Martial Arts: Starting from a Seemingly Real System

Longxing City, the secondary capital of Daxia, is majestic and magnificent. The beauty of its city walls, the thriving population, and the wealth of its merchants are no less than those of the capital.

The streets in the city are crisscrossed like a chessboard, and the streets and markets are crowded with people and cars, creating a prosperous scene.

The most famous inn in Longxing City today is the Yunlai Inn, probably because the inn owner, the "Dragon Subduing Palm" Qiao Rui, has become very famous in recent months.

He first defeated the Hu people in Shushan, and then took on three moves from the Eight Bags Elder of the Beggar Gang head-on. Finally, for the sake of his beloved, he did not hesitate to fight Shushan head-on. He was truly brave and unparalleled. After that, he went downstream along the Yangtze River, broke through twelve water forts along the way, and challenged fifteen dock gangs, killing them so hard that rivers of blood flowed and the bandits were frightened. He was truly a hero!

At the head office of Yunlai Inn on Zhoujiang Road in the west of Longxing City, the newly appointed shopkeeper Zhao was happily fiddling with an abacus, checking the accounts. Occasionally he looked up at the packed and bustling lobby, feeling very satisfied.

Just as he was feeling happy, he suddenly saw three people coming to the door. Shopkeeper Zhao hurriedly walked out of the counter and greeted them with a smile, "Boss, you are finally back!"

"Business is good!" The people who came were Qiao Rui, Tian Jing and Huang Jingxuan.

"This is all thanks to you, the boss!" Shopkeeper Zhao welcomed Qiao Rui and the others to the backyard, put the luggage in Tian Jing's room, and then sat at the tea table in the backyard to chat.

"Since our boss Shushan became famous, our inn's business has been booming. Lao Qian, Lao Sun, Lao Li and I have discussed this and decided to use this as an opportunity to spread the word about your deeds at our main inn and the other three branches!"

"For example, 'A thousand miles to kill a red apricot', 'Three gourds will not leave the city', 'For the beauty, make a scene in the county government', and 'The second-rate kills the first-rate, and kills the evil guest Hou Zijian', 'The beauty will never leave, in the cold winter, go up the river to seek medical advice' and so on and so forth!"

After hearing the last sentence, Tian Jing's face turned red and she glared at Manager Zhao. Although she and Qiao Rui had a friendship in the past, she was open and honest about it by not bringing it up. Now, hearing about the ambiguous past again, she felt very guilty.

"As a result, business has skyrocketed. Now our Yunlai Inn is the most famous inn in Longxing City, and its reputation is even better than that of the Lotus Inn!" Manager Zhao finished speaking in one breath, looking quite proud.

“Hahahaha!” Qiao Rui found this very interesting. He pointed at Shopkeeper Zhao and laughed, “You guys are really smart!”

After receiving the praise, Shopkeeper Zhao became more energetic and talked incessantly about the business status of the four inns.

"How's things going at the winery?" Qiao Rui asked.

Wen Shuyan supplies the inn's "Drunken Immortal Wine", and Manager Zhao should also know what's going on there.

"Everything is normal, and the output is gradually increasing. However, the demand for 'Zuixian Wine' from our four inns is too great, and Miss Wen is in short supply. Fortunately, she has bought the houses on both sides of the winery and is expanding its scale. I believe she will be able to catch up with our pace soon!" replied Manager Zhao.

"Good!" Qiao Rui nodded approvingly. Four inns plus a brewery are five hens that lay golden eggs.

It is said that a poor man is good at literature but a rich man is good at martial arts. Practicing martial arts costs a lot. As more and more people are around me, the consumption will become greater and greater. Fortunately, I have these five hens, so that my training speed will not be affected by insufficient resources and elixirs.

“However, there are already several good wines on the market with similar quality to ‘Zuixianniang’, so the boss should make plans early.” Shopkeeper Zhao reminded.

"It doesn't matter. When the quality is the same, word of mouth is the most important. We have taken the lead!" Tian Jing interrupted.

Qiao Rui's seemingly responsible promise that day made Tian Jing angry, annoyed and aggrieved. Since then, Tian Jing has been taciturn to Qiao Rui, leaving Qiao Rui completely confused.

But Tian Jing was very concerned about the inn's affairs and immediately got into work mode.

This group of people have been here for nearly a year, and the distillation brewing technology has indeed spread. If He Peixuan can do distillation under the current conditions, it is natural that others can do it too.

"What did He Peixuan say?" Qiao Rui asked.

"Boss He is improving 'Zuixianniang'. I heard that he will be able to make several different flavors of 'Zuixianniang' soon, further consolidating our advantages." Shopkeeper Zhao said.

"Very good!" Qiao Rui said with a smile.

After chatting for a while, Tian Jing seemed tired and everyone left.

Qiao Rui originally wanted Tian Jing to move to the house in Banyue Lane in Wenjiaofang, but she ignored him coldly, so Qiao Rui had to give up and took Huang Jingxuan back to Banyue Lane. Tian Jing continued to stay in the backyard of Yunlai Inn to keep Sun Erniang company.

The next morning, Qiao Rui got up early and practiced martial arts with Huang Jingxuan in the courtyard until the sun was high in the sky. Then they changed into clean clothes and went to Yunlai Inn to find Tian Jing.

They are going to inspect the other three branches of Yunlai Inn today. Since they won back these three inns, Qiao Rui, the owner, has not been there. He was seriously injured at that time and then went to Sichuan. Now that he is finally back, he will be taken by Tian Jing to have a look.

The decoration styles of the three inn branches are similar to that of the main inn, which is equivalent to the chain stores in later generations. This was naturally Tian Jing's idea. In this way, the inns are highly recognizable and help increase customer flow.

There is nothing special about the other things. Relying on the reputation of "Zuixianniang" and Qiao Rui and their good service, although these inns are slightly inferior to the main inn, they can still be said to be doing a booming business and making a lot of money.

After walking around, the three of them came to the winery. At this time, the winery had indeed expanded more than twice, with the left and right sides connected into one.

Construction is still going on inside, and only the rooms in the middle are used to make wine. The air is filled with a strong smell of wine. The winemakers and craftsmen coming and going are busy and orderly, and do not affect each other. It seems that Wen Shuyan is really good at management and blending.

The three of them walked into the winery, and Wen Shuyan rushed over after hearing the news, but she didn't see He Peixuan. She guessed that he was still studying the recipe.

Wen Shuyan looked at Qiao Rui and joked, "Young Master Qiao has become famous in the martial arts world recently. He is willing to offend both the Beggars' Sect and Shushan for the sake of his beloved. What courage and friendship! Wow!"

After saying that, Okita Shizuka blinked her eyes, with a rather ambiguous expression.

Tian Jing blushed, stepped forward, took Wen Shuyan's arm, and dragged her to visit the new layout of the winery, "Sister Shuyan, where is Brother He?"

"He is in the workshop studying his exquisite wine!" Seeing that Tian Jing changed the subject, Wen Shuyan didn't want to keep making fun of them, so she followed Tian Jing's words and talked about her husband.

"Peixuan's research has reached a critical juncture. He has been neglecting his sleep and food recently. He stays in his workshop day and night. No matter how I persuade him, he won't stop!"

"You should take more care of your health. There is no rush for this matter. 'Zuixianjiu' can still meet the quality demands of the market!" Qiao Rui said on the side.

"Who says it's not true? But if he didn't have this crazy persistence, he wouldn't have his current winemaking skills." Wen Shuyan said half complaining and half proudly.

Wen Shuyan took the three of them around the entire brewery, explaining the ideas and plans for the reconstruction of the east and west sides as they walked.

"Now that the reputation of 'Zuixianjiu' and the inn has spread, this brewery must have also caught the attention of some interested people. Have you considered the issue of safety protection?" Tian Jing looked at the huge brewery with some concern.

"Of course. A few days ago, I visited Captain Chen in the name of Qiao Rui and asked him to help hire some reliable security guards!" Wen Shuyan nodded.

"You have thought it through very carefully. With him taking care of things, you don't have to worry!" Qiao Rui said with a smile.

"Last time someone wanted to buy our brewery, I rejected it outright. Then I thought that our brewery might become famous, and I was afraid that some thugs would come to blackmail us, so I went to find Captain Chen." Wen Shuyan explained.

"Oh? The person who came to acquire the company just disappeared after you rejected him?" Tian Jing asked with a frown.

"What else? That person looks respectable, like a legitimate businessman, and the valuation premium he gave is not much. There are many wines of the same quality as 'Zuixianniang' on the market now. He may be attracted by the reputation of 'Zuixianniang'. It is impossible for him to buy it at a high price, otherwise it will be a loss-making deal!" Wen Shuyan said.

"Of course, I won't sell it even if he offers a high price. This is half of Qiao Rui's shares!" Wen Shuyan added with a smile.

That makes sense, Qiao Rui nodded, "I'll go find Chen Nian later and ask him to keep an eye on this place!"

No one paid attention to this matter anymore. As it was almost noon, Qiao Rui went to the workshop and forcibly dragged He Peixuan out. They had a meal together and then went about their own business. Qiao Rui also had to prepare to go north to Songshan.