IDWBE -Chapter 179 The Blind Boy

Some people wanted to exchange silver notes for actual silver at Sanhe Bank.

Some were skeptical, so as soon as they got the silver notes, they hurried to the bank to convert them into coins.

After all, holding silver in hand, keeping it in your pocket, felt safer.

From morning till night, long lines stretched outside Sanhe Bank.

Bo Lin, the bank manager, was so busy he barely touched the ground, and even a little anxious. At this rate, if the rush continued, the silver reserves wouldn’t be enough.

Lin Yi, however, remained unconcerned.

Trust takes time to prove itself.

During these peaceful days, Baiyun City enjoyed tranquil times.

It was just past noon, and the butcher had already sold all the meat before sunrise.

Now, holding a jug of tangerine peel water, he sighed. “They say the young lady is like a little cotton jacket, but I guess I’m more like a leaky one. Always out of the house, joining Li Sanniang in all the commotion.”

Dealing with the young lady Zhang Zhen was really headache-inducing.

Reason with her? She’d been to school, her tongue sharper than his.

Hit her? She’s third rank.

He couldn’t overpower her.

“Hehe.”

Across the way, Zhu Ruorong leaned against the wooden post outside the butcher’s door. “How about that? When it comes to teaching kids, you’re far behind me, right? Look at my boy—I let him catch chickens, he won’t chase dogs; I tell him east, he won’t go west!”

Just as he finished speaking, his youngest son suddenly stood at the butcher shop door, shouting, “Dad, I want a candied hawthorn!”

“Coming, coming!”

Rong hurriedly ran back while responding.

The butcher watched his retreating back and laughed heartily.

Looking up, he saw two people at his doorstep—one carrying a wooden bucket, the other a bamboo ladder. They skillfully repainted the wall slogan, changing the old “Sanhe is my home” to a bright red: “Sanhe Bank—Deposit Money, Earn Interest.”

Sanhe Bank had now become a household name in Baiyun City.

The third Sanhe Innovation and Invention Contest had begun.

The first prize went to a woman who improved the loom by adding hooks and springs, making the foot pedal much easier to operate.

The prize was one hundred taels, and she paraded through the streets wearing a big flower.

“Second prize goes to this soap plow and hoe.”

Lin Yi judged all the awards.

What disappointed Lin Yi was that everyone’s contributions were only improvements—there was not a single true invention.

“Yes,” Shan Qi continued, “Both Hongzhou and Yuezhou have fallen to rebels; Han Hui has declared himself king.”

“My uncle and Mei Jingzhi have left—this was foreseeable, nothing surprising. What worries me is if this is a scheme by Prince Yong and Jizhao Nunnery. Hongzhou and Yuezhou are so close to Sanhe, like a sword hanging over my head,”

Lin Yi smiled. “I just hope Han Hui is smart enough not to provoke me.”

“Your Highness, the number of refugees has increased recently.”

Shan Qi was worried, and the reason was simple: lack of money.

“Distribute land to them, following previous policies,”

Lin Yi said. “If there isn’t enough money, borrow more.”

He was troubled too.

Previously, thirty thousand taels had been borrowed from Liang Gen and others to fund the war with Ayu Kingdom—and not a single tael had been repaid.

Old debts remain, and new ones arise.

He had promised Hu Shilu to help build a medical school, but due to lack of funds, he temporarily gave them the abandoned orphanage next to the mansion to serve as a medical school.

As for the students, Hu Shilu carefully selected those who had completed two years of study.

“Yes.”

Shan Qi had no choice; there was no other way.

After Shan Qi left, Lin Yi stepped out of the hall and unknowingly reached the front garden, where a crowd had gathered around the blind boy Wang Dong for fortune-telling.

The blind boy casually said a few words, and everyone cheered, as if they would soon become high officials.

“Damn it,” Lin Yi kicked Wang Dong. “Running superstition in the mansion—impressive! Let’s see if you can read my fortune!”

“My lord’s talent and rise are beyond words. Why should I say more?”

Even after being kicked, Wang Dong wasn’t angry and kept smiling.

He had originally been an orphan from Songyang, whose parents had died in a hurricane. If not for His Highness, he would have truly had no one.

At this moment, he might as well have been a handful of yellow earth.

His best friends were Fang Pi, Yu Xiaoshi, and A-Dai.

But the person he respected most was only Lin Yi.

“Good that you’re sensible,” Lin Yi said, “Stop wandering around the mansion all day. Make some money. I know the food here is good, but you can’t mooch every day, right?”

Hearing this made him even angrier!

Sun Yi went out; the guards cooked daily, but didn’t eat there, always running back to the mansion.

Fang Pi, Cui Gengren, and others did the same when off duty.

Did they think he had a mine?

Wang Dong said, “I’m here to do morning exercises with the steward.”

“Ha, learning martial arts won’t get you anywhere with fortune-telling.”

Lin Yi couldn’t bear to discourage him further.

A blind boy learning martial arts—what use is it?

Could he support himself?

It was a waste of effort that he had been made to study fortune-telling under Taoist Sun Xing.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Wang Dong did not argue.

“Good,” Lin Yi said lightly, “Your master is cunning. You can’t let him take all the earnings. You must save some money yourself. Otherwise, he’ll get a wife, and you won’t even have one.”

“My master cares for me, and I have no complaints,”

“Then I’m just wasting my words.”

Lin Yi had no choice.

He merely watched them practice morning exercises—martial arts.

The blind boy wielded a bamboo rod against A-Dai and Yu Xiaoshi, who held iron hammers.

One against two?

Lin Yi could hardly believe it.

Had the blind boy gone mad learning fortune-telling?

Just as he thought to intervene, A-Dai and Yu Xiaoshi raised their hammers and charged, shouting wildly.

The blind boy’s bamboo rod vibrated in the air, sounding like cicadas, buzzing continuously.

Suddenly, Lin Yi didn’t notice how the blind boy moved behind A-Dai and Yu Xiaoshi. The rod trembled, tapping them each on the back.

The two froze, holding their hammers like statues.

“Thank you for letting me win!”

The blind boy tapped them again.

Their acupoints released, and the hammers dropped to the ground as they trembled with rage.

Xiao Xizi drew his long sword, instantly wrapping the blind boy in a blur of sword light.

The blind boy stood still, striking Xiao Xizi’s wrist with the bamboo rod; Xiao Xizi’s sword flew out of his hand, and he fell.

Every move of the blind boy was clean and precise.

Those around seemed accustomed, showing no expression.

Only Lin Yi was stunned.

“How do you do this?”

Lin Yi couldn’t help asking.

He could understand defeating A-Dai and Yu Xiaoshi—fools both.

But Xiao Xizi? He was peak seventh rank!

“Your Highness, I am blind,” Wang Dong said calmly, “Though I cannot see, my mind is more effective than theirs.”