Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

On the second day, after school, Jiang Ding aimlessly wandered around the city.

”Hot steamed buns for sale...”

”Pancakes... Wonton soup...”

Jiang Ding’s hand rested on his sword hilt. It was early morning, and the aroma of various street foods filled the air. He, however, had no desire to try the food, as he would not consume food from another world.

Among the passersby, there were those dressed in silk robes from wealthy families, as well as those in ordinary fabric from well-to-do households, and workers of various trades in short tunics, most with prosperous looking complexions, and there were beggars too, but they were rare.

There were quite a few people from the Jianghu with swords and sabers by their sides. Occasionally, when bumped into by pedestrians, they cursed angrily, but no bloody incidents occurred.

”Judging by the standards of ancient feudal society, this should be considered a period of great peace and prosperity?” Jiang Ding silently thought to himself, ”This Zhendong Marquis must be a capable and effective official who has won the people’s heart. In an era with this level of productivity, despite interference and plunder from martial artist gangs, sects, various local powers, and government officials... to achieve this much is very impressive.”

At one place, a crowd had gathered—mostly Jianghu folks wearing weapons.

Jiang Ding had nothing else to do, so he followed the crowd.

Before he even got close, the clanging of densely packed metal weapons clashing came from a fighting platform, surrounded by a circle of Jianghu people watching the excitement.

Jiang Ding gazed in their direction and saw two young warriors, each dressed in black and white, fighting. Both had just reached the beginning stages of the Internal Qi Realm.

Their sword and club movements... left much to be desired.

Not to mention compared to his classmates from the Internal Qi Realm, they were much weaker than even Gong Caiyu or the Iron Spear martial artist he had encountered before.

”No wonder he’s known as ’Riverside Monkey’ Yuan Ye, breaking through the Internal Qi Realm at such a young age. He must have received the true teachings of ’Heaven-Turning Monkey’ Elder Yuan...”

”Our Yiqi Gang’s young master, ’Yiqi Knife’ Yang Dong is not weak either!”

”These two are among the elites of Dongling City. If they continue to hone their skills for a few more years, they might have a shot at making it onto the Dragon and Phoenix List!”

The surrounding martial artists discussed fervently, and the young warriors looked on with envy.

”What are these two fighting over?” someone asked.

”What else could it be? One is the young master of the Longhu Martial Arts Hall, and the other is the young master of Yiqi Gang. They have been at odds since they were young, both pursuing the ’Flying Snow Fairy’ from the Dragon and Phoenix List. They were evenly matched and today, having both made a breakthrough, wanted to assert their superiority. Little did they expect, the other had a breakthrough too.”

”Flying Snow Fairy... is she from the Qixuan School?”

”Of course, it’s a pity that Dongling City has finally produced a talent worthy of the Dragon and Phoenix List, who may eventually achieve Xiantian.”

”Xiantian is not so easily attained...”

Clang!

As they were talking, ’Riverside Monkey’ Yuan Ye knocked a long sword away with his staff and held his brass staff over the opponent’s head, exuding the spirit of righteousness: ”So much for ’Yiqi Knife’.”

’Yiqi Knife’ Yang Dong looked embarrassed.

Yuan Ye, on the other hand, was elated.

”This is just the beginning. One day, I will smash through all my enemies with my staff, ascend the Iron and Gold mountain, and rescue...”

”Ahem, ahem!”

An elder in the audience coughed, interrupting his eloquent speech.

”Hmph!”

’Riverside Monkey’ Yuan Ye humphed coldly, not even glancing at his defeated opponent as he jumped down from the platform and left.

As the spectacle dispersed, the crowd began to break up, and Jiang Ding followed suit.

Wandering with the flow of people, after a while, a neatly attired young servant approached him and bowed: ”Greetings to the young master. I am Huang Gui from the Sihai Business Association, you can call me Little Gui.”

Jiang Ding was not surprised that the Trading Company had found him; with his distinctive features, it would be easy for them if the Sihai Business Association had the influence they claimed to have.

”Brother Huang...”

”You flatter me, sir, just call me Little Gui,” the young servant hurriedly said.

”Brother Huang, may I ask how the Trading Company is dealing with the bandit issue at Fierce Tiger Village?” Jiang Ding asked with a smile. As the man was around the age of twenty-six or seven, calling him Little Gui didn’t seem appropriate.

Being just an ordinary citizen with no particular abilities or wealth, relying solely on the Xianmen Sect, he didn’t consider himself any more noble than Huang Gui.

”To respond to the honorable guest, Bai Gongfeng from the Trading Company has already taken people up to the mountains,” the young servant cautiously said. ”Bai Gongfeng is a master with Great Achievement of Inner Qi, he will definitely make Fierce Tiger Village pay a heavy price and ensure that after collecting toll fees in the future, they will no longer attack the Trading Company’s goods.”

”Oh? Is that all? Isn’t Fierce Tiger Village a major force?” Jiang Ding was surprised; according to the information he gathered, the Sihai Business Association was considered a large company in Yue Country and not merely boasting by Dragon Three.

”It’s not the case.”

The young servant cautiously explained: ”The Sihai Business Association, being a business entity, always aims for amicable dealings and profits. As long as they don’t slaughter members of the Long Clan, they generally won’t engage in bloodshed. The most they would do is blockade trade routes and hike prices as a means of retaliation, so it’s quite normal for them to be suppressed in certain areas.”

”Your association’s foresight and wisdom are admirable,”

”Although such conduct might often be looked down upon by others,” Jiang Ding complimented. ”Yet it is capable of establishing branches everywhere, not envied by the local powers, thus living up to its name that spans the four seas.”

Huang Gui managed a strained smile.

After pondering for a moment.

”I want to rent a shop with space in the front for selling goods and residential space at the back. It doesn’t matter if the location is a bit remote. The rent should be around ten silver taels per year. Do you have anything like that?”

The young servant thought for a moment: ”Please, follow me, honored guest.”

...

After making a few turns, they passed through clean, neat stone-paved streets and stepped onto muddy roads. The people they encountered began to wear more ragged clothes, many patched, and there were occasional puddles and potholes on the road.

Soon, they arrived in front of an iron smithy with closed doors.

”Please have a look, honored guest,”

the young servant whispered: ”This Mo Family iron smithy fits your requirements exactly. The shopfront is over three zhang wide, with a small courtyard in the back where various fruits and vegetables are grown. In the past, even fifteen or sixteen taels were asked for it, but now you can rent it for only five taels.”

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”There are just some loose ends...”

”Brother Huang, please speak,” Jiang Ding said indifferently.

”There’s a small gang nearby called the Wild Wolf Gang. One of their minor leaders named Liu Qi has been looking to buy this property at a low price. He’s repeatedly sent people to pressure the iron smith, making it impossible for the shop owner to continue his business. If you open a shop here, you might similarly come into conflict with this man.”

”Do you know him?” Jiang Ding chuckled.

”Please forgive me, esteemed guest!” The young man in green was flustered. ”I... ”

”No, it’s fine.”

Jiang Ding waved his hand: ”Let’s look for another place, a smaller one is also fine.”

Even though there might be the suggestion of taking advantage, they had agreed in advance, and the price was indeed a lot cheaper.

But he didn’t want to cause more trouble.

The two of them went around and ended up in front of an even more secluded shop, where Huang Gui took out the key and led Jiang Ding inside.

The shopfront was about one zhang wide, and the backyard had only two small rooms, just enough space to accommodate a few people.

”The asking price for this shop is nine taels, but in my view, seven taels should be enough to make a deal,” Huang Gui said with an apologetic smile.

”That’s fine, let’s do it like that.”

Jiang Ding then asked, ”What’s the going rate for hiring an experienced grocery store shopkeeper per month now?”

Huang Gui thought for a moment, ”Starting from five hundred coins and up. The more experienced they are and the better their past performance, the higher the monthly wage will be. It also depends on the size of the store and other factors.”

Jiang Ding took out a ten-tael ingot of Official Silver and handed it to him, then took out another two or three taels of silver coins.

”I’ve not seen the original owner. You can bring the deed to me, and you take care of the government affairs. Also, the cleaning, setting up, and hiring a shopkeeper for my grocery store, how many days will it take to get these things done?”

”One day can do.”

”Good, let’s leave it at that, then. The rest, no matter the amount, is for you.”

As he thrust the silver coins into Huang Gui’s arms, Jiang Ding walked into the dusty shop.

...

The next day, upon opening the shop’s main door, a bit of dust dispersed.

Outside stood two individuals drenched in morning dew, having waited who knows how long.

”We pay our respects to the esteemed guest (master),” both of them saluted.

”Good morning to you both.”

Jiang Ding was somewhat pleased; his movements were always unpredictable, and it was excellent that others had a sense of moderation. Thus, he turned his attention to the short and plump middle-aged man behind Huang Gui.

”Brother Huang, who is this?”

”I was just about to introduce him to the esteemed guest,” Huang Gui quickly said, ”This is my clan uncle Huang Deyou, who previously worked at Sihai Business Association in charge of purchasing medicinal materials. After Shopkeeper Long arrived, he was replaced by Shopkeeper Long’s own people, hence he became idle.”

”He asks for one tael of silver per month. I have paid three months of his salary in advance with the silver you gave. If you are not satisfied, I can find someone else for you.”

The short and plump middle-aged man bowed and said, ”My name is Huang Deyou, I have met the master.”

Jiang Ding saw nothing of significance and nodded.

”Alright, let it be, thank you Brother Huang.”

Huang Gui nodded and bowed as he departed.

”Manager Huang previously worked with medicinal materials, that is indeed relevant...”

After a moment’s contemplation, Jiang Ding stated his requirements, ”I would like to purchase some plants, one of every kind, each complete with roots, stems, and leaves, generally like this.”

He took out the specimen board of the Gramineae he had prepared yesterday and handed it over.

”Can you do it like this?”

Huang Deyou took the specimen board, feeling puzzled but not asking further questions. He looked at it carefully for a long time: ”Master, yes, the herb-gathering youngsters of Sihai Business Association can easily do this, and ordinary people can, too, though they may need some instruction.”

”How much should I offer to buy one specimen of this kind?”

After pondering for a long time, Huang Deyou said, ”Master, if it’s like this one I have, experienced herbalists can dig and produce a dozen or so in half an hour. It’s just a matter of finding them, since we won’t be buying the same ones repeatedly... Initially, two specimens for one coin will do.”

Jiang Ding was astonished: ”Two specimens for one coin? Isn’t that too little?”

”Not at all, master,” Huang Deyou said earnestly. ”A sheng of rice also is only twenty-one or two coins, and in five or six hours of work, one can earn two sheng of rice! Besides, we are not collecting herbs from deep in the mountains – even commonplace roadside weeds will do.”

”Let’s make it one coin per specimen.”

Jiang Ding sighed and took out the remaining seventeen taels and a bit more of silver from his purse and handed them to him: ”Start buying now, I’ll need them by tomorrow. Also, tidy up the storefront of our shop.”

Huang Deyou was startled upon touching the silver.

This was their first meeting, and they hadn’t even gotten acquainted, yet a large sum of silver was already entrusted into his hands.

”There’s just one thing.”

Jiang Ding said indifferently, ”Each specimen must be intact, with no damage whatsoever to the roots, stems, or leaves, understand?”

Huang Deyou’s expression became serious, ”Rest assured, master, these eyes of mine have inspected medicinal materials for many years, there won’t be the slightest mistake!”

”Hmm.”

Jiang Ding said nothing more, his hand lightly touching the hilt of his sword, deep in thought.

Huang Deyou bowed slightly and went off to hire people and get busy.

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