Starting from the Greyhound, seventy-two changes.

Chapter 89 Congratulations
In the woods outside the city.

The big tree fell down with a loud noise, and the cross-section was as smooth as a mirror.

He originally thought that the Black Tiger Slaughtering Knife was just the miraculous knife technique that he had seen Master Shang use to extract bile from a live bear when he first entered Medicine King Hall that day. He had never imagined that...

It's actually this speed of footwork.

The Sound-piercing Step has reached the level of perfection, its speed surpassing that of sound, and it can leap hundreds of feet away with one pounce. Such a speed... coupled with its heart-wrenching and miraculous sword skills, it is simply a monster machine that can dismember the enemy in an instant.

Six unique skills!

Only in this way can the Black Tiger Slaughtering Knife be compared with the Violent Ape Thousand-pound Stick in Master Yang's hand.

"Cough cough!"

As the tree collapsed, Shang Yunfang began to cough violently under the tree, and blood appeared on the bandages on his hands.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ku hurried forward and said in shock: "Master, your injury is serious!"

"It's okay, but because using this step requires the whole body's strength, energy, and qi to move, the wound has slightly opened up."

Shang Yunfang shook her head, indicating that it was nothing serious, and then said:

"I think Master Yang has already taught you the internal energy section of Qigong yesterday, so I will not teach you again. Now I will only teach you the key points of the movement of energy, the circulation of Qi, and the changes in footwork and body shape of the Chuan Yin Bu."

After saying that, he taught it to Chen Ku, and after several times, he had memorized it.

"In the next few days, you will practice your footwork and swordsmanship by yourself. When my injury gets better, I will teach you the secrets of swordsmanship in person."

"Thank you Master for teaching me the skills!!"

Chen Ku respectfully bowed to Shang Yunfang under the tree.

The master and his disciple returned to Yaowang Hall.

In the next two days, Chen Ku lived a regular life, and he set aside one day to practice with his two masters. At the same time, he did not forget to send the flower marten out to look for precious herbs, secret medicines and other things in Liangjie Mountain in the evening.

After a few months, he had finished consuming all the tiger-head ginseng and ox-horn bamboo shoots.

If you want to impact your internal energy and accumulate more internal energy than others, then you will need more precious herbs and elixirs with rich essence to assist you.

And just like that, two days passed.

The day had come for his iron shop to open.

…………

Today is the ninth day of the lunar year.

The old almanac says that today is a good day to seek wealth, open business, set up the bed, and take up a new post.

So Wu Gui chose today as the day to open the store.

Chen Ku's iron shop was on the street between the outer city and the inner city. In other words, it was the street leading into the city at the foot of the city wall.

Although it is not as expensive as the shops in the inner city, the monthly rent is still fifty taels.

But it also has its advantages, which is that it is close to both the inner and outer cities, and is a natural place where people gather.

In this street, besides Chen Ku's iron shop, there are also restaurants, rouge shops, grocery stores, stationery shops, horse sellers, tea vendors, all kinds of businesses. In a word, it is a "miscellaneous" place.

Chen Ku's iron shop has hung up red lanterns today, and there are red paper couplets posted on the door.

First couplet: Look at today's auspicious opening

Second line: Wait until the Ming Dynasty to become rich
Banner: Harmony brings wealth

On the plaque above the horizontal banner, there are four big characters "Chen's Iron Shop" written on it.

"Boss, you are here!"

From a distance, Wu Gui, who was at the counter, saw Chen Kushen, wearing a long gown, appear at the door of the store. He immediately came out with his waiter to greet him.

"Hello, boss!" A total of six shop assistants bowed to Chen Ku in unison, and among them was a guard with Hua Jin.

Chen Ku looked at what these shop assistants were wearing. They were all the clothes that Wu Gui had customized for Chen's Iron Shop. They were all shorts of the same color and looked very energetic.

not far away.

The owners and their employees of other shops on this street, as well as tourists and neighbors living in the neighborhood, all looked at Chen Ku in the shop with curiosity.

"Is that the owner of this new iron shop? He looks quite young."

"I heard that he was an apprentice of the Medicine King Hall. His family had a connection with a deputy chief constable. He used money to buy a piece of river area and opened a small mine..."

"Iron ore? Iron industry?!"

"Another young man who doesn't know the ins and outs of the county."

"Everyone knows that the major industries in the county, such as iron, firewood, medicine, and fish, are all monopolized by the three giants. The rest of the medium-sized shops are just trying to make a living in the cracks."

"There are only about 17 or 18 iron shops in Baojiao County that are not under the Chai Tie Pu. They have all joined forces to grab the profits that leak out from the Chai Tie Pu."

"There's no meat to be had in opening a new railway company."

"This young man doesn't even know how to scout out the right spot before opening a shop."

In a restaurant opposite the Chen family iron shop, called the "Common People Restaurant", the restaurant owner, wearing a khaki long gown, smiled and said to the waiter in the store:

"I heard from the waiter in the store that a few days ago, the middle-class iron shops in the county all communicated with the blacksmith shops. It's not impossible to ask people to buy Chen's iron, but they have to lower the price to half of the market price."

"I guess this little brother Chen is going to bleed a lot."

"It's not easy for young people to do business with no background, no strength, and only passion." Boss Huang shook his head.

In the iron shop.

Wu Gui also had a worried look on his face, and said to Chen Ku, "Boss, are we really going to open the store today and cut the ribbon? I have already arranged the drum band I found in town."

"Then play some music to make it more lively." Chen Ku waved his hand and said with a big laugh.

Then, people came to the door of the iron shop, beating gongs, drums and playing suona, and Chen Ku personally went to light the firecrackers hanging on the door frame.

The crackling sound attracted the children as well.

"Boss, are we going to cut the ribbon?" Wu Gui had someone put up big red cloth flowers at the door.

"Wait a moment, wait for someone."

Chen Ku said.

Just said that.

Then I saw a few bosses wearing long gowns, of different heights, wearing melon-shaped hats and with very clean clothes walking towards me from a distance.

"Hahaha, we heard that Shopkeeper Chen is opening today, so we came here specially to congratulate him so that you won't be too lonely!"

The boss in the lead, who was wearing a black gown, bowed to Chen Ku and said, "I am Kou Shuxun, the owner of Kou's Iron Shop on East Street. Today I heard that Chen is opening a new shop. We are in the same business, so I came here to give you a gift."

As he said this, he asked his servant to bring three ducks and sang loudly:

"Manager Kou, congratulations to Manager Chen on his grand opening. I'd like to give you three dried ducks as a gift."

Chen Ku bowed and smiled politely.

Then, the shopkeepers behind Shopkeeper Kou also asked their employees to take out their gifts and sang along:
"I'm from Liu's Iron Shop on West Street. I'd like to congratulate Manager Chen on his grand opening and give him a piece of cotton cloth!"

"Boss Yu from the blacksmith shop on South Street sent me three liters of polished rice!"

"Shopkeeper Hu from North Street sent me half a pig."

...A total of more than a dozen shop owners from iron shops came to give gifts to Chen Ku to celebrate the opening of their shops.

For a moment, people all over the street, neighbors, and shop owners were watching the fun.

Inside the Common People Restaurant, Boss Huang laughed and said, "These gifts are common in the countryside when a family marries a daughter-in-law or builds a new house. But these iron shop owners all have mines at home, and they sent such shabby gifts. It's obvious that they are just here to watch the fun. It's embarrassing."

Wu Gui also had an angry look on his face in the store.

Although he knew that the dozen or so iron shops in the county would not allow them to suddenly come in and share a piece of the pie, he did not expect that they would come together to show their power on the opening day.

On the contrary, Chen Ku remained calm and even smiled as he said to the guys:
"Remember all the names. These are gifts from fellow shopkeepers. Don't miss any of them."

Then he bowed to the shopkeepers in front of him:
"Thank you very much for coming to congratulate our store!"

When the leading shopkeeper Kou heard Chen Ku say this, he couldn't help but look at the young boy Chen Ku seriously.

Most young people would have become angry and embarrassed after such an incident.

The young man in front of them, who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, was not only not angry, but also very mature and steadfast. He accepted the gifts one by one, and they could not find any fault with him.

Shopkeeper Kou pondered for a moment, then smiled again and said, "Since Brother Chen has accepted the gift, I guess there will be a banquet for the opening today? I wonder where we, the guests, will go to have the banquet?"

"Since we can afford to open a railway company, I think we might as well go to Hongyan Tower!" someone suggested with a smile from behind.

Someone immediately interrupted and said in a serious tone:

"How can this be possible? Shopkeeper Chen wants to sell his Wuchensha to various iron shops at half the market price, making us all make a lot of money for no apparent reason. And we still have to go to Hongyan Restaurant to eat at his table, which costs several hundred taels of silver. Isn't this too much of a bully?"

“That’s right!!”

Wu Gui's face turned dark as he listened to the shopkeepers talking to each other outside and making sarcastic remarks.

Just about to roll up his sleeves and rush out.

But he was caught by Chen Ku.

Chen Ku smiled at Shopkeeper Kou and said:
"Of course we have to invite Hongyan Restaurant. As the shopkeepers said, to celebrate the grand opening, of course we have to hold a banquet at the best restaurant in the county. We have already booked it, but today's guests haven't all arrived yet. Why don't you wait for a while? After all the guests of our restaurant have arrived, we can go to the banquet together. How about that?"

Shopkeeper Kou's heart moved.

"Any other guests?"

"It must be his brother-in-law Li Yuancheng."

"I've known it for a long time. He's just a deputy chief constable. Who can run a steel business here without people behind them? My uncle is the head of the etiquette room in the sixth room of the third shift of the government office. He's half a level higher than Li Yuancheng!"

After exchanging glances, several shopkeepers smiled and agreed.

as predicted.

After waiting for a while, I saw Li Yuancheng and his wife walking over with three boxes in their hands.

When Li Yuancheng saw that all the iron shop owners were here, his face darkened.

Having been a deputy chief constable for so many years, how could he not know the inside story of the industry? He was coming to show his power to their iron company.

But just as those shopkeepers thought, Li Yuancheng immediately recognized that at least half of these shopkeepers were related to the people in the third shift and sixth room of the yamen.

He looks like a detective, but he really can't be controlled here.

"Deputy Captain Li, my brother is also working in the government office and often talks about Brother Li..." Boss You from South Street stepped forward and greeted him with a smile: "I heard from Shopkeeper Chen that your store will hold a banquet at Hongyan Tower later. We must have a few more drinks."

Worry appeared on Chen Tian's face.

As a woman, she had never seen such a scene, but she could still hear the gunpowder smell from the faces and words of these people.

I only know one thing, these people...are here to disrupt my brother's business.

She couldn't help but tug at her husband's sleeve.

Li Yuancheng felt his wife's movements and made several decisions in his mind. How could he be willing to accept this huge business worth tens of thousands of taels of silver if it was really stopped?

What's more, he still has shares in it.

You have to be prepared to get angry with a stern face and forcefully drive these people away.

But at this time,
There were voices coming from the street.

"Jiang Shaoyou from Tongwenguan, congratulations to my junior brother on his grand opening."

A young man's voice sounded from not far away. It was loud and elegant, and immediately attracted everyone to look back.

Jiang Shaoyou, dressed in an elegant long gown, followed by four servants, came to the iron shop with a box on two shoulders. He brought the box to Chen Ku and said to him with a smile:
"Junior brother, you are opening your shop. I came here uninvited and without any preparation. I simply prepared some gifts. These are all the cultural relics, calligraphy and paintings, four treasures of the study, brushes, ink, paper and inkstones that I carefully selected to decorate your shop."

As he spoke, the servant opened the box, and the contents immediately appeared.

When several iron shop owners saw this, they were all shocked and jealous.

There were wolf-hair brushes, ink from Songjiang, paper from Xuanzhou, antique-grade inkstones, and several calligraphy and paintings worth hundreds of taels of silver.

"Tongwenguan? Young Master Jiang Shaoyou?!"

"I didn't expect that this Chen guy in Yaowang Hall could actually have such a close relationship with the young master of such a wealthy family!"

Not only these shopkeepers were surprised that Chen Ku had such a relationship.

The shop owners on the street were also surprised, especially the owner of the calligraphy and painting shop, who looked at Jiang Shaoyou's back with great awe. That was Tongwenguan, which monopolized a street of calligraphy and paintings.

"Brother, these are all generous gifts."

Chen Ku smiled at Jiang Shaoyou and said, "How can you be so embarrassed?"

Jiang Shaoyou flicked the paper fan in his hand and winked at Chen Ku: "This is nothing, someone will give a more expensive gift later."

"Is there anyone else?" The other shopkeepers were stunned when they heard this.

What kind of connections could this apprentice of Yaowang Hall have?

At this time, the sound of horse-drawn carriages stopped on the street came closer and closer.

"That's..." Shopkeeper Kou turned around and saw the logo on the carriage at a glance: "Isn't that the carriage of Chai Wuju's family?"

Just thinking about it.

But then, one in front and one behind, two carriages stopped in front of Chen Ku's shop.

Winter is coming, and the weather is a little chilly. Chai Tiangui is wearing luxurious silk and a fine mink scarf around his neck. After he came down, he smiled bitterly at Chen and bowed:

"Brother Chen, congratulations on your opening. I have prepared some small gifts for you. I hope you will accept them."

As he spoke, someone carried down three large boxes from the carriage behind him.

After opening.

Suddenly, a bright silver light reflected the sun, sparkling.

"Silver! So much silver!!"

All the tourists on this street opened their mouths in shock, looking at the three large boxes.

"Three thousand taels of silver!"

What is the relationship between this young Master Chai and the boy named Chen?

Just opening.

Three thousand taels for one gift?

(End of this chapter)