Translator: Ink Hub
Editor: Yoog

Creak, creak.

The carriage wheels rolled slowly over the brick-paved road, heading toward Tingyu Restaurant. In the blink of an eye, Luo Yu had arrived in Fengchuan City, sitting inside the same carriage as Jiang Shu.

The bandits of Luan Shi Ling only blocked Luo Yu from sending wine to Fengchuan City, but pedestrian traffic remained as smooth and unobstructed as ever.

“The wine is already brewed, but I can’t send it over for the time being. Will you be alright on your end?”

“It’s fine for now. After all, the deadline I agreed upon with the merchants is a month away, and there are still ten days left.”

Jiang Shu gave a bitter smile. “But if I can’t deliver the wine when the month is up, I fear Tingyu Restaurant’s reputation will end up just as rotten as Dingxiang Residence’s.”

Ever since Dingxiang Residence had tried to fool customers with plain water at the wine market, their reputation had plummeted. Not only were the people of Fengchuan City cursing them, but customers from other counties were joining in as well. With Sanguotou’s soaring popularity, Tingyu Restaurant had effectively become the best-performing establishment in Fengchuan City.

“If we are truly pushed to the wall, we will have to let our blades do the talking. I don’t hold a mere band of bandits in high regard.”

A flash of icy coldness crossed Luo Yu’s eyes. He did not fear the Yao family; he simply did not want to resort to military force lightly. Currently, Cangqi City is still too weak to easily make enemies. He preferred either not to act at all or to stomp the enemy to death in one go.

“I actually have a good idea.”

Jiang Shu suddenly lowered his voice.

“Luan Shi Ling sits on the main artery from Cangqi to Fengchuan, which is why Liu Ban’er and his bandits are so unscrupulous in blocking the road.

“However, this road is not the only path. I’ve heard of a small trail that requires trekking through the mountains. It adds twenty li to the journey to reach Fengchuan City, but the mountain path is very narrow. Large carriages cannot pass through, so we can only use flatbed carts. To transport a thousand jars of wine, City Lord Luo will need to mobilize a significant number of men.”

“Oh? There is actually such a small trail?”

Luo Yu’s eyes lit up.

“As long as the wine can be delivered, a little fatigue doesn’t matter. Where is this path?”

“I have already sent my shop hands to scout it. Once they have verified the road conditions, I will send someone to your side to guide you.”

Jiang Shu spoke in a deep voice, “This is our last chance to deliver the wine. The information must be kept secret; we must never let those bandits find out. If they hijack the shipment, all our efforts will have been in vain.”

“Rest assured.”

Luo Yu sneered, “As long as there is a path, I will be able to deliver the wine to you.”

“I am counting on you, City Lord Luo.”

Now that Tingyu Restaurant was tied together with Cangqi City, Luo Yu had offended Yao Ling, but had Jiang Shu not also offended Dingxiang Residence?

“And you,” Luo Yu couldn’t help but remind him, “you are wandering around the city all day. Be careful that the Yao family and Du Gang don’t stab you in the back.”

“Heh, they won’t.”

Jiang Shu smiled calmly. “Yao Ling’s methods are all hidden in the shadows; they cannot be brought into the light. On the surface, he still has to maintain the impartiality of the City Lord’s Manor. If he kills people wantonly, where would the City Lord’s Manor put its face?

“Besides, in their eyes, City Lord Luo is my backer. As long as Cangqi City still stands, they won’t make a move against me easily.”

“You are quite clever, actually, using me as your banner?”

A playful smirk curled at the corner of Luo Yu’s mouth. Having spent so much time with Jiang Shu, he found that this young manager was shrewder than many old foxes—methodical in his work, with never a flaw to be found.

Jiang Shu spread his hands helplessly.

“What can I do? I still have to earn money for City Lord Luo, right? We can consider this mutual assistance.”

“Fine, just be extra careful.”

“Manager, we have arrived.”

The carriage driver suddenly called out. Jiang Shu lifted the curtain, and they saw a beggar half-lying in a corner. He was disheveled, covered in filth, and appeared to be sleeping.

Jiang Shu did not even get out of the carriage. He simply whistled and tossed out a piece of silver. Hearing the whistle, the little beggar reached out to fumble around on the ground, stuffed the silver into his chest, waved a hand casually in the air, and then rolled over to continue sleeping.

Such a bizarre scene left Luo Yu astonished.

“What was that?”

Jiang Shu looked at the beggar’s back through the carriage window, his expression distant.

“Just a pitiful soul. I will explain it to City Lord Luo another time.”

* * *

Luo Yu paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. Xiao Shaoyou and Han Shuo stood to his left and right, their expressions all carrying a hint of anxiety.

There were only two days left until the deadline for Tingyu Restaurant’s wine, yet a thousand jars still sat neatly in the camp. It was no wonder they were anxious.

After a long while, Little Wu’s voice finally sounded.

“City Lord, the person has arrived.”

“Call him in, quickly!”

Little Wu led a Tingyu Restaurant hand into the room. The hand hurriedly bowed and said, “City Lord Luo, this humble one is Jin Bao. Manager Jiang sent me, saying I should guide City Lord Luo.”

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. You’ve finally come. Tell me about that path.”

Luo Yu recognized Jin Bao at a glance. Every time he had visited Tingyu Restaurant, this boy had been serving by Jiang Shu’s side, and he was considered one of the sharpest and most capable hands.

Jin Bao hurriedly said, “I have already scouted the path once. After leaving Cangqi City, head west, then turn south. Cross two small hills, and you can bypass Luan Shi Ling to reach Fengchuan City. It’s just that the path is narrow, so carriages can’t pass.”

“It doesn’t matter if carriages can’t pass as long as we can reach Fengchuan. We will push them over on flatbed carts.”

Jin Bao asked cautiously, “City Lord Luo, if we use flatbed carts, we will need at least two or three hundred people to transport the wine. Won’t that be too conspicuous?”

“Time is of the essence; we have no other choice.”

Luo Yu then asked, “Is this path hidden? Could those bandits know about it?”

“Absolutely not.”

Jin Bao patted his chest and said, “The path is almost entirely through the mountains and is very well-hidden. I spent several days crawling through the mountain forests before I managed to map it out.”

“Very good.”

Luo Yu turned to look at Xiao Shaoyou and Han Shuo.

“Load all one thousand jars of wine onto the flatbed carts. Gather two hundred soldiers and one hundred laborers. We depart tomorrow after nightfall; we will deliver the wine into Fengchuan City under the cover of darkness!”

“Understood!”

Fengchuan City, City Lord’s Manor.

Du Gang laughed heartily.

“Big Brother is truly brilliant. With just a slight move, you’ve kept a single jar of wine from leaving Cangqi. That Luo Yu is just a wet-behind-the-ears brat. He thinks he’s a mighty dragon crossing the river, but in reality, he’s not worth a fart.”

“Haha!” Yao Ling laughed loudly.

“The two of us have been knocking about in Fengchuan City for so many years. If we couldn’t even beat a fuzzy-faced boy, wouldn’t we have lived in vain? It’s only because I’m the city lord now. If this were a dozen years ago, I would have personally led men to hack him to pieces!”

Yao Ling’s gaze was cold and sinister. One should not forget that he, too, had started as a bandit.

“By the way, how is that matter coming along?”

“Rest assured, everything is going according to plan.”

Du Gang’s expression grew cold, a sinister smile curling his lips.

“Big Brother’s move is truly high-level. Not only can we crush Cangqi and Tingyu Restaurant, but we can also get our hands on the secret recipe for the wine.”

“Hmph, he’s still too green to play against me! Send word to Liu Ban’er. As long as he does a clean job this time, there will be plenty of rewards for him. But if he messes this up, he can forget about ever showing his face in Luan Shi Ling again.”

“Right, I’ll send someone to deliver the message now!” Du Gang rubbed his hands in excitement. “I don’t know why, but I’m feeling very excited right now.”

“Haha!”

Yao Ling leaned back into his chair, swirling the wine cup in his hand.

“Don’t worry, Little Brother. This time, I will definitely stomp Luo Yu and Jiang Shu to death and vent this anger for you properly!”

NOTES
Li (里): A traditional unit of distance, roughly 500 meters.
Mu (亩): A traditional unit of land area, roughly 1/15th of a hectare or 0.16 acres.

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