The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1643 Kindness Earns Only Disdain

The events in Huoshan County cannot be hidden. Even after wiping out the entire Bai family and killing the swordsmen who accompanied Huoshan in the raid, there will still be survivors. After all, there are other servants and disciples.

It could even be other people in the city, such as pharmacy clerks, minor officials in the yamen, or servants of the Yang and Liu families. As a secret rebellious organization, trust between people is too weak, so naturally the problem must be solved from an organizational perspective, striving for completeness as much as possible.

One group is lying in ambush, another group is lying in ambush to monitor them, and there might even be a third group hiding there.

On the other hand, Wang Yan did not issue a gag order; given his high profile, it was impossible to silence him. As more than a month passed, natural business exchanges led to the spread of information about Huoshan.

Of course, no one talks about the White Lotus Sect; that would be asking for trouble. It's best to play dumb. If you don't mention the White Lotus Sect or the rebellion, I'll treat your situation as normal infighting.

So people in the area only learned that a powerful figure had emerged in Huoshan, wiping out an entire wealthy local family overnight. However, the spread of the news was limited. After all, Huoshan County was a small place, and the Yang, Bai, and Liu families could only act arrogantly in Huoshan County. They were no match for larger places like Lu'an and Shucheng.

It's all just something to listen to for fun; nobody cares about these trivial matters, as long as they don't interfere with their own business...

It's already the Grain Rain season, the harvest time for Lu'an Melon Seed Tea. As the production area of ​​Lu'an Melon Seed Tea, Huoshan County is naturally bustling with activity. The people are working hard with high hopes for the harvest, while tea merchants from outside have brought large groups of people to the city. There are also some itinerant merchants bringing exotic items to sell, hoping to make some money from the locals.

In the past, it was easy to count all the outsiders in Huoshan on one hand. But now, with hundreds of outsiders flooding in, naturally many with ulterior motives have taken the opportunity to sneak in...

The former Huoshan Martial Arts School has now been transformed into the Wang Family Martial Arts School, and all the young men are disciples there. Wang Yan has already moved in here with Zhao Erhu and others, watching them practice martial arts every day and giving them extra lessons.

At this moment, Zhao Erhu and Jiang Wuyang, shirtless and drenched in sweat, were practicing horse stance in the courtyard, gritting their teeth. Wang Yan sat on a chair to the side, curiously examining a scroll of White Lotus sect missionary material. Beside him was a large tea table, where Lian Sheng was preparing hot water over fruitwood charcoal to brew tea, which was the first batch of Lu'an melon seed tea fresh this year.

"Sir, Master Yang has brought tea merchants from Lu'an to request an audience," a martial arts school disciple announced.

"Let them come."

A short while later, Yang Qianfan, the wealthy Yang, entered with a group of four. The group greeted Wang Yan and were introduced by Yang Qianfan.

Wang Yan politely rose to return the greeting and invited everyone to sit down. Lian Sheng then added a few more cups and brewed tea for everyone.

"These are all new teas from this year, Mr. Qian, please have a taste."

The one surnamed Qian is the one who led the group this time; his name is Qian Boyuan.

While everyone was drinking tea, Yang Qianfan took the initiative to explain the situation: "Sir, Mr. Qian still has some concerns about the price and wants to lower it by another 10% compared to previous years."

Wang Yan glanced at him: "Old Yang, I thought you brought people here to tell me good news."

“Uh…” Mr. Yang trembled slightly.

It's not entirely his fault; Wang Yan's notorious reputation was too great, and he had witnessed Wang Yan dealing with people firsthand. Leaving aside the Bai family whose household registration was revoked, Wang Yan had practically wiped out the entire local gangster culture in Huoshan. It's hard to imagine how many families were happy or sad...

"Sir, this is not Brother Yang's fault. We simply cannot afford such a high price. There is a war going on in the south right now, and the government troops are suffering defeat after defeat. Although it has not yet affected our area, the price of grain does not lie. Sir, tell me, in a year like this, how much can tea be worth?"

"Mr. Qian, I come from a poor family." After saying this, Wang Yan began to drink his tea.

"I don't know what you mean, sir. Please tell me frankly." Qian Boyuan cupped his hands, his attitude very polite.

Even those from big cities with some background and influence had to show considerable respect to local thugs like Wang Yan. After all, Wang Yan was somewhere between rebelling and not rebelling; in his eyes, heaven and earth were one.

Even if Qian Boyuan secretly looked down on him, he still had to be polite on the surface. A distant source of water can't quench an immediate thirst. Besides, he was there to make money, so he certainly wouldn't cause trouble over some attitude issues.

“I can tell you’ve never been poor.” Wang Yan shook his head. “Who would drink tea if they didn’t have money? Only rich people can afford to drink tea. War might have some impact, but it doesn’t stop wealthy people from drinking tea on a daily basis. Among all teas, Lu’an Melon Seed is a well-known and excellent tea. Even if the price drops, how much money will it drop?”
"In previous years, you drove down prices too drastically. Tea farmers toiled away all year, only to have you pocket the lion's share. Is that fair? I couldn't control it before, but from now on, you absolutely cannot try to rip off my Huoshan tea farmers!"

In previous years, the tea trade in Huoshan was monopolized by the Yang, Bai, and Liu families, who would then negotiate prices with the tea merchants above. Now that Wang Yan has unified Huoshan, he naturally has the final say in the tea business, which means there is still room for negotiation.

He had already used the money from the Yang, Bai, and Liu families to buy up all the tea in the county at a price three percent higher than in previous years...

“Uncle Wang! It’s true that you came from a poor background, and it’s also true that we tea merchants take the lion’s share of the profits. But think about it, if a tea merchant wants to sell tea, they have to give gifts and bribe officials everywhere. How much of that profit actually ends up in our hands? Doesn’t it all go to those higher-ups? And…”

Qian Boyuan carefully considered his words and said, as if earnestly advising someone, "Moreover, all the tea in Anhui is purchased by our tea merchants' association, and then the association will handle the transactions with merchants from other provinces."

“I understand, Mr. Qian. You mean if I don’t sell to you at your price, no one will buy my Huoshan tea. Am I right?”

"No, no, sir. I had no intention of threatening you. We tea merchants from Anhui are united and dedicated to serving the tea farmers. Please don't misunderstand us."

Wang Yan was somewhat disappointed and regretful: "I thought that killing someone would establish my authority and make people respect me, but I didn't expect that not only would they not raise prices, but they would also not maintain the original prices, and even lower them. You even dare to threaten me. Damn it, I haven't even threatened you yet, and you've already threatened me."

"Uncle Wang! It's a misunderstanding! It's a misunderstanding! Please don't take it personally, I really didn't mean to..."

"Alright, there's no point in playing dumb." Wang Yan waved his hand. "If you don't want to spend more money and rely on the Tea Merchants Association, then you're not leaving. Send someone back home and to the Tea Merchants Association. Let me see how powerful they really are. I'll give you a bottom line first: you can only leave if they buy the tea at 50% above the price of previous years. As for how much it goes up after that, and who pays for it, that depends on how the Tea Merchants Association tries to manipulate things."

"Sir! You're so..."

"Paws!"

Zhao Erhu walked straight over and swung his hand to slap her.

Qian Boyuan instinctively closed his eyes, shrank his neck, and moved his head, bracing himself for the impending slap.

However, just as the slap was about to land on Qian Boyuan's face, Erhu's wrist was precisely grabbed with a snap.

Erhu frowned and looked over. It was a burly man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a sharp face standing behind Qian Boyuan. Erhu grunted and clenched his other fist, aiming straight for the man's face. The man casually parried, then flipped his wrist and thrust out a palm, striking Erhu in the chest, sending him staggering back several steps before stopping.

Then, without stopping, the man followed another person and stood in front of Qian Boyuan, facing Wang Yan directly.

"Second Brother!" After calming Zhao Erhu's anger, Wang Yan sipped his tea and asked casually, "From the White Lotus Sect?"

"Sir, you misunderstand. Not everyone who has practiced boxing for a few days is a member of the White Lotus Cult. But you, are you afraid we'll report you to the authorities for just looking at the White Lotus Cult's doctrines?"

“If I were afraid of being reported to the authorities, we would never have a day like this, face to face. You and that man surnamed Qian have the same problem: you think that by relying on your power, you can make people hesitate to act against you. Especially since you two have martial arts training, you are so confident in your strength that we don’t even have a space to talk properly. You are also unwilling to listen to me. This is not good, it’s very bad.”

"Sir, you've misunderstood. I'm still calling you 'sir'!" the man said with a smile, sounding quite certain.

"You're being sarcastic. Let's settle this with our fists."

"it is good!"

The man was very excited because he could take the opportunity to seize Wang Yan directly.

Before he could say anything, Wang Yan walked over step by step, swung his arm, and slapped him across the face. He instinctively tried to dodge, but found there was nowhere to hide. By the time the thought crossed his mind, he was already spinning and flying diagonally away.

The other person reacted and immediately stepped forward with a powerful punch. Wang Yan casually gripped his fist, then swung his other hand in the same manner and slapped him across the face.

Both of them lay down on the ground, covering their faces, looking at Wang Yan in disbelief.

They were all skilled fighters, highly proficient in martial arts, having fought their way up from the very beginning of their training, experiencing countless sparring matches and killing countless people. Yet today, they were utterly powerless against Wang Yan, knocked down with a single slap. This was terrifying.

Wang Yan chuckled and looked around, pointing at the two men and saying, "Look at you, you scoundrels! Your eyes have cleared up after being slapped. Second brother, what are you standing there for? Go make up for Mr. Qian's slap."

"Yes, brother." Zhao Erhu chuckled and stepped forward, slapping Qian Boyuan across the face.

However, his strength wasn't enough; that slap wasn't enough to knock out a person's teeth. Unlike the two boxers, who were slapped to the ground by Wang Yan and were left searching for their teeth.

“Big brother, his eyes are clear now.” Jiang Wuyang pointed at Qian Boyuan with a grin. “When he first came, the way he looked at us didn’t seem like he looked up to us.”

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "So you understand now, if you want to live well in this world, you have to use your fists. Otherwise, they will all gang up on us. That bullshit tea merchants' association, isn't it just a bunch of people who monopolize the tea industry in Anhui, not letting outsiders in and not letting their own people out?"

Mr. Qian covered his face and listened to Wang Yan say these unpleasant things, and could only smile ingratiatingly.

"These two traitors have come to your aid, and you're relying on them? Mr. Qian, you're really willing to risk your life for money. Let's raise the price again, double it. If I can't collect this money, then your good days are coming."

Wang Yan waved his hand, ignoring Qian Boyuan's explanation, and looked at the two traitors on the ground, "Get up. I only slapped you once, I didn't hit you hard. Tell me what you're here for."

The two quickly got up, and the man who had fought with Zhao Erhu earlier bowed and greeted him: "I am Song Cheng, a protector of a branch of the White Lotus Sect. There was a misunderstanding between you and my White Lotus Sect before, and I have come to apologize."

Wang Yan laughed heartily: "I thought you, a traitor, had some backbone, but you gave in with just one slap?"

“Sir, we’ve really come to clear up the misunderstanding. The sect leader sees that you are ruthless, highly skilled in martial arts, and adept at governing the region, and wants you to join us in doing great things.” Song Cheng seemed genuinely sincere.

What he said might be true, because compared to their previous years of preparations in Huoshan, the situation was not as good as the one or two months that Wang Yan had been causing trouble in.

Even if the Bai family, like Wang Yan, had made their stance clear, they would find it difficult to achieve the same effect. Simply put, their forces alone could not suppress the combined power of the Yang and Liu families and the government.

Unlike Wang Yan, who possessed high individual combat strength and acted swiftly and decisively, eliminating potential problems directly, the Yang and Liu families, along with the government, were all suppressed and dared not engage in a fight to the death.

But now, more than a month later, they have no chance at all. Haven't you seen how even the wealthy Yang is out running errands for Wang Yan...?

But the problem is how to get involved, and that's the question. Getting caught and beaten up by Song Cheng and his group, and then being given some treats, is one way; now, fawning over them is another.

Clearly, they had the first idea in mind, but Wang Yan's two slaps turned it into the second.

"If that's what you say, then I'll believe you. The White Lotus Sect is a large organization. Killing both of you won't solve the problem unless we kill hundreds or thousands of you. I don't want to cause that much trouble. I just want to live a peaceful life. I'll give you some face. Five thousand taels of silver each. Once you have the money, you can leave."

Wang Yan sat down again, sipping his tea. "Let me tell you everything first. I know your White Lotus Sect has a large influence and many connections, so you're definitely unwilling to suffer losses. Right now, I'm not working for you, so you'll definitely seek revenge later. But think it over. If I make any moves, I'll go and take over Hefei first and destroy your branch altars."

Did you think you were all like rats in a sewer, impossible for me to find? Actually, you're very easy to find. Look, aren't you all involved with Qian Boyuan?
You have designs on this area, perhaps because the south is planning an attack. The merchants, officials, and thugs in Hefei can easily find your people; one leads to a chain reaction, and you won't escape. That's all I have to say. You'd better watch yourselves.

Someone come! "

A group of disciples walked in and took these people to the county jail for detention.

The people who had been watching the commotion at the entrance of the martial arts school dispersed...

Thank you to Brother (Mikasa Ackerman) for your support.

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