Chapter Ten: The Southwest Tycoon

  "Are you hurt? Where were you injured in Yiliang this time? Was the one who beat you up killed?"

  Joy had addled Yang Shiqin's brain, among his three sons, only the youngest was by his side for the longest time, day and night, worrying about him, the youngest son of the Yang family had become Yang Shiqin's weakness. Just as Ding Baojun went to Yiliang without any news, this master of the Wan family from Yunnan almost became a living Yanluo. All the henchmen in Kunming were gathered by him and just as they were about to set off, they received the great news that the youngest son had opened up.

  "It's nothing serious!"

  Yang Meng clenched his teeth and massaged the palm that was almost pinched to pieces, involuntarily marveling at the strength of this cheap old man.

  "Tomorrow, we'll set up a ten-mile-long street banquet outside Kunming City and keep it going for a month. Let all the horse teams from various places return and bring some exotic items to congratulate our Third Master on his new venture."

  In Yang Shi Qian's words, his three sons have all become "third masters", you can imagine how happy he is. From the tone of his speech, it seems that he doesn't even plan to do business anymore, and in the past, Yang Meng was much more troublesome!

  "Dad, let's just forget it, it's too showy and will only invite jealousy. I think the master wouldn't want to see that either. Let's just celebrate at home instead."

  A ten-mile-long street banquet for a whole month, this will cost a lot of money. Moreover, people fear fame and pigs fear strength, playing like this is afraid of provoking envy!

  "Alright! I'll listen to you. Today, each of our brothers will get 100 yuan, and the others will get 50. Those outside will also be the same."

  Yang Shiqin has opened his mouth, so he must have some momentum. Even if it's just a "dad" from his own son, it's worth the price.

  Yang Meng was speechless, the Yang family's business must be huge, although he didn't know what Eagle Ocean was, but judging from the expressions of the knife-wielding men around him, the amount was definitely not small, it seemed that the things he had to do now had at least a basic financial guarantee.

  "Dad, I've also brought back a few people with me, can you arrange for their accommodations?"

  Those two beauties, one big and one small, are still by your side! Since you've brought them back, you have to take good care of them.

  "Don't worry about this, Bao Jun has always been steady in his actions. Hurry back to the house with your father and let him take a look at your injuries."

  As soon as he heard that his own third brother was injured in Yiliang, Yang Sizong immediately became anxious and wanted to lead his troops to Yiliang personally. If it weren't for Ding Baojun's strong opposition, today's Yiliang County would not be in such a state.

  The young master of the Yang family returned to the inner hall of the Wu Manor, and the knife-wielding guards inside and outside the courtyard also quickly dispersed under Ding Baojun's command. Cen Yu'e, Ma Qinghu, and that seductress were all settled in the Wu Manor. After these things were done, a pale white light began to spread across the sky at dawn.

  Inside the Wu Zhuang Hall, Yang Shi Qian searched every inch of Yang Meng's body, fearing that his son might have internal injuries. After a thorough examination, this renowned Mr. Yang from Yunnan finally sat down beside Yang Meng, his eyes never once drying of tears.

  Yang Meng's heart was filled with both emotion and awkwardness, the former due to Yang Shi-qin's deep affection for his son, but the latter because of the two old men standing so close together.

  Yang Shi-qin didn't say a word, just quietly looking at his own third child. For sixteen years, no matter how many doctors or masters he had invited, it was all in vain. Who would have thought that an unexpected event would make his son suddenly understand? Fate is playing tricks on people!

  This opportunity is just right, and the old three should also marry a daughter-in-law. At first, he was muddled and feared that his new daughter-in-law would be beaten to death, so this matter dragged on for two or three years, and he himself had reached the age of holding grandchildren. Although there were several in the eldest's house, Yang Shiqin always felt that something was missing. Now thinking about it, it was the old three. After 16 years, he finally waited for a perfect ending.

  "Dad, don't look at me like that, it's creepy."

  It's been a long time, Yang Meng really can't take it anymore. Except for the time he was being interrogated, no one has ever looked at him like this before. If he doesn't say something, this old man might just keep staring at him forever.

  "Alright! Don't look, don't look, then you just speak, Dad loves listening!"

  Yang Shiqin shifted the chair under his buttocks, saying he had moved it, but the chair was still stuck in its original position, tightly against Yang Meng's sitting place. The melancholy of sixteen years disappeared from his heart, and Yang Shiqin felt invigorated! As long as it was Lao San who spoke, after listening to him, it was like eating an immortal pill, feeling an indescribable comfort.

  "Let's just say it was a close call! I got hit on the head with a stick in Yiliang, and now my wound is acting up again."

  Yang Meng really had nothing good to say, facing a middle-aged man, what could he say?

  "Oh dear... I forgot about this, okay! What do you want to hear, Dad will tell you."

  Yang Shi Qin was so excited that he forgot about the time, and didn't even realize it was almost dawn. Yang Meng, on the other hand, was still in a state of excitement from his sudden arrival, except for a slight ache at the back of his head, he didn't show any signs of fatigue.

  "Let's talk about our family business! On the way here, I heard Uncle Ding mention a few things. He said you're the most clear about this matter, so why don't you tell us about it?"

  This is a channel for selling goods in the future, listen and have an idea in mind, what kind of goods to sell, also good to have a reference.

  "Business is just about buying low and selling high, finding customers. Yunnan is a good place for this, with many things to buy and sell, and many merchants looking for goods. The difficulty lies in the business route, once the route is opened, wealth will flow in, our family's business is all about the business route."

  When it comes to his own success story, Yang Sizhen seems somewhat absent-minded and finishes with just a few words.

  "What business routes does our family have? Father, tell me, I love listening to this."

  A single sentence from his own brother made Yang Sizhen burst out laughing. He stroked the long whiskers under his chin and became more enthusiastic.

  "At first, our family took over your grandfather's business. Your grandfather was a tea merchant who supplied Pu'er tea to horse caravans all over Yunnan. The horse caravans carried these Pu'er teas and sold the good stuff in Sichuan, while selling the lower-grade stuff along the Tibetan border. It was enough to make a living for one family. However, when your father came to Yunnan, he brought a group of younger brothers with him, and making tea and selling tea became somewhat unprofitable."

  In order to get more goods, plus your uncles and aunts, who are familiar with the roads between Sichuan and Yunnan, Dad set up his own horse team. At first, it was taken care of by your uncles and aunts. As the business grew bigger, they recruited local henchmen from Yunnan, who were also easy to manage, and just had a few of their own people take charge.

  Your uncles and elders took the lead, exploring the route to the Tibetan border. There is a huge demand for Pu'er tea on that side, and most of the tea from Tibet comes from our area. This route is also a lucrative one, so we've taken control of most of it.

  Afterwards, it was Annan Line and Guangdong Line, these were all your elder brother's credit, I didn't intervene much.

  With the trade route established and money coming in, Father thought tea was a good thing, so he started buying tea mountains in Yunnan. One after another, the money just kept rolling in.

  "What's with the questions, doing business is tough, our family has your older brother to rely on anyway, you just focus on what you want to do, the family business I've built up is enough for your expenses."

  His three sons heard this and thought of going out to make a name for themselves. At the thought of this, Yang Shi-qin did not want to say any more.

  Yang Shi-qin said lightly, but Yang Meng could hear the underlying meaning. These trade routes were probably not legitimate, and any business involving armed escorts would definitely have its share of conflicts.

  "So our family will only deal with tea leaves and nothing else?"

  According to Old Ding, this old master at home seems to be quite resistant to opium. If he starts selling it himself and provokes the old master again, with his strength, I'm sure his kung fu is not bad.

  "Except for opium, our family's horse team has everything that makes money. Third brother! You must remember, whatever you do, don't touch opium, that stuff is very harmful!"

  It's indeed Yang Shiqin who is against opium. It seems that I have to make my own plans secretly, now if I speak out, I'm afraid it will anger the old master and worse, he might suspect me again.

  "On the way back, I saw a lot of poppy flowers in Yiliang too! Are there many varieties here in Yunnan?"

  You have a thousand clever plans, but you also need materials, the old man won't let me touch them, I can only think of a way myself.

  "That damned Zhou Dasao, half of the good fields in Yiliang are his, and just the income from his land is enough for him to spend, yet he still does these lowly businesses, really deserves to be killed!"

  As soon as he heard about the opium fields in Yiliang, Yang Shiqin was also furious. Without these opium plantations, how could there be so many opium addicts in Yunnan? Since this harmful thing was sold to the Qing Dynasty by foreigners, several hundred people had already been dismissed from the Yang family's knife-making workshop, all because of the troubles caused by opium.

  "Is Zhou Dabo?"

  Yang Meng became interested as soon as he heard this. He was in need of a plantation himself, but didn't know if Zhou's cattle could meet his requirements.

  "Right! It's that big swine, this old turtle egg, who got rich through unscrupulous means. During the Dianxi Rebellion, he was a leader of the Qing army's Green Camp, and after putting down the rebellion, this old scoundrel started buying land in Yiliang, engaging in all sorts of shady dealings. In recent years, this old turtle egg has even gotten into human trafficking, if it weren't for his official background, I would have taken care of him long ago."

  This old man at home is also a good person, can resist opium and hate human traffickers, not too bad. Speaking of human trafficking, this Zhou Dasao, also has a fate with himself, just don't know if he's involved in the Yiliang case, if he is, that would be great.

  "Dad! This time in Yiliang I was beaten by thugs, it's because of human traffickers, could it be that this Zhou Daxiang is behind it?"

  The matter of beating had already begun and ended, but Yang Meng still wanted to probe his own father's attitude.

  "As for him? Even if he borrowed a bit of courage, he wouldn't dare lay hands on you. I'm not doing it for his sake, but to save face for the Yunnan gentry. The human traffickers from Yiliang mostly come from the Zhou family, this time I'll help you vent some anger."

  As soon as he heard that his son was injured and had something to do with Zhou Dabo, Yang Shiqin still had a bit of the shadow of Wanjiabu, clearly being a mountain bandit and a living Yama.

  "Never mind, I'll handle it myself. Once I've recovered from my injuries, I'll go and deal with that big mouth this week. Killing him won't cause trouble for Father, will it?"

  If the old man relaxes his grip, his own business will be settled, and he'll still have a hand in it.

  "A has-been official who only knows how to keep things secret, nobody dares to look for you."

  With this sentence, Yang Meng's heart also had a bottom line. Killing people is easy, but taking away family property is difficult. Let's listen to the old man's opinion!

  "Isn't it a pity that the good land under his hands is going to waste?"

  "What's the point of having land? It doesn't yield much and is a lot of trouble. Our family's fields in Yiliang are just enough to supply our own rice, if you want land, I can arrange for a big field in Kunming for you tomorrow."

  This is the tone of a wealthy merchant, Yang Shiqin said that although he has countless fields in his hands, most of them are tea mountains scattered all over Yunnan, and grain can be bought with money anywhere.

  "It's a good field anyway, taking it over to raise some swordsmen is also not bad, throwing it away would be a waste."

  After listening to Lao Yezi's words, Yang Meng had already made up his mind. It would be better to get Zhou Dabao's fields and farmsteads in hand.

  "If you really want to do this, you need to get in touch with the officials of Yiliang County. Jiang Yuange is a corrupt official, give him some benefits and let him handle the informants of Zhou Dabao in the government first. In Yiliang, it's still up to Jiang Yuange to make the decision."

  With Old Master's idea, Yang Meng also felt at ease. As he relaxed, he actually felt a bit tired. He let out a small yawn and glanced outside the hall with Yang Shi Qian. The sky was already bright, and after their own Third Brother injured his head, they still needed to rest for some time.

  "You'd better go back to sleep! This is all Father's fault, he dragged you into a conversation that lasted the whole night. He completely forgot that you're injured."

  As soon as he saw his son was tired, Yang Shiqin also felt a bit resentful of himself for being too excited. He called the servants to arrange for his son to go back and rest, but he himself rushed into the Yang family ancestral hall located in Wu Village, burning incense and paper, worshiping for an entire morning, before returning with joy in his heart to rest.

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