Song Chu: Dad, if you don't work hard, how can I just lie down and relax?

Chapter 39 Liver and Gallbladder Cave, Hair Ridges, Standing and Talking, Life and Death Are One, 1

Anrenfang in the east wing, located next to the main wharf of the Bian River, is one of the largest inn areas in Kaifeng. It mainly caters to merchants from the Jiangnan and Huainan regions. The inns and warehouses are lined up one after another, making it one of the most bustling and prosperous areas in the outer city of Kaifeng.

These inns, commonly known as guesthouses, are now mostly over half of the area with "For Sale" signs on them; business is tough.

During such periods of dynastic change, business was most difficult for inns. The number of merchants and customers from other places decreased by more than 70% or 80%. Every night, they also had to deal with soldiers who came to plunder, patrols, and even incidents of open fires being smashed in broad daylight.

Those who could do business in Kaifeng certainly had powerful backers, especially the medium and large-sized shops. However, with this change of dynasty, many of the bosses' backers collapsed, or they simply dared not step forward.

Some clever and quick-witted people found new connections quickly, while others, less clever and lucky, couldn't find anyone to help them even with their money. After more than a month, they were so badly burned that they were left barely alive and had to sell their businesses at a low price.

Because nearly half of the guesthouses are being transferred at low prices, vicious competition inevitably arises in pricing, leading to even lower prices after the initial low prices, resulting in the current situation.

Wang Lu said to Zhao Guangmei, "This Yuelai Inn is quite nice. It's considered a medium-to-large inn, with a courtyard, a tavern, a separate stable, and a warehouse. It has about seventy or eighty rooms of various sizes."

It even comes with a small garden and a small banquet hall. Except for not being an official post station, it's almost indistinguishable from a large inn. How about we take over this inn?

Wang Lu himself didn't know why, but in a moment of impulse, he agreed to Zhao Guangmei's absurd request.

Logically speaking, this whole affair seems absurd and childish, and it would bring Wang Lu no benefit whatsoever: if anything were to happen to Zhao Guangmei, as an accomplice, Zhao Kuangyin and Empress Dowager Du would not let him off the hook.

Even if he succeeds, it won't benefit him much. What does Zhao Guangmei, the third daughter, need prestige for? He'll only be subjected to Zhao Guangyi's suspicion for no reason.

And what's more, doesn't this further solidify his friendship with Zhao Guangmei? He had clearly discussed it with Wang Jun, and he was determined to stay away from Zhao Guangmei, even if it meant deliberately distancing himself from her.

From any perspective, helping Zhao Guangmei with something that puts one's body in the game is troublesome, foolish, and dangerous. Logically speaking, one should stay as far away from her as possible.

But for some reason, Wang Lu just couldn't bring himself to refuse, and ended up agreeing without really understanding what was going on.

Perhaps it's because my body has shrunk, and my emotions are still affected by hormones or something, which has made me feel like a teenager?

Since ancient times, how many years have we been passionate?

If people could always make rational choices, they probably wouldn't be human anymore, let alone young people.

A young man of chivalrous spirit, he befriended heroes from five capitals. Their hearts were open, their hair stood on end, and in conversation they were bound together by life and death, their promises worth a thousand pieces of gold.

Zhao Guangmei hesitated, "Isn't this too big? I didn't intend to buy something this big. Besides, do you have the money? The broker said he wouldn't sell it for less than three thousand strings of cash, and there are conditions too."

"This price is already very reasonable. If it weren't for the special circumstances, you shouldn't even bother negotiating with an inn like this for less than ten thousand strings of cash. Three thousand strings? Do you have that much? Didn't you say your father didn't know about this?"

"I really don't have three thousand strings of cash, and even if my father knew about this, he couldn't come up with three thousand strings of cash. But doing business doesn't necessarily require cash. When it comes to business, it's all about negotiation."

"Besides, what good is money these days? When you're out in the game, you need connections. Let alone you, even Long Ge'er's connections are worth three thousand strings of cash."

Li Jilong turned his head and said, "My father doesn't know about this either."

"Talk about it. What businessman does he think he can do as much as he has? Doesn't he just raise the amount of capital he needs to do? You guys are obviously not businessmen."

Wang Lu led the two men to Anrenfang through a broker. They found the local ward head, a wandering knight-errant named Xue Hu, and gave him ten strings of cash as a token, asking him to arrange a meeting between Xue Hu and the innkeeper to act as a middleman.

They deliberately chose lunchtime when the three little ones came to visit with a few guards.

The shopkeeper was also taken aback when he saw this, and looked at Xue Hu incredulously, as if to say: Are you serious?

These are three teenagers! This is ridiculous!

"Haha, Manager Tong, let me introduce you. This is Wang Lu, the eldest son of Wang Jun from Tongjifang. Manager Tong, you know who Wang Jun is, right?"

Of course, Manager Tong knew who Wang Jun was. Nearly half of the guests at his inn were tea merchants, and he himself also did tea business. Naturally, he knew about Wang Jun, who now monopolized the tea business in Kaifeng, and couldn't help but take him seriously.

"Having met Young Master Wang, I wonder if this inn is for you to buy, or for your father?"

Wang Lu greeted him with a smile and then sat down on the side opposite him, leaving Zhao Guangmei in the main seat in the middle. He said, "No, it's my elder brother who wants to buy it. I'm just joining in the fun and getting a share."

Manager Tong was startled again. Anyone who runs an inn wouldn't be so oblivious; just by looking at her clothes and demeanor, one could tell Zhao Guangmei came from a very high social class.

Wang Jun's son, Wang Lu, was already quite a young master in his eyes, but he was worried that he was just a child playing around and would be difficult to deal with. Now it seemed that Wang Lu was clearly not someone who could make decisions, and he became more and more cautious.

"But who is this young master...?"

"Please forgive me, Manager Tong, but it's not appropriate to inquire about my brother's identity." Zhao Guangmei remained silent, simply lowering her head to drink her tea, not even glancing at the manager as Wang Lu had instructed.

"Ah, I understand, I understand. It was me, Lao Tong, who was too talkative."

"The cook at your inn isn't very good at cooking."

Wang Lu immediately changed the subject, picking and choosing the dishes on the table as he ate.

Li Jilong was pouring himself a drink when Wang Lu slapped his hand, saying, "Kids shouldn't drink alcohol."

Li Jilong: "My dad doesn't care if I drink, even though I'm eleven years old."

"That's because your father is a scoundrel."

Zhao Guangmei: "My brother also made me drink."

"Your brother didn't either... your brother... anyway, you can't drink alcohol. Kids shouldn't drink alcohol so early. Eat your food, eat your food. Their chef's skills are so-so, but all the dishes on this table are good."

As Manager Tong watched the three children joking around, he kept wondering about their identities, but smiled and said:

"Our customers are mostly tea and silk merchants from the Huai River region and the Jiangnan region. Our cooks are also from the south, and they cook Jianghuai cuisine. The three gentlemen may not be used to it, but most of our customers like it."

As they were talking, the shopkeeper discreetly slipped a piece of silver under the table to Xue Hu, trying to find out about the three men's backgrounds. Xue Hu returned the silver under the table, indicating that he didn't know either, and that he only recognized Wang Lu among the three.

As they were talking, they suddenly heard a commotion outside, and a group of brightly armored soldiers from the Palace Guard broke down the door in broad daylight.

"Men, surround this inn! Don't let a single person escape! Search it!"

Shopkeeper Tong was shocked and quickly stood up, bowing repeatedly to the leading official: "Sir, sir, please be lenient and do not disturb my customers."

As he spoke, he quickly slipped the silver ingot from his sleeve into the ingot.

"We are the generals of the Palace Guard, and we have received a report that your inn is harboring spies from the Northern Han. Everyone, come out and show your identities one by one."

Upon hearing this, Manager Tong was terrified and stamped his feet in distress: "Injustice! Injustice! Who did this? They are clearly trying to harm me! Sir, please see the truth! Our inn would never dare to harbor a spy!"

"Alright, whether it exists or not, we'll know after we search."

Two soldiers approached Wang Lu and his group's table: "You, show your identification."

After a few stunned words, the guards brought by Li Jilong behind the three children brandished their knives at the sanitation workers, blocking them from advancing.

These guards were borrowed by Wang Lu and Pan Wu. They weren't officials, but they were all veterans who knew Zhao Guangmei's identity, so they were very confident in brandishing their knives.

"What, do we look like spies from the Northern Han Dynasty?"

The leading soldier frowned, about to step forward and shout insults, but hesitated upon seeing the person, then quickly put on a fawning expression and stepped forward to Li Jilong, saying:

"Young master, what brings you here? Our men were blind and offended you. Please forgive them."

Li Jilong frowned and asked, "Who reported this?"

"This... I don't know. It was an anonymous report. They wrote a letter of denunciation and somehow managed to get it directly to me."

"absurd!"

Li Jilong slammed his fist on the table: "For a mere letter of accusation, without any evidence whatsoever, you've brought people here for such a massive search! These shop owners don't do business! There's not even a whistleblower; this is clearly baseless speculation. Are you here to catch spies or to extort money? Get out!"

"Yes, yes, we'll leave right away, we'll leave right away."

That accusation letter must have been baseless, because it was written by Wang Lu.

Otherwise, how could they let Manager Tong know how powerful the three little ones were?

It is currently the early days of the Song Dynasty, and the person in charge of capturing spies is none other than his father, Li Chuyun. These are all his father's trusted subordinates, and they must all recognize Li Jilong when they go to his house to deliver gifts.

In short, the group of sanitation workers, who had been so aggressive, slunk away with their tails between their legs.

Shopkeeper Tong was dumbfounded: the Martial Virtue Division's garrison, that was the Emperor's personal guard!!

They just left like that?

That mysterious young man who single-handedly dismissed the sanitation workers… was he also a flanker? Then who is that guy in the middle?!

Wang Lu waved to the somewhat stunned Manager Tong and said, "Manager Tong, come, sit down, let's continue our conversation."