Wei Chenglin smiled, then lowered his voice and said:

"I don't know either. Prefect Jin must have his ways. You know, Louye and Lanwei have no resources and rely entirely on trade for a living."

Yuanxi's strength should not be underestimated; they have both money and troops. Louye and Lanwei are already in dire straits, and if Yuanxi intervenes now, their situation will only worsen.

The man nodded and sighed.

"I believe that. With the fighting between Louye and Lanwei, business here couldn't continue, and people had no choice but to leave in order to survive."

It seems I need to think of a way out; I can't just be trapped here and die.

The two chatted for a while longer, and then the man, seeing that it was getting late, bid farewell to Wei Chenglin and left.

Only then did Xiao Yi take a fancy to a jade artifact and ask to buy it.

The shop assistant looked at the jade piece that Xiao Yi had chosen; it was their shop's prized possession, a jade Buddha.

The shop assistant seemed a bit hesitant and said, "Sir, this jade Buddha is our shop's prized possession and is very expensive. Could you please exchange it for another piece of jade?"

"Isn't this for sale?" Xiao Yi asked in surprise.

"Of course it's for sale. This jade Buddha costs two thousand taels of silver, which is unaffordable for most people."

"You don't need to worry about that. As long as you're willing to sell, I'll buy this jade Buddha." After saying that, Xiao Yi took out a silver note from his pocket and handed it over.

The shopkeeper was stunned. This young man was incredibly wealthy. He spent two thousand taels of silver to buy a jade Buddha without even blinking an eye.

Seeing this scene, Wei Chenglin was also surprised. This was a real rich person. It seemed that this young man was either rich or noble.

For the shop, this business brought in substantial profits. To be honest, the saying goes, "If you don't open for three years, you'll be set for three years after you do." This saying is very applicable in the jade market.

Under the watchful eyes of Wei Chenglin and his two companions, Xiao Yi left with the jade Buddha, seemingly oblivious to everything around her.

Just as Xiao Yi stepped out the door, another man arrived at the shop. Standing at the entrance, watching Xiao Yi's departing figure, he began to curse:

"Bah! What a wonderful city of Lanwei, ruined by people like you." After saying that, the man walked into the shop.

Wei Chenglin was taken aback by the man's words; he didn't know what the man meant.

The man walked into the shop, saw Wei Chenglin, and began to look him up and down before asking:

"This shopkeeper's surname is Zhou."

Wei Chenglin nodded and said:

"My name is Zhou Chenglin, and I am Zhou Tong's older brother."

“That’s right. As soon as I saw your face, I guessed that you were Zhou Tong’s brother. My name is Huang Siyuan, and I have been doing business in Lanwei City for many years.”

In fact, before Wei Changlin came to Lanwei, Zhou Tong had told him that there was a jade merchant in Lanwei who had business dealings with him. At that time, his name was Huang Siyuan, and he was Huang Liang's cousin.

This person can be a bit harsh, but that's in the business world. In reality, if you treat him sincerely, he's quite easy to get along with and is decent in his interpersonal skills.

In the business world, how many true friends do you have? They are all there for profit, and their politeness is just superficial.

During this trip to Lanwei, Huang Siyuan will be a key target for Wei Chenglin, who wants to learn about Lanwei's situation through him.

Just when he was about to look for him, Huang Siyuan came to his door in person.

"It turns out to be Manager Huang. My younger brother Zhou Tong told me that Manager Huang is an upright and very loyal person, which I admire."

Huang Siyuan was very pleased with Wei Chenglin's evaluation. He had not expected Zhou Tong to have such a high opinion of him, and he couldn't help but feel happy.

"Manager Zhou, you flatter me. I'm nothing like that. To be honest, no business is without its tricks. Sometimes you have to be a little cunning to make money."

It seems that Huang Siyuan has some self-awareness and is a fairly open-minded person, which made me laugh.

After chatting for a while, Wei Chenglin remembered something that had just happened and asked about it.

"Manager Huang, a young man just bought a jade Buddha statue from our store. You saw him leaving. Who is he? He seems quite wealthy."

Upon hearing this, Huang Siyuan became furious and said:

Do you know who this person is?

Wei Chenglin shook his head and said:

“I have just arrived in Lanwei City and do not know this person.”

"This person has not been in Lanwei City for long and rarely shows his face. I estimate that not many people know him."

Huang Siyuan looked around and, seeing that his two employees were not by his side, spoke softly.

"This man is from a foreign country, named Xiao Yi. He came to Lanwei with malicious intent, and he wants to destroy Lanwei City."

This is all my cousin Huang Liang's fault. He was living a good life, but he heard a rumor from somewhere that the imperial court was going to send troops to Louye and Lanwei to eliminate the forces in both places.

Just then, Ma Yuanhao from Louye came to visit. After discussing it, Ma Yuanhao went to the foreign country to seek help.

Unexpectedly, the foreign kingdom actually sent several people to help them deal with the imperial court; Xiao Yi, whom we just heard from, was one of them.

This time, the imperial court sent troops to attack Lanwei. Unexpectedly, Xiao Yi was truly a talented man. Under his meticulous planning, he actually defeated the imperial army, causing the imperial court heavy losses.

This thoroughly angered the imperial court, and the emperor dispatched another 20,000 troops. It is estimated that he will not rest until Ma Yuanhao and Huang Liang are wiped out.

It seems my good days are over. My cousin's rebellion will implicate his entire family, and he has harmed us all. I don't know what to do next.

Huang Siyuan's words greatly surprised Wei Chenglin. He had come to Lanwei under the guise of running a jade business, but his real purpose was to get close to Huang Siyuan and find out about Lanwei.

Unexpectedly, this time he not only came into contact with Huang Siyuan, but also happened to run into Xiao Yi. Xiao Yi spent a lot of money to buy the jade Buddha in the shop, which was entirely to get close to him. His ultimate goal was to learn about Yuan Xi's situation through him.

It seems that Xiao Yi will definitely come looking for me again. I can seize this opportunity to turn the tables and find out the situation here.

What pleased him even more was that Huang Siyuan and Huang Liang were not of one mind. This man could be used. He still needed to maintain contact with Huang Siyuan and it was not the time to reveal everything to him yet.

Thinking of this, Wei Chenglin asked:

"So what does Manager Huang plan to do? I heard that the imperial court has sent a large army to Yuanxi this time, intending to station troops there permanently, and is not in a hurry to attack Lanwei and Louye."

This indicates that the imperial court knew the foreign powers were involved, and the fact that the two regions were in disarray suggests they were being held hostage by the foreign powers. Ma Yuanhao and Huang Liang were forced into their actions.

Huang Siyuan listened attentively. He knew that Huang Liang's rebellion was instigated by the foreigners and that he had committed an unforgivable crime by opposing the imperial army.

As Huang Liang's cousin, he also felt implicated and was eager to find a way out.