Chapter 325: Getting Something for Nothing [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Xu Jie's heart skipped a beat.

He hurriedly asked, "General Zhao, do you know how precious this item is?"

After thinking it over, Zhao Feng realized that he received "gifts" from his subordinates every now and then, so he asked in return, "Does that happen?"

Xu Jie: "..."

Zhao Feng could tell from his expression that he had misunderstood.

He said, "It's just some kind of medicinal wine..."

Why did Xu Jie adopt such a "watching his prey" expression?

Zhao Feng naturally knew that these fine wines had the effect of nourishing muscles and bones. If one drank too much, it would also accelerate the circulation of martial energy in the dantian, making one's entire body feel as if it were immersed in hot spring water, with countless pores opening up to breathe, thus speeding up the recovery of physical strength and energy.

However, Zhao Feng felt that the effect was similar to drinking a precious and highly nourishing medicinal wine, so he didn't think this thing was particularly rare.

Even if we take a step back—

Shen Jun is so poor that his purse is emptier than his face, which is a rare find. So why would he be supplied to Fu Gu Department Store in limited quantities every day?

Xu Jie's burning passion cooled down a few degrees.

Reason returned, and I prepared to try this thing for myself.

Seeing Xu Jie acting out of character, Zhao Feng couldn't help but think to himself—the feng shui of Fugu is truly bizarre.

After accepting the clothes and shoes handed over by Xu Jie, Zhao Feng chatted briefly with Xu Jie about Shen Jun before the latter rose to take his leave. Zhao Feng saw him off, then returned with a puzzled expression, opened a jar of wine, and took a deep breath of its crisp aroma.

He asked, puzzled, "There's nothing special about it..."

He tilted his head back, and with a gurgling sound, he swallowed the whole jar.

Besides the benefits he mentioned above, this wine also helps with sleep. Zhao Feng's sleep quality has been excellent lately; he works during the day, drinks at night, and sleeps soundly until dawn. Even on rainy days, his old joint pains, which had been nagging at him for a long time, haven't bothered him.

Zhao Feng didn't realize this was a wonderful use of wine.

He's been eating, drinking, and sleeping well lately. Martial arts practitioners have strong self-healing abilities, so it would be abnormal for him to actually suffer injuries.

Zhao Feng told his trusted subordinates about this matter.

A trusted subordinate speculated, "General, do you think Mr. Xu might be eyeing the brewing recipe that Lord Shen possesses?"

Zhao Feng suddenly realized, "Oh no, that's really possible."

He hurriedly put down the wine bowl in his hand, pulled his feet out of the foot basin, and took a cloth to quickly wipe his big feet.

He put on brand-new clothes and shoes and said worriedly, "This Xu Wenzhu is the kind of person who would pluck a feather from a passing goose, and would even catch a dog that passes by his door to cook it and taste its meat. If there is something to be gained, who knows what he might do."

The trusted subordinate said, "The general is worried about..."

“Of course I’m not worried that Xu Wenzhu will seize it by force.” Zhao Feng hurriedly walked to the tent entrance, stopped, thought for a moment, and then turned back to continue drinking and soaking his feet: “No, even if he has such intentions, our lord will not allow him to do so.”

A trusted subordinate asked, "What is that?"

Zhao Feng shook his head.

He said, "It's nothing, Xu Wenzhu has money anyway."

Zhao Feng had a gut feeling that this matter was not so simple.

Shen Jun is a kind and sincere man, but the scholars under his tutelage are not. No matter how hospitable Gu Chi is, he wouldn't explain the origins of these wines so clearly. Before today, Zhao Feng didn't even know that Shen Jun's ancestors had run a wine business.

Something unusual must be going on.

Gu Chi has definitely set his sights on Xu Jie.

But what could one possibly gain from Xu Jie?

This guy is so poor he only has money left.

Therefore, the answer is obvious.

Zhao Feng remained calm the moment he reached this conclusion.

They quickly weighed the pros and cons in their minds.

Fugu City, and even the River Governor's Office, lack any notable distinctive industries. Even if they could restore people's livelihoods, their future development is uncertain. If they could turn Shen Jun's wine into a brand, and extract some money from Xu Wenzhu…

Well, it's a win-win situation, isn't it?

Even his trusted subordinates remained puzzled.

Zhao Feng laughed and said, "If you don't understand, you don't understand."

This matter would not affect Lord Wu Xian's interests, Xu Wenzhu could also profit from it, and Shen Jun could also alleviate the financial crisis—a win-win situation! Therefore, he pretended to be deaf and dumb, simply considering it a good deed for others.

If Xu Jie were to lose money by accident... Doing business is risky. Is there any way to make money without losing money in this world?

At the same time, Gu Chi was trying to curry favor with Shen Tang.

Shen Tang, who was working overtime, was left bewildered.

"I didn't ask you to find out Xu Jie's purpose..."

Gu Chi: "I found out about this a long time ago."

This isn't a difficult thing.

Xu Jie was a very cautious man, and Gu Chi didn't try to subtly probe or test his intentions, as that would be too deliberate and easily seen through. However, despite Xu Jie's best efforts, he couldn't prevent Gu Chi from playing by his unpredictable scholarly ways, and Xu Jie was completely outmaneuvered by Gu Chi.

Simply put, Xu Jie is a neutral party.

There are two factions within Wu Xian's camp.

The "faction of fear" was led by Qin Li.

The "ignoring faction" is led by local power holders at Tianjin Tianhai.

Xu Jie, on the other hand, is a neutral person who doesn't get involved in either.

Wu Xian's choice of Xu Jie as envoy was also influenced by his political stance. He wanted Xu Jie to deliver a gift and, incidentally, contact Zhao Feng to find out what Shen Tang had been up to lately. Xu Jie's observations and attitude during this trip would largely determine Wu Xian's future stance.

Shen Tang listened for a long time, then clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Does Wu Zhaode think so highly of me?"

"I only tricked him once, didn't I?"

"So you can't afford to play this game?"

Shen Tang cried out that she was wronged.

If Wu Xian sets his sights on this makeshift operation, things will get tough for her from now on. She started her career in exile, and it was a rare opportunity to find a place to settle down; she's invested countless hours and effort into it, and she absolutely cannot afford to throw it away.

Gu Chi skillfully extracted the key points from Shen Tang's vast and complex thoughts, and smiled, "My lord, there's no need to worry, things aren't that serious. General Zhao has no complaints about us, and Xu Wenzhu isn't someone who can't be 'bribed'..."

He not only completed the task of gathering information assigned by Shen Tang perfectly, but also performed exceptionally well, preparing to fleece Xu Jie.

Shen Tang asked, "Wine?"

"Hasn't my lord noticed?"

"What did you find?"

"The so-called 'words transforming into matter' is essentially the transformation of literary or martial energy, derived from the energy of heaven and earth, into tangible objects. This applies not only to our lord but also to other scholars with literary minds and martial warriors with martial prowess. The difference is that what our lord transforms can be used as food, and food can be absorbed by the human body, which means..."

Drinking alcohol is actually about "drinking" refined, pure energy of heaven and earth! This is why drinking alcohol makes the dantian (energy center) feel more active, and the depleted literary/martial energy in the dantian recovers more quickly. Pure energy of heaven and earth is easy to absorb.

This is the truth behind why "wine" benefits scholars and warriors; it's very easy to understand once you put it into words.

But outsiders don't know that.

Especially Xu Jie.

I thought this was a centuries-old brewing recipe.

Shen Tang instantly understood Gu Chi's intention. Was he planning to get something for nothing at zero cost? Xu Jie not only had money, but also the seedlings and farm tools that had been giving her headaches these past few days. These could all be exchanged for "wine," perhaps at a friendly price.

She admitted that she was attracted to him.

Nothing is more satisfying than getting something for nothing.

only--

"...Wu Zhaode might be persuaded, but Qin Gongsu is a different story. He's practically Yuanliang's number one adversary and hater. How could he just stand by and watch Xu Wenzhu do business with us? Even if it's just seedlings and farm tools, he won't give in easily..."

Gu Chi said sarcastically, "Qi Yuanliang has really done something terrible."

Shen Tang said, "You mustn't say that about Yuan Liang."

Even so, for every enemy Qi Shan makes, a boomerang seems to pierce her body _(:з)∠)_

Shen Tang had a premonition that this wouldn't be the last one.

After saying that, he realized his tone was too childish and tried to save face for Qi Shan: "Yuan Liang didn't want this to happen either. Fortunately, the person who came was Xu Wenzhu. Although he is a scholar, he is also the head of the Xu family. He can't possibly see a highly profitable monopoly business and not do it. Wang Chao has already cast the bait and is just waiting for the big fish to take the bait, but—don't make it too deliberate."

Gu Chi understood: "Of course, my lord, rest assured."

"I have something else to tell you."

Shen Tang retrieved the project proposal.

Gu Chi looked closely by the light of the small lamp.

"A heated brick bed?"

Shen Tang's earlier ease vanished, replaced by a heavy heart. "The area around Fugu is relatively better, but many commoners in the other two places in Heyin have frozen to death. The news just arrived today that twenty-three people died yesterday alone... I was thinking, why don't we try building an earthen kang (heated brick bed)?"

Since the house was still under construction, I just built it while I was at it.

There are two sides to the story.

Xu Da Yu Jie is currently struggling with the "bait".

He not only wanted to drink himself, but also made his attendants drink.

This attendant was a servant who had grown up with him since childhood, responsible for protecting his life when he was out. He was also a brave and skilled martial artist. Although he wasn't particularly strong, he was extremely observant and could always notice small details that ordinary people would miss.

He was prepared to hear his attendant's reflections on drinking.

The attendant watched as several jars of wine were laid out in a row.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Parents, do we have to drink all of these?"

Xu Jie said, "Drink it all."

In times of food scarcity, wine wasn't something one could drink whenever they wanted; most wines were coarse and bland. But the wines Shen Tang had were different; even the servants had rarely tasted such fine wine. Bowl after bowl.

Xu Jie asked, "How did you feel after drinking it?"

The attendant carefully sensed the situation in the Dan Mansion.

The moment the wine entered my throat, it felt as if a gentle rain had fallen on my dantian, a subtle warmth flowing through my meridians and throughout my body, like taking a hot bath. This sensation was subtle, hidden beneath the warmth from the wine, and easily confused if one wasn't paying close attention.

The attendant carefully explained his feelings.

His cultivation speed is not fast.

But at this moment, without deliberately mobilizing it, the speed of the martial energy circulation within his dantian was almost the same as when he was cultivating!

“Parents, this is definitely not something that medicinal wine can produce.”

Xu Jie was not entirely unaware of the situation.

A thoughtful look crossed his eyes: "What is Shen Jun planning to do?"

He tested Zhao Feng.

Zhao Feng was clearly hearing Gu Chi's "brewery recipe" for the first time, meaning this information was likely intended for him. Gu Chi's open sharing of "business secrets" during the day, along with his various gestures of goodwill, naturally had an ulterior motive.

The attendant guessed: "To befriend the parents?"

Xu Jie thought differently: "Shen Jun was very surprised by my appearance. He obviously didn't expect Tianhai to send someone over. So how did he plan and design this against me in advance? And how did he know that the person who came was me? To befriend me? Not entirely, but there is definitely a scheme involved."

What are they plotting?

Xu Jie had a fairly good idea of ​​what was going on.

He looked at the wine jar on the table, which was still exuding a strong aroma of wine.

He smiled and said calmly, "It's hard to refuse."

|ω`)

I'm still a thousand words short; I'll add them tomorrow.

Yesterday, I stayed up all night waiting for the individual income tax app to work properly so I could get my tax refund as soon as possible, but I'm not feeling well today...

I'll update 10,000 words in a few days to celebrate topping the charts in February, hehe.

(End of this chapter)