The First Order

Chapter 1007: Boss

Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin took a tour of the house.

It was clean and tidy, although the decor was a little old-fashioned, and the corners of the walls were slightly moldy. Other than that, everything else looked great.

It was clear the old couple loved cleaning their place.

The old lady smiled and said, “Our neighbors are all young people now, so they’re all very easy to get along with. You don’t have to worry.”

Ren Xiaosu glanced at Yang Xiaojin. At this moment, she was standing under a peach tree in the yard and looking up at the tree’s crown in a trance.

He immediately said, “Oh, I’ll buy it then.”

The owner was taken aback. “You’re buying it just like that?”

“Mhm.” Ren Xiaosu nodded.

Everyone thought Ren Xiaosu would haggle over the price, but he did not do that. In fact, he even behaved very generously.

Ren Xiaosu could tell that Yang Xiaojin liked this place a lot. They had come a long way in their journey, and he also wanted to give Yang Xiaojin a stable home. Therefore, he decided to skip all the negotiations and get the deal done.

Although he loved money, he never hesitated when it came to spending money.

“However, I don’t have any of Fortress 178’s currency on me. I’m only carrying gold. Can you all convert the property price to gold?” Ren Xiaosu thought that since he had plenty of gold bars, there was no need for him to be thrifty with it.

Based on how good he was at plundering gold, he could afford to support Yang Xiaojin no matter how big of a spendthrift she was. In any case, she was not someone who would squander his money at all.

The old lady’s eldest son seemed to be shocked by Ren Xiaosu’s attitude when he heard that he wanted to pay in gold. Although this house was not worth that much money, it was really rare to see someone readily offering gold as a form of payment.

The other party thought for a moment and said, “It’s not a problem to accept gold. After all, gold can be used anywhere now. It’s just that I need to verify the authenticity of it…. It’s not that I don’t believe you, but it’s something that needs to be done these days.”

Ren Xiaosu nodded. “I understand, but where will you go to check?”

“One look and I can tell you two have just arrived at Stronghold 144. Fortress 178’s bank can directly buy gold at market price. They have a department over there that specially deals with gold transactions, because there’s a lot of merchants traveling from everywhere to this place, so the department was set up just to facilitate transactions between everyone.” The old lady’s eldest son said, “And they don’t even charge a transaction fee.”

Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. “That’s very convenient.”

It looked like Zhang Jinglin and those managing Fortress 178 had put in a lot of effort to facilitate trade in the Northwest to make it more prosperous. They knew just what the merchants needed.

He took out a few gold bars. “Go ahead then, I’ll wait for you here.”

The old lady’s eldest son was surprised again. “You’re not coming with me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll run away with all these gold bars you gave me?”

Ren Xiaosu smiled. “Aren’t your parents still here? Where can you run off to? Hurry up and go.”

The young man gave Ren Xiaosu a close look before turning around to leave.

Ren Xiaosu went into the yard. “Do you like it here?”

Yang Xiaojin said, “I’ve always wanted to own a small courtyard house like this. There’ll be a bustling crowd not far away from the doorstep of the house, and I can enjoy peace and quiet when I get home. Xiaosu, I’m a little tired. We fought our way from Luoyang City to the Kong Consortium, then from the Kong Consortium to the Pyro Company, and again from the Pyro Company to Mt. Zuoyun. It feels really good to have a quiet place to rest now.”

“Oh, then let’s rest up here. After we buy the house, let’s go grocery shopping together,” Ren Xiaosu said with a smile.

“Aren’t you afraid the others will get worried if they can’t find you?” Yang Xiaojin chuckled and said, “You’re the future commander of the Northwest. Many people are waiting to see you, and Mr. Zhang will probably want to have a chat with you as well. But you ended up hiding here after all you’ve done in the Central Plains.”

“That’s alright, it’s not like I’m the center of the world. Even without me, the world won’t stop spinning,” Ren Xiaosu said.

After a while, the young man who went out to exchange the gold bars for cash returned. He placed more than 2,000 yuan on the table. “The market price of gold has gone up again today, so there’s still some money left after you purchased the house.”

Ren Xiaosu happily pocketed the money. “Then let’s get the title deed transferred.”

At the side, the realtor took out the contract. Based on it, Ren Xiaosu was required to pay the intermediary a sum of money as well. The process of purchasing property in the Northwest was relatively simple. The owner only needed to hand over the title deed to Ren Xiaosu so he could bring it to the stronghold’s administrative center tomorrow for registration. After that, the transaction would be deemed complete.

After everything was settled, the old lady’s eldest son hesitated for a moment before saying, “I think you two must’ve just arrived here. Are you here to start a business?”

Ren Xiaosu nodded. “Yes, why?”

“My name is Ma Youjin. This is my business card,” the old lady’s eldest son introduced himself. “I have a network of local contacts. If the two of you are interested in working on any ventures together, you can look for me.”

When Ma Youjin saw that Ren Xiaosu was such a generous buyer, he got the idea to befriend him.

After all, there was definitely no issue with making friends with someone who paid up so readily by tossing out a few gold bars.

Ma Youjin was a businessman, so he loved making friends the most.

Ren Xiaosu took the card from him. “Project Manager of Yunsu Trading Company?”

Ma Youjin smiled and said, “That’s right. I’m in charge of the lipstick business at our company. Now that I’ve become highly regarded by the higher-ups, I’m in charge of all of the lipstick in the Northwest.”

“Lipstick?” Ren Xiaosu felt like laughing.

“Young man, have you heard of our company?” Ma Youjin asked.

“No.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head.

Ma Youjin said proudly, “Then let me give you a proper introduction. Our Yunsu Trading Company is currently the top import/export company in the Northwest. In terms of capability, we’re second to none.”

“That’s really great,” Ren Xiaosu praised sincerely.

“But that’s not the best part.” Ma Youjin’s tone turned mysterious. “Do you know who our boss is?”

“Please, do explain,” Ren Xiaosu said.

“Our boss is Wang Fugui. He’s a very well-connected person, so much so that even Stronghold 144’s garrison commander, Zhang Xiaoman, is very polite towards him. He keeps addressing him as Uncle Fugui.” Ma Youjin’s face lit up as he spoke.

Ren Xiaosu had a strange expression on his face. When he saw the word “Yunsu” earlier, he found it a little strange. As Wang Fugui did not have the chance yet to tell him he had set up a company, he did not know that Yunsu was actually Wang Fugui’s business.

Honestly, Ren Xiaosu really did not expect that Wang Fugui would become the most influential businessman in the entire Northwest in just a year.

Moreover, he had used the word “Su” in the company’s name, so it was clearly another business that was set up to make money for Ren Xiaosu.

Back then, Wang Fugui said he was only a shopkeeper while Ren Xiaosu was the boss. Ren Xiaosu did not expect Wang Fugui to still honor that, but his actions proved it was still how he thought.