The two of them only dared grumble quietly, staring fixedly at Wu Shuangren as he sat at the main table, their eyes full of jealousy.
Wu Shuangren was asking the inn to serve the wine, only to discover that what they brought was not the green bamboo wine he had ordered in advance.
He was about to ask about it when the proprietor came over of his own accord. Bending slightly at the waist, he announced in a loud voice:
"Militia Commander Mo heard that Constable Wu took office today, so he had two jars of fine wine sent over especially to congratulate him!"
Everyone on the second floor heard him.
The Mo Family was unquestionably a powerful clan in Bo County, and Mo Zhengshang, the militia commander in charge of over a hundred militiamen, was a great figure to whom even the county magistrate had to show deference!
Mo Zhengshang had personally sent wine to congratulate Wu Shuangren?
In the corner, the two disgruntled constables exchanged glances, each seeing fear in the other's eyes.
Neither dared utter another word of mockery.
19 Illicit Salt
"Proprietor, please thank Commander Mo for me."
Wu Shuangren spoke from inside the restaurant.
The proprietor of Moxian Tower nodded with a beaming smile. "Rest assured, I'll be sure to pass it on."
Wu Shuangren turned and instructed the waiter, "Share the wine out among everyone."
After he sat down, Wu Dongrong said to him in a low voice, "The Mo Family also had a hand in your promotion to constable this time. Mo Zhengshang had someone put in a word with the county magistrate."
Wu Shuangren fell into thought.
Wu Dongrong explained, "Mo Zhengshang saw your skills with his own eyes that night, so he wanted to take the initiative and form a good connection."
Wu Shuangren nodded and asked quietly, "What's our family's relationship with the Mo Family like?"
His predecessor had never cared about such matters, but if Wu Shuangren wanted to go further now, he had to pay attention.
Wu Dongrong said with satisfaction, "The Mo Family holds sway over Bo County. Even the magistrate has to be wary of them. But the Mo Family isn't a single block of iron. Old Master Mo is getting on in years, and with such a vast estate, every branch is fighting for a share. That's why they've always focused on winning over the authorities. Mo Zhengshang is in charge of the Mo Family's second branch. He took the initiative to show goodwill, so remember to repay this favor in the future."
Wu Shuangren understood. Wu Dongrong was hinting that he could side with the Mo Family's second branch.
In this age, men and weapons were the real measure of strength. As militia commander, Mo Zhengshang did indeed have the best chance of becoming the next head of the Mo Family.
A short while later, the wine had been poured at every table. Wu Shuangren stood and said a few words, then invited everyone to eat and drink their fill.
The evening's banquet officially began, and the atmosphere grew lively.
People came up to the main table one after another to toast Wu Shuangren.
After three rounds of drinks, Wu Shuangren got up to offer a toast at each table. Liao Yu accompanied him, and although Wu Dongrong's thigh was injured, he followed along too.
The three toasted every table on the second floor in turn, until only the last remained.
Only four people sat at this table, and none of them belonged to the authorities.
"Master Wu, Master Liao, Constable Wu, congratulations!"
When the four saw Wu Shuangren and the others approaching, they hurriedly stood and raised their cups, smiles covering their faces.
Wu Dongrong pointed at the four and introduced them to Wu Shuangren one by one:
"This is Zhang Da from Zhang Village."
"This is Qi Sangou from Qi Village."
"This is Wang Dashi from Little Stone Village."
"This is Li Youcai from Great Stone Village."
As he introduced each man, the man bowed slightly and respectfully lowered his cup to toast Wu Shuangren.
Wu Shuangren lifted each man's cup with one hand and smiled as he clinked cups with him.
He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he kept feeling that these men seemed very afraid of Wu Dongrong.
"From now on, I'll gradually hand the salt business over to Constable Wu."
Pointing at Wu Shuangren, Liao Yu said to the four, "He's Warden Wu's son and my nephew too. Please look after him from now on."
The four nodded repeatedly.
"Of course, of course!"
"Rest assured, Master Wu, Master Liao. We'll certainly give Constable Wu our full cooperation from now on!"
"You're too kind, Master Liao. It's Constable Wu who should be looking after us."
"..."
The four took turns offering compliments.
After the toast, Wu Shuangren told the four to carry on eating and drinking, then walked to one side. Wu Dongrong and Liao Yu followed him.
"Those four just now are the salt bosses for the dozen or so villages around Bo County."
Wu Dongrong explained to Wu Shuangren.
Bo County was a major county, with a population of nearly twenty thousand in the county seat alone. More than a dozen surrounding villages also fell under its jurisdiction.
"Salt bosses... do they sell illicit salt?"
Wu Shuangren asked.
Liao Yu nodded and lowered his voice. "That's right, they sell illicit salt. Those four are each responsible for different villages..."
He gave Wu Shuangren a rough explanation of how it worked.
In this age, official salt was too expensive, and its quality wasn't good either. If ordinary people wanted salt they could afford to eat, they had no choice but to buy illicit salt.
Although selling illicit salt could cost a person their head, it simply couldn't be stamped out anywhere. In fact, in the vast majority of places, the authorities were secretly involved in selling it.
Bo County was no exception.
Naturally, one couldn't open a shop and put illicit salt on display for sale. That was where salt bosses came in: people who could cultivate connections and secure supplies and customers.
The salt bosses sold the salt privately to each household.
The constabulary was responsible for catching thieves and investigating smuggling, so salt bosses everywhere had to establish connections with it.
Each month, the four salt bosses voluntarily handed Liao Yu most of what they earned selling illicit salt in Bo County's dozen or so villages.
Of course, Liao Yu didn't pocket all the money himself.
The county commandant, registrar, deputy magistrate, and magistrate above him all got a share.
"Besides the surrounding villages, the county seat is where the bulk of the illicit salt business is. But the Mo Family arranges for people to sell illicit salt there."
Liao Yu said to Wu Shuangren, "The Mo Family actually controls all the illicit salt coming into Bo County. They voluntarily gave up most of the profits from the dozen or so villages, so we turn a blind eye to them selling salt in the county seat."
It sounded nice enough, but Wu Shuangren silently worked it out. The combined population of the dozen or so villages around Bo County was less than forty percent of the county seat's.
The Mo Family had given up a small profit while pocketing the lion's share, and the authorities didn't dare say anything about it.
That showed just how overbearing the Mo Family was!
So this is an age when imperial power doesn't reach below the county level...
Wu Shuangren sighed inwardly.
"But why do I feel like those four were more afraid of my father than of you, Uncle Liao?"
he asked in puzzlement.
When the four salt bosses greeted them, they had put Wu Dongrong, "Master Wu," first, and the fear on their faces had been impossible to hide.
Liao Yu laughed when he heard that. "Those four weren't salt bosses before. They worked for the salt bosses. When your father and I first took up our posts in Bo County, those salt bosses refused to submit and wanted to have it out with us... Later, your father and I joined forces to throw them in prison, and your father 'dealt with' them there.
"Zhang Da, Qi Sangou, and the others were picked out by your father in prison. They have him to thank for becoming salt bosses."
Wu Shuangren looked in surprise at the calm-faced Wu Dongrong. It was the first time he had heard about the "glory days" of his father's generation.
Liao Yu had spoken lightly of "dealing with" them, but presumably Wu Dongrong had killed the former salt bosses and their trusted aides outright in prison!
Even after so many years, Zhang Da, Qi Sangou, and the others were still this afraid of Wu Dongrong. It showed just how deep a psychological scar he had left on them back then!
Looks like my father is no simple man either...
This was the first time Wu Shuangren had learned of another side of Wu Dongrong.
In the past, Liao Yu certainly wouldn't have told Wu Shuangren about these things.
Now that he was saying them to his face, he truly regarded Wu Shuangren as an adult.
"Since you've become a constable, you'll come into contact with these things sooner or later. That's why I invited all four salt bosses here tonight."
Liao Yu said to Wu Shuangren, "From now on, you can take my share of the illicit salt business."
Wu Shuangren immediately shook his head. "Uncle Liao, how could I do that?"
Liao Yu smiled and ruffled his hair. "Your Uncle Liao has no wife or children. I'm counting on you to take care of me in my old age, so why not? It's settled!"
Wu Shuangren turned to look at Wu Dongrong.
Wu Dongrong hadn't known beforehand that Liao Yu would make such a decision either. He fell silent for a moment, then said to Wu Shuangren, "If your Uncle Liao is giving it to you, accept it."
Wu Shuangren pressed his lips together, unsure how to accept such kindness.
After coming to this world, what he found hardest to get used to wasn't the change in living conditions or the change in society's rules, but the care he had so rarely experienced in the past.
It was like a head of cabbage: left outdoors in the bitter cold all winter, it wouldn't spoil. But bring it into a warm room, and it would go bad instead.
That night, Wu Shuangren drank quite a lot, getting drunk for the first time since coming to this world...
20 Mental Power
After Wu Shuangren became a constable, his daily life didn't change much.
A constable was actually less busy than a runner.
On his third day as a constable, Xu Nanzhi told him that the medicine for cultivating Mental Power was ready.
In Wu Shuangren's view, the most "fantastical" part of this world's internal arts was the so-called "Mental Power."
Simply put, "Mental Power" was the ability to freely control one's own state, changing from a perfectly still lake to a volcano on the verge of eruption!
In a state of extreme excitement, the human body could unleash greater potential. This was the benefit of Mental Power.
Xu Nanzhi handed Wu Shuangren a packet of white powder and a cup of plain water. "Take this medicine."
Wu Shuangren didn't hesitate and immediately did as she said.
The powder tasted slightly bitter, with a faint fishy tang. After taking it, Wu Shuangren sat quietly for a while, and the medicine soon took effect-
His heartbeat began to quicken, and his whole body grew hot. The feeling of lava flowing through his body, the same one he experienced when using internal arts, appeared.
A powerful impulse rose in Wu Shuangren's heart. He urgently wanted to do something, to vent the power inside him.
He twisted constantly on his stool, his breathing growing rapid.
He felt that what he had taken might be another world's version of a stimulant!
"Now try using the Mountain-Moving Method to mobilize the Qi and blood in your body."
Xu Nanzhi spoke to Wu Shuangren.
One of the core principles of breathing methods was "maintaining stillness." Only with a calm mind could one sense the flow of Qi and blood in the body and try to control it.
But Wu Shuangren was extremely excited at the moment and couldn't calm down at all.
"Don't rush. Take it slowly. Start with the simplest breathing rhythm."
Xu Nanzhi's voice flowed through Wu Shuangren's heart like a clear spring. It seemed to carry a kind of magic that could slowly calm him down.
Following her guidance, Wu Shuangren slowly adjusted his breathing rhythm and gradually entered the right state.
After all, he had used internal arts many times in the [Match for One Person] state, so this feeling wasn't unfamiliar to him.
A quarter of an hour later, he successfully used the Mountain-Moving Method.
"Not bad."
Xu Nanzhi smiled and nodded. "You already have plenty of experience using internal arts, so you were able to overcome the restlessness and use the breathing method the first time you took the medicine. This step is called 'Qi and Spirit Unite.'"