No strange things are allowed to evolve!

"Windsor went out to buy groceries. She said she's going to cook a big meal tonight. To be honest, I've never actually eaten her cooking before. I'm really lucky to have had her this time."

After inviting the two to sit down, Edward said with some emotion:

“The guys I sent to take care of Windsor’s business always come back and tell me how good Windsor’s cooking is. Every time I hear that, I’m very envious and want to try it myself sometime. But we had a fight back then, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it, so I never had the chance.”

Sometimes I really regret it. I shouldn't have been so strict back then. As a result, Windsor ran away from home and ran to such a remote place to open a small hotel by herself, and suffered so much.

Although she never says it, as her father, I can still see her exhaustion. And every time I see her, I notice that her palms have become rougher and have more scars that haven't fully healed. It's really heartbreaking.

Thinking back, she never used to cook, let alone have any particular skills. After she almost set the kitchen on fire when she was little, I never let her enter the kitchen again. Before she ran away from home, she didn't even seem to know how to use a fire. I really don't know how she survived. Actually, she's a very strong child.

As he said this, Edward observed Jiang Shu's reaction.

Jiang Shu was also very savvy.

He immediately replied, "Yes, when I first met Miss Windsor, she was being harassed and no one was helping her. She was very brave, and I couldn't bear to see her like that, so I helped her and that's how we met."

The strawberry milkshake beside me kept shaking its head inwardly.

Are you feeling sorry for me? I'm too embarrassed to point it out to you.

Edward was initially shocked, then angrily exclaimed, "Is that so? She never told me!"

"She probably doesn't want you to worry," Jiang Shu said.

"This kid... really." Edward was initially helpless, but then his goodwill towards Jiang Shu increased greatly: "Thanks to you."

“It’s alright. That man’s name is Ron. He’s a retired mercenary from the Mercenary Guild, with red hair, and he’s active around Miss Windsor’s Inn area,” Jiang Shu said.

"Um..."

Edward didn't actually intend to ask who harassed Windsor, since Jiang Shu had already come to the rescue.

But since things have already come to this point...

"Damn Ron! I'll have someone deal with him tomorrow! I'll also talk to the Mercenary Guild and cut off all his benefits as a retired mercenary!"

"Is that all?" Jiang Shu asked.

“Then…” Edward narrowed his eyes: “You mean to get rid of him? Although this violates the laws of the Royal Court, and doing it so openly is somewhat inappropriate, and it would damage the reputation of the Chamber of Commerce if word got out, but if this is your intention…”

"No, that won't be necessary." Jiang Shu smiled. "Just do it the way you said."

He simply wanted to test his current status and influence with Edward.

The current situation looks very optimistic.

"That's fine then, but that's why he didn't actually cause any harm. If he had really done something, I might actually have taken the risk and done it myself," Edward snorted.

Seeing that the preamble was over, Jiang Shu finally got to the point.

"By the way, we heard some interesting rumors while we were with the adventurers."

Jiang Shu feigned curiosity:

"I've heard that the average lifespan of demi-humans is longer than that of humans, and the lifespan of beastmen is longer than that of demi-humans. This is an ironclad law that no one in this world can change, not even the poet of lies."

But the archbishop of the Temple of Lies, that mysterious red-robed figure, is practically immortal. Not only has he lived far beyond human limits, but even his appearance never changes. Are you aware of this legend?

“I’ve heard of it, and it’s not just a rumor; that’s actually the truth.” Edward nodded first, then asked curiously, “But why are you suddenly asking this?”

"Because I heard that the average lifespan of demi-humans is about twice that of humans, and they don't start to age until the end of their lives."

Jiang Shu said with some regret:

"By then I will be old and gray, but Miss Windsor will still look like she's in her twenties or thirties. It's impossible for me not to care."

Upon hearing this, Edward felt a surge of relief.

So... you wanted to spend your life with Windsor?

So he comforted Jiang Shu, saying, "It's okay. Windsor is a kind person. She has never looked at other people's family background or appearance when making friends since she was a child. She only cares about whether the other person is a good person. So even if you get old before her, she won't look down on you."

He then changed the subject, saying, "You asked this because you also want to live forever like the archbishop who is a poet of lies, right?"

However, as far as I know, this is impossible. There are so many poets who lie, but only he has been able to do this. Countless poets who lie have tried, but no one has been able to do it like him.

So if you're thinking of becoming a poet of lies because of this, I advise you to stop now. After all, if poets of lies could do this, their reputation wouldn't be so bad, and countless people would seek immortality from them.

Furthermore, becoming a poet of lies requires a divinely bestowed mouth, a talent not something that can be acquired simply by having sufficient strength, like in adventurers' guilds or mercenary guilds.

"Is that so...?"

Jiang Shu nodded.

This time, surprisingly, it was exactly as Moore had said, and Moore's explanation was even more detailed.

This shows that there is a consensus both inside and outside the temple regarding the crimson robe; it's just that the constraints imposed on the temple have been exploited.

So, if we want to get more information, it seems we can only wait for the other side to make connections for us, or get other more useful intelligence.

Edward didn't think much of it, assuming that Jiang Shu was just curious about immortality because of a lack of understanding, and that he would give up this fantasy after he explained it to him.

So after that topic was dropped, Edward naturally changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, could you help me research the new business our chamber of commerce has developed?"

"You still have time to develop new businesses?" Jiang Shu asked, somewhat puzzled.

Shouldn't the market be in a frenzy right now?

Today is the second day of the Warcraft materials speculation. I heard that the price has soared again. All the major guilds should be busy buying up real estate, not having time to do business, right?

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Edward sighed helplessly, seemingly exhausted, but you could also see from his eyes that although he had been very tired these past two days, he was still enjoying himself.

Nobody dislikes counting money until their hands cramp, of course, provided it's their own money.

"Didn't many people sell their houses yesterday to hoard goods? But there are also many people who don't own property and lack cash, but still want to participate."

We didn't want to miss out on these opportunities, so while you were away, we came up with a new business idea: lending money to people to stockpile goods.

"..." Jiang Shu and Strawberry Milkshake fell silent for a moment.

It seems that Jiang Shu's actions have opened a Pandora's box, awakening these originally honest and law-abiding businessmen.

They swindle money from the rich, and they don't even spare the money of the poor.

Looking at Edward's enthusiastic expression, the two of them felt as if there was a street lamp behind him.

"These are some draft contracts we've prepared. Could you take a look and see if there are any problems?"

Taking the contract from Edward and glancing at it briefly, Jiang Shu gave a thumbs up: "Genius!"

Top businessmen are businessmen; if you give them a few new ideas, they can immediately create a big success.

Goodness, they've not only come up with traditional mortgage lending, but also personal loans.

"So which one are you planning to use?" Jiang Shu asked.

"Which one?" Edward asked, puzzled. "You should use both."

"Use both?"

"correct."

Edward nodded:

"Each situation should be analyzed individually."

We will first identify who needs to borrow money from the Chamber of Commerce, then assess their creditworthiness through the people around them, and then examine their earning capacity and basic assets to determine the maximum amount they can repay after lending them the money.

Once the borrower has passed all the due diligence, we will lend them the money they need, and then have them repay a portion regularly over time until the debt is fully repaid.

These people have good credit, so they don't need collateral, but that doesn't mean we should abandon people with bad credit.

For these people, all we need to do is get them to provide collateral that they value.

No matter who you are, there are always items that are of great significance to you. And even if you don't have them, it doesn't matter. As long as they are valuable enough, and you just don't want to sell them and let them enter the market, having such an item is fine.

"Isn't this actually quite generous? At least they can get their money back after they pay it back. But if we let them sell it themselves, they might sell it low and buy it high, and the difference could be more than the commission we collect."

"They're really sucking the marrow dry, typical capitalist thinking..." Jiang Shu couldn't help but think.

"So you need to do a user positioning beforehand?"

"Of course."

Edward said earnestly:

"Even if they are all people who need to borrow money and their conditions are similar, everyone's situation is different. If we don't do a positioning test to see what specific circumstances they meet, and we rashly lend them money, the losses will not be small if problems arise."

Furthermore, without clear regulations, the chamber of commerce's credibility will be damaged. After all, we don't just want to do one-off business; we want to make it a long-term business. Therefore, credibility is very important, and we need to convince the public that we are serious about this.

“No problem.” Jiang Shu nodded.

But suddenly, he became lost in thought, as if something had occurred to him.

Public credibility... each case needs to be analyzed individually... people who are similar in many ways can have different situations...

Although they are all poets of lies, I am an evolved being, while the other poets of lies are natives.

Is there any possibility...?

Perhaps the two situations are different in some ways?

Could it be that by simply equating the two, I've actually uncovered the very problem I've been struggling to find?

Chapter 115 We Are Different

There are currently three theories regarding the constraints of the Temple of Lies.

It is known that Da Hong Pao is the key reason for the constraint, but the other two contradictory claims cannot be disproven, which has always puzzled Jiang Shu.

However, Edward's words gave him a new idea.

He relied on the anti-magic stone to testify to the truth of Moore's words.

However, the patterns he discovered regarding the anti-magic stones were actually conclusions drawn from his own experiments or those of Strawberry Milkshake.

If we consider the anti-magic stone as a contract, is it possible that one of its terms applies to the evolved beings, but another to the local poets of lies?

After all, Jiang Shu hadn't made Moore trigger the anti-magic stone.

There can only be one truth about a matter. If something is true about Moore, then the problem with the anti-magic stone seems to be the only possibility.

Thinking about this, Jiang Shu couldn't sit still any longer.

He needs to verify this immediately.

Then he suddenly stood up from the sofa: "I suddenly remembered that I have something to do and I have to leave for a while."

Edward was taken aback: "What is it? You should check the contract for me first to make sure there are no problems."

"The contract is fine."

As he spoke, Jiang Shu strode quickly toward the gate.

Strawberry Milkshake was initially hesitant about whether to go along, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized that something that made Jiang Shu so anxious must be very important. So, even though she was tired after a long day, Strawberry Milkshake still went along.

"Hurry back, Windsor is preparing a big meal tonight!"

"understood."

All that could be heard was a reply from the two people who had already left the room, and then the doors of the Chamber of Commerce were closed.

"Really..."

Edward sighed helplessly, then looked at the contract again, and suddenly an idea struck him:

"Hey? People who are in a hurry to borrow money probably won't read the contract carefully. If I make the print of some important parts smaller, will they be able to miss it and sign the contract without even looking at it?"

......

"What's gotten into you that you're in such a hurry?"

"It's complicated to explain to you."

"Still keeping us in suspense?" Strawberry Milkshake snorted in dissatisfaction. "Whatever, I'm used to it anyway."

Soon, the two returned to the Temple of Lies.

Moore was still inside the temple at this time.

Upon seeing the two of them, he was somewhat surprised: "You've finished reporting so quickly?"

Well... actually, I've already gone home once.