On the Yan River, the waves shimmered as two twilight steamships sailed against the current.
Their raised 'solar sails' created an illusory halo that not only absorbed light energy to power the ships but also provided shade and protection from the sun, ensuring that even in the heat of the afternoon, the deck remained cool and pleasant.
Several Shi Family members were lounging on Bamboo Slaves, sipping iced drinks and playing cards.
A Bamboo Slave, also known as a bamboo husband, is a hollow bamboo product with a woven pattern, similar to shaping a bamboo mat into various forms. The slim cylindrical form can be placed on a bed to sleep while hugging it, and the flat rectangular shape is propped up to lie down on. Due to its practicality, it is beloved by all social classes.
While chatting idly, a companion suddenly asked, "When did Qu Brother get up this morning?"
Shi Qu waved his hand: "Don't mention it, these days I haven't even stepped on the ground, swaying around making me dizzy. It's only now, when the sun is scorchingly bright, that I feel a bit spirited. I usually sleep most of the time, and I only woke up around noon."
"Hehe, then you surely didn't see the pitiful state of the Qin Family group."
"Qin Family? They boarded the ship too?"
"Didn't you know? Our eldest young master cleared out most of the best cabins waiting for the Qin Family to board."
"Doesn't the Qin Family still have many factories and shops in Xuanzhu? How did they also—"
"Haha, you're really out of the loop," laughed a Shi Family youth: "Last night there was a riot in Xuanzhu County, the inner city nearly burned to the ground. Countless merchant nobles were ravaged by those ruffians. Haha, the Qin Family was smart, moving their wealth outside the county in advance. As soon as the riot broke out, they squeezed onto our Shi Family's ship with all their belongings."
Another added, "I saw the Qin Family's eldest young master this morning, he seemed to be seriously injured and unconscious, carried on board by servants, perhaps already a cripple."
"If it weren't for our Shi Family's ship, he surely would have been caught by those ruffians by now."
"Hey, what do you think, if the Qin Family's eldest young master were sold to the Red Jade Sea, what level would he be?"
"At the very least a top courtesan!"
"Hahaha." The Shi Family crowd burst into laughter, reveling in the downfall of the Qin Family's eldest young master, which brought them immense joy.
No wonder they spoke ill behind his back, after all, the Shi and Qin families have always been close, and Qin Leyin, Qin Yueyang, and Qin Yueshi were almost role models in the eyes of the Shi Family's younger generation. To them, Qin Leyin was like the proverbial 'child of another family'. Whenever their parents scolded them, it was often with 'look at Qin Leyin from the Qin Family'…
Plus, Qin Leyin's fiery red hair, luxurious attire, and mysterious aura with an enchanting elegance were unmatched in all of Xuanzhu County, envying numerous noble ladies.
Every time Qin Leyin visited the Shi Family, the girls would practically fawn over him like a brother, which made the young men of the Shi Family burn with jealousy and envy.
If Qin Leyin were naturally dissolute, it might be tolerable. Everyone could then say 'he's just a show-off' and even play with him to forge deeper camaraderie through close interactions.
Yet, Qin Leyin was disciplined, never visiting the Red Dream Arena and not even having a fiancée, solely focusing on the Qin Family's business, virtually on the verge of becoming Xuanzhu's sixth commerce association. This was something the declining Shi Family members couldn't accept.
Envy is not because of one's shortcomings but because of not having comparable strengths.
Moreover, the Shi Family made several successive missteps, culminating in the Patriarch selling off all family assets and moving to Yanjing. It left Shi Family members unable to lift their heads in Xuanzhu County, even making a trip to Xiangxue Sea would have someone teasing, 'Oh, isn't that the Shi XX going to Yanjing to make a fortune' — as if they were the failures of Xuanzhu County.
But now, Shi family members could almost breathe easy and proudly hold their heads high.
Failures? Haha, we are indeed failures, forced to take our money and flee to Yanjing.
But you so-called victors remaining in Xuanzhu County, you might not even survive!
Previously, they thought the Patriarch had no ambition, but looking back now, the Silver Blood Association was on level one, and our Shi Family was on level five!
And if that young bull-headed Qin Leyin hadn't been under our Shi Family's protection, wouldn't he be getting tortured right now?
At this moment, Shi Qu blinked and pointed to the stern of the ship, saying, "Isn't that Qin Leyin?"
Everyone turned to look, seeing a red-haired person standing at the stern enjoying the view — who else could it be but Qin Leyin?
Shi Qu curiously asked, "He was still unconscious this morning, and now he's able to walk around already?"
"Hey hey," suddenly someone whispered, "Do you know how much wealth the Qin Family brought aboard?"
"How much could there be? The Qin Family fled in a hurry, in Yanjing they might not even afford a house," someone joked.
Though the Shi Family wasn't as established as the Qin Family, during their peak they converted all their assets into cash. But the Qin Family, having been caught in a bind, how could they compare to the clever Shi Family who successfully cashed out and left?
"You underestimate the Qin Family," the whisperer raised an eyebrow, "When they were boarding, I glimpsed a torn bag spilling hundreds of gold coins. But they were very cautious, so I couldn't get close to investigate. But from what I estimate, most of their cargo is likely hard currency like gold and silver jewelry."
"Wow," someone tapped the deck, "I remember most of the cargo hold was given to the Qin Family to store their goods, right? Plus the ship following behind… Is the Qin Family really that wealthy?"
"Who cares," a Shi Family youth said, "All we need to know is that the Qin Family brought a lot of money."
Everyone exchanged glances, "Yan Brother, do you have a plan?"
Yan Brother pointed to the deck, "This ship, it's our Shi Family's ship. The sailors are our Shi Family's sailors, even the people are all our Shi Family's people."
"But our families have always been on good terms…"
"That's why we need to be the doers here. Our Shi Huaifeng, the eldest young master, is hospitable and willing to take the Qin family away from Xuanzhu County, but with our Shi family's hundreds of mouths to feed, would it be too much to ask the Qin family for some travel expenses?"
Not everyone was blinded by greed. Shi Qu couldn't help but say, "That's taking advantage of another's misfortune. If things get blown out of proportion, the Patriarch and Feng Brother surely wouldn't side with you."
"Even if they're not on my side, what does it matter?" Yan Brother sneered, "Do you know how many people on this ship bear the last name Qin?"
"Only three: Qin Leyin, Qin Yueyang, Qin Yueshi."
Everyone was at a loss; someone asked, "Where is the Qin Family's Patriarch? The other family members?"
"No idea, maybe those siblings are just cold-hearted, only caring about saving themselves. Haha, after all, they are 'good children'."
Yan Brother tapped the table, "Apart from those three siblings, the Qin Family is left with just over ten servants. They have no one left. Whereas we, the Shi Family, have caught the eye of Yanjing's Statistical Department — it's clear who's strong and who's weak."
"If this escalates, people will realize the Qin Family just has a handful of cats left but holds a hefty fortune. If it hadn't been for the friendship between our families, we'd merely ask for travel expenses. If it were others, those with the Qin surname would have long been fed to the fish."
"Even if the Patriarch and Feng Brother don't support us, would the other family members not be on our side? On one side it's our closest kin, and on the other, a friend in distress. Could the Patriarch and Feng Brother really turn against us?"
Seeing that everyone was somewhat tempted, Yan Brother seized the moment to persuade them further: "You have to understand, the Shi Family's usual funds might require us to live frugally to rebuild our lives in Yanjing; but this windfall is something we could all get a share of, even if a little spills over from the Qin Family's wealth, it's enough for us to enjoy a while in Yanjing."
"Even if this doesn't work out, our families might scold us openly, but deep down they'll probably think we did pretty well."
"By the time we're scraping by again while rebuilding our lives, don't you guys regret that those three siblings will be splurging the vast fortune of the Qin Family?"
This series of words hit home, stirring the youths' emotions, arousing their greed and unearthing their envy towards the Qin siblings, causing quite a stir among them.
"Let's go, Yan Brother, I'm following you!"
"Yeah, let's show the Qins who really owns this ship!"
"But wait… did Youth Daily really say that phrase here…?"
The young men of the Shi Family began moving towards the stern, while the nearby servants and sailors looked on. Yan Brother whistled, "Hey, Qin Leyin!"
A second passed.
Two seconds passed.
Three seconds passed.
Suddenly, the red-haired figure at the stern turned to them with a blank expression:
"Are you calling me?"