For Hou Junji, one hundred thousand taels of silver wasn't considered a large sum of money.
The entire Hou family's industry could generate nearly the same revenue in a month.
But that was the entire Hou family's industry.
And Ruyi Supermarket was just a small shop that had been open for less than a month in Chang'an City.
Not many people knew about this shop yet.
If a few more were opened...
In the various markets of Chang'an, in Yangzhou, in Luoyang...
Wouldn't they be able to earn even more shiny silver?
Looking down on merchants was true.
But it wasn't to the extent of being so foolish as to refuse silver.
In Chang'an, the Ruyi Supermarket without any background was like a piece of fat left on the street without an owner.
All kinds of nobles, big and small, wanted to take a bite.
Now, Hou Junji was the first to lose patience and wanted to make a move...
Curfew had arrived.
In theory, everyone should be squatting at home and not going out.
But at the Duke of Lu's Mansion, several private soldiers carrying lanterns swaggered out of the side door.
Seeing them, the unsavory people patrolling the area respectfully nodded and greeted them when they saw the characters on the lanterns, then let them pass.
They didn't return the greeting, they just went straight to the neighborhood gate.
Just as they reached the gate...
A stationed soldier coldly exclaimed, "Who goes there! It's curfew now, and the gates are closed!"
A private soldier stepped forward, chest puffed out, and loudly declared, "We are acting on orders from the Duke of Lu to do some business in Tai Ping Fang. Please, brother, make way."
The Duke of Lu.
Hearing this title, the soldier's voice softened involuntarily, "So it's the Duke of Lu's men, open the gates and let them through!"
He didn't hesitate at all.
The private soldiers just arrogantly raised their hands in acknowledgment, "Thank you!"
After that, without saying much, they went straight to Tai Ping Fang.
After they left...
Among the soldiers, one spoke up, "These people are really arrogant..."
Treating curfew as a joke.
Even though the soldiers gave them face, they could still feel their strong sense of arrogance.
The soldier who had spoken earlier, who had suggested letting them through, shook his head directly and said softly, "They are the Duke of Lu's men... If it were the other dukes, I definitely wouldn't let them through."
"But this Duke of Lu is quite extravagant and petty. If you don't accommodate him a bit, who knows, he might not be able to survive in Chang'an tomorrow."
The soldiers fell silent, patiently waiting at the gate.
The private soldiers left the market and went straight to the entrance of Ruyi Supermarket.
"This shop is really something. I've heard it's made of a whole piece of good iron, but I didn't expect it to be true." A private soldier looked at the titanium alloy door and couldn't help but exclaim.
Another private soldier said, "Don't envy it. This is the shop of our Duke of Lu's mansion. Maybe one day we'll be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to guard it."
"Would such a good job even be available to you?"
"Alright, stop arguing. I'll go knock on the door."
The leader interrupted their conversation, took a step forward, and knocked heavily on the door, shouting, "Is anyone in there!"
"Boss, wake up, we have something to discuss with you!"
Inside the supermarket, Lin Shen had just finished washing up and was about to read for a while before going to sleep.
The noisy sound made him a little headache.
Didn't he just send away Chen San and his group, asking them to warn those ruffians not to disturb him? How come someone came knocking on his door again in just half a month?
Can he have a break from these tiring days?
Lin Shen waved his hand, "System, bring up the surveillance."
The screen unfolded before his eyes.
The people blocking the entrance of the supermarket instantly caught his eye.
Wearing standard black clothes, carrying lanterns in their hands, with the large character "Lu" written in ink on the lanterns.
They weren't ruffians.
They looked more like family servants or guards from noble families.
Lin Shen was mentally prepared for this long ago.
He knew that the nobles would eventually come after him.
Lin Shen changed into a new set of clothes, walked to the entrance of the supermarket, and opened the door.
"Are you the owner of this shop?" a private soldier looked Lin Shen up and down with extremely frivolous eyes, "Not bad looking, but you're as tender as a woman."
Lin Shen frowned, asking coldly, "Who are you people?"
"We are here on orders from the Duke of Lu to demand this shop from you. If you're smart, hand it over willingly, don't embarrass yourself and suffer."
Duke of Lu?
This title sounded very familiar.
Lin Shen asked again, "Who is the Duke of Lu?"
The private soldier looked at Lin Shen with an incredulous expression, "You don't even know Duke of Lu? He's the red person in front of the Emperor, the Assistant Minister of War, Hou Junji, Lord Hou!"
Hou Junji, it was him.
A hint of understanding flashed through Lin Shen's mind.
This person, he knew a little about him.
It wasn't because Hou Junji was particularly capable, but because his status in history was indeed somewhat special.
Starting from the Qin Dynasty, until the abdication of Emperor Xuanzong...
In the thousands of years of history, Hou Junji was the only one who, during the heyday of the dynasty and the prime of the monarch's life, rebelled and failed without having his whole family killed.
"Small in wisdom but speaking big."
These five words summed up Hou Junji very well.
To say he was stupid, but he still followed behind Li Shimin, and even played a crucial role in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
If you said he was smart, at the age of seventy, he still dared to rebel against Li Chengqian...
Seeing Lin Shen's expression change.
The private soldier proudly puffed up his chest, "The Duke of Lu said that from now on, this shop will be named Hou, if you're willing to serve the Duke of Lu willingly, this shop will still be yours to manage."
"However, you'll have to hand over your sources of goods..."
Lin Shen raised an eyebrow.
From the tone of voice, it seemed that they not only wanted to take over his shop, but also wanted to get something for nothing. They wanted him to work for them for free without giving anything in return?
The arrogant attitude of the feudal aristocracy towards merchants was fully demonstrated.
If it were a merchant from the Tang Dynasty, encountering such an opportunity, they might actually agree with joy.
But Lin Shen wasn't a person from the Tang Dynasty, he hadn't been poisoned by feudalism.
Lin Shen sneered, waving his hand, "Go back and tell your master, you think too highly of yourselves. You want me to hand over my shop for nothing?"
"What a big face!"
The private soldier's face changed.
They thought that mentioning the Duke of Lu's name would make it easy to take over the shop.
But Lin Shen's reaction was beyond their expectations.
Being able to climb onto a high-ranking noble's route, unexpectedly, he didn't actively seek to attach himself.
Moreover, he even insulted their master!