Chapter 397 - 287: Manage the Camp by Day, and Serve Me by Night (Part 2)

Chapter 397: Chapter 287: Manage the Camp by Day, and Serve Me by Night (Part 2)

"You believe in coincidences?"

"Sometimes you have no choice but to believe. This Tang Wen... he has some decent luck."

"Speaking of which, every genius has good luck when they rise."

"Once the Huang Family has its eyes on someone, no one can rise!"

Huang San sneered. "That Tang Wen is no ordinary person. Not only does he have the backing of the White Tiger Tribe, but he has also united several major powers in Ganshan City. Don’t underestimate him!"

The androgynous voice said, "We are at a disadvantage against the White Tiger Tribe; we are the challengers. How could I possibly look down on such a young genius?"

After a pause, the person continued, "Tang Wen is on alert now. It doesn’t matter if we have an insider in his family or not. He definitely won’t contact any insider at this time. In the end, it will all be for nothing."

Huang San couldn’t be bothered with riddles. He clasped his hands behind his back and quietly waited for the other person to elaborate.

"The alliance formed around the Outer City’s Black Water Gang, the Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall, and the Inner City’s Lu Family is unshakable. For now, there’s nothing we can do about it. However, the Commerce Association is in chaos internally, with numerous factions. Perhaps we can find an opening there."

Huang San nodded. "Merchants prioritize profit. The Commerce Association’s Supreme Third Elder is a good acquaintance of mine. What preparations have you made on your end?"

"The First Vice President of the Commerce Association, Shang Yan, has long been unable to restrain himself."

With a disdainful sneer, Huang San snorted, "Are you sure? The President, Shang Jin, is nominally his uncle, but he’s actually his biological father. The position will be his sooner or later, so why is he in such a hurry?"

The androgynous voice became ethereal. "Brother San, it has been fifty years. Shang Yan has been the Vice President for fifty years!"

Huang San was stunned.

"Not long ago, Shang Jin spent some time with Lao Liu. Although his Martial Arts didn’t improve after he returned, his complexion is much ruddier. According to him, practicing Lao Liu’s Nourishing Body Technique will let him live for at least another ten years!"

Huang San understood. "’Who in the world has ever heard of a sixty-year crown prince?’ What’s your plan?"

"My plan is to have your Eldest Young Master marry the Commerce Association President’s adopted daughter, Feng San Niang!"

Huang San’s expression turned strange. "This... Let’s not even mention that my son’s first wife is still alive. Would Feng San Niang even agree?"

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

In his youth, Huang San was known for being lawless.

Now, his son was famous for his debauchery—drinking, gambling, and womanizing.

"Brother San, why sell yourself short! Your eldest son is more than a match for Feng San Niang."

Huang San didn’t speak.

’My eldest son... he’s such a waste he isn’t even a Sixth Grade.’

’He’s slept with countless women but can’t even produce a single grandson for me.’

It got so bad that Huang San had to take matters into his own hands.

’Feng San Niang is the Commerce Association President’s adopted daughter, a Sixth Grade at such a young age, a prodigy... Why would she be willing to marry my son? Marrying me, on the other hand... AHEM.’

At this thought, Huang San’s eyes lit up. "Enough with the empty talk. How do we make her agree?"

"She won’t agree. We just need the Commerce Association President to agree. A father’s command is hard to disobey."

"Hmph?" Instead of being pleased, Huang San grew angry. A green light suddenly burst from his eyes.

Like a sharp blade, his killing intent was overwhelming.

He forced the question out, one word at a time:

"So after all this, you’re just running me in circles! All Shang Jin wants is a longer life! I don’t care if you want to let him into the Flesh Factory, but tell me, whose spot are you using?"

The other person fell silent.

Huang San took a step, crossing a distance of over ten meters to arrive above the Abyss.

He hovered there, his robes billowing as if a fierce wind was brewing.

"Brother San, I’m giving Shang Jin my spot."

"Oh?" Huang San didn’t believe it at all. His entire body seemed to inflate, and the pressure in the palace surged. "Don’t you dare try to fool me! You’re not much younger than me, and it’s clear your own flesh-and-blood transformation isn’t succeeding. You dare to give up your spot? What, you tired of living?"

After speaking, he stirred up a gale as he strode forward menacingly.

His movements were unlike those of an ordinary Fifth Grade.

SWOOSH!

A flash of green light illuminated the other side of the deep chasm.

A person in a black robe stood there.

Just as Huang San’s hand was about to grab his neck...

The person suddenly sighed. "Brother San, I don’t want to sink into this endless abyss anymore."

Huang San’s hand faltered and landed on the man’s shoulder. Seeing that he truly wasn’t resisting, he froze.

"Brother San, I want to become a true Fourth Grade."

"Fourth Grade? Don’t tell me you want to be a City Lord, that Iron Coffin above our heads?

Or do you want to lead the Huang Family to slaughter everything underground?"

After he finished, Huang San roared with laughter as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Forget it." Huang San, having laughed his fill, turned away with waning interest.

"Do as you please! It’s all up to you! If you really dare to do it, on the day you die, I’ll personally carry your coffin!

And if you die too miserably, I’ll hold a wake for you!"

Reaching the door, he paused his steps and added, "This path... it’s a dead end!"

The door opened, and the light from outside shone in front of the threshold.

A sharp line divided light and dark, with brightness ahead and pitch-black behind.

BANG!

The great door slammed shut, and not a sliver of light could be seen through the crack...

Clouds obscured the moon, plunging everything into darkness.

Two squads of Guards, carrying oil lamps, walked out of the gates of Flame Camp.

In the darkness, a Guard with superhuman vision stared in the direction of Tang Wen’s gaze for a long while before finally spotting a row of faint shadows.

"Miss Huang! This way, please! Friends from Five Families City, please!" General Zhou’s voice boomed like a great bell, his shout seemingly pushing back the biting cold by half a measure.

Zheng Nanzhu came back to her senses. ’We’ve arrived at Flame Camp.’

"Greetings, Young Master!"

In the crowd, she spotted Tang Wen at a glance.

She immediately dismounted, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, her legs suddenly gave way, and she started to fall.

A pair of warm, strong hands caught her.

"Thank you, Young Master."

"How long has it been since you’ve eaten? Why are you so weak?"

Zheng Nanzhu gave a bitter smile.

The blow of her family’s sudden downfall was not something she could recover from so easily.

She looked at the handsome young man before her with complex feelings.

Flame Camp had sent many people to garrison Five Families City, governing it in a way Zheng Nanzhu had never imagined.

They used high-quality maize to make porridge for the poor.

And the poor only needed to sweep the roads in front of their homes and use the latrines near their shacks to receive a bowl of hot porridge.

If they were also willing to do some light manual labor...

...they could get two bowls of maize porridge every day.

Even during a bountiful harvest in previous years, life had been no better than this.

Flame Camp quickly won the hearts of the people. On the day she left, a local faction had even proposed to Flame Camp’s General Zhao that the name "Five Families City" be changed to "East Flame Camp."

Hearing this had left a bitter taste in Zheng Nanzhu’s mouth, and she had been in a daze the entire journey.

’What exactly did our great families do wrong to end up in such a state?’ she kept wondering.

’How long can Flame Camp sustain itself, opening its granaries and distributing food so freely?’

’They must be doing this to quickly bring the territory of Five Families City under their control, right?’

After entering the city, she realized she was wrong.

A squad of Guards was walking toward her, leading a dozen or so children and knocking on doors from house to house.

It looked as if they were escorting children home who were out late.

Zheng Nanzhu was puzzled.

As she walked further, she saw similar scenes one after another.

She finally couldn’t help but ask, "Young Master, why are these children returning home so late, and with an escort?"

Tang Wen replied leisurely, "Their night school just let out."

"Night school?" Zheng Nanzhu paused. "Young Master, you mean they’re attending school?"

But these children, all dressed in coarse brown clothes, were clearly not from wealthy families.

’Can they afford to go to school?’

’They probably can’t even afford to eat, can they?’

"The school provides dinner. Many of the children go just for the meal."

Not far away, a cry of pain was heard.

A child had tripped and, by the looks of it, seemed to have hurt their knee.

Most of them were malnourished. Their bones were brittle, so a fall would hurt for a long time.

Tang Wen thought for a moment. "In the winter, let’s use carriages to take the children home from now on. Also, give them a bowl of egg drop soup before they leave."

Zheng Nanzhu was deeply moved, but the way she looked at Tang Wen was as if she were looking at a prodigal son wasting his family’s fortune.

"Egg drop soup?"

"Oh, you poke a small hole in an egg and slowly drizzle it out. One egg can make half a pot of soup. A hot drink will keep them from freezing."

Tang Wen explained.

Seeing the dazed look on Zheng Nanzhu’s face, he shook his head. "I had originally planned to have you accompany me to Ganshan City. But now, it seems you should first learn how to manage the camp from General Zhou."

’This is the treatment for a trusted confidant, isn’t it?’

Zheng Nanzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed Tang Wen had no intention of making her a servant girl.

As a young mistress, she had never served anyone in her life.

It was true that she had offered to be his beast of burden, but if one could be a person, who would want to be an ox or a horse?

However, his next words reached her ears via voice transmission: "Once you’ve learned, you’ll help me manage the camp during the day, but at night, you’ll still be my beast of burden."

Blushing, she turned her head, only to be caught off guard by the heart-pounding, mischievous smile on Tang Wen’s face.