Chapter 133 - 132 Great Incense Master Zheng

Chapter 133: Chapter 132 Great Incense Master Zheng "What?" Upon hearing this reward, everyone at the Manor was intrigued, as if in a dream. The silk cloth and green food were already good things. The Blood Wine, crafted from Tai Sui blood by the Red Lantern Lady’s Club, was said to invigorate, fill one’s energy and blood, and keep the spear ever-ready. If one was injured, it could also be applied to the wound for miraculous pain relief. Sold on the market, it might fetch ten taels of silver an altar. The most crucial was the Blood Food Pill... Could it be crafted from Blood Tai Sui? This thing was even more valuable than gold... Earlier, they had seen Hu Ma go out in the middle of the night and bring Yang Gong and the others back, knowing it must be a significant matter. However, Hu Ma had not mentioned what was in the jar afterward. Now, hearing of this reward all of a sudden, they were shocked. From any perspective, this reward did not seem like one for a manager but rather for a Shopkeeper... "Has Yang Gong been promoted to Three Fragrances?" Hu Ma thought to himself, their Red Fragrance disciples, upon joining, would burn one Column of Red Fragrance incense. After achieving merit, they would be promoted to Two Fragrances. Earlier, Yang Gong was just One Fragrance, and now after such a meritorious achievement, he had been promoted two levels in a row? A Three Fragrances disciple could already be considered close to the Red Lantern Lady... "Thank the Lady for the reward." In Hu Ma’s heart, three Blood Food Pills were far from enough, but outwardly he could only appear very satisfied and still had to thank the Lady. But on second thought, they were all things that could see the light of day, so it was not too bad. "Heh heh, this reward is a minor matter." The person on horseback laughed again, saying, "We are here for another matter." "As you might know, Shopkeeper Wu in your Manor recently balanced the accounts and handed over the seal, resigning from his post. However, with him leaving, the Manor cannot be left unattended. Before his departure, he recommended you to replace him as Shopkeeper. Did you know that?" Although they had speculated before, hearing it from the envoy left everyone pleasantly surprised. Especially Zhou Datong, who almost wanted to jump up and punch Li. Hu Ma hesitated slightly upon hearing this and said in a deep voice, "The Shopkeeper mentioned it, but I have only been here a short time and lack experience..." "Heh heh, no worries." The envoy chuckled and said, "You’re from the Shousui Path, aren’t you?" "Master to disciple in the Shousui Path is an old tradition." "Wu Hong, the old shopkeeper, was invited by our Red Lantern Lady’s Club to serve as Shopkeeper. For years, he used our money, grain, and Blood Food to sustain himself. Even if he made mistakes, we did not hold him accountable, and that makes sense." "He resigned, and we did not make it difficult for him. But he did have one duty: to train a disciple for our Red Lantern Lady’s Club." Suddenly hearing this, the workers were left stunned. Hu Ma, listening, was also somewhat taken aback. If not for Er Guotou’s warning, he would have been overjoyed. But now... While thinking silently... he suddenly heard the incense master say, "However, being the Shopkeeper of a Manor is no small thing. Incense Master Zheng also said that you are still young, and your time in the club is short, so you might not have learned many rules yet. We imagine that letting you manage a whole Manor alone might be overwhelming for you, so we will assign someone to help you first. Once you have learned well, we will hand it over to you fully. How about that?" "What?" This sudden sentence made the workers’ spirits plunge. They could not react for a moment, and when they did, they were utterly dumbfounded. This envoy’s words seemed convoluted. At one moment, he said Brother Ma Zi was to be Shopkeeper, which made sense, but then he said he lacked experience and needed someone to help him... So, was he a Shopkeeper, or was he not? The entourage following seemed to have hidden smiles on their faces. It was as if they had been listening for so long just to see the expressions on these faces upon hearing that last line. "Incense Master Zheng?" When Hu Ma heard this, a sudden realization hit him. He had inadvertently offended someone... Yang Gong had indeed made a name for himself, but before he did, he was always under pressure from his immediate superior. Now that he had made such great achievements, his superior could not confront him directly. Unexpectedly, this superior had turned his attention toward him, Hu Ma, and without him even noticing, had disrupted his prospects of becoming Shopkeeper... He had wanted to be Shopkeeper for the freedom and the convenience it would offer in his work. But in the end, someone was being sent over. That made no difference from when the old shopkeeper was here. In fact, it might be even worse! The old shopkeeper at least left things to him without interference, but this new one would likely not be as easy to handle. Upon careful consideration of the intricacies, he realized the Red Lantern Lady’s Club, a sect that worshipped evil spirits, was no different from the Blood Food Gang—packed with intrigue. He suddenly remembered what Er Guotou had told him... He could not help but smirk. As Hu Ma pondered, the envoy smiled and called out, "Sun Niuzi, come on out!" From the back of the crowd, a short, stocky man on horseback rode forward a few steps, holding the reins. He looked about thirty and wore a baggy outfit. He did not dismount. From his horse, he gazed at Hu Ma with a teasing smile and said, "Shopkeeper Hu, Incense Master Zheng sent me to assist you and to remind you of the Red Lantern Society rules." "In the future, we will need to get much closer..." With that smirk on his face, Zhou Datong and the other workers felt a chill. He had yet to even enter the Manor, but he already cast a shadow over them. But listening to his ambiguous words, Hu Ma slowly lifted his head. He smiled at the man on horseback and said, "Yes, indeed we need to get closer." This smile left Sun Niuzi, still on horseback, momentarily dumbfounded. He felt that something was off. Why did this smile seem so genuine, as if from the heart? But aside from Hu Ma, the workers in the Manor all seemed rather downcast. After the business was concluded, they invited the envoys into the Manor for dinner. Originally, they had prepared such a large table, but now everything tasted bland and joyless. Sun Niuzi, however, acted as if he owned the place. He invited the envoy to sit in the chief’s seat, and they enjoyed the food and drink merrily. Hu Ma maintained his usual demeanor, drinking a couple of cups with them and ignoring the concerned glances from those around him. After several cups, someone excused himself to use the latrine and discreetly pulled Hu Ma aside, whispering, "Brother Hu, I work with Manager Xu. Do you still remember me?" "He asked me to come over and remind you of something. He had intended to help you become Shopkeeper, but unfortunately, Incense Master Zheng ordered his own brother-in-law to come. Since Incense Master Zheng manages personnel, no one else can say anything..." This Manager Xu was Xu Yao, the Moustache Manager who had taken three Green Tai Sui from Second Master. Of course, his moustache had grown longer by now; he was Medium Beard. He saw potential in Hu Ma and had always treated him like one of his own. Within the Red Lantern Lady’s Club, there were three incense masters. One, a Red Fragrance disciple who usually resided outside, managed the Blood Food mine and was the most powerful and trusted. Another managed the allocation of money and grain, and the movement of Blood Food. And this Incense Master Zheng, who was Yang Gong’s former superior, was in charge of the affairs of all the Manors. With a word from him, Manager Xu naturally had no influence. Nevertheless, Manager Xu was a good man and had specially sent someone to give Hu Ma a heads-up. If things had gone smoothly, he probably would have come personally to share the good news with Hu Ma. Hu Ma smiled and said, "I understand. Please thank Uncle Xu for me." "I have not been to the city recently to make the rounds. When I get the chance, I will go to the city and make amends." "Yes, when you have time to go to the city, visit Manager Xu first." Once they had finished speaking, they returned to drink more. That night, they provided lodging for all those who had come to bestow the rewards. After sending them off the next day, the Manor became quiet again. As for Incense Master Zheng’s brother-in-law, Sun Niuzi... Incense Master Zheng’s parents-in-law really knew how to pick names! From the moment Sun Niuzi entered the Manor, the leisurely atmosphere that had settled after the old shopkeeper’s departure was completely shattered. Upon arriving at the Manor, he naturally needed a place to stay. He immediately set his eyes on the old shopkeeper’s inner courtyard. Although the old shopkeeper had been gone for several days, Hu Ma, out of respect, had not moved into this inner courtyard. But now this Sun Niuzi had arrived, and he said with a smile, "It is too much trouble to prepare a new place. I will just stay here!" "Besides, I will be returning to the city eventually. After I leave, you can move in then, right?" With that, he ordered people to tidy it up for him. The workers, daring to be angry but not to speak out, could only grumble as they cleaned. However, this boldness was something Hu Ma had instilled in them. Before this, they would not have dared to show even a hint of anger towards anyone from the city. Once he and his attendant had settled into the inner courtyard, he began to cause all sorts of trouble. At mealtimes, his attendant would first go to the kitchen to see what good things there were. He would take half of every portion of green food directly back to the inner courtyard. From a whole fat chicken, he would take both legs and half the body for himself, leaving only the chicken feet, rump, and head for the Manor workers. Furthermore, he demanded hot water every morning and evening, making Li in the kitchen spin like a top. Judging by this display, it seemed he expected the Manor to assign three workers exclusively to him: two to wait on him personally, and one to serve his attendant. Yet, if that were all, it might have been tolerable. But every day during work hours, he would stroll out of the inner courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back. One moment he would say an area was not cleaned properly and order it redone. The next, he would claim the horses were not fed enough, suspecting the workers of embezzling horse feed to sell to nearby villagers for their pigs. Then he would complain that the night patrol arrangements or the areas they covered were not up to standard. The workers had been doing these tasks for a year and were very familiar with them, but his constant meddling threw everything into disarray.