Chapter Thirty-Nine: Return to Qian Chao

  At night, a bonfire was set up on the empty land of the mine, and the raging flames drove away the darkness and brought warmth.

  During the day, the rock goats and other prey hunted by Qin Yun were skinned and cleaned, then set up on a fire pit to be roasted. A chef from the mine carefully brushed on seasonings, filling the air with an aroma that made one's mouth water.

  The originally quiet mine suddenly became bustling due to the arrival of a large group of people, and the miners were busy preparing for the resumption of work under the command of the mining supervisor.

  After a winter, the iron ore stored in the Foundry Hall was basically consumed, and new materials were urgently needed.

  "In two more days, even more people will come. The family has decided to expand the scale of this iron mine." Wang Guanshi handed the wine gourd to Qin Yun: "But you definitely won't be able to see it!"

  Qin Yun didn't stand on ceremony either and took a sip from the gourd after receiving it.

  The result was almost choked to death on the spot - the wine in the gourd was really too strong, and swallowing it down the throat was like swallowing a stream of fire into the abdomen.

  Wang Guanshi burst out laughing: "This gourd of mine contains twenty-year-old vintage wine, you have to sip it carefully the first time you drink it."

  This guy must be doing it on purpose!

  Qin Yun was really at a loss whether to laugh or cry, but he also couldn't take it seriously with his opponent, after all, it was just a small joke.

  He took back the wine gourd from Qin Yun and poured a mouthful of the rough but beautiful cast iron pipe.

  He wiped the foam from his mouth and said with some emotion: "Nowadays, young people rarely want to come to the mountains to temper themselves. They prefer to stay in the comfortable city。 Qin Yun, this time you are also... how should I put it... fortunate in misfortune!"

  After drinking, speak the truth. Wang Guanshi hadn't gotten drunk yet, but he obviously had something to say to Qin Yun.

  "Is it a blessing in disguise? Please enlighten me, Manager Wang!" Qin Yun couldn't help but feel curious too.

  Wang Guanshi smiled and said in a low voice, "Do you know? This winter, five of our Qin family's mines have encountered problems and will not be able to resume production for at least two or three months. The master is furious, and many people are going to suffer along with him!"

  "What's going on? Was it attacked by a monster? It can't be that it will take two or three months to resume work, right?"

  Qin Yun was shocked. If it were a demon beast attack, the greatest loss would be the guards, but the demon beasts wouldn't go so far as to destroy the mining facilities, would they?

  "Don't underestimate the ferocious beasts in Manglong Mountain, several of them can burrow into the earth and destroy the mine tunnels with ease!" Wang Guanshi said: "However, it's not all ferocious beasts, our arch-nemesis Wu Shi is also involved."

  "But I heard they also have bad luck. A direct descendant of the family led people to hunt in the mountains, and now he's nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead, haha!"

  Qin Yun's heart skipped a beat, and he smiled, saying: "There are still such things! It can also be considered their retribution!"

  "Indeed!" Wang Guanshi said with a hint of schadenfreude: "I heard that the young man is highly favored by the elders in the clan, and the Wu family has offered a reward of 100,000 silver coins to find him. I reckon many people will be searching for him in the mountains during this time."

  "But you'd better head back now. The mine you've been guarding is intact and unscathed, so I'm sure your family will give you an extra reward when you get back!"

  A sip of wine and a bite of meat, Qin Yun and Wang Guanshi sat opposite each other chatting idly. From the other's mouth, he learned about the major and minor events that had occurred in the family over the past few months.

  For newcomers, the most important thing should be the March new promotion assessment and the September Dao Tang competition.

  The newcomer's assessment is the first major test for new disciples, which affects their status in the gang in the second half of the year.

  The content of the new Jin assessment includes two major parts: one is family merit and the other is swordsmanship competition.

  If a newcomer's child has obtained enough family merits before March, they can pass the new promotion assessment smoothly.

  Wang Guanshi said that Qin Yun's "disaster turned into blessing" refers to this very thing.

  And if there is not enough family merit, the new disciples can also engage in a sword-fighting competition, where the winner can also pass the assessment.

  As for those newcomers who have no merits and are not as skilled, their families will not immediately abandon them. However, their family allocations will be cut in half, and the saved allocations will be given to those who pass the new promotion assessment.

  Survival of the fittest! A family does not raise useless people, new people who cannot make contributions to the family and have no potential will not be carefully cultivated.

  Of course, compared with sword skills, it is only aimed at Wudang and Waiqidang, while Tongding Hall and Dan Medicine Hall are competing for the ability to refine equipment and practice alchemy.

  As it relates to their own interests, the new disciples of each hall are either diligently practicing or desperately doing tasks, and no one wants to become a failure in the newcomer assessment.

  The next morning, when the mountains and forests were still shrouded in mist, Qin Yun followed Wang Guan Shi on the road back to Qian Chao City.

  On his way back, he carried much more luggage than when he came, enough to load a pack horse.

  Most of them are winter hunting wild beast skins, like dozens of good snow wolf skins made Wang Guanshi click his tongue in praise.

  Wang Guanshi was delighted with the wolf skin, and Qin Yun generously gave him three pieces, making him so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.

  The golden needle bee nest and the snow fox cub were packed in animal skin baskets, these two things are not easy to see people, it's necessary to cover them up tightly.

  After three days of trekking, the two finally returned to Chitose Castle.

  Three months apart, Qianyun felt a bit more alienated from the Thousand Tide City, but it was still as bustling and prosperous as ever.

  After returning to the city, Wang Guanshi and Qin Yun bid farewell and left.

  Qin Yun first returned to the manor to put away his luggage, then headed to the Youyue Building in the Outer Affairs Hall to hand over his task.

  The days passed in a flurry of activity, just as Wang Guan had told Qin Yun, with more and more young men rushing to accumulate family merits as the new assessment drew near.

  It's not just the outer hall's new disciples, but also the inner hall's formal disciples who have assessments every year. Their desire for family merits is no weaker than that of the new disciples.

  Dusty and exhausted, Qin Yun had just stepped into the entrance of Rokuyo-ro when he was stopped by someone.

  The person who stopped him had a very unfamiliar face, Qin Yun didn't recognize him at all, but the other party's purpose was very clear: "Brother, do you have any extra family merits for sale? I'll buy them at a high price!"

  Family honors can be sold privately, as there are Wujin honor cards. Some financially strapped disciples will sell a few to cope with emergencies, and similar transactions are quite popular in private.

  Some clever descendants even use their family's honors to engage in profiteering, making a profit from them.

  The family and Moyang Tao have always turned a blind eye to this, never interfering.

  Qin Yun didn't expect his opponent to be so bold as to come to the weekdays building to poach business.

  "Sorry!" Qin Yun shook his head and said: "I don't have any spare."

  "A merit badge worth 200 taels of silver is fine, and 220 taels will also do!" The person who was rejected by Qin Yun still didn't give up.

  Qin Yun didn't bother with him again, shaking off the entanglement and going straight up to the second floor, but in his heart he secretly admired.

  More than two hundred taels of silver can be exchanged for a medal, and the price has risen by several times compared to before. If Qin Yun wasn't short of money now, he would really be tempted.

  The second floor is the exclusive domain of the Foreign Affairs Hall, and there are also many young men inside. Qin Yun saw many familiar faces, most of whom were new young men with him.

  But they all had different expressions, anxious, happy, dejected...

  Qin Yun patiently lined up for a while and returned to the original place to hand in his task.

  Looking at the task book with a seal in his hand, the manager who had assigned the winter guard mine task to Qin Yun had an entirely different gaze, one of shock, astonishment, and incredulity...

  Qin Yun not only successfully completed this difficult task but also received excellent evaluation, which means that the mine he guarded was intact.

  He couldn't help but secretly admire Qin Yun's good luck when he thought of those other mines that had suffered losses and the unlucky guards.

  "Outer Hall Outer Hall disciple Qin Yun, completed the winter guard mine task, recorded as excellent!" The manager said loudly: "The standard reward is 100 merits, and the total hall extra reward is 50 merits, totaling 150 merits!"

  Rewards are clearly the rules of a prestigious family, and are the foundation for maintaining family heritage. Those who want to deal with Qin Yun can secretly arrange dangerous tasks for him, but once Qin Yun completes the task, he should not be shortchanged on his deserved reward, which is something that no one can easily interfere with.

  The whole scene was in an uproar!

  One hundred merits may seem like a lot, but considering the three-month task period and its danger level, it's absolutely not enough; otherwise, this task wouldn't be considered a punishment.

  But now family merits are worth a lot of money, and in the face of new promotion assessments, 100 merits are absolutely eye-catching. Many young men have worked hard for a whole winter but still can't earn that much.

  But one hundred merits were just the standard reward, and the General Hall added an extra fifty merit rewards, which really made people jealous.

  Many comrades are regretting in secret, why didn't they take on this task, otherwise they would have 150 merits in hand and passing the new promotion assessment would be absolutely no problem.

  They just forgot about those who failed in their missions and didn't know what Qin Yun encountered in the mountains. If they had gone, they would have probably become a pile of dry bones in the mountains long ago.

  But today's newcomers are destined to be jealous to death, because Qin Yun, who had just obtained 150 merits, took out a medicine box again.

  Inside is packed with a full box of Bok Choy!

  Qin Yun was then tasked with guarding the mine after taking on the task of collecting Bileaf Grass, and half a month ago when the snow began to melt, he searched all around the surrounding area of the mine.

  Due to the hematite mine being located deep in the mountains, many places have never been set foot on by humans, so his gains were not small.

  With this box of Bileaf Grass, he obtained another twenty-five Family Merits.

  Those newcomers, gazing at Qin Yun with eyes that were hot enough to almost melt copper and iron, some people were so envious that they couldn't help but rush up and snatch away all the merits in Qin Yun's hands, filled with all sorts of envy, jealousy, and hatred!

  With 175 badges of honor in hand, Qin Yun left the You Ri Lou under the gaze of many peculiar eyes and headed to the Zhai Xing Lou.