Chapter 8: Lotus heart
After arriving at the camp, I recounted the details of today’s meeting.
“The biggest takeaway today is that we will receive 30,000 gold coins every year. I originally wanted to improve the quality of life of the orcs, but was stuck for money. I never expected one to drop from the sky. 30,000 gold coins every year, which will last for 20 years, is more than enough.” I said joyfully
The orcs had already removed their hoods, and when they heard my words, they couldn’t help but show a look of emotion in their eyes.
“Your Highness, I don’t think it’s a good idea to invest all 30,000 gold coins in the Orcs. No matter how much money we have, it will be gone in no time. It would be better to invest some of it in a profitable industry,” said Baku.
I looked at Baku in surprise. I never thought that Orcs had business acumen. It turns out that Orcs are not stupid. Actually, if Orcs were stupid, how could they have learned advanced martial arts and killed the humans, demons, and gods?
“Baku is right, Your Highness. We can form our own merchant guild, and Your Highness can use the royal power to protect it,“ Zhang Zhengli said.
I shook my head, ‘Right now we are in the early stages of development, and I don’t want to attract the attention of people with ill intentions. We can’t use the royal power, but of course I can ask a few people for help in secret, but we can’t do it openly.’
”That’s perfect. We can go down the mountain to gain experience, and we can protect the merchant guild casually. We can also ask the people from the escort agency to protect us,” George Sand said excitedly.
“You want to go down the mountain without having mastered your martial arts and magic? You want to go down the mountain and die?“ I reprimanded.
”Your Highness need not worry, we can go to Taram to do business,“ Zhang Zhengli said.
”What is so special about Taram?” I asked.
“Taran is an important distribution center for goods. Many items from the capital are imported from there. To ensure the safety of the goods during transportation, His Majesty specifically ordered the 10,000 troops of the Imperial Knights to be responsible for the safety of the transportation from Taran to the capital. They have also repeatedly dispatched troops to clear out the bandits along the way. Therefore, if we only do business from Taran to the capital, we don’t have to worry about safety issues.“
”Okay, let’s decide like this,” I said.
“So what kind of business should we do?“ Konstantin asked.
”What is fast?“ I asked Zhang Lao.
”Smuggling and slave trading,“ Zhang Zhengli had a strange smile on his face.
These two things are not possible, I don’t have that kind of power.
”Anything else?” I asked again.
“Arms trafficking and trading in strategic materials,” Zhang Zhengli said without hesitation.
Forget it, I’d better think of something myself. I can’t count on them. Hmph, it’s too late.
After thinking for a long time, I announced, ”Then let’s sell clothes.”
“That’s not going to be easy,” Zhang Zhengli poured cold water on me. ”The clothing of upper class people is mostly monopolized by Luxumen and Wuxian Club. It’s not easy to break in, and even if you do, you’ll offend people. Both Luxumen and Wuxian Club have powerful connections. The head of Luxumen is said to be the younger sister of the Empress of Nangong, and the younger sister of the president of Wuxian Club is the lover of the head of the Imperial Knights. You can’t offend them lightly.”
“That’s not a problem. At worst, I’ll just say hello to them when the time comes. If they offend me, they won’t get any benefits.“
”If our work can break into high society, then the money will come fast. Otherwise, doing business with ordinary people won’t make much money.“
”Don’t worry, my work will definitely be popular.” Jokes aside, the super brain contains the outstanding achievements of countless civilizations, with countless records of clothing styles and production methods, all of which are masterpieces. Just find two of them and they’ll be enough for these people to see.
“In addition, we can also form a singing and dancing troupe, which will make money even faster.“ I enthusiastically came up with another idea. ‘Old Zhang, no one should be able to monopolize this, right?’
”It hasn’t been monopolized by anyone, but the Capital Singing and Dancing Troupe doesn’t have a good reputation,“ Zhang Zhengli frowned.
”Oh, what’s wrong with it?“
”The women in the singing and dancing troupe are called high-class courtesans.”
I froze for a long time before I realized that they were actually considered prostitutes. “Are all the singing and dancing troupes in the world like this?” I asked again.
“Not really. There are three major singing and dancing troupes in the world: Liufang, Qingquan, and Cuilou. Each is world-famous and has a good reputation. In fact, there are quite a few legitimate singing and dancing troupes in the capital, but it’s just hard for them to survive,” Zhang Laoda said.
“As long as it’s not all like this, Old Zhang. This afternoon, we’ll go into the city and see which legitimate song and dance troupes are not doing well, and contact them to see if they’ll sell.“
Zhang Zhengli nodded, but there was still some hesitation on his face. ‘Your Highness, can you guarantee that the song and dance troupes will definitely make a profit?’
”Of course.” I nodded confidently. Music and dance are the same in any space. If even the music and dance in my head can’t make money, then the so-called three major song and dance troupes are unlikely to make a profit.
I turned to Baku and asked, “How much money do the five tribes spend each year?”
Baku scratched his head and gave a bitter smile, “I’m not sure about that either.”
“Just food alone costs eight gold coins per person per year,” said Konstancija, who had been in charge of the orcs’ food for the past two days and knew better.
Eight gold coins is a lot of money. One hundred thousand people is eight hundred thousand gold coins. It’s impossible to ask my father for that kind of money, so we have to find a way ourselves.
“It doesn’t have to be that much. Most of our people can find something to eat.“ The werewolf Raduski also knew our difficulties.
”Besides, we have survived for so many years,” Bakuga added.
Orcs are actually extremely simple and honest. As long as you show them your sincerity, they will also give you their sincerity in return.
“First, you are my allies, and protecting the interests of allies is also protecting my interests. Second, I also need your strength. If you can’t even eat enough, how will you have the strength to do things for me? So I will definitely help, it’s just a matter of how,” I told the orc.
The orc became silent.
“Let’s do this: if my agreement with the winged people goes through, I’ll discuss it with them and increase the production of gold. Then I’ll go to your orcs and let your chief send two or three thousand people each year to work in the mines with the winged people, in order to increase the output of the gold mine by two or three times. I can set up a barrier in the mining area to prevent the sound of mining from being heard. In addition, we can recruit a group or two of bandits from the Changbai Mountains to purchase the necessary daily necessities on our behalf. This place is close to the capital, and buying too many things will attract the attention of people with ulterior motives. In addition, we can also sell the precious medicines in the Changbai Mountains, which should also make a lot of money.”
The orc was overjoyed, and once again gratitude appeared in his eyes.
In the afternoon, the winged tribe released our people and sent gold coins. The Hidden Dragon Team and the Sleeping Tiger Team also resumed normal training.
That afternoon, we returned to the city. I asked Zhang’s two disciples to go and see if there was a suitable singing and dancing troupe, while I went back to the Palace of Tranquil Heart. After seeing my parents, I ran out again.
At Chunman Building, after eating two dishes of pork with lotus flowers, I had a sudden idea. I could also open a restaurant. With the recipes in my chest, I’m sure the business would be good. But then I thought, knowing is one thing, cooking is another. Hey, don’t worry, I remember that there is a record in the database in my head. There is a kind of sleepwalking that can imprint knowledge directly into the brain. After waking up, if you practice it a few dozen times, it will be like you have practiced it for decades (only suitable for technical things, such as knife skills, but not for others, such as internal strength, and it also requires that both the caster and the recipient have relatively high mental strength). It seems that this sleepwalking technique can be used not only in martial arts, but also in cooking.
Just then, Zhang Zhengli and his apprentice came looking for us. They asked if the two of us had eaten yet, so I ordered some food again.
“So, did you find anyone suitable?” I asked, looking at Lu Weixian as he wolfed down his food.
“I found someone. It’s a small singing and dancing troupe, with only twenty people in total,” Lu Weixian said.
“Tell me about them,” I said
The troupe is called Lianxin and is run by four sisters surnamed Fu: the eldest is Fu Yeran, the second is Fu Yufeng, the third is Fu Wanxin, and the fourth is Fu Bing. Their ages are 24, 23, 21, and 21 respectively. Their mother, Liu Xianghong, originally came from the Qingquan Dance Troupe. middle age and married the father of the four sisters. Their father opened a restaurant, Taoranju, which did well, but unfortunately he passed away when Fu Yeran was twelve years old. Fortunately, she left behind the restaurant, with which Liu Xianghong was able to raise her four children with difficulty. However, since Liu Xianghong was not good at running a business, the restaurant business has declined and is slightly losing money. Fortunately, after the four children grew up, they formed the Lianxin Song and Dance Troupe to earn money to supplement the family income. Originally, everything was going well, and the family could still live happily. However, a nobleman in the city had his eye on the four sisters and wanted to take them as his concubines. How would the four sisters agree to that? This nobleman happened to be extremely powerful, and he even threatened others not to eat at Taoranju or watch the Lianxin Song and Dance Troupe. This ruined the family, and Taoranju immediately fell into heavy losses. It so happened that not long ago, the four sisters had borrowed money to repaint and renovate Taoranju, and the dance troupe also lost money, so now they owed a total of 300 gold coins. And that nobleman bought all of their debts, which means that he is now the creditor of the four sisters, threatening to take the four sisters to pay off the debt if it is not paid within three months. More than 300 gold coins, this family simply cannot come up with that much money. Taoranju and the singing and dancing troupe want to sell, but no one dares to buy them.
After introducing them, Lu Weixian quickly buried his head and started eating.
I nodded, “Isn’t there anything else?” I asked again.
“No, this one is considered legitimate. I didn’t expect that the world is going downhill and everyone is looking at money,” Zhang Lao shook his head.
“Have you negotiated with them?“ I asked.
”They asked for 300 gold coins, which I said was too much and needed to go back and discuss, and give them an answer tomorrow,“ Zhang Lao said.
Damn, I didn’t expect there to be such trouble buying a singing and dancing troupe.
”What’s the guy’s name?“ I asked.
”His name is Xiao Fuxing.” Zhang Lao knew I was asking about the nobleman.
I quickly searched my mind for information. As far as I know, this guy belongs to Zuo Zai’s people, but they are not close. I heard that he is quite wealthy, but not many people know where his money comes from. I think I know what to do.
“Go back after dinner.” There are some things that need to be discussed.
…
“How are your stealth and shape-shifting skills?“ I asked the members of the Hidden Dragon Team.
”They can each support for two hours, roughly reaching the realm of the Six Heavens,” Georges Sandor.
That’s enough. I nodded in satisfaction. “Tonight, Team Gold will send six people, in pairs, to infiltrate Xiao Fuxing’s home and find out what’s going on there. Tomorrow, Crouching Tiger Team members 1-20, along with members of Wood and Water Teams, will enter the city and inquire about Xiao Fuxing’s family. The rest of you will intensify your training in camp.” I said to everyone, “I’m going home tonight. Old Zhang and Wei Xian, we’ll meet at Chunman Building tomorrow at 8:00 sharp. You’ll take me to the Fu residence.”
Since we are going to the Fu family tomorrow, I will go back there once today. After all, I have been hanging out most of the time these past few months. But I lied to my parents and told them that I had found a master and was learning from him. Since my parents saw that I was studying hard and practicing diligently, they stopped asking questions about my frequent outings.
…
The next day, at the crack of dawn, I got up and told my father and mother that I was going out to find a master to learn from. I then took Yuli and her brother and sister out. It happened to be 8 o’clock exactly. After meeting with Zhang Zhengli at Chunman Building, we had a quick meal, (note: the five of us had changed our appearances to hide our true identities, and Yuli and her brother and sister could no longer be seen as demons) and then we went to the Fu family.
Their home was in a quite deep alley, very large, about eight or nine times the size of an ordinary home, and the courtyard was truly deep. The dark red door, dark gray roof, and peculiar tiles seemed to be from the early Imperial era, and were no longer commonly seen within the Empire.
Lu Weixian went up first and knocked on the door. Soon after, footsteps could be heard, and a young female voice responded, “Coming. Who is it?”
“We are here to see Director Fu of the Lianxin Song and Dance Troupe,“ Zhang Zheng said firmly.
The door creaked open and a woman in her twenties appeared before us. ‘So you are here to see Director Fu. She is inside. I will let her know you are here.’
”Okay, thank you, young lady,” Zhang Zheng said.
The woman led us into the courtyard, where we were greeted by a dozen women singing and dancing. The courtyard was filled with the sounds of singing, dancing, and shouting. These people are quite diligent, getting up early in the morning to practice. No matter what you practice, you have to practice a lot and every day. If you don’t practice for ten days or eight days, your hands will get rusty, and if you don’t practice for a month, you will almost forget.
Zhang Zhengli whispered in my ear, “These people have a good foundation in kung fu.”
Of course, he wasn’t talking about singing or dancing skills. He couldn’t tell the level of their singing or dancing, and he was referring to the fact that this knot girl had practiced martial arts and had quite a bit of skill. In fact, most of the people in the dance troupe had practiced martial arts. First, they had a skill to defend themselves, and second, there were sometimes difficult techniques in singing and dancing, which were easier to practice if you had practiced martial arts. I suspect that their martial arts skills probably came from Liu Xianghong, that is, from the Qingquan Dance Troupe.
There is a pear tree in the courtyard, so big that it is as thick as three people can hold together. It is only two months into autumn, but there are already quite a few pears hanging on the tree. It seems that they probably pick a lot of pears every day, otherwise there should be pears all over the branches. To the left and right of the courtyard are two rows of rooms. It is likely that these dozen or so women live in these two rows of rooms, and the main house is at the front of the courtyard. At this time, the woman just now hurriedly walked out of the main house.
“These people, please follow me,” the girl said, and after saying that, she turned around and walked towards the main building.
Our group followed her in. Upon entering the main room, we saw several paintings hanging on the opposite wall, including landscapes, birds and animals, and a half-length portrait of a woman. To be honest, the rest of the paintings were not very good, but this portrait was extremely lifelike. It was full of a feminine aura, and I think it was painted by one of the four sisters with such a poor brush. There was a screen to the left of the room, and to the right was a row of tables and chairs, where the four sisters were already waiting for us.
The four sisters are indeed attractive. The eldest sister, Fu Yiran, has a mature charm. Every move she makes exudes femininity. She is the one depicted in the painting. The second sister, Fu Yufeng, is full of youthful, lively colors, and her every move is full of energy. The third sister, Fu Wanshen, has a pair of wise eyes. I think she may be the brains of the Fu family, but my impression is that she is sickly . Fourth sister Fu Bing is just like her name, cold as ice, like a big ice cube. But Fu Wanxin and Fu Bing are twins, and their faces look exactly the same. It’s pleasing to the eye to look at both of them at the same time, and the four of them standing together have a special charm. No wonder someone wants to take them all as concubines. Even I, a four-year-old child, feel my heart flutter when I look at them.
“Everyone please sit down.“ Fu Yiran raised her hand to invite us to sit down.
”I don’t know how you are called,“ said Fu Wanshen, the third sister.
”My name is Qiu Shuihan,“ I rushed to report a false name.
The other four people also reported a false name respectively.
”I don’t know what you five are here for,“ Fu Yiran said calmly, but there was a look of hope on her face.
”We heard that your troupe is interested in selling, so we came to find out,“ Zhang Zhengli said.
”If if it weren’t out of desperation, our sisters wouldn’t sell the troupe,“ Fu Yeran sighed.
”I wonder what the minimum price is for your troupe,“ Zhang asked.
”At least 300 gold coins,“ Fu Yeran said decisively.
”Can it be less? Your troupe isn’t that big, it’s not worth that much.“
”I’m really sorry, but it really can’t be less. We’re in urgent need of money right now, and if possible, we certainly wouldn’t sell it for that much.“
”You know that after buying the troupe, you will have to support a dozen people, and the cost of this is not small over the course of a year.“
”How about this, the four of us sisters will work for you for free for a few years,“ Fu Wanxin said with a humble request.
”But 300 gold coins is really too much, if we could have half of that, we could buy it.“
”In We still have a restaurant that is also eager to sell, how about adding that to the deal.“ Fu Yeran said.
”We don’t really need the restaurant, but if you four sisters work in the troupe for another ten years, we think it’s still a good deal. After all, more than half of the reputation of the Lianxin Song and Dance Troupe was earned by the four of you.“
The four sisters were overjoyed, and even Fu Bing’s face revealed a smile: ‘Okay, we’ll make a deal.’
”This are three hundred gold coins.“ Zhang Lao took out three hundred gold coins from his bag. ‘You will still receive your salary while working in the troupe. It seems that you are currently having some difficulties, so we will advance you ten gold coins for now.’ Zhang Lao handed over ten gold coins.
”What’s that?“ I suddenly pointed at a gold-plated iron plaque on the altar.
”That is an item of our ancestors. We don’t know what it is for either,” Fu Yeran said kindly to me.
The rest looked at me in puzzlement.
I shook my head: “That is the golden death-foreshadowing medal bestowed by the founding emperor, Qiu Weishan. As long as you have this medal in your possession, even if you commit a capital crime, you can avoid death. The death-foreshadowing medal can only be possessed by those who have contributed greatly to the empire or those who have contributed to the founding of the empire. Any family that possesses this medal is under the strict protection of the empire. With this medal, you can also receive a nominal two gold coins from the empire every month.”
Fourth sister was secretly delighted. If this was true, then with the help of this death-exempt gold medal, the noble Xiao Fuxing would be unable to do anything to them.
“Are you sure this is true?” Eldest sister Fu Yeran was a little skeptical that it wasn’t true.
“Of course.” I was a little displeased. I had seen a lot of these things, and I could never be mistaken.
“How do you know this is a death-exempt gold medal?” Fu Wanshen asked me.
Oh no . The little girl is suspicious of me, “Didn’t you see that it says ‘Immunity from Death’ on it?” I pointed at the iron plaque, “Besides, haven’t you heard of it before?” I said with justification.
The four sisters looked at me and said angrily, all laughing.
“Do don’t eat here, and there’s nothing to entertain everyone.“ The eldest sister, Fu Yeran, said with a smile.
”No, we still have things to do and we have to go back once. Besides, you still have things to take care of, so we won’t disturb you.“
”In that case, we won’t stay either. Mr. Zhang, there are some procedures to go through, and I’m afraid it will take about seven days to complete.“ The transfer of the land where the dance troupe performs has to be reported to the Urban Construction Department.
”Then