The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

The white clouds in the sky gather and gather again, then disperse and disperse again. So too is the cycle of separation and reunion in life.

A story can never be finished in a day, but it will eventually come to an end.

However, Shen An's decision to cut off the chapter when the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan made their appearance was rather unethical, leaving them in suspense for quite some time.

"No! Brother An, you're so mean! How can you stop telling a story halfway through!"

Qu Feiyan followed Shen An with her pouting lips. She clenched her fists and gently punched Shen An's back, which was less of a venting of anger and more of a way of being affectionate.

"Want to know what happened next?" Shen An suppressed a laugh and deliberately slowed his pace.

"Yes!" Qu Feiyan nodded without hesitation.

"To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next episode." Shen An turned his head and winked at her.

"You..." Qu Feiyan was speechless for a moment, her face fell, and in the end she could only sigh helplessly, her voice softening, "Okay... then, it's a deal, you must come tomorrow!"

It's a deal.

Shen An acted like a dog who cuts off the chapter, and under the resentful and gloomy look in Qu Feiyan's eyes, he forced a farewell.

After returning to Bailianfang, Shen An did not rush back to the backyard. Instead, he stopped under the eaves of the front hall and instructed the gatekeeper who came to greet him, "Go and invite Steward Li to my study."

The gatekeeper responded and left, while Shen An went to the study first, lit an oil lamp, and took out the account book from before to look through it.

Before long, Li Qingde hurried over. As soon as he entered, he greeted everyone with a beaming smile, "Senior Brother, were you looking for me?"

"Junior Brother Li, please sit down." Shen An pointed to the chair opposite him and sat down behind the desk. He spread out the account book and pushed it in front of Li Qingde, asking bluntly, "Why is the annual contribution for this smuggled salt so small? It's almost negligible."

Li Qingde was taken aback, his mind racing. He remembered that since this Senior Brother Shen came down the mountain, he had never cared much about these gold and silver things, acting like a complete hands-off manager. Why was he suddenly so serious about this messy debt today? Could it be that he was getting anxious after stopping the gambling and usury businesses?

However, although Li Qingde had his own plans, he showed no sign of panic. He hadn't really profited much from this smuggled salt business, so he had nothing to hide. He glanced at the accounts and explained with a wry smile, "Senior brother, you don't know, this matter... is a bit complicated."

"It's alright, please tell me in detail."

"Yes." Li Qingde cleared his throat and carefully chose his words. "Senior brother, the head of this private salt business is named Li Donglai. Although he is affiliated with us and has the title of an outer disciple of Songshan, in reality... he is not really under our control."

Shen An raised an eyebrow: "You think he'll have such a good thing?"

"Senior brother, you are wise. There is a great reason for this matter." Li Qingde sighed. "This Li Donglai is a powerful figure who sells smuggled salt along the Xiang River. He is ruthless and has gathered hundreds of desperate men under his command. He also controls all the key points of land and water transportation."

"It wouldn't be difficult for us in Songshan to build such a channel from scratch, but it would be time-consuming and laborious, so we simply wanted to take over an existing one."

"We helped him settle some feuds and disputes in the underworld, and even some occasional troubles with the government. In exchange, he nominally submitted to us, paid a symbolic 'tribute' every year, and more importantly, we used his channels to smuggle some things that were inconvenient to transport openly for us."

Li Qingde spoke vaguely, but Shen An understood that it was nothing more than weapons, armor, and even gunpowder.

"In the end, it's just a matter of each getting what they need," Li Qingde concluded.

"Tell me about him."

"This man is about thirty years old, a strong and muscular man with a scar on his left cheek that adds to his fierce appearance. He is extremely ruthless and daring, and he once fought his way through piles of corpses with a knife in hand. However..." Li Qingde changed the subject, "It is precisely because of this nature that he leaves no room for compromise in his actions, offending almost everyone in his industry and making enemies on all sides. Otherwise, given his strength and influence, he wouldn't have chosen to seek refuge with us."

"But he was quite generous to his subordinates, willing to give them money and protect their shortcomings, so his men were very loyal to him and quite troublesome."

Shen listened quietly, sketching out an image of a ruthless and powerful figure in his mind. He nodded and closed the ledger.

"Did you tell him about the previous instruction to keep his subordinates in check?"

"Li Donglai is not in Huguang right now. I heard he might be collecting salt in Yangzhou. I sent a letter to him yesterday. However... I didn't force him to stop his business in the letter. I just said that he can't use the Songshan name for a while." Li Qingde's business acumen is indeed unquestionable.

"Oh, I see. You can go now."

Seeing that he was no longer pressing the matter, Li Qingde breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and withdrew.

The study fell silent again. Shen An sat under the lamp, looking at the account book with a deep gaze.

Could that kind-hearted man be him?

With his mind preoccupied, Shen An left the study, passed through the moon gate, and returned to his backyard.

He immediately saw that Wang Xiaocao was sitting alone on the steps under the corridor, hugging her knees with her arms, resting her chin on her knees, staring blankly at the setting sun in the sky.

Hearing his footsteps, she snapped back to reality like a startled rabbit, stood up in a panic, unsure of what to do with her hands and feet, and lowered her head, her voice barely audible.

"Young...Young Master is back."

After a day of reflection, she seemed to realize that the title "benefactor" was too heavy, while "Brother Shen" was too intimate.

What? Brother An? She probably wouldn't even dare to think about it.

"Hmm," Shen An responded, slowing his pace and softening his voice. "It's chilly, why don't you come inside? What have you been doing today?"

Wang Xiaocao blushed, thinking of the overstepping things she had done that morning, and replied in a low voice, "I cleaned the yard and the young master's room, and washed... I washed the young master's clothes that he had changed out of."

"Anything else?"

"Huh?" Wang Xiaocao looked a little confused, seemingly not understanding why he asked that.

Shen An patiently repeated himself, his tone guiding, "I'm asking, besides doing these housework, what else have you done for yourself?"

What have I done for myself?

Wang Xiaocao tried hard to recall, but from dawn till dusk, apart from those trivial household chores, it seemed she...didn't do anything. No, that's not right either.

"Hmm... I'm... waiting for you to return, young master."