Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Zhang San, Li Er, Wang Wu, Zhao Liu, Ma Zi, and Yin Tianxi—this group of people, all looking rather sneaky, gathered around Gao Lian. Their curious eyes were like those of a group of children waiting to see a novel performance; they all wanted to see how Gao Lian would use his ritual to deal with Zhao Tianming.

Seeing the envious looks from everyone, Gao Lian was overjoyed, practically floating on air. He curled his lip, his expression one of pure smugness, and said, shaking his head, "Hmph, just you wait and see! In less than two days, I'll have Zhao Tianming's restaurant completely shut down!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded and bowed in agreement.

Zhang San said with a fawning expression, "Master Gao, your methods are definitely brilliant. Zhao Tianming will surely fall into your hands this time!"

Li Er, standing to the side, winked and said, "That's right, that's right! With Master Gao on the field, who can compete?"

Wang Wu also joined in the flattery: "Master Gao, once this is done, you'll be a great hero here!"

Zhao Liu went even further, giving a thumbs up and saying, "Master Gao, I don't think it will even take a day before Zhao Tianming is crying for his parents!"

Ma Zi jumped around in the crowd, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Master Gao, you're like a god descended to earth! Dealing with Zhao Tianming is a piece of cake!"

Yin Tianxi then leaned in smugly, his fat face jiggling, and said, "As soon as his restaurant goes out of business, I'll buy it at a low price. Hehe, then I'll also take over Zhao Tianming's other businesses and show him what happens when he goes against me, Yin Tianxi!"

Hearing these flattering remarks, Gao Lian was practically strutting around with pride. He put his hands on his hips, threw his head back, and laughed loudly: "Hahahaha, of course! What is Zhao Tianming anyway? He dares to mess with me!"

Just then, a crow flew in from nowhere, cawed twice, and dropped a pile of poop on Gao Lian's head.

Everyone was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.

Zhang San laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight: "Oh dear, Master Gao, even the crows can't stand your bragging anymore!"

Li Er laughed until tears streamed down his face: "Haha, Master Gao, it seems you've already suffered retribution before your magic even began!"

Wang Wu laughed so hard he clutched his stomach: "Master Gao, are you going to perform the ritual while wearing this pile of shit on your head?"

Zhao Liu laughed so hard he stomped his feet: "Oh my, this is really hilarious, Master Gao, your luck is just too 'good'!"

Pockmarked man laughed so hard he rolled on the ground: "Master Gao, your style is unique, haha!"

Yin Tianxi grinned from ear to ear, but couldn't resist teasing him, "Master Gao, are you bringing bad luck upon yourself by performing a ritual?"

Gao Lian was so angry that his face turned pale. He wiped his head and cursed, "Shut up, all of you! That damned crow ruined my plans!"

The crowd laughed even harder; the scene was utter chaos.

Gao Lian was furious when he saw these people laughing. He glared at them and said, "Are you going to watch or not? If not, get out of here!"

At this moment, everyone quickly covered their mouths, but their expressions of trying to suppress laughter were truly comical. Their faces turned bright red, and their shoulders twitched.

Gao Lian ignored them, picked up his sword, and flipped open a piece of paper with a blessing on it, muttering incantations like a mad charlatan. The paper instantly turned to ash with a "poof." Everyone was stunned, their eyes widening like saucers.

Seeing this, Gao Lian snorted smugly and said, "Hmph, just you wait and see!" After saying that, he deliberately swung his sword, and the candle that was originally fine suddenly turned into two fire dragons. These fire dragons were even baring their teeth and claws, looking particularly fake, as if they were drawn by a child.

Immediately afterwards, a plume of black smoke shot out with a "bang," heading straight for Zhao Tianming's company. This terrified everyone; before they could react, the company building began to shake violently.

Li Er was so frightened that he grabbed Zhang San's leg and cried out in a tearful voice, "Mom, what on earth is going on?"

Zhang San nearly fell over when Li Er hugged him like that. He struggled and cursed, "Li Er, you coward, let me go!"

Wang Wu was so frightened that he rolled on the ground, shouting incoherently, "Help! It's the end of the world!"

Zhao Liu crawled under the table, trembling as he cried, "Don't hit me! Don't hit me!"

Ma Zi ran around the room like a headless fly, shouting, "Ghosts! Monsters!"

Yin Tianxi didn't care about his image anymore and sat down on the ground with a thud, his fat body trembling incessantly.

Gao Lian himself was startled by this sudden turn of events. His previous smugness vanished instantly, and he stammered, "This, this, this is not what I expected!"

Just then, the shaking suddenly stopped, and everything returned to calm. Everyone looked at each other, their faces a mixture of embarrassment and bewilderment; the scene was both chaotic and comical.

Zhang San, Li Er, and Wang Wu, each clutching their heads, their faces bruised and swollen, looked utterly pathetic. They limped up to Gao Lian, their faces contorted with grief, and asked, "Master Gao, what happened?"

Gao Lian was also completely bewildered, but he had to maintain a composed demeanor in front of everyone. He closed his eyes, pretended to do some mental calculations, then suddenly opened them, exclaiming nervously, "Oh no! Someone used a talisman to suppress my spell, resulting in a backlash! It seems this opponent's Taoist skills are quite profound. I've met my match today!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang San stamped his feet in panic. His already bruised face became even more contorted with anxiety: "Master Gao, what should we do? Didn't you say you could easily handle Zhao Tianming? How could this happen?"

Li Er chimed in, "That's right, Master Gao, you can't let us down! I'm in so much pain from the fall, if we can't handle Zhao Tianming, all our suffering will have been for nothing!"

Wang Wu looked mournful and said in a tearful voice, "Master Gao, you have to think of a way! I have several big bumps on my head. If we just let it go like this, it would be such a waste of my time!"

Annoyed by their chatter, Gao Lian shouted, "Shut up! What's all the panic? I, Gao Lian, have been roaming the martial world for so many years, do you think I'm afraid of him?"

His shout silenced everyone, but they still stared at him expectantly, hoping he could offer a solution.

Gao Lian rolled his eyes and said, "However, this opponent is indeed quite formidable, so we need to plan this carefully."

Zhang San couldn't help but ask, "Master Gao, then please tell us quickly, what should we do next? We can't just accept defeat like this, can we?"

Gao Lian stroked his beard and said in a serious tone, "In my opinion, we need to find out more about the other party first, to see who he is and what kind of magic he uses, before we can come up with a solution."

Li Er scratched his head and said in confusion, "Then how can we find out the other party's background? We don't know any powerful people who can gather information."

Gao Lian rolled his eyes at him and said, "Use your brains! We can go to Zhao Tianming's restaurant area and ask around to see if any suspicious people have appeared or if anything strange has happened."

Wang Wu frowned and said, "Master Gao, will this work? What if we get caught?"

Gao Lian said impatiently, "What are you afraid of! Just be careful. As long as we can find clues, we still have a chance to turn things around."

Zhang San gritted his teeth and said, "Alright! We'll do as Master Gao says and go find out the information."

Although Li Er and Wang Wu were still somewhat unsure, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow Zhang San.

Watching them leave, Gao Lian inwardly groaned. He had thought he could easily succeed this time and show off in front of everyone, but he had unexpectedly met his match. He wasn't willing to admit defeat so easily and could only pray that he could find a way to salvage his reputation as soon as possible.

Yin Tianxi said to Ma Zi, "Ma Zi, you're the smartest one among these people. Find out who's secretly helping Zhao Tianming."

Ma Zi patted his chest and said, "Lord Yin, just watch my methods."

After saying that, Ma Zi began to disguise himself. He smeared some soot on his face, put on a tattered hat, and deliberately tore his clothes crookedly. After dressing up, Ma Zi scurried off to scout out the area near Zhao Tianming's restaurant.

Just then, an old man selling sauce came out of the back door of Zhao Tianming's restaurant. Ma Zi saw this as an opportunity to get some information out of the old man. So, he quickly went up to the old man, his face beaming with a fawning smile: "Grandpa, your sauce looks really delicious! It must sell very well!"

The old man glanced at the man with pockmarks and said irritably, "You have a pointy mouth and monkey-like face, you're not a good person, are you?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Zi was furious, but he couldn't show it, so he could only continue to smile and say, "Grandpa, you've misunderstood me. I just wanted to chat with you because I saw how hard you've worked."

The old man snorted: "Don't try that on me, I'm not falling for that."

Ma Zi's eyes darted around, and he said, "Old man, I've heard there's been a lot of interesting happening at this restaurant lately. Can you tell me about it?"

The old man rolled his eyes at him: "Why are you asking about these things? I can tell you're up to no good."

Ma Zi quickly explained, "Oh, sir, I'm just curious. Please, tell me about it."

The old man sized him up and said, "Hmph, I think you're up to no good. Get out of my way and don't delay my business."

Ma Zi was still unwilling to give up. He grabbed the old man's arm and said, "Grandpa, just reveal a little bit, just a little bit will do."

The old man forcefully shook off his hand and shouted, "You brat, if you keep bothering me, I'll call for help!"