Chapter 51: The Attitude of the Qian Clan Trading House

Chapter 51: The Attitude of the Qian Clan Trading House

Xiao Ce heard the voice and immediately felt tense all over.

Da Lei and the others instantly became alert as well.

Xiao Ce adjusted his expression and turned around.

“Sir Guard, do you have any further orders?”

The leader of the soldiers, the Captain, waved the slip of paper in his hand. “The slip for you! Without this slip, someone would still come to check on you.”

Xiao Ce listened and let out a long sigh of relief because, for the time being, he did not want to confront them head-on.

He walked forward and received the slip with both hands.

“Thank you, thank you!”

Right after, they entered Lingxiao City.

Inside Lingxiao City, things were much livelier, worthy of being the central city of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures.

The buildings here were quite distinctive, arranged in a well-proportioned manner throughout the city.

Although there were many people on the road, looking at them, they seemed more like walking corpses.

Xiao Ce also saw the legendary indigenous people, those whose faces were tattooed with a crooked character for ‘Desert’.

These people with the name tattooed on their faces seemed to be of even lower status, all doing hard labor.

Walking the entire way, the atmosphere in this city felt suffocating.

What he saw was completely polarized.

One group were the bondservants and slaves who were indigenous people. Their faces mostly showed numbness, no expression, not much emotion.

The ostentation of the rich was immense, even greater than the pomp of some princes and nobles traveling in the Capital.

He also did not see any starving or begging people.

They must have been cleared out.

After walking for a while, on one side of the street, he saw a Central Plains-style wooden building.

A large plaque hung there: “Qian Clan Trading House.”

Xiao Ce parked the carriage at the entrance. Soon, a thin child with a ‘Desert’ tattoo on his face walked up with a standard smile.

“Sirs, what would you like to buy or sell? We have everything here!”

Looking at the child’s emaciated body, it felt like a gust of wind could blow him over.

Xiao Ce said to the child, “Is your shopkeeper here?”

The child nodded and said to Xiao Ce, “Yes, sir. You are looking for our shopkeeper. Please come inside!”

Xiao Ce nodded and followed, instructing Da Lei to have a few people guard the carriage.

Entering this trading house, the furnishings were completely those of a Central Plains trading house.

After the child settled Xiao Ce in a seat, he went to call the shopkeeper.

After a short while, a round-faced, chubby shopkeeper with a full smile came out.

Xiao Ce looked at this shopkeeper and felt somehow familiar.

It seemed like when he was in Anhua City, the Qian family shopkeeper he saw also looked like this.

“Young Master Xiao, you’ve finally arrived. I’ve been waiting for you here for a long time.”

Just as Xiao Ce found this person familiar, the Qian family shopkeeper came forward to greet him.

Xiao Ce heard the other party directly call out his surname.

He was somewhat surprised. “You know me?”

The shopkeeper dismissed the attendants around him and then walked up to Xiao Ce, kneeling and kowtowing. “Young Master Xiao, I am the Qian family shopkeeper from Anhua City. I once had the chance to meet you briefly, but you, an Honored Guest, are busy with important matters and must not remember me.”

After hearing the shopkeeper’s words, Xiao Ce smiled and said, “So it’s you! I was just thinking, do all Qian family shopkeepers have a standard look? I didn’t expect you to have come here from Anhua City!”

The shopkeeper clasped his hands and said, “Yes, Young Master. Ever since our master learned that you were coming to the Four Northern Desert Prefectures, he ordered me to come here first to await your instructions. I didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly. I’ve only been here a few days myself.”

Xiao Ce said with a smile, “Your Qian family boss certainly has good foresight.”

The shopkeeper smiled and said, “Our master told me that you, Young Master, are destined to be a person high above in the future! If we can be of assistance to you, it will surely benefit us greatly. So, our master said, whatever you ask, if we can do it, we will do it; if we cannot do it, we will still do it!”

Xiao Ce nodded with satisfaction and said, “Your master is a smart man! Good. Since that’s the case, I won’t beat around the bush. I rushed here as fast as I could precisely to attend Grand General Bao An’s wedding for taking his twentieth concubine. Has your Qian Clan Trading House been invited?”

The shopkeeper nodded and bowed in response. “Yes, Young Master. We are invited. Not just us. General Bao An called it a wedding, but it’s actually for gathering wealth. So, all parties have been invited.”

Xiao Ce listened and nodded. “Good! That’s great.”

The shopkeeper continued to ask, “Young Master, do you want to attend?”

Xiao Ce nodded, before he could even answer.

The shopkeeper asked curiously, “Young Master, you want to attend using the identity of the Qian Clan Trading House, not your own identity, right?”

Xiao Ce said with a smile, “Exactly! Is that a problem?”

The shopkeeper nodded and said, “Of course not. However, Young Master, our invited seats are all in the outer areas. We might not even get to see General Bao An!”

Xiao Ce said, “What if we present a generous gift?”

Seeing Xiao Ce say this, the shopkeeper said, “If the gift is heavy enough, perhaps we could be arranged to enter the inner hall.”

Xiao Ce said with a smile, “Do you think fifty catties of Snow Sugar and Snow Salt count as a heavy gift?”

After hearing Xiao Ce’s words, the shopkeeper’s eyes brightened considerably, and he quickly said, “Of course… but, Young Master, you don’t need to give that much. Ten catties of each would be enough. News of that Snow Sugar and Snow Salt has reached here! The price for one catty has already been driven up to two thousand taels of silver because only our Qian Clan Trading House has it, but the few dozen catties we brought were snatched up immediately.”

“So, offering fifty catties of each is simply too much.”

After hearing this, Xiao Ce felt a bit rueful in his heart. The rich people here were truly rich.

One catty of white sugar for two thousand taels, and they were buying it eagerly!

It seemed his marketing was very effective.

After all, for these noble clans and the nobility, money might just be a number. Being able to spend money to buy longevity, they naturally flocked to it.

Xiao Ce waved his hand at the shopkeeper and said, “It’s fine! I’m just bringing it out for a moment; he won’t actually get his hands on it!”

As Xiao Ce spoke, a flash of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes.

The shopkeeper had seen many people, and Xiao Ce’s undisguised killing intent in his eyes made him shudder.

“Young Master, do you have some plan?”

Xiao Ce did not hide it. “Yes. So, it might end up implicating your Qian Clan Trading House! As for what the plan is, I won’t tell you. Are you still willing to cooperate with me?”

The shopkeeper nodded, bowing his body. “Naturally, Young Master. Please don’t misunderstand. I wanted to ask if there’s anything I can help with?”

Xiao Ce shook his head and said, “Not really. I just want to borrow your identity to get in first!”

The shopkeeper agreed without hesitation. “That is certainly no problem.”

Xiao Ce showed a meaningful smile as he looked at the shopkeeper. “If my plan fails, your Qian Clan Trading House will definitely be implicated. Even your life might not be safe, and even the Qian Clan Trading House’s businesses in the Four Northern Desert Prefectures might be purged.”

Hearing Xiao Ce’s words, the shopkeeper’s expression remained normal. He clasped his hands. “Young Master, with your status, you are not afraid. Compared to you, our things are even less significant. Our master’s words are: help if we can; if we cannot, we must still help even at the risk of our lives!”

Xiao Ce laughed heartily and said, “Good! I’ll remember this kindness. Since you dare to take the gamble, I definitely won’t let you lose!”

Then, Xiao Ce looked at the shopkeeper and said, “Shopkeeper, I still don’t know your name.”

The shopkeeper bowed and said, “Young Master, my name is Qian Lai. I was adopted by the Qian family master and given this name.”

“Qian Lai, a good name! From now on, I’ll call you Shopkeeper Lai.”

Qian Lai clasped his hands. “Very well, Young Master. Then, Young Master, you can use the identity of our Qian family’s young master to attend the banquet later.”

Xiao Ce nodded and said, “Okay! When is their banquet? And who will be attending?”

Qian Lai answered Xiao Ce, “Young Master, all the influential people of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures will come. First, the people from the Four Great Clans, then the various prominent families, and the major merchants.”

As Qian Lai spoke, he showed a guarded expression, looked around stealthily, and said to Xiao Ce in a secretive manner, “Young Master, I’ve heard that people from the Turkic Kingdom will also send Your Highness the Prince!”

Hearing this, Xiao Ce’s smile widened even more. “Haha, good! Then it seems we really can pull off a big haul!”

Qian Lai looked at Xiao Ce and said, “Young Master, do you need protection from private guards?”

Xiao Ce asked curiously, “Private guards?”

“They are private guards we employ. We have five hundred private guards here. These guards are all skilled fighters worth ten men each!”

Xiao Ce shook his head and said, “No need. It’s about time, right? Do you have clothes here? After my journey, I’m covered in dust and need to change my outfit.”

Qian Lai said to Xiao Ce, “Young Master, I’ll have someone attend to you right away.”

As he spoke, Qian Lai called over two girls. These two girls had fair skin and curvaceous figures.

Their facial features were also very delicate, truly beautiful women.

Except, their faces were tattooed with a crooked character for ‘Desert’.

Xiao Ce inwardly thought it was a pity, such pretty faces.

“Both of you, go and attend to the Young Master properly, help him bathe and change.”

The two girls kept their heads bowed the whole time. Under the care of the two,

Xiao Ce took a comfortable bath.

The two girls were clearly well-trained, their techniques were very good.

This was the first time Xiao Ce was attended to since arriving here, and honestly, it felt very good.

He got to experience the feeling of having everything served to him.

He changed into a set of fine, light blue robes.

Xiao Ce then walked out.

Qian Lai was already waiting.

“Young Master, it’s almost time. We can set off!”

Xiao Ce nodded and said, “Okay, let’s go! No matter what happens later, don’t be afraid. Listen to me, and I’ll ensure your safety!”

Qian Lai nodded and said, “I will obey. Young Master, after you!”

Xiao Ce saw Qian Lai prepared a luxurious carriage and saw the Twelve Fiends follow.

Qian Lai reminded him, “Young Master, according to our status, at most two people can follow inside, counting me. That means you can only bring one person in.”

Xiao Ce nodded and said, “I know! When the time comes, only Da Lei will follow me inside. The others have their own ways to get in!”

Then, Xiao Ce said to Da Lei, “Go and prepare the big gift I intend to personally give to Bao An!”

Da Lei nodded and said, “Young Master, rest assured, everything has been arranged properly!”