Private soldiers slinked away in disgrace.
Lin Shen watched their retreating figures, squinting slightly.
So, Hou Junji...
He looked forward to the day when they would meet in court, wondering what kind of splendid expression would be on his face.
He turned around, looking up at the moon in the sky.
Qingming had passed, and Guyu was approaching.
Soon, summer would be here...
And the locust plague of the second year of Zhenguan was also about to erupt.
Lin Shen sighed quietly.
It was finally time to formally announce his arrival to the Great Tang.
The private soldiers knocked on the gate all the way, fleeing back to the Duke of Lu Manor.
The guards of the manor hadn't changed shifts yet.
They watched the group leave in high spirits, but return with a miserable appearance.
They were quite puzzled.
"What happened?"
"What else could it be? They ran into someone they shouldn't have provoked. Didn't you see their hands were even broken?"
"Shouldn't we do something?"
"You're seeking death. Don't you think about it? In the entire Chang'an city, who dares to disrespect the Duke of Lu and break the hands of his private soldiers? Let these noble gentlemen handle it themselves..."
The guards pretended not to have seen anything.
After a few idle chats, they continued to stand guard quietly at the gate.
Inside the Duke of Lu Manor.
Hou Junji hadn't slept yet and was reading memorials in his study.
Knock knock knock—
A light tapping sounded on the door.
Hou Junji raised his head and looked towards the door, saying softly, "Come in."
Creak—
The door was pushed open, and a private soldier, with a simple bandage wrapped around his arm, walked in looking disheveled.
Hou Junji raised an eyebrow, "What happened to your injury?"
This was the private soldier he had sent to Ruyi Supermarket to assert his sovereignty.
How did he end up like this?
The private soldier's face was expressionless as he knelt heavily, "I failed in my mission and couldn't retrieve Ruyi Supermarket. Please punish me, my lord."
Hou Junji frowned and waved his hand, "Let's put aside the punishment for now. Tell me exactly what happened."
The private soldier briefly described the situation.
In the end, with a heavy tone, he gritted his teeth and said, "The owner of Ruyi Supermarket, he looks tall and thin, not much flesh on him, but he's very strong. With a weight of over seven hundred catties, he can kick you over twenty feet away with just one kick..."
"He also had a gun in his hand, made of pure steel. The weapon was very sharp. Our knives were like paper in front of that gun, easily cut with just one strike!"
"We were no match for him. He broke the right arm of several of us, and he asked me to give you a message."
Hou Junji's expression remained unchanged as he asked softly, "What message?"
The private soldier hesitated for a moment and said quickly in a low voice, "He said he hopes you won't use such underhanded methods, and he also said... he thinks you're just a monkey."
A monkey?
Hou Junji had never received such an evaluation before.
It made him feel a bit curious.
"A merchant without background dares to say such words to me." Hou Junji narrowed his eyes and tapped rhythmically on the table with his fingers.
The private soldier hung his head, refusing to say another word.
If Lin Shen were to yield...
Or if he released some benefits for the Hou family to enjoy...
Hou Junji might still suspect that there were Chang'an nobles behind Ruyi Supermarket.
But it was precisely this move that confirmed to Hou Junji that there were indeed no Chang'an nobles involved behind Ruyi Supermarket.
He was a reclusive person.
Although he held the title of Duke of Lu.
But the top-notch nobles of the Tang Dynasty were unwilling to play with him.
Everyone was a hero of Lingyan Pavilion.
But whether it was civil officials like Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, or military commanders like Cheng Yaojin and Changsun Wuji, they were unwilling to play with him.
But it wouldn't mean tearing faces with him just because of the profits from Ruyi Supermarket.
Only those who were not in this circle would dare to be so ruthless.
Hou Junji's face remained expressionless, but he was very angry inside.
It was just that he had just fought, and he had suffered such a big loss.
If he could maintain his composure...
He could totally complain to the magistrate of the capital, and by dragging out a few private soldiers with broken hands, he could catch that unwise boss and bring him to the county office.
But Hou Junji couldn't lower his face like this.
Dealing with a mere merchant, he had to personally step forward, it was simply too embarrassing.
Even if he could use such means to truly obtain Ruyi Supermarket.
In the circle of the Chang'an nobility, it would still become a huge joke.
Hou Junji snorted softly, "Send some people to keep an eye on that shop day and night for me. I want to see where his goods are coming from."
"After finding out the details—"
At this point, Hou Junji's voice elongated, and a cold light flashed in his eyes, "Rob his goods for me. Let him know that without a master in this one and a third acre of Chang'an, nothing can be done!"
The private soldier nodded heavily, "Yes!"
Hou Junji closed the book and waved his hand, "You may leave."
The private soldier obediently retreated.
For merchants, transportation of goods was a crucial link.
That was also why most merchants preferred to become important figures in the nobility.
Not obedient?
Then you won't be able to deliver goods and make money.
Hou Junji wasn't afraid that Ruyi Supermarket wouldn't yield. As long as he blocked their goods for a month or two, when they cried and wanted to hand Ruyi Supermarket over to him, he would see if they were happy.
Hou Junji's thoughts were very beautiful.
It was almost an omnipotent method.
Unfortunately, he couldn't imagine that Lin Shen's supermarket didn't need goods transportation...
Another half month passed.
Business at the Ruyi Supermarket was still booming, with six to seven thousand taels of silver being earned every day.
Lin Shen had already saved up one hundred thousand taels of silver.
He had just been busy all along, unable to find a good time to draw the lottery.
Today, business was slow.
Lin Shen finally had some leisure time.
He rubbed his hands together, ready to draw the lottery!
This time, he still didn't plan to draw from the ordinary categories, but continued with the special category lottery.
Not to mention the items in the supermarket, even after a month of sales, the market still hadn't reached saturation.
There were large quantities of orders every day.
Let's talk about the two special items he had.
Dragon Bloodline, Firepoint Spear...
These two things combined were "invincible"!
With such great benefits, Lin Shen naturally wanted to taste more of it.
One hundred thousand taels of silver invested.
Special lottery activated!
It was still the luxurious roulette from last time, slowly starting up...
After a moment, the pointer stopped.
The system issued a prompt: "Ding, congratulations to the host for drawing a special category item: Supermarket Operation Maintenance Personnel Template (one set, usable for three hundred people)."
Supermarket Operation Maintenance Personnel Template?
Lin Shen looked at this chip-like item that appeared in his system package, feeling a bit jittery.
Could he really draw such a thing?