Chapter 1356 – Borrowing Another 500 Years from the Sky (Part One)
Qi Guanrang’s straightforwardness brought a faint smile to Jiang Pengji’s face.
She asked, “Wenzheng, would you be willing to be my left and right arm in the next life as well?”
Just moments ago, the little angel Qi Guanrang fell silent, his brow furrowed, as if this question was a tough choice for him.
A mere promise could make Jiang Pengji happy, but who would have thought he would take it so seriously, pondering about the next life when this life was still in question?
He sighed, “Is being a servant in this life not enough? Now you’re asking about the next life too?”
Jiang Pengji retorted, “Look who’s talking! As if I’ve done anything to you! What makes you think you can much less plow the fields or pull the carts?”
Thinking about the mountain of work piled up every day, Qi Guanrang sorrowfully muttered, “I misspoke. I should say I’m even less than a cow or horse.”
Jiang Pengji: “…”
It wasn’t as if she had delayed his time off for seven or eight years; altogether it barely amounted to two months, yet he sure was aggrieved.
Qi Guanrang added, “If there really is a next life, I need to be more cautious and not sell myself for a mere few hundred taels of silver.”
How did Qi Guanrang end up on this treacherous ship with Jiang Pengji?
Wasn’t it sparked by a few hundred taels of silver?
Back then, Jiang Pengji, no different than she was now, recognized Qi Guanrang’s potential and bought his lifelong service for only a few hundred taels.
[Mr. Wei intends to find a son-in-law; however, Wenzheng has no assets. Which parts of the three rites and six ceremonies would you like to cut?]
At that time, Qi Guanrang was sent by his mentor on a long journey to Hejian County to visit Wei Yuan. The intention was to forge connections to see if he could secure a position in the officialdom, where his future would depend solely on his own capabilities.
Little did he know, he stumbled upon a chaotic situation in Wei Yuan’s household, where Meng Liang’s troublesome friends had caused havoc, and Wei Yuan’s eldest daughter was tragically affected. Worried about his daughter’s marriage prospects, Wei Yuan immediately fixed his gaze on Qi Guanrang without even trying to gauge his thoughts, only for two uninvited guests to jump over the wall.
It was Jiang Pengji and Feng Jin, whose arrival completely derailed Qi Guanrang’s original life path and set it on a new trajectory.
One meeting can alter a lifetime, while not meeting can lead to lifelong regret.
It had nothing to do with romance or drama, but even now, it all felt vividly clear.
To hold a somewhat decent wedding, it’s impossible without money, and even with his father-in-law Wei Yuan’s secret support, Qi Guanrang still felt strained. Jiang Pengji’s actions at that time could simply be called “taking advantage of the chaos,” and thus Qi Guanrang found himself on the treacherous ship.
His gaze softened.
One could say even he back then never expected this person would go so far.
“Send someone to clean up the bodies.” She sheathed the God-Slaying Blade and added, “Night is falling; shall we go eat at the Zhi Ke Restaurant together?”
Thinking Jiang Pengji wanted to go incognito, Qi Guanrang nodded in agreement.
Under Wei Ci’s management, the Zhi Ke Restaurant had spread throughout Jiang Pengji’s domain. The prices there catered to the middle and upper-income groups, making it a must for every small wealthy family to order a few tables for both joyous and solemn occasions, leading to naturally good business—it was a place for food enthusiasts.
To avoid squeezing out ordinary diners, Jiang Pengji generously shared the recipes for home-style dishes and certain low-cost meals.
This distinction of clientele effectively reduced the “competing with the people for profits” phenomenon, allowing the common folk to benefit from this initiative. This strategy proved effective, significantly boosting foot traffic from surrounding areas, leading many merchants to open stores near the Zhi Ke Restaurant, gradually forming a budding commercial circle.
Today’s Xiangyang County became prosperous in part due to the Zhi Ke Restaurant being one of the original contributors.
The Zhi Ke Restaurant was also a project that extended reparations to the families of fallen soldiers, though it was also one of the easiest places for embezzlement to occur.
This project had always been under Wei Ci’s supervision. Despite Qi Guanrang’s reservations about him, he had to admit Wei Ci was doing an excellent job.
Forget about embezzlement errors; you’d have to use a magnifying glass to find even the slightest fault.
“Zixiao has done an excellent job, haven’t they?” Jiang Pengji booked a private room, smiling, “The Zhi Ke Restaurant is thriving.”
Qi Guanrang replied, “Not just thriving; last year’s accounts showed a net income of 2.2 million guan.”
2.2 million guan in pure profit, excluding various costs, could be deemed a windfall. One could hardly fathom where so many food lovers came from.
In times of turmoil, it could easily be considered a monopolistic business even in prosperous times.
Besides the Zhi Ke Restaurant, Wei Ci’s storytelling troupe also earned quite a bit. Its visible benefits paled in comparison to the Zhi Ke Restaurant, but its hidden value was terrifying. With his control over public opinion, Wei Ci nearly turned countless common folk into fervent fans of Jiang Pengji. In addition to wildly promoting Jiang Pengji, he also expanded awareness of female soldiers’ contributions by issuing “Honor Family” government documents to every female soldier’s household.
Households that had been mere mud-legged families for generations getting named and praised by the government—who wouldn’t be thrilled?
The government documents, using paper as a medium, held a status comparable to an imperial edict in the eyes of the common people.
This act subtly improved the status of women in society, significantly reducing the number and frequency of abandoned female infants.
The more capable Wei Ci became, the more anxious Qi Guanrang felt.
However, since Jiang Pengji had previously discussed matters with him, he could only keep a keen eye on Wei Ci.
Creating a revenue of 2.2 million guan in a year, Wei Ci was a commercial genius sidelined by overtime and his master.
Jiang Pengji remarked, “Isn’t Wenzheng curious why Zixiao is so loyal to me?”
Qi Guanrang shook his fan, displeased, “If something is abnormal, there must be a ghost; we must guard against it.”
Wei Ci was indeed too much of a mystery.
Jiang Pengji asked, “Do you know where I come from?”
Qi Guanrang shook his head.
Other than knowing his master was called “Big Plate Chicken”… no, Jiang Pengji, he didn’t know much else.
Yet, one could easily guess that such an outstanding master now must have been extraordinary in the past as well.
Jiang Pengji continued, “I come from the future, twenty to thirty thousand years hence.”
Qi Guanrang was dumbfounded, and the fan in his hand slapped his face with a loud smack.
What?
The future, twenty to thirty thousand years?
Jiang Pengji explained, “I trust Wei Ci so much because he was my lover in his previous life; in this lifetime, he must have forgotten to drink Meng Po soup.”
Qi Guanrang: “……”
How could he consider himself clever when he didn’t even think of this layer?
Jiang Pengji glossed over the main point, successfully making Qi Guanrang mistakenly believe that Wei Ci also came from twenty to thirty thousand years later.
She didn’t lie; she just didn’t share the whole truth.
“Using history as a mirror allows us to understand rise and fall… Do you know how the future will be, Master?”
Jiang Pengji shook her head; she truly didn’t know.
Even a literature-phobic person like her knew this world’s historical trajectory differed from her own.
“Relevant historical records were lost in the wars; no one knows what happened in ancient times.” Jiang Pengji said, “Not knowing history isn’t a problem because I will create my own history. Perhaps that is my responsibility for being here.”
Qi Guanrang’s expression was somewhat bewildered. “Wars? Will there be wars even in twenty to thirty thousand years?”
Jiang Pengji replied, “As long as there are people and as long as desires exist, war will always be inevitable.”
