Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

Chapter 565 Shocking Change, Su Yunjin in Great Crisis

Quanzhou Port in Fujian Province, though it wasn't called Quanzhou Port at that time but rather Citong Port.

It is one of the starting points of the ancient Maritime Silk Road in China. The port has a history of seven or eight hundred years and was known as the first port in the East during the Song Dynasty.

Due to the tyrannical rule of the Daqian Emperor, many people migrated south, making this port even more prosperous than it was during the Song Dynasty.

It was an important trading port for Fujian, Zhejiang and other places.

Just then, several large ships were seen sailing towards Quanzhou Port. This was the exclusive dockyard of the Divine Dragon Cult. The amazing thing was that although Quanzhou Port was an official port, the government only collected taxes and did not compete with local powerful families. Therefore, the dockyard was occupied by various forces, who simply collected taxes here and that was it. In short, the government's power had not penetrated into the area.

The port that Chen Jie and his group arrived at had several large shipyards belonging to the Divine Dragon Sect. As a top-tier maritime power, the Divine Dragon Sect naturally held a place here.

Moreover, news from the sea is relatively isolated. The news of Fang Guozhen's attack has not yet reached this place. There are still disciples of the Divine Dragon Sect guarding the area. As soon as the large ship docked, disciples immediately came forward to help unload all the cargo.

At this time, Chen Jie and the others disembarked from the ship. They had been sailing for ten days and ten nights, and they had stayed on the ship for ten days and ten nights. As soon as they got off the ship, they felt weak in the legs, as if they were picking cotton.

Therefore, these people didn't leave the ship quickly, and Chen Jie and the other martial artists didn't feel anything different.

However, this feeling of being grounded still made Chen Jie feel comfortable. Although martial artists are very adaptable to their environment, whether on a ship or anywhere else, it doesn't really matter to them. But Chen Jie still prefers the feeling of being grounded.

Walking on the dock at the port, watching the hardworking dockworkers, Chen Jie stretched his body.

At that moment, the leader of the Divine Dragon Cult who was on board the ship came down, gave some instructions to the port workers, and then came to Chen Jie's side and said, "Master Chen, let's go have breakfast first. After we finish eating, the cargo will be almost unloaded. I can then contact the trading company to collect the goods."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie asked, "Great! Do you have any special breakfast options here?"

Upon hearing this, the leader immediately said, "Haha, how can you come to Quanzhou and not try the oyster omelet here?"

Oyster omelet?

Hearing this, everyone was taken aback and felt curious. What kind of food was this?

As for Garuno, this old foreign devil, he had no idea what oyster omelet was. At this moment, the leader said, "Oyster omelet is a delicacy from the coastal areas of Fujian. It uses the freshest oysters here. We wash them with clean water to remove mud, sand, broken shells and other impurities, then drain them, add a little salt, and sometimes we can add wine, vegetables, chopped green onions, then add eggs and stir, add a little glutinous rice flour, and then fry them in oil until golden brown on both sides."

"You can eat it now."

After listening to the leader's words, Chen Jiedu felt a little hungry, and Du Xiong couldn't help but drool. Only Garuno, that red-haired devil, didn't know the vastness and depth of Chinese cuisine and said, "What's so good about this?"

Chen Jie ignored them and looked at the leader, saying, "I haven't asked your name yet?"

The leader immediately said, "I am Fang Qi, and I am the personal guard of the Dragon King."

Chen Jie said, "Oh, so you're Third Brother's personal guard. Okay, then you can take us to eat oyster omelets. Whose oyster omelets are the best here?"

"Of course it's Hai Ge's oyster omelet."

Fang Qi spoke directly, and upon hearing this, Chen Jie said, "Lead the way."

"okay."

As Fang Qi spoke, he led everyone into the port, and they soon arrived at a small stall. There was already a long queue there. The owner had two frying pans in front of him, which were placed over a fire. He was making oyster omelets, a local specialty, with a spatula in each hand.

Not far away, there was a small flag with five characters written on it: "Hai Ge Oyster Omelet".

Seeing this, Chen Jie remarked, "Business is really booming."

Fang Qi said, "There are many people making oyster omelets here, but theirs is the most popular."

At this moment, Fang Qi said, "Please wait here for a moment, I'll go and tell the boss."

Upon hearing this, Du Xiong said, "Do you have to pull strings to get a meal?"

Fang Qi said, "It's not about getting in through connections. Our Divine Dragon Sect is like their guardian deity. We've helped them a lot when they needed help before, so when we came here, Brother Hai always gave us priority."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie laughed and said, "Alright then, let's benefit from the Divine Dragon Sect's influence."

As they were talking, Chen Jie and his group found a table and sat down. There were extra tables available, but it cost extra to sit down and eat, so many people bought their food and went home to eat.

Only those people at the dock who are not short of money will sit down to eat.

After waiting for a while, Chen Jie and the others saw several people sit down at the table next to them, each holding a plate of oyster omelet and another carrying a pot of liquor.

A few people sat there, drinking and eating oyster omelets, quite leisurely.

Just then, Fang Qi returned with the oyster omelet. He happened to see the people at the table, and they all stood up to greet him: "Master Qi, are you here for breakfast too?"

Fang Qi said, "Yes, bring, bring a few friends to try this oyster omelet."

"Haha, that's right. Our Hai-ge's oyster omelet is really delicious. Let our friends from out of town come and try it. By the way, Seventh Master, I just saw several big ships returning from your port. They must have brought back another batch of treasures. Why don't you let our company handle it? The price is negotiable."

Fang Qi replied, "I can't make that decision. We'll have to listen to those gentlemen later."

"Hmm, even Seventh Master can't make the decision? He's a big shot."

At this moment, the group exchanged glances, and one of them spoke up, "How about we go over and offer them a toast later?"

Fang Qi said, "Let's see how our masters feel. You all enjoy your meal."

"and many more!"

"Oyster omelets are cooling in nature, so they're best enjoyed with Shaoxing wine. Here's a pot of wine for you."

Fang Qi didn't stand on ceremony and said, "Then we won't stand on ceremony."

"Please."

Several people made way for Fang Qi, who immediately returned with the oyster omelet. He said, "Master Chen, please try it while it's hot. There will be another pot soon. Once it's ready, we'll bring it over."

Chen Jie asked, "Who were those people just now?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Qi immediately replied, "Oh, them? They're from the Eleventh Division."

"Eleven lines?"

Chen Jie looked at Fang Qi, who said, "The eleven largest trading companies in the area handle most of the goods, which are then shipped to all parts of the country."

"These eleven families are all incredibly wealthy."

Fang Qi whispered to Chen Jie, who nodded slightly. "Eleven lines, that's interesting. Port business. I think we should have Shen Wansan and the others keep an eye on it and send some people here to get involved."

With that thought in mind, Chen Jie prepared to try the oyster omelet, but when he looked down, he saw that all the oyster omelets on the plate were gone.

Chen Jie was taken aback. He turned his head and saw Du Xiong munching on a piece of food. Before Chen Jie could speak, Du Xiong said, "That red-haired devil eats a lot."

At this moment, Chen Jie turned his head and saw that the red-haired devil Garuno didn't know how to use chopsticks and was putting his hand into his mouth. As a martial artist, he wasn't afraid of getting burned and just stuffed it into his mouth like that.

Chen Jie looked at him and asked, "Is it good?"

Garuno said, "It's so delicious! I didn't know there was such a delicious thing in the world. I don't know how I lived before."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie looked at Garuno's ridiculous eating habits and said, "You really haven't seen the world."

As he spoke, Chen Jie looked at Fang Qi and said, "Let's order a few more portions."

Fang Qi said, "Yes."

As Fang Qi was saying this, he went to order more food. Chen Jie turned around and saw that Zhang Dingbian had one on his plate, Zhang Cuishan had one on his plate, and Du Xiong even had two on his plate. At this moment, Chen Jie looked at Du Xiong and saw that Du Xiong had stacked the two oysters together and taken a bite.

Then, looking at Chen Jie with considerable surprise, he asked, "My lord, is there something you need?"

Chen Jie looked at him and said, "It's alright now. When it comes to good food, you really don't hesitate to step up!"

Du Xiong said, "Hehe~"

This is because Chen Jie has gotten used to spending time with them these past few days, and these people are not afraid of Chen Jie, which is why they dare to do this. Chen Jie doesn't like them being too afraid of him. Chen Jie likes to occasionally have some minor interactions with them that are not excessive, such as fighting over some unimportant food together.

Even if oyster omelet is delicious, it's still just a dish, so Chen Jie can give it up. They know Chen Jie won't get angry about it, which is why they're so unscrupulous.

Chen Jie sighed helplessly, then looked at the yellow wine that had been brought to the table. He took a sip and found it quite good; it was warm and the wine warmed his stomach.

As Chen Jie drank his wine, he overheard a voice from the other end: "Brother Zhang, how about letting our Shunfa Trading Company have this batch of goods from the Divine Dragon Sect?"

"That won't do. Our Chunlai Trading Company is also counting on this batch of goods."

"Hey, you two, don't try to take it from me. Aren't you Shunfa and Chunlai both doing cloth business with Huangzhou Prefecture in the west? Huangzhou Prefecture gives you so many orders every year, you're already raking in the profits. Why are you trying to take it from us Guanglai? We Guanglai are a small business, we rely on these guys at sea to make a living. If you take it from us, we won't be able to survive."

“Hey, Brother Liu, this won’t do. Orders from Huangzhou Prefecture aren’t coming in. We haven’t received any new stock for two months. If we don’t find a way to make ends meet, we’re really going to be finished.”

"Give us a second chance. Once we're alive, next time there's something good, we definitely won't fight you for it!" "That's right, that's right, Brother Liu, let's have a drink and help each other out."

"Hey, hey, don't be like that. Everyone knows that you've been riding the fast train of Huangzhou Prefecture all these years, and your cloth business is booming. Now you still look down on us measly traders."

"Hey, Brother Liu, don't say that. If Huangzhou Prefecture can maintain a stable supply, I really won't rob these few boatloads of goods."

"Hmm, the supply can't be stable. What's wrong? Is the sales not good, or do you think the price you're offering is too low? Why don't you give them a higher price and stop trying to drive down the price?"

"It's not a matter of price."

"Well, it's not about the price, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper surnamed Liu was taken aback. He knew that if it weren't for the price, things would be much more complicated in business.

"Don't you know? There's a war, and Huangzhou Prefecture is under siege. We can't get our goods out at all. Even if you guys have money, you can't buy anything. We're so worried!"

"There was a war?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie frowned immediately, having overheard everything the people at the table had said.

However, it wasn't that Chen Jie was listening on his own initiative. It was simply that after Chen Jie entered the second stage of the Fusion God realm, his hearing and eyesight became so sharp that he could hear whispers from a great distance. Therefore, he heard every single word of the conversation between these three merchants.

At this moment, Chen Jie frowned slightly. From the conversation between the three, he knew that the two of them had made their fortunes by selling cotton cloth from Huangzhou Prefecture. Although Chen Jie did not forcefully inquire about this, he knew a little about it. In order to sell this cotton cloth all over the country, Shen Wansan used the distributor method, which meant that there would be distributors in every place. And these two were obviously Shen Wansan's two major distributors.

The other merchant did not deal in cotton cloth from Huangzhou Prefecture, but focused on maritime trade. Chen Jie immediately understood these things.

Moreover, from the conversation between the two men, Chen Jie understood that the reason why these two merchants were having such a hard time was entirely because Huangzhou Prefecture was at war, which blocked supplies and prevented them from getting out.

This is strange. Who is Huangzhou Prefecture fighting against?
Was it an invasion of Huangzhou Prefecture? Did Huangzhou Prefecture hold out? Are Yun Jin and the others alright? Chen Jie's heart was a little unsettled at this moment, but there was no use panicking now. So Chen Jie looked at Fang Qi, who was carrying the second serving of oyster omelet, and said, "Go and invite those three guests over."

"Ah good!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Qi was taken aback for a moment, then immediately went to another table and said, "Let's go, gentlemen, our master would like to see you."

Upon hearing this, the three men immediately perked up. It seemed that as long as they pleased this man, the goods might be theirs.

Having figured this out, the three prepared to get up, but at this moment Fang Qi said, "Gentlemen, let me make this clear from the start. The person who has come today is a distinguished guest of our Divine Dragon Sect. He is someone who can be on friendly terms with our Dragon King. Be careful what you say later, understand?"

"Alright, I understand. I didn't expect the person who came this time to be of such high status. It seems that the goods this time are definitely genuine."

Fang Qi glanced at them but didn't speak. Instead, he led them directly to Chen Jie's side and bowed, saying, "Master Chen, the managers of Shunfa, Chunlai, and Guanglai have arrived."

The three approached Chen Jie, bowed to him, and said, "Master Chen."

Chen Jie smiled and said to them, "Sit down, you three shopkeepers, sit down and let's chat. This is my first time visiting Quanzhou, it truly is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery."

Chen Jie was very amiable, and the three of them sat down as well, though they didn't sit very comfortably. After all, the higher-ups of the Divine Dragon Sect were a group of powerful figures to them, and they might even take their lives.

Thinking this, the three of them looked at Chen Jie.

Chen Jie then smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, you three managers. We're just having a casual chat. May I ask what kind of business you three usually do?"

The three men looked at each other and said, "We do all kinds of business, but Brother Zhang and I are more skilled in cloth, while Brother Liu is more skilled in maritime trade. What are we carrying on our ship?"

Chen Jie said, "Spice!"

Ah!
The three of them gasped in shock upon hearing this. Spices, five ships—good heavens, that's a huge profit! This could easily equal half a year's worth of their trade volume in one go.

Thinking of this, the three looked at Chen Jie and said, "Mr. Chen, shall we talk about the price?"

Chen Jie said, "I'm not in a hurry about the price. I'm actually quite curious about the cloth that the two managers, Shunfa and Chunlai, usually make. Do they know about the cotton cloth in Huangzhou Prefecture?"

The two men were taken aback for a moment, but then they asked, "Master Chen, a distinguished person like you knows about Huangzhou cotton cloth?"

Chen Jie said, "I've heard a little about it. I've heard that the quality is excellent and the price is quite reasonable?"

"Yes, the cotton cloth from Huangzhou Prefecture is arguably the best of its kind, and the price is also very reasonable. We used to rely on Huangzhou Prefecture cotton cloth for our livelihood."

"Then why have you come to this seaside today to do business in seafood and spices?"

"Alas, to be honest, Master Chen, isn't there a war going on in Huangzhou Prefecture?"

Ah!
Upon hearing this, Du Xiong, who was munching on an oyster omelet, put down his chopsticks, and Zhang Dingbian squinted his eyes. Only the red-haired devil Garuno, unaware of what had happened, quietly put Du Xiong's oyster omelet into his own plate.

Du Xiong, however, was oblivious. He simply looked at the two merchants and asked, "Is someone attacking Huangzhou Prefecture?"

The two merchants were taken aback and looked at Du Xiong, asking, "Young man, do you have family in Huangzhou Prefecture?"

Du Xiong took a deep breath, said nothing, but looked at him and asked, "You just said that someone is attacking Huangzhou Prefecture again?"

The two merchants were startled; this man looked like he was about to bite them.

Chen Jie, however, stopped Du Xiong, saying, "Ah Xiong."

"Hehe, don't panic. Ah Xiong's family is in Huangzhou Prefecture, that's why they're acting this way."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie continued looking at the merchants and said, "You just said that there is fighting in Huangzhou Prefecture. Could you tell us more about this? We were just about to go to Huangzhou Prefecture to purchase goods."

"Huangzhou Prefecture? Then I advise you, Chen Jie, not to go. Huangzhou Prefecture is in complete chaos now, with several forces locked in a fierce battle, and it's quite brutal."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie frowned slightly.

"Can you tell me more specifically?"

At this moment, the merchant surnamed Zhang said, "Old Liu, you speak."

At this moment, the slightly older merchant, Old Liu, spoke up: "Alright, I'll speak. I have a shop in Huangzhou Prefecture, so I know more details."

"Huangzhou Prefecture is now besieged on all sides. There are currently three forces attacking Huangzhou Prefecture."

Chen Jie frowned slightly and said, "Three strands?"

At this point, the more experienced merchant said, "That's right, there are three forces. The first one, which was also the first to set out, is the army that came from Dadu to quell the rebellion. The leader of the army is Bolotemur, the commander of the Baoxiang Army."

"Ok!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Bolotemur would actually attack Huangzhou Prefecture? This shouldn't be happening.

"What were Boluo's reasons for attacking Huangzhou Prefecture, and what was his pretext for it?"

Old Liu said, "It seems to be a suppression of a rebellion. Chen Jiu Si did not respect the king's rule and the emperor, so he must be exterminated."

At this point, Old Liu said, "I heard from people in the Beijing Chamber of Commerce that it seems the emperor sent two eunuchs to Chen Jiu Si's wedding. Chen Jiu Si didn't treat them well, and those two eunuchs went back and spread rumors, which led to this incident."

Chen Jie frowned upon hearing this. There were indeed two eunuchs at the time, but they shouldn't have had that much power.

However, the emperor's attack on them was for real. Chen Jie asked, "Then this is only one army. What about the second army?"

Upon hearing this, Old Liu said, "The second force is Prince Qi, Li Siqi, from the Northwest!"

Chen Jie was taken aback and said, "Li Siqi is here to join in the fun too?"

Upon hearing this, Old Liu said, "That's right, Li Siqi did indeed come to join the fun. The reason is that Boluo sent troops, and Huangzhou Prefecture also has a guardian, namely the Living Buddha Peng Yingyu. Peng Yingyu originally wanted to lead troops to resist Boluo, but unexpectedly, Li Siqi led troops to attack Xiangyang. The Living Buddha had no choice but to report back to fight against Li Siqi."

Chen Jie fell silent upon hearing this: "What about the third route?"

At this moment, Lao Liu said, "This third route is within the Hubei route. Although Chen Jiu Si has made Huangzhou Prefecture very lively, he is only the General of Zhen Dong of the Tianyuan Empire founded by Monk Peng."

"Now Emperor Xu Shouhui has issued an order to suppress the rebels, saying that Chen Jiu Si is ungrateful and has long harbored rebellious intentions, so he has directly led a large army to Huangzhou Prefecture to suppress the rebels."

"Accompanying them is Grand Chancellor Zhao Pusheng, who wields two swords. However, Huangzhou Prefecture still has some strength. General Ni Wenjun of the Tianyuan Empire is leading troops to protect Huangzhou Prefecture, and the fiercest fighting is currently taking place here."

"However, I heard that they couldn't hold on any longer. Huangzhou Prefecture's strength is too weak. Xu Shouhui is very powerful. It is said that he joined forces with Zhao Pusheng and severely defeated Ni Wenjun. Huangzhou Prefecture is currently in a precarious situation. I think Huangzhou Prefecture will not be able to find cotton cloth in the future."

Upon hearing this, Du Xiong's eyes turned red. Chen Jie, however, forcibly suppressed his anger. There were still some things he didn't understand, so he looked at Old Liu and said, "Peng Yingyu went to the Northwest to fight against Prince Qi, Li Siqi. Who will deal with the imperial army and Bolotemur?"

Upon hearing this, Old Liu said, "To be honest, Chen Jiu Si really had a stroke of luck, marrying a good wife. When Boluo's army arrived in Jiangnan, they were stopped by Prince Ruyang. Currently, Prince Ruyang is leading the White Deer Army in a stalemate with Boluo's Treasure Elephant Army."

"I heard that Princess Zhao Ya held a sword to her own neck in order to get her father to send troops to save Huangzhou Prefecture. Prince Ruyang couldn't bear to part with his daughter, so he sent troops. But after sending troops, Prince Ruyang lost the emperor's trust. Moreover, I heard that Boluo was very angry and even sent someone to ask the emperor for an imperial edict to strip Prince Ruyang of his princely title!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie took a deep breath, then stood up and said to Du Xiong, "A Xiong, Dingbian, let's go."

Upon hearing this, Du Xiong and Zhang Dingbian immediately stood up, while the three merchants who had spoken were all stunned. At this moment, they looked at Chen Jiu Si and asked, "Master Chen, what about our business?"

Chen Jie said, "You can talk to Fang Qi."

After saying that, the three of them hurriedly left!
(End of this chapter)