Chapter 4: Newcomers to the Universe Chapter 37: Trying to Save Money
In the restaurant's private room, only Xu Jingming, Zhang Ke and Qian Yan were sitting at the same table.
"Knock, knock, knock." There was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in." said Deputy Captain Qian Yan.
Suddenly, an old man pushed the door open and saluted the three people enthusiastically: "My master is very happy to hear that Lord Jing has taken office, and asked me to give you a gift." Then he put a brocade bag on the table.
"Captain, this is the housekeeper of Lord Yu's residence on Nansheng Street." Qian Yan introduced.
Xu Jingming understood: "It turned out to be Lord Yu! Lord Yu is thoughtful."
There were only three officials of some status in the area under his jurisdiction. Of course, the 'officials' mentioned here were at least fifth rank! In the imperial capital, officials below fifth rank... were really small officials, not worth mentioning, and the Blood Rain Guards were too lazy to monitor them.
"I'll take my leave." The old man presented the gift and left immediately.
Xu Jingming picked up the brocade bag and took a look. Inside was a stack of gold leaves. He estimated that the stack of gold leaves weighed one or two kilograms in total.
"Ten gold coins." Xu Jingming was a little surprised and took out a roll of paper from his sleeve. The paper recorded in detail the annual tributes from officials, wealthy families, wealthy businessmen, and gangs in the jurisdiction.
"Master Yu gave too much." Xu Jingming said.
"Mr. Yu gave 50 taels of silver to the previous captain, and this time he doubled it." Zhang Ke nodded, "It seems that he wants to befriend the captain."
Qian Yan also boasted: "This time the gift is ten gold coins. According to common sense, Lord Yu will give this amount every year in the future! Lord Yu is really generous to you, the captain."
The three of them ate and drank while waiting for others to give them gifts. At the same time, they checked the list to see who had not given anything and who had given too little!
After a long time of eating and drinking, all the supplies were delivered within the jurisdiction.
The money of Xueyuwei is the one you cannot owe!
Not one less!
"The total is 2,350 taels of silver." Xu Jingming looked at the final total amount and was in a good mood. He smiled at the two captains and said, "The next time I send it, I have to wait until next year, right?"
"Yes, once a year! This is the old rule." Zhang Ke nodded.
Qian Yan whispered, "In fact, they can be squeezed a little more. Some wealthy businessmen can still be squeezed a little more."
"But that would break the rules." Zhang Ke said, "If it gets out, we won't have a good reputation in the Blood Rain Guards. Besides, which wealthy businessman in the imperial capital doesn't have some connections? If we really provoke them, we might get into trouble. There might even be assassins breaking into our house at night. Even rabbits bite when they're cornered."
"A bunch of bastards, how can they turn the world upside down?" Qian Yan sneered, "Captain, we can just keep an eye on a wealthy businessman and take advantage of him!"
"Remember that." Xu Jingming's voice turned a little colder, and he glanced at Qian Yan coldly, "We in the Blood Rain Guard have our own rules when doing things! If you break the rules... Humph, Deputy Captain Qian, don't blame me for turning my back on you!"
Qian Yan was frightened.
I thought that this captain might have a powerful backer and background, so I could use the captain to get a few votes!
But it is obvious that this captain is quite careful about his reputation.
"I understand, I understand." Qian Yan smiled, "The captain's future is more important."
"Um."
After a while of interaction, Xu Jingming discovered that Zhang Ke looked strong and sturdy, but he was actually smooth and abided by the rules. Qian Yan looked wealthy and smiling, but he was actually vicious and ignored the rules.
There are many people in the Blood Rain Guard who ignore the rules.
"Knock, knock, knock." Someone knocked on the door again.
"Captain, the broker is here." A Blood Rain Guard brought a broker with him.
The brothel worker immediately knelt down respectfully and said, "I am honored to meet you, my dear lords."
"Captain, this group of people knows all the people who are selling or renting houses in our jurisdiction." Xueyuwei said.
Xu Jingming nodded.
Now that I have taken office, I can't keep living in Fei's house. I have to move out.
…
With my current status, I don’t know how long I can live, so naturally I won’t buy a house, but rent one instead.
The rented house is within the jurisdiction and is relatively quiet. About a mile away, there are some bustling places such as restaurants and teahouses.
"For a house like this, the annual rent is 50 taels of silver. If you want to buy it, you need two thousand taels. It's not easy to live in the imperial capital! The rent is much higher than that in Lanyue City." Xu Jingming looked at this ordinary house. There were only a few rooms in the house, and there was a small martial arts training ground of half an acre behind the house. This was the reason why Xu Jingming rented this house.
The Xueyu Guards and auxiliary guards moved furniture, quilts and other daily necessities and quickly arranged the place.
"Captain, everything is ready." Zhang Ke arranged everything. "Captain, do you really not need to find two maids to serve you?"
"No, remember to buy some good wine for your brothers." Xu Jingming threw out a piece of silver.
"Thank you, Captain."
All the Blood Rain Guards responded in unison, all showing joy. They were not happy for the wine, but felt that their "boss" still valued them and was not stingy! Some cold captains... would not spend a knife coin on their subordinates! Working under such a captain is hard.
The auxiliary guards had already left obediently, they had no wine to drink. The Blood Rain Guards and the auxiliary guards were two different levels, how could the captain of the Blood Rain Guards buy wine for the auxiliary guards? Xu Jingming dared to buy it, but the auxiliary guards didn't dare to drink it.
Soon Xu Jingming was the only one left in the house.
Outside the gate, there were five Blood Rain Guards waiting all the time! They were responsible for guarding the street and were always ready to take Xu Jingming's orders.
"The tributes from the area under my jurisdiction are about 2,300 taels a year, and the salary is 600 taels. I save some money every day... If I'm lucky, I can save 5,000 taels a year. But I have to spend money on many things, such as making friends, entertaining guests, and my superiors may have to share some of it. These expenses are not small." Xu Jingming thought, "As the captain of the Blood Rain Guard, it's good to have 3,500 taels in my hand a year."
"If you follow the rules, it will take you thirty years to earn ten thousand gold!"
"But in the Blood Rain World, with my identity, can I live for thirty years?"
Xu Jingming shook his head.
As a citizen player of the universe, since the day he took on the role of captain of the Blood Rain Guard, the targeting he has been facing has been increasing.
If you become a centurion, your targeting will be further improved.
According to the information I collected...the higher the official position, the harder it is to live long!
"Captain, should we go to Wenxiang Tower?" The voice of his subordinates came from the door.
"Let's go to Wenxiang Tower." Xu Jingming was hosting a party today and had invited many captains from the Qianhu Division, so naturally they had to arrive early.
…
Xu Jingming quickly became familiar with the life of the captain of the Blood Rain Guard. As the captain, he could eat, drink and have fun every day!
Because some of the hard work is done by the auxiliary guards, and the work of monitoring various places is done by the Blood Rain Guards under their command! Only when something big happens will they report to the captain and let the captain give orders. In fact, the so-called "big things" are probably hard to come by once every ten days or eight days.
"Life like this is so relaxing." Xu Jingming was practicing his spear skills in the martial arts training ground near his residence. He went out only after the sun set. Immediately, the five Blood Rain Guards outside the gate followed him.
All the way to Jiuweilou.
"Captain." The two deputy captains Zhang Ke and Qian Yan greeted them warmly. Xu Jingming waved his hand, and the five Blood Rain Guards behind him retreated to find a place to drink and eat.
Xu Jingming, Zhang Ke and Qian Yan entered Jiuwei Tower.
Sit down in the corner on the second floor.
"Captain, the 'Jiuwei' of Jiuweilou is also very famous in the imperial capital. You must try it." Zhang Ke said.
"Tell me what happened in these three days." Xu Jingming asked.
According to the rules, they meet every three days! The two deputy captains report all the work done in the past three days. If there is anything special... they will naturally report it to Xu Jingming as soon as possible.
"In the past three days, the area under our jurisdiction has been relatively stable. There have only been some violent fights and petty thefts. Some of the deaths were gang members, so they are not worth mentioning. However, many major incidents have occurred in other places in the imperial capital." Zhang Ke said.
"Tell me about it." Xu Jingming listened while eating.
As time goes by...
Jiuweilou had more and more guests. There were also performances on the stage. The music sounded like a stream flowing throughout the restaurant, and the guests were enjoying the atmosphere.
Xu Jingming was also in a very good mood, because the music was beautiful, the performing women were pretty, and the Jiuweilou's Jiuwei was worthy of its reputation.
“Boom boom boom.”
Suddenly, there was a noisy sound of footsteps, which made Xu Jingming frown slightly. Anyone with a little taste... should walk more lightly when hearing music at this time. However, the footsteps of this group of people did not slow down at all, and they came to the second floor.
The group of people came to the second floor. A guard glanced around and stopped at Xu Jingming and the other two. He said, "Dear guests on the second floor, please give up your seats and go downstairs quickly! We, the Shen family, will pay for your meal."
"please."
The gray-clad guards looked at each table and urged them.
"Mr. Shen?" The guests on the second floor also had some spare money, otherwise they would not have come to Jiuweilou for dinner. But seeing the momentum of this group of people and hearing the name "Mr. Shen" , many guests immediately stood up.
"Captain, it's the Shen family." Qian Yan whispered, "Let's go."
"Mr. Shen?"
Xu Jingming glanced at the group of people.
This group of people is quite arrogant, even the guards are proud!
"The Shen family is one of the most powerful and wealthy families in the imperial capital. Even the governors of the four prefectures of the Blood Rain Guard dare not offend them lightly." Xu Jingming knew very well that the Shen family could be ranked in the top ten in the imperial capital, and looking at the entire Blood Rain world, it was a terrifying force that was enough to be ranked in the top twenty.
Even though it was 'Fei Qing' behind him, Fei Qing was powerful because the Emperor supported him.
The strength of the Shen Gong family is due to its deep-rooted family roots, and the emperor also tried to appease and win over such a powerful family.
"Captain." Zhang Ke also urged softly, "Let's go."
"Walk."
Xu Jingming stood up.
If I come into conflict with the Shen family, I will be courting death.
"Senior brother, these three are the Blood Rain Guards, right?" There was a man and a woman surrounded by the crowd. The woman glanced at Xu Jingming and the other two who stood up and left. Part of their official uniforms were still visible under Xu Jingming and the others' robes.
"They are just a bunch of mad dogs." The young man glanced at Xu Jingming and the other two with disgust in his eyes. "There are always a large group of Blood Rain Guards watching our house all year round. No matter how we scold them, they don't say a word and just keep watching our house."
"Even in the entire imperial capital, on any street that's a little famous, you can see these mad dogs." The young man curled his lips, "I didn't expect to see three more mad dogs when I came to Jiuweilou today. It really spoils my fun."
Xu Jingming, Zhang Ke and Qian Yan walked down the stairs and clearly heard the man say "three mad dogs".
Qian Yan was quite calm.
Zhang Ke's ears turned a little red.
Xu Jingming also frowned.
But the three of them still walked down Jiuwei Tower.
"No one is available, Junior Sister. I will ask the chef of Jiuweilou to cook for you and bring out their signature nine flavors." The young man said with a smile, "Not everyone can have the chef of Jiuweilou cook for them."
"Oh." The woman was also very curious and enjoyed her senior brother's flattery. She felt honored to be admired by the son of Mr. Shen's family.
On the entire second floor, there were only a man and a woman sitting there, listening to the music and enjoying the food, while everyone else was standing and serving.
…
Walk outside to the street.
"I'm so unlucky that I run into Master Shen while having a meal." Zhang Ke vented his frustration after leaving the restaurant.
"Can we mess with the sons of Lord Shen's family? In their eyes, we are just dogs." Qian Yan curled his lips.
"It's a mad dog." Xu Jingming added.
"Captain, don't be angry. The bigwigs in the imperial capital usually won't bother with us." Zhang Ke said, "This Master Shen has an average status in the Shen family. His younger generation can't even rank in the top five. His cousin Shen Gongshou is less than 30 years old, but he's already a second-rank official. He's highly regarded by the emperor and has a very good reputation. Master Shen is nothing and has a very bad reputation, but he's very arrogant in front of us."
"No matter how arrogant he is, we have to tolerate him." Qian Yan shook his head, "He was born with a title! He also has the huge Shen Gong family behind him!"
"Many people from Lord Shen's family are in Xueyuwei." Zhang Ke also said, "There are three thousand households in Xueyuwei. The head of Lord Shen's family is a duke! He is a senior official of the empire! If he moves his little finger, we will be crushed to pieces."
Xu Jingming knew how powerful the Shen family was because he collected intelligence from the virtual world.
Intelligence records.
More than 300 years ago, during a battle for the throne of the empire, the Shen family had 3,000 warriors participating! They eventually pushed a prince they supported onto the throne. All of the 3,000 warriors were at least second-rate masters!
…
night.
Mr. Shen walked down the flower boat, swaying and looking very comfortable.
"Young Master." The guards had been waiting for a long time.
"Um."
Master Shen got on the carriage and asked casually, "Did the young lady of the Zhang family get to the other courtyard?"
"Her husband has been killed, and the young lady of the Zhang family has been taken to the other courtyard." The personal bodyguard whispered.
"well done."
Shen Gongfu raised his eyebrows and was in a very good mood, and lowered the curtain.
Thinking of the plump young lady from the Zhang family, Master Shen felt itchy in his heart.
"Uncle is the same, he only favors his sons!" Shen Gongfu looked at the carriage, his face suddenly became ugly, "His three sons are all officials, and the eldest brother is a second-rank official. The third brother is also a captain of the Blood Rain Guard! What about me? I went to ask for an official position, and uncle asked me to go to the academy to copy books? He said he wanted to temper my temper?"
"It's only because my father died early, otherwise it would not be your turn to be the head of the family." Shen Gongfu thought secretly.
He was very dissatisfied.
Although he was arrogant and wanton outside, he was severely suppressed within the family! He felt all kinds of unfairness!
"I have to support my own guards! I have to pay for my own house. It costs two to three thousand taels of silver a year to hire a first-rate guard! My eldest brother has a group of top guards around him, but I have to recruit them myself! I can't even bear to part with a first-rate master." There was a fierceness in Shen Gongfu's eyes, and many thoughts emerged in his mind.
With his status, he naturally had to maintain his dignity, and his monthly expenses were extremely high. The family put all kinds of pressure on him to pay, which made Shen Gongfu even more dissatisfied.
suddenly--
Puff puff puff!!!
Continuous sound.
"Huh?" Shen Gongfu's face changed and he immediately lifted the curtain. He saw five guards falling down. The only guard could only hold on for two moves before he was pierced through the chest by a bullet.
"Hahahaha——" The guard was pierced by the spear and made a sound in pain. When the spear was pulled out, the guard fell to the ground.
Shen Gongfu looked at the man in black in disbelief.
A man in black, wearing a bronze mask and holding a spear, walked over.
"Please spare my life, my good man, please spare my life." Shen Gongfu Lian said, "I have money, I have money! Whoever invited you here, I will pay double!"
"Double?" The bronze masked man said in a hoarse voice, "Your reward is not low."
"I have some gold here." Shen Gongfu immediately took out the brocade bag from his arms, "There are at least one hundred gold here! And this piece of jade... is also worth at least one hundred gold. I, I... these silver notes of mine use the same code, which is 'autumn, wind, leaves, snow'."
"No more?" said the bronze masked man. "Too little."
"No, no, you have to send me back. I have people at home." Shen Gongfu said anxiously, "I am a descendant of the Shen Gong family. I have a title. You can't kill me. If you kill me, you're done! There's no way you can escape... in heaven or on earth."
"puff."
A flying knife pierced directly into Master Shen's forehead.
Mr. Shen's eyes widened, unable to believe it. Which force could kill a member of Mr. Shen's family at will?
The bronze masked man briefly examined Master Shen's body, then took the brocade bag, the jade, the silver bills and other items and put them in his arms, and then carried the bodies of two second-rate master guards. Because the other guards were killed by flying knives, these two guards... were killed by guns!
“Whoosh.”
Carrying the two corpses, the bronze-masked man quickly disappeared.
“Plop! Plop!”
The two bodies were disfigured, tied with stones and thrown into the lake.
The bronze-masked man watched the two bodies sink, and ripples appeared on the dark lake surface.
"As a son of the Lord Shen family, he is so arrogant and ostentatious outside...but this is all he has with him?" The bronze masked man looked at the brocade bag. "A horse cannot grow fat without night grass. Being a Blood Rain Guard honestly only makes three to five thousand taels of silver a year. Of course I have to find another way to make money. Even if I kill this son of the Lord Shen family, the income is not high."
The bronze masked man put away the mask, revealing Xu Jingming's face.
"This little bit of gold and silver is really unworthy of the reputation of the Shen family." Xu Jingming said secretly.
The Shen family is scary?
As a Space Citizen player, would I be afraid?
"When can I save up 10,000 gold? Well, don't be impatient! Be modest and down-to-earth, and work hard to save money slowly." Xu Jingming thought to himself and left in a flash.
