Chapter 19: Strategy
Chen Shun’an listened to Instructor Lin’s description.
The Dragon Returns to the Sea, storing blood with the Bone Marrow Shock!
Pearl Gathering and Origin Retrieval, mobilizing Qi Seeds to nourish the body and fight enemies!
Jade Network Connected Robe, blades and spears cannot wound, water and fire cannot penetrate, locking in Qi and Blood!
At this moment, the cultivation of the Second-rate Realm was clearly laid out before Chen Shun’an.
Chen Shun’an also brought up his martial arts doubts at the right time, such as ‘When vibrating bone joints, can one start with unimportant fine bone joints first?’, ‘Vibration of cranial bones and organs’, ‘Martial Path schools sharing the same root, same source’…
Instructor Lin scoffed.
“The notion of starting with fine details and tempering toes and palm bones is utter nonsense, the opinion of fools and simpletons! If one part is strong and another is weak, when force flows through the entire body, it will be like fragile porcelain, shattering at the slightest touch?!
In the end, will there only be one strongest point in the entire body?
Bone Marrow Shock, vibrating the bone marrow, each vibration must ensure it spreads throughout the body! It’s only due to the amount of Qi and Blood Seeds that the Jade Network Connected Robe may not cover hidden and vulnerable areas like the skull and lower abdomen.
This is how the rumor spread that I, Lin Shou Zhuo, only tempered to the skull and haven’t reached Great Accomplishment in Bone Quenching. It can only fool outsiders!”
Instructor Lin nearly drank the entire pot of Herbal Tea, but his stomach showed no signs of swelling.
He continued to explain, “As for the organs and brain marrow during vibration… naturally, they require the nourishment of Great Medicine and external protection.”
“Regarding the matter of sharing the same root, same source, it is too far from your current realm. Explaining it would be in vain, so it’s better not to say.”
Hearing this, Chen Shun’an couldn’t help but stand up straight and cautiously cupped his fists towards Instructor Lin,
“Thank you for your guidance, Instructor Lin.”
Instructor Lin waved his hand and said, “We are all brothers. If you can truly Breakthrough to Second-rate, I will also earn more Merit with the Landlord. Besides, you are after all the son-in-law of the Zhang family. You will have access to these things eventually if you put your mind to it.”
Chen Shun’an didn’t say much more and sat back in his seat.
The curtain was lifted, and the Shopkeeper and Wan Niang entered carrying wooden trays.
Seeing Chen Shun’an, Wan Niang’s gaze was as usual, clearly the Shopkeeper had informed her in advance.
They placed the braised beef, Old Hen and Ginseng Soup, Bird’s Nest Roasted Duck, and other dishes on the table, and then slowly left.
There were six people at the table, but nine dishes and two soups!
And each dish was a generous portion.
Chen Shun’an, with sharp eyes, also spotted a pot of Tiao Bao Fish soup!
Judging by its color and aroma, it was younger and smaller than the one Chen Shun’an had bought before.
Even so, Chen Shun’an simply estimated that this table of food would likely cost around three taels of silver, nearly a month’s wages for Chen Shun’an!
“Decadent! Depraved! …Fortunately, I am the one enjoying it.”
Chen Shun’an didn’t stand on ceremony and decisively picked up his chopsticks, his movements as swift as the wind.
As for the others, including Instructor Lin, they were elegant in their movements, but none chewed slowly.
Especially Instructor Lin, his pearly white teeth were like a cutting blade. Whether it was bone or beef tendon, after passing through his mouth, it turned into powder and paste, entering his stomach.
A gentle breeze lifted a corner of the curtain.
The stuffy and hot air in the hall clung stickily to Chen Shun’an’s calves.
Like old grime and oil.
Just separated by a wall, Instructor Lin and the others were eating medicinal delicacies and enjoying a warm breeze.
While the Water Carriers outside were crowded around a table, eating offal and rice, their bodies slick with sweat.
At this moment, Chen Shun’an felt that the food in his hands suddenly became exceptionally fragrant and sweet.
He decided to hold onto this rice bowl tightly.
…
Wanlong Pounding House.
The hall was spacious, with rice grains piled up like mountains. Dozens of apprentices held large stone mortars, pounding the rice grains within.
Voices of argument came from the storeroom behind the pounding house.
The apprentices had solemn expressions, their gazes fixed forward, not daring to glance at the storeroom.
“Shopkeeper Xiang! Weihang Street has gone too far!! Especially Lin Shou Zhuo, he ambushed from behind and injured Brother Zhuang so badly…”
“Exactly! And that guy named Liu, I almost lost my descendants!”
“And someone stepped on my head, I think his name was Chen Shun’an?”
Inside the storeroom.
A group of wounded soldiers and defeated fighters were applying medicine and bandaging their legs, groaning incessantly. Everyone who could walk from the morning’s conflict had come.
At this moment, they all looked towards the leader.
The leader was of medium build, with a fair complexion and a handsome appearance. He was the shopkeeper of Wanlong Pounding House.
Shopkeeper Xiang solemnly promised,
“Brothers, rest assured, once I meet with the Landlord, I will definitely mobilize troops and generals to vent your anger! Weihang Street will have to come and apologize!!”
Having received the assurance, everyone left satisfied, leaving only Shopkeeper Xiang and Zhuang Kun in the room.
Although he had taken powerful medicinal drugs for healing and bone setting, Zhuang Kun’s face was still deathly pale, his breath faint. It would take months of recuperation for him to recover.
Zhuang Kun’s face showed hatred: “Shopkeeper Xiang, count me in when you mobilize troops and generals! Lin Shou Zhuo is arrogant and overbearing, I will definitely get my revenge!”
Shopkeeper Xiang looked at Zhuang Kun inexplicably and said,
“I was lying to them, and you actually believed it?”
Zhuang Kun was stunned.
“I can’t beat Lin Shou Zhuo, and the Landlord can’t beat Zhao Guangxi. How can we retaliate? I was counting on you guys to annoy them, but I didn’t expect you to be so useless?”
Shopkeeper Xiang shrugged and inventoried the rough rice, polished rice, and bran in the warehouse.
The pounding house did not produce value, but it could skim profits, taking a cut of the value.
This rice husk in the warehouse was all ‘wear and tear’ from pounding the rice.
“Then we just let it go?”
“No choice, we have to endure it for now. If our skills are inferior to others, we can only lie low and wait for the right time. If there’s an opportunity…”
A cold glint flashed in Shopkeeper Xiang’s eyes. He then glanced at Zhuang Kun and asked,
“How is the matter I assigned you coming along?”
Zhuang Kun’s expression immediately tensed, and he said with a deep voice,
“The first batch of goods has already been entrusted to Yin Qian Cui of the Ghost Market for sale. The effect is astonishing, it’s simply a Miraculous Pill! Those who burn it [with Paste Fire] are utterly unable to do without it…”
Shopkeeper Xiang nodded with satisfaction,
“That’s good. Speed up the transfer of the later shipments and temporarily store them in the Rice Barn in the Outskirts.
The Southern Prefecture’s Twelve Guilds don’t know where they got this stuff. As long as they don’t stop taking it, it can make people’s minds clear, enhance their physical strength, and there’s no tolerance or Sequelae, it’s just a bit expensive…”
Zhuang Kun said softly, “But once they stop, those who burn it will wish they were dead, suffering from headaches and insomnia, appearing withered. It’s rather…”
“What, you can’t bear it?”
“No, Brother Zhuang means to say, it’s a waste. Why not take this opportunity to monopolize the county’s pain relief medicine and sleeping pills, and open more Shrouds shops and funeral parlors…”
“Hahaha, that’s interesting!”
Shopkeeper Xiang nodded slightly and said with a smile,
“But your vision is still narrow, it’s small-scale. Hibiscus Paste Fire is expensive and produced in small quantities. It cannot be sold initially, only given away!”
“Give it away?” Zhuang Kun looked confused.
“Give it to declining Imperial Clan Descendants, give it to First-rate Warriors with no hope of advancement, give it to commoner Heavenly Prides who desperately need to enter officialdom or join the army, give it to Officials who are tired of fine food and beautiful women…”
Shopkeeper Xiang’s gaze was deep, his voice cold.
“Form alliances and bind these people’s interests tightly to my Pounding House… Then, what Lin Shou Zhuo, what Zhao Guangxi, and even the Capital Water Merchants Association, will be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, easily crushed with a flick of the finger!”
Zhuang Kun’s expression changed immediately, and he was speechless for a long time.
The more he thought about it, the more profound he found these words to be. He seemed to see a glimpse of the Pounding House’s magnificent future, stepping heavily on the Water Stations.
Zhuang Kun said with awe,
“Brother-in-law, you are truly far-sighted, and what you say makes so much sense!”
Shopkeeper Xiang nodded,
“Oh, this is what the Landlord told me. I also think it makes a lot of sense.”
Zhuang Kun: “…”
