The light of the sword is like the moon reflecting on Kyushu

Chapter 2155 I am your cousin from Hunan
When Feng Jiuxiao and Venerable Bailian returned to "Guests from All Directions", Wang Sheng and Duanmu Yan had already returned first!

Seeing the barely suppressed smile on Wang Sheng's face, Feng Jiuxiao laughed and said, "It seems that you two brothers have had a worthwhile trip."

Wang Sheng laughed and said, "Yes! I thought they were just big farm owners, but I didn't expect them to have so many soldiers under their command!"

Feng Jiuxiao was taken aback. "Government soldiers?" He looked at Venerable Bailian. "Why haven't we encountered any government soldiers?"

Venerable Bailian said, “I don’t know either. It’s quite strange. Logically, the Wei, Dai, and Mo families should all have their own guards! But this time, I haven’t seen a single one. Could they have all been sent out? Oh, they really might have been sent out! Young Master, think about it, now that the martial arts world of the Central Plains is gradually gathering at Qinghai Lake, which is Dai family territory, they naturally need to be closely monitored. And the Mo and Wei families are related to them by marriage, so it’s not impossible that they’ve sent troops to assist them! I’ll check right away!” He immediately waved his hand, and a figure flashed out from the shadows. The two whispered for a moment, and Venerable Bailian replied to Feng Jiuxiao, “Young Master, I guessed right! The guards of the three families are indeed gathered around Qinghai Lake, monitoring the heroes of the Central Plains!”

Feng Jiuxiao said, "So it seems that Brother Wang and Brother Duanmu have had a very fruitful trip this time!"

Wang Sheng laughed and said, "My Azure Frost Sword has killed more than three hundred people, and its edge has become even sharper with each use!"

Feng Jiuxiao asked, "Where is Brother Duanmu?"

Duanmu Yan replied indifferently, "More than two hundred people, I guess!"

Wang Sheng laughed and said, "Two hundred and ninety-seven people!"

Duanmu Yan was taken aback. "You remember this too?"

Wang Sheng laughed and said, "I have a good memory, there's nothing I can do about it."

Feng Jiuxiao asked, "Have all those treasure vaults been taken over?"

Upon hearing Feng Jiuxiao suddenly bring up this issue, Wang Sheng immediately replied solemnly, "The disciples of the Great Bright Temple have all been accepted!"

Duanmu Yan suddenly said, "Please forgive my bluntness, but I have a question, though I'm not sure if I should ask it?" His eyes were on Feng Jiuxiao.

Feng Jiuxiao smiled and said, "Please speak!"

Duanmu Yan said, "So much gold and silver jewelry, all handed over to the disciples of Da Guangming Temple to handle, aren't you worried they'll embezzle it?"

Wang Sheng's lips twitched involuntarily as he thought to himself: Why has Duanmu Yan been so fond of stirring up trouble lately?

Feng Jiuxiao laughed and said, "What can I do if I'm worried? There are so many things to do, I can't possibly follow behind them and supervise them, can I? I'd be overwhelmed! Besides, I trust the disciples of Guangming Temple."

Duanmu Yan remained noncommittal, saying calmly, "If it were just a few pieces of silver, they wouldn't dare to make a move. But now, faced with a mountain of wealth, how could they not be tempted?"

Venerable Bailian frowned and said, "Young Master Duanmu, what do you mean by that? Have the disciples of my Great Bright Temple never seen money before? Are they greedy for money? This humble monk feels that you seem to be trying to sow discord between my Great Bright Temple and Young Master Feng!"

Duanmu Yan immediately said, "Your Excellency, please don't misunderstand! I was just curious! Human nature can't withstand the test! Anyway, similar things have happened quite a few times in my Yedi Zhai. Our most trusted disciple usually appears very mature and steady, and is loyal to the Venerable One. The Venerable One kept entrusting him with important tasks, until he was entrusted with a task involving huge profits. At that time, he couldn't hold back anymore and revealed his true nature. Faced with overwhelming wealth, he was like a cat guarding a fish, unable to resist. He quickly lost his way and began to embezzle on a large scale!"

Venerable Bailian frowned and said, "Young Master Duanmu, Yedi Zhai is Yedi Zhai, and Da Guangming Temple is Da Guangming Temple. How can they be confused?"

Duanmu Yan said, "What do you mean by 'they can't be confused'? The four sects of the Demonic Sect have now reunited, and your master, the Bright Dharma King, is now the ruler of the new Demonic Sect! Yet you're contradicting your master here, insisting that the two sects are not the same. If she finds out, you might get a scolding!"

Bai Lian frowned: "Don't try to scare me with my master! I would say the same thing to her face!"

Wang Sheng immediately smoothed things over: "What are you two doing? Now that the six major families of Qing Tang City have been eliminated, Young Master Feng, we have fulfilled your request. Aren't you going to host a celebration banquet to treat us?"

Feng Jiuxiao immediately said, "Brother, you're making me feel too flattered! What do you mean by 'my request'? That was my wish! Since you brothers have helped me fulfill my wish, I should naturally prepare a feast to thank you all!" He then said to Pang Shiwu, who had just appeared, "Shiwu, are you awake?"

Pang Shiwu yawned, "Mmm, I haven't slept this soundly in a long time!"

Feng Jiuxiao asked, "Where is the largest restaurant in Qing Tang City?"

Pang Shiwu said, "How would I know? By the way, Venerable White Lotus, you should know him, right?"

Venerable White Lotus smiled and said, "Tibet is different from the Central Plains; there are very few taverns in the city."

Pang Shiwu asked, "Why so few?"

Venerable White Lotus smiled and said, "There's a saying: 'Where there's demand, there's a market; where there's a market, there's production.' Do you know that?"

Pang Shiwu said, "I haven't heard of it, but I can understand it. Who said this? Is it that famous?"

Venerable White Lotus smiled and said, "This is actually what I said, but I modified it slightly based on someone else's work. The Book of Changes (Zhouyi) records, 'At midday, the market is established, bringing together people from all over the world and goods from all over the world. They trade and then leave, each getting what they need.' This vividly illustrates the function of the market in facilitating the circulation of local specialties and meeting demand through trading activities."

Pang Shiwu said, "Hmm, I can understand a little bit."

The "Biographies of Merchants" in the Records of the Grand Historian also roughly mentions this idea. Sima Qian believed that the division of labor among farmers, artisans, merchants, and hunters was the foundation for the operation of the entire country, and that production activities would spontaneously respond to market demand. "Everyone uses their abilities and exerts their strength to get what they want. Therefore, when things are cheap, they become expensive, and when they are expensive, they become cheap. Everyone is diligent in their work and happy with their tasks, like water flowing downhill, without rest day and night." This describes the natural trend of the market supply and demand relationship guiding the flow of production. "The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for profit." The profit-seeking nature of merchants will drive production activities to meet social needs.

Pang Shiwu said, "That's a bit too profound, but I can vaguely understand it. It's just that the demand here isn't high, so there aren't many taverns, right?"

Venerable White Lotus said, "That's right!"

Why is there so little demand here?

"Heh, Fifteen is so smart, doesn't she know?"

"Oh, I see. Most people here are lowly slaves, with only a small number of commoners or foreign merchants, so the demand is low!"

"Actually, that's both right and wrong. There are many lowly slaves, so there are naturally fewer taverns in the city. But the demand for alcohol in Tibet is not small. Those nobles own their own wineries and cellars, and most of the alcohol is in their hands!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "By the way, Venerable One, it is said that serfs make up the majority, but what exactly is the majority? One-third? Two-thirds?"

Venerable Bailian thought for a moment, “Of course I don’t know the exact number, but our people have seen similar population statistics books in several Tibetan royal palaces. Serfs make up about 90% of the population!”

Feng Jiuxiao frowned. "I thought 80% would be shocking enough, but it actually reached 90%!"

Venerable White Lotus said, "No, it's probably ninety-five percent!"

Wang Sheng and the others were also shocked: "What? Ninety-five percent? Ninety-five out of a hundred people are serfs?"

Venerable White Lotus sighed, "Not bad!"

Feng Jiuxiao asked, "Are the rest all serf owners?"

Venerable White Lotus said, "More or less. The land is basically controlled by three major forces: local governments account for nearly 40%, temples account for nearly 40%, and nobles account for more than 20%."

"It's a monopoly."

"There was also a clear stratification within the aristocratic class, with about 29 great noble families, about 26 middle noble families, and the number of lesser noble families is unclear. But all the noble families together accounted for about half of the total population; the serf class accounted for 95% of the population, and those in the middle were almost negligible."

Pang Shiwu mocked, "I was wondering why this place looked so desolate! The powerful and wealthy, who make up the smallest minority of the population, monopolize the vast majority of resources. How are the vast majority of ordinary people supposed to survive?"

Venerable White Lotus clasped his hands together and said, "That's why my master often says that when a sage appears, the world will prosper. It would be best if a sage with the ability to govern the world appeared immediately to change the world!"

Feng Jiuxiao sighed, "I hope this period of time won't be too long! Otherwise, generation after generation will suffer!"

The Venerable White Lotus clasped his hands together and said, "May Buddha have mercy! Young master, have mercy!"

Feng Jiuxiao also clasped his hands together, "It's not that I'm merciful, it's just that these serf owners are too hateful! Too inhuman!"

Yuan Zishan appeared in front of him at that moment, looked him up and down, and asked, "No surprises, right?"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "No." Yuan Zishan glanced at him sideways and said, "So everything went smoothly?"

Feng Jiuxiao sensed that Yuan Zishan might lose her temper, so he lowered his voice and said, "Of course!"

Yuan Zishan raised an eyebrow, "Then aren't you going to prepare a banquet to thank everyone?"

Feng Jiuxiao solemnly replied, "Alright! Immediately!" He then turned to Pang Shiwu and said, "Shiwu, go and find the place!"

Pang Shiwu hummed in agreement and silently counted the number of people. "By the way, will Brother Zeng be able to get up tonight?"

Zeng Yong's voice came from inside, "Yes!"

Pang Shiwu was overjoyed, "Brother Zeng is fully recovered?"

Zeng Yong said, "It's all better now! But the constant bumps in the car prevented the wound from healing properly, and it's almost completely healed by this afternoon."

"Then what if you tear the wound open again later?"

"Cough, I'm just walking, which is much smoother than being on a carriage, how could it possibly tear?"

Erni's voice complained, "You're being stubborn again! What if you tear it again?"

Zeng Yong said, "It's alright, it won't break. There's still one more night tonight. You underestimate me, a peak ninth-realm expert!"

Erni scoffed, "How come a ninth-realm expert got beaten to the point of vomiting blood?"

A profound silence fell over the room; not a sound could be heard.

Pang Shiwu broke the awkward silence: "It's alright, Erni-jie. He's just sitting there and not moving. It's nothing!"

Erni asked, "How far do we have to go?"

Feng Jiuxiao pointed to the "Snow Jade Restaurant" across the street, and Pang Shiwu immediately understood and said, "It's not far, it's right across the street."

Erni said "Oh," and "That's alright."

Pang Shiwu said, "I'm going." He turned and left.

He roughly counted the number of people: his eldest brother Feng Jiuxiao, his sister-in-law Yuan Zishan, Chili, Chang Zijin, himself, Big Wolf, Yong Ge, Er Ni, plus Venerable Bailian, that made nine people. Add Wang Sheng, Duanmu Yan, and Xiong Mengyan, and that's twelve. Add Helian Rongguang and Ouyang Zhong, and that's fourteen. Add Zhang Deyi and his two subordinates, Lü Qi and Deng Ba, and that's seventeen people in total. Holy crap! This meal is for seventeen people! Money isn't the problem, the key is the seating… Since Xueyulou across the street is built opposite the largest inn in Qingtang City, it should logically be the best tavern!

He took two steps at a time and arrived at the entrance of the tavern, then gently knocked on the door.

It was already dark, the lanterns were hung, and the snow was still falling. Unlike in the Central Plains, the shop doors were not always open, but were tightly closed. There were no waiters to greet customers outside, but a signboard with the words "Closed" written in large, neat characters in clerical script was clearly visible under the warm orange light.

"Well, it's good that it's still open."

With a creak, the door opened, revealing a young face.

"Oh, please come in, please come in. Are you from the Central Plains, esteemed guest?" The young man's Chinese was very broken, but he was very enthusiastic. He grabbed Pang Shiwu's hand and pulled him into the room.

Upon entering the house, the waiter immediately brushed the snow off Pang Shiwu's shoulders and said warmly, "Sir, are you alone?"

Pang Shiwu entered the house and found that the light inside was not very bright. The house was not small and had more than a dozen tables. There were no guests at the moment, and it was very quiet. More than a dozen lanterns hung from the ceiling, and there were also specially made bronze candlesticks on the walls with candles inserted on them. Perhaps because the candles were too small, the light inside was not as bright as expected. However, for Pang Shiwu, even if it were ten times darker, he could still see clearly!
"There are seventeen of us in total, let's share a big table!"

"Seventeen people?" The shopkeeper's face lit up with surprise. These were big customers! With the arrival of winter, the number of customers coming to Qing Tang City had decreased significantly, and even fewer people came to the shop to spend money on drinking!

Even if each of these seventeen people gets a bowl of beef noodles, it's still better than having no one at all!
"Okay, okay, should we have something simple to eat... or..."

Do you have any alcohol here?

The waiter's face lit up immediately; the customers mentioning alcohol meant they wanted a big feast! Seventeen people! He immediately shouted, "Yes!" A voice immediately came from inside the restaurant, "What are you yelling about?"

The shop assistant smiled and said, "That's our owner." He then turned around and said, "Boss, we have a customer."

"So what if we're guests? Why are you yelling like that!"

Pang Shiwu's eyes flashed. "Your boss is from Sichuan?"

The shop assistant chuckled and asked, "How did you know?"

Pang Shiwu laughed and said, "His accent is very strong!" This sentence was clearly spoken in a Sichuan accent. The curtain inside was lifted, and a person came out and asked, "Are you also from the same hometown?" His tone was full of surprise and anticipation!

Pang Shiwu laughed and said, "Haha, I'm your cousin from Xiangnan!"

The shop owner was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "We're both Han Chinese, so we're compatriots!" It was quite a coincidence that two Han Chinese met in this foreign land.

The shop owner was in his thirties, with handsome features, and a short beard added to his maturity and composure.

"Asang said there are seventeen of you?"

"Correct!"

"May I ask your honorable name, sir?"

"Pang Shiwu, Guanglong Pang, the fifteenth of August!"

"My name is Zheng Sanqian! Young Master Pang, do you mean you were born on the fifteenth of August?"

"Hehe, I don't know what day my birthday is. I've been an orphan since I was a child."

"Oh, I'm so sorry..."

"It's nothing! Hehe, let me tell you, I used to be very fat, and everyone called me Erpang! The character for fat is composed of the characters for moon and half, so my older brother said, why not call me Yueban? But then he thought, Yueban doesn't sound good. Then he had a brilliant idea: Yueban is half a month. A month has thirty days, so half a month is fifteen days. So let's call him Pang Shiwu!"

Zheng Sanqian was stunned! He hadn't expected the other party to be so frank!

Overjoyed, he immediately said, "Ah Sang, tell the kitchen to prepare the dishes!"

Asang reminded them, "Boss, the customers haven't ordered yet!"

Zheng Sanqian said firmly, "Our menu only has thirty-five dishes in total, bring one serving of each!"

He hadn't felt this good in a long time! The young man in black before him felt incredibly familiar! They clicked! "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?" Absolutely! It was fucking wonderful!
Pang Shiwu raised an eyebrow and looked at Zheng Sanqian with an exaggerated expression, "Boss Zheng, are you being so generous? I don't have that much money!"

Zheng Sanqian said with great enthusiasm, "What's money to me? If you have it, give it to me; if you don't, forget it. Just consider it me making a friend!"

Pang Shiwu laughed and said, "Hey! This is the first time I've met someone as generous as Boss Zheng on this long journey! My brother will be very happy to see you later, and he'll definitely hit it off with you!"

Zheng Sanqian laughed and said, "I love to hear that! Brother Pang, please invite your elder brother and the others in!"

Pang Shiwu laughed and said, "Alright!"

Above: Snow leopard sculpture