I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 49 Cultivating Confidants
The black market is closed during the day.

The mobile stalls and peddlers had all left the scene, but the shops that had stores in the black market were still open as usual.

This is a bit like a town market: on the third, sixth, and ninth days of the lunar calendar, vendors from surrounding villages and towns would carry their goods to the town to sell, and the surrounding villagers would also go to the town to buy things, resulting in a continuous flow of people and a concentrated boom in business. But after the market, the itinerant vendors would leave, but the shops in the town would not close.

The same was true of the Blood Ridge black market. Even during the day, when street vendors were absent, the shops remained open. Some regular customers would still come in to buy goods.

These shop owners who have been stationed in the black market for many years are the core merchants of the Blood Ridge Black Market.

A large part of Xie An's job is to maintain relationships with these core merchants.

There are two mature blacksmith shops on the weapons street, specializing in making ironware, weapons, etc. The craftsmanship of the two blacksmiths is very good.

One of the blacksmiths was named Liu, and the other blacksmith was named Liang Xiang.

Without exception, Xie An came to Liang Xiang's blacksmith shop.

There is no other reason, because Liang Xiang is Liang Zhi’s cousin.

Since he had decided to train Liang Zhi to be his confidant, he began to show favors and win him over from now on.

"Sir Steward, why are you here? Come in and have some tea." Liang Xiang was a rough-looking man, but he also knew etiquette and smiled when he saw Xie An.

Xie An didn't directly state his purpose, but instead asked with concern: "Master Liang, how is your business lately?"

Liang Xiang poured tea for the masked Xie An and said, "It's much better now than when Zhang Biao was in charge. It's all thanks to the steward who cleaned up the atmosphere and restored order. We beggars are able to earn some money. Even with the Plum Blossom Monster incident, I'm afraid there will be more trouble in the future."

Xie An comforted him, "Master Liang, don't worry. The Tiger and Wolf Sect is behind the Blood Ridge Black Market. A mere Plum Blossom Monster can't cause any trouble."

After hearing this, Liang Xiang felt much more at ease.

Xie An also took this opportunity to explain his purpose.

"Sir Deacon, do you want to cast a heavy sword? I have a few ready-made ones here. Would you mind giving them a hand?" Liang Xiang immediately took out a few large broadswords.

Xie An weighed it over for a few moments and lost interest.

One weighed eight pounds, another weighed about ten pounds. The heaviest broadsword weighed only a dozen pounds. For ordinary swordsmen, this weight was considered heavy.

But for Xie An, who could lift 800 kilograms with one arm, it was too light.

Liang Xiang understood Xie An's intention from his expression, "How heavy a sword does the deacon want to forge?"

Xie An started to think about it in his mind.

A heavier sword isn't necessarily better, after all, combat is a constant. If a blade is too heavy, it might be powerful for the first few strikes, but over time, the weight will become a burden.

Finally, Xie An said a more appropriate number, "40 kilograms."

"This is an extremely heavy sword. Usually, only swordsmen at the Elite Flesh Realm would consider a sword of this weight. But since the Deacon needs it, I will naturally satisfy him. Do you have any requirements for the shape of the sword?" Although Liang Xiang was surprised, he was also happy.

Casting a 40-jin heavy sword is a big job.

Xie An asked Liang Xiang to bring paper and pen, and drew the shape of a broadsword on the paper: the blade was two inches wide and four feet long, the back of the blade was about half an inch thick, the back half of the blade was straight, the front half was slightly curved upwards, and the tip of the blade was sharp.

After the rough drawing was completed, Xie An handed the paper to Liang Xiang: "Master Liang, can you do it?"

Liang Xiang carefully examined the blueprint and frowned, saying, "The blade is too sharp. Ordinary iron ore won't be wear-resistant. We need to use high-quality wrought iron. But the price is..."

According to the prices in the Daqian Dynasty, ordinary pig iron cost about ten coins per pound, which was not expensive.

But 钲钲 iron was a type of steel, a material used for high-end swords. Only wealthy swordsmen, or government constables and military officers would wield swords made of 钲钲 iron.

The price is more than a hundred times that of ordinary pig iron.

One catty was worth about one tael of silver. Forty catties of wrought iron would cost forty taels of silver just for the materials. Adding in the materials for the handle, handguard, and craftsmanship, Xie An estimated the cost would be forty-five taels.

Liang Xiang charged about fifty taels, which was reasonable.

With an estimate in mind, Xie An said, "Money is not a problem. You name a price."

Liang Xiang estimated the price and said, "Master Steward, please take care of my business, so I won't charge you any money. Forty-two taels. Bandits have been active in Dayin Mountain lately, and the government is actively forging weapons to suppress them. The price of wrought iron is fluctuating. Even if there's a loss, it's my responsibility. In three months, I'll give you the heavy sword."

Xie An knew that Liang Xiangzhen had not made any money. He took out a large ingot of silver worth fifty taels and placed it on the table. "How can I let Master Liang work for nothing? Here's the price: fifty taels. I'll come back to pick up the knife in three months."

Xie An did not give Liang Xiang a chance to refuse and stood up to leave. Even from a distance away, he saw Liang Xiang chasing him out of the shop with the silver ingot.

Seeing Xie An walking away, Liang Xiang had no choice but to accept the silver and muttered to himself, "This new deacon is really different from Zhang Biao, that mean guy who only knows how to exploit us."

Not long after, Liang Zhi came over.

"Third brother, what does the steward want to see you about?"

In fact, Liang Zhi had seen Xie An from a distance before, but he didn't come over to ask. He thought Xie An was looking for his cousin for something bad.

Liang Xiang did not hide anything and told everything.

After listening to this, Liang Zhi looked at Lao Liu's blacksmith shop next door and sighed in his heart: Master Liu's blacksmithing skills are obviously better than Liang Xiang's, but the deacon came here specifically. This is to take care of me, this is a favor...

In fact, Liang Zhi and Xie An hadn't had much contact in the past few months. Every time they met, they just reported on their work and didn't have any other communication. So Liang Zhi always felt that this old man was serious and difficult to get along with.

Unexpectedly, just a few actions of the old deacon made him feel deeply moved.

……

However, after Xie An left the blacksmith shop, he did not go back to the villa directly, but found Zhou Xing to check on the stall owner who was killed by the plum blossom monster.

Since the Plum Blossom Monster has already extended its hand to the Blood Ridge black market, Xie An, as the person in charge here, must come to understand so that he can have a clear idea of ​​the situation.

In the simple room, there lay a blood-stained corpse covered with a white cloth.

Zhou Xing bent down and uncovered the white cloth. "Just now, the Baiyu Hall sent a doctor to examine the body. They said that the neck was cut by a sharp weapon... Killed in one blow."

Xie An squatted down and took a closer look.

A small wound was seen on the neck.

Judging from the marks, it was likely caused by a thin, sharp object. The cut was very smooth, with no signs of struggle. It was clear that the stall owner died before he could react.

A sword? Or some kind of filament?

Xie An took a deep breath, "Where's Brother Zhang?"

Zhou Xing said, "The boss has gone to bed. Oh, and he asked me to ask the steward if the black market will be open today."

After this incident, people inside and outside the black market were in a panic, and rumors of the market closing were spreading.

Xie An understood, but still made a decision, "Open, continue opening. But we need to strengthen the defense. Don't just have a single guard patrol. Each guard should be equipped with a whistle arrow. If anything unusual happens, they should immediately send out a signal. Tonight, I will go on patrol myself."

If a trader dies, the Blood Ridge Black Market will close down.

If this gets out, where will Bai Yutang's reputation be?
Moreover, the superiors will also reprimand you for not doing your job well.

As a newcomer, Xie An didn't think much about managing the black market, at least he didn't want anything to go wrong. He just wanted to practice quietly and develop his skills, but nothing could go wrong.

Hearing that the new deacon would be patrolling personally, Zhou Xing was greatly encouraged. "We will all follow your orders, Deacon. We have a lot of people, so as long as we patrol together, we don't have to be afraid of this plum blossom monster."

(End of this chapter)