CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 123 JING QINGFU: MY ELDEST SON IS A NATURAL-BORN CAPITALIST

If the eloquently expressed ideas of answerers on the ’Knowledge Discussion Area’ are likened to a delectable wine that resonates with the literary youth/middle-aged/elderly of Xuanzhu County, then the news snippets in ’Bizarre Anecdotes’ are equivalent to fast-food like fried chicken burgers, capturing the attention of the masses at an astonishing speed and igniting heated discussions.

The mistress of a lord in Scandinavia gave birth to a pair of twins, but one looks like a Scandinavian and the other resembles a Glorious person. According to the Medical Officer, such occurrences are extremely rare and require two fathers injecting Essence of Life simultaneously within five minutes...

The distant north of the grasslands holds a mountain range called Changbai Mountain. Beneath the mountains lies an Underground Palace constructed by ancient Northern people. Within this palace, there is a bronze ancient door connecting the two realms of life and death. The ancestors of the Wu Family from Chenfeng District once witnessed the extraordinary scene of a million Shadow Soldiers...

A dozen years ago in Yanjing, there was a young and talented tea stall owner with remarkable abilities to strategize the world. At that time, a middle-aged man often visited the tea stall, engaging in conversations about worldly matters. Frequently, he would ask the young owner for his thoughts and suggestions on national affairs. The young owner candidly expressed his sharp views, which astonishingly aligned with those of the Imperial Court, leading to the renaissance of Glorious. Eventually, the middle-aged man confessed to the tea stall: "I’m revealing my identity; I am the Emperor."

The short four-page newspaper, recording stories of emotional life, secret tales of the court, mystical realms, is said to cater to all and enlighten the masses—appealing equally to both an 80-year-old grandmother and an 8-year-old child, all able to find their favorite bizarre anecdotes.

On the second floor of Jinbi, once people began discussing the topic of War God, they couldn’t stop talking about other anecdotes.

Someone confidently said they’ve seen two twins who looked completely different,

Others claimed to have heard of the rumors of the bronze ancient door of Changbai Mountain in Skyrim,

Some even suspected that the current Prime Minister was once the tea stall owner...

There isn’t a lack of skepticism towards the contents of ’Bizarre Anecdotes,’ but these doubts are weak, because the anecdotes lack clear references—War God, some Scandinavian lord’s mistress, the Changbai Snow Mountains of the grasslands, young owner... Who would have evidence to prove these contents false?

In the modern era with advanced internet, rumors can still spread unchecked, only halted by those disconnected. In this straightforward society of Glorious, people naturally believe the news in the newspaper—the human nature is to enjoy spectacles, if these news were false, wouldn’t it be less interesting?

When aunties discuss how to give birth to different twins, do you really think they want to study biology? When youths discuss the situation of the bronze ancient door, do you really think they want to go adventuring?

Everyone’s just looking for some fun.

The ’Bizarre Anecdotes’ section can be said to precisely hit an untapped market—a function once provided often by silly news articles and novels. But there aren’t that many silly news articles, and most newspapers carry some arrogance, preferring to focus on national affairs, internal turmoil in Skyrim, who would pay attention to trivial matters?

And novels have a threshold—you need to be able to read them, sometimes as short as hundreds of thousands of words, sometimes as long as several million words. You need to know the cause and effect, keep up with updates, to find book friends to discuss together.

This is where the power of ’Bizarre Anecdotes’ shines:

Short!

Down-to-earth!

But definitely magical realism beyond your imagination!

After reading them, you can enjoy discussing the spectacle, how comfortable!

As everyone enthusiastically discussed, the old steward picked up the newspaper, casually asking the other people at the table: "The stories in ’Inspiring Tales’ seem pretty interesting too, but aren’t they a bit fake?"

"A bit fake, but that’s precisely what makes them seem real." The white shirted youth chuckled: "At first even I thought ’the miner mined really fast and diligently, becoming a major miner after five years’ was too fake, but after reading it seriously, I realized this miner’s success was deserved."

"He doesn’t waste money, scrapes by to live frugally, diligently reads the newspaper, saves for three years, seizes an opportunity during New Year’s, decisively purchases a large batch of goods to stockpile, earns his first bucket of gold, then his business grew larger and he became a major miner."

"Although coincidental everywhere, there aren’t that many coincidences, how could a miner become a miner owner? Moreover, this miner’s willpower, execution, and decisiveness are exemplary, even if his first investment failed, he would succeed sooner or later."

The black-robed Martial Artist nodded: "The protagonists in ’Inspiring Tales’ often possess extraordinary qualities, they can succeed not only because they have help from benefactors, but also through their own efforts."

The blue-clothed man said: "A capable person can succeed in anything; an incapable person fails in everything."

The old steward wanted to ask something more, but Jing Qingfu slightly raised his hand, and he kept quiet.

"Here it comes, signature BBQ pork bun, roll wrapped in beancurd skin, crystal shrimp dumpling!"

The waiter came over with a steamer trolley and placed three signature snacks, Jing Qingfu placed the pork bun larger than a fist into the bowl, tore it open with his chopsticks, revealing the steaming, fragrant shredded pork.

He took out all the BBQ pork, discarded it, and only ate the bun soaked with BBQ pork sauce.

Then he picked up a beancurd skin roll, only eating the beancurd skin, not the filling of three fresh ingredients.

Jing Qingfu finally picked up a shrimp dumpling, put it in his mouth and chewed. He ate slowly and deliberately, as if it took great effort to swallow it, then leisurely took a sip of tea and exhaled a satisfied sigh.

"Let’s go."

The old steward hurriedly supported Jing Qingfu, who walked with a cane in front, and the two slowly left the Jinbi Grand Restaurant.

The white shirted youth looked at the three snacks they only ate one of, shook his head: "Such waste, who knows which house’s lord he was."

The old steward had been pouring tea for Jing Qingfu continuously; when the snacks arrived, the old steward didn’t eat a single bite either. This humble posture, naturally made the three people at the table recognize the hierarchy at a glance.

The black-robed Martial Artist suddenly asked: "Have you read the last page novel in ’Youth Daily’?"

"Are you talking about ’Future Echoes’?" The blue-clothed man said: "I think it’s a great concept, three modern people die and then traverse into the future...just the reasons for the deaths of Liuyu Yinyin Wei Zheng, these three are too bizarre, why did they suddenly die after each killed someone?"

"This should indirectly describe their personalities." The white shirted youth said: "Through their murder scenes, we can directly know one is an assassin, one is a court agent, one is a ruthless young master..."

The black-robed Martial Artist said: "Have you noticed anything?"

"Only one Chapter updated, what can we notice?" The blue-clothed man flipped through the newspaper: "Exclude the contents introducing future technology, this Chapter is just introducing Liuyu as a male high school student in class..."

"Have you paid attention to the teacher’s lecture content?"

The blue-clothed man looked down: "Hmm...are you talking about ’The main test points of the compulsory Politics in Life course, Political Life (Google it yourself)...’ this sentence?"

The white shirted youth shrugged: "There’s nothing much, even though Mongolian Studies High School doesn’t teach it, similar courses exist in National Academy, right?"

"Really?" The black-robed Martial Artist said softly: "But what do you think those test points mean?"

The other two gradually realized, the white shirted youth showed a little fright on his face: "Don’t tell me? The author wouldn’t want to write that kind of thing, right?"

"If he didn’t want to write, why did he place this sentence in the first Chapter." The black-robed Martial Artist sneered: "Wait and see."

"This author named ’Tree-man’, he probably wants to write a future without emperors, without aristocratic families, without nobility, and even without masters and servants..."

...

...

"Sir, are we going back?"

Walking on the streets of the outer city, Jing Qingfu lowered the brim of his hat: "Let’s go back."

The old butler asked, "Aren’t we going to check on the factories of the second, third, and fourth young masters?"

"It’s no longer necessary; just send someone to take a look."

"It seems that the eldest young master has made you very happy."

Jing Qingfu turned to glance at the old butler. The old butler shivered and stood there motionless like a wooden chicken.

After a while, Jing Qingfu shifted his gaze and continued walking. The old butler let out a sigh of relief, realizing his back was already soaked in cold sweat.

"Fude, how many years have you been with me?"

"Forty-five years." The old butler respectfully said, "When you were seven, Fude was already your companion reader as a boy."

"Forty-five years, I’ve grown so old I can’t even eat meat, and you have grown old too." Jing Qingfu looked at the vibrant young faces full of vitality on the street, unable to hide his envy in his eyes: "When I die, you should leave the Jing family and find a place to retire."

"May you have the good fortune of the East Sea and live as long as the Southern Mountains, how could it be..."

"Stop with the meaningless flattery. If I hadn’t practiced Scenic Battle Technique in my youth, I’d certainly be bedridden and awaiting death like those rebellious sons expect." Jing Qingfu snorted coldly: "Scenic Battle Technique can’t extend my life, but it can at least make my life a bit better before I die."

"Fude, I set up such a big game, pretending to be sick and giving up power, just to select the best patriarch for the next generation of the Jing family." Jing Qingfu glanced at the old butler: "I trust you wouldn’t dare to expose my real situation—but you’re probably thinking of establishing good relations with the new patriarch in advance, right?"

Without waiting for the old butler to answer, Jing Qingfu continued: "Don’t get involved, you and I are just remnants of the previous era, the new patriarch won’t continue using you—us old waves will eventually be swept away by these new ones."

The old butler respectfully said, "Yes, sir."

Jing Qingfu nodded, walked a while longer and then said leisurely: "But, I can also tell you—Zhengwei, indeed makes me very happy."

"Because he’s walking the most powerful, intelligent path in this world—the kingly way! He’s winning the hearts of the people, manipulating public opinion!"

"The king’s pathway lies in the support of the people. The merchant’s way lies in capturing hearts." Jing Qingfu pointed to himself: "Like us merchants, we began almost entirely on evil paths, tyrannical ways, extreme ways, using power and material desire to control others, using schemes and tricks to achieve our goals."

"But evil and tyrannical ways are ultimately devious; they may win temporary riches, but cannot achieve lasting greatness. No matter how bloody the Silver Blood Association’s five major business groups’ origins, they almost all eventually walked the kingly path. The Ting Family controls arms factories, integrated with the Heyang Army, gaining full military support; the Quan Family produced Quanyuan, now the governor of Dongyang District; the Luo Family clung to the grand marshal and became the nobles’ white glove..."

"Only our Jing family, only the Jing family, still engages in unpopular trades!" Jing Qingfu gritted his teeth: "Our Jing family, though rich, though luxurious, though powerful, as far as the eye can see, is surrounded by enemies on all sides, even allies gaze with covetous eyes!"

"The other four major business groups are already at a size too big to fail. When they fall, the forces behind them will do everything to save them, causing turmoil that prevents other forces from taking rash actions!"

"Only our Jing family, lacks support from above and below!"

"The Silver Blood Association’s warning this time is far from simple. If before I die, the Jing family can’t find a kingly path..." Jing Qingfu took a deep breath, his eyes dark: "The Silver Blood Association will eventually strike against the Jing family."

The old butler asked incredulously: "But the internal affairs of the Jing family, the Silver Blood Association can’t intervene, right? As long as the Jing family isn’t in trouble, what reason does the Silver Blood Association have to—"

"Isn’t there a reason?" Jing Qingfu smiled: "The division of the four sons."

The old butler was silenced.

"Once they gain the Silver Blood Association’s support, those four rebellious sons will surely split the vast Jing family. A clenched fist becomes four fingers, making it much easier for the Silver Blood Association to deal with, they might not even need to act—the Jing family will never rise again, and the five major business groups will become four."

The old butler’s mind stirred: "Then you’re saying the eldest young master..."

"No." Jing Qingfu shook his head: "Zhengwu, Zhengtang, and Zhengfeng haven’t lost eligibility. Especially Zhengwu, his engagement with the Qin family is extremely advantageous. If the Jing and Qin families unite, the Silver Blood Association wouldn’t dare to act rashly either."

The old butler was a bit confused: "But didn’t you say the kingly path is the best way out?"

"That’s only if he can actually follow the kingly path." Jing Qingfu said: "If Zhengfeng can uprightly take advantage of the situation, forcing Zhengwu, Zhengtang, and Zhengfeng to concede and even actively assist, the patriarch position will naturally be his."

"If he can’t, and dies at the hands of his brothers on the tyrannical, extreme, or evil paths, then the kingly path he’s walked these days will become the new patriarch’s power."

"For example, if he died in an attack a few days ago, what would the so-called kingly path mean?"

Jing Qingfu lightly tapped his cane: "He can only use the newspaper to win people’s hearts and manipulate public opinion... He must also learn how to use public sentiment, how to manipulate opinion, to maximize his own benefits."

"It is said that the benevolent are invincible, and also said that no merchant is without cunning."

The old butler laughed: "Perhaps, sir, you should call the eldest young master to your side to hear your teachings? Should I secretly inform the eldest young master..."

"No." Jing Qingfu said flatly: "I dislike him."

"Huh?" The old butler was stunned. Jing Qingfu had been praising Jing Zhengwei, he thought the patriarch had taken a liking to his eldest son.

"He’s never been likable to me, and after his mother died, I liked him even less." Jing Qingfu said: "I didn’t know why I disliked this son so much, but now, I think I understand..."

"It’s the fear of a natural enemy."

"Zhengwei is far darker, more ruthless, more cunning than I am." Jing Qingfu’s eyes grew brighter: "When he was a child, he hid his nature under the mask of ’obedience’, and now, he hides it in ’the kingly path’."

"Although I dislike this son, I have to admit..."

"Jing Zhengwei might indeed be the best successor for the Jing family."

"He’s inherently rotten, despicable and shameless, every pore dripping dirty blood, yet he poses as a righteous and upstanding cunning merchant!"