There was no conversation in the carriage, and the journey was smooth; they arrived at Qingyang Town in the afternoon.
After entering the main road, the two, who had never been to Qingyang Town, sat by the carriage window, looking around, finding everything new and exciting.
There was a wide, flat road, with vendors selling goods on both sides, and magnificent shops one after another.
The two were dumbfounded, experiencing such sights for the first time.
Lu Er smiled at their surprised expressions and said, “The first time I came, I was much like you.
Our village is truly too small, and it’s far from town with inconvenient travel, so living conditions are far worse than in town.
You two are quite courageous, not bound by worldly conventions, daring to break the norm and venture out; I believe you will surely make a name for yourselves in the future.”
While he was speaking, the carriage had already arrived in front of the largest building in town.
After stopping, Lu Er stretched, yawned, and said, “We’re here, get out of the carriage.”
After getting out, the two saw a huge three-story building with a plaque above it that read “Eight Directions Inn.”
Although they didn’t recognize what was written on it, it looked very grand and magnificent.”
Three people were waiting in front of the inn; seeing the carriage stop, they quickly came forward to greet them.
The person in the middle stepped forward with a smile and said, “Father, you’ve had a long and arduous journey.”
Lu Er sighed, nodded, and said, “It was alright, just the mountain roads were a bit difficult; my old bones nearly fell apart from the shaking.”
Immediately, Lu Er smiled and briefly introduced, “This person in the middle is my youngest son, Lu Zhao.”
“This person on the left is Steward Liu, and on the right is Steward Wang.
Lu Zhao is older than you, so you can call him Big Brother.
The dozens of employees at the inn are all managed by the two Stewards.”
The two hurriedly and flusteredly bowed and said, “Greetings, Big Brother Lu Zhao, Greetings, Steward Liu, Steward Wang.”
Lu Er smiled at their actions and said, “We’re at the doorstep, let’s go inside first.”
Lu Er then asked Lu Zhao, “How many youngsters have arrived recently? Have you contacted Shopkeeper Huang from Blackwater Town? What are their preparations?”
Lu Zhao smiled and replied, “Four have arrived, and two more will be here tomorrow.
Blackwater Town has been contacted; six people there have already arrived and will be here tomorrow morning.”
Lu Er hummed in response, then pulled Lu Zhao closer and whispered instructions.
“Arrange for them; make sure their meals are good. These two might become very formidable in the future, at the very least, they’ll be as successful as me.
So, providing them with some basic help now will be very beneficial for us later.”
Lu Er, having been a merchant his entire life, had sharp insight, and his son, Lu Zhao, having learned from him for over ten years, was also a shrewd person.
Lu Zhao smiled and said, “Understood, Father, I’ll go arrange it now.”
Upon entering the inn, the employees, seeing the manager return, happily greeted him one by one.
Lu Er smiled and nodded in response to each, while Gou Wa, with a look of novelty, excitedly looked around and said, “Yun-ge, this inn is truly grand.”
Lu Er smiled and said, “Of course it is. It’s a business opened by the master of Qingyang Town; if it wasn’t grand, people would look down on it, and it wouldn’t get any business.
By the way, from now on, you two should no longer use your nicknames.
We are no longer in the village; people will laugh if they hear you. Don’t you both have proper names? Use your proper names from now on.”
The two nodded seriously and said in unison, “Understood, Lu Er.”
Just then, Lu Zhao came over and said with a smile, “The living arrangements are ready.”
Lu Er yawned and said, “I’ve been traveling all day, I’m tired and hungry, and I feel like I’m falling apart.
You two go with Lu Zhao and see if you’re satisfied with the living arrangements. If you need anything, just ask Lu Zhao.”
After Lu Er finished speaking, he went upstairs to rest.
Lu Zhao looked at the two and said with a smile, “Let’s go. I’ve made special arrangements for you, letting you stay in my Big Brother’s room.
He went on a long trip for business and won’t be back for a while, so you can stay there temporarily.”
The two quickly thanked him, and Lu Zhao waved his hand and chuckled, “No need to be polite among family.
When you brothers prosper in the future, don’t forget to help out your Big Brother. To be honest, I really envy you two. If I weren’t too old, it wouldn’t even be your turn.”
As they spoke, they arrived at the room. In the middle of the bedroom was a large table, laden with a feast that made the two drool.
Lu Zhao looked at them, smiled, and said, “Alright, stop holding back. I know you’ve been traveling all day, tired and hungry, so eat quickly.
After you eat, turn left outside the door; there’s a place to bathe. I won’t disturb you, eat slowly.” He then left.
The two had never seen or eaten such delicious food before.
They sat down immediately and devoured it, exclaiming how good it tasted as they ate. In a short while, it was all gone. Liang Zi patted his stomach and said, “That was so good! The food in the village can’t even compare to this.”
Yun-ge: “Big Brother Lu Zhao said there’s a place to bathe. Let’s go clean up.”
Gou Wa heard this and remembered Lu Er’s earlier instructions: “Liang Zi, Lu Er is right, we can’t use nicknames anymore. This isn’t like when we were in the village.
My proper name is Lu Yun, so you can call me Yun-ge. What’s your proper name? I honestly never paid attention.”
Liang Zi chuckled after hearing that and said, “My name is Lu Liang. Because I was dark-skinned since childhood, my father named me Lu Liang, hoping I wouldn’t be so dark in the future.
But everyone has always called me Liang Zi, so I got used to it and thought it was pretty good.”
Lu Yun nodded after hearing that and said, “Then from now on, I’ll call you Liang Zi, and you call me Yun-ge.”
The two followed Lu Zhao’s directions to the bathing area and enjoyed a refreshing bath.
Lu Zhao saw the two go to the bathing area.
He called an employee and instructed, “Go clean up the dishes and chopsticks in that room.” The employee acknowledged and left.
When the employee saw the state of the table, he was stunned. Were these even people? Every plate was spotless, as if it had been licked clean.
The employee couldn’t help but despise them in his heart: “Damn, where did these bumpkins come from? They don’t know any manners.”
After bathing and returning to their room, the two lay on the bed and fell asleep shortly after.
Waking up in the morning, Liang Zi said groggily, “Yun-ge, I slept so well.”
Lu Yun replied helplessly, “What I told you yesterday went in one ear and out the other, didn’t it? You’re still calling me Gou Wa-ge.”
Liang Zi stuck out his tongue, chuckled, and said, “I forgot, Yun-ge, I’ll definitely remember next time. See, I’ve corrected myself now.”
Lu Yun also felt that he had indeed slept comfortably, perhaps because he had been in the carriage all day yesterday.
Then he smiled and said, “Let’s go out and look around. This is our first time in town, so we should really take a good look.”
The two went out and wandered around the inn for a while, unexpectedly encountering Lu Er coming downstairs.
Lu Er saw the two youngsters and then smiled and asked, “Are you comfortable with the food and lodging? If there’s any inconvenience, just find Lu Zhao, don’t be shy.”
The two quickly smiled and said, “It’s excellent, we eat well and sleep soundly.”
Seeing that the two seemed to be heading outside the inn, Lu Er couldn’t help but ask, “Are you two going to the street?”
The two nodded, and then Lu Yun said, “Yes, we want to go wander around and see.”
Lu Er pondered for a moment, then instructed, “Two more youngsters who will be with you will arrive shortly.
After they arrive, along with the four who came earlier, you eight will go to the Green Dragon Gang.
Time is short; you can go out and look around, but don’t go too far. You must be back in about an hour, don’t miss the time.”
The two excitedly said in unison, “Okay, Lu Er, we understand.”
Afterward, Lu Yun and Liang Zi left the inn and walked onto the main street, where people flowed like a tide, bustling with activity.
There were so many people selling and buying things, with food, clothes, and daily necessities all available. Many things they had never seen in the village.
They felt like country bumpkins in the city, finding everything novel.
Money that they wouldn’t see all year in the village was now seen everywhere, with people using it to buy things.
The items here seemed ridiculously expensive to them. A single flatbread cost one copper coin, but in the village, one copper coin could buy five flatbreads.
When the two left home, their families had given them money.
Lu Yun’s family was not wealthy; his Mother put the only fifty copper coins they had into his satchel.
Liang Zi’s family was a bit more comfortable; his father directly gave him two hundred copper coins.
But even this money would only last them about ten to fifteen days here.
The currency exchange rules here are:
One thousand copper coins can be exchanged for one tael of silver;
One hundred taels of silver can be exchanged for one tael of gold;
The two poor fellows wandered for a long time, and when they estimated the time was right, they returned to the inn.
Shortly after returning to the inn, the other two children also arrived.
