Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world

Taiyang County, the county government office.

Qiu Zhuo originally intended to return home by sedan chair.

However, after receiving news of a distinguished guest's arrival, he hurriedly changed his route to the county government office.

When Qiu Zhuo arrived at his study in the yamen, he saw an old man already waiting there.

The old man appeared to be over sixty years old, dressed in brocade robes and a jade belt, with a fine fox-fur cloak wrapped around him.

Even the chair he sat on was a specially brought huanghuali wood of the highest quality, covered with an intact leopard skin.

Four beautiful maids served him on either side.

One maid was lighting a brazier for him, while another was lighting an incense burner.

The remaining two maids were massaging him.

A man stood silently behind the old man, and it was easy to see from the man's high temples that he was a powerful martial artist.

Qiu Zhuo hurriedly greeted the old man and respectfully bowed:

"Old Yang, why have you come?"

"You didn't even inform me of your esteemed visit in advance, so I could have prepared a welcome sooner."

The old man warmed himself by the brazier and did not return Qiu Zhuo's greeting.

His demeanor was extraordinary, and sitting there, he seemed to be the master of the county government office.

The old man's name was Yang Jingye. He was neither an official nor a scholar, but a merchant.

Even so, Qiu Zhuo, as the county magistrate, did not dare to be negligent in the slightest when facing Yang Jingye.

This was not only because Yang Jingye was the most famous merchant in the entire Qingzhou Prefecture, but also because he had a very powerful background.

After Yang Jingye took a sip of ginseng tea, he slowly said:

"Qiu Zhuo, you've been this seventh-rank sesame official for quite a few years, haven't you?"

"I'm an old acquaintance of your father, and I should have given you some pointers earlier."

"Today, I happened to have some business here, so I came to sit for a while and see if you're prepared."

Qiu Zhuo was overjoyed to hear this.

If he could get guidance from Yang Jingye, his career would naturally be smooth sailing.

"Thank you for your consideration, Old Yang!"

"Not bad, you are teachable."

"I'll be frank, I'm here to discuss a business deal."

"It's with that… what's his name… Great Virtuous Teacher from your county."

Qiu Zhuo was very surprised, never expecting that the person Yang Jingye specifically wanted to see was the Great Virtuous Teacher.

But since Yang Jingye had spoken, Qiu Zhuo naturally couldn't refuse.

"Please wait a moment, Old Yang. I'll send someone to summon the Great Virtuous Teacher."

Qiu Zhuo said, preparing to take action.

Yang Jingye waved his hand:

"No need, my time is precious, and I can't waste a moment."

"Right now, my people should already be talking to that… oh, Great Virtuous Teacher."

Qiu Zhuo didn't dare to ask what Yang Jingye wanted to discuss with the Great Virtuous Teacher.

But he already had a general idea in his mind.

Yang Jingye has many businesses, but his main business is in medicinal herbs, which is a gold mine during the plague.

The Taiping Dao's talisman water is given away for free, which inevitably damages Yang Jingye's business.

"Old Yang, please forgive me for saying something unpleasant."

"I'm afraid that Great Virtuous Teacher… won't be easy to talk to."

Qiu Zhuo kindly reminded him.

He had negotiated with the Great Virtuous Teacher all day today and had been holding back a bellyful of anger.

Yang Jingye sneered.

He lay back in his chair, and two maids immediately began to massage him.

"When I do business, I'm never afraid of encountering difficult people."

"If we can't talk, then we don't talk."

Yang Jingye responded domineeringly.

Qiu Zhuo believed this.

Yang Jingye's business style had one characteristic: it was forceful and overbearing.

He wanted to make his business the biggest, leaving no room for other competitors to survive.

Many medicinal herb merchants in Qingzhou were forced to leave Qingzhou and seek other ways out.

They didn't dare to provoke Yang Jingye.

In the entire Qingzhou Prefecture, there were few people who dared to provoke Yang Jingye.

Qiu Zhuo smiled awkwardly:

"Old Yang, I've already imprisoned that Great Virtuous Teacher once, and it almost incited a civil uprising."

"If we do it again, I'm afraid…"

In Qiu Zhuo's view, Yang Jingye was planning to collude with the government and use his power to force the Great Virtuous Teacher to compromise.

After all, this was also a common tactic of Yang Jingye.

Who knew?

Yang Jingye sneered:

"Qiu Zhuo, you've been a small official for too long, and your vision is not high enough."

"If I needed to use official means, what help could a small county magistrate like you be to me?"

"The neighboring Yang Prefecture is in the midst of a rebellion. If Qingzhou also incites a civil uprising, it will be difficult to explain to those above."

"So, let's keep it simple. If he doesn't listen, just kill him. He's just a small character anyway."

Qiu Zhuo's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.

He never expected that Yang Jingye would want to kill the Great Virtuous Teacher!

The most ⊥ new ⊥ small ⊥ said ⊥ is ⊥ at ⊥ six ⊥ 9 ⊥ ⊥ book ⊥ ⊥ bar ⊥ ⊥ first ⊥ hair!

In an instant, Qiu Zhuo's mind was in chaos.

He kept thinking about the various consequences after the Great Virtuous Teacher's death, but none of them were good.

This made Qiu Zhuo unable to help but speak again:

"Old Yang, if the Great Virtuous Teacher dies, then the talisman water that can cure the plague will be gone."

"Then this plague…"

Qiu Zhuo couldn't imagine Taiyang County returning to its original state.

Yang Jingye glanced at Qiu Zhuo with disdain:

"So, your vision is still too low."

"A kind heart does not command soldiers, and righteousness does not manage wealth. How can you make money if you are soft-hearted?"

"This plague happens every few years. What big deal has it caused? It will always subside in the end."

"This is the natural state of the world. The most important thing is how to find opportunities in it."

Speaking of this, a look of reminiscence seemed to appear on Yang Jingye's face.

He sighed and said:

"Did your father ever tell you how I started my business?"

"Qingzhou uniquely produces a precious special medicinal herb called Xuan Yin Grass. The medicinal fields that can grow Xuan Yin Grass are only a hundred acres, and they make a profit of two thousand taels of silver every year."

"I ordered the medicinal fields to be dug three feet deep, and ninety-nine acres were completely destroyed by filling them with quicklime, leaving only one acre."

"The price of Xuan Yin Grass immediately increased a thousandfold, making a profit of more than twenty thousand taels of silver every year!"

"This money is so easy to make."

Speaking of this, Yang Jingye beckoned.

A maid came over with a delicate jade bowl.

The jade bowl was filled with water, but the water was not clear, and there was some black ash floating on it.

Qiu Zhuo was very familiar with this water. He knew at a glance that it was the Taiping Dao's talisman water.

This made Qiu Zhuo slightly surprised. Wasn't the Taiping Dao's talisman water only available to believers and strictly forbidden from being sold?

When each believer received the talisman water, they had to drink it in front of the Taiping Dao people to prevent the talisman water from leaking out.

But Qiu Zhuo immediately smiled wryly.

Money can communicate with ghosts and gods.

Yang Jingye has money, so naturally he can buy anything.

Yang Jingye picked up the jade bowl and looked at the talisman water in the bowl with regret:

"This thing should be worth a thousand or ten thousand gold."

"It's a pity that the Great Virtuous Teacher is a fool who doesn't know how to do business. He only knows how to give it away for free, wasting such a good thing."

Speaking of this, Yang Jingye threw the jade bowl in his hand casually.

"Bang!"

The valuable jade bowl shattered on the ground.

The talisman water in the bowl was also spilled all over the floor.

Yang Jingye sat up straight and looked directly at Qiu Zhuo:

"If the Great Virtuous Teacher dies, the talisman water will no longer be able to be produced, and I will buy all the talisman water that has already been produced at a high price."

"Tell me, how much money can I sell the talisman water in my hand for at that time?"

Qiu Zhuo couldn't speak.

But he knew that if such a situation occurred, Yang Jingye would definitely make a fortune, and the gold and silver he would earn would be countless.

Only such a business with exaggerated and terrifying profits could attract a big figure like Yang Jingye to personally come to a small place like Taiyang County to sit in charge.

But Qiu Zhuo also knew.

At that time, a large number of poor people in Qingzhou would die, and only the rich would be able to buy talisman water to save their lives.

Even those rich people would have to sell their homes and go bankrupt overnight to get a bowl of talisman water.

Yang Jingye is selfish and only cares about his own interests, regardless of the lives of others.

But it is precisely this kind of selfish person who is doing well.

Qiu Zhuo's face was still humble, but his heart was full of resentment, and he felt a deep disgust for merchants like Yang Jingye.

After all, he, Qiu Zhuo, had also read the teachings of the sages.

But he didn't dare to say half a word more about it.

Because the person behind Yang Jingye was someone he didn't dare to offend at all…