"That's right!" Li Banfeng nodded, "Do you know how many people want this territory? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"You've been good to me, I know that. I am sincere towards you too," Chu Er said with his head down and his face red, "But I don't know if I have the ability. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold onto this territory."
"What are you afraid of? We have Second Aunt backing us!"
"Bitter Granny can't always take care of me. Speaking of which, just now He Jiaqing came to find me, probably for this territory too, right?"
"That's impossible." Li Banfeng shook his head. He wanted to give the territory to Chu Er, and apart from him and Qiu Luoye, nobody else knew about it. He Jiaqing couldn't have received the news.
"Besides, I don't think that person was He Jiaqing."
Chu Er said, "Why not He Jiaqing? I knew him since I was a child, that Bird Person has been sinister since young, I think he's He Jiaqing."
Li Banfeng said, "Think carefully, if He Jiaqing really wanted Hundred Joy Gate, would he take action personally? He's got quite a number of businesses, all supported by Shen Rongqing and Duan Shuqun, have you ever seen him actively show his face?
The Outside Provinces are still after him, would he dare to come directly to your door to snatch business? If the Defense Agency found out, Liao Zihui would have to send people to capture him. Even if he could fend off the Defense Agency, doing so would be too risky."
Chu Er nodded, "Brother Seven is right, now that I think about it, that person really doesn't seem like He Jiaqing."
"Hiss!" Xiang Fenglan nearby took a sharp breath.
Just now it was said it was him, and suddenly it's not.
Just the sentence "Brother Seven is right," didn't seem like it came from Chu Er's mouth.
"Elder Sister Xiang, go check on Old Yang and Hong Yan, how they are doing," Chu Er glared at Xiang Fenglan, "I need to discuss something with Brother Seven."
Xiang Fenglan sneered, "Are you really discussing or planning something? Can I not just watch from the side?"
Li Banfeng stood and said, "All matters have been discussed, hurry up and bury the Contract Book, take over the territory. You're from a big family, you know what to do."
After speaking, Li Banfeng intended to leave.
Chu Er was reluctant, tugged on Li Banfeng's lapel, "You must come and see me often, in this world, I'm the one who misses you most."
Xiang Fenglan bowed her head and said, "Not necessarily, I've heard Jiang Mengting is sick and missed two song performances in a row. If you don't go see her, she might be gone."
"I'll go check the Xiaoyao Lodge." Li Banfeng left the Chu Family Mansion.
Chu Er glared fiercely at Xiang Fenglan, "You wretched thing, how do you know Jiang Mengting is sick? Was it Ma Wu who told you? I'll tell Bitter Granny about this later!"
...
Li Banfeng went to Xiaoyao Lodge, Ma Wu was chatting with two girls, and when he saw Li Banfeng, Ma Wu quickly introduced, "Old Qi, these are two newly acquainted confidantes, one is called Ah Chun, the other is called Ah Se."
These two confidantes carried green flames, clearly not Living People.
But Li Banfeng wasn't surprised, for Ma Wu, the divide between people and ghosts was just trivial!
He went to find Jiang Mengting, and it turned out she was indeed sick, looking quite haggard.
Li Banfeng tended to Jiang Mengting with water and medicine, genuinely taking care of her.
The two girls continued to confide their grievances to Ma Wu.
Ah Se sighed lightly, "Wulang, we have such a hard life, serving as slaves to a Nightmare Cultivator, punished whenever something goes wrong, we don't know how long this life will go on."
Ma Wu said seriously, "Don't worry, meeting me Ma Junyang today means the end of your hardships. Tomorrow, I'll speak with your master to write a document to let you two come to me."
Ah Se squeezed Ma Wu's hand, "Young Master Wu is indeed a good person!"
Ah Chun also held Ma Wu's hand, "Young Master Wu truly is good, but what are we sisters here for?"
Ah Se said naturally, "Isn't it obvious, we came specifically to visit Young Master Wu."
Ah Chun blinked and said, "Is that so?"
Ah Se was silent for a moment, "I think so..."
Ah Chun looked at Ma Wu, "Young Master Wu, was that Li Qi just now?"
...
Li Banfeng looked at Ah Se's painting and clearly saw the entire process of Sun Tiecheng interrogating Inner State person Huang Zenan.
Painting Cultivation isn't like a Projector, and Ah Se's skills aren't as high as Mu Yuejuan's, the overall image isn't too vivid, but the meaning was clearly expressed.
Ah Chun said beside him, "Young Master Li, City Master Sun asked you to be extra cautious. He specifically mentioned the abacus belonging to Zhang Gunli, saying it's very peculiar, and sent our master to Black Stone Slope to research with Tang Shijiang."
Li Banfeng recalled the details of the fight with He Jiaqing.
He Jiaqing always held a Folding Fan, though it didn't serve as a Weapon or Magical Treasure.
So, what was he doing with the Folding Fan?
Could it be similar to the function of the abacus?
...
At Black Stone Slope, a merchant was worried about land issues, the territory he bought was too small, the factory area wasn't enough, and he couldn't fit the equipment.
On a friend's recommendation, he hired an experienced engineer, who was dressed in suspenders, a safety helmet, tall and burly, with a face full of beard, wearing a pair of glasses that didn't quite match his appearance.
He looked ordinary, but he was actually Black Stone Slope's Local Deity, Tang Shijiang.
He had several identities in Black Stone Slope, an experienced engineer being just one, besides being a mason, a laborer, a mechanic, a cook, newspaper director, and magazine model.
Tang Shijiang looked at the blueprints for a long time and shook his head.
The factory area was indeed insufficient.
The Steam Engine, a constant power device in Puluo State, due to its complex steam-water circulation system, resulted in its large size, which makes it impossible for this factory to fit all the equipment.
The issue of size was a hurdle the Steam Engine couldn't bypass, Tang Shijiang conducted extensive research but with little success.
The merchant couldn't help but spend money on land.
Tang Shijiang was modifying the blueprints, spun the pencil twice in his hand then tucked it behind his ear.
He left the factory, came to the wall, and asked, "Senior, you looking for me?"
Gui Jianchou smiled, "Don't call me senior, there's no need for such formality between us."
"Between us?" Tang Shijiang didn't feel they had such a deep connection, "What do you want with me?"
Gui Jianchou took out the abacus, handing it to Tang Shijiang, "Take a look at this, what is this thing."
Tang Shijiang held the abacus, gently shook it, watched the trajectory of the beads, his gaze growing deep.
After carefully observing for two hours, Tang Shijiang moved six beads, and when these beads moved, all the others moved along.
Gui Jianchou didn't understand Craftsman Cultivation and didn't know the principle of this thing.
Ghost Servant Ah Tie exclaimed, "He actually figured it out, truly figured it out!"
Tang Shijiang shook his head, "I only discovered the mechanism, haven't found the power source. This is a treasure, a rare treasure."
...
"It's indeed a treasure, Inner State's Craftsmanship Method is truly impressive," Portable Residence exclaimed, speaking to Phonograph, "Girl, lift the third rib of the fan slightly, don't use too much force."
Phonograph gently lifted the rib.
Hiss!
A sharp sound echoed.
A strand of white mist flew out.
Phonograph exclaimed, "This fan, is it a Steam Engine?"
"You got it," Portable Residence laughed, "Girl, I finally know what Inner State's Bloodline is, no wonder they are all so big-bodied!"