stand back, let me come

Chapter 1299: You have a serious illness (Part 1299) [Seeking monthly votes]

[Without your previous identity, a delicate girl like you will have a hard time living.] To venture into the world and indulge in the secular world, you need capital. Without a family background, you will need to exhaust your energy all day just to make a living. How can you have the leisure to enjoy the romance and freedom? Qi Cangchong winked at Mei Meng, [What are your plans for the future?]

Mei Meng lowered her eyes and looked at the sword at her waist.

What came to my mind were fragments from my dream.

[It would be best if there was a river nearby where you could fish and ferry, and a restaurant at the foot of the mountain that sold sour fish soup.]

Qi Cang knew that Mei Meng wanted to retire, but he didn't expect her idea to be so naive. His fierce face that could scare a child to tears wrinkled into a ball: [Just say you are naive, the river you said is easy to find, and the restaurant is not difficult, but do you know that private schools cost more money? ]

It would be better to open a martial arts school.

[She has never touched water in her life, and has never tasted the worldly pleasures.] He wanted to persuade Mei Meng to wake up, and looked at her pocket, [But you are a scholar after all, and it is easy for you to make some money. But this will inevitably cause more twists and turns. Shen Youli can let you go once, but she will not let you go a second time.]

The best job for a scholar is to be a strategist, especially for experienced people like Mei Meng. Mei Meng looks down on people with low social status, and those with high social status are easily involved in the world's situation. Unless the employer she finds belongs to Shen Youli's camp, it would be safe, but Mei Meng herself would not agree. If she could surrender to Shen Tang, how many great opportunities would she have had before? It was because she couldn't do it that she came to this step.

Qi Cang suggested: [How about... robbing the rich and giving to the poor? ]

Even though he has a broken arm, he still has the skill to kill.

Mei Meng said: [Are these the only methods you have? ]

Qi Cang heard the contempt in her words and snorted coldly.

Disdainfully asked: [Okay, lady, why don’t you tell me one? ]

The two came down from the thatched cottage on the barren mountain and walked for a long time before they saw a teahouse. There was a war going on nearby, but the business of the teahouse was not affected much, and it was even better. Some brave private merchants traveled between the two places, buying and selling, and made a small fortune.

Of course, it is mainly related to the area occupied by Kangguo.

[…I don’t dare to go to other places. They can skin you alive at any checkpoint. Not to mention earning enough money to support my family, I’m lucky to be able to save my life…They also said our goods were stolen goods from the granary, and they took them away by force.]

The returns are high, but the risks are also high.

There were two groups of people taking a break in the restaurant.

Judging from their accents and attire, one team came from the northwest and the other from the southwest. The northwest team looked energetic, with only a little bit of wind and frost from the long journey, and no confusion about the future. The southwest team had a bitter face, as if their business was not going well.

[How can there be no shortage of food during a war? 】

When there is a food shortage, of course we have to catch the fat sheep and slaughter them.

The merchant with a southwestern accent looked at his fellow merchant with envy. The caravan was three times bigger than his own, with more than thirty horse-drawn carriages filled with goods. The guards they hired also looked like martial artists, each of them tall and strong, giving people a full sense of security.

Since you can do business on such a large scale, you should ask me about the business secrets. I would be grateful for your advice.

They invited people to have tea, said nice things, and tried to get close to them.

A good brother in one mouthful.

The Northwest merchant smiled and said modestly: "Our assets are not all ours. Half of them are from my partner sister. In our business, we don't have to know much about other things, but we have to be well-informed and know what to do and what not to do. 】

Talking about these things makes people excited.

[For example, these guards all have important backgrounds. ]

【What's the origin? 】

[More than half of them have been on the battlefield and seen blood! Merchants want to keep their goods safe and hire reliable guards. If it weren't for my sister's connections, do you think it would be so easy to hire these people? They originally wanted to re-enlist, but the conditions didn't meet.]

【Conditions not met? 】

[I heard that there are no other brothers in the family to take care of the elderly parents, the baby is young, and the wife is pregnant...]

[Oh oh oh, that’s it. 】

Merchants from the southwest looked at the guards with envy.

The merchants in the northwest drank a few sips of the yellow soup and felt a warm feeling all over their bodies: [For another example, there are some businesses that you cannot get involved in. ]

What business?

【Please come closer and listen. 】

The two of them huddled together and whispered.

Their voices were not loud, but Mei Meng and the others could hear them clearly.

There was nothing wrong with merchants from all over the country doing business in the Kangguo occupied area, but they could not drive up prices too much. The government had a red line, and no matter whether the merchants were losing money or not, they would be killed if they crossed it. The prices of some categories could not be determined by merchants.

The price is fixed!

Other things are not constrained.

These words made the man from the southwest stunned.

[How can this be possible? Isn't this robbery? ]

It’s your own goods, so shouldn’t you have the final say on how to price them?

If it weren't for the huge profits, who would be willing to take the risk of traveling to areas with unstable security? It makes no sense for Kangguo to act like this!
Northwest hurriedly covered his mouth: [What do you know? ]

The merchant from the southwest felt many unfriendly eyes shooting at him, and after careful observation, he found that the people in the eyes were all the merchant guards. Thinking that these guards were all retired soldiers from the Kangguo Army, cold sweat broke out on his back. Fortunately, they did not make any other moves.

Northwest Merchant said: [See? ]

The southwestern merchant wiped his sweat off his forehead: [How rude. ]

Northwest merchants also understand him.

I used to think so too.

But everything has its pros and cons.

Huge profits can certainly make you rich overnight, but the risks are high. Losing the goods is the worst thing, the most worrying thing is losing your life on the way.

If you follow the rules of Kangguo and do business honestly, your profits at the end of the year will not be much lower than if you take risks, and your safety will be guaranteed. Moreover, if you do well and catch the eyes of a noble, you may even have a chance to establish a relationship with the royal family.

The sister he recognized was a typical example.

[Also, if you want to make money, try not to touch the food. ]

This business principle goes somewhat against common sense.

Mei Meng and Qi Cang couldn't help but listen carefully.

[Not touching food? That's not right...] Generally, when warlords fight, the transportation of food and grass is the top priority. No matter how many food transporters there are, it cannot guarantee that there will be enough food on the front line. In order to ensure safety, the people are generally encouraged to transport food and grass from other places.

The civilian food supply is considered a backup option, which can be plundered to save lives at critical moments. Why can't this person touch the food business?
[What do you know? You will lose money if you touch it. ]

Isn't it just to take advantage of the skyrocketing grain prices to make a profit by transporting grain to war zones? The problem is, what if the grain prices don't rise in this area? The labor costs of merchants, the cost of buying grain at high prices, the cost of loss along the way... these can make a person lose money.

[How, how could I lose money? ]

The Northwest merchant asked back: [Do you know how much the local grain price is? ]

He was asking about the price of grain in the area occupied by Kangguo.

Qi Cang looked at Mei Meng questioningly.

The southwestern merchants were stunned.

The Northwest merchant said: "I don't need to ask anyone to know that the price is at most one or two times higher than usual, not much higher. You think such a small profit is worth transporting thousands of miles and wasting manpower to send it here? It's not even enough to cover the expenses of the cooks and guards..."

You can still make some money.

There are places in the northwest where food is cheap and the output is high. I can use my connections to get some old food from previous years and sell it here. I can still make a profit after reducing the cost, but the cost performance is too low. Instead of wasting time, I might as well think of other ways...

【How could this be? 】

Mei Meng also wanted to ask why this was so.

Shen Tang's men were never troubled by food and grass. The Northwest Merchant said: [Come closer and listen.]

So and so. So and so.

In fact, he also heard it from hearsay. He had a distant relative who was a farmhand and the daughter of a neighbor. The land she was allocated was separated from the official land of Sinong Temple by a hill. It was said that the immortals cast a spell to make the land fertile, and it was unknown how many harvests could be harvested in a year...

[Do you understand? ]

[I see, I see. That's how it is.]

Mei Meng smiled bitterly when she heard this, sighed and stopped listening.

These are no longer important.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard the sound of hurried horse hooves in the distance.

The guards of the caravan saw the flag pattern on the man's waist and looked at him with surprise. They didn't know the man, but they knew the flag came from Kangguo! The man ignored their gaze and tightened the reins, forcing the warhorse under his crotch to neigh and stop.

The messenger took the wooden box off the horse's back.

The wooden box doesn't look big, but it is heavy.

The man looked around the teahouse and locked his sights on Mei Meng's table. He strode forward and handed the wooden box to her.

【You are? 】

[My general's surname is Lu.]

Mei Meng paused: [What is this? ]

The wooden box contained a lot of gold and silver bars, which could be converted into material goods to allow an ordinary family to live comfortably for two or three lifetimes. On the top was a half-broken token. Silver and money were easy to deal with, but what did this token mean?
The messenger faithfully conveyed Lu Jue's instructions, saying: "This is a token of the general's heart. If you return home to retrieve it, the journey will be long. You may as well accept it first, it can help you out of your immediate need. Whether you return it in the future or use it for other purposes is entirely up to you."

It’s not considered giving, it’s considered borrowing.

Qi Cang secretly raised his eyebrows.

Mei Meng really planned to go back to get the family property. Living in seclusion also requires secular capital support, and she is not stupid. If she doesn't take it, it will be given to others in the end. Qi Cang followed her because he had nothing to do, but he didn't expect someone to be a sucker and offer so much money on his own initiative.

This money -

Not to mention one private school, ten would be enough.

By the way, you can also sponsor all the students’ tuition fees.

The messenger said: [As for this token, it is a token of the silver shop. ]

Simply put, it is used to withdraw money.

There are only two coins, the main one and the secondary one, and the one in front of Mei Meng is the main one.

She played with the token.

The token was specially made, with two seals on it, one was Lu Jue's tiger seal, and the other should be the seal of the scholar used by the silver shop to identify the authenticity of the token. Mei Meng thought of the slap she had given him, and she was soft-hearted after all, and regretted saying harsh words.

After that slap, he must have cried his eyes out when he got back.

[Is your general okay? ]

[It's OK. The military doctor said that he will be fine after seven or eight days of bed rest.] The messenger didn't know why Lu Jue was beaten with a military stick, nor did he know why the master suddenly became angry and didn't allow the military doctor to cure him all at once, but seeing the general crying and laughing, he thought it was a good thing.

She didn't know whether the dream was true or false, whether it was a beautiful dream of her dying, or a prophecy of the future... But, several years later, at noon, a young ranger really knocked on the door of the private school, and she... Mei Meng lowered her eyes: [I'll take the token, and send the rest back. ]

Before that, we won’t see each other or miss each other, and we will just live our best.

The messenger looked embarrassed.

Qi Cang pressed the wooden box down with a slap.

[If you don’t want it, give it to me. ]

Mei Meng glanced at him: [For you? ]

Qi Cang accepted the wooden box and said, "Can't I take it by force? You are willing to endure the hardship, but I don't want to put myself in a difficult position. Listen to me, if a man is willing to give it to you, just take it. Who knows when he will change his mind? If you turn around and lose both your money and your man, wouldn't that be a loss? Oh, no, this is not given by a man, I took it by force with my own ability. 】

Be good to yourself and waste your time on others.

To be honest, Mei Meng is just too twisted.

Taking a step back, life is a wilderness where thousands of horses are galloping!

Mei Meng: [……]

The messenger will not stay any longer once he has completed his mission.

Mei Meng rubbed his eyebrows and sighed.

Qi Cang used his remaining hand to pick up the gold bar and rub it on his clothes. This golden color is rare: [We have enough money for the journey and the money for opening a private school. Are you going back to Qi Country? ]

Mei Meng shook her head: [No.]

But without a goal, the world is so big and I don’t know where to go.

Furthermore——

[The State of Qi will soon be in mourning. If she goes there, she will easily fall into Cui Zhi's hands...] She doesn't have many blood relatives in the world, and it is unlikely that her brother and his descendants will listen to her advice to retreat while the going is good. After thinking about it, she decided to give up.

【National mourning? 】

[Yes, it is a national mourning.]

[Shen Youli shouldn't kill her.]

Shen Tang even let Mei Meng go, and only asked her to keep her identity secret in the future. It is impossible that he would not let go of a defeated ruler who wanted to survive. With the temper of the ruler of Qi, it was only a matter of time before he surrendered. Why would Shen kill such a sensible person?
[I also didn’t say that Shen Jun killed her.]

Qi Cang guessed: [Cui Zhishan? Not really, after all, they are ex-husband and ex-wife, and they still have a hundred nights of love after one night of marriage.]

[It’s Youbao, Youbao-kun! ]

Mei Meng never told the King of Qi that if he wanted to surrender and survive, he had to get rid of You Bao who was beside her. It's not that she didn't remind him, but compared to You Bao, who was a sweet talker, Mei Meng looked hateful and her words were unpleasant to the ear...

Qi Cang couldn't remember this person for a moment: [You Baojun? ]

Mei Meng now stepped out of the chess game, and the things that were puzzling in the past became clear: [You Baojun should be Shen Jun's man. ]

[Then she will not die. That person should not mind having another mascot to beautify her reputation. It doesn't cost money to keep it.]

Even Wu Xian was supported, let alone the King of Qi?
Mei Meng: [You are talking about Shen Jun's demands, but you forgot You Baojun's position. She also needs to make contributions, doesn't she? ]

The ruler of Qi State can die or live.

Lord Shen did not explicitly say that this person could not be killed, so between the two options, You Baojun would certainly choose the one that was more beneficial to himself. Just wait and see, the Qi State will have a national mourning. She wore mourning before going to die, not for herself who was about to go to the underworld, but for the national mourning that would happen after her death: [What can I do about it. ]

[If there is a national mourning...]

Mei Meng's pale face was hidden in the shadow of the teahouse.

Only bitterness remains at the root of the tongue: [The Qi Kingdom is about to perish. ]

Qi Cang took a sip of tea: [It's not your homeland. It's gone, so be it. I, a Qi countryman, don't feel sad. Let's not talk about these sad things. You've been given so much money by a fool. Where are you going to open a private school? If there's no place, I have a good place. It's beautiful, with clear water and mountains. But it has a lot of yin energy, and I need the students' yang energy to suppress it! ]

|ω`)
That’s pretty much all Mei Meng’s role in the main story.

A big reason why she retired to the mountains was because the King of Qi was too cruel. The king wanted his subject to die, and the two of them broke up completely. Mei Meng's persistence over the past decade was almost negated, and her Taoism almost collapsed (if she was simply hit by Tang Mei, it would actually be okay, because she is the kind of person who becomes more courageous as the battle goes on).

Of course, it doesn't mean that she gave up on herself by retreating to the mountains to teach. She just chose another feasible path. Was it to give up martial arts and turn to literature? To teach and save the world?

The ending of the character Mei Meng was actually determined from the beginning of the design. After all the hard work and a big dream, it is the real life.

In addition, Mei Meng and Lu Jue are considered BE in the main text, and it will take more than ten years.