Unsheathed

Chapter 420 (2): Unchanged

Chapter 420 (2): Unchanged

Evening arrived, and Dong Shuijing hung up a sign to signal that his wonton shop was closed for the day. Even so, he wasn't in a hurry to pack up and close the door. After doing business here for a while, he knew that there were always worshippers who would visit the shop when climbing up the mountain and promise to buy a bowl of wonton when they climbed down the mountain afterward. These worshippers might be slightly delayed, so Dong Shuijing would still wait for an hour or so even after he put up the "closed" sign.

However, Dong Shuijing didn't ask the two helpers whom he had hired to wait with him. When the guests eventually arrived, Dong Shuijing would personally enter the kitchen to cook for them. Even if the helpers who had come from impoverished backgrounds wanted to stay behind and help their boss, Dong Shuijing would still earnestly refuse their assistance.

Dong Shuijing's wonton shop became more and more famous, and this caused many wealthy individuals in the newly built Dragon Spring Prefecture to invite him to open a few extra branches in the prefectural city. However, Dong Shuijing politely turned down all of their requests.

Apart from the wonton shop located on the waist of the mountain with a mountain god temple, Dong Shuijing had also bought half a street of residences using the huge sum of money he had earned from selling one of his ancestral residences in the small town. Apart from a single residence to stay in, he rented all of the remaining residences to other people.

Dong Shuijing was also one of the first local residents to pick up treasures for a cheap price. There were many lone elders among his neighbors where his two ancestral residences were located, and these elders who had grown up in the small town were extremely stubborn in nature. They refused to sell their ancestral heirlooms no matter how much money the outsiders offered, saying that they could live in a pile of gold and silver at night. After they died, perhaps these treasures could fill their coffins and accompany them to the next life?

The immortal disciples from the mountains had remained patient and continued to negotiate with the elders who might become a rack of bones in a few years' time. They felt like these elders were impervious to reason, yet they hadn't dared to forcefully snatch the treasures either. Thus, it was inevitable that they left in great disappointment, with their huge sums of immortal currency unable to buy any valuable treasures.

After Dong Shuijing visited these elders, however, they were always willing to sell their treasures for much cheaper than the prices offered by the outsiders. It was unknown whether the elders were doing this out of nostalgia for the young man whom they had watched growing up, or whether Dong Shuijing's silver tongue was truly so persuasive. In the end, the elders were half-selling and half-giving their treasures to Dong Shuijing.

After a few trips to Ox Horn Mountain's Cloth Wrapper Shop, it was another astronomical sum of money into Dong Shuijing's pockets. In combination with some unexpected windfalls he had obtained from diligently exploring the mountains and rivers, Dong Shuijing was able to look for Prefectural Overseer Wu, County Magistrate Yuan, and Kiln Supervision Official Cao — officials who had visited his wonton shop before — and silently buy many more pieces of land. Before one knew it, Dong Shuijing had already become one of the wealthiest individuals in the newly constructed Dragon Spring Prefecture.

In the mountains located in Dragon Spring Prefecture, there were terrifying whispers about this young man being the owner of half of the prefectural city.

Dong Shuijing and his two helpers chatted for a while after closing up shop for the day, and after the helpers left, the shopkeeper who was already a tall young man stood inside the shop by himself and cooked a steaming bowl of wontons. This could be viewed as a reward for himself.

Night arrived, and they were venturing deeper and deeper into autumn. After eating a bowl of wontons and washing up after himself, Dong Shuijing walked outside his shop and looked at the path that worshippers took to climb up the mountain and offer incense. He didn't see any worshippers, so he was just about to close his shop for good.

Even though there was no worshiper descending the mountain, there was unexpectedly a young master in Confucian robes ascending the mountain. Dong Shuijing was familiar with this person, so he smiled and welcomed him inside the shop, cooking him a bowl of wontons and also bringing over a pot of self-made rice wine. From the beginning to the end, the two people purposely conversed using the local dialect of the Dragon Spring Prefecture. Dong Shuijing spoke slowly, afraid that the other person wouldn't be able to understand him otherwise.

His customer was a strange person called Gao Xuan, someone who claimed to be a wanderer who had come to Cloud Drape Mountain's Forest Deer Academy to seek knowledge. He wasn't especially fluent in the official dialect of the Great Li Empire, yet he still insisted on learning the local dialect of the Dragon Spring Prefecture from Dong Shuijing.

After Gao Xuan finished eating his wontons, Dong Shuijing poured two bowls of rice wine for them to enjoy together. If one wanted to make fragrant rice wine, then choosing the correct water and glutinous rice was of utmost importance. There was no shortage of suitable water in the Dragon Spring Prefecture, and Dong Shuijing had asked Kiln Supervision Official Cao for the required glutinous rice. The rice was transported from a farm in the Great Li Empire all the way to the Dragon Spring Prefecture, and Dong Shuijing was able to purchase it for much below market price. As a result, a relatively large wine-making operation appeared in the prefectural city of the Dragon Spring Prefecture.

The rice wine produced in the prefectural city was already being sold to as far as the capital of the Great Li Empire, although it couldn't be said that the business was making a huge sum of money quite yet. Even so, the outlook was very positive, and it was expected to make more and more money as time went on.@@@@

The restaurants and wine shops in the capital of the Great Li Empire gradually accepted and approved of the rice wine made in the Dragon Spring Prefecture, and coupled with the existence of the Jewel Small World as well as all kinds of immortal rumors, the rice wine seemingly tasted even more fragrant.

Regarding the sales channels of the rice wine, Dong Shuijing had consulted County Magistrate Yuan. Meanwhile, his strategy of selling high volumes for low margins had received approval from Wu Yuan. Finally, County Magistrate Yuan had also helped Dong Shuijing enter the market of the capital, with Kiln Supervision Official Cao being responsible for the transport of the glutinous rice.

Dong Shuijing was very stingy when it came to doing business, but he didn't feel like he had made a loss that time. Instead, he felt like he had made a profit.

Gao Xuan saw that Dong Shuijing was slightly adrift as he drank wine, so he smiled and asked, "There's something on your mind? You can feel free to tell me about it. I might not be able to help, but I can at least be a good listener to Shopkeeper Dong's complaints and grievances."

Dong Shuijing shook his head and joked, "I was randomly pondering on the future, and I don't have any complaints or grievances to air. I'm completely knackered when I return to my home in the prefectural city every day, and after counting my earnings, I immediately fall asleep when my head hits the pillow. When I open my eyes again, it's already a new day and time to get busy again. I always have plenty of things to do."

"I truly envy you," Gao Xuan sighed and said with emotion.

Dong Shuijing was rendered speechless. However, he didn't think that Gao Xuan was purposely trying to act melancholy. After all, everyone had their own burdens to bear, and this had little to do with whether one was wealthy or poor.

Dong Shuijing didn't reply, and he took a sip of self-made rice wine. All of the pots of wine in the wonton shop had the red label of the Dong Clan Winery torn off, lest people try to start any rumors and cause any trouble. Dong Shuijing didn't want his simple shop, a place to temper his mind, to become chaotic and filled with drama.

Up until today, very few people in the Dragon Spring Prefecture knew about how much wealth Dong Shuijing truly possessed. This was the case even though there were so many immortals and powerful beings gathered in the prefecture.

After paying for his food and wine, Gao Xuan said that he was going to continue climbing the mountain such that he could watch the sunrise from the mountain peak tomorrow. Upon hearing this, Dong Shuijing handed the shop keys to Gao Xuan and said that Gao Xuan could stay the night in the shop if he eventually changed his mind. That way, he could at least have a place to shelter from the elements. However, Gao Xuan turned down Dong Shuijing's offer and continued up the mountain by himself.

Meanwhile, Dong Shuijing descended the mountain, coincidentally coming across Xu Ruo who had most likely just returned from the capital of the Great Sui Nation. Xu Ruo said that he wanted to eat a bowl of wontons to satiate his hunger, after which he would head to the immortal ferry station at Ox Horn Mountain and continue his journey to the capital of the Great Li Empire.

As a result, Dong Shuijing had no option but to climb up the mountain and reopen his wonton shop. He directly cooked two large bowls of wontons for the Mohist cultivator, but he didn't bring out any wine. He couldn't be bothered acting politely with Xu Ruo. Meanwhile, he sat opposite his customer and watched him wolfing the wontons down.

"Guess who the young man climbing up the mountain is," Xu Ruo said in a muffled voice.

Dong Shuijing hadn't given this much thought before, and his relationship with Gao Xuan had been largely free from impurities and exchanges of benefits. Dong Shuijing enjoyed this kind of relationship, and this was the case even though he enjoyed doing business as well. After all, doing business wasn't the be-all and end-all of his life.

In any case, since Xu Ruo asked this question, Dong Shuijing was naturally smart enough to join the dots and come up with an answer. "He's a prince of the Great Sui Nation's Geyang Gao Clan? He's come to the Great Li Empire as a royal hostage?"

Xu Ruo nodded in confirmation.

Dong Shuijing hesitated for a moment before asking, "Can we not make any transactions pertaining to Gao Xuan?"

Xu Ruo smiled and replied, "There's no reason to say no. The reason I'm mentioning this to you is because I hope you can understand one thing."

"Please go ahead, Mr. Xu," Dong Shuijing said with a serious expression.

It was only during times like these that Dong Shuijing was willing to refer to Xu Ruo as Mr. Xu.