Chapter 171 - 139: Prefecture Examination 2
And so, Fang Yue moved into the Tea Garden.
He built a simple training ground on the back mountain and constructed three houses, where he then settled down.
Here he could practice his techniques, and in his spare time, he could also go hunting on the back mountain. It was killing two birds with one stone.
Before he knew it, time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, another two months had passed, and the end of the year was fast approaching.
The weather grew colder and colder, and the air became increasingly dry.
One day, while Fang Yue was cultivating, a servant from the tea plantation came with a letter from the Prefecture City.
’So that’s how it is. Chubby is actually going to Yujing. He’ll be gone for one or two years at the shortest, maybe even three to five years at the longest. He’s entrusted the tea plantation’s business to his family’s steward and said I should contact this Steward Zheng if anything comes up.’
Fang Yue put down the letter and couldn’t help but sigh softly.
The tea business had just gotten on track. Thanks to Chubby’s reputation, it had been advancing unimpeded in Shanyang Prefecture.
Every month, hundreds or even thousands of catties of tea were sent to Shanyang Prefecture, earning him over five thousand taels of silver each month—sixty thousand taels a year.
But now that Chubby was gone, he feared the business would no longer run so smoothly.
Fang Yue sighed again. In his heart, he felt an even greater urgency to seize the time, cultivate diligently, and strive for an early breakthrough.
And so, in the days that followed, Fang Yue naturally cultivated even more diligently. He also spent a large amount of silver to purchase Bone Marrow Transformation Secret Medicine.
He also visited the Ghost Market every month to see if he could buy any Elemental Stones.
However, whether it was because Elemental Stones were too rare or for some other reason, he visited several times but didn’t come across a single one.
Nevertheless, Fang Yue’s cultivation progressed slowly. His Marrow Transformation training was still not fast, but it was advancing steadily.
It was his cultivation of the Earth Element True Skill that had slowed to a snail’s pace, with barely any visible progress.
As for the Health Cultivation Method, as he became more proficient, Fang Yue felt he could probably advance in it within another six months at most.
「Several more months passed, and a new year began.」
As time went on, it was once again the season for new tea to hit the market.
However, a lot of bad news had arrived recently.
Last month, the tea company in Shanyang Prefecture demanded a lower purchase price for the tea, claiming that the tea market had now recovered and the previous year’s monopoly situation was over.
Fang Yue, of course, did not agree. After all, over the past year, the company’s roasted tea had come to dominate the high-end tea market in Shanyang Prefecture City, and even in the other county seats.
Even if other tea companies recovered this year, it would still be very difficult for them to compete with Yu Chong Mountain.
The taste and texture of the tea alone were not something that could be replicated in a short amount of time.
Of course, Fang Yue had to refuse.
After the refusal, the other party didn’t press the issue further.
Just when Fang Yue thought nothing more would come of it, this month’s tea caravan reported that upon entering Shanyang Prefecture, they were suddenly being charged an additional city entry tax at the gates.
This had never happened before.
And the amount charged was not small—quite a bit higher than for ordinary goods.
’This must be their way of getting back at me for refusing their price reduction.’
After all, if someone in the Bai Family hadn’t given the green light, who would dare to collect an entry tax from their tea company?
’Sure enough, as soon as Chubby is gone, this business gets difficult.’
Fang Yue sighed as he looked at the message.
There are no fathers and sons in business, and not everyone was as righteous and magnanimous as Chubby.
Although this was still technically Chubby’s enterprise, with him gone, it wasn’t surprising that the person in charge wanted to make a few ’changes.’
After all, perhaps in most people’s eyes, Fang Yue was ’getting too good a deal’ out of this business.
Of course, it was also because Fang Yue was merely a Martial Scholar, not from one of the Noble Families, and held no official position whatsoever.
A Martial Scholar might seem impressive in Xiahe County’s town, but in Shanyang Prefecture City, where the powerful and influential were as common as ox hair, it meant little.
If you had no official position, or your rank wasn’t high enough, then in the eyes of many, you shouldn’t be enjoying benefits so far above your station.
Besides, such a considerable and constantly regenerating source of wealth was bound to attract greedy eyes.
’For now, some people are holding back a little out of respect for Chubby, but I’m afraid that won’t be the case for much longer.’
Fang Yue sighed softly.
His resolve to participate in the upcoming Prefecture Examination, however, only grew stronger.
Originally, after obtaining the Qi Nourishing and Health Cultivation Skill, his plan had been to first master the basics of this technique and grasp a new Talent.
But now that events had unfolded beyond his expectations, he had to change his plans slightly.
After all, he couldn’t back down now. If he did, the business he had worked so hard to build would likely go down the drain immediately.
It might not even stop at just the business.
When a wall is about to collapse, everyone gives it a shove. When that time comes, would the people who seized his business really let him go?
If Fang Yue were in their shoes, he would definitely cut the weeds and pull up the roots.
Therefore, the best solution for Fang Yue right now was to raise his own status, to reach a level equal to or higher than theirs.
If he could do that, all the various schemes against him would collapse on their own.
After all, one only had to look at Chubby. In all of Shanyang Prefecture City, who dared to touch his businesses?