Lord of the Desert

Chapter 212
On May 29, the He family's pilgrimage hall.

The doors and windows were closed, and the outside was heavily guarded, and no one was allowed to come within fifteen feet.

There are all high-level people in the hall.

Not only the clan elders, but even the previous patriarch who was over ninety years old and whose lifespan was nearing the end of his life were invited out by the two head brothers, and sat beside the patriarch holding a cigarette stick.

He Zhixin stood under the hall, quietly watching the bag of purple powder wrapped in white silk being passed around for inspection by everyone.

After a while, the silk bag was passed back to him.

"Everyone has confirmed the quality of this bag of Duo Zhuzi."

He Zhixin said.

"Hong Fan told me that he can separate almost all the nobles from wood chips."

"According to the amount of waste he took away, this statement should be true."

"I carefully calculated the ratio. If we reach a cooperation, just relying on the Cicada Wuming cultivated by ourselves, the production of Xisui Pill in January can be equal to the original March!"

he said in a low voice.

"Based on the current production estimate of 54 pieces in January, we can make a profit of [-] taels a year."

The hall was silent, no one spoke for a while, only the sound of heavy breathing one after another.

"Too optimistic."

An old man swallowed, pretending to be calm.

"Where will there be so many? When the supply increases, the price will decrease."

Another elder immediately refuted.

"If it's only shipped in Liangzhou, of course that's true, but we can also sell to other states."

"One thousand marrow-washing pills a month, but enough for two hundred or so people in the Hunran Realm, what's the point of going to Kyushu and Three Kingdoms?"

"What's more, with this method, we can collect all the cicada Wuming waste from other houses..."

His cheeks flushed.

"It's a great thing to make an extra 10 taels a year..."

At this time, the old patriarch shrank in the armchair, sucked in a cigarette with his mouth pursed, and said.

Hearing his statement, the radicals in the hall cheered up.

"That's what I meant too!"

The elder who just spoke hastily said.

"The Hong family of Jinhai is just a small surname in the frontier. We give up [-]% of the bonus, which is enough to satisfy them..."

He was talking, but was interrupted by the coughing of the old patriarch.

"If you're in such a hurry, let's talk about it; the family earns an extra 10 taels a year, what's so good about it?"

The latter raised his drooping eyelids slightly, revealing some dark eyes, and stared at it.

"Are you asking what is good about being rich?"

The clan elder was stared nervously, and his words became dry.

"Well, there are too many good places for money; the clan can allocate the best expenses, and the disciples can use the best weapons..."

He spoke more and more smoothly.

"Even if we rely on hard money, we can win a spot in the Asura Sect Upper Court every year!"

"that's it?"

The old patriarch sneered.

"There are [-] Xisui Pills produced in January, and our family's production capacity accounts for half of Liangzhou's production capacity."

"At that time, the Liu family's reputation as the most luxurious in Xijing will also have to be given up to us."

"Is this okay?"

Now everyone could hear that what the old man said was ironic.

"Have you forgotten? Why did we move out of the city?"

The old patriarch gave a low drink.

"I, He Bokai, don't have the cultivation of sympathy between heaven and man, and I probably won't live to be a hundred years old. What I said may not count now."

"Siyuan, you are the number one expert in the clan, and you are born with the Five Harmonies."

He looked at his grandson, He Siyuan, the current head of the He family and the elder brother of He Zhixin.

"Let me ask you, is the net profit of more than 50 taels a year, a He family with no magnetism and heaven and man in charge, worthy of earning it?"

"Not fit."

He Siyuan replied without hesitation.

"Then just watch Hong give the method to another family?"

Some people are still dissatisfied.

"Now the state guard and the governor are having a lot of trouble. It's time to rely heavily on the subordinates. Who dares to touch us?"

"Third Uncle, this is the case at the moment, but it's always right to think more about it."

This time it was He Zhixin who answered the call.

"We don't deserve to earn so much, so let's earn less."

"The idea of ​​my brother and I is to find a company that can stand up to the sky in Liangzhou, let a few percent of the shares go out, and take care of this relationship."

He humbly smiled.

"Which one are you looking for, Liu? Shen?"

Someone questioned.

"In order to avoid suspicion, in the past few months, the family has clearly ordered the children not to associate with these two parties; if they join forces with them, then it is clear that they have chosen sides!"

"Of course it won't be them."

He Siyuan shook his head.

"How about finding Liangzhou Qi as a supervisor? I have a good personal relationship with Mr. Zhuang, and they are much more disciplined than ordinary families."

"As far as excuses are provided by Mr. Zhuang, our He family was only selected to cooperate exclusively."

There was silence in the hall.

Several clan elders outside the long room instinctively wanted to refute, but they couldn't find a reason.

To some extent, Qi Zuo Jian is very similar to the He family—economically rich, but weak in military force.

Zhuang Liren, as one of the best "masters" in Liangzhou Prefecture, has innate three-in-one cultivation, but his combat power may not be as good as the innate veteran general in the army.

But the business of making utensils as prisons is something that no one dares to touch.

Because it is one of the eight ministries and the money bag of the imperial court, the word "Xiao" is written on every copper coin earned.

There are not many who dare to compete for food from the emperor's plate.

······
The next afternoon.

Hong Fan rode his horse past the high blue wall, and saw the pair of giant stone lions with flames in their mouths and gears again.

At the end of the hardened concrete road, Zhuang Liren's valet "A Nian" was waiting in the shade of a tree.

Seeing Hong Fan approaching, the young man hurried up to greet him as if he had been pardoned.

Zhuang Liren was wearing a bachelor's robe, playing with a prism under the skylight with one hand, and chewing on a slice of watermelon with the other.

Although he is a literary cultivator, at least he has innate cultivation skills, and he is not afraid of the scorching heat.

The sound of Hong Fan's footsteps entering the door interrupted Zhuang Liren's thoughts.

"I'm bothering Mr. Zhuang."

He said politely.

"Why do we need to be polite between us?"

Zhuang Liren waved his hands quickly, and when he saw Hong Fan on his dull face, he immediately put on a smile.

"The new watermelon sent by the city guard's mansion has been ripened with the real energy of the wood. It's sweet, you have to try it!"

He walked back to the table in a few steps, took out half of a melon soaked in cold water, and cut off a piece as soon as he breathed out.

In Jinhai, Hong Fan had never seen a watermelon.

He took it with nostalgia, took a bite, and it was as sweet as his memory.

"I just used a prism to observe the dispersion of light, and I suddenly had a doubt—is the color a characteristic of the object itself, or is it a reaction to white light..."

As Zhuang Liren said, he saw Ah Nian leaning against the door and not leaving, his eyes firmly stuck to the watermelon in the copper basin.

So he had to cut another piece and handed it over with distress.

When the young man jumped out the door with a smile in his arms, the two sat down at the table.

"The question about the cycloid last time, I compiled your answer into a document and sent it to Mei Chengxue - it took eight hundred miles to expedite it."

Zhuang Liren said impatiently as soon as he sat down.

"He didn't write me back."

"However, I heard from others that after reading your answer, the old boy was so shocked that he couldn't say a word, and then burned his own article."

He raised the corners of his mouth as he spoke, overjoyed.

(End of this chapter)