章 19: Chapter 19: Mastery of the Nine Skills
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"Breakthrough!"
Boom!
Shen Qing, standing with his arms in a circular position, suddenly felt a jolt of energy.
At the moment of breakthrough, he sensed a warm flow rising from his Dantian, surging through his meridians.
With each Grand Circulation in his body, this warm flow grew stronger.
In the blink of an eye, the flow transformed from the size of a thumb to a continuously flowing stream.
Shen Qing felt his Qi-Blood rapidly intensify, his muscles swelling as if inflated, each inch of skin filled with explosive power.
Until a certain balance was reached, this phenomenon gradually calmed down.
[Skill: Nine Skills (The Level of Mastery)]
[Progress: 3/300 points]
[Status: Cannot be enhanced]
Shen Qing found a stone bar in the room, grasped it single-handedly, and with a fierce exertion, the stone bar shattered with a sound, falling to the ground in pieces.
He looked incredulously at his right hand, a surge of joy welling up in his heart.
"I made it!"
This kind of strength could easily handle Chen Yuan now.
Although there was still a gap with true Martial Arts and couldn't be compared with a real martial master,
being able to surpass Chen Yuan meant that no one in Hongshan Village could surpass him in strength.
In such a chaotic environment, having such power made him feel at ease.
In the afternoon, there was a commotion in the usually calm Hongshan Village.
Outside the Chen Family.
Chen Youguang called all the men and youngsters of the village to his home.
Seeing that most people had arrived, he did not delay further, but with his son Chen Yuan standing on his right, loudly said, "Listen up, everyone!"
"Starting from today, I will be buying all hunting goods from Hongshan Village on behalf of our boss. This year's harvest in all the villages is great, and the boss said the purchase price will be thirty percent lower than before."
As soon as he said this, the gathered men became agitated, collective uproar rising in their hearts.
"What? Thirty percent lower? Isn't this bullying?" protested a rough hunter, his face full of anger.
"Indeed, the game sold well this winter, and the boss is trying to take advantage of us!"
"Lowering it by thirty percent means we've worked hard for nothing this whole year. We won't even be able to pay taxes!" said a hunter from the Zhang Family, waving his fist angrily.
Shen Qing hid in the crowd, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
He looked toward his uncle Shen Er, who was frowning, obviously also unhappy and surprised by this decision: "How can the boss do this? Last time the price was fine, how could it just suddenly drop, and by so much too!"
The villagers discussed amongst themselves, the air filled with dissatisfaction and complaints, and the atmosphere suddenly tensed.
Chen Youguang observed the villagers' reactions with an expressionless face as if he had anticipated this uproar, waiting for the villagers' voices to gradually calm down.
Then he slowly spoke in a steady and powerful voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, heed my words. I understand the discontent, since this affects everyone's personal interests, but please also understand the boss's difficulties; when more people sell, the prices are bound to drop."
He paused, glanced around to ensure everyone could hear him, and with a sigh said, "But considering all your hardships, I don't intend to make money off you. So in the end, I only need to reduce it by ten percent; this is the maximum concession I can make."
Chen Youguang's words somewhat calmed the villagers.
Although the reduced purchase price still caused discontent, at least Chen Youguang appeared to make some compromise.
The hunters from Hongshan Village began whispering, discussing this new proposal.
"Ten percent, though still unpleasant, is much better than thirty," Uncle Shen Er said with a sigh.
"Yes, next we just have to try to hunt more game to increase our income," another hunter from the Zhang Family had to lower his head.
In fact, facing the dominant Chen Youguang and his family, they had no other choice.
Shen Qing observed everyone with clarity.
Having lived two lives, he saw through Chen Youguang's little schemes, playing tricks by first raising then dropping.
He could hear the calculations from a mile away.
If he guessed correctly, the city boss never intended to lower the purchase price of the game; such a huge drop was likely Chen Youguang's own idea.
The profits would all end up in the pockets of him and his son.
Even scarier, their two sons had just died by Shen Qing's hands.
For the past few days, they acted as if nothing had happened, energetically starting up the purchasing business.
All they saw was money.
Their family was truly cold and frightening.
"There's one more thing," Chen Youguang glanced around, patting the cart beside him, "My family's cart is quite small. In the future, when transporting goods, we won't be able to give people a ride, so I hope everyone can understand."
Compared to the price reduction, not giving rides to the city seemed trivial.
However, some clever hunters in the village were already pondering this implication.
In the future, unless items like rare mountain commodities, foxes, and minks that were easy to carry and high-priced were worth the trip,
for regular priced game it wouldn't be worth the half-day walk to the county town on foot.
Chen Youguang indirectly increased the cost of selling individually, forcing hunters to sell to him.
A transparent but unavoidable strategy.
Shen Qing couldn't help but furrow his brow at this point.
The Chen Family's father and son were showing an ugly phase.
"All right, is everyone clear now? Anyone who has suitable game can bring it to me for money now. If the weather permits, I'll head to the city tomorrow."
Chen Youguang, with a slight smile, took a heavy bag of large coins from his sleeve, shaking it in his hand to make the sound of Copper Coin clashing.
"I'll go."
The Chen Family's fifth son, smiling, carried a colorful pheasant, placing it; feathers and all, onto the cart, happily accepting one hundred wen.
After him, a few more Chen family members sold some game.
"Any more?"
"I didn't bring it, I'll fetch it from home later."
"I'll go home and discuss it with my wife."
"..."
The many men gathered were not foolish. This matter concerned their family's livelihood; it was a significant decision and couldn't be made hastily.
"All right, then I'll wait until tomorrow morning. After tomorrow morning, I can't guarantee when I'll go to the county next."
Chen Youguang squinted as he said, "Does everyone in the village know now? Is there anyone who hasn't been informed?"
"No one from the Tian Family came!"
At this time, Chen Yuan suddenly chimed in.
"Mm?" Chen Youguang scanned everyone, frowning at Chen Yuan, "What do they mean by this? Chen Yuan, go take a look."
"Okay, Grandpa."
With that, Chen Yuan, taking the fifth son and other Chen family members, pushed through the crowd heading directly toward the Tian Family's residence.
Amongst the crowd, Shen Qing suddenly had a bad feeling.
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