing had been sweeping fallen leaves outside the courtyard since early morning, cursing as he swept. "Who knows what bloody bastard is coming, making me sweep the ground first thing in the morning?"
Huilun said from beside him, "Junior Brother, stop cursing and hurry up! I heard an honored guest is coming today. If we hold things up, we're bound to be punished!"
"Punishment, punishment! Once I master peerless divine arts, let's see who dares punish me!" Huijing swept a few more times, then cursed at the great tree. "You damned bloody tree, why shed all these leaves for no reason? Can't you learn from me and leave not a single hair? I'll chop you down sooner or later!"
Huilun shook his head helplessly and could only do an extra share of the sweeping. They finally finished, but Huijing was still cursing. Huilun was just about to persuade him to stop when a creaking sound rang out. The main gates opened, and Xuanci walked unhurriedly to the entrance. He was actually going to welcome the visitors in person.
Both fell silent at once. Before long, Huijing could not resist asking again, "Who's coming today? The abbot's welcoming them himself!"
"Don't talk. The guests are here!"
Huijing looked up at that, and sure enough, several indistinct figures appeared in the distance.
A little later, the figures drew closer. Huijing looked carefully and said indignantly, "Where did these beggars come from, making me sweep the ground?"
"Watch what you say! It's the Beggars' Sect!"