Secret Alliance

After staring wide-eyed at Wang Shouzhe for a long while, he finally said, "Could it be that you're fooling me, little brother? Or setting another trap for me to walk into? I'm already like this... What chance do I have left to redeem myself through merit?"

"The cause of the insect plague, the principle behind why Pest-Exterminating Powder gradually loses its effect, and the directions for researching a new Pest-Exterminating Powder..." Wang Shouzhe said calmly. "If even these are not enough to help Elder Qian make a comeback, then I have misjudged your abilities."

"Is this true?" Manager Qian abruptly rose to his feet, releasing a formidable aura at the peak of the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm. A sharp light burst from his eyes. "If this truly counts as such great merit, then you, Brother Shouzhe, are my, Qian Xue'an's, true brother."

What a powerful presence!

Even Wang Shouzhe was slightly taken aback. Manager Qian had kept himself hidden, yet his cultivation was so high. As expected of the Longzuo Qian Clan, one of Longzuo's great houses—even a minor manager in one of its branch firms possessed such cultivation.

Seeing one spot gave a glimpse of the whole leopard; just how powerful was the Longzuo Qian Clan, one of Longzuo's great houses?

"Manager Qian, do you intend to use this great merit to seek an opportunity to break through into the Spirit Platform Realm?" Wang Shouzhe narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew the other man had not released his aura for nothing. He was telling Wang Shouzhe of Qian Xue'an's value and potential.

"You understand me, brother." After making his display, Qian Xue'an immediately returned to his harmless, smiling Buddha appearance. "To be frank with you, I am the illegitimate descendant of a certain direct-line bloodline within the Qian Clan. You can imagine my status and treatment in the family, and how much bitterness I endured to climb step by step to where I am today. Without exceptional merit, my chances of obtaining the family's support to attempt the Spirit Platform Realm are far too slim. If you lend me a hand, little brother, then regardless of the outcome, I, Qian Xue'an, will be endlessly grateful."

"Brother Qian, do you know why I did not contribute this merit to the Purple Mansion Academy myself?" Wang Shouzhe smiled, as though testing Qian Xue'an's wisdom.

"Pest-Exterminating Powder is a matter of great importance, while your Ping'an Wang Clan is far too weak." Qian Xue'an said with the same smiling expression. "Even if you contributed your research findings to the Academy, given those people's lofty, superior attitudes, they might not feel any gratitude toward the Wang Clan. But our Longzuo Qian Clan is different. With these materials, we will have the qualifications to negotiate with the Academy. Even if we gain merely another ten percent of the future profits from the new Pest-Exterminating Powder, that would still be an enormous figure! Thus, you chose to give this great merit to me because of... that term you mentioned before..."

"Maximizing benefits." Wang Shouzhe took a sip of tea and supplied the words.

"That's right, that term." Qian Xue'an said solemnly, "But there is one prerequisite: I, Qian, must know gratitude and repay it toward Brother Shouzhe. We can sign a secret alliance pact over this matter. If I, Qian, ever violate it, you may make the pact public and ruin my reputation completely. You know that our Qian Clan has always valued trust above all else. Once a person's reputation is utterly destroyed, you know what sort of end awaits them."

This Manager Qian truly was someone who understood the score.

Wang Shouzhe's heart settled slightly. In times like these, what one feared most was throwing flirtatious looks at a blind man—supporting someone wholeheartedly, only to discover him to be an ungrateful wretch.

From his previous dealings with Qian Xue'an, he had already seen that this was a meticulous and sensitive man. Otherwise, how could an illegitimate descendant of the direct line possibly have reached this point?

"Brother Qian, if we sign a secret pact, then we will be people in the same boat." Wang Shouzhe asked one final question. "Have you thought this through?"

Qian Xue'an pondered briefly. "If it were any other ally, I, Qian, would naturally need to weigh the matter carefully." After a pause, he looked solemnly at Wang Shouzhe and said in all seriousness, "But entering a secret pact with Brother Shouzhe is precisely the good fortune I have long sought. You are careful yet bold, little brother. Your ability to turn your hand and make clouds, flip your hand and bring rain fills me with admiration. I firmly believe that standing in the same boat as you will be the greatest fortune of my life."

Though his words were somewhat exaggerated, Wang Shouzhe could feel his sincerity. He immediately made up his mind and began drafting the secret alliance pact.

With the mindset of putting the villainy first, Wang Shouzhe drafted terms that were meticulous and without obvious loopholes, clearly spelling out both parties' responsibilities and obligations.

After Qian Xue'an finished reading the pact, he stood frozen on the spot. It was not because the terms were too complicated or harsh, but because they were too simple and equal. In his view, whether his future ended in utter ruin or soared to the heavens all rested in Wang Shouzhe's hands.

Even if Wang Shouzhe had drawn up harsher conditions, it would have been only natural. At the very least, Qian Xue'an had already prepared himself mentally for that.

"Brother Shouzhe, this pact..." Qian Xue'an frowned slightly. "Should we add more restrictive clauses for me?"

"Brother Qian, I am seeking an ally, not taking in a subordinate." Wang Shouzhe leisurely drank his tea. "Since we are allies, we should naturally uphold the principles of fairness, impartiality, mutual respect, and watching out for one another. If one day you feel that this alliance pact no longer has meaning, you may follow the final clause: compensate your ally ten thousand Qian Gold, and the pact will be nullified."

Qian Xue'an took a deep breath. After signing and pressing his fingerprint onto both copies of the contract, he rose to his full height and bowed. "The breadth of your heart, Shouzhe, is something I have never seen in my life. I, Qian, swear that so long as you do not betray me, I will not betray you. Otherwise, may I be struck dead by thunder and lightning."

"You overstate it, brother. From this day onward, you and I are brothers: one prospers, both prosper; one suffers, both suffer." Wang Shouzhe was deeply satisfied with this outcome. After putting away the contracts, he handed Qian Xue'an the documents he had prepared earlier. "As for how to proceed from here, I trust you understand it better than I do."

Qian Xue'an focused on the documents. The farther he read, the more animated his expression became. "Unbelievable, unbelievable—and yet entirely reasonable. Brother Shouzhe, these materials are extraordinarily valuable. They can prevent the new Pest-Exterminating Powder from losing its effectiveness again in the future."

Wang Shouzhe had written these materials himself, explaining in plain and simple language how the Honey Insects developed drug resistance. If they wished to kill the existing drug-resistant Honey Insects, they would need to alter the ancient formula for Pest-Exterminating Powder.

As for how to alter it and how to conduct the experiments, Wang Shouzhe offered no suggestions. Let the Academy figure it out on their own.

Moreover, Wang Shouzhe had never considered developing a new Pest-Exterminating Powder himself. The interests involved were simply too immense. It would be equivalent to collecting an insect-extermination tax from every fertile field in all of Longzuo Prefecture. The astronomical profits involved would be enough to crush the Wang Clan to dust.

"Good, good, good. With this great merit..." Qian Xue'an's eyes shone brilliantly. "If I, Qian, still fail to make this work, then I will have lived thirty-eight years for nothing."

He solemnly put away the contract, then said to Wang Shouzhe with a smiling expression, "Brother Shouzhe, I must admit that without this great merit, I truly would have hated you to death. That move of yours was truly ruthless to the extreme. But now, hehe, all I can say is that you did beautifully, brother."

"I merely followed the current." Wang Shouzhe smiled. "How much are your shopkeepers prepared to pay to redeem the contracts this time?"

"Originally, the shopkeepers' psychological bottom line was twice the contract price. Of course, it would have been best if they could make you retreat in the face of difficulty and settle the matter with a thousand or so Qian Gold." Qian Xue'an's small eyes narrowed. "But this insect plague has come with tremendous ferocity. The various aristocratic families estimate that without effective measures, production will fall by sixty to seventy percent, meaning a loss of around ten Big Copper per mu of land. If disaster relief can be carried out in time using double the dose of Pest-Exterminating Powder, at most they will lose one or two Big Copper."

"By your meaning, brother, the aristocratic families' psychological bottom line for Pest-Exterminating Powder per mu is around six Big Copper?" Wang Shouzhe had calculated this long ago as well, and he chuckled. "Then if the Qian Clan Trading Firm buys back the contracts at double the price, it will not only avoid losses but still make a profit?"

"Wrong." Qian Xue'an smiled with narrowed eyes. "Those aristocratic families' psychological bottom line is at least an investment of twelve Big Copper, perhaps even more. They will have to beg our Qian Clan to sell it to them, because the stock of Pest-Exterminating Powder is nowhere near enough to save every aristocratic family."

"Rather than lose even more, would it not be better not to invest at all and simply let the grain harvest decline?" Wang Shouzhe frowned, somewhat unable to understand.

"Brother, you should know that the Great Qian Law prohibits speculating on grain prices during abundant years and disaster years. On the surface, it appears to be an excellent policy for stabilizing the people." Qian Xue'an shook his head with a cold laugh. "But in reality, during disaster years, it harms people profoundly. Merchants rise early for no profit; if grain prices do not rise, how many merchants would be willing to transport grain all the way to Longzuo?"

"Therefore, Longzuo's overall grain shortage has already become inevitable. Most aristocratic families still have old grain stockpiled and can weather the disaster, but a considerable number of commoners will inevitably be unable to buy grain even if they have money. Take our entire Changning Guard region: the total population exceeds five hundred thousand, yet the total amount of fertile land is only one and a half million mu."