“You’re not going to use my blood to curse me, put a hex on me, control me, or refine me into some kind of puppet, are you?”
After Jiang Wangzu finished speaking, he asked, concerned.
“Have you been reading too many divine and demonic novels?”
“If I had that ability, would I need to pay for half a bowl of your blood?”
Luo Shiqi said with irritation.
For some reason, he always felt that this fellow before him was a little strange.
His imagination was beyond ordinary people!
He was like a lunatic!
“That’s good, that’s good!”
“Then… happy cooperation!”
Jiang Wangzu extended his hand and shook Luo Shiqi’s hand first.
Considered a preliminary agreement.
“What?”
“Are you crazy?”
“This is the bowl you were talking about?”
“This is a basin!”
After a while, Jiang Wangzu stared at the freshly sharpened knife and the enormous rice bowl Luo Shiqi had brought. He looked at Luo Shiqi in astonishment and said irritably.
Oh no!
Oh no! The capitalists set me up!
“But this is the bowl I usually eat from.”
Luo Shiqi felt aggrieved too.
In the end, the two of them haggled back and forth.
Then they reached an agreement.
Jiang Wangzu would go to the Western Hospital to have two hundred milliliters of blood drawn, and Luo Shiqi would give him Five Hundred Silver Dollars!
Thus, Luo Shiqi began processing Chen Xing’s corpse and burning it.
Jiang Wangzu, meanwhile, used this opportunity to make a trip to the western hospital.
After paying a cost of two silver dollars.
Under the astonished gazes of the doctors and nurses.
Jiang Wangzu left the hospital carrying a bag of blood packs.
It was the first time they had seen someone come to the hospital to have a doctor draw their blood, neither to sell nor use it, and then take it away.
Did he plan to go home and make himself a bowl of blood-and-offal stew?
It made no sense at all!
When Jiang Wangzu returned to Corpse-Burning House Number Seven, Luo Shiqi had finished processing Chen Xing’s corpse and sent it into the Corpse-Burning Furnace.
And the deal between Jiang Wangzu and Luo Shiqi was complete.
Jiang Wangzu once again obtained five hundred silver dollars.
Once he understood the method, making money was easy!
Another five portions of Black Tiger Powder Secret Medicine were now in hand!
Adding the six hundred silver dollars deposited with Little Medical Immortal.
That meant he had obtained more than one-third of the thirty portions of Black Tiger Powder Secret Medicine.
Leaving Blackhide at the corpse-burning house to receive Chen Xing’s ashes.
Jiang Wangzu and Ma Gan began shopping like mad.
They looked at burial plots in the eastern market, bought white cloth in the western market, Paper Figures in the northern market, and gold ingots in the southern market.
Their main goal was utterly shameless shopping!
【Extra! Extra! The Southern Revolutionary Army is sweeping forward and has now occupied three provinces.】
【Extra! Extra! Xianle Gate’s Golden-Voiced Queen Rumeng has released her solo single 《Sweet Honey》, setting the whole venue ablaze!】
【Extra! Extra! Large numbers of foreigners have entered the Shanghai International Settlement, apparently plotting something shocking!】
【…】
The shrill cries of newspaper boys selling papers could be heard everywhere along the streets.
In this era, most of Shen City’s entertainment still consisted of reading books and newspapers, while children still enjoyed reading illustrated serials.
Although the common people lived in poverty, many could read and write.
“Little boy, bring me a newspaper!”
Jiang Wangzu took out three copper coins and bought a newspaper.
Newspapers in this era were cheap, retailing for around three Copper Coins.
A newspaper-office subscription, delivered to the door by a newspaper boy, cost about one Silver Dollar a month—not particularly expensive.
Middle-class families in the Upper City District subscribed to at least three to five newspapers or periodicals each month.
“Sister Rumeng?”
“Now that this song is so popular, she must have made a fortune, right?”
“I’ll find an opportunity to meet her, then write a few songs for her and make some money.”
Jiang Wangzu had heard many songs.
Most were unsuitable for this era, but careful selection would turn up plenty of songs that fit the times.
Of course, he could not give them all to Rumeng at once.
To catch a big fish, one had to cast a long line.
Giving her one song at a time served his long-term interests and made people less suspicious.
After all, Western music had only recently flowed into the Great Xinmin Republic. Even if a Cao Gang Low-level ruffian like him possessed some literary talent.
But writing more than a dozen—or even dozens—of widely beloved classic songs in one go…
What was he playing at?
It would be difficult not to arouse suspicion!
However, Jiang Wangzu feared that people were still talking about his night with Rumeng, so he decided to keep a low profile for now.
But he himself had also become carried away.
Only afterward did he realize how immense Rumeng’s reputation was.
The number of people who admired her was countless. Pick any one of them.
Not only would Jiang Wangzu be unable to handle them, even Chen Tai would be unable to withstand them!
Therefore, Jiang Wangzu had to lie low first!
He had to keep growing stronger, improving his Martial Power, and raising his power and status.
Then he would no longer have to worry about getting himself into trouble!
While Jiang Wangzu arranged Chen Xing’s grand funeral, Chen Tai led his men to Xinglong Street and fought Gao Shengqiang to a standstill.
Xinglong Street and Rongsheng Street were both bustling districts in the Lower City District.
Any Minor Gang Leader who could hold such a position had to possess Martial Power; otherwise, they could not keep the area under control.
Therefore, Gao Shengqiang’s strength was not inferior to Chen Tai’s in the slightest.
If Gao Shengqiang had been weaker than Chen Tai, Chen Tai would have twisted his head off long ago and kicked it around like a ball.
There would have been no chance for him to strut around displaying his might.
The Cao Gang’s ruffians who fought their way up from the bottom generally possessed Martial Power.
However, not every high-ranking member of the Cao Gang possessed martial strength.
Some came from extraordinary backgrounds, while others served as trusted confidants to Warlords.
Some excelled at business, while others excelled at plotting and strategizing.
It truly was a case of some people being born in Rome while others were born to toil like beasts!
After giving Chen Xing a grand funeral.
After Chen Xing’s grand funeral, Jiang Wangzu returned with Blackhide and Ma Gan to the Rear Courtyard of Hongyun Mahjong and Card Hall on Rongsheng Street.
Chen Tai and the others had already returned.
Although every one of them was injured, with Chen Tai especially covered in wounds, the excitement in Chen Tai’s eyes was clearly impossible to suppress.
Never bully the poor youth!
Never bully the poor middle-aged man!
Never bully the poor old man!
The dead command the greatest respect!
The first three lines were empty bluster, but the last was meant to fool ghosts.
Chen Tai seized the opportunity and insisted that Gao Shengqiang’s men had ambushed and killed Chen Xing.
Gao Shengqiang had yellow mud in his trousers; whether it was feces or not, everyone would call it feces.
This time, Chen Tai held the moral high ground. He reclaimed several shops he had lost and swallowed up several more at the end of Xinglong Street.
That brought in at least one hundred silver dollars more in protection fees every month.
“Boss, we’ve already made all the arrangements for Brother Xing’s funeral.”
Jiang Wangzu briefly reported the expenses to Chen Tai and handed him the ledger for review.
Chen Tai waved his hand and said:
“A-Zu, I trust you to handle things.”
“As for the few Silver Dollars left over, keep them!”
“Also, every brother who followed me to Xinglong Street today gets five silver dollars.”
“And from now on, add one silver dollar to each brother’s monthly pay!”
Chen Tai’s words left everyone excited!
He seemed to have struck it rich this time.
However, Jiang Wangzu no longer cared much for this small amount of money.