Chapter 69: Leak
Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Leak
These past few days, Wang Teng had been living quite comfortably.
In his uncle’s words, it wouldn’t be long before he was managing the White Tiger Tea House, the tea business that the White Tiger Boxing Hall was focusing on developing.
Tea was an incredibly profitable business.
The White Tiger Fist Sect had always been in the tea business, but it was just a small-scale, limited operation—the most insignificant of their many enterprises.
But this year, the Martial Arts Hall had decided to make a major push into the tea trade.
And by leveraging the hall’s influence and trading away some other interests, they had secured a thirty-percent share of Xiahe County’s tea production.
At first, Wang Teng didn’t understand, but he got it after his uncle brought out a new type of tea for him to try.
Once this new tea was released, it would instantly create a massive shock to the current tea market, and not just in Xiahe County Town.
Eventually, this new tea would probably become popular throughout the entire Shanyang Prefecture City.
The White Tiger Boxing Hall was certainly not big enough to control such a vast market, but if they seized the initiative, they were bound to get a piece of the pie.
It was foreseeable that for the next several years, or even decades, whoever could control the Martial Arts Hall’s tea business would ensure that his uncle, Wang Yuangang, would see his influence in the hall rise significantly, becoming second only to the first and second senior masters.
He would surpass Zhang Boyang in one fell swoop. Then, relying on his uncle’s prestige, he would have his uncle propose a marriage for him.
Then his marriage to Zhang Shu would surely be a success.
In fact, ’what’s a Zhang Shu?’ She’d be fit only to be his concubine.
"Young Master Wang, you see, you’ve run up a tab of three hundred taels of silver at our establishment these past few days. Do you think it might be time to settle the bill?"
In an exquisite and elegant suite at Yihong House, Wang Teng was enjoying himself with a woman in each arm.
Just then, the Madam of Yihong House sashayed over to Wang Teng and spoke with an obsequious smile.
"What? How is it so much?"
Wang Teng, already feeling the effects of the wine, was so shocked to hear the sum of three hundred taels that his head spun.
Three hundred taels of silver wasn’t a lot for his uncle, Wang Yuangang.
But for him, it was his entire year’s allowance.
"That’s right. Last night, you were with Miss Shishi. The night before, it was Miss Hua’Er. And the night before that..."
"Besides, which day did you *not* order the ten-year-aged Jade Dragon Burn and the finest spring tea..."
The Madam rattled off a long list of expenses. Judging by the itemized bill, Wang Teng’s spending wasn’t actually that outrageous.
After all, a brothel was a money pit no matter where you went.
Wang Teng had been indulging in the most top-tier pleasures every day, so of course the cost would be much higher.
"You’re charging five taels of silver for a single pot of tea? You dare charge me five taels for these rotten leaves and stems? Are you treating me like a pig for slaughter?"
Wang Teng was sober now. Looking over the bill, he quickly noticed something was very wrong with the tea’s price.
They were charging him five taels of silver for one pot of such terrible-tasting tea.
"Heh heh, Young Master Wang, the tea we provide at Yihong House is the best in all of Xiahe County. If you can produce a tea better than this, then I’ll consider the three hundred taels my apology to you."
The Madam glanced at Wang Teng with a smirk, her eyes filled with a mix of provocation and disdain.
Provoked by the Madam, Wang Teng stuck his neck out and retorted, "You said it! As it happens, I have some tea on me. I’ll let a Madam like you see what real tea is."
"Heh heh, in that case, I shall eagerly await it."
The Madam smiled faintly, a hint of a triumphant smirk appearing on her face as if her scheme had succeeded.
~~~~~~
「Three days later.」
Fang Yue paid a visit to Zhang Boyang’s home.
He hadn’t originally wanted to come, but he couldn’t refuse Zhang Boyang’s enthusiastic invitation.
After all, Fang Yue had already made an appearance at the White Tiger Boxing Hall.
And he had been visiting the Martial Arts Hall every few days for guidance.
Zhang Boyang naturally knew that Fang Yue was living in Xiahe County Town, so he had found the inn where Fang Yue was staying.
With Zhang Boyang showing up at his door personally, how could he refuse? He could only agree on a time to visit.
"Nephew Yue, come in, have a seat. I’ve asked you here today, Nephew, to discuss a matter of importance."
Zhang Boyang didn’t waste any words, getting straight to the point and telling Fang Yue all about the White Tiger Tea House.
He specifically told Fang Yue that he was prepared to offer him a nominal position at the tea house; he wouldn’t have to do anything and would receive three hundred taels of silver annually.
"This... How can I accept? The tea house is the Martial Arts Hall’s property. Master Zhang, if you do this, aren’t you afraid of causing dissent within the hall?"
Fang Yue said with some hesitation.
He also knew that although he was the one who came up with the stir-frying method for tea, it was a technique others could easily copy. Once the secret was out, anyone could do it.
Besides, there was no such thing as intellectual property in this world. Might and power were everything.
Fang Yue felt that if he were currently a Martial Graduate and held an official post in the imperial court, then he could have run this tea-roasting business himself.
But as it stood, even though he was a Martial Scholar and had already left the commoner class to enter the ranks of the ’Scholar’ gentry, he held no official title or position, and his cultivation had only just begun Bone Forging. Never mind the stronger experts above the Four Martial Arts Gates, he probably couldn’t even defeat a random Martial Artist at the Marrow Transformation stage.
Therefore, since the White Tiger Boxing Hall wanted to run this tea-roasting business, he naturally had no objections.
What he hadn’t expected was that Hall Master Zheng would entrust the business to Zhang Boyang, and that Zhang Boyang, in turn, would offer him a nominal title to sit back and collect silver coins.
That was truly beyond his expectations.
"Heh heh, it is only right and proper for my worthy nephew to accept. You were the one who came up with this method of roasting tea. Without you, there would be no White Tiger Tea House."
"Besides, with your talent, I’m afraid it won’t be more than three years before you certainly pass the examinations to become a Martial Graduate. Your status will be completely different then, so even the Hall Master must be cautious."
Zhang Boyang then revealed the reason behind it all.
That is, the Hall Master of the White Tiger Boxing Hall—his own master—had taken a fancy to Fang Yue’s martial talent and was optimistic about his future.
If Fang Yue were merely a Martial Scholar with no chance of becoming a Martial Graduate in the future, then they would have, at most, given him some silver taels as compensation and left it at that.
They absolutely wouldn’t have arranged for Fang Yue to receive a share of the silver every year.
This was also a way to bind Fang Yue to the Martial Arts Hall with shared interests, improving the previously indifferent relationship between them.
Of course, if Fang Yue failed to become a Martial Graduate within a few years, they would definitely stop giving him a share of the silver.
"I am at Master Zhang’s disposal."
’Free silver is free silver; it’d be foolish not to take it. In reality, this is basically a technology investment on my part. It’s what I deserve, when you think about it. As long as the tea-roasting business does well and earns enough silver coins, then I can accept it with a clear conscience. This can solve my urgent financial problems perfectly.’
Having figured this out, Fang Yue couldn’t help but sigh internally. ’Who says the natives in a transmigration world are simple-minded and easily crushed by the protagonist? Isn’t the Hall Master of the White Tiger Boxing Hall, my nominal grandmaster, a shrewd character himself?’
He had previously only mentioned the tea roasting and had Chen Tong personally teach Fang Yue.
But he never said anything about a share of the silver coins. Having Zhang Boyang be the one to say it was a much more brilliant move than saying it himself.
Fang Yue didn’t refuse. In any case, he was a disciple of the White Tiger Boxing Hall, and his ties to them were already quite deep.
Getting a little more entangled didn’t matter much.
"In a few days, this year’s Martial Examination will be held. I hear my worthy nephew plans to participate?"
Having finished discussing the tea house, Zhang Boyang naturally steered the conversation to the Military Examination.
Participating in the Military Examination requires sponsorship from a Martial Graduate, because the examination subjects have been expanded to include Military Strategy, archery, and equestrianism.
The Military Strategy test, in particular, assesses a Martial Artist’s understanding of and opinions on certain government policies.
It’s difficult to cheat on the other subjects, but this one is easy to manipulate.
Therefore, it requires sponsorship from another Martial Graduate. If cheating is discovered, the sponsor will be punished along with the candidate.
Fang Yue seeking a Martial Graduate from the Martial Arts Hall to be his sponsor was something that couldn’t be hidden from Zhang Boyang—after all, Zhang Boyang *was* the sponsor.
"I’m just going for the experience. The examination for a Martial Graduate is different from the one for a Martial Scholar, after all. Gaining some experience now will help me be more composed and confident in the future," Fang Yue said.
He wasn’t worried about archery or equestrianism; he was fairly confident he could pass even the practical tests.
Only Military Strategy gave him pause. He had no experience in that area, although he had spent time at the Martial Arts Hall reading Military Strategy essays written by past Martial Graduates.
Without having actually been in the examination hall, he still felt unsure.
"In that case, my worthy nephew, you can come here every afternoon for a while. We can spar, and I can also give you some pointers on Military Strategy."
Zhang Boyang said after a moment of thought.
Although he would be busy with the tea house, he still had to look after Fang Yue.
’It’s just a pity,’ he thought. ’Fang Yue is so outstanding, yet my own daughter doesn’t appreciate him. Fated to meet but not to be together. What can be done? Hm, I should still try to matchmake Shu’Er and Fang Yue.’
Zhang Boyang ultimately made a secret decision in his heart. That was why he wanted to use the excuse of coaching Fang Yue for the Martial Graduate exam to call him over during this period.
’Perhaps if they spend more time together, it will change Shu’Er’s mind.’
"Thank you, Master Zhang."
Fang Yue didn’t refuse and thanked Zhang Boyang.
The two then chatted a bit more about the Martial Examination before Fang Yue took his leave.
~~~~~~
For the next few days, Fang Yue was woken up by Chubby every morning without fail to practice his fists and carry out Bone Forging by the river.
In the afternoons, he would go to Zhang Boyang’s home for instruction.
With Zhang Boyang as a sparring partner, Fang Yue’s mastery of the White Tiger Fist grew more and more proficient.
As for Military Strategy, the main issue was that Fang Yue needed to practice his calligraphy.
He was ultimately at a disadvantage for being uncultured. Although he had learned the characters of this world while studying fist techniques with Fang Hu over the years, and he could both recognize and write all the characters, most of his writing practice had been done by drawing characters in the sand with a stick.
He had barely ever used an ink brush on paper. Now, writing out Military Strategy essays at Zhang Boyang’s home, his calligraphy was revealed to be subpar.
"Shu’Er, go grind the ink."
While teaching Fang Yue Military Strategy, Zhang Boyang naturally put Zhang Shu to work. The chore of grinding ink, typically done by a Scholar’s Attendant, naturally fell to her.
However, after several stern reprimands from Zhang Boyang, Zhang Shu no longer dared to show any dissatisfaction in front of him.
Otherwise, she would be grounded again, or have her monthly allowance cut off.