“Greetings, Master Tai.”
Months had passed, and Fourth Master’s situation had changed drastically.
Not only did he have fewer attendants, but his spirit seemed to be lacking.
“Fourth Master, you are a rare guest. What brings you here today?”
Chen Tai didn’t bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point.
Fourth Master was taken aback, not expecting Chen Tai to be so direct.
He composed himself, then said, “I’m here to ask for your help, Master.”
Protection?
Seeking me out?
Chen Tai was intrigued.
Fourth Master decided to be open and honest.
“Alas!” he sighed heavily.
“Master Tai, you may not know this, but my border trade business is no longer viable.”
“Recently, Old Pang was chased out of Ma Su Ba. Now, a man named Bai, one of Old Pang’s former subordinates, is in control.”
“Bai Cheng, Wei Ren, Liu Xiang, and Lu Xi - the four of them.”
“I had a good relationship with Old Pang, and I was caught in the crossfire. My border trade business is essentially over.”
Ma Su Ba, located north of Bei Bo Bang and east of Ma Jie, borders both Chan and Long.
It controls several border crossings.
Fourth Master’s so-called border trade was actually using these crossings to import and export fruits and other goods between Chan and Long.
He had basically cornered this market from Dong Mo Bang to Bei Bo Bang to Ma Jie.
But now, with the change of power in Ma Su Ba, his trade routes have been cut off.
While his transportation routes in Bei Mo Bang haven’t been affected, losing several border crossings has taken a heavy toll on him.
Actually, this kind of situation in Chan is commonplace.
Different warlords fighting each other, or fighting against Chan's government army, is very common.
It’s simply a matter of paying to grease the wheels and get the routes reopened.
After all, the warlords need to eat, need to pay their troops, and need merchants like Fourth Master to pay taxes.
But this time, it’s different.
Fourth Master had a good relationship with Old Pang, who controlled Ma Su Ba before. He had an okay relationship with Bai Cheng, the traitor.
Bai Cheng intends to bring in new merchants, or perhaps run the business himself.
He certainly wouldn’t let Fourth Master back in, and in fact, even confiscated his goods that were stranded in Ma Su Ba before he could withdraw them.
This naturally dealt Fourth Master a major blow.
To make matters worse, his powerful patron, General Min Tun, lost a power struggle within Chan and was forced to leave in disgrace.
How could he not be anxious?
“Fourth Master, I sympathize with your plight, but what can I do to help?”
Chen Tai was perplexed.
Even though Fourth Master had suffered a setback, he still had some assets in Ma Jie and Xiao Mo Nong.
While Chen Tai had taken over his men, he had not taken over his business.
In other words, Ba Zi Ge nominally still worked for Fourth Master.
His monthly share was still being paid in full.
So, why was he here?
Fourth Master saw the look on Chen Tai’s face, and with a sigh and a stamp of his foot, he declared,
“I’m willing to give Master Tai my business in Xiao Mo Nong. I beg Master Tai to introduce me to someone.”
“I want to invest in the ore mines!”
You have to give Fourth Master credit for being a smart man.
Earlier, Cai Shu, by paying off Shen Xing’s debts, got in touch with him. He bought liquor and delivered it to the flour merchant.
But back then, Fourth Master was arrogant and looked down on the smugglers of Da Ban.
So, he kept raising the supply prices, leaving Cai Shu with little profit.
That's why he tried to open up the mule path to Ma Niu Town.
But now, the tables have turned.
Now it was Fourth Master’s turn to ask someone to send a message to Cai Shu.
With his intelligence network and analytical skills, he discovered that Ba Zi Ge was involved in Cai Shu’s collaboration with Ma Niu Town.
And now, Ba Zi Ge was Chen Tai’s subordinate.
Even if he didn’t know Chen Tai's role in this collaboration, he was on the right track.
And he had something else to report.
“Master Tai, do you know that a very potent medicine has recently been smuggled in from Long?”
Fourth Master asked cautiously.
“What medicine?” Chen Tai didn’t answer directly, but asked back.
Fourth Master gritted his teeth, “It’s very similar to the medicine that Master sold me, but the effects are slightly weaker.”
He observed Chen Tai’s expression, then quickly added,
“I’m not saying that someone is copying Master’s medicine.”
“I’m saying that someone from Long came to me recently to inquire about it.”
The origin of this can be traced back to when Chen Tai first sold him the Five Poison Divine Dan.
He had taken one himself, and then presented one to Min Tun, the head of Chan's army in Bei Bo Zhou at that time.
This left a trail. Previously, he could ignore local harassment because he had Min Tun’s backing.
But this time, it was Long who approached him, so he could only deal with it first.
To be honest, Chen Tai hadn’t considered this back then.
After all, in his eyes, this elixir was very basic and had significant side effects.
Of course, now he knew that in the Age of Decline, even this basic elixir was considered a divine elixir.
Otherwise, why would they keep making knockoffs and knockoffs of knockoffs?
But today, what was Fourth Master’s purpose in saying this?
Even if he exposed that Chen Tai could make pills, it wouldn’t matter to Chen Tai.
He was the only one who knew this core technology.
Moreover, even if this thing had incredible medicinal value, it wasn't some world-altering weapon of mass destruction.
What was he afraid of?
Afraid of big pharmaceutical companies trying to steal it?
Ridiculous. Even if he gave them the materials and formulas, they would need to be able to make it, wouldn’t they?
“Oh, and what did Fourth Master say?”
Chen Tai smiled at Fourth Master.
“I kept my mouth shut. I pushed it onto Siam.”
“Anyway, Siam is notorious for making that stuff.”
Fourth Master grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth.
“Oh,” Chen Tai nodded, that was a good excuse.
“Alright, I’ll introduce you to Cai Shu. I won’t be involved in the details, is that okay with you, Fourth Master?”
Fourth Master nodded repeatedly, “Thank you, Master, thank you, Master.”
Watching Fourth Master leave, Chen Tai sneered, “Playing tricks.”
But Fourth Master’s visit served as a reminder.
Things were still too unstable in Chan.
And those names, Bai, Wei, Liu, Lu - why did they sound so familiar?
“Damn it, the Four Great Families.”
Chen Tai suddenly remembered.
These were the Four Great Families that had been running rampant in Ma Su Ba in his previous life, not only involved in gambling, but also in scamming, defrauding countless people from Long.
Old Pang, naturally, was the King of Ma Su Ba in his previous life.
“Not good people.”
Good people couldn’t survive in San Bian Po.
Even Shen Xing, that honest child, now had a glint of malice in his eyes.
Previously, he had brought news about a couple.
He said they had traveled all the way to San Bian Po in search of their kidnapped child.
But what happened?
The man was captured as soon as he arrived and forcibly injected with meth.
The woman, naturally, was abused and then forced into that kind of business.
And their child, of course, remained missing.
And there were countless similar stories in San Bian Po.
At the time, Chen Tai wanted to help.
Unfortunately, by the time he sent people to that location, the woman was already dead.