Hun Xiong Kun was busy taking stock of the rice that was to be delivered for Lee Zhen Ren’s birthday celebration when Lin Xuan Qi and Lee He Song arrived.
Lin Xuan Qi saw that things seemed to be going well, and his staff were all busy.
"Master Lin, what a pleasant surprise. Please, come in and have some tea." Hun Xiong Kun stopped what he was doing and welcomed them warmly.
The staff of Hun Xiong Kun quickly placed the teacup and poured the tea from the teapot for the guests.
Lin Xuan Qi nodded and sat down with Lee He Song.
"I’m here to negotiate the deal." He said and took a sip from the teacup.
"Negotiate...I’m afraid I might not be able to offer more.
"The people from Lee Zhen Ren had forced me to deliver the rice needed without any deposit or payments.
"And they will only pay after I deliver the remaining thousand kilograms of rice.
"They are..." Hun Xiong Kun gave out a long sigh.
"Then that’s great." Lin Xuan Qi nodded his head and said, "I’m here to tell you that I can supply you with fifty kilograms of rice daily from today onwards.
"That should help you fulfill the delivery to Lee Zhen Ren at the end of the month.
"And since it’s double of what we’ve agreed upon, I would like to get double of what was promised.
Hun Xiong Kun couldn’t believe it when he heard Lin Xuan Qi.
He stood up and gave him a bow.
"Thanks! I will pay you the remaining nine taels of silver when I get the payment from them."
Lin Xuan Qi was a godsend.
If he didn’t appear and supply the rice to Hun Xiong Kun, Hun Xiong Kun would be punished for breaking the contract to deliver the rice.
Even though the contract was compulsory for all the rice merchants.
Lin Xuan Qi on the other hand had a glimpse of how those associated with Cultivators behaved. Treating others as lowlifes and for them to trample upon.
It seemed to him that having longevity doesn’t equate to someone being virtuous. And it might have been the other way around.
You need to be villain-like to live longer in this world.
"No! How many times have I told you not to place it there!"
"If you do this again, get out of here."
"I think we’ve given him enough chances, let him go."
A commotion happened and Lin Xuan Qi glanced over to see what had happened.
Some of the staff in the rice shop were scolding a young man.
The young man, who was burly and stood at two meters tall, was scratching his head and giving the staff an innocent smile.
His child-like smile was very much in contrast with his strong and burly build.
Hun Xiong Kun shook his head and sighed.
Lin Xuan Qi gave him a questioning look.
"Pardon me. The burly and tall young man was alone on the streets, and I took him in." Hun Xiong Kun explained.
"And he is not doing a good job?" Lin Xuan Qi asked.
Hun Xiong Kun shook his head and explained, "No, absolutely not.
"Although he isn’t the smartest in town, he is strong and worked fast.
"In fact, he is so fast that he threatened the job of the other workers.
"They’ve been trying to nitpick his job ever since.
"I bet you the staff would come over and complain to me soon...."
And right on cue, the staff came over with the tall and burly young man.
"Boss, he made the same mistake again. I sincerely hope you can fire him."
"Yeah, he is making it tough for the others working with him."
The staff said and tried to persuade Hun Xiong Kun.
Of course it’s tough, tough for you to skive and relax on the job. Hun Xiong Kun thought to himself.
Lin Xuan Qi glanced at the tall and burly young man.
He was carrying four bags of rice in his hands and had two more on his shoulders.
It was so many more than the other workers with only one bag of rice at a time.
A thought went through Lin Xuan Qi’s mind.
Why doesn’t he get the tall and burly young man into his mansion.
There will be heavy duty work in the mansion where Xue Cong, Yue Jie and Yue Xin wouldn’t be able to handle.
This tall and burly young man should be able to help out in this heavy-duty work.
Also, he can help resolve the headache for Hun Xiong Kun by getting the tall and burly man to go away.
"If you don’t mind. I would like to employ him." Lin Xuan Qi pointed at the tall and burly young man and said.
"That’s great! I certainly don’t mind." Hun Xiong Kun thanked Lin Xuan Qi profusely.
He was more than glad to have the hot potato off his hands.
After all, he was the one who got the tall and burly young man into the rice shop, he would be chastised if he drove him out.
Being hired away by someone else was a different story altogether.
Hun Xiong Kun glanced at the staff in front of him and said, "You heard Master Lin here. Get Zhi Yong here."
Zhi Yong was the name he had given to the tall and burly young man.
His staff quickly turned around and swarmed Zhi Yong.
Zhi Yong didn’t know how to respond, and he just scratched his head, giving out a sheepish smile to the staff coming to get him.
Lin Xuan Qi stood up and nodded at Zhi Yong when he came over to where Lin Xuan Qi was.
"Will you be willing to join my mansion?
"We provide lodging and food every day.
"The only work would be for you to be involved with heavy lifting work.
"And don’t worry, I’ve asked Master Hun, and he has no objections to it." Lin Xuan Qi said and explained the situation to Zhi Yong.
Zhi Yong gave Lin Xuan Qi his sheepish smile and continued to scratch his head.