Volume 1: The Merchant's Son-in-law Chapter 42: Dust Settles

  Huang Zhi County got into the sedan chair with a swagger and returned to the government office.

  The county lieutenant, relying on his powerful influence, suppressed the county magistrate, and in the end, the county magistrate was forced to retreat in disarray. This is an unprecedented event that has never happened before, but it actually occurred in this small Jiangpu. From now on, this extremely abnormal political atmosphere will dominate the official circles of Jiangpu.

  The crowd watching emitted a sigh of satisfaction, today they were treated to a thrilling show, and for a long time afterwards, they had plenty to talk about.

  Cao Yi respectfully sent off Huang Zhi County with a bow, along with Xie Zhushi and Li Dianshi, who saw him off until the sedan chair disappeared around the corner. They then turned back, exchanged a glance, and shared a knowing smile, with everything understood without needing to be said.

  Chen Si Liu, with a thick and fat waist, welcomed Cao Yi and others into the Drunken Immortal Building with a flattering smile.

  Xiao Fan turned back unintentionally and saw that Zhou Zhanggui, the shopkeeper of Jinyulou, was still kneeling stupidly at the entrance of Zuixianlou, with a dull expression, looking like he had lost his soul. Xiao Fan frowned, walked up to him, and in front of the crowd that had not yet dispersed, first showed Zhou Zhanggui a warm and elegant smile, then suddenly changed his expression, raised his hand and slapped Zhou Zhanggui's face heavily.

  "Bang!"

  A crisp and loud slapping sound once again made the onlookers stop in their tracks, frequently looking around.

  Zhou Zhanggui was slapped by Xiao Fan, his head buzzing with pain. He finally came to his senses, covering his face and staring at Xiao Fan in disbelief. After a long while, he stammered: "You... you dare to hit me?"

  Xiao Fan shrugged: "It's normal to hit you."

  "You... why did you hit me?"

  Xiao Fang realized, right? Why hit him? He didn't offend me, why would I hit him? This is so impolite...

  Looking at Zhou Zhanggui's indignant eyes, Xiao Fan felt a bit embarrassed, tilted his head and thought for half a day, finally found an excuse, so Xiao Fan squatted down and sincerely said to Zhou Zhanggui: "Because you look very annoying, I was rude, really can't help it, so... you know."

  Xiao Fan stopped mid-sentence and gave Zhou Zhuang a sympathetic glance before standing up, brushing off his sleeves, and entering the Drunken Immortal Building, leaving behind a furious but speechless Zhou Zhuang.

  Xiao Fan smiled slightly as he stepped into the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, this slap was very satisfying. He wasn't afraid of offending Huang Zhixian, anyway he had already offended him, so he might as well offend him more thoroughly. If a man didn't even have the guts to do this, could he still be called a man?

  In the most luxurious box on the third floor of Zui Xian Lou, while toasting with Xie Zhu Bo, Li Dian Shi and Liu Bu Tou, Cao Yi turned his head and whispered to the old servant standing behind him: "Send someone to deliver a secret letter to Prince Yan's mansion, I have taken control of Jiang Pu."

  The old servant retreated at the sound of his voice.

  Jiangpu County government office, Huang Zhixian's whole body trembled non-stop, making great efforts to calm down for a long time, finally calming down, and then his eyes flashed with a fierce light, calling the attendants beside him, coldly instructing: "Prepare the sedan chair, go to the capital, to the residence of Huang Shilang in the Ministry of Rites."

  Drunken Immortal Pavilion has reopened.

  On the day of the opening, Jiangpu's county magistrate and county lieutenant had a complete falling out with Chen Jia's maternal uncle Xiao Fan, after a struggle, the county lieutenant won, this news spread like a plague, in an instant it spread throughout the entire county.

  The winds have changed, and from now on, Huang Zhixian is no longer the one who has the final say. Anyone with discerning eyes can see that the one in charge of Jiangpu is now the newly arrived eighth-rank county magistrate Cao, and Huang Zhixian has been completely marginalized.

  As the political climate changed, Zui Xian Lou naturally welcomed guests from all sides. From ancient times to the present, there have always been people who follow the wind and change their direction for personal gain. On the day Zui Xian Lou opened its doors, Cao County Magistrate led a group of officials from the yamen to offer congratulations. Moreover, because of the owner of Zui Xian Lou, Xiao Fan, he had a falling out with Huang Zhixian, the county magistrate. Who among those with discerning minds did not understand the intentions of Cao?

  The Drunken Immortal Pavilion's business began to flourish.

  Xiao Zhang's mood naturally rose with the tide, without the constraints of officialdom, this was his time to spread his wings. Xiao Fan had confidence in using his knowledge as a traveler to expand and strengthen the business, after all, this was his first career, although he was still working for Chen Si Liu, but he didn't mind making wedding clothes for his father-in-law. Xiao Fan was an ambitious person, his future achievements would not be limited to this, now he just wanted to use this way to quickly integrate into ancient times, only by adapting to the environment could he have a brighter future.

  In the hall, Xiao Fan was taking advantage of the afternoon when there were fewer guests to assign tasks to Old Cai and the first two shop assistants.

  "Lao Cai, your task is to collect money, manage accounts, settle the daily flow of water, and show me the account books. The accounts must be clear, and you are not allowed to embezzle..."

  Xiao Fan said with a sudden flash of white teeth: "Do you know how the current emperor deals with corrupt officials?"

  Lao Cai was frightened by Xiao Fan's ferocious appearance and shook his head in alarm.

  "Whoever embezzles sixty taels of silver shall be flayed and stuffed with grass for all to see."

  Lao Cai became even more terrified.

  "Do you know what it means to flay and stuff with grass? It's when the executioner uses a small knife to peel off his skin in one piece, at this time the person is still breathing. Then they cut open his belly, while he's still warm, and dig out all the internal organs to cook and feed the dogs. After digging out the internal organs, what to do with the empty belly? It's simple, just stuff two handfuls of grass inside, and the whole person will look more plump..."

  Lao Cai and the two shop assistants turned pale, looking as if they wanted to vomit but couldn't.

  Are you afraid?

  "Agreed!" The three nodded in unison.

  Xiao Fan smiled and patted Lao Cai's shoulder: "So, don't stretch out your hand, if you stretch out your hand, it will be caught..."

  Lao Cai was startled and suddenly cried with a sad face: "Boss, I was wrong, I really was wrong, I won't dare next time..."

  Old Cai took out three or four taels of loose silver from his bosom and carefully placed it on the counter, saying in a frightened tone: "I swear to heaven that these two days I only embezzled this little bit, I won't be greedy again next time..."

  The two shop assistants suddenly looked at Xiao Fan with reverence on their faces.

  Xiao Fan's eyes widened: "I was just casually scaring you, and you actually reached out..."

  With a whoosh, Xiao Fang quickly reached out and swept the scattered silver coins on the counter into his own bosom.

  "Confiscate all ill-gotten gains!"

  When subordinates embezzle money, it's called corruption; when you do it yourself, it's called legitimate income. There is a fundamental difference.

  Turning his head to look at the two shop assistants, these two were the ones who gambled with Xiao Fan in the past. Their names were very common, the tall one was called Dogzi, and the one with acne all over his face was called Dashuang. The two were considered old-timers of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, belonging to the top-level... shop assistants.

  "A few days ago, we newly recruited ten colleagues, five of whom are in charge of the lobby, and five are in charge of the elegant rooms on the second and third floors. Dogzi and Dashuan, I promote you to be the lobby manager and the elegant room manager..."

  "Shopkeeper, what is called manager?"

  "...is in charge, in command. The five apprentices under Dogzi's supervision in the main hall, and the five under Daban's supervision in the Ya Pavilion, each took their own responsibilities."

  The dog and Da Dian immediately fell to the ground, shedding tears of gratitude: "Boss looks down on us, knowing that we are stronger than those ten new recruits... Boss, I am willing to go through thick and thin for you..."

  Xiao Fan slowly said, "Actually, you guys shouldn't think too much about it. To be honest, the two of you are just like those ten new recruits - all useless. If I had to say something different, then at most, I can only say that you two are slightly more senior than them in terms of being useless..."

  After assigning the tasks, Xiao Fan moved a stool and placed it at the entrance of Zui Xian Lou, then sat on the stool with his head up and eyes closed, starting to enjoy the warm sunshine on this winter afternoon.

  The key word in the phrase "stealing a leisurely half-day" is not "leisure", but "steal". A person's life is busy and restless, so enjoying oneself becomes a rare indulgence. However, the true essence of life lies not in how to enjoy oneself, but in understanding how to enjoy oneself. From this perspective, the carefree singing of a beggar and the luxurious lifestyle of a wealthy person are actually similar in nature.

  Xiao Fan is a man who knows how to enjoy himself. In his past life, he was a bandit, and even stole two bottles of wine on the side. Deep down, besides being adventurous and daring, he also has a blood-red revolutionary romantic streak. On the precipice, he invites the moon to drink with him; under the dangerous wall, he strikes the gong and sings loudly. This is how one should live life to the fullest.

  The faintly dazzling light suddenly dimmed, and Xiao Fan opened his eyes with some dissatisfaction, only to see a slender figure blocking the sunlight above his head.

  Xiao Fang's eyes lit up, and he grasped the hand of the slender figure: "Little Sweetie, you've come to see me?"

  Xiao Tian is just Bao Qin, in this life and the previous one, the two silhouettes are always changing in Xiao Fan's mind, separating and then overlapping. This question of which is Zhuang Zhou and which is the butterfly makes Xiao Fan distinguish very hard, and most of the time, his distinctions are incorrect.

  Hu Qin was frightened by Xiao Fan's passionate movements and let out a loud shriek, then stared at Xiao Fan with a mixture of fear and anger.

  "Let go!"

  "No, I won't let go!"

  Hugging the qin in a hurry, the other hand transformed into a palm, swift as a shooting star chasing the moon. One move, "Power Split Mount Hua", heavily struck on Xiao Fan's forehead.

  "Let go let go let go let go——"

  Xiao Fan had no choice but to let go, because he needed to free up his hands to rub his sore temples. Moreover, he really didn't want his temples to be chopped like firewood again and again by the little girl, who hadn't been seen for days and was getting stronger by the day. Xiao Fan suspected that she had been hiding at home practicing her palm strength every day, and then deliberately came to Zui Xian Lou to deal with him.

  In the martial arts world, a young hero bears a deep grudge and blood feud. He accidentally falls off a cliff, but strangely, at the bottom of every cliff lies an extraordinary martial arts manual waiting for him to practice. Cliffs without manuals are not good cliffs. The young hero then dedicates himself to arduous training, lasting several years or just a few hours. After breaking through his limits, he emerges and personally avenges his grudge...

  Xiao Fan felt that Bao Qin had a tendency to develop in this direction, and was even forced by him. This is a deeply troubled little girl...

  Hu Qin is now staring at him with a puffed up face, her whole body in a state of high alert, looking at Xiao Fan's eyes as if she were looking at a pervert.

  Xiao Fan felt a pang of heartache, this kind of misunderstanding was the most helpless in the world. Xiao Fan didn't have any ill intentions towards her, on the contrary, because Bao Qin's face resembled that of his past lover, he was especially careful with her. Unfortunately, the initial misunderstanding made Bao Qin extremely wary of him.

  This was something Xiao Fan did not want to see. Compared to Chen Ying'er, the daughter of the Chen family, Xiao Fan actually had a greater intention to hold Qin.

  He didn't like the young lady, but instead liked the maid. This wasn't a case of having low standards. When men look at women, they don't first consider their aura and status. If he likes someone, then he likes them; if not, then not. If you must ask why, Xiao Fan couldn't answer either. He just felt that Bao Qin had more spirit and charm than Chen Ying'er. This spirit and charm drew in Xiao Fan's gaze.

  Chen Ying'er, on the other hand, seemed to have been cooped up in her boudoir for too long, and as a result, she appeared somewhat stiff and awkward. What made Xiao Fan even more uncomfortable was her cold and detached gaze. If he could, Xiao Fan really wanted to ask Chen Si Liu if he could just marry the maid instead of the young lady - probably Chen Si Liu wouldn't allow it, and might even chop him up with a knife.

  Xiao Fang stared at Bao Qin, motionless, with a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind.

  Hu Qin was stared at by Xiao Fan's eyes, her whole body felt numb and goosebumps all over, she slightly bent her knees, with a look of being ready to run away at any moment, making Xiao Fan want to hold her in his arms and cherish her dearly.

  "Miss Huqin, what brings you to this Drunken Immortal Pavilion?" Xiao Fan tried his best to make his expression more benevolent, at least not wanting to appear like a pervert in her eyes.

  Xiao Fan's kindness took effect, and Bao Qin indeed relaxed her guard slightly. Facing Xiao Fan's elegant smile, Bao Qin even felt her cheeks flush a little - which maiden doesn't have romantic thoughts? Xiao Fan was originally a handsome young man; if it weren't for that unpleasant past, this refined and handsome youth would definitely have the power to make Bao Qin's heart skip a beat.

  Xu Qin's little heart is racing now. She isn't one to hold grudges.

  "I... my young mistress is coming, she ordered me to come over and greet you... and Master Xiao first." Bao Qin's voice had dropped to a barely audible level by the end of her sentence, like a mosquito buzzing, and her head was bowed lower and lower, almost as if it were going to be buried in her chest.

  Facing this infinitely shy little girl, Xiao Fang suddenly lost his composure.

  "You... what are you looking at?" Bao Qin felt uneasy under Xiao Fan's gaze, and unconsciously shifted her body slightly.

  "Xuqin......" Xiao Fan's low and deeply emotional call.

  "Hmm?" Bo Qin still lowered her head shyly.

  "It's been several days since we last met, you..."

  "What's wrong with me?" Bao Qin's pretty face had already turned red like the sunset glow.

  "You... have developed more fully."

  Silence...

  For a long time...

  Hu Qin started screaming.

  "Ah - you scoundrel! A dog can't change its nature of eating feces! Look at your palm!"

  "Bang!"