Chapter 669: 669 people with their nostrils facing the sky
Mu Nan spoke excitedly, "A few days ago, right after you left Heishi City, he sent over an order from Long Yan Academy. Most of it consisted of rare and strange flowers and herbs, not just expensive but also extremely diverse in types.
It would have been fine just like that, after all, Long Yan Academy is the top academy in Anyun Country, and it’s normal for them to need a complicated and rare assortment of medicinal herbs. We can’t say he was deliberately making things difficult for us. The most infuriating part is, the order was clearly in three batches. If it had been sent batch by batch, we could have managed, but he insisted on lumping them together and purposely delayed sending them until almost the deadline."
"Then what happened?" Mu Hanyan inquired.
Despite Mu Nan’s usually easygoing nature, even more so than others his age, he was visibly upset. Ye Fengyun’s actions were indeed excessive and unbecoming.
"Then I begged father and grandmother for help, asked everyone I could, and even ended up owing a huge debt. In the end, thanks to the assistance of the Wu Family from Nanxi County and the Zhu Family from the Capital, we managed to gather all the exotic herbs before the deadline. Just when I thought we had overcome the hurdle, Ye Fengyun during the inspection complained about the low quality of our herbs and refused to accept them." By this point, Mu Nan’s gaze could kill.
"What happened next?" Mu Hanyan, feeling a surge of anger upon hearing this, still tried to contain his frustration and asked.
"Next, thankfully, Master Qu stepped in. He called several retired big Chamber of Commerce shopkeepers to personally assess and verify that the quality of the herbs was not lacking and met Long Yan Academy’s requirements, which finally made Ye Fengyun accept the goods. Otherwise, I would still be dodging debts," Mu Nan said, relieved.
"That’s good then," Mu Hanyan eased his worry. Regardless, they had managed to get through the ordeal.
"The issue with the order might be past, but things probably aren’t over yet. I heard that Ye Fengyun recently invited many big Chamber of Commerce Presidents to Heishi City, claiming he wanted them to observe our Nanyan Chamber of Commerce. In my opinion, he’s probably still not satisfied and wants to embarrass us in front of all the big Chambers.
You know how many people our Nanyan Chamber of Commerce has offended. Those people would likely relish seeing us in trouble then kick us while we’re down. And I still don’t know exactly what he’s up to. The last couple of times, he pushed me to the brink. This time, if you hadn’t come back, I really fear I wouldn’t have been able to handle it," Mu Nan expressed his concerns, finally cursing through clenched teeth, "Do you think Ye Fengyun is a dog or something? Once he latches on, he just doesn’t let go. Maybe we should just stop doing business with Long Yan Academy altogether, we’ve got a reputation now, and we won’t starve without them."
"No, we can’t just give up on Long Yan Academy’s business like that. Otherwise, people will think we lack confidence. Once our reputation is damaged, it will be difficult to recover it later. As for Ye Fengyun, let’s just deal with whatever he throws our way. After all, those are the only tricks he knows, why fear him?" Mu Hanyan reasoned dismissively.
As her cultivation advanced, she would need increasing amounts of cultivation resources. In her past life, she could barely sustain herself by seeking cultivation resources during her trials. But now, after undergoing the ’Washing Marrow and Cutting Veins’ by Star Illusion Thousand Machine, the Qi she needed with each advancement was becoming immense, and self-sufficiency was definitely out of the question.
For now, she could rely on the power of the Nine Heavens Star left by Mu Tianlie and the aid of Yan Yuchu, but after reaching the level of Sword Master, the Star Power left by Mu Tianlie would be depleted. The help from Yan Yuchu would probably be too little too late, and she would need to find another way.
Nanyan Commerce was not only Mu Nan’s lifeblood but also carried her hopes, and of course, she would not back down just because of a little difficulty.
"Fine, it’s just playing some underhanded tricks, when has the Mu Family ever been afraid?" Mu Nan had just been spouting angry words, and she knew in her heart that giving up the business of Long Yan Academy was not as simple as it appeared on the surface, and it could potentially be a fatal blow to the reputation of Nanyan Commerce.
Hearing Mu Hanyan’s words, Mu Nan immediately felt a surge of high spirits, and the pride and pride of being one of the Mu Family’s disciples naturally arose.
"Young Master, Ye Fengyun is here again, and those people you mentioned before have also come." Just then, Che Xiang hurried over, speaking anxiously. Upon seeing Mu Hanyan, he paused slightly, then his face brightened with joy, "Young Master, you’re back too, that’s great, no need to worry now."
Han Jinglun looked thoughtfully at this scene. Although Qu Shanling’s praise earlier was somewhat sycophantic, seeing others’ reactions when they met Mu Hanyan, one could tell he wasn’t just flattering; Mu Hanyan’s status in Nanyan Commerce was clearly much higher than Mu Nan’s. Or one might say, he was truly the pillar of Nanyan Commerce.
This Mu Hanyan, the Big Playboy Mu, Mu Siyi, what kind of person was he, really?
"Let’s go, let’s see what other tricks he can play," Mu Hanyan said calmly and composedly.
Seeing her calm gaze, Mu Nan and Che Xiang felt reassured, feeling as if with her there, they could face anything without fear, even if the sky were to fall.
With this matter arising, Qu Shanling no longer cared about hosting a welcome, and led a puzzled Han Jinglun, following behind Mu Hanyan and the others. Don’t forget, he had signed an indenture contract, bound to serve Nanyan as a indentured laborer for the next twenty years—in such times, he certainly couldn’t remain uninvolved.
It was already evening, yet the courtyard designated as the marketplace was still brightly lit, bustling with business as usual.
Mu Hanyan and the others passed through the corridor beside the courtyard to the reception hall, where they immediately saw the arrogant Ye Fengyun. Following him were the presidents of various chambers of commerce, each with their nostrils in the air, extremely arrogant. Upon seeing Mu Hanyan and the others, they showed not the slightest pleasant expression.
Although Nanyan Commerce had not been established for long, its growth momentum was exceptionally rapid and had already begun to impact their businesses, even to the extent that many of the merchants and patrons in the courtyard used to be regulars at their respective chambers. If Nanyan Commerce were allowed to continue growing, it would eventually shake their foundations.
Therefore, when Ye Fengyun invited them and made his intentions clear—that he wanted to slap Nanyan Commerce—they didn’t even think twice before joyfully joining him.
"So, Eldest Young Master Mu has also returned." Seeing Mu Hanyan, Ye Fengyun felt a surge of joy.
That time, Mu Hanyan had shown no respect, humiliated Yuan Tianbo ruthlessly in front of him, and he had held a grudge ever since. This time he was determined to disgrace Nanyan Commerce and cut off Mu Hanyan’s financial sources. If he were not present, it would somewhat lessen his sense of accomplishment. Now seeing Mu Hanyan there, he naturally felt happy. Thinking about cutting off Mu Hanyan’s financial sources and making Mu Hanyan lose face, how could he not be happy?