Free Web NovelChapter 1485: Chapter 762: Marriage Engagement (Part 2)
There are two guards responsible for inspecting the belongings of people entering and leaving the city. Each tourist wishing to enter must pay a toll fee of 1 copper coin! For those riding in horse-drawn carriages, they must pay double the fee, while merchants in caravans have to pay up to four times the price!
Soon, it was the turn of the Qing family’s carriage to pay the toll. To Qing Shui’s surprise, the two guards waved them on with a salute, letting the carriage enter the city for free. "Mother, why don’t we have to pay the toll?"
Qing Yi smiled slightly, "Although we are not a particularly powerful clan, we still enjoy some prestige and reputation here in Baili City. After all, since your grandfather is at the pinnacle of the Postnatal Realm, they have to give us some face. Also, your second uncle recently broke through to become a Level 10 Military Commander."
After entering the city, Qing Shui’s eyes began to light up with excitement. The wide streets were over 50 meters across, and the roads were paved with marble. So vast, that Qing Shui couldn’t see the end of the road in a single glance.
He thought that Baili City could prosper to such an extent. Building the city walls and marble streets alone must have required immense wealth and manpower. The shops and inns lining the streets were neither simple nor ordinary; they all appeared to be very affluent.
As the lively atmosphere created by the crowd took over, shops on both sides of the street were bustling. The street was very spacious. Besides carriages, there were other exotic fierce beasts pulling merchants’ carts.
The marvelous sights from all directions enchanted Qing Shui. He focused his attention everywhere, as if he didn’t want to miss any interesting sights. He casually directed his attention to the exotic beasts pulling the carriages.
"Wow, what is this big guy? How could he be so large?" Qing Shui pointed at a red beast weighing roughly equivalent to five bulls combined.
"This is a Fire Bull. Don’t be fooled by its enormous size, as it actually has a gentle temperament. Although its speed can only be considered average, its strength and endurance levels are extraordinary, thus making the Fire Bull the usual choice for beasts that bear heavy loads." Qing Yi laughed as she noticed Qing Shui’s curiosity and explained with details.
The Qing Clan’s carriage continued moving forward until they reached a more luxurious street. Qing Shui thought this place was the focal point of Baili City. Compared to the streets he had seen before, there were more people, houses, and shops here. Of course, they followed the same layout. Pedestrians must walk along the sides of the streets, while the central path was used for horse-drawn or beast-pulled carriages.
The carriage stopped in front of a large building. Curiously, Qing Shui looked around and saw a plaque hanging at the entrance with four large characters: "Qing Clan’s Medicine". So this was the location of their own family business!
The building stood five stories tall, lacking grace or beauty. Looking at it, one could only feel a dull and lifeless atmosphere.
"Let’s go and have a look, as this will be our residence during our time here."
Qing Shui, Qing Shan, and Qing Shi followed Qing Yi to a nearby building, and once they entered, Qing Shui’s eyes began to sparkle. Such a spacious area, its length and width must be at least 100 meters or more. It seemed that the Qing family was wealthy enough to own such extensive land in Baili City, suggesting that they wielded some influence here after all.
On the opposite side of this land, there was a garden about 200 meters long, surrounded by a low wall.
Qing Shui walked into the garden and discovered it was a place for growing medicinal herbs. His face broke into a broad smile upon finding many herbal medicines planted here.
What excited him was not the number of herbs planted, but the many different varieties they had here! Eight Immortal Herbs, Eight Immortal Flowers, Night Fragrance, Earth Root, Goat Horn Ginseng, Purple Lotus...
This garden owned by the Qing Clan was called the Hundred Medicine Garden, which Qing Shui noticed when he saw its name written near the entrance.
Qing Shui initially planned to buy some herbal seedlings, but now it seemed unnecessary considering the many different varieties of herbs in the Hundred Herb Garden. His smile grew bigger. It seemed the land within his "Violet Jade Fairy" field would no longer be so barren.
Currently, there were two youths busy working inside the Hundred Medicine Garden. They were digging holes, planting crops, weeding various unwanted plants. Qing Shui came here looking for members of the Qing Clan, not these ordinary workers. Only now did he realize how few Qing Clan members there were, working alongside Qing Yi in this medicinal business. There was a storage area here storing all the harvested herbs, but it seemed the Qing Group’s Pharmaceutical Company aimed at the ordinary level herbal medicine market.
"Qing Shui!"
Hearing someone call his name, Qing Shui turned around and realized it was his third uncle Qing Hu!
"Third Uncle, this place is really nice! Compared to our Qing Village, this place is much more prosperous." Qing Shui laughed as he walked towards his third uncle. "Did you really defeat Situ Bufan?"
"Third Uncle, who did you hear that from?" Based on Qing Shui’s estimation, his third uncle should know nothing about the matter.
"This is something known by the major families in Baili City. Thus, many of the younger generation self-proclaimed as geniuses want to challenge you."
Qing Shui smiled faintly, just the younger generation? They weren’t qualified to be taken seriously by him. Of course, among the "geniuses" of the younger generation, there might be those fortunate to encounter serendipitous events and gain abnormal strength from these encounters. However, such cases were far and few between.
"Do you believe it, Third Uncle?" Qing Shui asked with a smile, knowing that his third uncle was more of a straightforward person than Qing Zi. Uncle Sanhu was straightforward, his character aptly described in one word: honest.
"Frankly, I don’t know if I should believe it. But, after hearing of a group of wealthy young masters being angrily berated by Situ Bufan, calling him a pighead after losing all of Baili City’s face and pride, I had no choice but to believe it’s true. Speaking of which, Qing Hu had been observing Qing Shui. Qing Shui seemed different, but he couldn’t place his finger on it, as if... his quiet and humble nephew had suddenly become a completely different person, radiating confidence.
"Hehe, it was only because I had more brute strength, so I accidentally crushed that pig until he lost consciousness." In the eyes of the Qing Clan elders, Qing Shui had always been an honest, sensible child, saying something that came out so easily from his mouth felt hard to match with his nature.
Qing Hu’s mouth twitched slightly, but he said nothing, as his face was adorned with a wide smile. "Alright, Third Uncle knows you will all be here today and has already reserved a room at Yuhe Inn. Let’s go there for a delightful lunch today."
In the Qing Clan’s pharmacy, only three to five Qing Clan members were working. The rest were hired labor, and due to the New Year celebrations, nearly all employees were having a break. Normally, only Qing Hu and his wife, along with Qing Yi, would work in the Qing family. Now, there were a total of six individuals. Besides the three elders, there were also Qing Shui, Qing Shan, and Qing Shi.
Qing Shi was Qing Hu’s son, and now seeing their son arrive at Baili City, Qing Hu and his wife did not know whether to be happy or sad. Being here to help develop the business in "Baili City" meant their cultivation abilities were limited, but on the other hand, meeting their son every day was also quite nice.
Yuhe Inn was located on the same luxurious street in Baili City, so when they set off from the Qing family’s pharmacy to the inn, it was only a short distance. Thus, the six of them decided to walk instead of taking a carriage. This completely aligned with Qing Shui’s intent, as besides wishing to see all the interesting things displayed on the street, he also wanted to take this opportunity to observe the beautiful ladies of Baili City.
On the way to Yuhe Inn, Qing Shui realized contrary to popular belief, that despite being in the bustling Baili City, beautiful ladies were not a dime a dozen. It was just the women in the city focused on their attire and fashion sense, fully showcased the elegance and contours of their graceful bodies.
"Hahaha, Qing Shui has grown up, watching him secretly observe beautiful ladies." Qing Hu’s wife, Yuan Ying, couldn’t help but laugh as she caught Qing Shui turning his head towards an elegantly dressed lady.
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