A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 176 Yuan Shouzhi

That day, at dusk, Ximen Yong and his confidant Yuan Shouzhi returned to Xiangu County by carriage.

Yuan Shouzhi is not tall, but his shoulders are quite broad and thick, giving people a very strong feeling.

Yuan Shouzhi's father was the steward of the previous generation of the Ximen family. He passed away in the Ximen Mansion at the age of ninety a few years ago.

Yuan Shouzhi and Ximen Yong grew up together in the mansion and had a close relationship since childhood.

Since Ximen Yong took over the Ximen family's business, he has never hidden anything, big or small, from Yuan Shouzhi.

However, Yuan Shouzhi's talent in martial arts is far better than Ximen Yong's.

Ximen Yong is currently only at the second level of the Inner Breath Realm.

The inner breath operation of the third level of the inner breath realm is already a double-circuit operation, which has certain requirements for mental strength. Due to the limitation of Ximen Yong's talent, he has not been able to achieve the third level.

However, Yuan Shouzhi had already achieved the fourth level of Inner Breath Realm at the age of thirty.

But even though Yuan Shouzhi had achieved great success, he was always very respectful in front of Ximen Yong and did not dare to overstep the line. This sense of hierarchy and propriety between the two of them was formed since childhood and had long been engraved in their bones.

After Ximen Yong and Yuan Shouzhi returned home, they had dinner first. During the dinner, Ximen Yong asked about Ximen Kankan, and the servants said that Ximen Kankan had gone out in the afternoon and had not returned yet.

Ximen Yong didn't take it seriously. After dinner, he and Yuan Shouzhi sat in the pavilion in the courtyard, drinking tea and enjoying the cool air.

"Shouzhi, do you think this trip to the capital city was fruitful?" Ximen Yong took a sip of tea and said as he looked at the flowers swaying in the wind in the twilight.

Yuan Shouzhi smiled meaningfully and said, "Boss! Shouzhi thinks that this trip has yielded a lot!"

"Oh..." Ximen Yong's eyes moved and he glanced at Yuan Shouzhi, as if encouraging him to continue.

Yuan Shouzhi said: "Chen Chunlei has some complicated relationships in Yuanyang Prefecture, and his herbal medicine shop can occupy nearly one-third of the entire prefecture. We can get in touch with him, even if we give him a little profit, but in the long run, it is a way to make money without losing money."

Ximen Yong nodded slightly and said, "Shouzhi, you are right. We are thinking alike. Although Xiangu County is remote and transportation is inconvenient, the deep mountains and old forests are a treasure trove of medicinal materials. Once the sales channels are opened, we can also mobilize the nearby villagers to grow medicinal materials locally. The key is to open up Chen Chunlei's path and bring in fresh water."

"The boss has far-sighted vision and thinks deeply." Yuan Shouzhi couldn't help but praise.

Ximen Yong's business acumen and vision are indeed far beyond that of ordinary people. He has experienced this since he was a child.

Ximen Yong just smiled slightly when he heard this. He looked at the garden as the night deepened, his eyes flickering.

At this moment, Ximen Kankan had come back from outside. When he heard that Ximen Yong had returned home, he immediately went to the main courtyard to pay his respects.

After not seeing each other for several days, there was a hint of affection in the eyes of the father and son as they looked at each other.

Ximen Kankan looked at the tired look on Ximen Yong's face, and his heart trembled. He said, "Kankan greets father! He greets Uncle Yuan!"

Ximen Yong and Yuan Shouzhi both looked at Ximen Kankan with a smile.

Ximen Yong asked, "Where did you go this afternoon? You came back so late."

Ximen Kankan said, "I made an appointment with Duan Rong and Jiang Qingyu to go to Yanyue Tower for a drink, so I came back late."

Ximen Yong nodded. As long as it wasn't too out of line, he basically didn't interfere with Ximen Kankan's affairs. "Your uncle Yuan and I are away for a few days. Is there anything going on in the mansion?"

"It's all daily business, nothing happened!" Ximen Kankan replied.

"I haven't asked you to practice for the past six months. Have you slacked off in martial arts?" Ximen Yong suddenly asked.

When Ximen Kankan heard the question about martial arts, he couldn't help but scratch his head. Where had he practiced any martial arts in the past six months?

Ximen Yong saw Ximen Kankan's look and got a rough idea of what was going on. He said in a deep voice, "Please perform the Thunder Smoke Blade and let your uncle Yuan and I take a look."

Ximen Kankan sighed softly, and had no choice but to bite the bullet and draw his sword in front of the pavilion in the courtyard to fight. After the fight, Ximen Kankan stood with the sword in his hand, looking at Ximen Yong with a somewhat nervous look.

Ximen Yong was silent for a while before he said, "You go. Don't run around tomorrow. Come and have a family dinner with your father at noon tomorrow."

"Yes." Ximen Kankan was stunned, then immediately said happily.

He didn't expect that he could pass the test so easily. When his father mentioned martial arts, he thought he was going to urge him to practice martial arts every day. "Father, Uncle Yuan, I'm leaving!"

Ximen Kankan slowly turned around and walked out of the courtyard. As soon as he left the courtyard, he immediately trotted away...

Ximen Yong looked at Ximen Kankan's back, then turned to look at Yong Yuan Shouzhi and said, "Shouzhi, this kid's swordsmanship seems to be even more powerful..." Ximen Yong was a little unsure.

Yuan Shouzhi chuckled and said, "The boss has noticed it too! Kankan's swordsmanship has indeed improved a lot. It is obvious that during this period of time, he has gained a deeper understanding of the great perfection realm of the Thunder Smoke Sword."

"Really? Further understanding?" Ximen Yong looked suspicious.

"Kankan is extremely talented. His future achievements in martial arts will probably be limitless," Yuan Shouzhi praised.

"This kid has quite a talent. It's up to his mother." Ximen Yong said with a smile.

Ximen Kankan's mother, Li Yilin, Ximen Yong's first wife, died of illness when Ximen Kankan was three years old. So many years have passed, but Ximen Yong has never remarried.

During this period, Ximen Kankan had been fighting with Duan Rong. Because Duan Rong had made rapid progress, he also mobilized his full realm. Ximen Kankan had a high level of understanding of martial arts, so after a period of time, his swordsmanship had naturally made great progress. It was just that he himself was not focused on martial arts and did not notice these changes.

"However, this kid has never liked practicing martial arts. His swordsmanship has improved during this period. Why do I feel that this is not right?"

Could it be possible that this kid could change his temper?
Ximen Yong suddenly called over his maid Meiqin and said, "Meiqin, go find Shi Kang."

After about a cup of tea, Meiqin led Shi Kang to the pavilion in the courtyard. Meiqin knew that the host had something to ask Shi Kang, so she led Shi Kang to the pavilion, knelt down and bowed, then walked away.

Ximen Yong looked at Shi Kang and asked if Kankan had practiced martial arts recently.

Shi Kang first said that he had not practiced martial arts, but when he saw that Ximen Yong's face was not right, he said with a flash of his eyes: "Young Master has been practicing swordsmanship with others recently."

"Study swordsmanship? With whom?"

"With Master Duan Rong from Yuanshun Escort Agency."

"Duan Rong?" Ximen Yong's eyes narrowed, and he thought of this elegant scholar who painted for Ximen Kankan in Xueyanju, and his words that every branch and leaf is full of emotion.

"Does Kankan often interact with Master Duan Rong?" Ximen Yong looked at Shi Kang.

"We often visit each other! And...and..." Shi Kang suddenly hesitated.

"And what? Say it!" Ximen Yong said angrily.

"The young master calls Duan Rong "Big Brother Duan" and usually respects Master Duan Rong very much."

"Brother Duan?" Ximen Yong's eyes jumped. After a moment's hesitation, he looked up at Shi Kang and said, "Go ahead and take good care of the young master. If anything goes wrong, report to me immediately."

"Yes. I know." Shi Kang felt relieved and left in a hurry.

After Shi Kang left, Ximen Yong stood up and paced in front of the pavilion.

In the business world, no matter how big the matter is, Ximen Yong can keep his composure, but when it comes to things related to Ximen Kankan, he always gets worried and panics.

He knows his own son best. This kid is actually a bit of a rascal in his bones. Ximen Yong is really surprised that he can call a peer "big brother".

(End of this chapter)