Zhou Qingfeng felt uneasy as long as the 'Crafty Thorn' was not removed.
Wang Kai and Wong Yuanwai agreed to help Zhou Qingfeng get rid of the 'Crafty Thorn' in order to do business with him. He put in a lot of effort for this. On the third day after the agreement was made, Wong Yuanwai's housekeeper specially came to the Lin Family Inn in the west of the city to contact both parties.
This housekeeper was around fifty years old, slightly younger than Old Man Sun, but his face was just as old. After bowing to Zhou Qingfeng, he sat down and discussed the current situation.
"Yesterday, my master personally went to Lord Li's residence to help mediate, stating that the past grievances between both parties were written off. Lord Li asked for fifty percent of the shares of Young Master Zhou's businesses. He said that every half a year, the amount must not be less than five thousand taels of silver. Lord Li will also send someone to check the accounts, saying that this is to avoid suffering losses. "
The housekeeper spoke calmly, but Zhou Qingfeng sneered. He put his hand on the table and tapped his fingers lightly. "Fifty percent of the shares, no less than five thousand taels in half a year, Lord Li's appetite is really good. Everyone says that this group of corrupt officials is fierce and ruthless when they exploit the people. Today, I finally experienced it. I wonder how many shares Lord Li wants from Wong Yuanwai's businesses? "
"My master's family is big, and there are many businesses in Fushun." The housekeeper smiled bitterly. "We will give Lord Li thirty percent of the shares, and give Lord Zhao Yihe ten percent. In addition, we must also give Lord Wang Mingyin, who is guarding the border. Speaking of which, regardless of whether we make a profit or loss, twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver are indispensable. "
"This group of local tyrants is really rich."
"The imperial court sends millions of taels of silver to the border every year. When the profits are distributed to each official, the least amount is one or two thousand, and the most amount is more than a hundred thousand. In addition, the merchants' filial piety is innumerable, so the officials guarding the border are more comfortable than the officials in the capital. "
"How rich is Li Yongfang?"
"Lord Li has more than fifty thousand taels of silver deposited in our Wang Family's silver shop alone. I'm sure he still has some savings in his residence. He has properties in Fushun and Shenyang. I estimate that the total amount won't be less than 100,000 taels. "
"Where is Zhao Yihe of the Middle Army?"
"More than fifty thousand."
The purchasing power of one tael of silver was equivalent to 500 RMB, 50,000 taels of silver was equivalent to 25 million RMB, and 100,000 taels of silver was equivalent to half a billion RMB. This was just the guerrilla warfare of the middle-ranking officers and Thousand Households at the border. In terms of rank, they were not up to par in Daming's officialdom.
"He's so damn rich," Zhou Qingfeng sighed and said with a smile, "If Lord Li dares to ask for it, I'll just nod my head. But what I want is the position of Patrol Inspector … "
The steward of the Prince's Mansion directly said, "Lord Li said, for two thousand taels of silver, this official position will be sold to you. Every month, I will give you at least five hundred taels of silver. I guarantee your safety. "
Fuck this corrupt official, he only has eyes for money!
Zhou Qingfeng calculated and nodded in agreement, "Okay, I want the position of Patrol Inspector."
But the steward of the Prince's Mansion asked again, "Is this position Zhou Shao himself?"
Zhou Qingfeng was only thirteen years old, it was really difficult for him to get this position. He shook his head and said, "I have a subordinate named Tan Feng from the Xuan Mansion, I want him to take this position."
Zhou Qingfeng's strategy of using people was that he didn't have anyone available. The position of Patrol Inspector was very important to his future development, but he really didn't have a candidate who could hold the position, so he simply let Tan Feng take it. The steward of the Prince's Mansion laughed and said, "Lord Li seems to have miscalculated."
"Why do you say that?"
"Lord Li thought that you wanted this position, and said that you have to go to his mansion and kowtow before he will give you this official position."
Zhou Qingfeng's face flashed with anger, but he forcibly suppressed it. His anger turned into a cold smile and said, "Good, very good. Lord Li dares to think this way, it's very good. "He calmed down and asked," Is there any progress in the search for 'Crafty Stab'? "
The steward of the Prince's Mansion nodded at first, but then shook his head and said, "We haven't found him, but he stayed at my mansion for a few days. I asked the servant who had served him. This person hides during the day and comes out at night, he doesn't show his face easily, every time he appears, a gust of wind blows past. But this person has a preference for food, he must eat steamed live fish for every meal. "
"It's not easy to find live fish at this time of the year," Zhou Qingfeng said.
The steward of the Prince's Mansion laughed and said, "It's very cold now, it's not easy to eat fish, let alone live fish. My master specially sent people to the Hun River to cut ice to fish for him in order to sell fish for him. In the past two days, we've also sent people to look for fishermen by the Hun River. They said that dozens of families in the city have bought fish from them. "
"Dozens?" Zhou Qingfeng frowned slightly. It would be difficult to track down such a large number of people.
The steward of the Prince's Mansion handed a piece of paper to Zhou Qingfeng. "The families who bought fish are all on this. Fish at this time of the year is very expensive, those who can afford it are the wealthy families in the city. We'll continue to send people to keep an eye on him, but it'll be difficult to find out where 'Crafty Stab' is hiding. Zhou Shao will have to wait for a few more days. "
Zhou Qingfeng nodded, but he didn't have the patience to keep waiting. After the steward of the Prince's Mansion left, Xu Bing came to him again, and she provided him with another clue.
"On the day that 'Crafty Stab' was chased away by Flat Hair, there were a few pieces of torn cloth left at the scene. We took these pieces of cloth to the local tailor, and they were quite special, unlike the usual cotton, linen, and silk. I wondered if this material was specially made for cultivators, so I went to ask Flat Hair. Flat Hair said that this material was made from a type of spider silk, and it was specially made to complement a certain kind of stealth technique. "
"Spider silk?" Zhou Qingfeng recalled that he had a batch of spider silk banners that he obtained from Herkulun. They were extremely precious after refining them for more than a hundred years.
Xu Bing continued, "Although Fushun is in the wilderness, there are quite a few cultivators who make a living here. They trade a lot of goods in private. Yesterday, I had Tan Feng go to a market square to inquire about it, and there was indeed someone who wanted to buy this type of spider silk material, and it was just a few days ago. "
"Where is the person who wants to buy it?"
"I don't know. Tan Feng didn't get any useful information. He only knows that the person who wants to buy it has concealed his identity, and he left right after he came, never to appear again. "
Zhou Qingfeng pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "Private transactions between cultivators won't be approved without the introduction of someone familiar. After all, it's normal for the strong to bully the weak in this circle, and no one would casually trade with a stranger. Tan Feng is a stranger, so he couldn't get any useful information. This matter should be left to Flat Hair. It's the subordinate of the great cultivator Guo Buyi, so it'll be easier to gain his trust. "
In the past two days, Flat Hair had received a lot of money, so it didn't come to impersonate Han Gui. It bought a lot of materials for refining tools, so it didn't come out easily after returning to Guo Family's study. Zhou Qingfeng wanted this puppet bird's help, so he could only look for it in the study.
When he arrived at the study, the door was closed, and there was only a wall outside the study. Zhou Qingfeng smashed the door for a long time, and only when he threatened to set the study on fire did Flat Hair fly out while squawking.
"What are you shouting for? I'm busy. "
"Have you finished refining the Energy Gathering Stone?"
"Just a little more, just a little more."
Zhou Qingfeng followed Flat Hair into the study. The workshop behind the counter was messier than last time, but the refining formation on the big table in the middle was bigger and more intricate than last time. The materials arranged on it gave off all kinds of radiance, and it was obviously of a higher grade.
When it came to mysterious things like this, Zhou Qingfeng would habitually open his Heaven's Eye. Only under the observation of the Heaven's Eye, the essence of all kinds of complicated objects could be revealed.
After pulling Zhou Qingfeng in, Flat Hair returned to the refining formation and kept controlling it. There was a thick book under its claws. Zhou Qingfeng flipped through it casually, and saw the title "True Record of Creation" written on the cover, and Guo Buyi's signature under the title.
"This is the refining technique written by your master?"
"That's right. My master is skilled in refining tools, and he spent a few decades to write this. Hey … Don't look around. You have to pay to take a look. "
"So stingy." Zhou Qingfeng wanted to take a look, but he couldn't understand. It was more like a notebook than a book. Guo Jiao was good at keeping bad accounts, and this skill was probably inherited from Guo Buyi. Because Guo Buyi's book was full of all kinds of messy scribbles.
Zhou Qingfeng looked at the formation that Flat Hair was controlling, and asked, "You just bought this? How much did you spend? "
"This formation was ordered from Shenyang, and it cost me a whole five thousand taels of silver. Not only did I throw in all the money I earned from you, but I also emptied my savings. If I don't succeed this time, I'm afraid I won't even have the money to buy materials. "Flat Hair was actually very nervous, and had been hesitating on how to match and how to operate it. No wonder it didn't have time to come out when Zhou Qingfeng knocked on the door.
"Don't you think there's a problem with this?" Zhou Qingfeng stared at the formation for a long time, and suddenly said.
Flat Hair turned his head and asked anxiously, "What's the problem?"
Zhou Qingfeng glanced at Guo Buyi's True Record of Creation, then stared at the various materials on the formation and said, "Your master obviously doesn't know how to write a book. He only recorded his thoughts when refining tools, but these thoughts are only possibilities of refining tools, and may not be correct."
As Zhou Qingfeng spoke, he reached out and fiddled with the formation. He changed the ratio of a few materials, and then modified the formation's operating mode according to the spiritual power lines he saw in his Heavenly Eye. He then compared it to the scribbles on the True Record of Creation and said, "If anyone really refines according to your master's book, they'll definitely be cheated to death."
Before Zhou Qingfeng fiddled with it, Flat Hair felt that the flow of spiritual power on the formation was not smooth, and there was a lot of resistance when controlling it. After Zhou Qingfeng finished fiddling with it, everything was much more pleasing to the eye. It immediately jumped up and shouted, "Yes, yes, yes, it should be like this. My master used to be like this when he refined tools."
The formation began to operate again, and Flat Hair poured all of its spiritual power into it. The materials placed on the formation began to shatter, disintegrate, recombine, and reshape. After a full hour, the vortex of spiritual energy slowly stopped, leaving only a colorful stone floating in the air above the formation.
When this stone appeared, Flat Hair immediately cheered. It spread its wings and flew up, opened its mouth, and swallowed the stone into its stomach. After a while, its body began to emit a colorful light, and it shone brightly.
Zhou Qingfeng sensed that the puppet bird's cultivation level had increased explosively. Its Level Four Muscles and Bones didn't change, but its Qi and Blood cultivation level increased from Level Three to Level Five. This meant that the number of spells it could cast had doubled, and its power had increased by nearly fifty percent.
Flat Feather, whose strength had increased, was crying out loudly as it flew everywhere. Zhou Qingfeng looked at the Energy Gathering Stone that Flat Hair had replaced and asked, "Hey, you don't need this broken stone, right? If you don't want it, I'll take it. "
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