RWNEFE -Chapter 138 Ninth Master!

The exiled prisoners had become even more silent and cautious than before, afraid of accidentally offending anyone. After finishing their assigned tasks, they wouldn’t even leave their rooms.

Shen Lanxi began taking action.

After entering Dongchuan, there were warehouses along the way for storing charcoal and food. Conveniently, the Sanmen Town they arrived at had such a warehouse.

That day, she brought Liu Yanhui and several students from the Qinglan Academy to the warehouse.

Liu Yanhui, Cheng Zheng, and the others noticed that neither Wei Dongzhu nor Liu Laohu was called along—only they were. They realized this was a sign of Shen Lanxi’s trust in them, meaning the task they were about to undertake could not be known by outsiders.

Using the pretext of making purchases, the group entered a nearby Ruichang Trading Company.

Liu Yanhui and the others expected them to enter the store, but Shen Lanxi only used the back door. Once through, they boarded a cart.

So mysterious!

The group exchanged glances, not daring to speak, until the cart wobbled and carried them past the city gate to a local residence nearby.

The Ghost Valley people were already waiting for Shen Lanxi.

“Ninth Master.”

Shen Lanxi nodded. “Among friends.”

The Ghost Valley people understood immediately and no longer looked at Liu Yanhui and the others with suspicion.

“Take me to the warehouse.”

“Yes, Master!”

As they led the way, they reported: “This warehouse stores 30,000 jin of Red Luo charcoal, 60,000 jin of Silver Thread charcoal, 80,000 jin of black charcoal, 20 carts of loose charcoal, and 50,000 jin of assorted charcoal…”

Liu Yanhui and the others following behind were so shocked they almost forgot to breathe. When the pressure in their chests became unbearable, they gasped for air.

Heavens!

Why did she need to store so much?

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the warehouse.

Shen Lanxi looked at the stacks piled high, each warehouse full, and nodded in satisfaction.

“What about food?”

The Ghost Valley person replied, “It’s stored separately. We’ll need to travel a bit further for that.”

For safety and the principle of “a crafty rabbit has three burrows.”

Shen Lanxi nodded in approval and had them continue leading the way.

Soon, they arrived at the food warehouses.

“This year, the north suffered a severe drought. Last season’s grains had almost no surplus. Half of this food came from Jiangnan, and the rest was purchased locally near Dongchuan.”

Shen Lanxi knew that northern grain hadn’t entered Dongchuan yet. There hadn’t been enough time. They had only recently received it when heavy snow blocked the roads. Transporting more would have been too costly in manpower and resources.

They opened three grain warehouses in turn.

“2,000 jin of millet, 1,000 jin of rice, 3,000 jin of soybeans, 2,100 jin of japonica rice, 2,000 jin of assorted legumes…”

Given the northern drought, gathering this much was already remarkable.

After inspecting the quality of the grains, Shen Lanxi nodded in satisfaction.

“You’ve worked hard. From now on, I’ll record your names in my ledger!”

The Ghost Valley disciples’ hearts leapt. They were usually low-ranking disciples outside the core, running errands with no recognition. They’d never get back into the main valley or access the core.

Shen Lanxi’s words were a recognition of their worth, a promise of future support.

“Thank you, Ninth Master!” they all saluted her happily.

Shen Lanxi then brought Liu Yanhui and the others into a room for discussion.

The room had just been lit with charcoal, and a damp chill lingered.

Shen Lanxi frowned and instructed the Ghost Valley disciples: “We can’t freeze to death guarding the treasure. Pass on my orders: keep the fires burning and eat the grain as needed.”

The disciples, deeply moved, thanked her respectfully and went to relay the message.

“Today, I brought you here for two reasons. One: to see my wealth. Two: to convert these resources into cash!”

Liu Yanhui suddenly understood why he had been brought along—he was the accountant!

Thinking of it that way, he felt a little embarrassed.

Previously, he had only managed Shen Lanxi’s private accounts. Well… these were private accounts too, but on such a massive scale!

Shen Lanxi tapped the table with one hand, calm and composed.

“Share your opinions.”

After thinking, Liu Yanhui said, “How to sell, how much profit? What are the prices of grain and charcoal in Dongchuan and nearby areas? I suggest we gather detailed information before making a move.”

Cheng Zheng wrote, “Local merchants are influential here.”

Sang Guo added, “Stockpiling can counter influential locals.”

Other students wrote: “Wait and see, know your enemy, establish a foothold, timing and opportunity!”

Shen Lanxi read each suggestion and noted the key points.

“I’ll stay here ten days. During this time, you can use the grain and charcoal warehouses to practice!”

Liu Yanhui, Cheng Zheng, and the others were again shocked, barely able to breathe.

These were life-saving resources! And she was letting them practice with them—practicing with their lives at stake!

“Everything you see here must remain secret. Your families cannot know either. If I find out…” Her cold gaze swept over them. Those caught in it felt as if they’d walked through the halls of Yama himself.

“Master, rest assured! We will never reveal this. If we do, may our families meet violent ends, and our bodies be left to the wild!”

Cheng Zheng and the others quickly nodded.

Shen Lanxi continued, “If you need information, you can inquire yourself or ask the people here. Ask for anything you want.”

Liu Yanhui said, “I want to know how many trading companies there are, where they come from, and information about the local government and local powers.”

Shen Lanxi: “Fine.”

Liu Yanhui went to ask.

Cheng Zheng stared at a piece of paper with only a few words, one with an ink spot, in front of him.

Three items were placed before him.

He looked up in confusion.

Shen Lanxi picked up a pencil and knife, sharpened it, and wrote Cheng Zheng’s name on the paper, then handed it to him.

“What is this?”

Shen Lanxi: “This is a pencil. Portable, no ink needed, saves time!”

She then picked up an eraser and erased Cheng Zheng’s name in front of everyone.

“If you write too much, use the eraser. Saves paper!”

Cheng Zheng reached for the pencil but Sang Guo snatched it first.

Recalling how Shen Lanxi held the pencil—slightly awkwardly but effective—Sang Guo quickly wrote his name.

No ink dipping was needed.

Amazing!

He wrote another line without pause, finishing quickly.

It saved half the time compared to writing with a brush. For longer texts, even more time could be saved.

After all, no time was wasted grinding ink.

Sang Guo’s face lit up, eyes shining with excitement.

Cheng Zheng couldn’t help smiling, hurriedly taking the pencil to try it himself.

It was so convenient and easy to carry.

Holding the tip, no ink touched his hands, saving all the cleaning time!

With this magical tool, they could finally compete with the better-educated students in verbal or record-keeping tasks.

Heaven knew how discouraging previous meetings had been for them.