Chapter Thirty-Three: Heading to the Zheng Family Estate

Jia Ping'an offered no response to this remark. It was not that he was incapable of a public slap in the face, but he felt it should not be used against someone who was not his enemy.

Sometimes, however, silence is the best answer—a form of contempt far more powerful than words.

This only further annoyed Hu Buxin, who opened his mouth as if to say something more, but was interrupted by Hu Buyun. The single word "Enough" effectively silenced him. Hu Buyun then turned his gaze toward Jia Ping'an and asked, "You want to open a restaurant?"

"Yes. That is my condition. As long as the General sells me that vacant lot in the east of the city, I agree to provide three hundred ginseng roots annually, all of which will be over fifty years of age." Jia Ping'an nodded firmly, emphasizing the quality and age of the ginseng he could supply.

Three hundred ginseng roots aged over fifty years—this alone, even without the remaining two hundred, was enough for Hu Buyun to fulfill his obligations to the imperial court.

Sometimes, quality can compensate for quantity.

The figure was highly tempting to Hu Buyun, but when he realized the request was for the vacant lot in the east of the city, he couldn't help but frown slightly. "Are you referring to those three rows of buildings that burned down?"

"Precisely."

A major fire last year had razed all three rows of buildings, resulting in two deaths and over a dozen injuries. Consequently, the site was viewed as cursed. After the structures were destroyed, nothing was rebuilt; the land reverted to the government, and the residents were relocated.

It was unexpected that Jia Ping'an would set his sights on that very location. What gave Hu Buyun a headache, however, was that the site was not entirely under government control. The middle row of houses was occupied by members of the Zheng clan, meaning that for this deal to succeed, the Zheng family could not be bypassed.

If he were to negotiate with Zheng Yugong himself, who knew how greedily the man might demand? Hu Buyun hesitated, unwilling to make concessions on this matter.

Seeing his cousin hesitate to agree immediately, Jia Ping'an remained patient, but Hu Buxin grew impatient. "Cousin," he urged.

Though he said nothing more, his tone made his stance clear. They were merely three rows of burnt, abandoned buildings; if Jia wanted them, they should just agree. Hu Buxin was eager to see how this man would run a restaurant; if he failed, he would be sure to return the disdain tenfold. Furthermore, this was a matter involving three hundred ginseng roots—if they didn't agree, wouldn't these benefits slip through their fingers?

Spurred by his cousin's prompt, Hu Buyun shook off his hesitation and explained the situation to Jia Ping'an.

"One row of the buildings belongs to the Zheng clan?" Jia Ping'an was slightly surprised by this revelation, though a look of understanding soon crossed his face. No wonder Hu Buyun had not agreed immediately; there was such a complication.

But this did not matter. Jia had intended to visit the Zheng clan regardless. If he wanted to accomplish anything in Ningguta, it was impossible to do so without establishing a relationship with the Zheng family. He had no desire to be harassed every few days.

"That is no problem. The General only needs to arrange for the other two rows to be transferred to me; I will handle the Zheng family myself." Jia Ping'an spoke, showing he understood the General's predicament and would resolve the issue personally.

With Jia Ping'an putting it that way, Hu Buyun had no reason to refuse. He nodded and said, "If that is the case, then it is easily handled. The property rights can be transferred to you, but you must pay for them."

"Very well, I can pay with ginseng," Jia Ping'an agreed without a moment's hesitation.

Hearing that Jia was willing to trade with ginseng, the corners of Hu Buyun's mouth twitched. To have ginseng in hand was to have confidence; such arrogance was truly something.

"Good. Shoufu, go with Young Master Jia and see to the arrangements." With the matter settled, Hu Buyun had no reason to delay and delegated the task to his butler.

"Thank you." Jia Ping'an stood up, and the little white fox darted out, vanishing without a trace just as it had arrived.

Hu Shoufu led the way, taking Jia Ping'an to the back hall to process the property deeds. Left in the main hall, Hu Buxin spoke with a sense of lingering resentment. "Cousin, why didn't we demand the white fox? If we had, we could have..."

"Impossible," Hu Buyun interrupted sharply. "That white fox is sentient; it likely only recognizes Jia Ping'an. Even if we took it, it would be of no use. We must not take such risks."

Having finally found a way to complete his mission for the court, Hu Buyun refused to gamble. He had failed to meet his quota for ginseng this past July, and only after spending a fortune on bribes and connections had he managed to keep his position. If he failed again next year, he feared that even if he were willing to pay, there might be no one left who dared to accept it.

In a matter involving his position and power, there was no room for carelessness.

With Hu Buyun's decision final, Hu Buxin had nothing more to say, though he sighed with regret. "Then are we just going to let this brat sell his ginseng to others?"

Hu Buyun didn't need to be told; he could guess that if Jia went to persuade the Zheng family, he would be using the same leverage. He truly couldn't understand how the boy was so lucky as to find such a white fox to serve him. If only he had found it himself.

"What else can we do? Shall we lock him up and force him to hand over all the ginseng?" Hu Buyun shook his head. Although he was the General of Ningguta and seemingly the most powerful man in town, he knew that Jia Ping'an was now famous. It was impossible for the Hu clan to monopolize this achievement.

Perhaps it would have been possible yesterday, before Jia's fame had spread. But now, many were watching his every move. His high-profile entry into the General's manor had already been noted; to detain him now would be to invite disaster. Tong Weixing and Guo Tongfang alone were aware of his presence. One should never underestimate exiled officials; everyone had influential friends. If they informed their connections in Changdu, and the news spread, he, a mere General of Ningguta, would be unable to withstand the pressure.

Not only he, but even the Zheng clan and the visiting Zhou clan would be unable to hold out.

Perhaps this was exactly why Jia Ping'an had made such a grand entrance today. Thinking back, it seemed as if every step had been anticipated. Was he truly just the son of a physician?

Hu Buyun could no longer see through him, but he knew one thing: Jia Ping'an was no longer a resource any single faction could claim. He couldn't, and neither could anyone else. "Enough. Let us wait and see. Regardless, it is true that he promised us three hundred ginseng roots a year. On that count alone, we have already profited."

Hu Buyun spoke as if he were not greedy, though in reality, he lacked the means to be anything else.

"Very well... fine." Seeing his cousin's resolve, Hu Buxin knew there was no point in arguing further, and he could only sigh in frustration.

...

Zheng Clan Estate.

After attending the opening of the Zhou family's ginseng shop, the advisor Zheng Yugong and the shopkeeper Zheng Denggao returned to meet with the clan leader, Zheng Tianhai.

Once inside the estate, the three retreated to a secret chamber to discuss the day's events. What was supposed to have been a perfect blockade had been disrupted by the appearance of a single youth.

Jia Ping'an's arrival had indeed caught the Zheng clan off guard, allowing the Zhou family to establish a firm foothold in Ningguta.

Despite this setback, the Zheng family did not view the Zhou family as a significant threat. It was merely one more ginseng shop in the city. How many shops had opened in previous years? And how many had closed because they couldn't acquire high-quality stock? The Zhou family was nothing but a drop in the ocean.

However, the boy who had suddenly appeared, capable of producing two seventy-to-eighty-year-old ginseng roots without blinking, was a person they needed to monitor closely.

"Should we..." The shopkeeper, Zheng Denggao, made a gesture of capturing someone.

"No," the advisor Zheng Yugong shook his head flatly.

His reasoning was the same as Hu Buyun's: Jia Ping'an no longer belonged to any one faction. To capture him now would invite massive trouble. General Hu Buyun was an ambitious man who had long sought a pretext to act against the Zheng clan but lacked the support to do so. If they moved against Jia, they would be poking a hornet's nest and handing their enemies a weapon. It would be a foolish act.

"Indeed. We cannot capture him now. The Zheng clan cannot withstand the fallout," the clan leader, Zheng Tianhai, agreed, siding with his advisor.

"Then what do we do? Word has just come that the boy went to the General's manor. He must be delivering ginseng there too. It’s maddening—he’s only been in Ningguta for a few days, how could he find so much old ginseng? By what right?"

Zheng Denggao was furious. Born and raised in Ningguta, he had been searching the mountains since he was a child. His best find had been a five-leaf ginseng root over eighty years old, which had earned him great prestige and led to his position as the manager of the Zheng family's business.

He had always thought himself incredibly lucky, but compared to Jia Ping'an, his achievements felt like heaven and earth.