Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune: Starting with death row inmates

On the training ground, Shen Chen met several of his henchmen for the first time.

Zhuang Man was a burly man with a thick waist and broad shoulders. His bare shoulders were covered with scars, giving him a fierce aura. Beside him was Liu Gouzi, who was not good-looking and had white spots on his face, but he was also quite sturdy.

The two men behind him, Shen Chen had met at Qin Pi's welcome-home banquet, were Zhang Xiaolong and his younger brother Zhang Xiaohu, who had challenged Qin Pi many times but failed. The last two men with stubble on their faces were Zhao Qian and Wang Wu.

Zhuang Man sized up Shen Chen and chuckled, "I heard that you used to be a clerk in the county and have never been involved in murder or arson. Is that true?"

[When faced with Zhuang Man's question, what do you choose?]

[Winning the lottery: Openly admit it, a draw]

[Bad Fortune: You fabricate stories of murder and arson, which are easily exposed by Zhuang Man. Everyone laughs at you. (Fierce)]

Shen Chen said, "That's right, I have never been involved in murder or arson."

Upon hearing this, the henchmen were immediately disappointed.

"Does a clean-cut scholar who has never killed anyone deserve to ride on our heads?" The same thought arose in everyone's mind at the same time.

Zhuang Man said in a joking tone, "We're all ruthless murderers and arsonists. It might be a bit difficult for Master Shen to control us."

Shen Chen glanced at Zhuang Man and already had a good idea of ​​what was going on.

This barbarian probably wants to take his leadership position, so he has tried to embarrass him and humiliate him time and time again.

"Actually, several of these heroes are more suitable for the leadership position than I am," Shen Chen said calmly. "Take this Brother Zhuang Man for example; he's a skilled fighter and his martial arts are definitely far superior to mine."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Man was overjoyed. Was Shen Chen voluntarily offering to step down?

"That kid knows what's good for him," he thought to himself, pleased with himself.

"However, being a leader isn't just about physical skills; it's more about using your brain, and that's my advantage." Shen Chen tapped his forehead. "I used to be the advisor to County Magistrate Zhang Fuguang, and I know where he hoards the people's ill-gotten gains. I made a great contribution to the village, and I'm sure you all know this to some extent."

The crowd's expressions were indifferent. They didn't care how Shen Chen became the leader; they only cared about who would be more beneficial to their future between Shen Chen and Zhuang Man.

Zhuang Man's cousin is Zhuang Fu, the third leader of the village. He is also a martial artist at the Visceral Realm. By all accounts, he is stronger than Shen Chen, who rose to power through Qin Pi.

Shen Chen observed everyone's reactions, paused, and then suddenly lowered his voice: "Actually, Zhang Fuguang has several slush funds that I haven't reported to the village."

Instantly, several gazes fell on Shen Chen's face.

"It's not convenient to talk about this outside. Let's go inside and discuss it in detail," Shen Chen said, walking into the room next door.

The remaining people looked at each other. Zhang Xiaolong thought for a moment and was the first to follow Shen Chen. When Zhang Xiaohu saw that his brother had caught up, he quickly followed behind.

Zhao Qian rubbed his hands together, turned to Zhuang Man and smiled, "This is a business opportunity. I'll go and listen in; it can't hurt."

Then, Wang Wu followed Zhao Qian into the room.

Seeing this, Zhuang Man frowned and followed. After all, Shen Chen had a way to make money, and he wouldn't turn down money.

"Gentlemen, this is one of the locations where Fu Guang hoarded the people's ill-gotten gains." Shen Chen pasted a map on his right and pointed to a location on the map.

"The landowner of Qingxi Village previously helped Zhang Fugui hide a batch of relief grain, worth over five hundred shi. I'm thinking of doing this job ourselves, and splitting the profits equally. What do you all think?"

The village's business is divided into public and private jobs. Public jobs are led by the village head, who takes a portion of the profits and gives it to the village. The rest is distributed by the village head according to merit.

Side jobs are projects that one person takes the lead in, and all the profits go to that person.

Of course, if you encounter trouble while doing private work, the village usually doesn't care. For example, when Fang Yong had an accident while doing private work, the village didn't help him. Only his blood relatives were planning to provide assistance.

If Fang Yong was imprisoned for official business, the stronghold would definitely lend him a helping hand. The same reason why no one came to rescue Qin Pi in prison for so long is that you go to jail for your own benefit and you go to jail for the benefit of the stronghold.

"Shouldn't we report this to the bandit gang? Isn't that a bit too dangerous?" Zhang Xiaohu couldn't help but ask.

"I've been to that landlord's house. There are only five or six strong men in total, and none of them have any martial arts skills," Shen Chen said. "The only one who poses a threat is the landlord himself. He should be at the Bone and Tendon Realm. Our group is more than enough to deal with him."

Zhang Xiaolong glared at his younger brother, seemingly scolding him for being too timid: "You leave everything to the bandit leader, so when you're playing with women, you can have him do it for you too!"

"I agree," Zhang Xiaolong declared first.

Zhao Qian counted on his fingers: "If we divide 500 shi equally, each of us can get more than 70 shi. It's a lucrative job, worth taking."

Liu Gouzi spoke up: "I think this intelligence should be passed on to the village chief so that they can make the plans."

Zhuang Man agreed, "Indeed, if things go well, we'll still get credit. Isn't that a great way to make money without lifting a finger?"

Wang Wu worriedly said, "If something goes wrong while we're doing this on the side, the stronghold won't care about us. We might as well sell this information to the boss."

The team immediately split up. Zhang Xiaolong, Zhao Qian, and Shen Chen agreed to go it alone, while Zhuang Man, Liu Gouzi, and Wang Wu thought it would be best to sell the information to the bandit gang.

"Xiao Hu, speak up, what do you think?" Zhang Xiaolong tugged at Zhang Xiaohu, who hesitated before replying, "I'll listen to you, brother."

"Fuck you, don't you have a brain? Make your own decision," Zhang Xiaolong said angrily.

Zhang Xiaohu stammered; he didn't want to do side jobs, but he also didn't want to go against his brother's wishes.

"Everyone, let me say a few words." Shen Chen cleared his throat, his voice calm. "You are all martial artists who have practiced for many years. You should know that the most important thing in martial arts is physical constitution, followed by resources."

"But those with exceptional talent should only be a minority, so why are there still so many people whose realm and status are above yours?"

Before anyone could answer, Shen Chen said to himself, "It's just that they have better resources."

"Selling the information to the bandits is indeed a safer approach, but how much will you get in return? Ten or fifteen shi? If that little bit of resources is enough to satisfy you, I don't care, since I have Master Qin protecting me anyway."

"But what about you? You took ten bushels of grain and lived a life of mediocrity. You even had difficulty tempering your bodies once a year. Your cultivation was stuck at the Bone and Muscle Realm and the Internal Organ Realm. You never saw true qi in your entire lives and were forever trampled underfoot."

Shen Chen paused for a moment, then raised his voice: "Innate talent is determined by heaven, but resources can be obtained through human effort."

"Gentlemen, I have perused history books, and throughout the ages, countless insignificant individuals have emerged; only those who strive have left their mark!"