34: Qingyunzui

At dawn the next day, a thick fog still shrouded the area, making it impossible to tell east from west.

Lu Xuan woke up early, took out the wine he had brewed himself, and prepared to head to the county town.

Although he already had a plan for yesterday's matters, he still needed to go to the city to discuss it with Wang Yuanhua.

Even though he was now at the Peak Grandmaster level while Wang Yuanhua was only an Elementary Grandmaster, Lu Xuan did not make any grand announcements.

While the world had seemed calm on the surface these past few years, no one knew how many great families had vanished into the long river of history behind the scenes.

The reason for this was that a common man is guiltless, but treasuring a jade ring becomes his crime.

Over hundreds of years, those great families had accumulated too many good things. With the influx of Loose Cultivators, incidents of killing for treasure occurred frequently.

If the Purple Sun Sect hadn't issued a dao token two years ago, ordering the Sect forces distributed throughout the world to patrol, it would likely be even more chaotic now.

This made Lu Xuan feel for the first time that paying taxes actually served some purpose.

Zhao Xiao Lei drove the carriage. Now thirteen or fourteen years old, he had already been studying under Ye Wentao for five years, and his martial arts cultivation had reached the third-rate level.

Lu Xuan was indeed generous with medicinal soups; the slight consumption of qi and blood grass was easily covered by the abundance of qi and blood grass filling the back mountain.

"Patriarch, we've arrived."

A long queue stretched from the city gate. Although the Lu Family was the undisputed authority in West Mountain Village and was even gaining fame in the surrounding villages...

...in the county town, they were still just nameless country bumpkins and muddy-legged peasants.

Naturally, they could only follow the line.

"Master Lu? Is that you, Master Lu?"

Just as Zhao Xiao Lei got down to lead the carriage, a young man in armor, who seemed to be a leader, came running over.

Lu Xuan leaned out from the carriage.

"Oh, it really is you, Master Lu! Why are you still waiting in line? Come, go directly through here."

Lu Xuan didn't recognize the man and was somewhat confused.

The man took the initiative to introduce himself.

"I am Ma Hao, a Corporal under Lord Wang. I saw you dining with Lord Wang before, Master Lu."

"Master Lu, I assume you have urgent business in the city. Please, come to the front."

As he spoke, he reached for the carriage's reins.

"Thank you, Officer Ma, we can handle it ourselves."

Lu Xuan also stepped down from the carriage, seamlessly pressing a tael of silver into Ma Hao's hand.

"Master Lu, what is this?"

"Consider it my treat for the brothers' tea."

"Then I thank Master Lu on behalf of the brothers."

A minor figure had saved Lu Xuan at least half an hour of time.

As for privilege?

Did I not become stronger for the sake of longevity and privilege!

The people waiting in line didn't complain. After all, it wasn't a real trip to the city if you didn't see someone cutting the line.

These city guards' ability to judge people was the result of years of experience.

"Xiao Lei, after you park the carriage, wander around the city for a bit. We'll meet at the usual spot in the afternoon."

"Yes, Patriarch!"

Lu Xuan carried the fine wine and some meat he had braised himself to find Wang Yuanhua.

Nowadays, Wang Yuanhua worked his shift at the yamen during the day, but he wouldn't stay in the main hall. Instead, he permanently reserved a private room in the teahouse next to the yamen.

This teahouse was also the largest in Pingze County.

'Mingyue Xuan'

"Master Lu is here? Lord Wang is currently in."

The waiter, seeing it was Lu Xuan, was already familiar with the routine and led him upstairs.

"Slice this braised meat onto a plate, and bring a few more side dishes to go with the wine."

Upon reaching the door, Lu Xuan handed the items he brought to the waiter.

"Understood, please wait a moment."

He entered the room.

Wang Yuanhua was sitting in his seat sipping tea, with a cup already set out for Lu Xuan opposite him.

He had heard the movement when Lu Xuan was coming upstairs.

"How do you have the time to visit this old man today?"

"Elder Brother Wang, didn't I think of you the moment I got something good?"

Lu Xuan said as he raised the wine jar in his hand.

"Fine wine? From Immortal Fate Pavilion?"

"How could it be my turn to get wine from Immortal Fate Pavilion?"

"True. Every year I only have a quota of one or two jars, and I still have to share it with you."

He finished with an expression of mock heartbreak, as if he were suffering a great loss.

"Haha, Elder Brother Wang is not a stingy person. Look, this is wine I brewed myself. As soon as it was ready, I came to share it with you."

As they spoke, the waiter brought the dishes and wine bowls.

Lu Xuan opened the lid, and a potent aroma of wine wafted out.

Even Wang Yuanhua couldn't help but have his eyes drawn to Lu Xuan's movements.

The clear liquid formed a silver thread as it was poured from the jar into the wine bowl.

Once filled, he handed it to Wang Yuanhua.

"Taste it!"

Lu Xuan was extremely confident in the wine he had brewed.

Wang Yuanhua downed it in one gulp.

The sharp, spicy flavor filled his nasal passages.

"Soft on the entry, a single line down the throat. Good wine, good wine! Fill it up."

After three bowls in a row, even though he was a Grandmaster, his face was slightly flushed since he hadn't used his Qi to dispel the alcohol.

"What is this wine called?"

"Drunken Azure Clouds."

"A good name, and a good wine!"

"However, Younger Brother Lu, I suspect you didn't come today just to drink with me."

"I recall you aren't much of a drinker."

"Elder Brother Wang has a Wisdom Eye. Tell me, if you and I were to sell this wine together, how much money could we make?"

Lu Xuan went straight to the point with Wang Yuanhua.

Wang Yuanhua set down his bowl and remained silent for a long time.

"Wealth would surely pour in; we'd be making a fortune every day."

"You want to sell this wine with me?"

"Wouldn't that be letting me take advantage of you for nothing? It's not right, not right!"

He was clear about Lu Xuan's thoughts but found them hard to accept. Even if Lu Xuan gave him no profit at all, he would still protect him.

One should not underestimate the bond they had formed over the past five years.

"I naturally know your friendship, Elder Brother Wang, but you are not alone; you have the Wang Family behind you. Now that the world is changing greatly, the Wang Family surely wants to take a step further. With money plus your strength, it might be possible to advance."

"In the future, you might even enter the commandery city. It would be even more convenient to protect me while I earn some spare change then."

"Sigh~ I am unworthy of this, brother."

Ultimately, with a long sigh from Wang Yuanhua, the two reached an agreement.

Originally, Lu Xuan thought of a forty-sixty split—forty for him and sixty for the Wang Family.

He wanted to trade some profit for the Family's development, using money to buy time.

But Wang Yuanhua absolutely refused, insisting on a fifty-fifty split. The Wang Family would open a restaurant and source the wine from the Lu Family.

The restaurant would be managed by the Wang Family, while the wine would be managed by the Lu Family, with accounts settled every six months.

Lu Xuan also took the opportunity to give Wang Yuanhua some recipes he had experimented with, making the already guilty-feeling man feel even more indebted to him.

Even though Lu Xuan said he had already won big.

However, the drunken Wang Yuanhua insisted on having his thirty-something-year-old son recognize the twenty-something-year-old Lu Xuan as his godfather.

This left Lu Xuan caught between laughter and tears.

The two drank from morning until afternoon, though it was mostly Wang Yuanhua who was drinking.

After finishing the wine Lu Xuan brought, they drank what was sold on the market.

He cursed as he drank.

"Is this horse urine? It has no kick at all."

"It can't even compare to a single hair of my brother's."

...and other such words.

Only after the owner of Mingyue Xuan, a member of the Wang Family, came to carry Wang Yuanhua to the back to rest was Lu Xuan finally able to escape.

The two had agreed to renovate the Wang Family's shop on the busy street and train a few chefs. It would take three months at most to open.

Three months later would be autumn and winter. At that time, drinking strong wine and eating the hotpot Lu Xuan had improved would definitely bring in a fortune every day.