Prince Fu’s Banquet, Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce ( Part 4 )

Taking this opportunity, Mu Linfeng saw that each table was leaving. With his identity as Mu Xiaowangye, he naturally had no difficulty, but Mu Linfeng was only a prince from an outside clan. Moreover, Yunnan was 180,000 li away from Jinling, and many merchants still considered themselves superior and did not give Mu Linfeng any face. However, when Xiaofu Wang turned thirty and began to treat Mu Linfeng like a brother, all the merchants present looked at him with new eyes.

After all, Zhu Yousong's identity was completely different from Mu Linfeng's. Zhu Yousong was the legitimate descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang. Mu Linfeng knew that in Chinese history, the most principled people mostly came from the Song and Ming dynasties. In the eyes of these people during the Ming Dynasty, the Zhu surname was an absolute authority.

The banquet lasted until three or four in the afternoon, and Mu Linfeng drank a lot of alcohol. This was the first time since he arrived in the Ming Dynasty that he drank without any worries. In the 21st century, he was the leader of the underworld and couldn't afford to get drunk every day. He had to stay sober every day. After arriving in the Qing Dynasty, he first escaped from death in the frontier, then went through the Liangshan ordeal. Although he was lucky in both cases, he couldn't let his guard down. Until he arrived in Jinling, he no longer had to worry about his life, but there were more than a hundred people following him to make a living. When he arrived in Jinling, he began to plan how to make money. Although he had been to Chunxianglou several times, he never dared to drink too much, for fear of getting into trouble. This may be his survival pattern for many years, so for Mu Linfeng, it was already a way of life.

But like today, Mu Linfeng was still experiencing it for the first time, because he knew that at this moment, he was getting closer and closer to Zhu Yousong, and Zhu Yousong was also looking up to him more and more. With such proximity to his goal, and the occasion today, seeing all the merchants in Jinling at once was definitely something worth celebrating for Mu Linfeng.

After the banquet, Zhu Yousong was already completely unconscious from drinking, and didn't remember anything about going to the Qinglong Pond for a bath or going to the Chunxianglou to pick up girls. Mu Linfeng was in a semi-drunken state and knew that he should seize the opportunity at this moment. So he said to everyone, "Xiaofu Wang has already said that not only the banquet just now, but also the Qinglong Pond in the afternoon and the Chunxianglou in the evening, everyone must not miss it!"

Boss Feng was the first to say, "Since Xiaofu Wang is already so drunk, the program in the afternoon should be canceled, right? I have something important to do in the afternoon, so please let Master Mu convey my message to Xiaowangye!" After speaking, he bowed and left.

Kong Wu patted Mu Linfeng on the shoulder and said, "That's just how my master is. Don't take it to heart, brother Mu." Mu Linfeng had cursed Mr. Feng countless times in his heart, but he smiled and said, "Brother Kong, what are you talking about? Mr. Feng is busy with his business, of course, business comes first. Besides, Mr. Feng is the savior of his younger sister. I'm grateful to him!"

Kong Wu laughed and said, "Brother Mu, even at this point, you still speak to me like this. I'm sure Brother Mu knows about the relationship between the Zheng and Feng families, right? Miss Lingxiang is still staying in my Feng mansion..."

Mu Linfeng suddenly realized and cursed himself for being confused by the beauties recently. He hadn't noticed such an obvious fact. He had just met Zheng Lingxiang and Tian Chuanmei at Feng Mansion before coming to Yipinlou. Kong Wu had naturally met Zheng Lingxiang at Feng Mansion, and he must have known the relationship between Zheng Lingxiang and Zheng Xiyu. So it was a bit impolite for Mu Linfeng to say that Zheng Xiyu was his sister.

Mu Linfeng looked embarrassed and didn't know what to say for a while. But Kong Wu continued, "Brother Mu, don't worry about it. I understand your intentions. Traveling with a single man and a single woman in the martial arts world is natural. I believe Brother Mu is also doing this for Miss Xiyu. Besides, I can tell that Brother Mu and Miss Xiyu's relationship is extraordinary!"

Mu Linfeng awkwardly smiled and said, "Big Brother, please don't laugh at me!" After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Kong Wu, Kong Wu left with Boss Feng. As soon as Boss Feng left, the other merchants and traders present all came to say goodbye to Mu Linfeng, giving various excuses to leave. Mu Linfeng did not want Boss Feng's influence in the business world to be so great that three-quarters of the merchants left with him. The remaining one-quarter were either small businessmen with no status in Jinling or merchants who were at odds with Boss Feng, or those who were solely focused on currying favor with Mu Linfeng.

Among them was a merchant named Ye Zhimao, who had always been respectful to Mu Linfeng since he was in the front hall. Later, during the banquet, Mu Linfeng learned that Ye Zhimao was in the tea business, and since Yunnan was a tea-producing region, especially for Pu-erh tea, this caught Mu Linfeng's attention. Mu Linfeng happened to be the young prince of the Mu Wangfu in Yunnan.

Before this, Ye Zhimao had gone to Yunnan and tried to visit the Mu Wangfu several times, but was always rejected. This time, with Mu Linfeng coming to Jinling, how could he miss this opportunity?

In Yunnan, tea farmers could only keep forty percent of the tea they produced each year, while the remaining sixty percent had to be turned over to the Mu family, who then contributed a portion to the emperor according to a certain ratio, with the Mu Wangfu getting their share as well. Moreover, when tea merchants from outside the region came to purchase Pu-erh tea, they all had to go through the procedures approved by the Mu Wangfu.

Mu Linfeng had not thought about these things before, but Ye Zhimao reminded him of many things, such as the tobacco plan he was planning to implement. Yunnan was also a tobacco-producing region, so if he sold tobacco in Jinling, the source of goods would definitely not be a problem, and he could even ask Su Duxiu and the others to help when they returned home. If it weren't for Ye Zhimao, Mu Linfeng wouldn't have thought of these details, so he had a good impression of Ye Zhimao and readily agreed to his request.

After sending Zhu Yousong to rest, Mu Linfeng and the remaining guests went directly to the Qinglong Pool for a bath.

The Qinglong Pool was located in the north of Jinling City, covering an area of several dozen mu. It was luxurious in construction and decoration, and except for some outdated facilities, it was similar to a modern bathhouse in the 21st century. However, the Qinglong Pool was mainly for male guests and did not have a female bathhouse. It was much more open than the bathhouses in the 21st century, where female attendants and maids were everywhere to help guests rub their backs, give massages, and even engage in sexual activities in private rooms.

Mu Linfeng had visited such places in the 21st century, but they were all hidden brothels, not as open as they were now. The Qinglong Pool surpassed the Chunxiang Tower in every aspect. It was no wonder that Zhu Yousong had mentioned this place more than once; it was truly a man's paradise.

The girls here were of average quality compared to those in the Chunxiang Tower, but they were satisfactory. However, they lacked uniqueness, which was a bit disappointing. Nevertheless, this gave Mu Linfeng an idea for a new way to make money.