Lord of the Desert

Chapter 416 Face
Five days later, August 30th.

As the sky gradually darkens, the deep blue night chases the half-set sun from the west to the east.

Xijing Jiang Mansion, Tiger Hall.

Jiang Danhu, dressed in a black colorful brocade robe, was leaning lazily in a nanmu armchair. He took a persimmon cake from the high table and put it in his mouth to chew it. Next to him sat a quiet woman with a bun.

Not long after, Jiang Wenbai and several young people of the same generation walked in quietly one after another, saluted to the two men, and sat on the left and right.

"I asked you to come here because I want to ask your opinions on something."

When Jiang Danhu saw that everyone had arrived, he pushed his huge body forward, causing the wooden chair to groan and creak.

"I met Hong Fan today."

He noticed the expressions of several juniors out of the corner of his eye, so he added another sentence.

"It's Chisha Hongfan who is on the Tianjiao Ranking."

"Why did he come to look for my uncle?"

Jiang Wenbai frowned in surprise.

"Of course he came to visit for a reason. He told me three things today, and the first one is about you."

Jiang Danhu laughed.

"What happened at Mingyue Tower?"

Jiang Wenbo guessed, and when he saw his uncle nod, he couldn't help but think of the punishment he received at that time.

“The second thing is that he reviewed his cooperation with our Jiang family.”

The dispute at Mingyue Tower was of no importance, so Jiang Danhu just skipped over it with a few words.

"When did our family cooperate with Chisha?"

Jiang Wenbai's cousin Jiang Junhao was surprised.

"The clan now has to buy 100 Marrow Cleansing Pills from Tianhe Bank every month, and you guys are all using them."

Jiang Danhu glanced at his juniors as he said this.

"Two years ago, the He family only produced 500 marrow cleansing pills per month. The clan members were not even qualified to sit at the same table with you at banquets. Later, with the establishment of Tianhe Bank, the production capacity has increased steadily. Now the monthly output of pills has skyrocketed to 2,200. This business is incredible, with a net profit of nearly one million taels of silver per year. If it weren't for the support of the weapon factory, the He family would definitely not be able to hold on."

"What does this have to do with Chisha?"

Jiang Junhao was still confused.

"Yes. You may have heard that this company has a mysterious owner besides the He family and the Weapon Maker Supervisor."

When Jiang Danhu said this, he couldn't help but nod in admiration.

"Yes, just as you think, it is Hong Fan."

After hearing this, several younger generations of the Jiang family instinctively thought that Hong Fan was bragging, but they remained speechless after opening their mouths several times.

Because if this matter is absurd, then Hong Fan going to the door to lie to a Yuanci master is even more absurd.

"Finally, there is a third thing."

Jiang Danhu waited for his nephews and nephews to calm down before talking about the last thing.

"He said that there was some dispute between our family and the Jinci Sect over the construction of the official road in the north of the city, and he hoped that I could give him a favor and settle the matter - I will recite the original words for you: 'Hong Fan will definitely repay this favor in the future'."

He shook his head at this point, but his interest grew.

"I, Jiang Danhu, am sixty-four years old this year, more than half a century older than him, but he still calls me Brother Jiang and even brings me persimmon cakes made by my old lady as a souvenir!"

Jiang Danhu actually stroked his beard and laughed.

Jiang Wenbo and others raised their eyebrows when they heard this.

"This is really like a toad yawning, what a big tone! Hong Fan is six years younger than me, how could he talk to my uncle like this?"

Jiang Junhao shouted first.

"When Su Peifeng was on the Tianjiao list, he was only at the bottom of the list with my uncle, and he never lost his manners in front of us. But who does this kid think he is..."

His face flushed and he shouted angrily. He pressed on the chair and was about to curse again, but Jiang Danhu reached out to stop him.

"So, what do you think is wrong?" the latter asked in a calm voice.

Jiang Junhao met his uncle's gaze and was suddenly speechless as if ice water was poured over his head.

"Uncle, Hong Fan has only entered the Xiantian realm at the age of 20, but he is speaking of human nature in front of you. This is really rude."

Jiang Wenbai stood up to rescue his cousin.

"So you think I should refute him?"

Jiang Danhu asked back, his meaning was unclear.

Jiang Wenbai couldn't figure out what his elders meant and hesitated to reply.

Jiang Danhu did not force it, and looked at the woman sitting next to him: "Third Grandmother, what do you think?"

The latter was full of disgust when he heard this, and rolled his eyes at him: "If you want to ask questions, ask them nicely."

This man's name is Jiang Qinghuai, he is thirty-seven years old this year, and is an innate four-in-one martial artist. He is the third best in the Jiang family.

Although she looks young, she is of a high generation, being Jiang Danhu's grandmother. But it is said that she was held in his arms when she was still a baby.

"I went to see the latest three lists today, and Hong Fan ranked 38th."

"Often one-third of the heroes on the Tianjiao list can enter Yuanci, and this person is a Star Lord. You just want to give him face because you value his potential."

Jiang Qinghuai replied.

"Qing Huai's words are both right and wrong."

Jiang Danhu said indifferently, obviously not satisfied with these words.

"I have been combative since I was young. I am not as far-sighted as the old man of the Shen family. I only care about what is in front of me. In the first half of my life, I traveled around the country with nothing. I made friends with at least fifty outstanding people of the time. But even a brilliant man like Heming ended up in a miserable end."

"The future is not yet here, so it cannot be counted; whether a person has face in my eyes depends on whether I can kill him and whether I dare to kill him."

"Hong Fan and Xiantian are combined, so it will not be difficult for me to kill him."

Jiang Danhu narrowed his eyes slightly and made a sound through his teeth.

"But I don't dare, so he should have face in front of me."

The candlelight in the room flickered without wind, and there was silence for a moment.

Everyone in the mansion knew that Jiang Danhu valued courage, so Jiang Wenbo's cousin Jiang Shaoying mustered up the courage to refute: "Uncle, you think too highly of him. Hong Fan has some fame and connections, but if uncle really kills him, who would bother about a dead person?"

"You were right in the past."

Jiang Danhu leaned back in his chair and looked up at the brackets of the Tiger Hall.

"Last April, Hong Fan, with the help of the Second of the Eight Divisions, forcibly killed Ao Zhixian in Wuzheng Garden. I still didn't take him seriously."

"Because the weapon production supervisor has money but no power, and Zhuang Liwen is a kind person, there is no need to worry about him; Xu Guinian's fists are harder than mine, but he is ruthless and unkind, so at most he can use this as an excuse to make a fuss for a while, and I won't make it too difficult."

"But it's different now."

"Oh, I'm talking to you today because I want to warn you of a truth. For a family like ours, we can usually deal with those prominent people in Xijing City, but we should be more careful about those people in Jianghu - such as Gu Yixin, Qu Luoyi, Qiu Yuankui, and the righteous army in the three counties of Huaiyang who have a life-and-death friendship with Hong Fan!"

"Imagine that when I wake up one day, Gu Yixin is blocking my house with his broken gun, wanting to fight me to the death. Why bother? Hey, that guy can fight Feng Manyun, who has cultivated ten classics, to a draw as soon as he breaks through. I may not be able to defeat him..."

He whispered, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I heard that Hong Fan has been getting close to the Shen family recently and has opened a new business. Although I don't know what it will do, the investment is not small."

"In short, he is no longer on par with you guys - in Liangzhou, Chisha Hongfan is a well-known figure and sits at the head table!"

After a few words about trivial matters, Jiang Danhu was no longer interested in talking. He stood up and waved his sleeves to pick up four persimmon cakes on the high table, which fell into the arms of Jiang Wenbo and others.

"It's settled. I'll hold a banquet at my house on the fifth night of the New Year. Junhao, you'll be in charge of arranging it. Wenbo, you'll be at the table with me. Go and toast Hongfan. This will help to clear up the matter of Mingyue Tower."

After Jiang Danhu finished speaking, he walked away rubbing his big belly.

Jiang Wenbai, who was left behind, felt mixed emotions and had no choice but to obey his uncle's orders.

PS: The previous volume was mostly about war and fighting, while the first half of this volume is mostly about business development and building up momentum. I wonder if you can adapt to reading this.

After all, in order to unfold the future story, it will take some time to lay out these accumulations, managements, and network building.

(End of this chapter)