I run a casino in the immortal realm.

After leaving the dense forest, the terrain on both sides of the official road gradually opened up, the visibility improved significantly, and the danger of an ambush was greatly reduced.

The brother and sister had somehow moved from the back of the truck to stand next to Zheng Yifei and were walking side by side with him.

The older brother looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a square face and thick eyebrows. He wore a light blue cloth robe, the material of which was better than that of ordinary rogue cultivators, but not by much. He had a pouch embroidered with the character "Zhao" hanging from his waist.

He's at the third level of Qi Refining, his breathing is steady, and there are no calluses on his hands. He doesn't look like someone who does manual labor; he seems more like someone who works behind the counter doing accounting.

My younger sister was a bit younger, about fifteen or sixteen years old. She had a round face and her skin was much fairer than the girls in the shantytown. She wore two braids, a light blue cloth skirt, and a small medicine pouch at her waist. The contents of the pouch jingled as she walked.

He's at the second level of Qi Refining, but his aura is somewhat unstable, indicating he likely broke through recently.

"Brother Zheng, my name is Zhao Wenyuan, and this is my younger sister, Zhao Ling'er."

The older brother spoke first, his expression still somewhat unnatural, clearly having been quite frightened and not yet fully recovered.

Zheng Yifei nodded.

Zhao Wenyuan rubbed his hands together and gave a slightly embarrassed smile: "Thanks to you for that battle just now. My sister was right behind the truck when that bandit charged at us. If you hadn't stopped him..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

"It was just a small favor."

Zheng Yifei waved his hand.

Zhao Ling'er secretly glanced at Zheng Yifei from behind her brother, but quickly looked away when she met his gaze, her ears turning a faint red.

Zhao Wenyuan was a natural conversationalist; once he started chatting, he couldn't stop.

"Brother Zheng, are you also going to Sujiafang Market?"

"Um."

"What a coincidence, it's the same for us! My sister and I went to Sujiafang City this time to help my second uncle open a restaurant. He just opened a shop there and doesn't have enough staff, so he asked me to go and help out."

Zheng Yifei hummed in response but did not continue the conversation.

Zhao Wenyuan didn't take it seriously and continued, "My family is a collateral branch of the Zhao family, not the main line. Zhao Hu, the steward in charge of the shantytown and land rent, is my father's cousin. We're not that close, but my family doesn't own any land. We run a small restaurant in the market to make a living."

A branch of the Zhao family.

Zheng Yifei went through it in his mind.

The Zhao family of Heishan Market is a Qi Refining family, with cultivators within the family divided into direct descendants and collateral branches.

The direct descendants control core resources—land, gambling dens, and market management rights;

The side branches do some peripheral businesses, such as restaurants, grocery stores, and errand services.

Although the collateral branches also bear the surname Zhao, they have little say in the clan and are far inferior to the direct descendants.

Seeing that Zheng Yifei didn't respond, Zhao Wenyuan wasn't embarrassed and continued talking to himself.

"My second uncle has good judgment. He said that Black Mountain Market is too small and will not make a name for itself sooner or later. Why not try the market of the Foundation Establishment family?"

There are many cultivators in Sujiafang Market, and their spending power is strong. If a restaurant there is successful, it can earn in a year what Black Mountain Market earns in three years.

He lowered his voice, his excitement barely concealed, and said, "To be honest, I've loved accounting since I was a child. My dad taught me how much to buy, how to price it, how to control costs, and how to attract repeat customers—it's all stuff I've learned over the past five or six years."

My second uncle said I have a talent for business, and this trip is to let me take charge on my own.

Zheng Yifei finally glanced at him again.

People like Zhao Wenyuan have a special term on Earth: "business acumen".

Starting from a dilapidated tavern of a Qi Refining family, actively expanding into the markets of Foundation Establishment families, and daring to establish a chain across regions, such vision is rare among lower-level cultivators.

Where is your sister?

Zheng Yifei asked casually.

Zhao Ling'er quickly looked away from Zheng Yifei.

Zhao Wenyuan patted his younger sister's head, his tone tinged with pride: "Ling'er has a talent for alchemy. She was interested in medicinal herbs and pill formulas since she was a child, and she would tinker with spiritual herbs at home every day."

Once, she actually managed to concoct a batch of Qi-restoring pills, although the quality was poor—eight out of ten were defective—but she did it without any guidance from anyone.

Zhao Ling'er corrected in a low voice: "It's six useless pills, not eight."

"Okay, okay, six of them."

Zhao Wenyuan chuckled: "Anyway, this time when I go to Sujiafang Market, besides helping my second uncle run the shop, I also want Ling'er to find an alchemist to be her master."

There are alchemy shops in several wards of Sujiafang Market, and the alchemists there are at least first-grade, which is much better than trying to figure it out on your own at home.

Zheng Yifei nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

However, he had already mentally archived the information about the brother and sister.

The Zhao family's collateral branch has a knack for business and a talent for alchemy. They own a restaurant and maintain a relationship that is neither too close nor too distant with the direct line.

These people are at the bottom of the cultivation world; they are among those who have some skills but lack opportunities.

More importantly, they are cousins ​​of Manager Zhao.

This relationship may not be useful now, but that doesn't mean it won't be useful in the future.

The gambling king's first lesson: When you don't need chips, accumulate more chips.

"Brother Zhao, let's keep in touch after we arrive in Sujiafang."

Since I was unfamiliar with Sujiafang City and needed to make some friends, and these brother and sister were not cunning people, I could befriend them.

Zhao Wenyuan's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, let's keep in touch. My second uncle has some connections over there. If you have any difficulties, you can come to me."

"Okay, I'll have to trouble you then."

"You're welcome. We're both from Heishan Market, so we're practically fellow townsmen. We should look out for each other when we're out and about. By the way, Brother Zheng, what are you doing in Su Family Market?"

"I'm going to learn talismans."

Zheng Yifei casually gave an excuse; he couldn't very well say he went gambling.

"Do you know anyone there? If not, you can stay with my second uncle and live with me."

Zhao Wenyuan was a chatterbox and felt he got along very well with Zheng Yifei, chatting with him non-stop the whole way.

Zheng Yifei wasn't annoyed, after all, traveling was quite boring.

Zhao Ling'er was very quiet and didn't talk much.

The rest of the journey went smoothly. Apart from the occasional attacks by monsters that were repelled by the bodyguards, they did not encounter any more robbers.