Fantasy: After transmigrating, I effortlessly became a god.

Back at Zheng Le Escort Agency, Zheng Qian took out his winnings to count.

With a capital of 240 taels per copper coin and a ratio of 30, he won 7,200 taels and 30 copper coins. Adding Li Weihu's 3,000 taels, the total came to 10,440 taels and 30 copper coins.

Zheng Qian could calculate this small amount of money in a second, but he couldn't help but calculate it several times.

If you eat a whole cow every day, you could eat it for thirty years and still not finish it.

"Tiezhu, from now on, the daily food expenses will be one hundred coins."

Suddenly raising his head, Zhang Tiezhu stared at Zheng Qian in disbelief.

One hundred coins is one hundred copper coins, which is equivalent to three days' wages for a skilled worker. He earns twenty coins per day.

Working five days a week only earns you enough for one day's food expenses. Is that an extra zero?

"Captain, one hundred coins can buy forty catties of beef. Can we finish it all?"

Zheng Qian glanced at the tofu pudding and stir-fried pickled vegetables on the table; there wasn't a trace of oil or meat in them.

"From now on, we will have three meals a day, each consisting of three dishes and one soup. The three dishes will include two different types of meat, with more beef tallow and less lard and vegetable oil, to ensure that the food is delicious and visually appealing."

Also, you could buy a big dog to keep as a guard dog, which would also help with the leftovers, so we wouldn't have to eat them anymore.

From now on, your wages will be settled annually, twenty taels per year. You can take this thirty taels for now; twenty taels is your wages, and ten taels is for living expenses. Come to me for more money when you run out.”

Tears streamed down Zhang Tiezhu's face. He lowered his head, wiped them away, and choked out.

"Thank you, thank you, Chief Escort!"

It should be noted that twenty taels of silver is a high salary in the entire Wuyan Kingdom. Qin Yong, as the highest military leader in Lvchang County, only earns thirteen taels a month, and a county magistrate only earns fifteen taels to manage a county. Twenty taels is the income of a prefect.

Happiness comes too suddenly.

Mom, I've got a high salary now, so you don't have to worry about me not making enough money. I'll be able to save twenty taels of silver every year from now on.

After dinner, and after Zhang Tiezhu finished his chores, Zheng Qian called him over again.

"I'll give you three choices for your cultivation path. Choose one technique and I'll buy it for you. You can practice either the 'Transformation Sword' or the 'Dazzling Dance Sword.' The 'Dazzling Dance Sword' is the heavy sword I'm currently practicing."

With a thud, Zhang Tiezhu knelt heavily on the ground.

"Master镖头, I can never repay your great kindness in this life. In the next life, and the life after that, I will be your ox or horse to repay your kindness. As for cultivation, I will follow your arrangements."

Zhang Tiezhu knew the price of the "Cracking Sword"—five hundred taels. Even if he sold it, it wouldn't be worth that much.

"Dancing Sword" is more powerful and more expensive, otherwise the镖头 (bodyguard/escort) wouldn't have used it to fight Li Weihu.

Zhang Tiezhu was so excited that he wouldn't hesitate to slit his own throat even if Zheng Qian asked him to.

In this life, the next life, and the life after that, you will always be my master.

Helpless, Zheng Qian helped Zhang Tiezhu up and patiently taught him a lesson.

“A man’s knees are worth gold, so don’t kneel down so easily. I’ll enroll you in a private school. You can go to class in the morning and come back to practice in the afternoon.”

"Since you've let me decide, then you can practice both sword techniques together."

Zhang Tiezhu wanted to express his loyalty, but Zheng Qian raised his hand to stop him.

"Brew me a pot of good tea, then go buy a big dog and a few sets of nice clothes. From now on, don't wear clothes with patches and holes. A director should look like a director. The expenses will be deducted from your living expenses. Keep your wages to get married."

Zheng Qian felt very uncomfortable every time he saw the pink bellyband through the hole.

I don't object to your ideas, but please don't let me see them.

As for money, Zheng Qian was very generous. Before fighting with Li Weihu, Zhang Tiezhu insisted on betting three copper coins. The people from Jinmao Chamber of Commerce thought the bet was too small and refused, arguing that five copper coins was the minimum bet. They threw the copper coins on the ground, and Zheng Qian humbly picked them up.

Without strength, you won't earn respect; without money, you'll be looked down upon and bullied.

How could someone like me, Zheng Qian, lack both power and money?

He's the director of the general office.

With everything arranged, Zheng Qian leaned back in his armchair, closed his eyes, and drank tea.

The battle with Li Weihu in the morning gave him a lot of inspiration. Several times he was able to see Li Weihu's weaknesses, but his sword speed could not keep up with his thoughts, which caused the battle to drag on until the third round.

If it's one against many, and you can't deliver a fatal blow, you're very likely to be turned around.

Today I'll use two swords to reduce the weight of the heavy sword, making my sword strikes faster. I can kill Li Weihu in the second round.

Neither "Shattering Sword" nor "Dazzling Sword" can be abandoned; one should focus on speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness, while the other should focus on armor penetration.

The protective measures were not done well. They should have bought some steel plates to protect the vital parts of their body, and it would have been best to buy some poison to ensure safety.

It's not shameful to be the sixth man; what's shameful is being the sixth man who gets killed.

After summarizing the battle, Zheng Qian began practicing his swordsmanship.

We must strengthen muscle memory and reach the state of perfect harmony between mind and sword as soon as possible.

The "Cracking Sword" consists of three moves. The first move is "Patrol Guard," where one hand uses the sword to parry and the other hand uses the sword to thrust. The second move is "Cracking Thrust," where the two swords are crossed and slashed horizontally, followed by two thrusts, seizing the opportunity to attack and find an opening to quickly thrust. The third move is "Swiftly Split Splendor," where a fast sword is thrown to seize the initiative, quickly close in and thrust repeatedly, catch the blocked or thrown fast sword, and then use "Cracking Thrust" to focus on fast attacks and seizing the initiative.

"Dazzling Sword" also features only three swords. The first move, Fierce Slash, is a charged swing of the heavy sword that can be unleashed from different angles. The second move, Breaking Slash, involves five consecutive heavy sword swings, the fifth of which is a powerful smash. With enough strength, this combo can be infinitely repeated. The third move, Dazzling Bloom, is a quick horizontal sweep following the heavy slash, targeting the lower body or waist. Being hit by this attack can result in severe injury, rendering the user unable to fight, or even cause the user's body to explode and bleed profusely.

Through deduction, Zheng Qian derived 366 types of thrusting techniques and 87 types of slashing techniques.

As long as he had a sliver of strength left, Zheng Qian was confident that he could keep changing his sword techniques and launching combos.

clap clap clap...

A round of applause interrupted Zheng Qian's swordplay as Qin Yong led six soldiers into Zheng Le Escort Agency.

"Brother Zheng's swordsmanship is exquisite; you must have gained something from this battle."

Invite Qin Yong into the house. Zhang Tiezhu has not yet returned. Zheng Qian personally pours tea for the group.

“One hundred and sixty taels, you won four thousand eight hundred taels, and I will return every single tael to you, my brother.”

After accepting 160 taels, Zheng Qian pushed back the 4,800 tael silver notes.

“I will accept the principal, but the winnings of Brother Qin have nothing to do with me and naturally belong to Brother Qin.”

See, powerful and resounding language is so persuasive.

That makes perfect sense; that's exactly the point.

Zheng Qian truly lives up to his name, "Zheng Qian" (meaning "make money"), his accounting skills are top-notch.

He bet 30,000 taels of silver and made 900,000 taels. This money didn't belong to Qin Yong. The county magistrate wanted to use the money for a plan, but he remained upright and incorruptible.

"Cough cough."

After coughing, Qin Yong reluctantly accepted the money, then slowly took out the document from his pocket and handed it to Zheng Qian.

"Magistrate's clerk, Zheng Qian's investigation into Li Weihu's salt smuggling case has been concluded, and he has made a great contribution. He has been reinstated and promoted to the ninth-rank patrol inspector. He is currently under confidentiality. His next task is to investigate whether anyone in Lüchang County is plotting a rebellion."

Become an official?

That's still just working.

I'm so rich, why do you still make me work?

Are you kidding me?

You've been out of office for two years, and you've still been promoted.

Even if you have the power to control everything, you can't play it like this.

Besides, could a镖头 (bodyguard/escort) really do something like selling smuggled salt?

There are many people involved, and the waters are unfathomably deep.

"Zheng Qian is used to freedom. Please convey to the county magistrate that he appreciates the good intentions but will withdraw his sincerity."

Qin Yong was surprised that Zheng Qian would refuse, and with a serious expression, he earnestly advised him.

"The county magistrate is going to the prefectural capital to report on his work tomorrow, and I also need to take my mother and daughter to see a doctor tomorrow. You must take care of yourself during this time, my brother."

I'm crazy.

Zheng Qian was furious.

Take care of yourself.

Does this mean someone is targeting me?

Then why did you two choose to leave at this time?

Zheng Qian understood.

Something must have happened in Lüchang County, and this change must be related to him, so they gave him the position of inspector to make him work hard.

Who would be so bored as to plot a rebellion? That's utter nonsense.

He will do his best in the investigation and have a proper attitude, but in the end, he can't find out anything.

The inspector, being in a secret location, naturally didn't have to do any work, which served as a kind of protection. Zheng Qian decided to accept it for now, and would quit if there was any danger.

The patrol inspector was a ninth-rank official, the lowest rank, but still a position with rank.

Wuyan State has 128 counties, each with an inspector who is responsible for managing local illegal organizations. Although they may seem to have no administrative power, they actually wield considerable real power.

If a patrol officer labels someone as an illegal organization or a traitor, the patrol officer can mobilize the army to arrest them.

The army still needs Qin Yong's approval; he is the military supervisor of Lvchang County.

He took out three hundred taels of silver notes, wrapped them in red paper, and handed them to Qin Yong.

"Take this, buy some candied hawthorns for your niece."