“The proprietor of Qianjiang Inn has come to pay respects to the Young Master…” Han Laoshan entered the eastern courtyard to report.

Seeing Young Master Han Qian sitting in the deep shade writing something at a simple desk, while Xi Ren and Zhao Ting’er manipulated a standing pole with a semicircular plate in the corner of the courtyard, gesturing and comparing, he could not help but slightly furrow his brow.

He completely could not figure out what Young Master Han Qian was fussing about. He only knew that whenever the Young Master fussed over something, money and goods flowed away like water. He did not know how much longer the money and goods the Young Master had collected could sustain his activities.

“Qianjiang Inn?” Han Qian looked up at Han Laoshan with a puzzled glance and asked.

The Yuan River, or Yuan Jiang, referred to the river section from Langzhou to Qianyang. The river segment winding southwest from Qianyang was called Qingshui River, with a main channel stretching over a thousand miles, extending deep into the heartland of the former Qiandong Commandery. Along the way, streams and rivers originating from the mountains of eastern Qian and southwestern Hunan converged, linking the provincial and county seats and villages of these regions to Qianyang.

Although Qianyang City was not large with only about a thousand households, as the gateway to the former Qiandong Commandery, commerce had always been developed. The city had one to two hundred shops of various sizes.

Han Qian was not very familiar with the name Qianjiang Inn. Presumably it was not a merchant establishment he had focused on patronizing during this period.

“It’s just an inn with only dormitory accommodation. If the Young Master feels disturbed, I’ll send them away immediately.” Han Laoshan said with an embarrassed expression.

Even though the Family Head was no longer serving as Prefectural Governor, when they were in Jinling, Han Laoshan would directly send away such small characters who came to pay visits without particular business. How could he let every cat and dog running to the door constantly go in and out making reports? If he did not find it annoying, could the Family Head still settle down to read books and write articles?

However, since arriving in Xuzhou, the Young Master accepted both the refined and the vulgar, refusing none whether large or small. As long as they had the face to come knocking, he turned none away. Han Laoshan felt it was disgraceful, but having just encountered them as he was about to go out, he still had to steel himself and come report.

“Don’t—since the guests have already come to the door, how can we refuse them? Gao Shao, Tian Cheng, you two accompany Han Laoshan to invite them in.” Han Qian stopped Han Laoshan, having Gao Shao and Tian Cheng accompany him to invite the people into the eastern courtyard.

In contemporary times, only major thoroughfares and large cities had relatively high-class inns. Although commerce was quite developed in Qianyang City, apart from the pleasure quarters for entertainment and the official post station which had better lodging conditions, ordinary inns in the city mainly provided large dormitories, or worse still, dry rice and wheat straw on earth platforms, ranging from a few coins to over ten coins for a night’s lodging, also providing a simple meal or hot soup.

An inn in Qianyang City that even Han Qian was not very familiar with to this day obviously had even more rudimentary and inconspicuous conditions.

Yet it was precisely such an inconspicuous inn whose proprietor came knocking to pay respects—how could Han Qian refuse them at the door?

When Gao Shao and Tian Cheng saw Young Master Han Qian’s gaze fall on them, they felt mortified. Qianyang City was only so big, and nearly a month was enough for them to screen it once over, yet they had failed to detect any problems with Qianjiang Inn.

Han Qian gestured for Xi Ren and Zhao Ting’er to put down what they were holding.

Xi Ren still felt uncomfortable inside. With a jingling sound, she walked over and knelt beside Han Qian, obediently massaging his neck and shoulders while fantasizing about reaching out to crush his throat. Zhao Ting’er stood attendant to one side, indicating her intention to monitor Xi Ren, but her eyes glanced at Xi Ren kneeling there, her jacket and skirt’s chest wrap revealing a large expanse of turbulent and alluring bosom, and she could not help thinking about helping pull the chest wrap up higher.

Han Laoshan did not come over again. Tian Cheng and Gao Shao accompanied one old and one young man walking in.

The elder was about forty years old, with dark skin. The years had left deep marks on his face. At first glance, he would be taken for a hardworking commoner overly burdened by making a living, his somewhat cloudy eyes occasionally revealing humble and fearful expressions.

The younger one was not yet twenty, built sturdy, but apart from that, had no other distinctive features. He carried a bulging, rather worn saddlebag on his back.

No wonder Gao Shao and Tian Cheng had overlooked Qianyang Inn. The Ma clan had operated Tanzhou for three generations—the depth of their foundation could be glimpsed from these two sleeper agents who showed almost no flaws.

“Sit down. Let’s not play riddles. Show me what you’ve brought first.” Han Qian stretched lazily and said.

The elder gestured for the youth to place the bulging saddlebag on the simple desk before Han Qian. Opening it, gleaming gold cakes tumbled out one by one.

Contemporary commodity exchange mainly relied on copper-cast coins. Although Great Chu had strictly prohibited private casting among the people since the founding of the state, in order to ensure smooth civilian trade, coins minted in previous dynasties were not prohibited.

For instance, the Kaiyuan Tongbao coins from the previous dynasty were still most prevalent in the prefectures of Jiangnan West Circuit and were of full weight. The only inconvenience was that copper-cast coins were too cumbersome for large commodity transactions.

Besides copper-cast coins, gold was also a natural hard currency. Contemporary times had not yet developed the custom of casting into ingots. Gold usually circulated in the form of small gold cakes of standard weight—one cake of standard weight gold could exchange for about twelve thousand coins. If one cake of standard weight gold were fully exchanged for copper-cast coins, it would weigh about seventy-seven pounds.

Gold truly was a good thing in any era!

Han Qian poured out all the gold cakes from the saddlebag—ten to a stack, fifty stacks of gold nearly covering this sandalwood simple desk before him. He picked up a few pieces and bit them, looking at the clear tooth marks, his eyes unable to help but squint with delight.

Five hundred gold cakes, six million coins—truly worthy of Tanzhou’s handiwork. If the Secret Bureau’s Left Division used it sparingly, it could sustain them for about a year.

Han Qian picked up a gold cake and fondled it in his hand, eyes smiling as he said to the visitors: “What do you want?”

“We also heard news that Young Master Han could lift land restrictions, so we were thinking that the river is slowly receding. Five Peaks Mountain could connect to the mainland, and we might be able to reclaim eight to nine thousand acres of land.” The middle-aged man said.

“Sorry, you’re too late for Five Peaks Mountain. Yang Tan Water Stronghold was devastated by Zhong Yanhu in Jiangzhou. The stronghold people escorted my father and me to take up office in Xuzhou, and I’ve already promised to give them Five Peaks Mountain to rebuild Yang Tan Water Stronghold. Choose another location.” Han Qian said.

The visitors seemed to have anticipated this, after all, Yang Qin was leading his men in training on the Yuan River using Five Peaks Mountain in the river’s center as a base—anyone with decent eyesight standing on the riverbank could see it.

“The beach and silted land around Eagle Fish Stockade should be unreclaimed, right?” The visitor asked.

Han Qian understood clearly now. Qianjiang Inn and Eagle Fish Stockade should be forces that had not been completely eliminated when Ma Yuanheng was expelled by the Four Surnames. Having been rooted in Xuzhou too long, they had thoroughly integrated into Xuzhou’s guest-registered population. Qianjiang Inn was just a very ordinary inn, while Eagle Fish Stockade was just a small village with only twenty to thirty households. As long as they did not expose themselves ordinarily, it would be impossible for others to detect any problems.

“Fine. Five thousand acres as the limit—the provincial administration absolutely will not interfere!” Han Qian said.

“These five hundred gold cakes could buy over a thousand acres of good farmland in Jinling!” The visitor said.

“Land prices in Jinling aren’t that cheap. Being able to buy five hundred acres of paddy fields would be reaching the sky.” Han Qian said.

“Building dikes and reclaiming silt—who knows how much money and grain would need to be invested. Only five thousand acres as the limit is too small!” The visitor said. “Customers like us, Master Han will probably have difficulty encountering in the future, won’t he?”

“How much do you want?” Han Qian asked.

“To settle four to five hundred households, each household needs at least twenty acres to barely survive,” the visitor said. “If this deal succeeds, we’ll inevitably have to beg Master Han again in the future.”

“That low-lying area north of Qianyang City can reclaim at most fourteen to fifteen thousand acres. You want to encircle two-thirds at once—aren’t you afraid the Four Surnames will jump up?” Han Qian stared at the visitor whose eyes now showed brilliant sharpness and said, “Three thousand acres extending outward from Eagle Fish Stockade is enough for you. In addition, north at Tiger Pounce Creek mouth there are only seven or eight scattered households reclaiming there, but the creek mouth’s shallow silted land could perhaps reclaim four to five thousand acres. What do you think?”

“Thank you for Master Han’s care.” The visitor bowed in salute, accepting Han Qian’s suggestion.

“Don’t rush to build stockades. It’s best if people come in dispersed, better still if they can bring their families…” Han Qian gave detailed instructions. Seeing the visitor only staring at the paper and brush placed in the corner of the desk, he smiled, took the paper and brush, signaled Xi Ren to grind ink, and before putting brush to paper asked again: “Haha! Any requirements for the heading?”

“Having Master Han’s signature is sufficient.” The visitor said.

“Don’t need me to stamp it with the Prefectural Governor’s seal?” Han Qian asked.

“No need.” The visitor shook his head.

Han Qian wrote the loan receipt and handed it over, then signaled Gao Shao and Tian Cheng to see the two people out.

Watching the two disappear at the courtyard passageway entrance, Zhao Ting’er lazily sat down and said: “Young Master tested twice, and this person showed not a moment’s hesitation. He must be quite a key figure in Tanzhou.”

When the two men carried five hundred gold cakes into the eastern courtyard, Xi Ren vaguely thought of something, but truly hearing Zhao Ting’er speak it directly still made it difficult to suppress the shock in her heart. She asked sharply: “They’re Tanzhou people—you’re going to allow Tanzhou forces to massively enter Xuzhou?”

“You’ve been by my side these days and still haven’t understood?” Seeing Xi Ren making such a fuss, Han Qian said, “Looks like you still have much to learn from Ting’er!”

These days Xi Ren ate and slept in the same room with Zhao Ting’er and had hardly left Han Qian’s sight. Whatever matters Han Qian had and whatever words he spoke to Gao Shao, Tian Cheng and others, whatever he instructed, he no longer made her avoid, but Han Qian would not waste words explaining to her what plans he had in mind.

In fact, Han Qian did not explain much even to Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, and Zhao Wuji. One reason was to make them think, another was still to maintain his own authority.

“You openly lead tigers and wolves into Xuzhou—aren’t you afraid the dove will occupy the magpie’s nest, making Xuzhou’s situation ultimately impossible to salvage?” Xi Ren would not weaken her spirit just because she was less perceptive than Zhao Ting’er. At this moment, she was more afraid of the consequences of inviting wolves into the house.

She agreed to cooperate with Han Qian, entertaining extravagant hopes that the Xi clan could rise again, extravagant hopes of avenging her father’s murder, her mother’s humiliation, and the clan’s extermination. But she also did not wish to see Xuzhou truly become a sea of blood.

In her view, Han Qian only wanted his father to gain a foothold in Xuzhou. Under current circumstances, having the Xi clan and Feng Xuan as two hidden pieces should be sufficient. After all, Han Daoxun as Prefectural Governor nominally held Xuzhou’s highest authority and now directly controlled the Market Administration, provincial prison, boat guild, and other matters, and would in all likelihood control Xuzhou’s commerce in the future. She really did not understand what ulterior motives Han Qian had to lead tigers and wolves they could not control at all into Xuzhou.

Could he possibly hope that the Xi clan’s two to three thousand people could truly help him balance against Tanzhou in Xuzhou?

Even if there was a thread of opportunity, how many of the Xi clan remnants would ultimately die? Or did Han Qian simply not care about the Xi clan remnants’ lives or deaths?

“Your Xi clan remnants, even if two thousand remain, have already been sold as far as Qianzhong. To redeem them back one by one, you calculate for me how much wealth would be enough?” Seeing Xi Ren actually getting temperamental, Han Qian looked at her coldly and said, “Also, why lead wolves into the house—if you cannot think through the key points in this, being self-satisfied with extensive family learning amounts to nothing more than that. Staying by my side, you still need to learn more and observe more. Don’t think a pretty face can be of any use.”

Xi Ren bit her teeth bitterly in frustration. Under Han Qian’s stare, she ultimately lowered her head.