「The next day.」
Zhu Ju arrived at the pharmacy, accompanied by Elder Qin.
After the chaos of the previous night, the pharmacy was in shambles. Anything of value had been looted.
Liu Youx, the man in charge of guarding the pharmacy, had been beaten black and blue. He lay on the floor covered in ointment, groaning incessantly.
Amid the utter mess, the atmosphere was heavy.
"Young Master."
Steward Wang said, his face etched with shame:
"This old man is incompetent. I've let the pharmacy be robbed twice in a single year. This time, even the side room where we stored the medicinal herbs has collapsed."
"I have failed to repay the old master's kindness in nurturing me!"
He wailed loudly, his face a mess of snot and tears. But only he himself knew whether it was a genuine display of emotion or an act.
"That's enough." Zhu Ju said with a helpless expression, waving his hand.
"No one could have anticipated a disaster like this. It has nothing to do with you. What are the pharmacy's losses?"
"The losses..." Steward Wang sniffled, stopping his crying.
"The lost medicinal herbs and prescriptions are worth about two hundred-some taels of silver. In addition, there are damaged shelves, and the building itself... repairs will cost several dozen taels."
Three hundred taels!
And that didn't even include compensation for the shop's staff.
Zhu Ju took a deep breath.
Just a few days ago, he had been calculating how much of a surplus he would have from this year's income. Now, it seemed he would be lucky just to break even.
'Silver...'
'I have to find a way to make some quick money to handle this emergency.'
"First, clean this place up. Keep buying the necessary medicinal herbs and repair what needs to be repaired. You won't be short on funds."
Zhu Ju paced with his hands behind his back.
"Take five taels of silver from the accounts for Liu Youx. Let him rest and recover for a while. He doesn't need to report for work."
"Thank you, Young Master." Lying on the floor, Liu Youx struggled to speak.
"Thank... you, Young Master."
"Rest well." Zhu Ju nodded at him and strode toward the carriage.
"Elder Qin, we're going to the Forest."
"To the Forest?" Elder Qin frowned.
"Now?"
"Right now." Zhu Ju nodded.
"If we go now, we can be back by evening."
After boarding the carriage, he rubbed his throbbing temples and looked at the medicine packs in the corner.
'Thankfully!'
'I still have a few portions of the Great Medicine to aid my Cultivation of the Thirteen Body Refinement. Otherwise, even my training would have been affected.'
The carriage traveled along the mountain road.
Zhu Ju lifted the carriage curtain, extended a hand to feel the cold wind outside, and spoke thoughtfully.
"It's going to snow."
"Yes."
Elder Qin cracked the long whip and said,
"From the looks of it, it should be within the next three to five days."
"Once heavy snow seals the mountains, it will be hard to get anything down from them, and the Forest's income will be cut off," Zhu Ju said slowly.
"Elder Qin, are you familiar with the situation at the Forest?"
"I know a little," Elder Qin replied.
"The Forest is backed by Snake Mountain. Its main income is from harvesting the Yintao Wood on Snake Mountain, as well as purchasing medicinal herbs, Snake Shedding, and other things from the mountain folk."
"In the early years, the old master himself came from these mountains. That's why he leased the Forest. First, to have a source of income, and second, to provide some convenience for the nearby mountain folk."
Zhu Ju was lost in thought.
As its name suggested, Snake Mountain was rife with miasma, snakes, and insects. Every year, people met with danger in the mountains.
But harsh lands produce Curious Objects.
Snake Mountain was rich in a strange tree called Yintao. The branches of this tree had a special fragrance. When ground up, the resulting Burning Incense and aromatic powders were beloved by wealthy families and even sold to other Prefecture Cities. It was also Zhu Ju's biggest source of income.
Unfortunately,
not all Yintao Wood was fragrant when ground into powder; it had to be from the new shoots of that year.
Furthermore, poisonous snakes often lurked near the Yintao trees, and they grew on treacherous terrain, making harvesting extremely dangerous. Thus, the yield had always been limited.
"OW!"
"You dare to fight back?"
"Get him! Beat him hard!"
Just then, a commotion erupted up ahead. Several burly men were ganging up on a young boy wearing a short vest.
The boy was small and thin, barely noticeable in front of the large men, but he was still fighting back with all his might.
But it was useless.
He was ultimately too weak. Every time he resisted, he was kicked to the ground and subjected to an even more vicious beating.
"Stop!"
Elder Qin shouted in a low voice and leaped from the carriage.
"What's going on?"
"None of your..." the lead henchman began to shout instinctively, but when he turned and saw who it was, his expression changed dramatically.
"Elder Qin?"
"Hmph!" Elder Qin snorted coldly.
"It's not just me. The Young Master is here too."
"You're Yuan Hu, aren't you?" Zhu Ju disembarked from the carriage, tightening his cloak as he spoke.
"Steward Yuan's eldest son. We've met once."
"Yes." Yuan Hu hurriedly knelt on the ground.
"Young Master Zhu, what brings you here?"
"I was bored, so I decided to take a look around," Zhu Ju said lightly.
"What?"
"Do I need to inform you of my whereabouts in advance?"
"This lowly one wouldn't dare." Yuan Hu shook his head frantically.
"What's all this about?" Zhu Ju gestured.
"Bullying a child. You're really showing your mettle."
"Young Master," Yuan Hu said in a muffled voice.
"This little bastard was stealing medicinal herbs from the mountain and trying to pass off inferior goods to cheat us out of silver coins. That's why we were teaching him a lesson."
"Bullshit!" the boy roared upon hearing this, rushing forward and kicking at Yuan Hu.
"The things in the mountains grow wild! You didn't plant them, so what right do you have to stop me from taking them out?"
"And the Yintao Wood! You promised two large coins for ten catties, but then you tried to dock me one mace. Of course I wouldn't accept that!"
He was short, but his strength was astonishing. The tall and sturdy Yuan Hu was actually kicked to the ground.
Zhu Ju frowned slightly.
No matter what, Yuan Hu was still his subordinate. However, he was more concerned about something else right now.
'Two large coins?'
'Since when?'
"Young Master!"
By now, others from the Forest had heard the commotion and rushed over. Steward Yuan Chong was particularly anxious.
"Why have you come at this hour? This lowly one wasn't prepared to receive you. My apologies, my apologies."
"Steward Yuan." Zhu Ju's expression was cold.
"As I recall, the rule for exchanging Yintao Wood for money was set by my father. Three large coins for ten catties. It has never changed."
"When did it become two large coins?"
As his voice fell, the scene went quiet. The Forest guards who had followed Yuan Chong all looked at each other in dismay.
"Young Master."
Yuan Chong's eyes darted around as he said in a low voice,
"Freshly cut Yintao Wood has a very high water content; a single piece can weigh several catties. It needs to be dried to remove the moisture before it can be ground into powder. According to the rules, the mountain folk are supposed to do this. Nowadays, we're buying the wet Yintao Wood directly, saving them the trouble of drying it. That's why we lowered the price to two large coins."
"When you think about it, they're actually coming out ahead."
"Ha..." Zhu Ju looked up at the sky, his eyes icy.
"Steward Yuan, it seems that in your eyes, I'm just some useless fop who doesn't know his elbow from his asshole, someone who can be deceived with just a few words."
Yuan Chong's face changed drastically.
"This lowly one wouldn't dare!"
PENG!
Before he could finish speaking, his vision blurred. Elder Qin had lifted a leg and sent him flying, crashing hard to the ground.
He struggled to push himself up, then spat out a mouthful of blood.
PTUI!
"Dad!"
Yuan Hu roared and rushed to Yuan Chong's side.
"Young Master, forgive me!"
Yuan Chong knelt on the ground, raised his hand, and began slapping his own face. He kowtowed as he slapped himself, saying,
"This lowly one was greedy for a moment and broke the rules set by the old master. It's truly because I was so afraid of poverty when I was young, and I just wanted my children to have a better life."
"I deserve to die!"
"I deserve to be beaten!"
"For the sake of the decades this lowly one has loyally followed the old master, please, Young Master, spare me this once!"
He hit himself hard. After just a few slaps, his cheeks were swollen high, blood was trickling from his mouth, and his forehead was bruised from kowtowing.
Zhu Ju narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Ding Anx!"
"This lowly one is here."
A thin, hunchbacked old man shuffled out from the crowd. He was the Forest's deputy manager.
"When was the price changed?"
"This..." Ding Anx subconsciously glanced at Yuan Chong and his son, swallowed hard, and lowered his head, speaking softly.
"Replying to the Young Master, it's been the last few months."
Zhu Ju remained expressionless, but he snorted coldly in his heart.
'They're all in this together!'
'But even though I see it, there's not much I can do. I have no reliable people on hand right now. If I act too forcefully, I might even incite these people to rebel.'
After a moment's thought, he asked slowly,
"Manager Yuan maliciously suppressed prices to line his own pockets. Did you take part in it?"
"Young Master." Sweat beaded on Ding Anx's forehead.
"This lowly one did not participate."
"Good." Zhu Ju swept a cold gaze over him.
"From now on, you will be in charge of the Forest. The people from the pharmacy will handle the acquisition of Yintao Wood and the payment of silver coins. The guards will only serve as security and will no longer be involved in financial transactions."
"Steward Yuan!"
"This lowly one is here." Yuan Chong hurriedly knelt and shuffled closer.
"Considering you've followed the old master for decades, I'll let it slide this time." Zhu Ju waved his hand.
"If it happens again, I will not be so lenient."
"Thank you, Young Master." Yuan Chong breathed a sigh of relief and kowtowed again.
"Thank you, Young Master!"
"Elder Qin." Zhu Ju turned and boarded the carriage, having lost all interest in going to the Forest.
"Let's go back."
"Yes." Elder Qin agreed, then turned his head to look at the boy beside them.
"Young man, what's your name?"
"Ma Xun."
"Do you want to learn Martial Arts?"
Ma Xun's eyes lit up.
*
*
*
Yuan Chong lay on his bed, grimacing in pain. He fumbled for a bottle of ointment from a cabinet and had his son help apply it.
HISS...
"Gently!"
"Yes." Yuan Hu applied the ointment carefully, gritting his teeth.
"Dad, if you ask me, we shouldn't have taken that humiliation. We should have called our men and done away with that Zhu fellow."
"Bullshit!" Yuan Chong's eyes flew open.
"The Young Master is a noble from the Prefecture City. Is he someone you can afford to provoke?"
"A noble?" Yuan Hu snorted.
"Last night, the Ping Family in the city was wiped out by the Black Tiger Gang. They were a whole family of nobles too."
"It's different," Yuan Chong shook his head.
"The old master is part of the San Fen Hall in the Prefecture City. His status is different from that of a wealthy family in the county town."
"Besides, that man named Qin is a master who has cultivated Inner Qi. Even if we all attacked together, our chances of winning would be slim."
"I'm not afraid!" Yuan Hu said angrily.
"I've never suffered such humiliation before! Worst case, we can go into the mountains and join the Black Tiger Gang. It's not like we don't have connections."
"The Black Tiger Gang..." Yuan Chong said thoughtfully.
"Who would want to stay in the mountains if they had a choice? You don't need to be so angry. Once your younger brother achieves something, our Yuan Family might just be able to rise up like the Zhu Family."
"Yuan Bao." At the mention of his brother, Yuan Hu couldn't help but grin.
"He sure is lucky. He managed to find a nest of Treasure Snakes from what he heard from those mountain folk. He might even have a chance to cultivate Inner Qi."
"Indeed!" Yuan Chong asked.
"Have the mountain folk been dealt with?"
"Don't worry, Dad." Yuan Hu patted his chest.
"Except for one snake-breeder, we didn't leave a single one alive."
"Good." Yuan Chong nodded.
"The way Ding Anx looked at me earlier was off. He must think he has a backer now. I'm afraid he won't let us interfere in the Forest's business anymore."
'Deliberately promoting him to deal with me... the Young Master has his methods. He's not one of those pampered rich kids.'
'No rush, no rush...'
'We'll settle today's score once Yuan Bao has achieved success in his training!'