CHAPTER 93: CHAPTER 89: SENSATION

One thousand taels was a hundred catties in weight. A large box filled with one thousand taels meant a total of three thousand taels of glittering silver.

Even the shopkeepers of the Iron Banks held their breath.

Three thousand taels of silver, converted into silver notes, would be just a single piece of paper.

Yet, they insisted on packing it into three large boxes and opening them before everyone, purely for the visual impact.

At the same time, it was a declaration to all present: Chen Ku’s business was opening, and this demonstrated Official Chai’s status and goodwill.

The family of Martial Arts Scholar Chai genuinely held the Seventh Rank Military Award, granted decades ago, a rank equal to that of the County Magistrate.

The shopkeepers exchanged glances, already feeling a little unnerved.

How could this be? An apprentice from Medicine King Hall, actually connected to Official Chai?

Chen Ku was also startled by Official Chai’s lavish gesture. He quickly stepped forward, saying, "Official, this... this is too much."

He had already borrowed ten thousand taels from Official Chai; he couldn’t possibly accept these additional three thousand taels.

Unexpectedly, Chai Tiangui stepped forward and said warmly, "Brother Chen, Brother Shaoqi told me all about your situation. I truly didn’t expect it; Brother Chen, you’re a veritable hidden dragon! Next time, at our gathering, you must sit beside me."

Chen Ku’s mind raced; he understood that Chai Tiangui was aware of the recent events.

But the other shopkeepers and Wu Gui were completely baffled.

Just then, more people arrived.

"HAHAHA!"

His voice arrived before he did.

Yang Luochen’s thunderous laughter echoed through the entire street.

"Lad, so this is your new shop!"

And then, four people were seen slowly making their way down the street.

The towering figure of Yang Luochen stood out like a crane among chickens.

A person’s reputation precedes them, like the shadow of a tree.

Moreover, who among the upper echelons living in the Inner City of Baojiao County wouldn’t recognize someone like Yang Luochen?

"Master Yang!" Chai Tiangui was more excited than anyone upon seeing Yang Luochen. He hurriedly went forward, saying, "Master Yang, Chai offers his respects."

He had always admired heroes and enjoyed befriending valiant men. If one were to speak of heroes in Baojiao County, Yang Luochen was undoubtedly chief among them.

"Official Chai, your great-grandfather and I were contemporaries. For a descendant of nobility like yourself to call me ’Master’ is perfectly appropriate, given our history."

Yang Luochen smiled, cupping his hands in a slight bow. Then, noticing the three large boxes of silver ingots beside Chai Tiangui, he laughed again.

"Such generosity?"

Chai Tiangui chuckled. "I have nothing else of worth to offer. I’m so poor, all I have left is money."

His words left everyone speechless, yet no one found them strange coming from Chai Tiangui.

Chen Ku had also come out to greet them.

"Disciple pays respect to both Masters, to Senior Brother, and to Master Ke."

The expressions of the few shopkeepers turned slightly stiff.

They didn’t initially find Chen Ku’s form of address problematic, as it was customary for Medicine King Hall apprentices to address those particular individuals in that manner. So, they didn’t give it much thought.

They simply hadn’t imagined that these prominent figures from Medicine King Hall—especially Yang Luochen, the county’s second-strongest expert—would actually come to support a mere apprentice...

Then, Yang Luochen and Monk Yunfang had Yang Shaoqi and Ke Yansheng each take out two sets of clothes from the packages on their backs.

Yang Luochen said, "Your Second Master and I aren’t as wealthy as Official Chai. We haven’t brought you any grand gifts today. A couple of days ago, when Old Shang and I accepted you as our disciple, didn’t we have you measured for two Medicine King Hall embroidered robes? Today is the perfect occasion to present these as a small token."

As he spoke, Yang Shaoqi and Ke Yansheng unfurled the two robes.

All eyes turned towards them.

The two robes, one of blue silk satin and the other of black silk satin, were exquisitely embroidered. One featured a black tiger, the other a White Ape, emanating a powerful spiritual will that struck the onlookers.

"Those are... Medicine King Hall disciple robes!"

"And there are two of them!"

"What did Master Yang just say?"

"He referred to himself as ’Master’ and said that he and another grandmaster from Medicine King Hall, Shang Yunfang, had jointly taken a disciple!"

At this, not only did the dozen or so Iron Bank shopkeepers present turn pale and break out in a cold sweat, but even the proprietors of the many shops along the street, along with idle passersby, were left gaping.

Across the street at the Commoners’ Restaurant, Boss Huang’s copper kettle clattered onto the table, splashing water everywhere.

"Two great masters from Medicine King Hall taking the same disciple! Our establishment has been here for over a hundred years, and this is a first!"

"It’s him!!"

Boss Huang was utterly astounded.

Official Chai might have brought three thousand taels of silver, but even thirty thousand taels wouldn’t be as valuable as those two embroidered satin robes.

That meant the proprietor of this small Iron Bank across the street was very likely the future successor to two of Medicine King Hall’s Three Great Courtyards!

This was practically equivalent to... him potentially becoming the next Cao Shouxiong, the Grand Shopkeeper of Medicine King Hall!

What did this imply?

A future magnate, one of the three major powers, had opened a small ironworks on this very street in his youth, only to face suppression from his peers.

In an instant, the legs of the dozen or so Iron Bank shopkeepers went weak.

Chen Ku regarded the two robes and solemnly accepted them. Smiling, he said, "Two Masters, I was just waiting for you. Now that you’re here, we can perform the ribbon-cutting, and then it’s off to Hongyan Tower for the celebratory banquet."

With that, he had Wu Gui bring a few pairs of scissors.

"Hehe, good. We’ll cut the ribbon for you."

Then, Yang Luochen, Shang Yunfang, and Chen Ku positioned themselves on either side of the large red silk flower and snipped it together.

"Congratulations on the grand opening, Junior Brother!" Yang Shaoqi cupped his hands in congratulation. "When does the banquet start?"

Yang Luochen also looked at Chen Ku and said, "We’ve helped build up your prestige and cut the ribbon for you. So, today, you’d better not skimp. Make sure you treat your two masters to a proper feast with good food and drink. Otherwise, when it’s time for training, you’ll be in for a world of hurt."

"Naturally."

Chen Ku smiled and gave instructions to Wu Gui in the shop, telling everyone to prepare to head to Hongyan Tower.

Then, turning around and noticing the dozen or so shopkeepers still present, he smiled at Shopkeeper Kou, who was at their head, and said, "Gentlemen, the banquet can begin. Let’s go, Hongyan Tower."

"Chen... Chen, Shopkeeper Chen."

Shopkeeper Kou’s lips trembled as he spoke, "I... I think I won’t go."

"How can that be?" Chen Ku’s expression hardened. "You all came bearing gifts. If word got out that I only accept gifts but offer no hospitality, what kind of person would that make me?"

Then, fixing his gaze on the shopkeeper who had spoken earlier, he said, "Besides, didn’t this gentleman say he wanted to acquire my family’s crow sink sand at half price? This is a perfect opportunity for us to sit down, eat, and discuss the matter!"

"No, no, no, no!!!" The shopkeeper Chen Ku had singled out immediately stammered, "Absolutely not! There’s no such thing! Shopkeeper Chen... who would dare to acquire Shopkeeper Chen’s crow sink sand at half price? If any ironworks dared to do such a thing, my Zheng Family Iron Bank would be the first to object!"

After this man spoke, the other shopkeepers, their faces flushed red, hurriedly vied to express their positions:

"That’s right, we object too! It must be sold at market price, not a single copper less!"

"I... I can take ten thousand catties of crow sink sand off Shopkeeper Chen’s hands today! I’ll bring out three thousand taels of silver to help Shopkeeper Chen clear out some stock!"

"I can buy five thousand catties!"

"I, three thousand catties!"

"I’ll take eight thousand catties!!"

Chen Ku smiled.

Wu Gui felt his head spin. In an instant, they had orders for forty to fifty thousand catties. Just on their opening day... they had secured deals worth nearly ten thousand taels!

But all of this paled in comparison to...

He looked at the two masters standing beside his own shopkeeper.

The chosen successors of both the Butcher Court and the Jinshi Academy!

Never before had Wu Gui felt so certain that his two previous decisions had been absolutely correct. This realization instantly solidified Wu Gui’s loyalty to Chen Ku, making him feel an unwavering devotion.

"Excellent, excellent! Gentlemen, I’ve seen your sincerity. How could I possibly refuse?"

Chen Ku smiled and drew Shopkeeper Kou closer.

"But the more so, the more reason we must all attend the banquet together! Only then would it truly embody the horizontal inscription on my shop’s couplet."

The shopkeepers instinctively looked up.

Harmony brings wealth.

"Yes, yes, yes! Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth!"

"To the banquet, to the banquet!"

"Shopkeeper Chen, may your business prosper!"

Finally, even many shopkeepers from further down the street came out to cup their hands and offer congratulations:

"Congratulations, Shopkeeper Chen, on your grand opening! May your business flourish! Come over to my place for a meal when you have time; I’ll cook for you myself!"

Yang Luochen and Monk Yunfang observed Chen Ku.

Yang Luochen laughed and remarked, "So that’s why this little rascal insisted we come for the ribbon-cutting..."

Yang Shaoqi scratched his head and asked, "Why, Master?"

Yang Luochen’s face darkened. He already felt his eldest disciple was a bit too straightforward; now he was even more convinced the lad was a hopeless case.

He then observed Chen Ku’s adeptness at turning adversaries into allies, perfectly exemplifying ’harmony brings wealth’.

They’re all young men, and Chen Ku is even a bit younger. How can the difference between people be so vast?

Yang Luochen shook his head and sighed.

"Never mind. Later at Hongyan Tower, just make sure you eat plenty of their ’roasted brains’."

Beside him, Shang Yunfang chuckled. "You think we’ve lost out? Lost out on what? If anything, we’ve gained. The news that we both accepted him as our disciple would have spread completely within a few days anyway. He cleverly seized this narrow window of opportunity to create some buzz for his shop’s opening. That’s a smart move. After all, the Jianghu isn’t all about fighting and killing, and business even less so..."

"His grasp of worldly wisdom and human relations is spot on."

Hardly had Shang Yunfang finished speaking when Chen Ku, having concluded his conversation with the shopkeepers, approached. He addressed his two masters with an apologetic, ingratiating smile:

"Disciple has presumed upon your prestige. Please punish me, Masters."

Shang Yunfang, puffing on his long-stemmed pipe, looked at Yang Luochen with a smile. "See? So well-behaved. Would you even have the heart to scold him?"

"Let’s go, let’s go! The banquet is starting! Your Senior Brother has been starving for ages," Yang Luochen said impatiently.

"Alright!"

A short while later, they arrived at Hongyan Tower. Meanwhile, news of what had transpired had already spread rapidly throughout the county seat.

The news that two masters from Medicine King Hall’s great courtyards had accepted the same apprentice as their disciple instantly sent shockwaves through all the various guilds and influential factions within the city.

Everyone was speculating...

Just what kind of young man could he be, to make Yang Luochen willing to share a disciple, just to accept him?

For a period, waves of speculation and curiosity swept through Baojiao County.