Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo' Chapter 1434: Dirty Work (Monthly Ticket Request)_4

Li Banfeng asked Little Fatty: “Brother, how much do you eat a day now?”

Qin Tianjiu thought for a moment: “Before I came here, I made Old Pan cry once from eating. I don’t think he was joking, he really cried.”

Li Banfeng felt he had been a bit inconsiderate; this place, Three-Head Fork, doesn’t have abundant food.

…

The Border Defense Envoy Cai Junshan arrived at the Defense Agency, waiting at Liao Zihui’s office door for half a day.

Liao Zihui wasn’t really eager to see him, but couldn’t ignore him any longer, so in the end, Liao Zihui asked Ling Sujun to invite him in.

“Junshan, there’s been quite a lot going on lately, the preparations for war must not slacken.”

With the threat of war from the Demon Lord not yet resolved, Liao Zihui was reminding Cai Junshan that the primary task at hand was preparing for war.

Whether Cai Junshan truly didn’t understand was uncertain, as he didn’t mention anything about those preparations: “Chief Envoy, did you hear that Li Qi went to Three-Head Fork?”

“Really?” Liao Zihui was stunned, “He went to Three-Head Fork?”

“He did, and now he’s turned Three-Head Fork upside down!”

“Don’t say it like that, he has permission to do business in Three-Head Fork. If he wants to do business, can we really stop him?”

Cai Junshan had been suppressing his frustrations for a long time, and now he vented them all at once: “Is he doing business? It’s more like he’s tearing down houses. In less than half a month, he’s taken over a dozen businesses, ruining the families and enterprises of many honest business people.”

Liao Zihui laughed: “Three-Head Fork, is there such a thing as honest business people?”

“There are! They were all doing legitimate business, and he’s just outright robbing!”

“Outright robbing, is it that serious? Is it anything new?” Liao Zihui sighed, “In Puluo State, every place has outright robbing happening daily; we’re probably unable to intervene in these matters, right?”

Cai Junshan raised his head and said: “Chief Envoy, Three-Head Fork is different, it’s a strategic location, order cannot be disrupted!”

Liao Zihui gradually grew serious and told Cai Junshan: “Junshan, we both know exactly what you’re worried about. We also know how much you’ve benefited during your years in Three-Head Fork.”

“Chief Envoy, you can’t say it like that. Back when work assignments were given, very few were willing to go to Three-Head Fork, I didn’t consider personal gain back then…” Cai Junshan was getting anxious.

Liao Zihui poured him a cup of tea: “Junshan, don’t fret, this cup of tea is in your honor,

Over the years in Three-Head Fork, you’ve certainly suffered. If you feel too wronged, I can find a better place for you.”

Cai Junshan lowered his head: “I have no complaints.”

Liao Zihui lifted his teacup, skimming the tea leaves: “As for those honest business people, negotiate with them. Get them to do business with Li Qi, and he won’t let them lose out. If they insist on causing trouble for Li Qi, no one can save them.”

Cai Junshan still wanted to speak.

Liao Zihui raised his teacup: “Drink the tea that’s in your honor, hurry and drink it, and then leave, don’t wait for the next cup.”

…

Returning to Three-Head Fork, Cai Junshan was filled with anger, but Liao Zihui had already given his suggestion for Cai Junshan to team up with Li Banfeng on business.

It’s easy to say, but how much money would this cost?

Previously, businesses directly paid tribute, now he has to find a way to partner with Li Qi, still having to look at Li Qi’s mood.

Because of the fleeing Three-Headed People from the City of Sinners back then, Cai Junshan chased them to Qiu Luoye’s territory and was slapped twice by Li Qi, an incident he still remembered. Now they want him to lower his stature to do business with Li Qi? It’s unthinkable!

Someone under his command offered him a suggestion, Deputy Director of Commerce Ji Mingcai offered advice: “Mr. Cai, Chief Envoy Liao truly has his concerns, Li Qi has a status, his position is even higher than Chief Envoy Liao’s, we can’t confront Li Qi directly.”

“What do you mean?” Cai Junshan frowned, “Not confront directly, but concede? You want me to beg him?”

“That’s definitely not possible, we shouldn’t be soft, nor should we be hard, we should play dirty!”

Cai Junshan pondered: “You mean, tamper with the train, so he can’t ship his goods?”

Ji Mingcai shook his head: “That’s even more impossible. Li Qi has been authorized to do business in Three-Head Fork, there’s government documentation,

Furthermore, in terms of transportation, Li Qi only pays basic freight, there’s documentation for that too. If we trip him up here, Chief Envoy Liao surely won’t agree.”

Cai Junshan couldn’t understand: “This isn’t allowed either, then how do you suggest playing dirty?”

Ji Mingcai lowered his voice: “Get the dirtiest person to do the dirty work!”

Cai Junshan knew who it was, but still had some concerns: “Can he get it done?”

“Whether he can do it or not, we’ll see. Li Qi disgusted us first, we should disgust him back too!”

Cai Junshan nodded: “True.”

…

Zuo Wugang was sitting in front of the restaurant waiting for customers. Most families in Three-Head Fork are poor, and few could afford to eat out. Previously, under the guise of a restaurant, there was some secret medicinal herb trading, but now Li Qi took over the business, it’s indeed been converted into a restaurant.

After waiting a whole morning, only two people came to eat, ordering congee with pickled vegetables and clear soup.

By noon, Bai Shoulian steamed two pots of mantou and made a few dishes, letting Zuo Wugang and his brothers eat first.

Zuo Wugang saw a few travelers with their loads, crouching at the restaurant door, gnawing on hard biscuits with cool water.

The biscuits were too hard, difficult to bite, and each person only had a small piece, which wasn’t enough.

These people were hungry, staring into the restaurant longingly, wanting to buy some mantou but couldn’t pool together enough money.

Seeing this, Zuo Wugang told Cao Zhida: “Pack a bag of mantou and give it to them, after all, we can’t finish them ourselves.”