Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 184 Tang Family Chamber of Commerce

"Is this the Ji family's shop?"

After entering the city, Mo Yuming was led to a three-story building. The store was very grand, and there were several girls dressed in furs at the entrance soliciting customers. Standing on the street, one could see that the store was filled with clothes, hats, capes and other items made of animal skins.

“This is our Ji family’s flagship store in Zhongyuan City. We also have two other stores on other streets,” Ji Fa replied.

Mo Yuming got out of the car and walked into the Ji family's fur shop. In addition to all kinds of fur coats, the shop also had soft armor, knee pads, saddles, and leather boots made of monster hides. Besides finished products, they also accepted custom orders.

"Where is your master?" After looking around the shop, Mo Yuming followed Ji Fa to a private room on the second floor to rest.

“Something terrible has happened at home. After the Third Master came to inform us, the Second Master and the Young Master immediately went back to the village. Now I’m the one who’s here to look after the shop.”

Ji Fa then made tea for Mo Yuming and replied.

"Besides fur, you also deal in magic crystals and weapons!" Mo Yuming noticed a smaller shop on the second floor, with shelves filled with various magic crystals and tools.

"Because the old master started his business by buying the game from hunters, and the great-grandmother's family had a unique skill in tanning furs, the tanned furs were of very high quality. So after decades of business, starting from processing furs, the business grew bigger and bigger, from buying, sorting, processing and selling. Now the Ji family fur shop not only makes furs, but also buys the whole game from hunters and processes it meticulously. In addition to furs, the meat and bones of the game are also processed. After the meat is cut up, it is sold to restaurants and hotels as ingredients. The magic crystals and bones that are taken off are sold to weapon refiners as materials for refining weapons. However, now our shop also has its own weapon refiner and has started refining weapons ourselves."

"Does your Ji family have any weapon refiners?" After what happened last night, Mo Yuming knew that the Ji family didn't have many people; most of them were relatives who had come to rely on them or servants they had hired.

"Our Ji family's weapon refiners are all hired professionals, and they've been working for the Ji family for over ten years. Their skills are excellent!" Ji Fa said.

"Aren't weapon refiners in high demand? Don't they usually run their own shops? Your Ji family doesn't have any weapon refiners, so how do you manage them?" Mo Yuming asked curiously.

"Actually, many weapon refiners work for others; only a small percentage of them own their own shops. After all, if a weapon refiner runs their own shop, they not only need to attract customers but also pay rent, purchase materials, and handle many other things. And they might not even be able to attract customers immediately. Furthermore, each weapon refiner has a different skill level and their own strengths. Therefore, choosing to cooperate with us is actually a good option. Although we will take a portion of their profits, we can provide them with various equipment and help them attract customers. They can simply focus on refining weapons without worrying about other miscellaneous matters. Why not?"

After chatting with Ji Fa for a while, Mo Yuming took his leave and headed to the Wushuang Hotel. Ji Fa had originally wanted Mo Yuming to stay in a room at his shop, but after hearing that Mo Yuming was going to stay at the Wushuang Hotel, he didn't say anything more, since the Wushuang Hotel was much more luxurious than his own rooms. So he instructed his servants to send a carriage to take the two of them there.

The Wushuang Hotel is located in the central district of Zhongyuan City. It's a high-end hotel meticulously built a year ago by Master Fu and Jia Shan. To acquire this prime piece of land, the two spared no effort, spending a considerable amount of gold coins on bribery alone. Although the land was privately owned, and the original owner wanted to quickly sell it for cash, several local bullies wanted to acquire it at a lower price. Therefore, they deliberately stirred up trouble to obstruct the transaction. The purchase was extremely difficult. Fortunately, these local bullies, fearing Master Fu's Heavenly Rank strength, kept quiet after bribing the government officials.

The hotel's entire design and specifications are modeled after the Sheshanya Grand Hotel, with its exotic white walls and gray tiles, winding bridges and corridors, and carved beams and painted rafters all exquisitely depicted. The entire building occupies a vast area, including a seven-story main building and a very large rear garden. The garden features artificial hills and ponds, as well as pavilions and terraces, and is filled with various rare tree species and flowers. The pond also houses many rare fish.

After entering the hotel, Mo Yuming presented his secret token and was immediately led to a secret room on the top floor. This room was reserved for high-ranking leaders of the Great Xia Empire and was not open to the public at other times.

Not long after Mo Yuming checked in, the hotel manager hurriedly came over to greet him.

All the managers of the hotels and restaurants outside were dispatched from the She Shen Cliff Hotel. Each manager was strictly selected, trained, and assessed by Huang Xiaoxiao before being sent out. The other hotel executives also came from the Great Xia Empire. Therefore, every restaurant and restaurant that Master Fu and Jia Shan opened in other places was actually an intelligence station planted by the Great Xia Empire in the local area.

Mo Yuming didn't say much. After meeting him, he simply inquired about the hotel's operations and gave a brief comment on his work before instructing him to notify the Falcon Guard.

After the innkeeper left, Mo Yuming told Ahao to find a room to rest. Then he went to the window to look at the street scene of Zhongyuan City. It was already dusk, and the city outside the window was brightly lit and very prosperous.

The Peerless Restaurant is one of the tallest buildings in Zhongyuan City, standing out prominently in the vast city. Aside from the nearby City Lord's Mansion, only a few other powerful and wealthy families have built such tall buildings. Because the City Lord's Mansion only has eight stories, other buildings dare to only reach six or seven stories at most, as a sign of respect for the City Lord.

Standing atop the high-rise, the streets below are laid out before you. The entire layout of Zhongyuan City is divided by the main street leading into the city, with three straight avenues running between the east and west city walls. Two avenues run north to south, dividing the city into twelve districts. The tallest building, the City Lord's Mansion, sits in the central western area, while the Peerless Hotel and several other high-rises are located in the central eastern area, facing the City Lord's Mansion across the street.

"Lord!"

"Sun Min? What, it's you? Did you lead the Falcon Guards planted in Zhongyuan City yourself? What about Shangyuan City?"

Mo Yuming asked.

“This subordinate feels that the matter of taking Zhongyuan City is of great importance, and it is more appropriate to handle some things personally. Shangyuan City is relatively stable, and with Su Ce there, plus more than two hundred Falcon Guards stationed there, there is not much of a security problem, so I came here myself,” Sun Min replied.

"How long have you been in Zhongyuan City?"

"Thirteen days."

"Have you ascertained the situation in Zhongyuan City? How is the plan progressing?"

“The Central Plains City has about 110,000 troops, all stationed around the City Lord’s Mansion in the city. Apart from the City Lord’s Mansion in the center and the residences of some high-ranking officials, the area around the City Lord’s Mansion is full of military camps.” Sun Min stood next to Mo Yuming and pointed to the area where the City Lord’s Mansion was located.

"In this area, the tall building to the left of our restaurant is the Weapon Refiner Association, and to the right is the Alchemist Association. Next to our restaurant is the 'Soul' trading company's central store in Zhongyuan City. The slightly shorter building in the central area belongs to a very mysterious merchant guild. It is said that the identity of the person behind it is very mysterious, and no one has ever seen it. All that is known is that the owner's surname is Tang. This merchant guild never does business with other merchants in the city. So even after investigating for so long, we still don't know what they mainly do."

"Surname Tang? Tang Hao! Xinlan, is this Tang family related to Tang Hao?" Mo Yuming wondered.

"Does the Tang Family Chamber of Commerce usually have many people coming and going? Have you seen any suspicious people coming and going? For example, those with strange attire, or whose cultivation level is undetectable?"

“It’s rare to notice that very few people usually come and go from the Tang Family Chamber of Commerce, and most of them are servants,” Sun Min said.