We bear people have power

The next day, Guan Bo still pretended to know nothing. Whatever Manager Liu asked him to do, he did it seriously, as if he was motivated by that string of cash and worked particularly hard.

Manager Liu was quite satisfied with this, thinking that although Guan Bo was as handsome as Pan An, he was stupid and easily fooled. This was exactly the type of person Manager Liu liked best; with just a little effort, he could be used by him.

"Guan Bo, I'm selling you shoes and new clothes today. Look, you don't even have shoes," Manager Liu said, patting Guan Bo on the shoulder.

Guan Bo couldn't muster the expression of a fool being fooled, so he used an illusion on Manager Liu to make him believe that he had completely fallen for his trick.

Guan Bo could have simply taken down Manager Liu and used torture to extract the mole. However, he didn't do that because he had watched countless undercover movies in his previous life. He knew that unless the mole was caught red-handed, even with Manager Liu's testimony, they could still come up with all sorts of excuses.

Guan Bo could certainly use his authority to suppress directly, but he was not keen on such methods of oppressing people with power. Whenever possible, he preferred to gain people's trust rather than their submission.

He built this Sicklehammer City to create a world like his previous life, or in some ways, a better one.

If you habitually use power to solve problems, then there's no need to go through all this trouble. Just ascend the throne, declare yourself emperor, and conquer all directions. Anyone who disagrees will be killed.

Or to put it more directly, he activates his innate supernatural powers, brainwashing everyone into becoming his most loyal puppets, so that they wouldn't hesitate to commit suicide, thus amplifying his authority.

Ultimately, Guan Bo is a bit pretentious and idealistic. When everything is under control, he always has some naive ideas and puts them into practice.

Now, he reluctantly followed Manager Liu and changed into a new set of clothes.

His long, loose hair was tied up in a bun, revealing a sharply defined face. He wore a red robe, black boots, and a white jade belt, looking every bit the young master of Chang'an. Even Guan Bo's magic was struggling to keep up with his attire; as soon as he changed his clothes, he attracted the attention of countless passersby.

Even more exaggeratedly, almost any woman who sees it will be unable to move.

Guan Bo felt extremely uncomfortable under the gaze and had no choice but to release some of the pressure from his Nascent Soul Demon King status. Everyone felt that Guan Bo was dignified and imposing, and no one dared to scrutinize his appearance anymore.

Manager Liu also felt that Guan Bo was a little hard to look at after changing clothes. He thought to himself that clothes really do make the man. He was originally a poor peasant, but after changing his clothes, he became a young master with extraordinary temperament. The chances of this plan succeeding will be even higher.

"Brother, clothes really do make the man. With your outfit, you'd definitely charm all the young ladies in a brothel," Manager Liu chuckled.

"Manager Liu is joking. I don't have the means to go to a brothel," Guan Bo said awkwardly.

Even if I had the money, I wouldn't dare go. Who knows if those women have had their health checked these days? Although Guan Bo doesn't have a virginity complex, he still can't accept those women who come and go like that. The saying "Going out to buy a pack of cigarettes and meeting nine men who've slept with you" doesn't sound very appealing if it happened to him.

"In that case, I'll show you tonight." Manager Liu gave Guan Bo a rather lewd smile.

Guan Bo is now playing the role of a naive young man who is only interested in making money. If he refuses, he might arouse suspicion, so he simply agrees and see what kind of tricks the guy is up to.

After changing his clothes, Guan Bo naturally couldn't continue working as a porter and unloader. Instead, he was taken in by Manager Liu and treated to good food and drink. Although the caravan members were somewhat dissatisfied, they dared not say anything.

To outsiders, it was clear that Guan Bo was of high status, more like a manager of the caravan than Steward Liu.

Although he knew that Steward Liu was definitely up to no good, Guan Bo figured that no matter what schemes or tricks he had up his sleeve, they would all end up being slapped in the face. So he remained calm and accepted all the benefits, living a carefree and complacent life.

The Heshun caravan carried relatively few goods, mostly herbs. While Lianchui City's population wasn't large, its need for medicinal herbs was almost the same as Chang'an City. Logically, people who regularly drank from the spiritual spring should have much better health than those in other places. However, under Guan Bo's instructions, almost 90% of medical expenses in Lianchui City were covered by the government.

Furthermore, to ensure the health of the people, it was even stipulated that they should have a medical check-up every three months. In particular, those working in cement plants had to have a check-up every month, and they also had to take lung-cleansing and dust-removing medications every day, and rotate their jobs regularly.

Guan Bo knew all too well how terrible tuberculosis was. In this day and age, there was no dust removal equipment; the only methods were sprinkling water on the ground and wearing masks. With such rudimentary methods, ensuring the workers' health naturally required frequent rotations.

Besides routine medications for common ailments, the city also prioritizes prenatal care drugs for pregnant women and various health supplements for newborns. Outsiders, upon hearing about the policies of Sickle Hammer City, often wondered if the city lord was simply wasting money; such expenditures alone could empty the treasury of a small kingdom in the Western Regions.

Guan Bo didn't care. He wouldn't be stingy with money if it could be done well. Anyway, with a gold mine, the cement market was gradually opening up, and it had become a lucrative industry.

Since the transaction was with the official authorities of Sicklehammer City, there wasn't much haggling involved; once the goods were delivered, the deal was done. The rest involved purchasing some local specialties from Sicklehammer City, especially cement.

After deducting all costs, Guan Bo estimated that the Heshun caravan could earn over a thousand taels of silver from this round trip. This was already a considerable profit; making two or three trips a year would be enough to support all the expenses of a prominent family like the Wu family, with a surplus.

However, Manager Liu's ambition, or rather, the ambition of the mastermind behind him, was clearly beyond what a few thousand taels of silver could satisfy. They wanted the cement formula from Sickle Hammer City; they wanted this golden goose. And to achieve this, they needed the help of a powerful figure in Sickle Hammer City; otherwise, how could ordinary people possibly access such a confidential manufacturing process?

Manager Liu finally managed to hook up with one of them, intending to use her as a honey trap, but he happened to encounter a man with homosexual tendencies. Helpless, he then set his sights on Guan Bo.

Guan Bo watched as Manager Liu spent money like water, leading him to the largest brothel in Sicklehammer City without showing any remorse. At that moment, Guan Bo's mind was filled with the thought—who the hell actually built a brothel in Sicklehammer City!