Start with a red name

Chapter 103: Preparing for Progress
Because Master Fan has already negotiated with the surrounding neighborhoods, he will arrange for suitable young men to join Kangleji and form a blue robe guard team after the autumn hunt is over.

And as long as the size and strength of the Blue Robe Guards are not inferior to those of the Black Robe Guards, their leader can be promoted to the position of chief and speak for the interests of the surrounding neighborhoods.

This is something that has now been agreed upon among the top management of Kangle Group after Master Peng risked his own life to do so.

Because of this, many people in the neighborhood, including Chen Rongshan, had a relatively optimistic estimate of the large-scale transactions with the various guilds in Kangleji after the end of this year's autumn hunt.

I believe the transaction price will definitely be higher than in previous years.

Because if these guilds continue to lower prices as they did in previous years, each neighborhood can completely ignore the rules of the guilds and look for suitable buyers.

You say I broke the rules?

Sorry, our boss said that it is you who broke the rules!

Since both parties have the right to speak and set the rules, let's just talk.

We in the neighborhood have as many mouths as you do, so why should we be afraid of you?

However, the price of doing so is to offend all the guilds in Kangleji. If it is not necessary, no one will do this.

Moreover, it is easier said than done to leave the guild and look for other buyers.

You might invest a lot of time and energy, but end up with nothing.

Moreover, many supplies are time-sensitive and have a short shelf life, so the sooner you sell them after the autumn hunt, the better.

If you hold something in your hands for too long, the treasure may turn into garbage.

What's more, the various families are not united in their ideas.

Your family feels that they are at a disadvantage, but do other families think they can do something about it?

Therefore, if you can find a guild to trade with, of course you should do so.

Of course, Lifang doesn't need to play this card now that it has one more card. As long as the guilds know that Lifang has more options, they will naturally choose to give up more benefits in order to complete the transaction as soon as possible.

There is no need for the two sides to really clash head-on.

This is also the actual situation.

The other guilds hadn't even waited for the official end of the autumn hunt in each family town. The Blue Robe Guards were still only talking about it, but they had already taken the initiative to contact the various family towns. The purchase prices of various materials had increased a lot compared with previous years.

At this time, Zang Zigao from the pharmacy went against the general trend and did the opposite. Not only did he not raise prices, but he lowered the purchase prices of various materials even lower than last year.

In the eyes of Chen Rongshan and others, isn't this crazy?

It’s simply unreasonable!
Chen Rongshan's mood is usually very stable, but now he looks like this, it is obvious that he is really angry about Zang Zigao's behavior.

"If he does this, does anyone else in the pharmacy have any objection?

If he doesn't want to eat, he can't smash other people's bowls, right?"

"You can only keep your opinions to yourself. He has been the president for so many years, and those who dared to openly oppose him have long been kicked out by him.

...Moreover, even if his actions this time aroused public outrage in the pharmacy and he was driven out of office, that would be a matter for the future.

It's of no use to us!"

Geng Xuan nodded.

The neighborhood must cash in on the harvest from the autumn hunt as soon as possible, and then distribute it to all participants in the neighborhood according to their contributions. Everyone is now anxiously waiting with their necks craned.

You must not pour cold water on them at this time, otherwise, you will have to wait until next year.

On the other hand, many resources cannot be kept for long. The longer they are kept, the lower the price they can be sold for, or even become worthless.

"So what do we do now?"

"We have already reached a consensus with other neighborhoods on this matter. No matter what, even if we lose everything, we will never accept the conditions of the pharmacy.

...Tomorrow we will form the Blue Robe Guard and then look for other buyers."

Geng Xuan nodded, understanding Uncle Chen and the others' idea. However, he was curious about another thing. "Uncle Chen, the escort team will be formed tomorrow. Has the leader been confirmed?"

If he became a blue robe guard, he would be his direct superior and also the head of Kangle Group, so he would have no choice but to pay attention to it.

Chen Rongshan nodded and said, "It has been confirmed."

"Who?"

"Wei Wanzong, the owner of Wanfufang."

Geng Xuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "It's him. So, he is the new leader, right?"

Chen Rongshan nodded: "Yes."

"So, he has reached the Marrow Refining Realm?" Geng Xuan asked.

Chen Rongshan nodded again and said:
“Yes, I made a breakthrough at the end of last year.

He and Li Xun are actually about the same age, and it has always been recognized that Li Xun is better than him in all aspects.

In the past, everyone said that Wei Wanzong was lucky, and they also speculated that he had encountered some good opportunities during his travels."

It can be seen that Uncle Chen is a little depressed about this.

In fact, he didn't finish speaking half of his words. He only talked about the past and not the present.

Now that Li Xun has disappeared without a trace, and with all the clues pointing to the former abbot having a serious problem.

The problem was not that Wei Wanzong was lucky, but that Li Xun, who originally had better conditions, went astray.

Geng Xuan was a little worried and asked, "Is this Wei Fangzhu going to be the seat of the chief abbot forever?"

Chen Rongshan shook his head and said:

"Don't worry, we have already considered this matter.

According to the agreement between us and Kangleji, the position of host is given to the leader of the blue robe guards, not to any specific person.

The Blue Robe Guards were formed by people from the eight villages near Kangle Village, so naturally the rights and interests were shared by everyone.

A team leader can only serve for two years, and the next team leader can only come from another neighborhood.

Among the eight nearby abbeys, three of the current abbey masters have reached the marrow refining realm.

Two years later, when Wei Wanzong retires, another will take his place, and so on.

Our goal at Changpingfang is to have a worthy lord before the first round is over."

Geng Xuan nodded, which meant that, at the latest fourteen years later, Changpingfang must have a capable master of the Marrow Refining Realm who is in his prime.

Chen Rongshan confirmed tomorrow's arrangements with Geng Xuan again, and then they went home.

……

Back in the house, Geng Xuan pondered over the actions of the pharmacy president Zang Zigao again. Although he had many guesses in his mind, he still couldn't get the point in the end.

Geng Xuan, who couldn't sleep for a while, simply got up and went into the underground space.

As soon as he came down, Dawang, who was curled up near the steps, and the eight little fur balls huddled around him quickly turned over and stood up.

One big and eight small, all looked at him and wagged their tails.

Fortunately, Dahuang did a good job in disciplining the eight puppies, and the puppies only made slight gurgling sounds. They did not bark non-stop as they did at the beginning when they saw him coming down.

Geng Xuan rubbed Da Huang's head and said, "Rest yourselves, don't worry about me."

As he said that, he walked towards the passage.

Da Huang looked at his receding back and felt eager to try, but when he looked down at Ba Xiao beside him, he lay down again in disappointment.

After a while, Geng Xuan arrived at a tunnel not far from where Luo Qing and others were hiding.

In front of them, a rock wall suddenly stood up in the tunnel that originally led directly to where Luo Qing and others were, blocking the tunnel.

But it was not completely blocked, leaving a narrow passage on the left that was only wide enough for one person to enter and exit sideways.

Geng Xuan did not deliberately conceal his footsteps. When he was about twenty steps away from the rock wall, there was a sudden sound of breaking air, and a huge rock fell in front of him.

Then a somewhat cold voice came from behind the rock wall.

"Private area, no entry!"

Geng Xuan coughed lightly and said, "It's me."

There was silence behind the rock wall for a moment, and then a surprised voice rang out: "Ah, the gang leader is here!"

It can be heard that this is the same person who said "Private area, no entry" just now, but the former sentence was gloomy and cold, while the latter was joyful, the difference is quite big.

As he was speaking, a person flashed out from the narrow passage.

This person is one of the ten official members of the Giant Bear Gang besides Luo Qing, Ding Yong, Teng Yu and Wang Xun.

He trotted to a few steps away from Geng Xuan and stopped. He seemed to have finally seen his appearance clearly and said with a smile, "Boss, you are here?"

Geng Xuan nodded and walked sideways through the narrow path.

He found that the rock wall was about four or five meters thick.

Then there is an open area about ten meters long, and there is another rock wall in front, but the narrow passage between this rock wall and the tunnel is left on the right.

It is exactly opposite to the narrow path of the first rock wall.

Geng Xuan quickly figured out the purpose of doing this.

This is to ensure air circulation while minimizing the possibility of exposure due to the spread of fire light and sound.

And in the ten-meter gap between the two rock walls, there was another person quietly crouching in the corner.

When Geng Xuan entered from the narrow passage, he immediately stood up and said, "Boss!"

Geng Xuan smiled and patted him on the shoulder. This was a non-official brother - he had not yet officially joined the Giant Bear Gang. He smiled and said, "You have done a lot of things these days."

During the retreat, Geng Xuan also came twice.

One reason is to see if there is any shortage of supplies that need to be replenished, and the other is to maintain one's own presence and not disappear for a long time.

And every time he came here, Geng Xuan could see some changes that surprised him.

The last time he came here, nine days ago, there was no rock wall here and no one was guarding it.

The official brother said:
"This is the suggestion of Protector Wang. He said that we cannot all stay near the base. We need to take the initiative to build outposts outside. We cannot let others block us inside the base again."

"So, this arrangement isn't limited to this one, and all the tunnels connected to our base have the same arrangement?"

"Ah."

"Have you encountered any danger?"

"No... not yet."

Geng Xuan looked at the two rock walls in front and behind again and asked a somewhat difficult question.

"If someone really finds this place, the stones buried in advance won't scare them away. If they insist on forcing their way in, how will you two deal with it?"

The official brother pointed to the two rock walls in front and behind and said:
“The two rock walls are not fixed, and a movable baffle is installed inside.

If there really is such a person, we will immediately lower the baffle, let the rocks and soil roll out, and immediately block the narrow path.

Even if we have to force our way through, we have to dig through the narrow passage blocked by rock and soil first."

As he spoke, he straightened his chest and said:

"We have done some deductions. Unless a strong man from the Marrow Refining Realm comes in person, even if another Zhong Yuanba comes, even if the gang leader doesn't take action, he won't be able to easily block us inside the base like he did last time.

Unless he can block all the passages leading to the base at the same time, even if we cannot win, we will have enough time to escape from danger."

Geng Xuan thought that this was actually a problem. First of all, the sentries on duty must have enough sense of responsibility and vigilance, and must not slack off at all while on duty, instead of just doing it impulsively for a while and then slowly becoming superficial.

This is actually a very difficult thing to do.

Geng Xuan was very sure that this group of people were just getting carried away.

If there is no new "stimulus", this seemingly vibrant "Giant Bear Gang" will be shattered in less than two months.

In addition, the scout must have sharp eyes and ears and react quickly and decisively.

If they encounter someone who walks silently and moves quickly, by the time they discover the other person, the other person may have already passed through the narrow path and reached their side, then all these arrangements will be in vain.

Although he thought so in his heart, Geng Xuan did not say anything bad, but instead praised him.

We really can't ask for too much. It is very rare that the "Giant Bear Gang" can be molded into this form in such a short period of time.

Moreover, everything has a process of growth.

We have achieved what we have now in such a short period of time. As long as we don’t stand still in the future, things will naturally get better and better.

And he was very sure that as long as he was the leader, the "Giant Bear Gang" would not lack for constant "sharpening" and "stimulation".

After hearing Geng Xuan's praise, both of them smiled from the bottom of their hearts, as if they had received great honor.

After saying goodbye to the two, Geng Xuan soon arrived at the brightly lit headquarters of the Giant Bear Gang.

Because a lot of supplies were found in Zhong Yuanba's mansion, there was special lamp oil for lighting and charcoal was no longer used. This made the light in the space brighter and more stable, and consumed less resources.

When Geng Xuan entered, he found that the door panels and bed boards removed from the Zhong Mansion were placed against the wall, turning them into desks for work and writing.

More than twenty people were gathered in twos and threes, discussing seriously in low voices.

The three people closest to Geng Xuan were discussing a leg technique called "Wind Shadow Leg".

The reason why they got together to discuss was because the three of them had all practiced this leg technique that combined lightness, dodging, and attacking.

However, everyone's grasp of it was not deep enough and everyone had their own focus, so they discussed and verified it with each other, with the goal of eventually recording this technique and eventually making it one of the foundations of the Giant Bear Gang.

Once you let go of your concerns and prejudices, this is actually a very beneficial thing for everyone involved.

In this process, everyone can easily discover their own shortcomings and biases in their understanding, and correct them quickly.

Luo Qing and others also discovered a fact, that is, everyone was originally very secretive about their cultivation information, for fear that they would be targeted by someone if it was exposed.

But when everyone carefully shared their situations and did a round of statistics, it turned out that the various techniques everyone practiced were not exactly the same, but there was really not much difference between them.

Whether it is body-tempering techniques, or other sword techniques, knife techniques, body techniques, etc., you will always meet "colleagues" in such a large group of people.

There are as few as two or three and as many as six or seven.

“It may also be that everyone is still hesitant and has only contributed some of the cultivation methods that are more popular with the general public, while those that are more special have not been brought out.

But I believe that as people become more and more accepting of the Giant Bear Gang, this problem will gradually disappear."

The last time Geng Xuan came over, Luo Qing had expressed this to Geng Xuan in private.

The current situation objectively makes everyone happy to share relevant experiences.

Not only can we make contributions, but we can also learn from each other and improve ourselves.

Everyone was so immersed in such fun that they even completely ignored the dullness of underground life.

Because everyone was so engrossed, when Geng Xuan entered, no one even noticed his arrival.

Until one person seemed to have figured something out and looked around proudly, then he saw the gang leader who was standing silently by the side watching everything on the scene.

He quickly touched Teng Yu next to him with his hand.

"Hmm?" Teng Yu was puzzled at first, then turned his head to look, and a smile of surprise instantly appeared on his face: "Boss!"

The others were also suddenly awakened and stood up.

"Gang leader!"

"Boss, you are here!"

"..."

One by one, they greeted each other.

Geng Xuan smiled and said to everyone:

"I'll just come over to take a look and not disturb you."

As he spoke, he waved to Luo Qing, Ding Yong, and Wang Xun, and walked into a tunnel with Teng Yu who had come beside him.

Geng Xuan immediately told the four people some exciting news that made their scalps tingle.

"I have broken through the marrow refining realm."

The four of them opened their eyes wide and stared at him in amazement.

Everyone wanted to congratulate, but their words became incoherent.

"Boss... this... this is unbelievable..."

"Yeah, this is... too sudden!"

"I thought it was amazing that you could achieve a breakthrough in one or two years, but I never thought... I never thought..."

"..."

Geng Xuan stretched out his hand and calmed the four people who were even more excited than he was.

“I originally had the qualifications to enter the marrow refining realm, but I didn’t have the marrow refining technique, so I was stuck at this last step.

This problem was solved after I joined the martial arts gym last time, and now breakthroughs are a natural thing.

Don't make such a fuss!"

After hearing the gang leader's consolation, the four people finally calmed down.

Geng Xuan said: "I came here this time just to tell you something.

Just keep this to yourself, don’t let more people know for now.”

"Yes." The four responded.

"You may not stay down here for long, but this also means the end of your peaceful days.

Let's seize the time and integrate them well.

The next time you come, it will be when I recruit all the other brothers into the Giant Bear Gang.

I hope to see a mature gang by then, not a makeshift group.”

The four of them suppressed their excitement and said, "Boss, please rest assured!"

……

October 6th, early morning.

After having breakfast together, Geng Xuan set off with Chen Rongshan.

The two came to the gate of Changpingfang.

At this moment, there are already quite a few people waiting here.

Many of them are familiar faces that I have seen during the autumn hunt.

Liao Chengye waved at them from a distance: "Xuan brother, Uncle Chen!"

(End of this chapter)