Chapter 21
Cheng Dalei had already made up his mind to harbor Huang Sanyuan after learning about his experiences.
Han Huju may have owned countless lands and various merchandise during his lifetime— all of which were managed by Huang Sanyuan. In Cheng Dalei's past life, Huang Sanyuan could easily equate to the General Manager of a Fortune 500 company. He was obviously quite accomplished. And now that he had abandoned his position to join this nascent startup, Cheng Dalei couldn't afford to nitpick.
Indeed, Frog Fort was currently in dire need of someone like Huang Sanyuan. To draw a parallel, Qin Man and Lin Shaoyu could be considered as a technical staff (Robbing), Xu Ling'er was in charge of logistics (feeding horses), and Cheng Dalei, having parachuted in as Chairman, lacked experience and was in need of a professional manager. As for Xu Shenji... alright, he was Frog Fort's mascot.
However, Cheng Dalei hadn't expected that casually feigning detachment would lead him to something priceless
"What treasure map?" Asked Cheng Dalei excitedly.
"It was collected by the former city lord. I grabbed it when I escaped from Black Stone City," Huang Sanyuan replied. As he spoke, he pulled out a sheepskin map from inside his clothes and handed it to Cheng Dalei.
"Thirty years ago, the Rong Clan invaded great Wu, pillaging and killing in the empire. When they were finally chased away, they took many treasures but couldn't carry some. They buried these in haste, and the locations were marked on this map."
When he received the sheepskin map, Cheng Dalei felt a rush of excitement. He hadn't expected he'd get to experience the thrill of treasure hunting, on top of the class and antiquity of a sheepskin scroll.
"Where is this place marked on the map?" Cheng Dalei unfolded the map to take a look.
"I don't know."
"What, you don't know?"
"Obviously, if anyone knew, the treasures would've been dug up long ago," Huang Sanyuan responded as though it were only logical.
Only when he unfolded the map did Cheng Dalei realize the problem. It was a map of mountains and rivers, marked with a circle in the middle. But the issue was that there was no text on it. It was impossible to tell where those mountains or rivers referred to; not even spirits could probably tell.
The maps of this world were inherently inaccurate, much less a Rong Clan's map without even a character written on it. Cheng Dalei couldn't possibly take this treasure map and go about comparing the terrain with the actual mountains and rivers. His only clue so far was that hidden treasures were left behind by the Rong Clan during their retreat. In simple terms, the treasures could be anywhere. They may not even be within the Empire's territory at all, or they could just be buried somewhere within the vicinity of Mount Qingniu, easily reachable by digging casually. However, the chance of finding the treasure was not much higher than winning a lottery.
His excitement cooling down, Cheng Dalei put the treasure map aside and said, "This map...is of no help, Steward Huang, you ought to demonstrate your worthiness quickly. Right now, there's indeed a problem that the fort is facing. Consider it your test. For now, you're just a temporary worker in the fort. If you can solve this issue, I'll make your position permanent."
Huang Sanyuan didn't understand the concept of temporary work. He hadn't expected that becoming a bandit would be such a complex task. Nevertheless, having no other options, he asked, "What's the matter?"
Cheng Dalei explained the situation with the batch of horses. Huang Sanyuan instantly came up with a solution after listening.
"Considering the long-term development of the fortress, the value of these horses is immense. However, for the fortress in its current state, they are more of a burden than anything else. In my opinion, the sooner we get rid of them, the better. I wonder if you have merchant contacts in the Falling Leaves City, boss? If not, we could only sell them to nearby fortresses."
"Think tank, did you hear that?" With a cold holler, Cheng Dalei sneered inwardly, comparing Huang's efficiency with that of his seemingly useless advisor.
"I've been listening," replied Xu Shenji, nodding, "His idea is completely in line with my considerations. I was about to suggest the same solution, but I've been beaten to it. It's a classic case of...ah, great minds think alike."
Exasperated, Cheng Dalei nearly spat out blood. He had never before seen such a shameless person. Subsequently, they were all engaged in a detailed discussion about how to execute the plan.
Pleased that a solution had been found, Cheng Dalei patted Huang Sanyuan on the shoulder, "You did good. I feel that you'll become a regular here in a short time. Keep it up."
"Hmm."
Huang Sanyuan nodded and then seemed to be a bit taken aback as he thought to himself: Huh, where is this sudden excitement coming from?
...
Mount Qingniu, Flying Tiger Village.
"My horse!" Gao Feibao sighed deeply as he stared at his one-eyed horse.
"Second brother, your horse is blind, it can no longer be used for battles and can only be used for pulling mills within the village. Don't be so upset. When I get a chance, I'll find you a better one."
"Oh, are you giving me your horse, big brother? I'm truly touched by your brotherly love."
"You're overthinking." replied Gao Feihu.
A horse was a scarce resource in any fortress. With the power that Flying Tiger Village held in Mount Qingniu, they only had five horses in total. Everyone valued their horse more than their wife. Gao Feibao's horse was blinded by Qin Man's arrow, which left him looking desolate, like a widower, over these past few days.
Ding-ding!
"Great news, great news!"
This voice suddenly echoed from outside the Flying Tiger Village, causing Gao Feihu and Gao Feibao to jolt.
"Big brother, is someone trying to attack our village?"
"Let's go and check!"
The village door was swung open, and the members of Flying Tiger Village stepped out, prompted by the noise only to find an empty field with not a single person in sight. Several pieces of white paper, however, were pasted on the nearby trees.
"Eh, what's this?" Gao Feihu frowned, staring at the two big characters at the beginning of the paper: "Ad...ver...tise...ment..."
Behind a big tree not far from there, Cheng Dalei with his gong and Lin Shaoyu with his paste huddled together.
"Have you finished pasting yours?"
"Done, what about you?"
"Let's go, on to the next fortress."
Gao Feihu and his gang gathered under a big tree, staring at the white paper in bewilderment.
"What does it say? Boss, read it out to us."
"Yeah, tell us what it says."
Forgive the bunch of uncultured brutes. The number of literate people in the Flying Tiger Village was limited. Gao Feihu, who was literate, stared at the "Advertisement" in front of him with a bewildered expression.
"Great news, great news!
Are you still troubled by the lack of a mount? Are you still feeling inferior because your companions are riding on horses while you're on foot?
In this world, no girl is going to glance at you if you don't have a horse!
Why hesitate when you can take action? Others might already be racing across the fields with the girl you fancy. What are you waiting for?
Great news, our fortress is now selling a limited number of elite war horses. They're going fast, so first come, first served.
Note: You can enjoy an 80% discount with this flyer.
Another note: You can enjoy extra discounts during the activity period."
Scrawled erratically with eccentric sentences, Gao Feihu winced at the note. But why was he feeling this strange itching to participate? He was completely thrown off balance.
"Second brother, what are you doing? Why are you taking it off the tree?" asked Gao Feihu.
Gao Feibao was currently peeling off the advertisement from the tree. He turned around, blinking and replied, "Brother, extra discounts."