Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 479 The City's Money-Making Den, the Wave of Opposition to Reform, and Ji Hong's Financial Shortage
November 5th, 291st year of the Chencang calendar

In Yanling City, there is a notorious den of iniquity called Shigui Restaurant.

As the name suggests, no one other than a member of the nobility or aristocratic class is even allowed to enter this restaurant. This rule alone is enough to demonstrate the restaurant's high status.

Indeed, in a normal restaurant, the staff, from the waiters and waitresses to the kitchen staff who cook and serve wine, are mostly slaves or people of low social status. Even the manager may be a slave of the restaurant owner behind the scenes, or at most a civilian or military person who is employed.
Inside this prestigious restaurant, even the lowest-ranking servants are civilians; many of the chefs in the kitchen are former soldiers; and even the singers and dancers on the first and second floors are mostly civilians. Even the few slaves are the best of the best, selected from among many slave villages, with exceptional looks, figures, dancing skills, and musical talents—one in ten thousand, or even one in a hundred thousand.

That's secondary; the most famous part of Shigui Restaurant is the top floor, the third floor.

"In the round hall on the third floor, just the seats alone cost at least 100 taels, even if you don't order anything. And it's not enough to just have money; you have to be a member of the hereditary household."

"Nonsense. Not to mention the prices of those delicacies, each pot of spirit wine costs at least 3000 taels. Even ordinary noble families probably can't afford it, let alone the elites."

"I heard someone say that the maids serving tea and wine on the third floor, as well as the singers and dancers, are either fallen noblewomen or the spouses or daughters of camp lords who were annexed by our Chencang. None of them have simple identities."

"Tsk tsk, these are all truly noble ladies! To drink a sip of the fine wine they poured themselves, and to listen to them sing and play the zither in person, what a pleasure that would be."

"How could these pampered princesses possibly agree to serve people?"

"Hmph, they won't? Let's not talk about those fallen noblewomen. Since their families have declined, they're all after money. As for the spouses and daughters of the lords of the annexed camps, they have no say in the matter. In front of me, Chen Cang, no matter what kind of noblewoman you are, you have to obediently grovel and become my servant. Besides, any of these people who have any backbone would have died along with those camp lords long ago. How could they have survived until now?"

"Hehehe, what you're saying doesn't make sense! If you're going to be a servant, then be a servant. Why make someone kneel down?"

"We're all men, so what are you pretending for? You dare say that every time you look up and see those maids on the third floor, you don't have any impure thoughts?"

"Keep it down, keep it down, hehehe!"

"Stop having those dirty thoughts in your hearts! Those few artists who perform for money don't sell their bodies. They are trained by the boss at great expense and are raised like his own daughters. Even the slightly less noble families can't afford to marry them. Not to mention them, even the maids can at least marry into military households. We lowly people wouldn't even get a second glance from them."

"Keep your voice down, keep your voice down, or you'll be beaten to death if someone hears you."

"Yes, yes, everyone be quiet."

"There's singing coming down again, be quiet, listen quickly..."

At the entrance of the Shigui Restaurant on the first floor, in the area designated for parking vans, a group of laborers dressed in tight-fitting short clothes were squatting on the ground, whispering among themselves. From the open windows on the top floor, melodious and seductive sounds could be heard from time to time, and they immediately quieted down, closed their eyes, and listened with expressions of utter rapture.

"The Chu valleys flow mightily, the mountains stand tall and majestic~~~~"
Fields overflowing with rice and millet, smoke curling from chimneys around the rafters...
The music continues, the torch is passed on from generation to generation.
The scenery of my hometown shines with brilliance~~~~

In the round hall on the top floor of the restaurant, a singer in a red dress was sitting on a high platform in the center, playing the zither and singing. Her melodious voice and beautiful zither music attracted most of the people sitting around her, who listened with their eyes closed, their faces full of intoxication.

After the song of Chu Feng was sung, the music stopped three or four breaths later. The singer in the red dress on the stage, who looked to be in her early twenties, gently pressed down on the strings and then slowly stood up.

Her skin was as smooth as cream, her face as white as jade, and her bright, clear eyes held a hint of allure. Half of her waist-length black hair hung down, while the rest was tied up on top of her head and secured with an exquisite gold butterfly ornament to form a flying fairy bun. When she stood up, her slender and graceful figure was on full display. Combined with her aloof expression, she resembled Chang'e in the moon or a fairy in the cold palace, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

After she stood up, she was clearly looking around at everyone, but her eyes were full of sincerity, without a trace of perfunctoriness, which made people feel very warm and friendly.

Seeing that the crowd below had gradually come to their senses, the woman gracefully bowed and softly said, "Feixu thanks everyone for your support."

Bang bang bang bang......

"Du He presented 2000 taels of silver, and it was as if I heard celestial music, as if I heard celestial music!"

“He is a master of both music and singing, truly deserving of the title ‘Master of Flying Catkins.’ Wang Meng donated 3000 taels of silver.”

"In my opinion, Master Feixu's zither skills are among the top five in Yanling City. Wu Shiqing, as a lucky draw prize, will offer 8888 taels of silver!"

"No wonder Miss Feixu has been able to win the title of Flower Queen for six consecutive months. It was worth my long journey from Donglin. He Yunchong, present 6000 taels of silver!"

…………

As soon as the woman spoke, the hundreds of people below finally came to their senses, and a great deal of applause and cheers followed.

On the top floor of the Shi Gui Restaurant, singing girls perform. The arrangement is usually made by the manager, provided that a certain number of guests arrive. As for which singing girl is chosen, that depends on the ranking of the total amount of silver donated in the previous month.

Generally speaking, the higher your ranking last month, the more opportunities you'll have to perform on stage the following month. The top-ranked person each month also receives the title of "Queen of the Courtesans."

By encouraging customers to compete for the singer's attention and shower her with gifts, the restaurant not only made the singer famous but also satisfied the customers' psychological needs, while simultaneously generating huge profits for the restaurant. This can be considered a clever business strategy.

The singer who performed today, Fei Xu, has been the top contributor for six consecutive months and has already secured the title of "Queen of the Year." Judging from the continuous stream of people vying to contribute, her fame is clearly well-deserved.

Dozens of silver offerings rang out in succession. Beside the wealthy man, there was an exquisite silver square table. A group of maids were moving among the guests below, constantly bringing over the silver offerings from the wealthy guests and placing them on the table. In less than a hundred breaths, the gleaming silver ingots piled up on the table into a small tower half a meter high, with an estimated value of at least 300,000.

"I remember that it was half a year ago when you last played the Chu Feng tune. Today, you played the same tune again. When you played the part about the rice fields and the smoke from the cooking fires, the music seemed to have a sad tone. I wonder if it is because you know about the millet fields in Luhe Valley and are feeling sad?"

Among the guests, a young man in white robes carrying a sword suddenly stood up and spoke with a smile. Upon hearing this, everyone around him immediately turned to look at him.

Liu Feixu, who was on the stage, turned her head to look at the white-robed young man upon hearing the sound, and said with a sweet smile: "Young Master Du is indeed well-versed in music. I admire you. Yesterday, I heard that the people of Luhe Valley rebelled and burned a hundred miles of millet fields to the ground. I was indeed moved, so I expressed my feelings through music. Please forgive me."

Du He, having caught everyone's attention, immediately showed a smug look on his face. Just as he was about to speak, another young man in white at the next table beat him to it.

“Miss Feixu, you misused the word ‘anti-people’. Those people in Luhe Valley are all slaves under the jurisdiction of my Yanling Division. What kind of people are they?”

"Rebels and traitors, a malignant tumor of regional warlords!"

"They are nothing but lowly scum who have been bewitched by the Frostfire Society and are trying to shake the tree like ants. The governor is kind and has been tolerant of these scum, but he did not expect them to become even more outrageous and have caused such a big disaster. In my opinion, these slave villages should be dealt with strictly and they should not be given any chance to turn things around."

“In the past ten years or so, the evil wind of reform in Weibo has spread to the Three Feudatories. A small group of people have also been influenced and have been advocating every day that they should follow the example of Weibo’s reform, such as improving the treatment of slaves, relaxing the requirements for civilian status, and reducing the number of slave villages, so as to strengthen the regional military governorship and strengthen Chencang.”

"Nonsense, utter nonsense! Chencang's prosperity today is due to two things: first, the efforts of the Governor, and second, the unity of the four classes—hereditary nobles, soldiers, and civilians—through two hundred years of eastward and westward conquests, constantly expanding our territory and capturing more and more slaves for the vassal states. This has ensured a continuous supply of coal, iron, silver, and other minerals; guaranteed the low prices of cultivation resources such as animal meat, blood, and bones; sustained our enormous military expenditures; and ensured that the vassal states have successors and that geniuses emerge one after another..."

"Those slaves either have ancestors who committed heinous crimes or come from scattered camps where people live hand to mouth. If it weren't for my teachings in Chencang, they would still be living a life of hunger and hardship. They've only had a few good days, and they've already started to be greedy again. Humph!"

"The Fangbo Prefecture has already been good enough to them, not sending them to the snow forest to fight against the cold beasts and monsters. They were only asked to collect resources and mine, doing what they could. Asking for more is simply taking advantage of them!"

"If such fallacies and heresies were to become prevalent, what would become of us?"

"In the end, this evil trend was started by the newly appointed Grand Prefect Xue Zijing six years ago. It was he who kept advocating reforms in front of the regional governors, prefects, and various prefectural governors and city lords, saying that as long as we follow the reforms of Weibo, Chencang will surely undergo rapid changes and embark on the road to prosperity. It might even be possible to unify Mo'aochuan in the future..."

"Unify Mo'aochuan, tch... Anyone can talk big. Besides, by expanding our territory and capturing more and more slaves, can't Chencang become stronger and more prosperous, and eventually unify Mo'aochuan?"

"I've heard long ago that our Xue Taiyi escaped from the Lulong military region. There's a rumor that his entire Xue family was wiped out by the Lulong governor. He's a criminal who barely escaped death. I don't know why, but the governor and the magistrate Chen admire him and offered him a high position as soon as he arrived. Sigh!"

"Under the Fangbo, the Yi commander is in charge of the army, and the Taiyi governs the government. Only those at the Tribulation Realm can hold these positions. This is a century-old system in Chencang. Xue Zijing only has the Manifestation Yang level cultivation, yet the Fangbo has made a precedent for him and hastily dismissed the former Taiyi..."

call out…………

The conversation in the round hall became increasingly animated until the last person mentioned the name Qian Taiyi. Suddenly, a small dagger flew out from the private room directly opposite the high platform in the round hall.

beep!
The small dagger shot out like a meteor, moving with incredible speed. In an instant, it severed the speaker's sideburn, pinning a strand of his black hair to the table on the high platform. The table was made of silver, but the dagger still managed to penetrate halfway into it. The powerful force caused the dagger to tremble uncontrollably, instantly attracting the attention of everyone present.

"It's one thing to casually discuss politics here, but to dare to criticize the Provincial Governor? I think you have a death wish. If you continue to spout nonsense, believe me, I, the young master, will drag you to the Ministry of Justice for punishment right now."

The man whose temple had been shot off, who was originally furious, vanished without a trace upon hearing the voice coming from the private room. He then bowed deeply to the inside of the room, his face flushed, and ran downstairs.

The people around were not surprised at all when they saw this scene. They all turned their heads to look at the private room, and then dared not say anything more.

"Feixu, come in and play the zither for us!"

The zither player on the stage, Feixu, had a strange expression on her face, but when she heard the prince call her name again, she immediately put on a sweet smile and slowly walked into the private room with her zither in her arms.

Seeing Feixu leave, everyone in the round hall looked disappointed, but dared not say anything. They could only watch her enter the private room with longing eyes. Only after the door of the private room was closed again did they dare to turn around and whisper among themselves.

"Which prince is it?" "Who else could it be with such a temper? It must be Prince Dongyun."

"Fourth Young Master, what brings him to the restaurant?"

"I heard that today, he and the young princess hosted a banquet for Ji Hong, the young master of Chen Canjun's residence, along with five or six other young men from the county government!"

"Ji Hong! This must be a challenge."

"A challenge? What does that mean?"

"Young Master Ji Hong is truly remarkable! This August, Cai Shihong, the young master of the Caiqiu Qingcang Prefecture, came here, saying he wanted to have a martial arts contest. However, he couldn't find a worthy opponent. Even the fifth young master of the prefecture, Dongkang, was defeated. Just when he was about to lose face, Ji Hong made a move and actually defeated Cai Shihong!"

"The Crown Prince of Dongkang is ranked 98th on the Earthly Ranking, so what is Cai Shihong's strength?"

“Their basic strength alone is 56, while Cai Shihong is only 20 years old this year. He came here aiming for the Earth Ranking. His original target was actually the Crown Prince of Dongyun and the Little Princess. Unexpectedly, he was defeated by Ji Hong, an unknown apprentice of Chen Canjun.”

"So, Ji Hong should have upheld Chencang's dignity. Why then did the Crown Prince of Dongyun and the young princess still challenge him to a duel?"

"The problem lies in the rankings. Prince Dongyun was originally ranked 87th, and the little princess was even higher at 83rd. But guess what? After Ji Hong defeated Cai Shihong, the new rankings in September actually put him at 80th. This pushed both the little princess and Prince Dongyun down in the rankings. Prince Dongkang fared even worse, dropping out of the top 100. I heard that if he can't break into the top 100 by the end of the year, he won't even be able to keep his position as prince."

"No wonder. The Prefectural Governor's Office has a rule that the last two of the five princes, who are at the Cold Protection level, must be ranked in the top 100 of the Earth Ranking. Once they fall out of the ranking, they will be removed from their princely positions."

"So Ji Hong has become a hot commodity. Prince Dongyun and the little princess both want to challenge him, since defeating him will raise their rankings significantly."

"The rankings on the Earthly Rankings seem to have remained relatively stable, haven't they?"

"Looking at the rankings, the top ten have basically remained unchanged. No, except for last June when that little dragon leader from the Frostfire Guild squeezed into the top ten, there have been basically no changes."

"The top ten are all definitely near-Manifest Yang level. When we see them off the list, that means they've broken through to the Manifest Yang level. It's not that easy for a Cold-Resistant level cultivator to defeat them."

………………

Leaving aside the discussions among the people in the outer round hall, Fei Xu, dressed in a red dress, gracefully entered the private room and sat down on the side to begin playing the zither. Her gaze occasionally swept over the people in the room, but she couldn't help but linger a little longer when she saw the young man in black by the window, her eyes clearly revealing a hint of admiration.

“Ji Hong, if you don’t accept my challenge, you should give a reason. Our basic strength is 58. Since you can gain Chen Canjun’s appreciation with your talent in swordsmanship, your strength may not be worse than mine if we really fight. We are about the same age, so why be so timid?”

After Chu Dongyuan finished speaking, he saw that Ji Hong by the window was still silent. His mood, which was already a little irritated by the person outside, became even more annoyed. He glanced at Chu Yan'er opposite him, rolled his eyes and continued, "Yan'er's basic strength is one qian higher than yours. It is understandable that you do not dare to accept her challenge. But do you have to be afraid of me, young master?"

Seeing that Chu Dongyun was using her to stir up trouble, Chu Yan'er frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. She just turned to look at Ji Hong.

The way she looked at Ji Hong was interesting; it contained both admiration and intense curiosity, and if you looked closely, you would find a faint trace of pity deep in her pupils.

"Yan'er, what do you mean?"

Ji Hong continued to look out the window without giving any response. Chu Dongyun's emotions also flared up, and he turned to ask Chu Yan'er directly. Although he was the heir of the prefectural governor's mansion, he did not dare to offend a powerful figure like Military Advisor Chen. Therefore, even if he hated Ji Hong to the core, he did not dare to go too far with him.

However, Chu Yan'er was different.

The regulations of the four prefectures of Mo'aochuan were all similar. Like Caiqiu, the five prefectural governorates of Chencang also had five heirs and five princesses.

However, the situation in Yanling County was a bit special. When Chu Yan'er was thirteen years old and was granted the title of county princess, she was originally just an ordinary fifth county princess. But because of Fang Bo's words, "a pearl in Chencang," she changed from an ordinary fifth county princess to the county princess of Yanling.

A princess with a title derived from the name of the prefecture is unique in Chencang. The key point is that the other five princesses are all married, so Chu Yan'er's status not only surpasses that of the five princesses, but also surpasses that of the fourth prince.

Ji Hong was, in the end, only Chen Yuanhong's last disciple. He dared not go too far for fear of offending Chen Yuanhong, but Chu Yan'er did not have this concern.

"Brother Ji, it's just a friendly exchange; there's no need to be so arrogant."

Chu Yan'er ultimately had her own ambitions regarding her ranking on the Earthly Ranking, so after being provoked by Chu Dongyun, she pondered for a moment and finally spoke up.

She clearly understood why Ji Hong hadn't responded, and her words immediately drew his attention back to her.

She addressed Ji Hong as "Brother Ji," which was a bit more polite than her address to Chu Dongyun, so when Ji Hong turned to look at her, his face remained expressionless.

"I don't know who ranked me on that list. I know my own strength. Why are you chasing after me, Prince and Princess?"

"That's not how it works. Since they've already ranked us, there must be some basis for it. To be honest, Brother Ji, I'm not confident of winning against you. I just wanted to give it a try."

“Indeed, Brother Ji, my basic strength is only one ounce higher than yours. This difference is almost negligible. If only…”

"How about this!"

Seeing that the two were still persistent and wanted to challenge him, Ji Hong suddenly spoke up, a smile appearing in his eyes, and said, "Young Master and Princess, if you really intend to climb the Earthly Ranking, I am not unwilling to agree, but..."

At this point, Ji Hong held up two fingers and continued, "Both of you are from the lineage of the Prefect and sons of the Governor's Office, so I won't beat around the bush. I'm short of money. If you two are really interested in challenging me to a duel, I'll agree to 20 taels of silver per duel, as long as you can come up with the money. How about it?"

20 taels of silver!

Upon hearing Ji Hong's proposed conditions, Chu Yan'er's expression immediately became somewhat strange. Chu Dongyun was taken aback at first, and then his eyes clearly showed a hint of disdain.

20 taels of silver is not a small amount for them, but compared to something like ranking on the local list, it is insignificant.

They're from a small town, after all; all they care about are these small gains.

Chu Dongyun concealed his expression and then smiled, "Good! Since Brother Ji has agreed, that makes things easier. I agree to the 20 taels of silver. Now, Brother Ji, please come with me to the martial arts arena in the city..."

"Send the silver to my residence first, and not today!"

As if noticing something, Ji Hong suddenly interrupted Chu Dongyun, then slowly stood up, cupped his hands to the two of them and said, "I have other matters to attend to today. When will you two send the silver over? I can accept the challenge at the Chen residence."

bang bang bang...

As soon as Ji Hong finished speaking, there was a knock on the door of the private room.

"Young master, Mr. Jiang has arrived and is downstairs."

Everyone in the room was stunned for a moment, and then all turned their attention to Ji Hong.

Clearly, the title "Young Master" refers to Ji Hong.

"Bring them up directly; I've already booked a private room."

Ji Hong recognized Zhang Yuchuan's voice outside the door and immediately gave him a word of advice, while his eyes remained fixed on the van downstairs.

He didn't react much when he saw Jiang Xinfan get out of the van, but when he saw a young man in black brocade clothes come out from behind, his expression suddenly froze.

The young man in black noticed his gaze and happened to look up as well.

The two, one upstairs and one downstairs, stared at each other across the distance.

The young man in black had a sallow complexion and was not particularly handsome, but his bright eyes were exceptionally striking. The moment he saw Ji Hong, his eyes lit up slightly, and then a relieved smile appeared on his face.

Ji Hong's eyes reddened slightly, and he clenched his fist under his sleeve, suppressing his excitement. He turned to Chu Yan'er and the other woman and cupped his hands, saying, "I have to entertain Mr. Jiang, a guest of our household, today, so I will take my leave first. I hope you two will understand."

After saying that, he ignored the two of them and walked straight out the door.

Feixu, a singer playing the zither in the side wing of the room, saw Ji Hong leave and a faint look of disappointment flashed in her eyes, but she concealed it very well and no one in the room noticed.

(End of this chapter)