Chapter 384 - 280: Of the Same Mind, a Rain of Maize

Chapter 384: Chapter 280: Of the Same Mind, a Rain of Maize

The Elder Extraordinary—a veteran of the Huang Family, former Grain Warehouse Guardian, and thief of two million catties of grain—asked, "Sir, I was wondering, how long will it take you to remove the one million catties of grain?"

Before Tang Wen could even speak, the man hurriedly explained, "If it takes a long time, there will be more people to silence!"

"I brought a Void Stone."

The Elder Extraordinary breathed a sigh of relief. "In that case, Sir, you can sneak into the grain depot and quietly take the million catties of grain. Hmm, actually, the more you take, the better."

"And why is that?" Tang Wen asked humbly.

"The key to success is to take as much grain as possible to create a larger deficit. Sir, you need to make everyone in this chain of command disappear—from the Steward to the night patrol Guards to the camp’s gate Guards. You have to make it look like they’ve absconded with the goods."

"Will the family’s upper echelons believe it?" Tang Wen frowned.

The Elder Extraordinary smiled confidently. "Sir, you may not be aware, but the chief steward of Stone Water Camp is a descendant of the Huang Family’s Direct Lineage. He takes the largest cut from the private grain sales within the camp!

"This man is greed incarnate and as cunning as a devil. It’s said that if a stone fell into his hands, he could squeeze oil from it.

"If I’m not mistaken, as soon as those people disappear, he’ll seize the opportunity to make a huge profit. Then he’ll pin all the blame on the missing men!"

Tang Wen understood. "That way, all the old, messy accounts will be settled too."

"You are brilliant, Sir! That old fox will probably be laughing in his sleep. He’ll use all his connections to keep this matter under wraps, reducing a big problem to a small one, and a small one to nothing. He definitely won’t alarm the family’s upper echelons and cause someone to come and investigate."

Tang Wen thought about it. The logic was sound, and he felt reassured.

His main concern was that the Huang Family would use the lost grain as a pretext to cause trouble for Flame Camp.

The Huang Family had experts as numerous as the clouds, and their Tracking abilities were formidable.

If they managed to get any evidence, Tang Wen couldn’t just stay cooped up in Flame Camp with his White Tigers every day. There would inevitably be times when he couldn’t protect it.

But if the final conclusion was that the Huang Family’s own people were responsible for the corruption, then he would have no future worries.

"Good. Tell me more about the specific details."

"Er, first, you need to make sure that everyone on night duty that day feels that something is off. For example, you could use a Secret Medicine to make them all fall drowsy..."

The Elder Extraordinary hadn’t expected Tang Wen to ask for such detail.

Coming up with a meticulous plan on the spot would be incredibly difficult for most people.

But for him, wasn’t this just business as usual?

The more the Elder Extraordinary spoke, the more animated he became, spittle flying from his mouth.

Tang Wen’s face was full of admiration. ’Truly, every trade has its master!’

He thought about how he would definitely be causing trouble for the Huang Family again and would need to do it covertly. A "Master" like this, who understood the Huang Family so well, would be of considerable use.

At this thought, he raised his hand, and his Spiritual Power lifted the Elder Extraordinary from the floor.

The latter was stunned. When he came to his senses, he found himself sitting on the bed.

"S-Sir?"

The older the schemer, the smaller the courage.

He was off the ground, but his heart was panicking even more.

After all, in his eyes, Tang Wen was a high-ranking member of the family.

’What was I just teaching him?!’

’How to undermine the family? How to steal the Huang Family’s grain?’

’Alas!’

’I was too careless.’

’Judging by his voice, this lord must be quite young.’

’How could someone who found success so young tolerate such dirty business?’

The more he thought, the more frightened he became. He couldn’t help but plead, "Sir, I deserve to die a thousand deaths, but I beg you to spare my grandson’s life."

Unexpectedly, the response he received was a calm laugh.

From the darkness, the one who held his life and death in his hands said, "Don’t be nervous. What you’ve done isn’t honorable, but every camp in the family, big and small, does it. It’s the unspoken rule of the industry."

"Rule of the industry?"

The Elder Extraordinary had never heard the term before. He didn’t quite understand it, but he was deeply shaken.

"You are brilliant, Sir! Your summary was spot on. To be honest, this old man has been in the family for so many years, always drifting between the major grain-producing camps. Truthfully, is there any Steward who isn’t corrupt?

"To be honest with you, Sir, when I started, I was a young Martial Artist with aspirations.

"I wasn’t the least bit interested in raking in dirty money, but... alas!"

A thousand words were condensed into a single, long sigh.

Tang Wen nodded with understanding. "I get it. If a Steward like you doesn’t take a cut, how can your Commander take his? If your Commander doesn’t take his, how can the camp’s chief steward take his? And if he doesn’t take his cut, how are any of you supposed to get ahead!"

*Hiss!*

Those few sentences sent a shock through the Elder Extraordinary’s heart!

’How is this lord such an expert?’

’He knows this whole system of currying favor, raking in dirty money, and binding interests inside and out.’

Tang Wen ignored his surprise and continued, "It’s not just like this in the camps. The family is the same way."

"So that’s how it is."

The Elder Extraordinary had a sudden realization.

’No wonder this lord understands things so thoroughly.’

’That’s right. We are all members of the same family, but resources are limited. There’s bound to be conflict between the various branches.’

’For him to have experienced these unwritten rules at such a young age... it seems the struggles among the family’s upper echelons are also incredibly fierce.’

Tang Wen said, "I’m not going to kill you. Although I have advisors, when it comes to these darker aspects, they are far from your equal. You have your uses."

The Elder Extraordinary’s voice filled with pleasant surprise. "Sir, are you saying..."

"You just stay here obediently. I may have need of your advice again in the future."

"Thank you, Sir! Thank you for sparing my life!"

The deep darkness quietly dissipated.

After a long moment, the Elder Extraordinary opened his eyes and looked out at the night sky. He let out a sharp sigh of relief, his entire body suddenly going limp.

Only then did he realize that his entire body was already soaked in sweat.

A gust of night wind blew past, making him shiver.

"Thank goodness I met a reasonable lord," the Elder Extraordinary muttered thankfully, having finally recovered his wits.

Tang Wen hadn’t left behind any sign that he was being watched.

Although he understood that once the old man calmed down, he would certainly have his suspicions about Tang Wen’s origins.