176: Chapter 176 The Banquet Ends

In the blink of an eye, a day passed.

The time arrived at noon for the Grandmaster Banquet.

Inside the main hall on the first floor of Tianxiang Restaurant, guests arrived in an endless stream. The hall was filled with round tables.

Those who could attend this banquet were basically the top-tier of the Great Families within Jinhuai Prefecture.

Here, Pei Qingyun also saw quite a few acquaintances.

There was Chen Yuansi, a direct descendant of the Chen Clan with whom he had previously discussed grain prices, and He Yucheng from the direct line of the He Clan.

Over a year had passed, and the two had not changed much since then; they were still at the Mid stage of Five Viscera Realm.

This was also the norm for many Five-Viscera Martial Artists.

Under normal circumstances, even to break through a minor Realm, a Five-Viscera Martial Artist often needed three to five years, and in more extreme cases, over ten years.

This was assuming the Five-Viscera Martial Artist had the talent to break through to the Six Viscera Realm. Many Martial Artists, upon breaking through to the Five Viscera Realm, found that their Bloodline Power was already insufficient to support their progress under normal circumstances.

Of course, those with massive amounts of rare resources were exceptions.

Although both were from the direct lines of the Chen Clan and He Clan, their Bloodline talent could only be considered average.

Unless the Chen Clan and He Clan were willing to consume vast resources to cultivate them, it was unlikely that either of them would ascend to become a Grandmaster.

Clearly, the likelihood of the former was extremely slim.

The direct lines of the He Clan and Chen Clan were not numerous, but there were still dozens of people; no matter how one looked at it, it wouldn't be their turn.

Immediately, Pei Qingyun greeted the two quite naturally.

Seeing Pei Qingyun again, the two had a completely different mindset.

Especially Chen Yuansi, who had suffered a loss when negotiating prices with Pei Qingyun, and he had been thinking about one day getting back at him.

Back then, he had looked down on the Wuyang Pei Clan somewhat.

Now, over a year later, Pei Qingyun had ascended to become a Six Viscera Grandmaster, and the Wuyang Pei Clan had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Thinking of this, Chen Yuansi's ears felt a bit hot.

Facing a Grandmaster, his identity as a direct descendant of the Chen Clan was not enough to make much of an impression.

Pei Qingyun did not notice this; after greeting the two, his attention shifted to the host of the banquet.

In the center of the main hall, Chen Yuanba was all smiles, exchanging toasts with the guests.

Pei Qingyun did not go to join the fun or step forward to greet him; instead, he casually chose a seat and sat down.

For one, he did not like this mode of interaction, and these guests were mostly just here to show their faces. Secondly, the two had met yesterday.

Therefore, there was no need for him to do so.

After finishing his interactions with the guests, Chen Yuanba noticed Pei Qingyun at one of the round tables.

He saw him wearing a purple-patterned gold-gilded robe, walking toward Pei Qingyun with a vigorous, imposing stride.

Chen Yuanba said in surprise, "Brother Pei, I was wondering why I didn't see you; so you were sitting here."

Pei Qingyun explained, "It's fine, sitting here is quite nice. If I sat at the main table in the front, I would feel uncomfortable instead."

Chen Yuanba apologized, "Since you are unwilling to go to the main table in the front, then so be it. I am truly too busy today; if there is anything lacking, please forgive me, Brother."

"Brother, what are you saying? You should go and attend to your business," Pei Qingyun said, expressing his understanding.

Unlike when the Pei Clan held their Grandmaster Banquet, where Pei Qingyun had the highest status and strength present and could naturally be more relaxed.

At this moment, among the guests present, there were more than ten people with higher status and position than Chen Yuanba, so naturally, he could not afford to be negligent.

"Then I will take my leave first. We haven't met for almost a year; after the banquet, I will entertain you separately, Brother, and we can have a couple of drinks."

"Fine," Pei Qingyun agreed immediately.

He intended to stay in Jinhuai Prefecture for a while, so this did not conflict with his plans.

As time passed, the banquet proceeded in full swing.

The guests sitting at the main table in the first row were basically all Six Viscera Grandmasters, the highest-ranking of whom was the current head of the Chen Clan, Chen Yuanxue.

Next were the various Six Bowels Elders of the Chen Clan, as well as the Grandmasters from allied families.

Besides this, the Evil Suppression Bureau also sent a Grandmaster to attend the banquet.

Within the entire Jinhuai Prefecture, the number of Grandmasters was actually not very high. As long as Pei Qingyun was interested in finding out, he could obtain partial information on the vast majority of Grandmasters.

But under normal circumstances, Grandmaster forces would not deliberately investigate each other's intelligence.

Unless there was about to be an intersection between the two.

At least, Pei Qingyun did not have such plans at the moment.

On the contrary, many Grandmasters were quite interested in Pei Qingyun.

For a second-rate Family, giving birth to a Six Viscera Grandmaster was not difficult. But for a poverty-stricken county like Wuyang County, where even a seasoned third-rate family was hard to produce, birthing a Six Viscera Grandmaster was not easy.

Not to mention, Pei Qingyun becoming a Grandmaster was too abrupt.

The Grandmasters present, even before breaking through to the Six Viscera Realm, all had some degree of fame within the prefecture city.

How could they be like Pei Qingyun, who suddenly popped up?

Of course, it was not as if there were no "wild" Grandmasters.

This world had never lacked Opportunity.

In their view, Pei Qingyun belonged to this category. Although Pei Qingyun was already a Grandmaster, it remained to be seen whether he could sit firmly in the position of a Grandmaster Great Family.

At the number one main table, Chen Yuanba chatted freely with the guests, talking and laughing while drinking cup after cup.

"Yuanba, didn't you say Grandmaster Qingyun would also come? I am very curious about him; why haven't I seen him today?" a Grandmaster from an allied Family asked.

Chen Yuanba did not answer directly but threw out a new question, "Grandmaster Qingyun likes quiet, Grandmaster Shang Tong, if you want to see Grandmaster Qingyun, I can help you arrange a time privately."

"Then forget it," the allied Grandmaster shook his head and said.

Although he had some interest in Pei Qingyun, it was far from that point.

In fact, Chen Yuanba said this to spare Pei Qingyun from being disturbed.

Among the Grandmasters present, there were actually very few who were sincere.

Therefore, he simply used this excuse.

Next, Chen Yuanba went from table to table to offer toasts.

And Pei Qingyun ate silently until Chen Yuanba toasted his table, at which point he slowly stood up.

Otherwise, the people at the same table would not have known his identity.

This Grandmaster Banquet lasted for nearly two hours.

Besides dining, the Chen Clan also arranged impromptu performances, most of which were dances.

Pei Qingyun was not interested in this.

After eating and drinking his fill, he returned to the celestial-grade guest room alone.

The next day.

After resting for the night, Pei Qingyun left Tianxiang Restaurant.

The next day, early morning.

Pei Qingyun rode in a Dragon Scale Horse carriage and arrived at the Pei Clan's assets within the prefecture city.

It had been over a year since he last came, and the Pei Clan's assets in the prefecture city had not changed much.

Unlike in Wuyang City, the Pei Clan's assets here were basically left to run themselves, and their profitability could only maintain the basic operations of the various shops.

This was also the norm for the operations of many Great Families.

No Great Family had all their assets making money; there were naturally those that made money and those that lost money, and of course, there were those that were balanced.

Like the Pei Clan's assets in the prefecture city, they were in a state of balance.

However, these loss-making assets all had a prerequisite.

That was that they had to be useful to the Pei Clan and be able to support a group of Pei Clan members; otherwise, these loss-making assets would have no value in existing.

Additionally, on the whole, the proportion of such Pei Clan assets was very low, less than ten percent.

As for the loss-making assets, there were even fewer.

However, Pei Qingyun was not here to inspect this time, nor was he here to conduct a surprise check.

At the main entrance of Wenxianglai Restaurant, Pei Tianquan, dressed in a dark robe, had been waiting for a long time.

Upon learning the news of Pei Qingyun's arrival, while he felt excited, his face also showed a bit of trepidation.

For these years, he had been doing his best. But the assets he was responsible for remained half-dead.

If it were before Pei Qingyun's Transmigration, it naturally would not have had much impact.

With Pei Qingyun's arrival, in these two years, the heads of the various Pei Clan assets were all thriving, but only he was still standing in place.

Without comparison, there is no harm.

With such a comparison, he undoubtedly stood out.

But things had come to this, and he could not change it.

Before long, a Dragon Scale Horse carriage slowly drove over.

In Jinhuai Prefecture, the Dragon Scale Horse was definitely exclusive to the Wuyang Pei Clan.

As the Dragon Scale Horse carriage stopped, Pei Qingyun walked down from the carriage.

"Old Ancestor, you are here," Pei Tianquan said respectfully.

Pei Qingyun waved his hand and said, "Alright, stop standing here, let's go in together."

Entering Wenxianglai Restaurant, Pei Qingyun casually looked around and compared it with Tianxiang Restaurant.

He had to admit that his own Wenxianglai Restaurant was still lacking something; it was indeed a few grades lower than Tianxiang Restaurant.

However, this was also perfectly normal.

Back then, the Wuyang Pei Clan was just an ordinary third-rate family, and being able to produce tens of thousands of taels to buy Wenxianglai Restaurant was already a huge investment.

But compared to the Chen Clan's investment, these tens of thousands of taels were not even a fraction of their total.

This was also the norm for ordinary third-rate families in the prefecture city.

To put it bluntly, land in the prefecture city was worth its weight in gold, and land prices were incomparable to those in Wuyang City.

Even the most remote area in Jinhuai Prefecture city was worth as much as a luxury location in Wuyang City.

The average gap even reached three to five times.

This was still because land prices in Wuyang City had risen in recent years; otherwise, the gap would only be greater.

After looking around casually for a few glances, Pei Qingyun slowly withdrew his gaze.

Of course, this situation was not without a solution.

As long as the Pei Clan was willing to invest, and with the added bonus of his vision from two lifetimes, Pei Qingyun still had the confidence to make Wenxianglai Restaurant thrive.

But if he did that, he would be a bit strapped for cash.

Just as Pei Qingyun was looking around, the string in Pei Tianquan's mind was stretched to the limit.

But fortunately, after Pei Qingyun had looked, he did not talk to him, which allowed that tightly stretched string to loosen up.

In fact, besides attending the Grandmaster Banquet, Pei Qingyun's purpose in coming to the prefecture city this time was to plan to open a branch of the Yuanhang Trade Caravan in the prefecture city.

Nowadays, the business of the Yuanhang Trade Caravan had already spread across the six counties of Jinhuai, with only the prefecture city left vacant.

As the center of Jinhuai Prefecture, the market prospects for transportation possessed by the prefecture city were not something any single one of the six counties could compare to.

Just the prefecture city alone was basically comparable to the sum of the six counties.

Once the Pei Clan occupied this market share, the revenue of the Yuanhang Trade Caravan would leap to become a pillar industry for the Pei Clan, and the total annual revenue would also reach the million-tael level.

Looking at the various Great Families in Jinhuai Prefecture, including the Qian, Chen, He, and Lü, the four major second-rate families, the number of million-tael industries would not exceed the count of one hand.

As for other third-rate families, unless they were as blessed as the Heyuan Cui Clan, monopolizing a river estuary.

Otherwise, it was basically impossible to reach the million-tael level.

Clearly, such third-rate families did not exist in Jinhuai Prefecture.

Therefore, establishing a Yuanhang Trade Caravan branch in the prefecture city was extremely important.

Besides this, Pei Qingyun intended to appoint another person in charge in the prefecture city to specifically manage the Yuanhang Trade Caravan branch.

Thinking of this, Pei Qingyun stopped his footsteps, sat on a chair to the side, and said, "Tianquan, how many years have you been in the prefecture city?"

Pei Tianquan was slightly stunned, and a look of contemplation appeared in his eyes, "Old Ancestor, since I could remember, I followed my father to the prefecture city, and it has been thirty years now."

A look of reminiscence appeared in Pei Qingyun's eyes, "When you were just a nursing baby, you were very mischievous. I didn't expect that thirty years have passed in a flash."

"You must know the purpose of my coming to the prefecture city. The market in the six counties of Jinhuai has completed its expansion, and I intend to build a Yuanhang Trade Caravan branch in the prefecture city. The affairs of the six counties are complicated, and it has already kept Tianming busy and overwhelmed. The Yuanhang Trade Caravan branch in the prefecture city should not be handed over to him to manage. Therefore, I intend to choose another person to be responsible for this matter. Currently, I have not decided on a candidate. You have been in the prefecture city for so many years, and all the affairs here have been managed by you. If you were to be responsible for the Yuanhang Trade Caravan branch, I would also be very at ease." Speaking to this point, Pei Qingyun paused and looked at Pei Tianquan to the side.

Hearing this, Pei Tianquan could not help but widen his eyes, thinking he had auditory hallucinations.

The Old Ancestor actually wanted him to be responsible for the Yuanhang Trade Caravan branch in the prefecture city.

Originally, he was worried that the Old Ancestor would blame him for poor management. But in the blink of an eye, he was entrusted with a heavy responsibility.

As one of the Elders of the Pei Clan, how could he not understand the gold content of the Yuanhang Trade Caravan?

In less than a year, it created over four hundred thousand taels of revenue for the Family.

If this were announced, it would definitely be a myth among third-rate families.

Unlike these assets in the prefecture city that were half-dead.

There was no passion in working on them.

Besides this, the treatment of Pei Clan members was related to the nature of their work and the revenue situation of the assets.

For assets with good benefits, the treatment would naturally be a bit higher.

Therefore, many Pei Clan members were more willing to work in the Yuanhang Trade Caravan.

The Pei Clan Elders were not immortals either. They also ate human food, so naturally, it was the same for them.

Who didn't want their own treatment to be better?

Even if they couldn't use it all, they could use it for their direct descendants.

This was also inevitable.

Competition existed within any Family.

Even among the same clan, there was a distinction between close and distant relatives.

Benign competition helped the Family grow stronger, while vicious competition contributed to the Family's decline and division.

Currently, the Pei Clan was in a stage of benign competition.

Pei Qingyun also encouraged the clan members to do so.

With him suppressing the overall situation, no matter what, the situation would not be too bad.

At this moment, Pei Tianquan felt as if he was on a roller coaster, suddenly rising to the clouds.

But after the excitement, he also quickly calmed down.

The Old Ancestor trusted him and handed the Yuanhang Trade Caravan branch to him, so he must take on this responsibility, rather than just seeing the immediate benefits.

After some thought, Pei Tianquan said solemnly, "Old Ancestor, I am willing."

Pei Qingyun laughed out loud, "Good, this is the sentence I was waiting for from you."