Conning the Merchants – Part 1

Chapter 74 – Conning the Merchants – Part 1

Two hours later, the government hall had been clean up as all seeds had been transported to the granary.

For the entire two hours, Lu Zhi's gaze fixated on Tong's every action. He tried to use his logic to find proof that Tong had displayed a simple trick and not a real magic, but he could not come up with any explanation.

Tong smiled at Lu Zhi and laughed when he saw Lu Zhi's stern face.

"Master, don't think too much. What has happened already happened, so don't bother wasting your time on something trivial."

The corner of Lu Zhi's mouth twitched. It seemed that he had to teach Tong about culture and about manner.

That day after they finished the work, Lu Zhi dragged Tong to his courtyard and gave him a sermon about culture, custom, and manner. He thought that Tong grew up in the rural area, and had not had any basic education about etiquette. Therefore, he forced Tong into his etiquette crash courses.

…

Evening.

Tong staggered back into his room with smoke coming out from his ears. His brain went short circuit because of the overwhelming information Lu Zhi had shoved onto him.

When he arrived, he found out that Hua Shi was lying face-down on his bed … with smoking coming out of her head.

"… Husband … I'm so tired."

Hua Shi whimpered with her shaking voice. She seemed exhausted.

"… Yeah, me too."

"I don't want to do any accounting anymore."

"But I don't know accounting and nobody can, but you."

"Eh? Then I'm stuck in this job forever?"

"No, be patient until I can find someone to replace you."

"But when!?"

"… Eventually."

Hua Shi flipped her body over, then she extended her arms as if she was inviting a hug.

"Recharge me."

"I don't know if I'm in the right mood."

"Stupid husband. I'm too tired for sex. Just cuddle with me for the night."

"…"

Tong felt like the sun had risen from the west. Hua Shi did not want to dual-cultivate?

Tong smiled and complied with her demand. Tong wrapped his arms around her and allowed Hua Shi to snuggle with him on his bed.

…

Midnight.

"Husband, I'm thirsty …"

"… The water jar is on the table. Go pick it yourself." Tong said sleepily.

"Not that kind of thirsty … I want the other water."

"…"

Further details about the night will be omitted.

…

…

January 12th. Morning.

Tong arrived at the government hall with brightened mood.

Yesterday, the stress of Hua Shi and Tong was accumulated to the peak, which made them more energetic on the bed activities as they had to vent their frustration.

Hua Shi copied Tong's [Inventory] skill from this dual-cultivation ritual of the Soulmate Contract. Because she had been working in the treasury for a while, she needed a skill that could help her in her job ASAP. Although Tong recommended the [Firearms Creation] skill instead, she ignored his advice and picked the inventory skill anyway.

Meanwhile, Tong distributed all his cultivation EXP into his [Create Food] skill because it was necessary for the city economic growth in the future. The moment its level was maxed out, the moment he would not have to worry about food shortage ever again in this lifetime.

Meanwhile, Hua Shi was still lying exhausted in the bed. Although her mental fatigue was healed, she was physically tired instead. As a result, she skipped work today.

…

The morning council meeting ended, and the auction schedule was set. All confiscated treasures would be sold in this auction along with Tong's secret beer and a large batch of soap. It would be held on March 31st. They delayed it, so merchants and nobles could attend the auction.

After everyone left, Tong and Lu Zhi remained in the hall again. Tong walked up the stage and sat on the main seat, after which he summoned the representative of merchants over.

Twenty minutes later, five well-dressed fat men straddled into the hall. These people were as rich as nobles and have private troops, so they did not think too highly about Tong and his family.

Once they got into the hall, they did not show any respect toward Tong. Instead, they stood firm and did not even greet or bow anyone inside, regardless of how high-status Lu Zhi or Tong was.

Tong and Lu Zhi's frown deepened. These people were unexpectedly rude. Although Tong did not mind because he had dealt with several rude people and criminals in his previous life, the guards nearby could barely hold themselves together because of their anger. Meanwhile, Lu Zhi was an experienced politician. He reverted to his indifferent face without any sign of emotion.

"What do you want from us? We are busy so make it quick."

The fat man who wore golden-decorated-sleeves pearl-white robe spoke out. He seemed to be their leader.

The guards glared at them as if they wanted to jump at them at any moment. They glanced at Tong and waited for his instruction as they were ready to kill them any time.

Tong raised his eyebrows in amusement. Such cliché spoiled rich men could be found here as well. He thought that they would only exist in novels.

"Well then. I'll do you guys a favor. You can go home. I wanted to offer you a business deal. But since you are so busy, then I won't trouble you. Go, go."

Tong waved his hand as if he was chooing a stray dog, which angered the five men. The guards snickered while Lu Zhi had a faint smile on his face.

The merchant leader swallowed his anger and regained his calm. As a veteran entrepreneur of many businesses, shamelessness was his nature.

"Please forgive us for our inconsideration. If my lord has any business proposal, then we are all ears."

Tong smiled as he was impressed by the ability to adapt to any kind of situation by the merchant leader. He had more EQ than Tong had initially estimated, or maybe the merchant was just being shameless.

"Good. Let me ask you this, do you know about this product?"

Tong pretended to pull out a bar of soap from his sleeve. In reality, he picked it up from his space inventory.

The merchant glanced at it and spoke.

"Yes, it is the soap that is currently circulated in our network. It's very popular among the female nobles."

"What's the standard price at the moment?"

The merchant paused for a moment before he answered.

"Twenty to Thirty gold, my lord. It may be a rare product, but we find it hard to sell that with higher prices."

The merchant lied. The real price for a bar of Tong's soap was currently forty to fifty gold a piece. This standard price had been set by the Yuan family a few months ago.

Tong squinted his eyes and tried to read the merchant's facial expression.

'From the looks of his eyes, voice and subtle movements, he's actually nervous. Oh, he's sweat a bit, too. Heck, it's still winter and the temperature should be about 5 to 10°C. Though he's fat, he should not be sweating this much.'

Lu Zhi had taught him a bit about Face Feng Shui and lie detecting techniques. Although Tong had learned most of it in the police-military school in his last life, he still studied under Lu Zhi's guidance in earnest. Tong did not expect that it could be used so soon.

'Well, I already knew that Yuan family could sell these for 50 to 60 gold in the beginning. The real current standard price should be somewhere a little lower than that. But this guy slashed the price in half and lied through his teeth. He's quite shrewd and gutsy for a merchant.'

"And where did you find these products? Is there anyone else that selling them in bulk?"

The merchant stared into Tong's eyes for a moment, then he cursed Tong in his mind.

'Stupid brat! Do you think you can dib your hand on our business? We are no fool! I'll give him false info then he …'

Suddenly, he felt a chill running down his spine. By just looking at Tong's face, a sense of fear overwhelmed him.

Tong gave him a meaningful smile, but behind his mask, he activated his aura.

…

*******************************

[Intimidating Aura] Cannot be leveled up.

- Instill fear to all living beings in the radius area.

Skill Restriction:

- Can only be used when [Aura Mastery] level 3 or higher was activated.

- Does not work against any opponent with stronger mental strength.

*******************************

…

On the other side, Lu Zhi frowned at Tong for a split a second, then he reverted back to normal. However, he had a faint smile on this face.

'I didn't expect him to possess this kind of aura. It even has the same vibe with Mengde and Benchu. To think that I picked up such a gem ... I guess I'll stick around a bit longer.'

...

Four of the merchants plummeted down on the ground while the leader managed to maintain his standing posture with his shaking legs.

"T-The Yuan family is the main distributor of this soap. We cannot find this anywhere else!"

Tong nodded and withdrew his aura. It seemed he was speaking the truth. Extorting information by using fear and intimidation was still efficient even in this era.

"Thank you for your information. Don't worry. I'm a fair person. This scroll contains the inside news about the future movements of the city government. I want you to spread the news among your cliques."

Inside the scroll, Tong had written the details new laws that restricted the merchant's right to buy food from this city. However, Tong wrote a few perks that he had not announced to the public yet.