Chapter Thirteen: The Elegant Building by Lotus Lake

  The town of Shanzhuang is surrounded by mountains on all four sides, with a beautiful environment. In the center of the county seat is a stone bridge, under which flows a small river, with clear water that can be seen to the bottom, and only one foot deep. This river runs through the entire city, flowing down from the high mountain in the east, passing through the city, and disappearing into the Junling Mountains in the west.

  Liu Shiyeye took Yu Huacheng and walked on the bridge, saying:

  "This river is called Yuxi River, which runs through the city and is said to be the vein of Shanzhu City. No one in the city is allowed to throw garbage or wash clothes in this river, catch fish in the water, and must be fined heavily. Even being expelled from Shanzhu City."

  This stone bridge is the Jade Bridge, and after crossing this bridge, it is Jade Bridge Street. With the Yu Xi River as the boundary, the three streets on the south side are your territory. This territory starts from the north of the Yu Xi River, goes south to Gu Lang Street, west to the outside of the city to the Zi Zhu Lin, and east to the edge of Ma Shi, this is your territory. In addition to the Jade Bridge Street area within the city, there are also three villages outside the city: Ma Jia Zhai, Li Jia Gan, and Zhao Jia Tun, which are also under your jurisdiction.

  "On this land, there is a free market where mainly precious goods found in the mountains are exchanged and auctioned. There are 13 hotels, 34 shops, 7 inns, 2 rice stores, 1 coffin shop, and the largest brothel in the city is also located here. It's because of the existence of this brothel that this land is the most prosperous, but also the most troublesome."

  Yu Ze Cheng heard this and took out five taels of silver, handed them over and said:

  "Please, Master Liu, tell me in detail, and I will come up with a plan. Please, Master Liu, point it out to me."

  Liu Huzi put away the silver thread and said:

  "This Rouge Building is the best in the city, integrating wine house, brothel, hotel and casino. You see, that building on the west side is it, from there all the way to the outskirts of the purple bamboo forest are all family properties, and on this side of the purple bamboo forest there is also a man-made small lake, can be said to be wonderful."

  This is a direct wine house opened by Shi's family, mainly for Shi's family and traveling merchants, mountain guests to negotiate. All the wealthy guests who come out of the mountain, the merchant teams that enter the mountain, will consume a lot here, in fact, it is just flattering Shi's family. It can be said that the income of this rouge building is equivalent to half of the total income of all businessmen in Shanzhu City. Can you say that this place is not prosperous? Can you say that it's not troublesome?

  But that's nothing to you, the Rouge Building is controlled by Shi Tianlong, a 33rd generation disciple of the Shi family. It's said that our hall can invite Bai Shaomen's master and his brothers to help us out, it's because Ma Tang Zhu asked him to pull strings, so Bai Shaomen must have given instructions, Shi Tianlong will definitely not make things difficult for you.

  We'll go there to pay our respects first, and once Shi Tianlong acknowledges us, you can say that this street is firmly under your control. At the beginning of each month, you'll collect protection fees on this street, which are fixed amounts, and later a younger brother will tell you the specific numbers.

  But one thing to note, rouge also has to be collected. Although how much we collect is not up to us, this is the rule and it absolutely cannot be broken. Remember, no matter what store, money must be paid. If money is not paid, there will be bloodshed, there will be death. This is our way of survival, the last bottom line that absolutely cannot be broken.

  However, as long as he acknowledges you, you will definitely get along. Fang Zheng gives us the first move, and we also have to give it back to them.

  "We collect the monthly silver, half of which must be handed over to the government, which is actually the Shi family. To a certain extent, we are just tax officials for the Tang country. The remaining money, except for the fixed monthly silver given to the helmsman, is all your income. I'll just say it simply for now and discuss it with you in detail later. By the way, do you have a teacher? It's better to let the teacher handle such trivial matters."

  Yu Ze Cheng replied:

  "I have already hired a good friend of my father's, Gao Feng, and he will arrive tomorrow."

  Liu Huzi nodded and said:

  "Nickname is Stone Oil Extraction Peak? Haha, little brother is indeed a hero emerging in his youth. Since you have this intention, I will support you, but you must be careful of Tan Er Lang, he sees that you can use immortal techniques and won't confront you head-on, small tricks will emerge endlessly."

  As soon as he said this, Yu understood Liu Hu's mentality. At the banquet earlier, Tan Er-lang respected Shi Tianyun but didn't care about Liu Hu at all. When Shi Tianyun got old and handed over the position of captain, if Tan Er-lang took over, Liu Hu would definitely be stripped of his position as a teacher, and there would be no good outcome for him, so he was trying to curry favor with Yu.

  Yu Zhen said on horseback:

  "Thank you, Uncle Liu, for your guidance. If there's anything I can help with, just let me know and I'll definitely take care of it."

  Liu said:

  "Good, refreshing."

  As they spoke to each other, they arrived in front of the Rouge Tower. The Rouge Tower was a three-story stone building, but this was only the gatehouse; the real Xuanjin Cave was behind it in the inner courtyard. Even just the gatehouse was incredibly luxurious and majestic, with carvings on the exterior walls of the stone pillars depicting myths from the Spring and Autumn period, ancient legends, beauties, knights-errant, wild beasts, and heroes that seemed to come alive. The Rouge Tower had a red carpet laid out in front of it, exuding an air of wealth and luxury at first glance.

  In front of the gate, there were eighteen clever young men who took care of the horses and carried luggage for guests. There were also six receptionists who welcomed guests with great enthusiasm, regardless of whether they wore tattered clothes or not, treating everyone equally and inviting them into the building.

  Liu Huzi arrived here and immediately had a welcoming committee come over to greet him:

  "Mr. Liu has arrived, please come in quickly, Little Cui is about to die for you, there's a new batch of Niangjiu inside, it's the twenty-year-old fine wine from the Tianxing Building of the State of Mu, absolutely delicious!"

  Liu Huzi waved his hand and said:

  "Wait a minute, I'm here on official business this time. This is the new steward of our Shi Hu faction's branch, Yu Ze Cheng, the leader of Yuqiao Street. We've come specifically to pay respects to the Mountain Gate."

  After finishing speaking, he took out a letter and solemnly handed it to the usher. The usher also lost his smile, accepted it with both hands, and said in a low voice:

  "Two of you wait a moment, I will report right away."

  He turned around and entered the Rouge Building. Liu Hu Zi and Yu Ze Cheng waited outside, not long after, a loud hearty laughter was heard from inside, a group of people walked towards them from afar.

  Liu said in a low voice:

  "It's done. That must be Shi Tianlong. In the past, when Wild Wolf Gang changed shifts, it was just a matter of a manager receiving him briefly. It seems that younger brother really has face, and Shi Tianlong actually came in person."

  Among the crowd in front, one of them was over forty years old, tall and majestic, like a giant bear, who was Shi Tianlong. He walked to Yu Zecheng's side, exerted his strength and hugged Yu Zecheng tightly in his arms, then said:

  "My white-haired younger brother left with a special request to take good care of Yu Ge, and today he finally arrived. Well, it's true that heroes emerge in their youth."

  Yu Zhen said with a smile:

  "Senior..."

  Shi Tianlong said:

  "What elder brother? I am Bai Lao's older brother, which means I'm your older brother too. Call me older brother."

  Yu Ze Cheng said:

  "Hello big brother, little brother is new here and hopes for your support."

  Shi Tianlong said:

  "Don't be polite, I think we hit it off, remember you're my brother. Everyone listen up, this is my brother. In Shan Zhu City, whoever messes with him is messing with me, and I'll take care of them."

  Liu Hu Zi, you go back and tell Tan Lao Er that if he lays a hand on my brother, I'll cripple his legs and make him disabled.

  The voice was extremely loud, echoing throughout the entire street. Pi Dian Tang Er Lang showed no mercy to Yu Ze Cheng's supportive attitude, which was thoroughly demonstrated. Although Yu Ze Cheng knew that he was only doing this because of Bai He Xi's face, facing such passionate support still produced a warm current in his heart. This is an opportunity, and he must seize it, taking advantage of the momentum.

  Yu Zhen then loudly shouted:

  "Alright, I acknowledge you as my brother. In the future, if anyone dares to provoke you, I'll deal with them in the same way."

  Yu then took the opportunity to make a bold vow, which was equivalent to the two making a pact and settling an alliance. This was tantamount to thoroughly nailing down Shi Tianlong's previous words, not giving him any chance to repent.

  Everyone who heard this laughed, and no one took what the little kid said seriously. However, they forgot one thing: don't bully poor young people.

  Shi Tianlong was taken aback, he took a closer look at Yu Ze Cheng, then smiled and said:

  "Good, good fellow, indeed a hero emerges in youth. Come on, let's go in and drink three cups to our heart's content."

  After finishing, he pulled Yu Ze Cheng into the Rouge Building. Liu Hu Zi smiled and followed them in. Under Shi Tian Long's lead, the crowd walked through several alleys with intricate flowers and entered deep into the Rouge Building complex.

  After walking for a while, through a fake hill, suddenly the front is open and bright, a lake appears, as big as an acre, and in the distance is the purple bamboo forest outside the city.

  In the midst of these mountains, there is actually a lake, not large in size, but the Jade Creek flows through it, and the water is lively. There are countless fish swimming in the lake, all of which are a rare species of golden carp. On the surface of the lake, there are some lotus flowers and water lilies, which set off the scenery of the lake, making it seem like an immortal realm. In the center of the lake, there is a two-story wooden pavilion standing on the water, with intricate carvings and jade-like railings. Faintly, the sound of a guqin can be heard coming from within, and this scenery, which seems like an immortal realm, suddenly leaves me stunned.

  Shi Tianlong said:

  "Not bad, little brother, this is Tianya Building, the highest-end building in our Rouge Mansion."

  After finishing speaking, he walked towards the surface of the water and stood on the lake's surface, walking towards the building in the center. Yu Zecheng was shocked and looked carefully, only to discover that there was a floating bridge under his feet, which was level with the water surface, making it seem as if he was walking on the water's surface.

  Yu Ze and his companions followed closely behind, treading on the ripples like immortals as they crossed the floating bridge, passing through the lotus root field to enter the pavilion on the water.

  When I walked to the pavilion, Yu Ze Cheng specially watched and found that under the pavilion was a marble base, not floating on the water.

  Walking into the pavilion, the decoration inside is breathtaking. The walls are even inlaid with gold foil and ancient jade, countless famous paintings by renowned artists are arranged in a row, and the layout is reasonable, making people feel extremely comfortable.

  At this time, two beauties approached, they were elegant and refined, beautiful as flowers, without any of the licentiousness of courtesan women. The two of them knelt beside Yu Zecheng, one handed over a hot towel, and the other helped Yu Zecheng change his shoes.

  Yu Ze Cheng did not show any signs of nervousness or unease, and calmly accepted it, completely ignoring the beauty of these two women. Not a bit could be seen that he was a fourteen-year-old boy.

  This scene was witnessed by Shi Tianlong and Liu Hu, Shi Tianlong frowned, turned his head to glare at one of his subordinates. According to the subordinate's investigation, Yu Zecheng was just an ordinary young man from a poor family who could make good soup, it was unknown how he became friends with Bai Hewei.

  But now Yu Ze Cheng has a hint of youthful energy, completely becoming an extremely mature and seasoned Jianghu guest.