A swarm of heavy artillery bombarded the cultivators.

Chapter 12 Huang Deyou

The next day, after school, Jiang Ding wandered around the city.

"Selling steamed buns..."

"Pancakes...wontons..."

Jiang Ding pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword. It was early in the morning, and the aroma of various snacks on the streets was fragrant. He had no intention of trying them, and he would not eat food from other worlds.

Among the people coming and going, there were wealthy people wearing silk, well-to-do people wearing ordinary fabrics, laborers from all walks of life wearing shorts, etc. Most of them looked good, and there were also beggars, but they were very few.

There were also quite a few people in the arena who were armed with swords. Occasionally they would yell at passers-by when they encountered them, but nothing bloody happened.

"According to the ancient feudal society's point of view, this should be considered a prosperous period?" Jiang Ding thought silently: "This Zhendong Marquis can be regarded as a capable minister, the kind of person who wins the hearts of the people. With this kind of productivity, there is also a warrior gang. Sects and various local powerful officials interfered with and plundered...it is very powerful to be able to do this."

Somewhere, crowds of people gathered, most of whom were Jianghu people wearing weapons.

Jiang Ding had nothing to do for a while, so he followed the flow of people.

Before he even got close, there was the sound of dense metal weapons clashing from a ring, and a circle of people watching the excitement gathered around him.

From Jiang Ding's perspective, it looked like two young warriors each wearing black and white attire were fighting, both of whom had the aura of newly formed inner energy realm.

Between the swords and sticks... it's hard to describe in a word.

Not to mention his inner energy realm classmates, he was much weaker than Gong Caiyu and even the iron spear warrior he met before.

"As expected of Yuan Ye, the 'Hunjiang Monkey'. He has broken through the inner energy realm at such a young age. He should be the true successor of Mr. Yuan, the 'Heaven-turning Monkey'..."

"My Young Leader of the Loyalty Gang, 'Loyalty Sword' Yang Dong is not weak either!"

"These two are the heroes of our Dongling Mansion. If they work hard for a few more years, I'm afraid they won't be able to make it to the Dragon and Phoenix List!"

The surrounding warriors were talking a lot, and the young warriors were envious.

"Why are these two fighting?" someone asked.

"Hey, what else could it be? One of them is the young master of the Longhu Martial Arts School, and the other is the young master of the Loyalty Gang. They have disliked each other since they were young, and they are also pursuing the 'Fairy Snow Fairy' on the Dragon and Phoenix List. They are evenly matched. , I wanted to feel proud when I broke through today, but by chance, the other side also broke through."

"Fairy Feixue...but the one from Qixuanmen?"

"Of course, it's a pity that our Dongling Mansion has finally produced a genius on the Dragon and Phoenix List. He may become a genius in the future."

"It's easier said than done innately..."

Ding!
Just as he was saying this, Yuan Ye, the 'Hunjiang Monkey', smashed the long sword away with a stick, and the long brass stick stayed on the opponent's head. He said with great loyalty: "The loyal sword is nothing more than that!"

'Loyalty Sword' Yang Dong looked ugly.

Yuan Ye then became excited.

"This is just the beginning. One day, I will defeat all enemies, set foot on the Golden Iron Mountain, and rescue..."

"Cough cough!"

Under the stage, an old man coughed, interrupting his eloquent speech.

"Humph!"

"Hunjiang Monkey" Yuan Ye snorted coldly, jumped off the ring and left without even looking at the defeated opponent.

The crowd lost its excitement and dispersed, including Jiang Ding.

I wandered around following the flow of people, and after a while, a young man in green clothes who looked upright came to me and saluted in front of me: "I have met the young master, Huang Gui of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce. You can just call me Xiaogui."

Jiang Ding was not surprised that the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce found him. His characteristics were obvious. As long as the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce was as powerful as the other party said, it would be easy to find someone.

"Brother Huang..."

"Zhesha is young, you can just call me Xiaogui." The boy in green clothes said quickly.

"Brother Huang, I wonder how your chamber of commerce will handle the matter of bandits in Menghu Village?" Jiang Ding asked with a smile. The other party was about 26 or seven years old, so it was not appropriate to call him Xiaogui.

I am just a commoner, with no ability or financial resources. I rely solely on the platform of Xianmen, and I am no more noble than the other party.

"Replying to our distinguished guest, Bai Gongfeng from the Chamber of Commerce has already taken people up the mountain." The young man in Tsing Yi said carefully: "Bai Gongfeng is a master of inner energy. He will definitely make Menghu Village pay heavy compensation and guarantee that he will not pay any more in the future after collecting tolls. Attack the goods of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce."

"Oh? It's just that. Is Menghu Village a big force?" Jiang Ding was surprised. According to the information he inquired about, the Sihai Chamber of Commerce was considered a big chamber of commerce in the entire Yue Kingdom. It was not Long San's casual boast.

"it's not true."

The boy in Tsing Yi said cautiously: "The Sihai Chamber of Commerce is a chamber of commerce. It always makes money by being harmonious. As long as it does not kill the children of the Long family, there will usually be no bloodshed. At most, it will retaliate by blocking trade routes, raising prices, etc. Therefore, in some places It’s perfectly normal to be suppressed.”

"Your Chamber of Commerce has a far-sighted vision and is admirable."

"The things he does here may often be looked down upon by others." Jiang Ding complimented: "But he can spread his business everywhere and is not jealous of the local authorities. He has become famous all over the world."

Huang Gui forced a smile.

ponder for a moment.

"I want to rent a shop with sales in the front and people living in the back. It doesn't matter if the location is remote. The rent is about [-] taels of silver a year. Is it available?"

The young man in green clothes thought for a while: "Dear guest, please come this way."

……

The two turned left and right, crossing the clean and tidy stone street, stepping on the dirt road. The clothes of the people passing by around them began to become shabby and patchy, and there were small puddles on the road from time to time.

Soon, the two came to a blacksmith shop with a closed door.

"Please take a look, distinguished guest."

The boy in Tsing Yi whispered: "This Mo's blacksmith shop is exactly what you want. The front of the shop is more than three feet wide, and there is a small courtyard at the back. There are fruits and vegetables planted inside. In the past, people rented it for fifteen or sixty-two liang. Now you only need five taels to rent it.”

"It's just that there are some tricks..." "Brother Huang, please tell me." Jiang Ding said calmly.

"There is a small gang nearby, the Wild Wolf Gang. There is a small leader named Liu Qi. He wants to buy this property at a low price. He has sent people to the house many times, forcing the shop owner to lose his blacksmith business. If you open a shop here You might meet this person in the same way.”

"Do you know him?" Jiang Ding smiled.

"Excuse me, distinguished guest!" The boy in Tsing Yi panicked: "Young one..."

"No, it doesn't matter."

Jiang Ding waved his hand: "Let's change to a smaller room."

Even if there is a suspicion of taking advantage, they have negotiated the deal first and the price is indeed much cheaper.

But he didn't want to be meddlesome.

The two of them walked around and came to a more remote shop. Huang Gui took out the key and brought Jiang Ding in.

The front door is about a foot long, and there are only two small rooms in the backyard, which can barely accommodate a few people.

"The shop's main price is nine taels. Judging from the small price, we should be able to make a deal at seven taels." Huang Guipei said with a smile.

"Okay, that's it."

Jiang Ding asked again: "With the current market situation, how much does it cost to hire an experienced grocery storekeeper per month?"

Huang Gui thought for a while: "Let's go up to [-] yuan. The more experienced you are, the better your past performance will be. The more expensive the monthly payment will be. It also depends on the size of the store, etc."

Jiang Ding took out an ingot of official silver and handed it to him, and took another two or three taels of silver.

"I'm missing the original shop owner. Just bring me the deed. You can also handle it with the government. In addition, my grocery store needs cleaning, decoration, hiring a shopkeeper, etc. How many days will it take to get these done?"

"Just one day."

"Okay, that's it. No matter how much is left, it's all for you."

Putting the money into Huang Gui's arms, Jiang Ding walked into the dusty shop.

……

The next day, when I opened the store door, a little dust scattered around.

There were two people standing outside the door, covered with morning dew, and they didn't know how long they had been waiting.

"I've met your distinguished guest (owner)." The two of them saluted each other.

"Hello you two."

Jiang Ding was somewhat satisfied. His whereabouts were always uncertain, so it was great for others to have a sense of proportion, so he looked at a short, fat middle-aged man behind Huang Gui.

"Brother Huang, who is this?"

"I'm about to introduce it to the distinguished guests." Huang Gui said quickly: "This is the little clan uncle Huang Deyou. He was the manager of purchasing medicinal materials at the Sihai Chamber of Commerce. After Shopkeeper Long came, he replaced him with his direct descendants. Therefore, Just relax."

"The price is one tael of silver a month. I used the silver you gave me to prepay for three months. If you are not satisfied, I will exchange it with someone else."

The short, fat middle-aged man cupped his hands and said, "Young Huang Deyou, I have met my boss."

Jiang Ding didn't see anything and nodded.

"Okay, that's it. Thank you very much, Brother Huang."

Huang Gui nodded and bowed, and left.

"Guanshi Huang used to make medicinal materials, so this fits the bill..."

Jiang Ding pondered for a moment and then stated his request: "I want to buy some plants. I want a copy of any plant, with the roots, stems and leaves intact. That's about it."

He took out a gramineous herbarium plate he had made yesterday and handed it over.

"Can this be done?"

Huang Deyou took the specimen board and was confused, but he didn't ask any more questions. He looked at it carefully for a long time: "My boss, yes, the herb collectors from the Sihai Chamber of Commerce can do this easily. Ordinary people can do it too, but they need more teaching." them."

"How much would it cost to purchase a specimen like this?"

Huang Deyou thought for a long time and said: "My boss, if it is a small one, a skilled herb picker can dig out and make more than a dozen copies in half an hour. Even if it takes time to find it, we don't want to buy it repeatedly... In the early days, Two for a penny will do.”

Jiang Ding said in shock: "Two copies for one penny? Is it too little?"

"It's quite a lot, boss." Huang Deyou said seriously: "One liter of rice is only 21 or [-] cents. You can earn two liters of rice by working five or six hours a day! We are not collecting medicinal materials from deep mountains. They are everywhere on the roadside. Visible weeds are also acceptable.”

"It's better to get one penny."

Jiang Ding sighed, and casually took out the remaining 17 taels of silver from his purse and handed it to him: "Start collecting it from now on. I will need it tomorrow, and I will also do some things like the facade of our store."

Huang Deyou was shocked when he touched the silver.

This was the first time they met, and they were not familiar with each other, so they put this large sum of money in their hands.

"Only a little."

Jiang Ding said calmly: "Every specimen must be complete, and there must be no damage to the roots, stems and leaves. Do you understand?"

Huang Deyou's face was solemn: "Don't worry, boss, these little eyes have been looking at the medicinal materials for so many years, and there will be no mistakes!"

"Ah."

Jiang Ding stopped talking and stroked the hilt of the sword lightly, not knowing what he was thinking.

Huang Deyou bowed slightly and went to recruit people for work.

(End of this chapter)