CHAPTER 1097: CHAPTER 1053: ANOTHER KIND OF TRANSACTION

"It seems you have quite a number of able-bodied men in your hands. Will you trade them for money, or do you wish to trade for something else? If it’s something else, we have land and other essentials you might need." Chen Xi asked slowly, considering that if Zhang Wei brought in too many strong men, they wouldn’t be able to handle it with cash alone.

Zhang Wei’s eyes flickered noticeably, and then he asked a question, "Anything within Marquis Chen’s capabilities?"

Chen Xi squinted his eyes, sensing that Zhang Wei’s request wouldn’t be that simple, but he still nodded. Zhang Wei then took out pen and paper, quickly wrote something down, and had a servant present it.

Chen Xi opened the letter, slightly startled, and then a smile appeared on his face. He suddenly realized that Zhang Wei, who was scarcely mentioned in history, was indeed a character of note.

"Indeed, it’s within my capabilities, but ten thousand strong men aren’t worth this." Chen Xi looked at Zhang Wei with a face of surprise.

"Just one, and afterward, we’ll offer thirty thousand strong men and ten thousand women." Zhang Wei said without changing his expression; he was no longer speaking on behalf of a single aristocratic family, but representing a coalition of Feudal Lords.

"Deal." Chen Xi didn’t say much more. "I’m just curious where you’ve got so many able-bodied men from."

"Barbarians from the wilderness, there is no end to capturing Qiang and Hu, they are impossible to educate, and putting them in jail is also troublesome." Zhang Wei shook his head and said, noting that when Zhang Ren sent troops, there were many barbarians supporting the area around Hanzhong.

"Oh, no problem, I will instruct someone to deliver it later, but please destroy it after you’ve seen it. Of course, if you deny it later, that’s fine too." Chen Xi said with a smile. He was quite satisfied with Zhang Wei, surprised at how sharp his mind was.

"As long as the method is proper, our Zhang Family will naturally acknowledge it. We have no issues with credibility." Zhang Wei gave a respectful gesture and said, "After the task is done, our Zhang Family will also present a gift to Lord Xuande."

Others had no idea what Zhang Wei was talking about. Although they wanted to snoop, Chen Xi kept it so sealed they had no way to do so and could only try to pry something out of Zhang Wei.

"Brother Zhang, could you let us know?" Shen Dan asked directly and bluntly after sending a voice transmission to Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei recognized the voice as Shen Dan from Shangyong, remembering the Shenn Family had helped when Liu Zhang attacked Hanzhong, so he moved his lips slightly and shared his already verified conjecture with Shen Dan.

Although Zhang Wei wasn’t extremely clever, he had his share of small wit and a lively mind. The previous transaction had also reminded Chen Xi that not only tangible things could be traded; certain intangible things like secrets, messages, intelligence, and solutions could be traded too!

Upon hearing this, Shen Dan’s eyes lit up. So this was possible—if you could afford it, there shouldn’t be any problem that couldn’t be solved, especially since the person sitting in front of them was arguably the top sage in the world, and he had many backing him. Sometimes solutions to certain problems are more important compared to money.

A secret known to a third person usually means exposure. Clearly, Shen Dan wasn’t a tight-lipped Family Head, and Zhang Wei hadn’t demanded Shan Dan not to leak it. Soon, all the Family Heads knew this secret.

After that day ended, many notes arrived for Chen Xi, with various questions, some simple, some troublesome, and some purely with the intention of making trouble.

Take, for example, the note sent by the Gu Family, asking how to make a family thrive forever. Not to mention the bizarre treasures listed by the Gu Family, just the question itself was an obvious troublemaking one.

"What is this supposed to be?" Chen Xi said, troubled, looking at the Xun Family’s question, "Innate goodness or innate evil..."

There was no other context, just that single line. Judging by the handwriting, it was clearly written by Xun Shuang, and the reward offered was quite generous. But such a question should be answered by a philosopher, and more importantly, it wasn’t even clear what the question really meant!

"Hmm, whatever, for the sake of the reward, I think I’ll still try to write something. Hmm, Xunzi’s theory of innate evil versus Confucian benevolence, justice, civility, wisdom, trustworthiness, from the five virtues to the common folk, everything is perfect. Given that, forcing them together, pure good and evil have no standard, just go with that..." Chen Xi’s integrity wasn’t very high, but he did have dialectical thoughts; going along with it was fine, just a matter of pacifying the elderly.

Compared to ancient people, modern people haven’t increased their brain capacity, but their experience has risen. Bombarded by various information, their way of thinking is entirely different from ancient people who built their worldviews on one system. At least now they can force certain theories together, and given enough time, piece together something seemingly flawless!

Chen Xi picked out all the questions that seemed answerable, distributing them to Li Youu, Jia Xu, and others who were free. Regarding why they were free, time is something that can be made available; since Jia Xu had time to drink tea, he surely had leisure.

"Why do I have to do this too!" Fa Zheng looked at Chen Xi with dissatisfaction and said, "Aren’t these supposed to be your tasks?"

"Don’t you know that I’m accumulating resources for you?" Chen Xi glanced at Fa Zheng, who was grumbling and said, "The payments are noted, settle a third of them, and it goes to you, a third is submitted, and I only take a third."

"Why do you get a third for doing nothing, while I have to rack my brains to earn only a third?" Fa Zheng said discontentedly, clearly unhappy with Chen Xi’s distribution method, though he had no special opinion about the submission.

"Because this is the business I brought in." Chen Xi shrugged and said.

"I want half; you are just an intermediary. After submitting to the National Treasury, the rest is yours!" Fa Zheng said with extreme dissatisfaction, then casually drew out one and opened it.

Fa Zheng opened the page, glanced at it with a slight jolt, then showed some hesitancy reading the words on it. He then closed his eyes and, when he reopened them, he was no longer the least bit perplexed.

"So be it. Inform the person who asked this question, tell him it’s settled, I’ll take what’s offered." Fa Zheng handed the item to Chen Xi, speaking stably. Sometimes, a definitive answer is needed.

"Aren’t you going to think about it more?" Chen Xi smiled and said.

"Nothing much to think about it, as you said, the past is like the wind, nothing worth reminiscing, and since you’ve placed it in front of me, how can I ignore it?" Fa Zheng laughed and said.

"I’ll also distribute some to Wen He and Wen Ru." Chen Xi smiled and said, taking out five for Fa Zheng before leaving, and regarding that note Fa Zheng returned, faintly visible through the paper was a "king". (To be continued. If you like this work, please cast your recommendation or monthly ticket on Qidian [qidian.com]. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)