Chapter 63

When the body of a Golden Core expert was hung up, it immediately ignited the atmosphere. Everyone's eyes were sharp; it didn't take long for someone to point out—this was Kong Donghua from the Kong family!

"What? A Golden Core expert's body was hung up in the Qingyun Valley?!" Kong Yingzhi's face changed drastically.

He had been waiting for his uncle to return all night, already very worried. Now his fears were confirmed—this Golden Core expert's body, hung up at this time, could only be his uncle's! There weren't many Golden Core experts around.

When Kong Yingzhi arrived at the front of Qingyun Valley, it was already crowded and noisy. The way people looked at Kong Yingzhi was quite interesting.

Kong Yingzhi stared blankly at the tattered body hanging in front of him and roared in grief and anger, "Li Xian, come out! Come out! Come out!"

Li Xian didn't come out, but Fang Shizheng did, "According to the laws of the Great Xia Kingdom, anyone who privately intrudes into a military officer's residence shall be executed without mercy! Young Master Kong, do you have any objections?"

"Crack... No!" Kong Yingzhi's face was ashen.

"Good! Last night, Kong Donghua killed many people and damaged countless items, causing us a loss of 5,000 taels of gold. Young Master Kong, as long as you can make up the 5,000 taels of gold within three days, you can take the body. Otherwise, I think selling a Golden Core expert's body for 6,000 to 7,000 taels of gold would be quite easy."

"You're going too far!" Kong Yingzhi wished he could fight to the death right now.

"Too far?" Fang Shizheng sneered, not bothering to explain, and turned to leave.

The surrounding crowd was buzzing, mostly with ridicule. Being caught as a thief was already embarrassing, especially for a family like the Kong family. Kong Xiang was a high-ranking official in the court, and this time, the family's reputation was completely ruined.

Hearing these harsh words, Kong Yingzhi was almost driven to madness. After returning, he immediately took out 5,000 taels of gold to redeem the body. However, this meant that the Kong family would have no part in the upcoming tender and agency business.

Li Xian's price was just right, almost swallowing up all the funds the Kong family had prepared.

In the afternoon, while Li Xian was counting the gold and marveling at Fang Shizheng's accurate estimation, Song Xing came to report, "Young Master, Young Masters Shangguan Yong, Zhang Quan, and Yuan Zhao have arrived and are waiting at the gate."

Li Xian chuckled, "Heh, these three guys didn't come earlier or later, but just now. I'll go see them myself."

From a distance, Yuan Zhao shouted, "Xian brother, Xian brother, we've come to see you! You left Wuyang without saying goodbye, which really hurt me."

Li Xian was now immune to the term "Xian brother" and just smiled, "I had to return due to some matters. Come in, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Zhang Quan squinted his eyes and laughed, "Xian brother, you're quite capable, silently killing a Golden Core expert."

"Ah, Golden Core experts are really formidable. Using fifty siege crossbows, we could only wound but not kill him. Sigh... Golden Core... too powerful..." Li Xian sighed.

Shangguan Yong seemed to be thinking, "Xian brother, can I see your siege crossbows?"

"That's not possible, they are my means of survival." Li Xian laughed loudly on the surface but muttered to himself: Not one of them is simple!

Yuan Zhao looked around and said, "Xian brother, you've done something big."

"Big? No, I haven't."

Yuan Zhao was very dissatisfied, "How can you say that! The Industrial Expo, you revealed the engine, how can you do that to your brothers?"

Li Xian sneered inwardly. You didn't say anything during the expo, but now you're trying to take advantage of the situation. But he said, "I had no choice. The emperor, the Wang family, and the prime minister all wanted to sanction me. I had to leak the textile machine."

"Then what about this time's agency business?" Yuan Zhao asked immediately, "Xian brother, by doing this, you've made all our previous efforts in vain."

So that's it! Li Xian was clear in his mind and spoke with more enthusiasm, "I've recently found that the domestic market is chaotic, everyone is shirking responsibility, and the market is too small. So I've decided to hand over the domestic market to the agents and focus on the international market.

I remember Uncle Shangguan has connections in the State of Qi, Uncle Zhang in the State of Chen, and Uncle Yuan in the State of Jin. Our Li family will handle the market in the northern State of Cai. How about that?"

"Are you giving up the domestic market like this?" Zhang Quan added.

"Hand it over to the agents. As long as our products dominate the market, it should be enough. Didn't I say before that we need to unite domestic merchants? Agents are a good way to do that!"

"Anything else?" Yuan Zhao asked.

Li Xian feigned ignorance, "Isn't that enough?"

Yuan Zhao jumped up, "No, no, Xian brother, you forgot. We four cooperated to set up the 'Brilliant Stars' trading company, each managing the markets in the east, south, west, and north. 'Brilliant Stars' has a part of our efforts in it."

"You mean the sales company of 'Brilliant Stars.' I plan to convert 'Brilliant Stars' into a customer service center to handle product issues."

"Customer service?" Zhang Quan squinted his eyes, thought for a moment, and suddenly smiled, "Xian brother, that's a good idea. Convert it into customer service. But today, I heard that Xian brother has a 'machine that produces machines.' Can I see it?"

Zhang Quan's straightforward approach left Li Xian momentarily at a loss.

Fortunately, Xu Ren was always by Li Xian's side.

Xu Ren immediately smiled, "Young Master Zhang, the machine that produces machines is the foundation of the 'Brilliant Stars' group. Let's keep some secrets."

Xu Ren's words made it difficult for Zhang Quan to speak again.

Zhang Quan, Yuan Zhao, and Shangguan Yong stayed for a while before reluctantly leaving, but they managed to get some benefits from Li Xian—70% off! Others got 79% off, but they three could get goods from Li Xian at 70% off.

Only after they left did Li Xian wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. To temporarily win over these unreliable allies, he had to pay a price. Fortunately, except for the textile industry, where the cost was hard to reduce, the costs of steel and glass were low. Even selling at 20% off, Li Xian could still make a profit.

Xu Ren rarely joked, "Young Master, none of your three friends are simple. I'm curious, how did you get along with them in the past?"

"I don't know! Don't ask me questions I can't answer, it makes me look ignorant and helpless!" Li Xian's face turned dark—damn, that wasn't me in the past.

That night was much quieter, and no one came to Qingyun Valley to steal. The next morning, Li Xian personally oversaw the construction of a large, temporary exhibition venue with some 'experts' borrowed from his elder brother.

The venue was filled with "I" shaped display walls, with eaves above and products hanging on both sides. Next to each product were two prices—one was the suggested retail price, and the other was the 79% off price. First, let everyone take a look, and then the bidding would start in the afternoon.