You promised steampunk martial arts, but you've got an internal combustion engine in your chest

Chapter 68 The Money Tree?

An afternoon passed quickly, the afterglow of the setting sun shone down, and dusk approached.

At this moment, the main hall of Jiangshan Fengyu Tower was still brightly lit and bustling with activity.

The opera troupe sang their songs, and the audience cheered loudly. Waiters flitted about like butterflies, serving dishes, while kitchen staff chopped and plated cold dishes, their feet barely touching the ground.

In the backyard, a plate of braised chicken feet sat in front of Baili Jing. He was holding one in his hand and munching on it with relish.

To his right, Old Zheng was furiously calculating on his abacus: "Master, today's expenses are truly excessive. Just purchasing the ingredients for the cold dishes to be sent out today and tomorrow has cost over forty taels of silver. That's almost equivalent to our usual budget for seven or eight days of cold dishes! As for the main meat dishes for tomorrow's banquet, we'll have to go buy them first thing tomorrow morning, plus the money we've settled with Jin Yuban—"

"Alright, alright, you don't need to report to me."

Baili Jing spat out a small piece of chicken claw bone, interrupting Lao Zheng: "You can just report these kinds of accounts to my younger brother Xiao Jie later."

Old Zheng glanced at Baili Jie.

Baili Jie was sitting to the side flipping through the account books. Upon hearing this, he slowly raised his head and revealed a gentle smile: "Uncle Zheng, my brother is indeed not very good with numbers. Later, you can give me the account books separately, and we can calculate them one by one."

Old Zheng stared at the fourteen-year-old boy for two seconds, then quickly plastered a fawning smile on his face: "Hehe, no problem, no problem! I'll do whatever the boss and Young Master Jie say!"

Boom, boom, boom.

Just then, there was a knock on the back door.

Hearing the knock, Baili Jing's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed joyfully, "Quick, quick! Go open the door! Our money tree has arrived!"

A money tree?

Old Zheng's eyes lit up, and he dashed over, shouting, "I'll open the door!"

He eagerly yanked open the door, but when he saw who was outside, his smile froze.

Standing at the entrance were a dozen or so dockworkers.

They were clutching tattered straw hats, wearing coarse cloth shorts, and their bodies were soaked in sweat and mud.

These laborers still reeked of salty, sweaty odors, and each of them looked uneasy and anxious.

The leader was an elderly laborer with graying hair and a slightly hunched back. When he saw Old Zheng's silk robe, he was startled and stammered incoherently, "This—this brother, we've come to find—"

"Old Qian! Haha, you've finally arrived!!"

Before Lao Qian could finish speaking, a familiar loud laugh was heard.

Baili Jing, dressed in a magnificent long robe and holding half a chicken claw in his hand, strode forward to greet them, saying, "I've been waiting for you for ages!"

This afternoon, he instructed Du Shaoyou to make proper arrangements, first registering and handing over the several thousand laborers he had requested.

Of course, it was impossible to summon all of the thousands of laborers in Shanghai to Fengyulou at once, so he only had Du Shaoyou call a few of his most familiar old brothers.

When Old Qian saw Baili Jing, his eyes widened in surprise and delight: "Little...Little Baili?! It really is you!"

The other laborers were also amazed: "Everyone's talking about it today, saying that you've become the Fourth Master of the Canal Gang, and even the Jiangshan Fengyu Tower has become your property!"

We didn't believe it, but then—it's all true!!

"Haha, why bring this up?"

Baili Jing dragged everyone into the backyard: "Come, come, come in quickly! Old Zheng, get a stool for the brothers, and make some hot tea. Brothers, don't be shy, have some chicken feet!"

The dozen or so laborers who had arrived were at a loss for what to do with their hands and feet when they saw the magnificent Jiangshan Fengyu Tower. Not to mention that Baili Jing was now dressed like a big shot, which filled them with awe and distance.

But Baili Jing didn't care. He grabbed a chicken foot and stuffed it into Lao Qian's hand, then dragged them down to sit. As usual, he made dirty jokes and chatted about trivial matters.

In no time, the laborers relaxed and began to laugh and chat freely.

Bailijie sat quietly to the side.

He didn't participate in the banter; his eyes were full of doubt.

He still couldn't understand why his brother wanted to get those thousands of laborers from Ding Yan.

Even now, my brother still calls them "money trees."

"How much profit can you make from a laborer? How exactly is this business supposed to be run?"

Baili Jie looked down at the ledger, completely baffled.

At the kitchen entrance not far away, Lao Zheng also came to Zhiyao's side.

"Grandma, what exactly is our new boss up to? I have a feeling he's planning something big!"

Zhiyao stood quietly in the shadows and said calmly, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. According to the rules, we have to listen to what he does for the next three months. We can choose not to help, but we absolutely cannot make things difficult for him."

"Old Zheng, I don't think I need to remind you, do I?"

Old Zheng coughed lightly and chuckled awkwardly, "Don't worry, Grandma, how could I dare to make a decision on my own without your permission? — But —"

He looked at Zhiyao: "You never mentioned these things before. Do you really think that our new boss can—"

Just as Zhiyao was about to speak, Baili Jingchong beckoned to her: "Miss Zhiyao, come here for a moment, I have something important to discuss with you!"

Zhiyao's eyes flickered slightly.

She walked over gracefully, revealing a stiff, "friendly smile": "New employer, what are your orders?"

"Ouch!"

Upon seeing her eerie smile, Baili Jing immediately shuddered: "You—you'd better stop smiling and put on a serious face, wouldn't you?"

Zhiyao raised her eyebrows, snorted, and resumed her icy demeanor: "Get to the point if you have something to say, otherwise I'm going back to the kitchen."

"Hehe, that's more like it, it looks much better now."

Baili Jing chuckled and said, "Here's the thing. In the next couple of days when you have some free time, have the chefs in the kitchen develop a few new dishes. I'll pay them for overtime."

"Developing new dishes?"

Zhiyao frowned: "What new dish do you want to develop?"

Baili Jing grinned and said, "I only have three criteria for the new dishes I want: First, they must be cheap; second, they must be flavorful and appetizing; and third, they must be oily and filling."

Zhiyao was a little confused: "Cheap? Appetizing? Oily? What kind of new dish is this?"

"Don't worry about any of that, just listen to me."

Baili Jing stood up and said with a smile, "If you don't quite understand how to do it, after I leave, just ask my brothers what they crave most and what they want to eat after work every day. Also, the price of the new dishes you make must be affordable for them."

"Okay, hurry up and finish it. It shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"

Baili Jie asked, somewhat puzzled, "Brother, it's almost dark, where are you going?"

Baili Jing turned around and winked, "Adult matters are none of a child's business~ I'm leaving!"

He chuckled and left the liquor store through the back door.

The night outside was completely dark.

After leaving the house, he pulled out the note that Hua Xiangrong had slipped to him earlier that day.

At 9 PM, in Huayuefang, east of the city.

He had heard of Hua Yue Fang; it was the largest rouge shop in the city. Why did she invite him there?