National Division

Chapter 31 Potential Crisis (Seeking monthly votes!)

Shen Residence, Hall

Shen Xian looked up at Lin Jing and asked in surprise, "Uncle, what brings you here?"

Seeing the searching look in her eyes, Xue Zhihua asked, "Young Master Shen, who is this?"

"I've met Miss Xue before." Lin Jing addressed Xue Zhihua by name first, then explained with a smile, "In the thirty-second year of Hongxi, on the occasion of Duke Xue's sixtieth birthday, I was doing business in the capital and went to the Xue residence to offer my congratulations. I met Miss Xue there once."

Xue Zhihua suddenly realized, "Oh, so it's an old friend from the capital."

Xue Zhihua did not recognize the visitor, or rather, the Xue family was of such high social standing that even the combined Yu and Shen families could not compare, let alone the Lin family, who were merely merchants.

On the day of Duke Xue's birthday celebration, countless people would be celebrating. How could Xue Zhihua possibly recognize them all?

Shen Xian asked, "Uncle, what's going on?"

Lin Jing smiled and said, "I was momentarily lost in thought when you mentioned the Guhe Daily. I used to be a merchant in the capital and thought that newspapers were a clever way for businesses to make a profit by publishing advertisements."

At that time, the concept of advertising was truly nonexistent.

Shen Xian said, "But it won't make you a lot of money, it's better than nothing."

Of course, it served the same purpose as "New Youth".

Lin Jing smiled and said, "To run a newspaper, you'll need printing paper. If my nephew-in-law doesn't mind, I can take care of these mundane tasks."

Shen Xian said, "I was just about to trouble you, Uncle."

He does need help in business; otherwise, given the limited time and energy available, it will inevitably affect his progress in martial arts training.

Lin Jing then said, "I heard from the servants that you and the county magistrate went outside the city to slay demons. Qingchan and I are very worried about you. We wonder how things went?"

Shen Xian said, "This matter is largely thanks to Lord Xue. Evil spirits are cunning and adept at concealing their aura. Without Lord Xue's intervention, it would have been difficult to accomplish anything with the manpower of the county government alone."

Lin Jing nodded, then looked at Xue Zhihua, who was wearing a red dress and had a calm expression.

The secret passage read: "This noble lady must be a prodigy in the immortal path."

After Shen Xian finished speaking, he handed over the manuscript he had written in his arms and said, "Uncle, this is the manuscript. You can take a look at it first and give some suggestions."

Lin Jing took the manuscript and sat down to read it.

As time passed, Lin Jing's heart was filled with admiration.

With such literary talent and writing skills, who can say that his nephew-in-law is illiterate?
Seeing that the matter had been settled, Xue Zhihua said nothing more and went to stay temporarily in the other courtyard prepared by Shen Xian.

After seeing Xue Zhihua off, Shen Xian turned back and asked, "What did Uncle think?"

Lin Jing nodded, his eyes showing approval: "The manuscript only has one chapter, but the plot looks quite appealing."

Shen Xian smiled and said, "Then wait a moment, I'll talk to my uncle about the contents of this newspaper."

Shen Xian then gave a brief description of the layout design of the Guhe Daily.

Lin Jing nodded repeatedly and said, "The Lin family still has some shops and people in Shendu. I will call them over, and they can help travel along the Guhe River throughout Anzhou."

Lin Jing was originally a merchant in the capital and had accumulated a lot of connections over the years. Although the Yu family had fallen, the Lin family was only related by marriage and was not implicated.

Upon hearing this, Shen Xian's eyes lit up, and he said, "Uncle, I have a method for extracting fragrances that can be blended into perfumes. I wonder if you could sell them in the capital?"

He entrusted the perfume to Lin Jing for distribution, which saved him a lot of effort.

Lin Jing asked in surprise, "Perfume?"

Nowadays, high-ranking officials and nobles all use perfumes to scent their clothes.

Shen Xian explained the effects of the perfume, and then instructed A Xin, who was serving tea, "Go and summon Zhiyun and Xiuyue."

A moment later, Zhiyun and Xiuyue came together and said, "Young master, you called me."

Shen Xian took a piece of paper and said, "Go and prepare these things."

Zhiyun and Xiuyue were literate, so they took the paper with the instructions on the equipment used to extract the spices, calmed themselves down, and turned to leave.

"It's getting late. Let the kitchen prepare some food and we'll eat first," Shen Xian said.

Lin Jing thought for a moment and said, "If it's perfume, it might sell even better than newspapers. In the capital, there are many high-ranking officials and nobles, and the consumption of spices is enormous every year."

Shen Xian nodded.

As the two were talking, they arrived at the back hall.

Lin Jing lowered his voice and said, "That Miss Xue is the daughter of the Duke of Xue. The first Duke of Xue was one of the thirty-six meritorious officials of the Qilin Pavilion and a founding noble."

A loud drum doesn't need a heavy blow; this young Master Shen is exceptionally clever and should know how to use someone else's strength against them.

Shen Xian remained silent for a moment, then said, "Whether someone is of noble rank or not is none of our business. There's no need to try to curry favor with them; just treat them with a normal attitude."

The essence of social interaction is the exchange of value.

To gain recognition and favor from others, you must have value yourself.

He was never worried about that; he just needed time to gain momentum.

Even with the yin-yang millstone, the paths of martial arts and immortality still require a process and cannot be achieved overnight.

But the path of commerce is different from the path of officialdom; it allows for rapid progress, which can then be converted into resources to support both the immortal and martial arts paths. Upon hearing this, Lin Jing gazed intently at Shen Xian, his opinion of him rising even higher.

At such a young age, with such a temperament, even some scions of prominent families are somewhat inferior.

It might be a good thing for Qingchan to marry the young master of the Shen family.

Shen Xian said, "Uncle, I also want to collect some martial arts pills, martial arts techniques, and divine weapons. I will give you the money spent on them later."

Cultivation techniques, elixirs, divine weapons... these are all things he desperately needs.

"What are you saying? We're family, so let's not stand on ceremony. I've done business all these years and have some savings. Since you call me uncle, I'll do my best to gather martial arts resources for you," Lin Jing said.

Shen Xian nodded, saying nothing more, everything was understood without words.

This is the power of marriage; otherwise, without people or money, nothing can be accomplished.

……

……

On the other side, in the backyard of the Shen residence...
Green Pearl, lifting a corner of her skirt, hurried back from the front yard. She looked at Yu Qingchan with a happy expression and said, "Miss, Young Master Shen is back."

Yu Qingchan put down her calligraphy brush, turned around, and asked, "How is it?"

Green Pearl said, "The extermination of the demons went smoothly, but the young master brought back a woman."

"A woman?" Yu Qingchan said softly, her heart skipping a beat, a sudden unease rising in her heart.

He took a deep breath and asked, "Do you know what its origin is?"

That young master Shen is probably not a womanizer.

However, if he were to actually take a concubine, what right would she have to stop him?

Thinking of her past, Yu Qingchan sighed softly.

Green Pearl said softly, "Don't worry, Miss. Your uncle has already gone over. He should know the reason later."

Yu Qingchan hummed in agreement and said softly, "I hope everything goes smoothly this time as we go out to slay the demons."

However, she didn't seem to be of much help.

Thinking of this, Yu Qingchan felt even more melancholy.

……

……

After discussing the content design and distribution channels for the "Guhe Daily" with Lin Jing, Shen Xian and Lin Jing finished their discussion.

Lin Jing, as the executor, also offered some suggestions regarding the implementation process.

A servant came to report, "Master has returned."

Shen Xian said, "Uncle, go ahead and get busy. I'll go check on things."

Upon arriving at the front courtyard, they saw Shen Bin, Zhao Lang, Li Yan, and another person sitting in a side room of the back hall, drinking tea. All of them looked tired.

"Father," Shen Xian stepped forward, bowed to Shen Bin, and asked, "What did the county government say?"

Shen Bin sighed and said, "County Magistrate Liu said we must nip this in the bud and prevent the evil spirits from causing trouble again. He told me to be extra vigilant these past few days."

Fighting demons to the death was nothing compared to the scheming and infighting with Magistrate Liu in the county government.

Zhao Lang said indignantly, "Brother, this Magistrate Liu has ulterior motives. He wants you to charge into battle and die at the hands of demons."

Shen Bin sighed.

How could he not know? But what could he do when Magistrate Lu was biased?

Li Yan lowered his voice: "Brother, we need to think of a way."

“County Magistrate Liu is an official appointed by the imperial court, and he has the support of County Magistrate Lu. Without leverage over him, it’s difficult to bring him down.” Shen Bin knew exactly what Li Yan meant, and shook his head as he spoke.

Shen Xian thought for a moment, then asked, "Didn't Third Uncle say before that many gambling dens on both sides of the Gu River are owned by the Golden Scale Gang?"

Li Yan said, "The Golden Scale Gang is actually led by Magistrate Liu. They gamble and lend money at exorbitant interest rates, causing countless people to lose their fortunes. Your father helped the people seek justice and offended these people quite a bit."

Shen Xian pondered and said, "Gambling dens lend money at exorbitant interest rates, the imperial court should have laws and regulations to regulate this."

“It certainly exists, but Magistrate Liu is in charge of county affairs and has absolute power. Without evidence, no one can stop him,” Zhao Lang said indignantly.

He had clearly been upset a lot.

Beneath Shen Xian's sword-like eyebrows, his gaze was deep.

It can be said that the county magistrate's apparent arrogance was actually due to the county magistrate's indulgence.

In that case, the newspapers and perfumes need to be published as soon as possible, especially the former, which needs to be spread quickly.

Then the serialization of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" would probably fall short.

Shen Xian, drawing on his instincts from his past life, sensed a potential crisis.

(End of this chapter)