Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 35 Mao Family
The pine and cypress trees in the two cities are close by, and the wealthy families in both cities are usually counted together.

Cangsong has one and a half large households, and Hanbai has two and a half large households.

The Mao family was a semi-major family sandwiched in the middle.

Their family originally lived in Hanbai, but they couldn't compete with the other two wealthy families, so they moved out and planned to make a name for themselves in Cangsong.

Upon arriving at Cangsong, Maojia discovered that he was no match for Lin Wenshui again.

There's no way out; leaving Cangsong means there's no way to go back to Hanbai. They're stuck in a dilemma.

However, the Mao family had resources, and relying on their trade routes and the farmland located between the two places, they managed to settle down over a few years.

They also arranged a fairly nice mansion in Cangsong.

After having a banquet on the river, Manager Mao walked towards the Mao family mansion. It didn't take him long to reach the gate of the mansion.

The guards stood at the entrance, and upon seeing him approaching, they merely bowed slightly before letting him in.

I walked the familiar route and soon arrived at the backyard.

Skilled craftsmen came to the backyard and dug a water channel. The Mao family drew water from the lake, and stone railings were made at both the inlet and outlet. Once fish were put in, they would be trapped in the pond and never be able to get out.

The young master of the Mao family is currently sitting on a chair by the river, his hand in a bowl of fish bait, feeding the fish, while his right hand rests on the girl's waist, letting her sit on his lap.

His name is Maoxiang. Although he is young, he is ambitious and capable.

The girl was very young, with clear and bright eyes. She was holding a book in both hands, reading aloud the strange tales in the booklet.

"There is a house in the distant mountains, and a sound can be heard from within the house. The scholar went to search for it, but could not find it..."

Her voice was soft and pleasant to the ear.

When Manager Mao arrived, he first cleared his throat, making the girl and Mao Xiang look at him. The girl's face did not turn red; she simply turned and left.

"Nephew, I hope I didn't spoil your fun."

"No, not at all," Maoxiang shook his head. "Uncle, you came in such a hurry, surely it's about the young master of the Water Merchant Guild?"

"Nephew, you already know?" Manager Mao was taken aback.

"How could I not know? The young master went into the water to save someone, what a big fuss that was!" Maoxiang sighed. "He is indeed an extraordinary person, risking his life to save that wretched woman."

"Looks like I've come for nothing today," Manager Mao said, scratching his head.

“How can it be considered a wasted trip? I happen to have something I want to discuss with my uncle.” Maoxiang said, “Should we dismiss all those people who were supposed to cause trouble tomorrow?”

"Huh? Weren't those people preparing for a long time? Why are they being dismissed?" Manager Mao was bewildered.

He had previously discussed with some lowly people in the water trade that once the disaster at the waterfront had raged for a while longer, these people would go and cause trouble, disrupting the water trade's business.

If this continues in the long run, the Mao family will naturally have some opportunities to intervene. First, they will recruit boat trackers, then fishermen. In a little time, they will be able to take over a piece of the water-related business.

Although this would certainly cause him to lose his original position as manager, it didn't matter.

Anyway, back then, when he went to work at the waterworks, he was just keeping watch for the old Mao family head. He hasn't been doing well in the past few years, and he's long wanted to take more authority and money for himself.

“If Young Master Lin hadn’t come today, this method would indeed have worked. Lowly people can’t see through things and will always be fooled. But since Young Master Lin saved someone, lowly people will always be moved. Doing this will only have the opposite effect and expose our own hidden agents.”

Mao Xiang stood up and slowly walked to Manager Mao's side:

“Uncle, there are many people in this world. Don’t think that everyone else is a fool. Even those lowly people are not stupid. They just don’t have much information. Old Madam Wen is not stupid either. She has already seen through the whole story. She is just restricted by the government and cannot fight us to the death.”

"She still has things she can do, and she's unwilling to fight us to the death. It will take a long time to boil her like a frog in lukewarm water."

Manager Mao was a little embarrassed:
"But Lao Cai has already offended the old lady first..."

Maoxiang chuckled and shook his head:

"How can that be the same? Old Cai clashed with Wen Xiangyi before. Wen Xiangyi took away 70% of his business, and the rest are all loyal followers. He has long since given up and may have already secretly found a way to leave. He could disappear one day. Uncle, you have to look at things from all angles."

Manager Mao remained silent.

He really doesn't understand these things.

In his youth, his business battles involved gathering his brothers, grabbing sticks, and going to the streets to fight. Whoever won the area would be the winner.

Later, when the government arrived, things became complicated, so it turned into a negotiated settlement: whichever family had the greater ability would get the land.

Later, even the duel stopped.

Even his own nephew couldn't understand the business strategies he was talking about. Is doing business really that difficult?

Manager Mao sighed, cupped his hands in farewell, and turned to leave.

Maoxiang didn't see his uncle off; he watched him leave and snorted coldly.

In this world, there are few fools, but not being a fool doesn't mean you can do smart things.

Rules, interpersonal relationships—there are so many complicated things. If you can't see through them, you'll only be misled by your own cleverness.

In the end, you still need to have high skills.

"To be able to escape from that pretty young lady's clutches, Young Master Lin is quite capable..."

Maoxiang lost interest.

He went to the study, woke up the sleeping carrier pigeon, tied a small scroll of letter to its leg, patted its rump, and shooed it away to fly away in the middle of the night.

The moonlight illuminates the pigeons soaring in the sky, while Maoxiang remains expressionless.

If you don't know the details yourself, you should let someone with the ability investigate.

Why risk your life?

"Zhenping Division, Zhenping Division, you've taken so much silver from me, at least do something for me."

……

The old man, dressed in his luxurious clothes, walked down Hanbai Street. He first bought a bowl of plain noodles, and after eating it, he ordered a bowl of wontons.

Three young men sat down next to them and ate as well.

The old man's clothes were unusually eye-catching, but no one paid any attention to him as he sat in the shop; everyone around him was eating and chatting happily.

After finishing his noodles, the old man looked at the three young men in front of him:
"did you find it?"

“I’ve searched all around, run up every hill, but I haven’t found the pathogen you mentioned,” the first young man said. “But people keep dying in the nearby villages and towns, and they die in the same way you described. A red bead grows on the top of their heads, and then their heads explode.”

The second young man said, "I've searched around, and the most likely place for Han Baicheng to raise demons is the Zhenping Division. This division chief took office two years ago, and his best skill is controlling beasts."

The third young man said, "I've been by your side the whole time, and I haven't done anything."

The old man patted the third young man on the head.

"You haven't done anything, so why are you spouting nonsense?" the old man cursed.

They came here primarily to find clues about the epidemic, and secondly to find out who was responsible for the tiger in Sanxing Town.

The old man didn't show himself directly, as it would be too much of a commotion and alert the enemy. So he had these young men look for clues first.

Now that he had the clue, the old man pondered it and smiled:

"That's interesting."

"Could you tell me what's so interesting about it?" The first young man dutifully took on the role of the straight man.

"Siping's position involves capturing demons, and there's a lot of unseen income involved. Why would he need to drag an entire village down to make money? Such a big commotion would only increase his risk of exposure," the old man sneered. "This illness is strange, that tiger is strange, and Siping in the city is strange. I'm afraid even the governor is strange."

"They're all tired of living, risking their lives, and yet they've caused so many deaths. What do you suggest we do?"

The first young man: "Kill them."

The second young man: "Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts)."

The third young man said, "Let's just put them all in the copper coins."

The old man also laughed:
"Stuffing them all into copper coins is a good idea."

He paused, then continued, "After two more days of investigation, we should go to the governor's mansion. I still have some things I need him to do. That handsome young man might be with Han Bai; it will be easier for him to find people that way."

The young people exchanged glances.

My husband really admires that handsome young man.

I just don't know where he is right now.

(End of this chapter)