111: Chapter 111 The Qi Family's Visit

To the noble families, "outside forces" were synonymous with power.

Every outside force that entered the Great Jing Dynasty was, at the very least, on the same level as the Great Jing Dynasty itself.

Among them, many powerful outside forces were entities that even the Great Jing Dynasty dared not provoke.

The Mingyuan Trading Firm was an outside force.

Logically speaking, it should have been renowned throughout the Great Jing Dynasty. Yet, he had never even heard of it, which was undoubtedly excessively low-key.

Although he was somewhat shocked, Pei Qingyun did not dwell on it. Whether the Mingyuan Trading Firm was powerful or not had no direct correlation to the Pei Family.

Pei Qingyun only needed to know that trading with the Mingyuan Trading Firm required demon spirit pearls.

"So the Mingyuan Trading Firm is an outside force; it's no wonder they can procure so many good things," Pei Qingyun said.

On this point, Chen Yuanba also expressed agreement.

Talent in martial arts was important, but resources were even more important.

Things that were rare in the eyes of noble families were, in fact, somewhat commonplace in the eyes of the Mingyuan Trading Firm.

Next, the two chatted for a while longer.

Only then did Pei Qingyun leave under Chen Yuanba's watchful gaze.

...

Meanwhile.

Wuyang County, South Port.

Since parting ways with the Qi Family, Pei Tianlin and Qi Zhongyin had agreed that the direct descendants of the two families would meet.

At noon.

A passenger ship slowly sailed into South Port, a red sun prominently displayed on its sail flag.

If Pei Tianlin were here, he would have recognized it at a glance as the mark of the Qi Family.

According to the agreement, Pei Tianrong was supposed to bring Pei Sili to visit the Qi Family.

After all, the Pei Family was the side seeking the marriage alliance.

But Qi Zhongyin did not agree, choosing instead to come to Wuyang in person.

The significant changes in the Pei Family had aroused his curiosity.

If the two families were to become in-laws in the future, the Qi Family would have to visit sooner or later.

Rather than that, he might as well come and take a look first.

As the Qi Family's passenger ship approached, several merchant ships chose to give way; this was the survival strategy of ordinary merchant ships.

Noble families were, after all, in the minority; even a third-rate noble Family was not someone just any force could provoke. And most of the wealthy merchants on these ships were merely from unranked families.

The passenger ship entered the port.

The group from the Qi Family also walked off the passenger ship.

At the lead was Qi Zhongyin. He wore a purple brocade robe made of high-quality, silky fabric that highlighted his extraordinary status. The robe was embroidered with delicate cloud patterns in silver thread, exuding a sense of understated luxury. A bright yellow silk sash was tied around his waist, from which hung a warm, lustrous jade pendant.

This attire gave people a sense of extraordinary bearing and elegant luxury.

Discerning eyes could tell that the arrivals were most likely noble dignitaries.

Some passersby stole glances out of curiosity but dared not approach.

If the noble Family members happened to have bad tempers, they would be the ones to suffer.

Standing behind Qi Zhongyin was Qi Yanran, who was tall and graceful with a light posture, her behavior dignified and elegant. Her black hair was like lacquer, her skin like jade, and her beautiful eyes darted about, her every smile and frown filling people with anticipation.

Clearly, the father and daughter had dressed carefully for this visit to the Pei Family.

Besides them, there were a few servants following the pair.

Qi Zhongyin looked around, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "It's been so many years since I've been to South Port; I didn't expect it to still be the same. Back when Father brought you here, you were only this small."

Qi Yanran blinked her beautiful eyes, looking around suspiciously.

In her memory, there were no recollections of South Port. However, since her father said so, it must have happened.

Perhaps she was too young at the time, so she didn't remember.

South Port was located at the border of Wuyang, and there was still a significant distance to the county town.

The Qi Family group did not linger long and boarded their carriages directly.

Half an hour later, Qi Zhongyin and his party entered the county town territory. Qi Zhongyin's memory of Wuyang County was not deep; he had only been here twice in total. In the future, he might become a regular visitor here.

Before long, Qi Zhongyin's group arrived at the city gate.

The flow of people was endless, and the long queue alone stretched for several hundred meters.

Fortunately, noble families had privileges. There was a special lane dedicated to allowing members of noble families to enter the city.

As Qi Zhongyin walked toward the special lane for noble families, many itinerant merchants and passersby looked at their carriages.

They were curious about the identity of the carriage owners.

In the current Wuyang City, the only one that could be considered a noble Family was the Wuyang Pei Family. The moment the Wang Family became an affiliate of the Pei Family, they had already fallen from the pedestal of noble families.

It was rare to see descendants of outside noble families visiting Wuyang City.

After entering Wuyang City, the Qi Family group headed straight for Shiming Street.

Just then, someone in the crowd let out an exclamation.

"Everyone look, the Yuanhang Trade Caravan led by the Third Elder of the Pei Family is back."

"It really is the Yuanhang Trade Caravan."

"Half a month ago, the Pei Family said they were going to form a Yuanhang Trade Caravan to take on escort business within the county. At the time, many people didn't really believe that the Pei Family would be interested in the escort agency business."

"I didn't expect that in less than three days, not only did the Pei Family acquire the largest escort agency in Wuyang City, the Fuyuan Escort Agency, but they even assigned dedicated personnel to transport small items like letters, and the price was extremely low—only twenty wen per time."

"Who's to say otherwise? If it weren't for the Yuanhang Trade Caravan, the letters I write home wouldn't arrive for two or three months. Last night, I received a letter from my mother saying that everything at home is well."

"Didn't those people say at the beginning that the Pei Family would lose everything? Now they're regretting it so much their guts are turning green. In just half a month, the Pei Family has not only made the escort business flourish, but they've also connected trade to various counties. It's said that the Yuanhang Trade Caravan is specifically hiring letter couriers, and one can earn five taels of silver a month. It's just that there are requirements for the couriers; they must be Foundation Martial Artists with a certain level of skill."

"I blame myself for not building any foundation in martial arts back then, missing such a good opportunity."

...

Things like letters, aside from those handled by noble families, the imperial court, and wealthy merchants who arranged for dedicated couriers, letters from ordinary families were generally sent through relatives, friends, or itinerant merchants passing through their hometowns who would carry them along.

In this way, the efficiency was obviously far too low.

Often, it also depended on timing.

It was common for a Family letter to take several months of being passed around before reaching the designated person.

Pei Qingyun thought that since they had taken on the transportation business, they might as well do it thoroughly.

As for the price, he raised it slightly.

In terms of efficiency, it naturally couldn't compare to his previous life.

But as long as it could arrive within half a month, ordinary families could accept it.

It was precisely because of this point that the Pei Family could keep it going.

If there were a seven-day no-questions-asked return policy, the Pei Family would lose the very pants off their backs.

In the carriage, Qi Zhongyin listened to the surrounding discussions, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.