From the fusion of Tongbei Quan to the Longevity Martial Saint

Zhu Qinghe was still sitting in the chair, but he looked extremely disheveled.

The master's hat that was originally worn properly was blown away by the cold wind stirred up by Fang Qing flipping the table, and no one knows where it fell.

The brocade robe he brought back from Yangzhou was covered in tea and tea leaves, which were then splashed all over his face.

Especially noteworthy is the exquisite hibiscus cake stuck to his forehead.

After a while, the delicate hibiscus cake softened under the influence of the tea and slowly slid off Zhu Qinghe's cheek.

With a soft smack, it landed on the top of his foot.

When has Zhu Qinghe ever suffered such humiliation!

His hand trembled, his face flushed red, as he pointed in Fang Qing's direction:

"You brat, you...you he..."

He kept saying "you" for a while, but then he was so angry that he couldn't say anything more.

Fang Qing then stood up from the stool steadily.

With a swift movement, he closed the distance to his opponent by five steps.

Pointing directly at Zhu Qinghe's nose:

"If you dare utter another word, I'll kill you!!"

If Fang Qing hadn't just swaggered in through the main entrance...

Many people are witnesses, and it's impossible to completely clean up the mess in one go.

Fang Qing wished he could punch Zhu Qinghe to death.

Since Zhu Qinghe has adopted such a stubborn and unyielding attitude, it means that it will be almost impossible for him to control the tenants and prevent them from stealing brine from their Jinsha Saltworks.

Since everyone has already torn off all pretense of civility, Fang Qing has no reason to give him a friendly look.

Zhu Qinghe was momentarily stunned by Fang Qing's imposing aura.

Originally, his face was flushed red, but at this moment, it was as if his skin had a built-in fading function, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

Fang Qing's aura just now was simply too terrifying.

Although Zhu Qinghe also possessed the second level of Body Tempering, his second level of Body Tempering was entirely achieved by soaking in various precious medicinal herbs.

Given his pampered lifestyle, how could he possibly be willing to put in the hard work of cultivating body-tempering techniques?

Instead, he looked at Fang Qing.

Goodness, his neck is almost as thick as his head.

His arms were a size thicker than his thighs.

His chest was as thick as a city wall, and he looked like a very capable fighter.

This instantly diminished Zhu Qinghe's imposing aura.

Fang Qing snorted coldly and turned to leave with Yang Zhi.

At this moment, Yang Zhi turned his head and glanced at Zhu Qinghe's appearance, secretly rejoicing in his heart:

Luckily I stood up in time, otherwise I would probably be covered in tea and tea leaves.

It's a pity about that exquisite hibiscus cake; I haven't even had a bite of it yet!

……

After Fang Qing had walked more than ten meters away, Zhu Qinghe finally came to his senses:

This is his Zhu Family Manor, and he is the head of this Zhu Family Manor.

When did an outsider dare to be so arrogant on his turf?!

He immediately pointed at Fang Qing's retreating figure and roared angrily:

"The Zhu Family Village and your Jinsha Saltworks are locked in a life-or-death struggle!"

Fang Qing suddenly stopped and turned around, pointing in the direction of Zhu Qinghe:

"A fight to the death?!"

"It's a deal!"

When Zhu Qinghe saw Fang Qing stop and turn to look at him, he thought the other person was about to come over again.

He was so frightened that he quickly took half a step back.

But he forgot that there was a lake behind him, and he almost stepped into the water, which gave him another fright.

Only when Zhu Qinghe saw Fang Qing turn around and leave his courtyard with Yang Zhi did he finally breathe a sigh of relief, feeling utterly disheveled.

……

As Fang Qing and Yang Zhi walked out of the Zhu family mansion, no one dared to stop them.

Just as Fang Qing was about to step out the door, he saw a group of people walking in from outside, looking travel-worn.

Although these people were dressed in coarse cloth, Fang Qing noticed that they had strong muscles and bulging temples, clearly indicating that they were not ordinary tenant farmers.

Fang Qing roughly counted, and there were nearly 100 people in total.

More than a hundred martial arts practitioners were dressed in the uniforms of the Zhu Family Village.

Fang Qing already had some guesses in his mind!

Fang Qing snorted coldly and led Yang Zhi back to the Jinsha Saltworks.

……

Inside the Zhu family's old house, in a quiet, secluded room.

The elderly man surnamed Zhu who was following Fang Jingyuan was sitting cross-legged on a futon.

Only when footsteps were heard outside did Old Zhu slowly open his eyes.

Upon seeing that Old Master Zhu had opened his eyes, Zhu Qinghe quickly put on a pitiful expression:

"Fifth Master, you must do justice for Qinghe!"

That cook at the Jinsha Saltworks was a hothead; without saying a word, he came up and overturned the table.

"Look, the tea and pastries on that table have gotten all over me."

"They even threatened and intimidated me, forcing me to control my tenants. That's outrageous!"

"When did the Zhu Family Village begin to allow an outsider like him to interfere?"

Old Zhu showed no surprise whatsoever. He raised his hand, picked up the teacup beside him, and took a small sip.

"I can't move this person right now. Here's what I'll do: I've urgently transferred another 100 skilled fighters from elsewhere."

"Tonight, have them change into the clothes of the Zhu Family Village and go with your men to the Jinsha Saltworks to steal brine."

"Since they want to stir up trouble, our Zhu Family Village can't be afraid of trouble."

"Furthermore, it's not appropriate for me to get involved in this matter directly. I've specially invited a skilled fighter to assist me tonight."

At this point, Zhu Qinghe noticed a burly middle-aged man dressed in black shorts standing next to Old Master Zhu.

The middle-aged man carried a broadsword on his back.

Tian Zhan was chewing a piece of dried meat in his mouth.

Hearing what Elder Zhu said, he replied in a muffled voice:

"When I strike, blood will be drawn."

Old Zhu simply waved his hand dismissively:

"Apart from that cook surnamed Fang, who was spared, the others were just salt beggars."

"If he's dead, he's dead."

Upon hearing this, Tian Zhan stuffed the rest of the jerky into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out like two small fists:

"Then I can finally relax and stretch my muscles tonight."

Then, as if remembering something, Elder Zhu said to Zhu Qinghe:

"We made an agreement with the able-bodied men in your village beforehand that the Zhu family would not take a single penny of the brine they had salvaged; it would all be used as their wages."

"That brine is very valuable. I'm sure your able-bodied tenants will love to rob the salt fields of their brine."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qinghe's eyes lit up immediately:

It's true that the grain production in the village has decreased, but with this brine serving as the tenant farmers' harvest, they can make a fortune compared to previous years.

Then next year he can continue to enslave these tenants like cattle and horses.

As for the salt producers at Jinsha Saltworks, since the brine production has decreased and they can no longer produce salt, that has nothing to do with the Zhu Family Village.

Old Zhu then took out another piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it lightly.

The paper landed precisely in Zhu Qinghe's hand.

"This is 500 catties of salt. You can use this receipt to pick it up at the warehouse in the south of the city later."

Remember, this is smuggled salt from the young master. You can use it on your estate; don't sell it elsewhere.

Zhu Qinghe took the paper and saw that it was a delivery order for 500 jin of salt. He was immediately overjoyed.

The price of salt on the market has increased by 10%. With this 500 jin of salt, their village can save a lot of money on food, clothing and other necessities for the whole year.

Old Master Zhu seemed to remember something, and looked up at Zhu Qinghe again:

"Also, have the extra iron farming tools that were applied for in the name of Zhujiazhuang been received yet?"

During the Great Qian Dynasty, salt and iron were monopolies, and people who wanted to use ironware had to register with the government in advance.

Even the standard-issue sword that Fang Qing received from the Shanhe Boxing Academy was registered with the government.

"If it comes down, collect it as soon as possible; I want to take it all with me this time."

Zhu Qinghe quickly bowed and flattered:

"Reporting to Fifth Master, it has already been delivered and has been stored in the warehouse for safekeeping. There will be no problem."

"After Fifth Master takes this batch of iron farm tools back, he can melt them down directly and is guaranteed to produce at least a thousand catties of pig iron."

Old Master Zhu nodded approvingly at Zhu Qinghe's competence.

"You did a good job on this."

"I'll take some money from the young master's account later, and send it over along with the few 'skinny horses' you asked for from him last time."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qinghe's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together, eager to try.

With the arrival of this group of young women, he can once again indulge in nightly revelry!

After arranging all these things, Master Zhu closed his eyes to rest and continued meditating.

Zhu Qinghe gestured for Tian Zhan to proceed.

"Then we'll have to trouble Lord Tian to keep things under control for our Zhu Family Manor tonight..."

"That cook, please don't hold back, Lord Tian, ​​teach him a lesson..."

……