I Can See Your Combat Power
Chapter 1077 - Chapter 1077 Chapter Three Hundred and Seventy-One

Chapter 1077: Chapter Three Hundred and Seventy-One: Benevolence and Righteousness Chapter 1077: Chapter Three Hundred and Seventy-One: Benevolence and Righteousness “`

With no way out, Huangfu Wang had thought more than once about fleeing Chaochang, but the thought of his mother and the women at home made him resignedly return.

He had thought he was walking into the tiger’s den, but unexpectedly, he encountered a nobleman. The young man finally understood why Brother Tian, now powerless and lacking influence at East Market, still commanded such respect.

“Tonight, don’t sleep, just keep watch at the docks. Right now, every kind of demon and monster wants to take a bite out of you. Mishandled goods, shortages, discrepancies in money, and counterfeit tickets won’t stop tonight. If you, the young master, aren’t there, those managers will definitely turn a blind eye. If you don’t hold the line this time, those scenting blood will only get worse, and then there won’t be much left of the goods that Brother Huangfu desperately protected. Hurry over there!”

After giving a few more instructions, Brother Tian sent the young man, who had regained his confidence, out the door, then slumped down in the courtyard with a face full of sorrow.

Inside the room, having heard the entire conversation, Tang Luo couldn’t help but sigh.

When it comes to business, luck often outweighs ability. Brother Tian’s assessment of the Longzhou market was extremely accurate, but the situation in Beimang was ever-changing.

The Wuyi Sect that Wang Chan had conjured up had flattened dozens of earth fortresses with hundreds of years of history in Min Mountain.

Beimang was already sparsely populated, and if these Chaochang merchants’ source of medicinal herbs was through those earth fortresses, then Tang Luo was no exception to the outcome.

But if the hopeful Huangfu Trade Group failed, what then of the other trade groups traveling from East Market to Beimang? Could they safely return?

The current state of Beimang was outright chaos. Two months back, when Old Xu wielded his sword to break the mountain, although the gate of the Wuyi Sect was breached, with Wang Chan’s intervention, most of the Wuyi Sect disciples managed to escape. And the Cloud Tiger generals, who were ordered to be away, were definitely not at the gate.

These remnants of the Wuyi Sect still lurking in Beimang meant there was no way it could be peaceful, and the soaring prices of Longzhou’s medicinal herbs might also be due to the chaos in Beimang.

It must be said that Brother Tian was unlucky with timing, choosing this moment to invest. One could only hope that not all twenty-six trade groups would come back empty-handed.

Otherwise, Tang Luo and Brother Tian would really have to eat dirt to survive.

Thinking thus, Tang Luo used the Divine Cavity’s Cloud Hand technique to grab a cornstalk and send it to his mouth, crunching and chewing it to mush before swallowing.

Although the Void Stomach power was useless for enhancing combat abilities, in such an extremely scarce environment, it indeed proved to be an excellent skill.

…

There is no sentiment in business. The cordiality after a successful return is but an illusion. Those smiles, when faced with failure, display no pity, no loyalty, only baring bloodshot fangs.

Someone must take responsibility for the failure. With Huangfu Facai dead, there was Huangfu Wang. Be they ordinary citizens or money handlers, they had all done their calculations when lending out money.

Even if the Huangfu Family were to fail, the wealth accumulated by Huangfu Facai should be enough to pay off the debts.

Seen from this perspective, those citizens who invested in the Huangfu Trade Group were smarter than the merchants, for regardless of the success or failure of the business, they stood on unbeatable ground.

Therefore, the truly wealthy people in Chaochang City were not those busy merchants but the families with substantial capital and the moneyed elite.

Under Brother Tian’s advice, Huangfu Wang managed to liquidate the goods the trade group had brought back in bits and pieces throughout Chaochang City. Word of the Huangfu Trade Group’s massive failure also quickly spread through East Market, and it was evident to everyone that the Huangfu Family had taken a fall.

“`

The families of the guards who had died in battle blocked the entrance to the Huangfu Family’s door overnight, demanding compensation. People who had grown up in Chaochang had seen too many tales of failure, and the assets that a failed trade group could liquidate were always a drop in the bucket. Not every household could receive compensation, and for those who had suddenly lost the pillars of their homes, all they wanted was to get their share of the compensation because it was something their sons, their husbands, had exchanged with their lives.

At East Market, a group of moneylenders who smelled blood gathered like sharks, setting their sights on the Huangfu Family’s estate and fertile fields.

The moneylenders’ goal was clear. Faced with such a situation, how could a young man who had suddenly lost his father make careful judgments? If they could buy the Huangfu Family’s estate and fertile fields at a low price, that would be an extremely profitable deal.

Everyone was waiting for Huangfu Wang to panic and then make a mistake, so they could appear at just the right moment under the guise of uncles and extended family, taking charge for the bewildered young man.

Under the drive of great interests, Huangfu Facai had a very grand funeral, perhaps even he had not expected that so many “old friends” would come to his house to mourn and cry after his death.

The funeral was hosted by Lady Huangfu, and as Huangfu Facai’s only son, the young man only appeared in the mourning hall to carry the coffin on the first day; the rest of his time was spent at the docks.

During the day, he worked to liquidate the goods into cash, and at night, he used the money from the sales to repay the debts and distribute compensation, methodically going about his business like a seasoned veteran of commerce, unflinching even in the face of such a great failure.

The young man’s calmness and composure somewhat reassured the families of the fallen guards. Except for a few families who were in urgent need of money, almost no one else blocked the door of the Huangfu Family, because they believed that Huangfu Wang, this young man, would gather and distribute the compensation money.

But the astute and calculating moneylenders had already concluded that even if Huangfu Wang liquidated all dozen or so carts of goods, he still wouldn’t be able to gather enough cash to cover the debts owed by the Huangfu Trade Group.

After all, the three real heavyweights had not yet spoken!

The innkeeper of Yunlai Inn, Liu Fu, Second Elder Brother Huai from the Ding Family Martial Arts Hall, and Yun Tian, the uncrowned king of East Market!

Not prioritizing repaying these three, but instead distributing compensation and handling routine transactions, seemed like a death wish to the other moneylenders.

Because, although the widows and orphans who had lost their sons and husbands were pitiable, they didn’t have the power to force the Huangfu Family to repay the debts. At most they could make noise at the door, but once the door was closed, it wouldn’t matter if they lived or died.

But these three were different; they had a thousand ways to make Huangfu Wang cough up the money.

“This foolish lad is still playing the age-old game of benevolence at the docks. Just wait and see, if in a few days those three masters don’t swallow the Huangfu Family whole, then my name, Wang the Six, is written upside down!”

…

The small courtyard’s firewood room

Whether Wang the Six’s name would be written upside down or not, Tang Luo wasn’t sure, but judging by the look of Brother Tian, he indeed seemed ready to devour someone alive.

Because he had asked Tang Luo more than once if cornstalks tasted good.

“Why don’t you try it yourself and find out?”

Tang Luo thoughtfully selected the best-looking one and handed it over to Brother Tian with a Cloud Hand. Then he took one himself, chewed a few bites with a crunch-crunch and swallowed eagerly, as if it were some kind of exquisite delicacy.