The Way of Spiritual Journey

The entire night after Zhu Huaiyu left, Li Lang felt like he was in a dream. "Was it really that easy to earn money in ancient times? Six thousand taels of silver to buy a poem just to pick up a girl? That's unbelievable! In my past life, even a top-tier actress... well, maybe I still wouldn't be able to get her. Sigh, poverty really does limit my imagination!"

The next morning, Li Lang woke up from his dream and immediately summoned Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and the down-on-his-luck Shi Butong.

Li Lang gave the order: he was going to spend money.

First, the business's level needs to be upgraded. It needs to be completely renovated from the inside out, making it look brand new and welcoming to guests... Li Lang made the request, and Shi Butong went out to hire workers.

Secondly, the scale of soap production needs to be expanded, and the quality needs to be improved. Wolong and Fengchu will purchase raw materials separately, and Li Lang will personally oversee the packaging. Porcelain boxes are no longer acceptable; hmm, let's use jade boxes instead.

Everyone went their separate ways, meeting up at the restaurant at noon. Li Lang was in charge of paying all the expenses. He always held absolute power over the finances and wouldn't tolerate any carelessness.

Before everyone had finished their lunch, Ma Zi rushed over.

"I have some juicy news to share. Last night, Yun Ruoshui, the top courtesan at Yunshang Pavilion, was taken away. Can you guess who it was?" Ma Zi rushed into the private room, plopped down, and, clearly starving, started shoveling food into his mouth from the plate on the table.

"Yun Ruoshui? Alas, such a fine cabbage has been wasted on a pig!" Upon hearing Ma Zi's words, Shi Butong showed a hint of regret.

The Cloud Pavilion was a top-tier brothel in the capital, slightly inferior to the Phoenix Pavilion in terms of class, but still the pinnacle of the pleasure quarters.

Yun Ruoshui, born into a prominent family, was as famous as Nalan Mingyue of Qifeng Tower, and they were known as the Twin Pearls of Dadu. However, the latter, possessing a spiritual essence, received more attention.

Back when Yun Ruoshui first opened her shop, she attracted a large number of wealthy young men who flocked to her. Many young masters threw silver notes at her, trying to win her over, but none of them succeeded.

Yun Ruoshui possessed unparalleled beauty and delicate charm. Despite living in the world of prostitution, she remained untainted by its dust and grime. She disliked worldly possessions and admired only literary talent. Her rare pride made her even more desirable.

In fact, the feud between Shi Butong and Zhu Huaiyu originated from that Cloud Pavilion.

The reason for this is quite simple: the two young masters both took a fancy to the girl Yun Ruoshui and started throwing money at her.

The result was obvious: Zhu Huaiyu had plenty of money, and after spending lavishly, although he still failed to win the top spot, he left Shi Butong humiliated and became the laughing stock among the wealthy playboys in the capital.

Thus, the feud between the two was established.

"Who says otherwise? And he's a fat pig at that." Pockmarked Man swallowed the last bite of his food and blurted out.

"You wouldn't believe it, but last night another masterpiece appeared on the Cloud Pavilion, called something like 'Phoenix Seeking Its Mate.' As soon as it was shown, it caused a sensation. Miss Yun Ruoshui immediately took down her nameplate..." Ma Zi said with great enthusiasm, becoming even more excited when he got to the exciting part, as if he himself was the one who took down the nameplate.

"Wait, fat pig? You don't mean that pig Zhu Huaiyu, do you?" At this moment, Shi Butong came back to his senses, staring intently at Ma Zi, eager to get a definite answer from the latter.

"Ah, um." Ma Zi finally saw Shi Butong's expression clearly, but it was too late. He stammered, not knowing what to say.

"It's you! It's you, isn't it?" Shi Butong understood everything when he saw this scene. Yun Ruoshui had indeed been taken in by Zhu Huaiyu.

Shi Butong was furious. Suddenly, he thought of something and turned around to question Li Lang.

"Brother, think positively. It's all about timing and fate. There are plenty of good cabbages in the world. As long as you have the ability, you can make them weak in the knees." Li Lang was taken aback when he saw Shi Butong's expression, but he quickly recovered, shrugged his shoulders, and comforted him.

"No, Brother Lang, this is so unfair! That fat pig is my enemy. It's one thing for you to do business with him, but you're even helping him steal my woman?" Shi Butong was so angry that he completely lost his temper and his spoiled attitude was on full display. He yelled at Li Lang.

"Enough!" Li Lang didn't tolerate Shi Butong's bared teeth and shouted back, "Look at yourself! Do you still have the demeanor of a young master from a major city? It's just a girl! You're not as good as her, who can you blame?"

It was clear that Li Lang was truly furious, showing no mercy to Shi Butong, and the private room fell silent for a moment.

"Then do you know why you were always at a disadvantage when competing with Zhu Huaiyu?" Seeing that no one spoke, Li Lang sighed inwardly and softened his tone.

"That's because his family is rich." Shi Butong came to his senses and felt a sense of loss when he thought about his situation of being dependent on others. His words lost their sharpness.

"Yes. So, was his family born with money?" Li Lang asked again.

Shi Butong did not answer; he did not know how to answer.

"Of course not. His family's money was earned through hard work. Zhu Huaiyu is the only son in his family, so all the money in his family belongs to him. Your family also has money, but it's not yours because you're not the eldest son, so you don't get to spend it," Li Lang continued.

Hearing this, Shi Butong felt even more disheartened, knowing that Li Lang was right.

He was born to a concubine, and although his monthly allowance was a huge sum for an ordinary person, he was always just a junior in the elite circles of the capital.

"Imagine if you could make money yourself, a lot of money, enough to bury that fat Zhu alive with silver. Would he still be able to steal the woman you want? Would he dare?"

"And your father, would he punish you for such a trivial matter? Would you still need to run for your life?" Li Lang patiently guided Shi Butong, starting to brainwash him. He was very familiar with this kind of work; he had done it in his previous life.

"Of course not. The banknotes are in your own pocket. You don't even need to pay attention to anyone or care about anyone's opinion."

"Spend as much money as you want, woo whoever you want with money. If that doesn't work, come find me, I'll write you a poem and make you the most dazzling guy in the capital." Finally, Li Lang patted Shi Butong on the shoulder, speaking gently and with eyes full of encouragement and expectation.

After Li Lang finished speaking, not only Shi Butong, but also Zhuge Liang, Feng Chu, and Ma Zi all looked at him with admiration.

"Brother Lang, you're right. With money, I won't care about anyone. When the time comes, I'll just throw the banknotes in that old guy's face. Family rules? From now on, I'll be the family rules."

Shi Butong was struck by Li Lang's words like a thunderbolt, and he finally realized that nothing in the world works except money.

"Brother Lang, just tell me what to do, I'll do whatever you say." Shi Butong made up his mind, he had to latch onto Li Lang's coattails.

"Follow me, there's only one thing: make money." Li Lang laughed; he was a professional at brainwashing people.