Jiapingguan Chronicle

Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Xue Ruitian exchanged glances, seeing the same helpless expression on each other's faces, and sighed in unison.

"You and your father actually believe what he says?" Xue Ruitian looked at Boss Luan with a puzzled expression. "You are both businessmen, aren't you supposed to believe what you hear and what you see? How could you believe such empty promises?"

“His subsequent actions forced us to believe that what he said was a done deal, and that he wanted the Luan family to replace the Empress Dowager and become his number one partner in Great Xia.” Boss Luan sighed, looking very weak. “However, that’s all in the future. When he made this promise in the secret room in front of my father, neither my father nor I believed it. We both thought it was a joke. I remember I even rolled my eyes outside, thinking he was joking.”

"He saved your life, and you actually rolled your eyes at him?" Xue Ruitian raised an eyebrow. "Is this how you treat your savior?"

“For generations, our family has worked diligently for him, made money for him, and many of us have even sacrificed our lives. That’s enough, isn’t it?” Boss Luan sighed. “When I was young, what I hated most was that my father would use the debt of saving my life to blackmail me into doing things. But after my father passed away, I became him.”

"When I grew up, I became you, the person I used to hate the most, right?"

"Pretty much." Boss Luan sighed deeply, then continued, "My father just laughed it off and didn't take the bait at all. He probably knew in his heart that the pie was too empty and he didn't want to take it. My father directly asked him if he wanted to spend a few days in Jiangnan looking at the shops, or go back as soon as possible. After all, the Empress Dowager had passed away at that time, and people everywhere were searching for her henchmen. Jiangnan was not a very safe place."

"What did Master Falian say?"

“He didn’t say anything, he just asked my father to arrange accommodation for him, and that my father didn’t need to worry about anything else.”

"Arrange accommodation? He's not staying at your house?"

“He felt that with so many people coming and going at home, his whereabouts would inevitably be exposed. At that time, my wife and I were already married, and he felt it wasn’t very convenient, so he asked my father to find a place outside.” Boss Luan spread his hands. “At that time, my family also had a small villa, not far from the main house, and very close to the most bustling area in Jiangnan. It was just a short walk away, so my father arranged for him to stay there. When I found out about this place, I arranged for my own people to keep an eye on it, wanting to see what this person was up to.”

"Hmm? Didn't you say you were coming to see the Empress Dowager one last time?" Xue Ruitian looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, then gave Boss Luan a mischievous grin. "Back then, you didn't believe what he said, right?"

"What the Marquis said is true. He doesn't believe what he said. Not only does he not believe it, but he also particularly dislikes this person."

"Disgusting?" Jin Miaomiao glanced at Boss Luan and gently tapped the table. "Like I said, he saved your life."

"Lord Jin, what I hate most is that phrase, and every time he conveys it through my father, he acts all high and mighty." Boss Luan paused, his voice trembling with emotion, his heart pounding so hard he could barely breathe. He calmed himself slightly, offering a weak smile to the crowd, and said, "I don't believe a single word he says to my father. I want to know what he's here for. So, I arranged for my men to keep an eye on him, and sure enough, he left the very next morning after he checked in."

"Aren't you afraid he'll notice you're watching him?"

“He’s never met me before, nor does he know who’s with me, so I arranged for three to five people to take turns following him so he wouldn’t notice.” Boss Luan smiled. “It’s just that he goes to a lot of places. I didn’t understand why he went to those places at the time, but now I do.”

"Where did you go?" "Restaurants, teahouses, theaters, and pharmacies of all sizes."

"Forget-Me-Not Powder." Jin Miaomiao sneered. "He was already planning to do business with Forget-Me-Not Powder back then."

"Yes!" Boss Luan nodded. "He spent almost three days sightseeing before setting off. My father saw him off and came back carrying a small suitcase."

"What's inside the box?"

"There are about five hundred taels of gold."

"What is this? A deposit for the Forget-Me-Not Powder?" Shen Cha frowned slightly. "Shouldn't you be the ones placing the deposit for him?"

"There are about twenty pieces of 'Forget-Worry Powder' under the gold. My father said that the gold is used to smooth things over. If these twenty pieces can be sold smoothly, then there will be another way to make money in the future."

"Don't you know what Forget-Me-Not Powder is?"

“I didn’t know at first, but I gradually came to understand what it was after taking over the business. But by then, I was already deeply involved, and it was absolutely impossible for me to extricate myself.”

Where did the "Forget-Me-Not Powder" come from?

"We don't have the formula, not even today," Boss Luan said, glancing at Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Xue Ruitian. "To be honest, everyone says that Forget-Me-Not Powder is simple to make and extremely profitable, but in fact, Master Falian's Forget-Me-Not Powder is completely different from what's sold on the market. He himself said that the formula came from the palace of the previous dynasty, specifically for the concubines of the previous dynasty. Regular Forget-Me-Not Powder, if taken year-round, will make one emaciated and pale, but Master Falian's version, while also harmful to the body, is less so. He added many things to make it more comfortable. Therefore, this Forget-Me-Not Powder is 30% more expensive than others, yet it's still in short supply."

"So, his formula is his own, and it's not available on the market, right?"

“Yes.” Boss Luan looked at Jin Miaomiao. “Lord Jin is well-versed in traditional Chinese medicine, so you should be able to spot the difference, right?”

“There are indeed differences, but that’s not an excuse for you to use the Forget-Me-Not Powder to make money.” Jin Miaomiao shrugged. “Do you admit it?”

“I admit it, but I can’t stop.” Boss Luan nodded. “At first, we didn’t sell that much Forget-Me-Not Powder, just a few pieces at a time. But as more people ordered, it became ubiquitous in Jiangnan. The original Forget-Me-Not Powder on the market disappeared. We were even reported to the local government, but because we handled things quite well, the money wasn’t wasted. So, apart from a brief period of impact, everything else went as normal. Later…” He paused, sighed heavily, and said, “Human greed knows no bounds. Everyone was lured by this huge profit. It wasn’t just Jiangnan; it spread throughout the Great Xia, even to Liao, Jin, and the Western Regions.” He smiled bitterly. “Those involved in this business made a lot of money. At this point, if one of them wanted to quit, they would probably be torn to pieces by the others.” (End of Chapter)