At noon, several fat monks came to perform rituals for half an hour, costing Gu Wen dozens of taels of silver.

Only then did everyone in the house settle down, but to be on the safe side Gu Wen still didn't plan to stay at home tonight, and he could feel that these fat bald donkeys didn't have any extraordinary power.

"Master Wen, why do you need so many ledgers?"

Jiang Fugui moved a small half box of account books with some effort and placed them one by one on the table. These are the account books of the palace over the years, to be precise, they are the account books of Longqiao Water House.

If it were someone else, they would still have to worry about whether they would be held accountable for embezzlement, but Gu Wen made it clear when he caught him embezzling money for the first time. How much money he got was not the issue, the problem was that he must not mess up the matter.

Gu Wen picked up the account book and flipped through it quickly, without raising his head, and said, "Can you get the account book from the palace?"

"How could I get the account books of the palace?" Jiang Fugui couldn't laugh or cry. "Sir, although we have contributed the most money to the palace, we are only slaves. At most, we only have account books for expenditures."

"Bring it here."

Jiang Fugui took out two account books and said, "This one is from the latest year, and the other one is from the previous year."

[In the eleventh year of Qiandao, a total of 380,000 taels were handed over to the palace....]

Qiandao, the current name of the country, has a style very similar to that of the self-proclaimed Daojun Emperor.

And Longqiao Shuifang contributed 380,000 taels of silver to the prince's palace a year. Every time he saw Gu Wen, he would sigh, "The work is about to be finished."

You should know that the cost of a soldier in the Forbidden Army is calculated based on clothing, food, special expenses, and rural stipends. It costs about thirty taels per year, that is, thirty-five guan of money. His water house is 380,000 taels a year, which is enough to provide at least Ten thousand forbidden troops will receive one year's military pay.

And these are genuine silver, not converted from grain, oil, cloth and other goods, the actual value is one-third higher.

It’s not too much compared to the 300,000-strong Forbidden Army, but it’s just the revenue from supplying water to shops in Longqiao. It only accounts for less than one-tenth of the entire Longqiao, not counting the brothels and casinos. place.

What kind of place is Longqiao? It's a place for nobles to have fun. It's outrageous that the revenue of an entertainment venue can be used as military pay.

However, he did not check the account book to worry about the country and the people, but wanted to know how to obtain the Tianmui. The only thing that was known at present was the elixir in the hands of Fairy Yu Hua. He obviously could not obtain it, so he could only focus on Zhao Feng.

Since the Zhao family has been in contact with the Immortal Sect a long time ago, there is no reason why Zhao Feng did not practice. To practice, you must take medicine, and to buy medicine, you must get money from the water house.

Pages of the account book were quickly flipped through, and Gu Wen discovered another benefit of practicing cultivation. His ears and eyes were much faster than before.

The so-called endless life may not only affect the physical body, but also provide spiritual blessings.

It is really extraordinary, just getting started will start to make you stronger in all aspects.

Suddenly Gu Wen stopped and smiled: "Yes."

[On the third day of March, Feng Xiang, the eunuch of the royal palace, took 20,000 taels of silver to purchase tonics]

Although the bills of the water house and the palace are separate, there is not always treasury silver in the palace warehouse. Sometimes you have to go directly to the water house to get it, and to prevent corruption, it must be recorded clearly every time.

It has always been the case that the meat is eaten and the oil is left behind, but there is no reason to take away the fat directly. Even if Zhao Feng comes in person, he should keep records. After all, what is not recorded in the ledger is the gap. If there is a gap, how much things may have leaked out from here.

Where to go, buy Linchuan medicinal fruits.

------------------

Linchuan, one of the thirteen counties of Daqian, is located in the southwest region with many mountains and few bad waters.

Due to the numerous mountains and forests, they are rich in mountain treasures, animal skins, and medicinal materials. The most famous one is Linchuan medicinal fruit, which is said to have the effect of nourishing yin and yang and prolonging life. It was sought after by many nobles and was even listed as a tribute by the imperial court.

Every year, Linchuan County sends a large amount of medicinal fruits to Bianjing.

The top nobles and aristocratic families in Bianjing, or Daqian, seem to be keen on all kinds of elixirs. Even Zhao Feng, a self-proclaimed virtuous king, often spends huge sums of money to buy medicines.

It is understandable that the powerful pursue immortality. This has been the case in previous dynasties. It is human nature to want to live longer. But if spiritual practice truly exists in the world, then the powerful must be the most likely to come into contact with it.

There may be something magical about the various medicinal materials they eat, and their seemingly bizarre diet may not necessarily be a fool's errand.

Relevant information flashed through Gu Wen's mind. The above is all he knows about medicinal fruits. After all, he is in the water well monopoly business, and he is already extremely famous if he can know about it from outside the industry.

"Fugui, go buy some Linchuan medicinal fruits."

"This is a tribute, I'm afraid it's not easy to get."

Jiang Fugui was a little embarrassed. He had also heard of the Linchuan medicinal fruit, which was said to have medicinal properties comparable to those of ginseng.

"In the past few years, it was easy to say that the average price of a medicinal fruit was just a penny, and then it became higher year by year. Moreover, after being listed as tribute by the imperial court, most of the medicinal fruits flowing into Bianjing were managed by Taifu Temple, and they were generally very expensive. Selling less to outsiders.”

Taifu Temple is the place where tributes are managed. Due to the vast resources of Daqian land, the number and types of tributes are extremely large. There is generally only one way to obtain tributes, and that is to obtain rewards from the emperor.

The Zhao family has taken all the good things for him.

Gu Wen cursed in his heart that the work would be over sooner or later, and then said: "If you can't find the legal one, then look for the illegal one."

The rice will fall into the bag, the meat will leave oil, and everything in the palace can be stolen and sold. The tributes will definitely be sold.

------------------

It had only been five hours since Jiang Fugui left, and the sun had already set. Gu Wen took a carriage and came to Hualou again on the grounds that he would continue to take care of his bodyguards.

This time there was no need for him to receive the reception. The guards themselves chose a beautiful girl to go upstairs.

Boom, boom, boom.

"who."

"Mr. Wen, it's me. I've found something for you."

Jiang Fugui pushed the door in with a box, put it on the table with a pained expression, and said: "Hey, dear mother, this thing is too expensive, it's worth gold. Just these few pills.

Guo, how dare you charge me one hundred taels of silver."

Gu Wen opened the box, and a faint bitter smell penetrated the tip of his nose. Inside were ten thumb-sized red fruits with crystal clear skin.

He picked up Duanmo and asked, "How did you buy it?"

Jiang Fugui on the side sat down and poured water for himself. He took a sip to extinguish the smoke in his throat and said: "Although it is a tribute, it is sold privately in large pharmacies, but the quantity is not large. If you want it, you may

I have to go to the tooth market for the old one-armed man."

Old One-Armed is the largest slave trader in Bianjingya City, but Gu Wen is a white man, while he is a gangster.

Gu Wen had seen him several times. He was an old man who was nearly fifty years old, with one arm and his right eye taken off. He was a soldier who had crawled out of a pile of dead people with a murderous look. His smile was full of yellow teeth.

No one knows his name, not even the owner behind it. This is normal and cannot be done blatantly by gangsters.

Gu Wen picked up a medicinal fruit and slowly put it into his mouth. He had eaten this kind of fruit at some banquets and it was non-toxic.

But just like local delicacies such as soybean juice in previous lives, eggs boiled in children's urine, and ear root root, the taste of medicinal fruits is unflattering.

It's bitter for a third, then numb on the tongue, and then spicy on the throat. The only thing worthy of praise is the fragrance, which has a unique aroma.

Chew slightly, as always.

The golden light in the body that represents destiny vibrated slightly.

The Heavenly Essence increased, but not for a period of time.

it works!

Gu Wen's spirit was shaken. As he had guessed, cultivation was actually not an extremely unattainable thing. The powerful and powerful people had already been exposed to it.

There is no airtight wall under the sky.

He swallowed the remaining nine medicinal fruits in one gulp, and the intense bitter taste and strange fragrance spread.

Jiang Fugui's face on the side was full of doubts. He remembered that Mr. Wen had never eaten this stuff before. Could it be that with the title of nobility, his interests and hobbies have become the same as those of nobles?

The destiny only trembled slightly, but the Heavenly Essence still did not increase.

Not enough, not enough at all.

Gu Wen asked: "Can I still buy Linchuan medicinal fruits?"

Jiang Fugui replied: "Old One-Armed didn't say anything, but this thing is very expensive. Ten pieces are a hundred taels. I heard that when I go to Linchuan to buy it from the mountain people, they sell it by the catty."

"It's normal for black market prices to be high. After all, it's an illegal activity. Moreover, Linchuan is a mountainous and harsh place. You have to face bandits when you go into the mountains to purchase. Transporting it all the way back to Bianjing is by water and land. You also have to ensure that the skin of the medicine is not broken. Ten pills cost 100 taels.

Not expensive.”

Gu Wen shook his head and said.

As long as it can increase your life needs, any amount of money is worth it. In the end, copper, silver, and gold are all external things. If you don't bring them with you in life, you won't take them with you in death.

Twelve taels apiece, half a year's living expenses for ordinary people in Bianjing, and a year's living expenses for ordinary people in Dagan. But it is not expensive for Gu Wen. He only has ten thousand taels of cash in hand, which is a thousand medicinal fruits.

Moreover, Gu Wen still has a water house in his hand, and it is easy for him to get another ten or twenty thousand silver from it. It was not necessary before, and he could not take away the extra money, but it is different now.

"Let's go find Old One-Armed. How many medicinal fruits does he have? I want ten thousand... No, five thousand taels first."

"Ah? Master, what do you want this thing for?"
Chapter completed!