Chapter 30

Lin Yiming thanked the guild master and did not rush to the appraisal guild. Instead, he walked to the room where the old farmers were arranged by the appraisal guild.

As soon as he reached the door of the room, a strong herbal scent immediately filled Lin Yiming's nostrils. Upon entering the hall, he saw the old farmers lying on wooden beds. Apart from a few who had already been treated and were covered in ointments, the remaining farmers were each being treated by a doctor, and some were even being treated by two or three doctors simultaneously.

The moment Lin Yiming entered the room, he was immediately noticed by the old farmers. One of the farmers with relatively minor injuries immediately stood up from his bed and quickly walked to Lin Yiming's side. Although he had just been beaten, his face was filled with an uncontainable smile.

"Yiming, you've really grown up, and you're truly amazing," the farmer said, pointing to the spacious and bright room, his mouth unable to close from smiling. "Your Uncle Lin has lived for nearly sixty years, and this is the first time I've stayed in such a large, clean house. Yiming, you've really become capable. Yiming, how did you meet such a powerful friend?"

"I always knew that our Yiming is extraordinary," another farmer with minor injuries chimed in, his face filled with excitement. "Yiming, the doctors your friend found for us are really great. My injuries don't even need a doctor. In the village, such minor injuries can be treated with some herbal medicine and will heal in a few days. But the doctor insisted on examining me for a long time and even prescribed me medicine for my cough, which has been a chronic problem. The doctor is really skilled; he diagnosed it in no time and assured me that the medicine will cure it."

Hearing the words of the two old farmers, the other farmers in the room also began to speak, praising Lin Yiming, his unseen friend who had arranged for them, and the doctors.

Lin Yiming looked at the farmers who had been treated properly, and his smile never faded.

As the voices of the farmers gradually quieted down, Lin Yiming spoke up loudly, "Alright, uncles and aunts, everyone should lie down and rest. This friend of mine, I once helped him appraise something, so you can rest assured and stay here for a while. I will go and solve the issue of our food supply. Don't worry, I am now an appraiser. I will go to the appraisal guild, and as long as they intervene, even the town mayor can't do anything. They will definitely help us resolve this matter."

"The town mayor can't do anything, that's really powerful."

"That's great, we can get our food back."

The old farmers cheered upon hearing Lin Yiming's words. Without Lin Yiming, they were all from the same village, and he was someone they had watched grow up. They knew very well that Lin Yiming was not the type to exaggerate. Moreover, seeing Lin Yiming's influence in the town and his powerful friend, they had even more confidence in him.

"But, Yiming, won't it be too much trouble for your friend if we stay here?" one of the old farmers suddenly asked, worried.

Upon hearing this, the other old farmers also began to ask, genuinely afraid of causing trouble, as there were quite a few of them.

"It won't be a problem, just rest assured and stay here. My friend even suggested that his family stay here for a while," Lin Yiming replied, inwardly sighing. After experiencing his past life and spending six years in the sect, he still felt that the people from his village were the most sincere.

After comforting the old farmers, Lin Yiming got up and left, entering the appraisal guild.

"Yiming, you're here," Old Qin said as soon as he saw Lin Yiming return to the appraisal guild, standing up from his chair with a friendly expression. The others in the appraisal guild also stood up to greet Lin Yiming.

"Old Qin, I'm here to trouble the appraisal guild," Lin Yiming said, bowing to Old Qin and the others. His expression suddenly changed, revealing a hint of hatred as he said angrily, "Actually, I came to the town because of our village. We came to buy food, but the Minong Trading Company sold us bran instead of grain. When we confronted them, they beat us and even accused us of tampering with the seal, saying we were trying to cheat them for money."

"Unacceptable!" Old Qin jumped up upon hearing Lin Yiming's words, his face instantly filled with anger. "How dare they bully our appraisal guild members! Are they looking down on us?"

As he spoke, his expression suddenly changed, becoming kind and gentle, making people feel as if they were basking in a warm breeze. He turned to Lin Yiming and asked softly, "Yiming, didn't you tell them your identity?"

"I did," Lin Yiming said through gritted teeth, thinking of Liu Tong and the others' despicable actions, his face becoming even colder. "I even said I could appraise that the seal was placed by them, but they also had an appraiser. That appraiser said the seal was placed by us. In the end, they attacked us again. If I didn't have some skills, I might be lying in the infirmary now."

"Another appraiser? Who is that person?" The others immediately exchanged glances upon hearing this. This was now an internal matter of the appraisal guild. But who could that person be? It seemed that no appraiser in the guild had any connection with the trading company.

"That person is called Liu Tong," Lin Yiming said, fearing that the others might forget who Liu Tong was, and continued, "He is the person who passed the appraiser exam with me today. The trading company belongs to his family. I hope Old Qin can handle this matter."

After saying this, Lin Yiming looked at Old Qin with anticipation. The final outcome of this matter would likely depend on Old Qin's attitude.

Would Old Qin help him as he hoped?

"Ah, that person," Old Qin nodded, no wonder he didn't know, it turned out to be a new member of the appraisal guild. Now, a decision needed to be made.

Old Qin thought to himself, although both were appraisers, the gap between them was significant. Liu Tong was just a初级 appraiser, although young and with potential, he was far behind Lin Yiming.

Lin Yiming was even younger and was already a master appraiser. Anyone could imagine that Lin Yiming would achieve even greater success in the future, and the town's appraisal guild might rely on him.

Comparing the two, the decision was easy to make.

Old Qin pondered for a moment, then his face showed a righteous expression as he said solemnly, "Yiming, rest assured, I will handle this matter for you. Our appraisal guild members cannot be wronged."

Seeing Old Qin speak, the other appraisers also chimed in. They were not foolish; they knew who to support. A初级 appraiser versus a master appraiser, the choice was clear.

"That's right, Liu Tong is just a初级 appraiser. His appraisal skills can't compare to yours."

"Exactly, we will bring the evidence, and we will appraise it together. It will be clear who is lying."

Old Qin, satisfied with the clear stance, nodded and called out, "Someone, go to the Minong Trading Company and bring Liu Tong here."

Soon, a young apprentice, who was not yet an appraiser, left the room, his face showing a hint of helplessness.

He had been in the appraisal guild for over a year, but during this time, he had learned little and mostly ran errands.

Walking through the familiar streets, the apprentice quickly arrived at the Liu residence. After reporting his identity as a member of the appraisal guild, he was quickly invited into the house.

Led by a servant of the Liu family, he entered the hall. After a short wait, the sound of footsteps approached.

The apprentice looked up and saw Liu Tong, a well-known figure in the town, walk in.

Thinking of the gap between him and Liu Tong, he quickly stood up, frightened.

"Please, don't be so formal, sit down," Liu Tong said with a smile, gesturing for him to sit. He walked to one side and sat down, looking at the apprentice with a smile. "I wonder why President Qin is looking for me?" He had just received a report from his servant that the appraisal guild was looking for him, so he hurried over.

Today, he had just had a conflict with Lin Yiming, who had just become an appraiser. The appraisal guild finding him now was not something he could ignore.

"I don't know, sir. I was just ordered to inform you to come to the appraisal guild. I don't know anything else," the apprentice said nervously, standing up and carefully conveying Old Qin's message.

Liu Tong looked at the ordinary apprentice and suddenly smiled. He then kindly took out fifty taels of silver and handed it to the apprentice.

"Brother, I won't make things difficult for you. I just want to know what happened that made the appraisal guild send you to bring me there. I just want to know what happened."

"This..." The apprentice hesitated, looking at the money. Normally, he shouldn't accept it, or the appraisal guild would not forgive him. But Liu Tong was just asking him to tell what happened before he arrived, which was nothing. After all, Liu Tong would know everything once he got there. He could get fifty taels of silver just by speaking, so why not? Fifty taels of silver could make him live comfortably for a long time.

The apprentice hesitated for a moment, then cautiously took the money, tightly gripping it in his hand, as if afraid Liu Tong would change his mind. He quickly put the money away and then lowered his voice, "It was Lin Yiming who went to see the president. He told him about the trading company. The president and the elders decided to support him, and the president sent me to call you. Oh, and it seems that the auction house president gave Lin Yiming the idea to see the president."

"President!" Liu Tong took a deep breath. The auction house president was indeed involved, and the elders of the appraisal guild were clearly supporting Lin Yiming. He had no choice but to back down.

Liu Tong's eyes flickered, and he made a decision. Instead of being passive when he arrived, he would take the initiative to apologize, to protect the reputation of the trading company. However, Lin Yiming must not be allowed to stay.

He had been working hard to become an appraiser to eventually become the president of the appraisal guild in the town. But with Lin Yiming around, he would never achieve that. Only if Lin Yiming was dead could he become president.

Moreover, his money was not easy to get. The price for taking his money was death! Seeing that Lin Yiming had brought many old farmers from the village, he would definitely return to the village.

If so, he would let him go back, but on the way back, he would die!

"Alright, brother, please wait outside for a moment. I'll give some instructions and then go with you," Liu Tong politely asked the apprentice to wait outside.

As soon as the apprentice left the room, Liu Tong's face turned cold. He looked at his trusted subordinate and said coldly, "You, go to the town and hire some skilled mercenaries. I want Lin Yiming dead!"

"Yes, sir, I will handle it properly," the subordinate replied.

"Remember, don't worry about the cost. Hire the best. I want that boy dead!" Liu Tong said fiercely, then left the room with the apprentice, heading to the appraisal guild.

On the way to the appraisal guild, he subtly asked a few questions, and the more he heard, the more he resented Lin Yiming, and by extension, the appraisal guild.

These old guys, he would make them pay one day.

At the entrance of the appraisal guild, Liu Tong took a deep breath, quickly thinking through what he would say, and then pushed open the door.

Inside the room, Lin Yiming and Old Qin had been talking after the apprentice left. However, after a while, someone came to the appraisal guild to have an item appraised. Old Qin and the others were still resting, so Lin Yiming, who was idle, appraised a dagger-like treasure. After deducting the appraisal guild's commission, he charged ten taels of silver for the appraisal fee.

Ten taels of silver was a significant amount. One tael of silver could buy two hundred dou of rice, which was twenty shi, and one shi was equivalent to 120 pounds in the previous life.

If one were to convert the currency of the previous life to the current silver, one tael of silver was roughly equivalent to one hundred US dollars.

So, ten taels of silver was one thousand US dollars. Earning one thousand US dollars in a short time, being an appraiser was indeed very profitable. Unfortunately, very few people could become appraisers, otherwise, the appraisal fees would not be so high.

Of course, the high appraisal fees also indicated the value of the items. Generally, the appraisal fee was one-twentieth of the item's value.

Just as Lin Yiming finished appraising the item and was about to speak to Old Qin and the others, the door of the appraisal guild was suddenly pushed open.

A figure quickly rushed in, and before anyone could see his face, he "thud" knelt in front of Lin Yiming. Only then did everyone realize it was Liu Tong.

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