Chapter 107: Taking Out Small Loans
“How dare you! Zhao Guanghui is definitely here for Instructor Lin. You’re just a money-loser, who would want you!”
Lin Shou Zhuo’s expression was calm as he said, “Let’s eat. Less gossip about the landlord’s affairs.”
The crowd nodded and said no more.
Chen Shun’an looked up in the direction the private sedan chair had disappeared, his eyes narrowing slightly.
The gaze Zhao Guanghui had cast upon him just now seemed to hold no goodwill…
…
“Was that old man just now Chen Shun’an?”
In the private sedan chair, Zhao Guanghui looked at Huo Ning indifferently.
Huo Ning hurriedly stood up, patted the non-existent dust from his shoulders, and bowed,
“Replying to the landlord, that person is Chen Shun’an. Last night, under the pretense of treating the laborers, I went to Banye Pharmacy and gave them the low-interest bills.”
Zhao Guanghui’s gaze sharpened and he said, “Low-interest bills? Are you trying to set a trap and boil the frog in warm water to swallow them whole?”
In fact, Zhao Guanghui was not aware of Huo Ning’s actions of contacting Lin Shou Zhuo and Chen Shun’an, using low-interest bills to lure them into borrowing from King of Hell’s Account.
This was a minor detail. Zhao Guanghui had no time to concern himself with every single matter.
It was all the people below, who, based on Zhao Guanghui’s moods and emotions, had figured it out and understood.
Even Chen Shun’an, Zhao Guanghui had never heard of before.
It was only when a report came in saying that his brother Zhao Guangxi seemed to value Chen Shun’an quite highly and had designated him as the shopkeeper of Black Sand Well.
Only then did the name Chen Shun’an enter Zhao Guanghui’s field of vision.
Huo Ning said, “I dare not hide anything from the landlord. Lin Shou Zhuo broke through to First-rate in his late forties. He also has a single grandson. Not only does he need to save up for his own martial arts practice, but he also needs to pave the way for his grandson. He’s a man who lacks money.”
Chen Shun’an comes from a poor background. He has lost his wife consecutively, has no children in his old age, and lives in a leaky small courtyard with a widow, engaged in improper activities. Now that he has barely reached the Second-rate Mid Stage realm, he probably already harbors thoughts of marrying and having children and buying a courtyard. How could the broken silver that Zhao Guangxi gives him monthly satisfy his appetite? As long as a slight trap is set, I’m not afraid he won’t take the bait, and perhaps we can get another laborer.
Although Sun Xiao is a bachelor, his Spider Poison Hand cultivation method requires him to take Thousand Gold Detoxifying Powder daily to suppress the toxins, which costs several taels a month.
Cheng Bin is lame and appears honest and simple, but he is fond of the red-light district. Recently, he has even been entangled with a prostitute named Xiao Man. They are infatuated with each other, doting and cherishing her, and he wants to redeem her from her profession…
At this moment, the life experiences and various details of Lin Shou Zhuo, Chen Shun’an, and others were all recounted by Huo Ning without omission.
Huo Ning chuckled and said, “They are all excellent creditors!”
Zhao Guanghui nodded and said,
“You decide how to proceed. However, regarding Chen Shun’an, after falling into the well, he soared. In just two months, he broke through several realms. Some people speculate that he might have luckily obtained the Dragon Vein’s earthly energy, strengthening his bones and changing his constitution.
You can pressure him a bit and see what opportunities he has. Try to win him over first. If that doesn’t work…”
Zhao Guanghui’s eyes were deep, and his voice was icy,
“Then proceed as you planned, take him as a dog, and make him a laborer.”
“Your subordinate understands.”
The sedan chair swayed, heading towards the county gate.
Zhao Guanghui sat on the tiger-skin rug, closed his eyes and nourished his spirit, and in an instant, he had forgotten about Chen Shun’an and the others.
He only needed to grasp the general direction and know the outcome.
The rest would be handled by his subordinates.
And today, he had a more important task.
A supervisor from Yue Shan Daoist Academy has arrived, apparently because the Hibiscus Paste Fire was ruined and Tian Xuan Saint is trapped in Yanziwu.
As one of the Four Great Daoist Academies in Tongzhou City, Yue Shan Daoist Academy was funded and expanded by the Shun Tian Governor. It houses countless books, from the writings of ancient sages to secret manuals of various martial arts sects.
It is known as a place where “people bathe in the grace of poetry and books, with no equal in heroism and great scholarship. Loyal ministers and righteous individuals all emerge from here, serving as choices for the nation’s pillars.”
There are even rumors that Yue Shan Daoist Academy has a living Martial Dao Grandmaster presiding over it, and even an Immortal in seclusion, lying in eternal repose on a cloud platform.
It is worth mentioning that Yue Shan Daoist Academy has publicly declared that Tian Xuan Saint is not an Immortal, but a martial artist who has obtained Immortal Fate.
They have cut ties at lightning speed.
Therefore, this supervisor is a very important figure to Zhao Guanghui and even the entire Wuqing County.
It’s a pity that, for some reason, this person prefers to travel in obscurity and his whereabouts are uncertain, not having informed them of his arrival time in Wuqing County.
So Zhao Guanghui decided.
Regardless of the weather, he would come to the county gate to wait every day, determined to secure this connection.
He painstakingly tried to make others his dogs, his laborers.
And he, too, wanted to be someone else’s dog.
…
The sun had just climbed over the eastern earthen wall.
Chaodou Hutong.
Wan Niang scooped up a ladle of soybeans, squinting her eyes to pick out the occasional small pebbles and shriveled bad beans mixed in. After soaking and washing them, she put them into the grinding stone.
The normally heavy stone mill seemed quite light in Wan Niang’s hands, her movements steady and rhythmic.
As the millstone turned, her chest, which was bulging and full, trembled ceaselessly, exuding a luster so tender it seemed to drip with moisture at a gentle squeeze.
The Chicken Head Pearl Sweet Water was subtly changing Wan Niang’s physique.
While not exactly a process of cleansing the marrow and purging the blood, it was far beyond that of an ordinary person. It nourished the yin, invigorated the blood, extended life, and even made her skin and figure appear translucent.
With a “creak,” the half-closed courtyard gate opened.
Upon seeing the person who had arrived, Wan Niang quickly put down the grinding lever in her hand and hurried to meet him.
“Brother, you’re back?”
Seeing Chen Shun’an perfectly fine and not appearing injured, Wan Niang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Shun’an smiled.
“With you at home, why wouldn’t I come back quickly? Today is a holiday at the Well, so I won’t be going out.”
“Oh, good, good…”
Wan Niang squinted and chuckled softly, her unadorned face as beautiful as a peach blossom.
Seeing this, Chen Shun’an felt a desire surge within him to crush and embrace Wan Niang.
Without hesitation, he lifted her up by the waist.
“Come, come into the room with me!”
After a bout of passion, Wan Niang’s legs and waist felt weak. She playfully punched Chen Shun’an’s chest with her fist and quickly, as if on wings, got up, dressed, and returned to the courtyard.
The soybeans had been soaking all morning; they would be rotten by now.
In the bedroom, Chen Shun’an got up feeling refreshed.
He moved the bed board, opened the hidden compartment, and placed all his possessions before him, including the thirty Jingping Yuanbao he had obtained today.
There were a total of twelve taels of broken silver, and besides that, there were some Spirit Disrupting Great Medicine and hidden weapons for daily use, as well as a few hairpins and silver jewelry.
This jewelry was the relics of his late wife, Madam Zhang, from his fifth wife. Chen Shun’an would absolutely not touch them unless he was in dire straits.
So, it appeared that Chen Shun’an currently had only a little over thirty taels of silver that he could use.
And he was still reluctant to spend the Jingping Yuanbao, which looked so lovely.
“So poor…”
Chen Shun’an sighed.
The monthly stipend of 24 taels of silver was enough to support a Second-rate Mid Stage, or even a Second-rate Late Stage martial artist.
But for Chen Shun’an, who had Slayed Three Bandits, it was far from sufficient.
The silver obtained from looting Wanlong Pounding House’s rice barn and intercepting fighters two months ago had been almost entirely depleted, transformed into Chen Shun’an’s strength.
And now, ordinary Five-wheel Water had no spirit-nurturing effect on Chen Shun’an.
He needed Spirit Nurturing Great Medicine with better medicinal effects.
In addition, delivering Blessed Water daily was also an indispensable cultivation practice, which also required money.
Although Chen Shun’an had many ways to earn money now.
Selling Sweet Water, or even packaging Ran Yi Calming Water.
But it seemed…
All a bit slow.
Chen Shun’an took out a blank note from his bosom.
He seemed to have thought of something, his eyes gradually lighting up.
King of Hell’s Account, usury, compound interest, draining the bones and marrow, and still unable to repay.
However, Chen Shun’an remembered that Guanghui Money House was a private establishment and was not backed by the court.
The strongest martial artist stationed there, openly speaking, was only at the Slay Two Bandits, Slay Three Bandits realm.
At most, there was a First-rate expert at the Slay Four Thieves realm, and that would already be considered Guanghui Money House having hidden talents.
Anything higher was simply impossible.
Anyone who reached the Slay Five Thieves realm was already seeking to break through to Slay Six Thieves, with the hope of becoming a Martial Dao Grandmaster.
The assistance that ordinary gold and silver could provide had become negligible.
They needed various heavenly treasures and elixirs, and insights from observing Heaven and Earth.
Why would they stay under the command of a mere Water Station Landlord?
So…
Dealing with King of Hell’s Account is full of infinite danger, and bankruptcy is inevitable sooner or later, unable to repay the money?
Then it’s very simple, I just won’t repay the money!
Once the thought of free-riding arose, the world suddenly felt vast.
Chen Shun’an decided. He would take out small loans!
