Because Deng Guang was warm and hospitable, Wei Yu and the others stayed at his residence for two days.

During those two days, Wei Yu and his Eighth Brother followed Deng Guang all around Pingnan Prefecture, sometimes visiting restaurants and poetry clubs, other times going to brothels and pleasure boats—places the brothers had never seen back in the capital, but now, they had seen them all thanks to Deng Guang.

Deng Guang was indeed generous and welcoming, and he loved to eat!

It might sound unbelievable, but all those places Deng Guang took them to weren’t really for the sake of sightseeing—it was because each one had some kind of special food!

The poetry club had delicate, unique pastries, the brothel served roast goose that was absolutely divine, and even the noodles on the pleasure boat were springy and delicious.

Because of this, Wei Yu was deeply impressed by Deng Guang.

Especially that time when they were on the pleasure boat, surrounded by charming beauties smiling at them—and yet Deng Guang wasn’t swayed in the slightest, completely focused on eating his noodles!

Sitting in the boat, Wei Yu waved the other women away, leaving only two playing the zither and flute.

He relaxed and snacked on sunflower seeds to the music, while the dishes on the table beside him were stacked high—every single plate had been cleaned out by Deng Guang.

The Eighth Prince was stunned.

He had started counting when Deng Guang began eating noodles. Now six bowls were empty, and Deng Guang still wasn’t done.

He nudged Wei Yu with his elbow. “How many more do you think he’s going to eat?”

Wei Yu was watching the lake scenery out the window. Hearing the question, he turned his head slightly and glanced over. “Probably another three or four bowls.”

That was just based on Deng Guang’s appetite from the past two days. Wei Yu already knew Deng Guang was a big eater, and his curiosity had worn off after the first day. Now, most of his attention was outside the window.

“What exactly are you looking at?”

The Eighth Prince noticed him looking out again and thought there might be something going on outside, so he leaned over to look too.

Wei Yu spat out a sunflower seed shell. “It’s nothing much. I just find that group of little beggars on the shore rather interesting.”

The pleasure boat was in the middle of the lake, and since nobles often came here for entertainment, many vendors and beggars had set up along the shore.

The Eighth Prince watched for a while but didn’t see what was so interesting.

“What’s strange about it? Aren’t they just begging along the street?”

They were begging along the street, but not just that.

Wei Yu shook his head cryptically at his Eighth Brother. “Young, still too young. You can’t even see the dangers of society.”

The Eighth Prince raised a hand: “…Are you going to explain or not?”

“Alright, alright.”

Wei Yu nodded and pointed something out to him. “Eighth Brother, look at those few beggars. Watch their movements carefully—see anything off?”

With Wei Yu’s direction, the Eighth Prince took a closer look. He noticed those particular beggars weren’t just passively begging like the others. From time to time, they would latch onto someone.

And it wasn’t a chaotic rush—it was one in front, two on the sides, and when the person got annoyed, another would approach from behind… to steal?

“They’re thieves!”

The Eighth Prince was shocked. “This is outrageous! Coordinated theft? Aren’t they afraid of getting caught?”

“Pfft, these beggars often steal coin purses by the lake.”

Deng Guang suddenly chimed in.

Wei Yu looked over at him.

Deng Guang had just finished another bowl of noodles and was wiping his mouth as he spoke: “There are a lot of beggars in Pingnan City, mostly refugees from Jiaozhou in recent years. The prefect was kindhearted and let them into the city, hoping they’d find work. But there are always some who don’t want to work and prefer shortcuts—so, petty thieves in the city have increased.”

The Eighth Prince asked, “Why are there so many refugees?”

“What else? Ji Prefecture has terrible public security. The other prefectures may not be overrun by bandits like Ji Prefecture, but things still aren’t great.”

Deng Guang shook his head and gave the brothers a knowing look. “In times like these, if there’s no good official in charge, peace is hard to come by.”

Wei Yu exchanged a look with his Eighth Brother but didn’t say anything.

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about depressing things.”

Deng Guang waved it off and smiled. “You two brothers are merchants too, right? There’s a merchant guild event here in Pingnan tomorrow—would you like to attend?”

Merchant guild?

That hit the sweet spot for Wei Yu. His eyes lit up and he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s the purpose of this guild? Are the attendees all major merchants from Pingnan Prefecture?”

“More or less.”

Deng Guang smiled a little sheepishly. “Actually, this guild was started over twenty years ago by my family and the Zhang and Xie families. It was meant to help merchants from various places get acquainted and look out for each other.”

Oh?

No wonder this family made it big in the grain trade. Just look at how clever they were—even thought of founding a merchant guild.

Wei Yu greatly admired people with a head for business.

“Brother Deng, your elders are truly talented,” Wei Yu said admiringly.

“Ah, you flatter me. It was just a way to make a living.”

Deng Guang explained: “We’ve been holding this merchant guild for years now. Most of the time, it’s just merchants from Pingnan supporting each other’s businesses. Rarely do out-of-town merchants join. Since you two are already here for business, why not take a look? Who knows, you might find something you’re interested in.”

Don’t be fooled by Deng Guang’s plump, carefree appearance—he was the legitimate son of a grain merchant, and not only was he perceptive, he was also quite sharp in business!

For example, when Wei Yu mentioned they were merchants from Xijing, Deng Guang immediately knew he had to treat these Wang brothers well.

They were clearly bringers of wealth!

Yes, they were all merchant children, but could Xijing compare to Pingnan?

Xijing was where the emperor resided, where land was precious. If someone could do business there, and even travel with such a distinguished-looking escort—it was obvious the Wang family wasn’t ordinary!

They claimed to be merchants, but who knew what powerful backers they had?

Deng Guang didn’t dare to gamble—and didn’t want to.

Besides, he had no ill intentions. Making good connections never hurt; maybe their families would do business together one day.

And Deng Guang’s offer happened to solve a problem for Wei Yu.

He’d been wondering where to sell his glassware.

Well, opportunity had come knocking!

Wei Yu smiled and agreed, “Don’t worry, Brother Deng. My brother and I will definitely attend tomorrow’s guild meeting. In fact, we brought a rare item from the capital.”

From the capital?

Deng Guang’s eyes lit up. “What rare item?”

Wei Yu gave him a mysterious look.

“There’s a country called Xiqi beyond the Northern Nomads. What we brought—only Xiqi royalty and nobles use it!”