"They've all been bought?"
Shopkeeper He personally went to the trading company in Nanming Prefecture, and was stunned when he heard Song San, who was in charge of buying and selling properties, answer his question.
Who bought it?
"I don't know..." Song San shook his head. "The other party acted very decisively, and seemed to have plenty of cash. Not only us, but all the stores and properties for sale on the market were swept up. Although the Ghost Puppet incident caused these shops to plummet in price, buying so many at once means it must be the work of a large trading company. But I've asked around several times and still can't find out which company did it."
"How could this be?" Shopkeeper He exclaimed anxiously, "This shouldn't be happening..."
Although Liuzhou announced tax cuts, most major businesses were in a wait-and-see mode, except for Rongsheng, who went to Liuzhou to collect goods on a whim.
Logically, only someone from Rongsheng should have been the first to see the door gods. He immediately contacted the head of the household after seeing the situation and then sent a message to Song San, yet someone else still beat him to it?
Where did the other trading companies get this information?
"Go and find out again, make sure you find out exactly who did it!" Shopkeeper He's face was grim.
Once the news of Liuzhou's "door gods" (a symbol of good fortune) spreads, it will be far more than just attracting people back to the city. The allure of a safe environment to wealthy locals is immense, as evidenced by the soaring property prices in Beijing and Heavenly Capital. Liuzhou is currently at a low point; if one seizes the opportunity and bets correctly, the returns will be immeasurable.
Which damned bastard managed to beat them to it?
"Go and contact the managers of Hundred Trades, Nanhua, Dongsheng, Zhongxiang, Four Seasons, and tell them I have something important to discuss with them!"
Liu San was taken aback for a moment, then realized what the shopkeeper was about to do and quickly replied, "Yes!"
Now that we've lost the initiative, the only option is to apply pressure. First, find out who's behind this, then join forces with our competitors to put pressure on them and make them give us something back. We can't let one company monopolize the business opportunities in Liuzhou!
--
" Laoda, aren't we taking a bit too much risk?"
Inside the Liuzhou government office, Zhou Haitao, who was in charge of documents, approached with a stack of land deeds, looking eager and asking cautiously.
"What kind of address?" Chen Qing rolled his eyes. "You're acting like some kind of gangster. We're government officials, so we should address you more politely, like 'Sir'!"
"Yes, yes, Lord Chen..." Zhou Haitao was speechless, but after spending a few days together, the familiar feeling of being a former classmate returned. Although this classmate had become unfamiliar in some ways, his personality had mostly remained the same, which made Zhou Haitao feel much more relaxed.
They started talking to each other more intimately on a daily basis.
"Our Prefect, you've used all the funds allocated to you to buy real estate... isn't that against the rules?"
"In times of emergency, we must act expediently!" Chen Qing said slowly while sipping his tea. "What can the meager funds allocated by the Provincial Governor possibly accomplish? We'll have plenty of money to spend in the future. We're also temporarily exempt from commercial taxes. If we don't take this opportunity to make some extra money, are we going to rely on handouts from above forever?"
"Is it possible to catch it?" Zhou Haitao asked uncertainly.
"Of course!" Chen Qing said with absolute certainty, "Let me ask you, Fatty, what do rich people care about most?"
Zhou Haitao's face twitched. So, calling you "refined" means I'm being polite to you, right?
"Money, of course!"
"Everyone says they're rich, but what's the point of money?"
"Of course!" Zhou Haitao carefully arranged the land deed and said, "My dad said that the richer you are, the more you want to make money. The rich have an insatiable desire for money!"
"Your father is quite sensible..." Chen Qing said with a smile, "Besides money?"
"A woman?" Zhou Haitao asked tentatively.
"Pah!" Chen Qing spat. "With a brain like yours, how did you even pass the imperial examination? Of course, it's all about safety!"
"You need to be alive to spend your money!" Chen Qing continued, taking a sip of tea. "Wealthy people have more contact with the upper class, so they naturally know that there are demons and ghosts in this world. What's the point of making millions of gold if you're always on the verge of death?"
"Why are housing prices in the capital so expensive? Outsiders have to spend at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to settle down there. Isn't it all for peace of mind? Living in the capital, at least you don't have to worry about some random demon eating your head at any moment!"
"Our Liuzhou has the potential to become the second Beijing. Do you think land prices will rise?"
"Is it... really that exaggerated?" Zhou Haitao was stunned. He had seen the effects of door gods before, and they were indeed quite impressive, but... wasn't the second one in Beijing a bit over the top?
"That's a bit of an exaggeration for now, but the potential for growth is even greater!" Chen Qing laughed. "The top tier of wealthy people in the capital eat their food, but we can eat our way down to the middle and lower tiers. Once word gets out about the door gods, it'll be incredibly attractive to those wealthy landowners who have a bit of a comfortable life but can't settle down in the capital, right?"
"For example, the managers of major trading companies, some nouveau riche with weak backgrounds who made a fortune by making a few overseas trade trips, and some highly talented but not wealthy scholars—these are all high-quality individuals. Don't these people want a safe environment? Don't they want their wives and children to be free from the threat of demons?" Chen Qing chuckled softly, "You should know that the impact of the Painted Skin Mister incident is not limited to Liuzhou!"
"Not just Liuzhou? What do you mean?" Haitao was completely bewildered. "Does this monster exist in other places too?"
Chen Qing's lips twitched. If there were more of these things, the human race would have been doomed long ago.
In the short term, the Painted Skin Mister incident severely impacted Liuzhou, but its actual influence was far greater because it involved a large number of people, and the imperial court could not cover it up. This meant that the demon incident would soon no longer be a secret known only to the upper echelons.
The resulting panic has affected at least the entire Jiangnan, but the situation in Liuzhou is currently more severe. In the long run, it will become clear that the panic caused by demons to ordinary people will enter an irreversible trend and escalate further!
In a panicked environment, a safe city is something everyone desires. What Chen Qing needs to do now is to establish Liuzhou's reputation for safety!
--
"So? You've been observing for three days now, have you figured anything out?"
At the city gate, Wei Gongcheng sat in the teahouse by the entrance, looking at Chen Ying who still couldn't understand, and asked with amusement.
The teahouse was a temporary opening, supposedly run by one of Ma Erniang's fellow villagers. Hearing that people were starting to return to Liuzhou because their harvests were so bad, he followed Ma Erniang's example and occupied a small, unused shop to open a temporary teahouse.
Business has been quite good these past two days.
In just three days, more than a dozen caravans have come to Liuzhou to deliver goods, one of which even has a hundred people. The flow of people is increasing day by day, and Ma Erniang is so busy that she has even invited her country wife to come and help with cooking.
The teahouses were doing booming business. Although they only served coarse tea and snacks like peanuts and edamame, most of the merchants who spent their lives on the boats weren't picky. Besides, there wasn't anywhere else in Liuzhou for them to choose from. If they wanted a cup of hot tea, this was the place. If you didn't come, plenty of others would.
Looking at Liuzhou, which was slowly regaining its popularity, Wei Gongcheng admired the scholars' ingenuity. He thought that even military officers like himself probably wouldn't have come up with such an idea.
"These door gods are quite unusual..." Chen Ying said, shaking her head as she sipped her coarse tea, "I really can't figure out their origins..."
She was a very studious sorcerer, most interested in strange tales and legends, and had heard of many complex magical Artifact Demon, but she had never heard of this thing before.
So far, this is the fourth caravan with a water ghost that has been identified. Chen Ying also secretly investigated those caravans and confirmed that there was no acting involved, which made her even more suspicious.
Having studied magic in the capital for ten years, she knew very well that the imperial court absolutely did not possess such a thing. If it did, it would have been hung at the four gates of the capital long ago. After all, although the capital had countless defensive spells, it still could not recognize overly cautious, hidden demons and ghosts.
For example, the Thousand-Faced Fox, didn't he just swagger into the capital?
She was even more convinced that the creature on the door was a demon, but she couldn't find any trace of it despite its several manifestations, which really frustrated her. Was it because her cultivation was too weak?
And if it's a demon or ghost, why help Chen Qing?
"Excuse me for disturbing you, are you a senior member of the Yin-Yang Academy?"
A voice interrupted Wei Gongcheng and Chen Ying's conversation. Chen Ying frowned and looked over, seeing a middle-aged man who looked to be in his early forties, someone she didn't recall seeing before.
So he asked, "Who are you?"
"My name is Shen Yiyang. I greet you, sir!" Although the man was older, he was quite polite and clearly understood the status of a sorcerer.
"Surname Shen? The Nanyang Shen Clan?" Wei Gongcheng asked with a smile.
"Indeed, and who is this gentleman?"
"I don't deserve to be called an adult, I'm just a passerby." Wei Gongcheng said modestly and didn't say anything more. Seeing this, the other party didn't press further and looked at Chen Ying again.
Upon hearing this, Chen Ying realized that the main supplier in Liuzhou was Rongsheng Trading Company, which was backed by the Rongsheng Jiangnan clan: the Nanyang Shen Clan.
"So you're from the same clan as Lord Shen." Chen Ying stood up and returned the greeting.
The Nanyang Shen Clan is a family of sorcerers with a history of thousands of years. Nowadays, there are many of them serving as officials in the court or enrolled in the Yin-Yang Academy. Their most prominent member is the current Minister of Ministry of Works: Shen Yinian. Lord Shen often lectures at the Yin-Yang Academy, so she can be considered half a teacher. Although the other party is a mortal without any spiritual power fluctuations, since she is of the same generation and clan as Lord Shen, she still has to give him face.
"You're too kind, sir. If you don't mind, just call me Shopkeeper Shen, haha."
Chen Ying immediately understood that the other person was responsible for managing the clan's affairs and did not hold a high position. She nodded slightly and replied, "Is there something you need, Shopkeeper Shen?"
"Is that so..." the man hurriedly said, "I've been observing here all day. I was truly astonished to see the door god manifest his power just now, so I wanted to write a letter to have the clan's sorcerer take a look. Unfortunately, I saw that you were wearing the Yin-Yang Jade, so I shamelessly came to ask you about it."
Chen Ying nodded upon hearing this; it was normal for such a prominent family to recognize the Yin-Yang Jade worn by the Yin-Yang Academy.
"I'm afraid I'll disappoint Shopkeeper Shen..." Chen Ying sighed after inviting him to sit down, "I've been observing here for three days, and I really can't figure out where that thing came from."
"You can't tell either, sir?" Shen Yiyang was slightly taken aback. Although it was his first time dealing with her, he could guess her identity. She was the female student under Mu Hongqing, the Jiangnan Education Commissioner. She was a very outstanding figure in the academy and, according to rumors, the most likely person to become the first female education commissioner in the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty.
"My skills are lacking; I apologize for making a fool of myself, Shopkeeper Shen."
"No, no!" Shen Yiyang quickly waved his hand, then said, "Even you, sir, don't recognize him. I'm afraid Lord Mu will have to come in person."
Chen Ying, who always held her master in the highest esteem, shook her head for the first time. "Even if the teacher came, he probably wouldn't recognize me."
"Oh?" Shen Yiyang raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because their abilities are too novel." Chen Ying stared solemnly at the city gate and said, "Shopkeeper, have you noticed that each time the water ghosts are suppressed, it is actually the city gate guards who are responsible?"
"Yes..." Shen Yiyang nodded, "But a mere water ghost probably doesn't require that door god to personally take action, right?"
"No..." Chen Ying shook her head. "Those door gods... can grant mortals supernatural powers!!"
Shen Yiyang: "!!!"
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