Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 29 You are bandits, you are bandits after all

Yao Gao and Fang Dahe were about to say something when the mournful sound of suona was heard. Zhang Yuan and the others straightened their clothes and left the mourning hall.

The funeral procession stretched for half a mile, and all the younger generations in the village came to see them off.

For ordinary people, this is the ultimate honor.

Mr. Zheng was over seventy years old, so it was considered a happy funeral.

After the funeral, the banquet was held at the farm. Zhang Yuan and his friends wanted to leave but were forced to stay.

Sitting at the main table, the prominent figures of Zhengjiazhuang accompanied them cautiously and did not dare to ask for drinks.

In his pursuit of perfection in swordsmanship, Zhang Yuan never drinks alcohol. Master Tao wanted to drink, but Zhang Yuan glared at him and he had to wave his hand to refuse.

During the banquet, when talking about Mr. Zheng, everyone said that he met the second master who was extremely kind and righteous, otherwise he would not have survived three or four years ago.

Some also said that even if Zheng Qiang were still alive, the old man would not be able to bear such a grand funeral.

After a while, Yao Gao and Fang Dahe came over with wine bowls, and everyone else at the table quickly stood up and made way.

Everyone knows they are bandits.

"Second Master, I am Kong Baitang from the Kong family in Liaoyang Town. I am a cousin of Brother Zheng. Now that my cousin has passed away, I am here to see him off." Behind the two men, a wealthy old man clasped his hands together, with a smile on his face.

Master Tao nodded, glanced at the two people from Qingshan Village, and then looked at Kong Baitang: "Master Kong, I express my condolences."

The corner of Kong Baitang's mouth twitched slightly, and the smile on his face became a little stiff.

If he didn't have something to ask Master Zhang, how could he come to Zhengjiazhuang to attend the funeral of his cousin who was not related to him at all?
What kind of condolences is this?

Zhang Yuan just nodded without saying anything.

This made Kong Baitang feel a little embarrassed.

He coughed lightly, took a step forward, and sat down at the table: "I came to see you, Master, to discuss something."

Kong Baitang poured himself a glass of wine, held it in his hand, and said, "My Kong family's caravan travels between three counties and two towns, and we also have border business."

"I've had a lot of dealings with the brothers from Qingshan Village over the years. Seeing them earning so little money through hard work is really hard to bear."

Yao Gao and Fang Dahe on the side looked at Zhang Yuan with a little dazed eyes, and only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Zhang Yuan's expression had not changed.

Well, what Kong Baitang said is true.

The bandits would drink and eat meat to their heart's content during one trip, and would go down the mountain when they ran out of money.

After being dragged down the mountain by Zhang Yuan, they built roads, constructed cableways, and prohibited looting. The people of Qingshan Eighteen Villages had a very hard life.

In the past two years, the commercial routes of Luyang Prefecture have gradually prospered. The cable cars in Qingshan Village and the mountain roads have attracted more and more caravans, and they have gradually become prosperous.

Nowadays, many bandits in the mountain villages envy Qingshan Village.

"It's the Second Master and the Master who have allowed us to live a stable life." Yao Gao and Fang Dahe quickly interrupted, "Now we live a normal and stable life."

Hearing what the two said, Kong Baitang chuckled.

"I was anxious because I saw my brothers guarding their wealth without knowing it."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Yuan and Master Tao and lowered his voice: "Second Master, I have some ways to sell the iron pulleys made in Qingshan Village."

"As long as you two can build the zipline and pulley, I can sell them."

He held out his hand, his palm spread open: "I'll take whatever you have, fifty-fifty."

"No, June 4th is fine too."

He held the wine glass in one hand, with a smile on his face, looking at Zhang Yuan and Master Tao.

He admitted that these two people were quite famous.

Just the four words "righteousness" are a golden signboard.

But one came from a humble background, and the other was just a poor scholar.

When someone from Xunqingshan Village introduced the Second Master to him, he thought the Second Master was a man in his late thirties or early forties, but he didn't expect that he was just a young boy.

Such a person may be loyal and value friendship, but when it comes to knowledge, can he compare with the head of the Kong family who has controlled a family for decades?
Take the iron ropes and pulleys, for example. Qingshan Village uses them to build slides and earns some hard-earned money from transporting goods every day.

Erye really didn't know that something like this could be sold at a sky-high price!

As long as these two people agree and hand over the iron chains and pulleys to himself and the Kong family, the Kong family will become a big family in less than three years.

Of course, the best way would be to master the forging of the pulley and iron chain himself. This Second Master was said to have a good cultivation base and a good reputation in the martial arts world. It would be difficult to seize him by force, and some tricks would be needed.

"Master Kong, are you going to use these iron cables and pulleys to build a cableway somewhere else?" Zhang Yuan looked up at him and nodded. "That's a good thing."

Build a ropeway somewhere else?

In Zhang Erhe's eyes, this iron cable pulley is used to build a cableway.

It turns out that meeting someone in person is not as good as hearing them say. Mr. Zhang, who is known for his righteousness, is not as amazing as he is said to be.

Kong Baitang grinned: "Of course it's a good thing. Second Master, you are so righteous. I just want to help you and get some merit while making money."

"Since ancient times, building bridges and roads has been a meritorious deed."

"Well, that's true." Mr. Tao put down his chopsticks and sat up straight. "It's a good thing."

"I don't know..." Kong Baitang's face was full of joy. Just as he was about to press on and finalize the matter, Zhang Yuan had already stood up.

"Today is the day of Mr. Zheng's funeral, so let's not talk about these things."

Master Tao nodded and stood up.

Zhang Yuan and Master Tao walked out. Yao Gao and Fang Dahe looked at each other and hurriedly followed them.

The head of Zhengjiazhuang Village, who had been watching from the side, and the manager hurried out to see them off.

Kong Baitang, who was sitting in the same place, had a changing expression on his face. He picked up the wine glass in his hand, drank it all in one gulp, and then spit it out.

"Pah, such inferior wine..."

He stood up and looked at Zhang Yuan and the others as they left, a gleam of light in his eyes.

"Master Tao seems to understand that this business is profitable. I need to find a way to contact him again."

"I thought Mr. Zhang was a powerful figure, but now it seems he's barely grown out, just a name with no substance."

……

Following Zhang Yuan outside the manor, Yao Gao and Fang Dahe could no longer hold back and took a few steps forward, whispering, "Second Master, we have something to report."

Zhang Yuan stopped and turned to look at them.

"Well, Second Master, it's like this," Yao Gao hesitated for a moment, then said stubbornly, "Master Zhao Changchun of Jiulin County would like to arrange a meeting with you."

"Zhao Changchun, the Cloud-Treading Tiger?" Zhang Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly. "The Zhao family in Jiulin County doesn't seem to have a very good reputation. They're involved with quite a few bandits, right?"

These words made Yao Gao and Fang Dahe look embarrassed.

Zhao Changchun, the Cloud-stepping Tiger, is a Xiantian realm cultivator who has been famous for ten years. It is thanks to his strength that the Zhao family has expanded to control the Jiulin underworld.

Zhang Yuan said that the Zhao family's claim of involvement with bandits was an exaggeration.

The truth is that the owners of several mountain strongholds in Jiulin County are all controlled by the Zhao family.

The two of them glanced at each other quietly, then lowered their heads and said, "Sixth Master Zhao wants you, Second Master, to be the joint leader of the two county strongholds."

"Second Master, you also know that the business in Luyang Prefecture has been booming recently. Qingshan Village has made some hard-earned money from the slide and iron rope, and many of the surrounding martial arts world are jealous."

"If Sixth Master Zhao's proposal can build momentum, Second Master will become famous, and the Zhao family and brothers will contribute their efforts to control the trade routes within a radius of 300 miles. Then making money will be easy."

Mr. Tao, who was standing aside, frowned slightly but did not interrupt.

He had long been accustomed to listening but not saying anything about the affairs of the underworld around Zhang Yuan.

Having lost his martial arts skills, he can no longer be considered a member of the martial arts world.

"I don't want to get involved in the affairs of the underworld." Zhang Yuan shook his head. "If you think life is hard just guarding the cable car, you can take this opportunity to form a caravan and travel between Toyota and the border."

After saying that, Zhang Yuan walked straight forward.

Master Tao walked up to Yao Gao and said, "I suspect the government will soon ban this kind of disorderly business. How much you can earn is your own business."

Yao Gao and Fang Dahe stood there, watching Zhang Yuan and the others leave, with complicated expressions on their faces.

"You two are bandits, you are bandits after all. Some feelings will fade away as time goes by."

"He's Boss Duan's comrade, but not yours. No matter how famous he is for his righteousness, he can't really make life easy for the brothers of Qingshan Village."

A voice sounded from behind.

(End of this chapter)