I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 38 Show off a little bit

The inner courtyard of Li Mansion.

Li Ru and his family of three had breakfast early, and Li Shaoyun even changed into an exquisite brocade robe, belt, and hairpin, showing his extraordinary temperament.

Madam Li smiled and instructed, "Today is your first day at Baiyu Hall as a deputy deacon, although it's just a nominal position. But with Deacon Zhang gone, you must keep a low profile. Baiyu Hall is not our Li Mansion. You must bow your head when you should, and don't mess with anyone you shouldn't."

Li Shaoyun was in high spirits, looking very confident. "I understand, mother. I was a nominal deputy under Deacon Zhang. Now that Deacon Zhang is gone, I'm working under the new deacon. I just don't know who the new deacon is, what his temperament is like... and whether I need to give him a gift..."

Li Shaoyun is now twenty years old and has already graduated from the military academy in the county.

With Wu Xiucai's rank, he could have studied under a prestigious family in Nanyang Prefecture and prepared for the provincial examination three years later. However, the Li family did not have such connections, so he could only find a prestigious family in Qingwu County.

The Tiger and Wolf Sect is undoubtedly one of the two major sects in Qingwu County.

The honorary position of deputy deacon in the Tiger and Wolf Sect was obtained by Li Ru, who had previously given Zhang Biao five hundred taels of silver. He thought the matter was foolproof, but Zhang Biao...died.

Although Zhang Biao finalized Li Shaoyun's deputy position before his death, the rash replacement of a new deacon made the three members of the Li family feel somewhat insecure.

Li Ru gritted his teeth, took out a purse, and reluctantly handed it to Li Shaoyun. "Your worries are not unfounded. To ensure your position is smooth, you should give the 180 taels of ransom that Old Xie gave you to the new deacon. If you have good relationships, your career will be smooth. If you pass the imperial examination in the future, all these expenses will be worth it."

Li Shaoyun took the purse, bowed his hands and said gratefully, "Thank you, Dad! When I pass the imperial examination in three years, I will definitely repay you twice as much."

……

When Xie An arrived at the Xueling black market, it was already noon.

The black market is closed during the day and is sparsely populated. Apart from the shopkeepers and clerks who live here year-round, the only people who come and go are stall owners preparing their goods in advance.

Disciples from the Tiger and Wolf Sect can be seen patrolling everywhere.

"Brother, I finally got you here."

When Zhang Lin saw the masked Xie An, he was as enthusiastic as ever. He asked Zhou Xing to clean out a separate courtyard early on and provide it for Xie An to rest and practice.

The yard is not big, about 300 square meters, but the structure is extremely exquisite.

There were two osmanthus trees, a rockery pond, pavilions, and attics. There was also a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and so on. There was also a dedicated room with a weapons rack and stone locks and other training items.

After thirty years of traveling through this world, Xie An has never owned such a luxurious courtyard.

In his previous life, Xie An had always longed to own his own Dabieye, but unfortunately, his abilities were limited, and he never achieved it until his death. He never expected that after traveling through time, he would actually achieve this small goal.

"Zhou Xing, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and carry your brother's bag."

After being scolded by Zhang Lin, Zhou Xing realized the situation later and quickly ran to Xie An to help him take off the bag on his back.

Xie An did not hesitate, thinking that since he was a manager after all, it was reasonable for someone to carry the bag, so he handed the luggage to Zhou Xing.

We have Dabieye, and we have people who carry bags...

Just one word: comfortable.

After entering the hall, Zhang Lin personally made tea for Xie An and patiently introduced the work in the black market.

Generally speaking, the Blood Ridge black market's business is divided into two parts.

One part is the security, responsible for maintaining order and ensuring the safety of merchants. This part is in the charge of Zhang Lin.

The other part of the business was the black market business, which included booth fees, entrance fees, other commissions and personal relationships. This part of the business was previously handled by Zhang Biao, but now it naturally fell to Xie An.

Xie An's job was much better than Zhang Lin's. It didn't involve fighting, it was quite leisurely, and there was more money to be made.

And... although Zhang Biao and Zhang Lin are both deacons, it seems that Zhang Biao is the boss of the Blood Ridge black market, and Zhang Lin is the second in command.

Now, Xie An has replaced Zhang Lin. Has he become the boss of the black market?

Zhang Lin seemed to see Xie An's doubts and explained with a smile, "The Blood Ridge Black Market is managed by Wei Dianxiangzhu, and there is also a chief steward, Lin Yun, who is Wei Xiangzhu's deputy. He doesn't come here normally, and only comes to check the accounts at the end of each month. I used to cooperate with Zhang Biao, but now that the elder brother is here, I should cooperate with him."

Zhang Lin also wanted to be big, but Tang Qingyun had said so... Although he felt a little disappointed, he was also content. At least getting along with his older brother was much more comfortable than getting along with Zhang Biao.

Xie An nodded slightly, "I see. By the way, Brother Zhang, the Blood Ridge Black Market only opens at night. What do people do during the day?"

Zhang Lin told the truth, "During the day, we're responsible for cleaning, soliciting business, and so on. But these things are usually done by the subordinates. We deacons get special treatment."

"special treatment?"

"Yes. I can go to Baiyutang to learn martial arts..."

After Zhang Lin's narration, Xie An finally understood this special treatment:
The Baiyutang branch was located near the Shuideng Wharf, not far from Wuqiao Town. It had three hundred disciples. Wei Xiangzhu and the chief deacon usually lived in the Baiyutang branch to practice martial arts.

Including other incense masters and deputy hall masters. In order to promote martial arts, the Tiger and Wolf Sect opened a martial arts arena, a library, and a teaching building in the White Feather Hall. When the disciples finished their work, they could go there to listen to martial arts lectures.

Deacons are the most junior officials in the Tiger and Wolf Sect and enjoy special privileges in martial arts training. For example, the deacons of the Blood Ridge Black Market are responsible for black market affairs at night and can learn martial arts in the hall during the day.

Baiyu Hall has a library, a pharmacy, an armory, etc.

After listening to it, Xie An was very satisfied and felt that he had come to the right place.

"If you're anxious, I'll take you to the hall right now. As a deacon, you can choose a martial art for free, find a teacher for free, and even get some medicine to help you practice..."

Xie An weighed the pros and cons for a moment, then suppressed his anxiety and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Zhang. However, I'm new here, so I'd better familiarize myself with the business of the black market first. Once I'm familiar with the business and the black market is successfully opened, it won't be too late to go to the hall."

Zhang Lin couldn't help but look at Xie An with a higher regard, and said with more certainty: "Brother, you are really down-to-earth and steady. If the incense master knew, he would definitely be pleased."

Xie An just smiled and didn't explain.

He was a newcomer with no background. If he neglected his main job and only went to practice martial arts, it would inevitably leave a bad impression on Wei Xiangzhu and the chief steward Lin Yun.

With the blessing of a long life, Xie An was not in a hurry. He should first gain a firm foothold in the black market and then make plans slowly.

"By the way, Brother Zhang, are Master Wei Xiang and the Head Deacon in the black market today? I'd like to prepare some gifts and visit them."

When you first arrive, you should pay your respects to the mountain leader.

Xie An understood this rule, but he didn't think he could get away with it just because he was a deacon.

Zhang Lin said, "Master Wei Xiang and the chief steward have been called by the hall master to suppress bandits. I'm afraid they will be busy for the next while."

Xie An showed a look of disappointment. "Then I'll have to trouble Brother Zhang to show me around the black market business."

"Brother is really efficient. Come with me."

Zhang Lin patiently took Xie An for a stroll around the black market and introduced many details and precautions of the black market.

Generally speaking, the core business of the black market is divided into several major areas: weapons, medicinal supplements, secret manuals, and beast materials. The rest are some scraps.

For ordinary mobile vendors, the black market only charges stall fees.

However, for some big vendors who have settled here all year round and set up shops, they need to extract a certain commission, which is the core income of the black market.

Maintaining good relationships with all the major shopkeepers is one of the main jobs of Xie An, the deacon.

Xie An asked in detail to understand the situation clearly.

After completing all this, Zhang Lin took Xie An back to the villa and ordered Zhou Xing to bring Zhang Biao's subordinates to meet the new deacon.

While his men were still waiting to arrive, Zhang Lin reminded him, "Brother, most of Zhang Biao's former men were unruly. I'm afraid it will take some effort for you to discipline them. Only by disciplining them well can you gain a firm foothold here."

Xie An thanked him and made sure he understood what was going on.

Not long after, the young men came in one after another, standing in the yard with their heads held high and their chests puffed out.

There were about a dozen people. Most of them were strong men, obviously martial artists. After seeing Xie An's half-headed white hair, they just casually bowed and called out to the deacon.

Although everyone called him deacon, Xie An was keenly aware that they looked at him with dissatisfaction. They probably thought that he was an old man who got the position of deacon through connections, so they didn't take him seriously.

Xie An saw it all, but did not get angry.

Zhang Lin highlighted two people: Liang Zhi, the accountant in charge of money flow, and Wang Xiang, Zhang Biao's former general.

Xie An took a closer look at the two men.

Liang Zhi was a man in his forties, slightly plump, with a prominent white beard. Despite his age, he looked healthy and fit, thanks to his martial arts training. Wang Xiang, on the other hand, was in his thirties and had a rebellious air. He looked at Xie An with a look of disapproval.

Xie An also knew that even though he was still wearing a mask, he couldn't hide the gray hair on his head. Seeing an old man taking Zhang Biao's position, everyone was inevitably dissatisfied.

This was also within Xie An's expectations.

I am also a small leader. If I want to do my job well, I must first discipline these people so that they can carry out my orders.

In order to intimidate his subordinates as quickly as possible, he would have to reveal his skills inadvertently.

Thinking of this, Xie An pretended to be serious and said, "I am a person who values ​​clear rewards and punishments. If you work diligently, I will naturally reward you generously. If you are lazy and negative or do something behind the scenes, once I find out, it will be like this stone lock..."

At the end of his speech, Xie An walked directly to a seven-hundred-jin stone lock. In front of the shocked eyes of countless disciples, he raised one arm above his head, swung it vigorously twice, and then slammed it hard on another stone lock. Suddenly, there was a loud "bang", and the two stone locks shattered simultaneously, splashing countless powders.

hiss.

The whole audience was silent!
(End of this chapter)