In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

He could see clearly that this Grand Duke of Gujian held absolute power. Whether or not transportation or trade was built, including how it was built and how it was connected, was all up to him. Therefore, before finalizing the deal, he definitely had to negotiate with him first, and it would be best to settle everything behind the table.

Let's stabilize the channels first before talking about penetration. One must take things one step at a time... Fortunately, this shouldn't be too difficult. He had noticed earlier that Cheng Gujian wasn't really affected by his abilities, but he was genuinely interested, even to the point of being somewhat fanatical.

However, he also didn't think Xie Qingyan and Jiang Chengcheng were oblivious to these things; they were simply being sarcastic because they were jealous.

You guys are so naive.

"Humph."

The white-haired little girl grinned smugly and said, "Only I guessed right! Daddy, are you going to give me a reward?"

Xu Shi didn't hold back and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, making the old lady beam with joy.

"...Okay, okay, so how do you plan to negotiate?"

Having their secret thoughts exposed, Jiang Chengcheng and Xie Qingyan both turned their heads away simultaneously—it was just sour grapes...

"Let's try to see if we can become friends."

Xu Shi squinted his eyes. "I've prepared all the gifts."

As they were talking, Xiaomei knocked on the door. "Mr. Xu, I've taken care of the task you asked me to do."

Upon opening the door, the other party directed people to carry in several boxes.

The box was opened, and it was full of gold bars and silver bricks.

"Master, where did you get so much money...?"

The room was instantly filled with a vulgar atmosphere, leaving Pan Ling dumbfounded.

“It always has.”

Xu Shi chuckled and said, "Isn't this what I brought with me when I boarded the ship?"

That's true. Although Night City abolished physical currency a long time ago and replaced it with credit points as the means of transaction, Xu Shi had considered long ago that other places might not be in the same situation.

Perhaps Night City is an isolated case... So, just to be on the safe side, he had collected a large amount of gold and silver before setting sail—these precious metals were not as valuable as one might imagine in Night City, and were mostly used in industry.

And the result was just as he expected. The Hualan Empire's trading system was still based on the gold and silver standard. Since that was the case, when was a better time to use it?

This is only a small part; there are nearly a hundred more boxes on his command ship...

"And these are the rest, my benefactor, please keep them safe."

Xiaomei handed him several purple cards. "As you instructed, I've stored 50% of it in the magic crystal card. You can take it whenever you need it. I've also moved the rest over."

"Thanks a lot."

Xu Shi took the cards and distributed one to everyone, including the two sisters, Feng and Ling.

"This...isn't necessary?"

The two sisters didn't dare to take it, "We...we have our own pocket money now..."

They were mostly shocked. They knew their master (master's father) was not simple, but they never expected him to be so wealthy and powerful!

But if they are not suitable, it's already a good thing to have them as apprentices; the money shouldn't be taken.

"What are you saying? This is your money to begin with."

Xu Shi's tone left no room for refusal: "Didn't Brother Pan give me some tuition money? I had Xiao Mei deposit it into the card, and you two can each have half."

Hearing him say that, the two of them carefully accepted it.

No wonder he didn't want the money his father gave him back then. Although it certainly wasn't all of Pan Cheng's savings, it was still far less than what they had in their pockets...

Suddenly becoming wealthy, the two sisters felt a sense of unreality, their heads spinning for a moment, unsure of how to spend their money.

"How you spend the money is your business; I have no interest in interfering."

Xu Shi laughed and said, "Eating, drinking, gambling, and loving are all fine, but of course, don't come crying to me about being poor if you really suffer a setback."

"...Thank you, Master (Master's Father)!"

Pan Feng and Pan Ling nodded vigorously; needless to say, they didn't want to get involved in these bad habits.

"My two junior sisters are rich now, shouldn't you treat me to something delicious?"

Xia Ke'an jumped down from Xu Shi's arms, "Whether you agree or not, you have to invite them! I just saw so many..."

"Oh, okay."

Pan Feng did not refuse; she liked this junior sister very much, finding her adorable.

"Master, shall we go now?"

Pan Ling also realized that their master was deliberately trying to get them away...

"Go ahead, go ahead, and have a good celebration for yourselves too."

Xu Shi smiled and waved, then looked at Shen Qin after they had left happily, "You go too, and take care of their safety."

"……Yes."

Shen Qin didn't want to do such a thing, but compared to that, she wouldn't refuse to be away from this jerk.

"Oh? What were you planning to do by sending them away?"

Xia Wuyou noticed it too and came over with great interest to ask.

"Instead of asking what I want, you should ask what you want?"

Xu Shijian swiped out his groping hand and shamelessly said...

"...You know that, why do you still ask?"

Xia Xiaomao blushed and asked, "Then what do you think she wants to do?"

The truth is that they were also affected by Xu Shi's abilities. Of course, they weren't afraid; they were instead aroused by a different kind of "negative emotion."

*want.

This scene seemed familiar, because coincidentally, she was also present when Xu Shi tested his abilities last time, and she had ended up kissing him in a daze back then...

To be honest, her current situation is even more serious than last time. She has been teaching her disciples these days, so how could she have time to be with Xu Shi? Not to mention that the bad man on the ship was also only interested in Shen Qin... It would be an exaggeration to say that she was almost suffocating.

"Am I not included?"

Jiang Chengcheng pouted and said in a disgruntled tone, "Wuyou, don't even think about sneaking away... I'm all clingy right now too."

Xu Shi laughed heartily; he had never been one to show favoritism.

"Elbow, come into the house with me!"

The girls didn't object. In fact, the first time the three of them went out together was with the girls, and ever since then, the two girls haven't been opposed to it at all. Sometimes they even think it's more fun to be together...

Xia Wuyou and Jiang Chengcheng exchanged a glance, then entered the inner room and knelt down on either side of him, unbuttoning their clothes and holding the cups in their hands. "Is this how you serve me... is my husband satisfied?"

Xu Shi was surprised that they had started speaking in such a semi-classical style, and even more surprised by their clever synchronization and the just-right amount of pressure.

"My assessment is that I am very satisfied."

Wait, did we forget someone?

"you……"

Hearing the seductive music coming from the room, Xie Qingyan stood there, speechless.

She only just realized that she had been inexplicably isolated again... Just now, she seemed to be jealous with Jiang Chengcheng, but Jiang Chengcheng could make up for it in the blink of an eye, but she couldn't.

The key point is that neither of them intends to include you in their activities—although even this scoundrel admits she can't do what they do so skillfully; the last time she secretly kissed Xu was probably the closest she'd ever been to this scoundrel…

But that's their attitude. Calling a fiancée a wife? What a joke! We're the legitimate ones.

"...So annoying!"

Xie Qingyan stomped her foot angrily and went to her room to bite her handkerchief.

Hello, this is what a "loser" is like.

……

All the world's suffering seems to have now been concentrated on Xie Qingyan alone. Anyway, Xu Shi is very happy, Xia Wuyou is very happy, and Jiang Chengcheng is also very happy.

Sisters Feng and Ling, who were sent out to play, and Xia Ke'an were also very happy.

Children's happiness is very simple; shopping and eating delicious food can make them very happy.

"Here, junior sister, this is for you."

Pan Feng bought many gifts for the white-haired loli and had a great time himself.

Xu Shi was right. She really wanted to celebrate. After all, she knew that the Imperials had always looked down on the people of Silver Pine Island. Now that she could finally hold her head high, she couldn't be happier.

The key is that you don't have to worry about money... That's how it is when a poor person suddenly becomes rich; they always have to spend money properly!

"Hehe, thanks!"

The old lady was laughing so hard her eyes were almost closed, but this guy was insatiable and immediately started demanding bribes from Pan Ling, "Where's yours?"

"...We can't spend money like this; we need to plan ahead."

"So, in the end, you just don't want to treat us, right?"

Xia Ke'an snorted, "I don't care, at least Xiaoling, you have to treat us to dinner later, otherwise I'll go to Dad and talk bad about you."

You're just enjoying the pleasure of soliciting bribes, aren't you...? Pan Ling could tell that she wouldn't really do it, and just felt that her junior sister was being too childish.

No, she's just a child.

"Yes, Xiaoling, please go ahead!"

Pan Feng and the white-haired loli stood on the same side and bullied her together, saying, "Don't be upset, no matter how you plan, you can still spend this amount of money, right?"

"I'm not unhappy..."

Pan Ling was both amused and exasperated; why was her sister like this too?

"Then why are you keeping such a long face? You were on the island too... smile a little."

"Oh."

Pan Ling forced a smile, "I just think that my master is really amazing, so I was a little moved."

This is the truth. Xu Shi had taught her before that the prerequisite for doing whatever you want is to have the ability to cover your losses. Thinking about it this way, isn't what her master did just now exactly like that?

She appears very polite, but her methods are anything but gentle; they would be an understatement to call them ruthless. Ironically, those imperial people she used to think she couldn't afford to offend don't have any temper with her, or if they do, they don't dare to vent it.