Chapter 456
Chapter 456
“So you are Uncle Chen’s nephew?” Liu Mang looked at the fair skinned youngster with disbelief. Aside from his clothing, the man did not look like a hooligan at all. In fact, he would look more like nobility if his martial clothing was exchanged with robes while he hold onto a fan.
“Why have you still not greeted His Highness the King of Shu?” Chen Kang hit his nephew, Chen Shen. Instead of kneeling, Chen Shen was sizing up Liu Mang. This was extremely rude.
“This Chen Shen greets Your Highness!” Chen Shen greeted respectfully. He gave in to his uncle as he respected his uncle.
“There is no need for this.” Liu Mang replied as he stepped forward to prevent Chen Shen from kneeling. He never liked all those things.
“Thank you, Your Highness!” Chen Shen kowtowed. It is not known where he learned how to do it but it looked funny even though the man was earnest.
“Has your uncle explained what you need to do before you came here?” Liu Mang asked. “If you do things well, I will have you accompany me.” If Chen Shen could do things well, Liu Mang would not mind taking Chen Shen in as talented people are hard to come by.
“Don’t worry Your Highness! I will definitely help you manage things beautifully!” Chen Shen replied, showing his true rude self.
“Speak properly!” Chen Kang scolded as he hit his nephew again at the back of his head. Although Chen Kang was already old, he could still hit quite hard. Liu Mang was also able to imagine how painful it is from the loud smack.
“Uncle, stop hitting me! If you keep hitting me I will become retarded!”
“You still dare to talk back?” Chen Kang admonished his nephew and hit him again. Liu Mang’s mouth twitched in response.
“Chen Shen. I believe Uncle Chen would not judge people wrongly. You should also work hard so that you do not make Uncle Chen lose face. Do not disappoint us!” Liu Mang said to Chen Shen. Although sending letters were a small matter, it was also extremely important. The success of Liu Mang’s plans depended on it.
“I understand!” Chen Shen may look flippant on the surface but still showed a good appearance when he was serious.
“Then you can go.” Liu Mang waved his hand to have Chen Shen leave. Chen Shen also nodded. However, when Liu Mang wanted to leave, he saw that Chen Shen was still standing there. “What’s wrong? Is this too difficult? Do you need more manpower?” Liu Mang frowned. There were definitely a lot of people they needed to send letters to so it was possible for Chen Shen to not have enough people.
“Your Highness… I don’t mean to brag but the thing I have the most is manpower.”
“Then why are you still here? It is getting late. We need this done as soon as possible!” Liu Mang instructed.
“That is…” Chen Shen blushed as he looked at Liu Mang.
“What’s wrong? Just speak what troubles you.”
“Can Your Highness spare me some money?” Chen Shen asked with outstretched hands.
“You want money?” Chen Kang roared. “Boy! His Highness think highly of you which is why he gave you a job and you are still asking for money? I will beat you to death! You worthless child!” Chen Kang knew that his nephew liked to gamble so he thought that Chen Shen wanted money to gamble.
“No! Uncle, listen to me first. Stop hitting me! It hurts!” Chen Shen was more physically fit compared to Chen Kang. Yet he only tried to dodge without retaliating as Chen Kang beat him up. This showed that Chen Shen had filial piety.
“What else is there to say? I would have already killed you long ago if it was not because of your parents!” Chen Kang continued to hit his nephew angrily and had no intention of listening.
“Uncle Chen, that’s enough. While Chen Shen may have gambled in the past, I am sure he would not do so in the future.” Liu Mang could tell that Chen Shen was not stupid. As Chen Shen already knew of his identity, he would certainly take this change his ways. After all, Liu Mang had the power to change his status and his life. Chen Shen would not let this go for a small amount of money.
Chen Kang also eventually let his nephew go because of Liu Mang’s words and because he was tired.
“Chen Shen. How much do you want? Why do you want the money?” Liu Mang turned to ask Chen Shen.
“Your Highness. I need ten… No… five… three gold! Three gold should be enough!”
“Three gold?” Liu Mang froze. Although it was a trivial amount for Liu Mang, it was enough for a commoner to survive for several years.
“Your Highness. You yourself know that my brothers are all jobless hooligans like me. They definitely have no money for proper clothes. Their clothes are mostly full of holes!” Chen Shen then showed Liu Mang his own clothes so that Liu Mang would believe him. “Your Highness. This is already my best clothes. I wore this just to meet with you!” Although Chen Shen’s clothes was made of silk, Liu Mang could see that it was made from the cheapest silk. Some part of the clothes had turned yellow and there were even holes. Chen Shen was simply smart enough to hide those holes this entire time.
“You want to buy clothes for your brothers?” Liu Mang asked.
“Yes.” Chen Shen nodded. “We are hooligans. Even if the letters were written by Lord Kuai, we, who are despised by the nobles would not even be able to meet with them. How are we supposed to deliver the letters? Don’t worry, Your Highness. I like to gamble but I would absolutely not gamble with this money!”
“Haha” Liu Mang shook his head in relief. He who came from the future understood the importance of appearance and first impressions more than Chen Shen. People would look up to you and attempt to get closer to you if you dress well. If Chen Shen’s men wore terrible clothes, they would be chased away before they could even deliver the letters.
Chen Shen’s head sunk when he saw Liu Mang shook his head. He gritted his teeth and said, “Your Highness. One gold is fine. I will gather the men and somehow obtain the money!”
“Idiot! How could His Highness be short of money?” Chen Kang hit his nephew again. Liu Mang had already forked out hundreds of gold for the banquet. Why would he be stingy now?
“But His Highness shook his head?” Chen Shen replied. He had not thought like a rich person. A rich person would just buy what they want unlike the poor.
“I shook my head because I think three gold is not enough.” Liu Mang laughed. He had not even rejected Chen Shen yet and the man already thought that he was trying to save money. “I will give you thirty gold.”
“Huh?” Liu Mang was very efficient. The thirty gold was quickly passed to Chen Shen by one of Jia Xu’s subordinates.
“This is…” Chen Shen was at a loss as he looked at the thirty gold in his hands. His expression looked like a normal person who suddenly got five million.
“Useless boy!” Chen Kang nagged at his nephew and nudged at him with his leg to calm Chen Shen down.
“All of this is for me?” Chen Shen asked Liu Mang in doubt.
“Of course! All of this money is for you! Go and buy your brothers proper silk clothing. If you do not have enough, you can ask for more!”
“No, it is enough!” Chen Shen quickly replied. This amount was more than what a normal person could earn in thirty years. Even the provincial governor could only earn fifty gold in that time. “Your Highness. Are you not afraid that I would run away with the money?”
“These?” Liu Mang pointed at the money and asked.
When Chen Shen nodded, Liu Mang showed an expression that he truly did not care about the thirty gold. From that point on, Chen Shen would truly become one of Liu Mang’s henchmen. Chen Shen realized his short sightedness and changed from a man that strives only to survive to a man with ambition.
“Go, it is already getting late. There are other things I will need you to do once you have finished.” Liu Mang said to Chen Shen.
“Yes, yes.” Chen Shen nodded as he spoke incoherently. As thirty gold was a lot, he took two people with him as well.
“Uncle Chen. Your nephew is quite good.” Liu Mang laughed.
“Your Highness overpraises!”
_
“Wow! Boss! You have become rich! Which noble did you meet? Or did Uncle Chen give you money because he know that he can’t take money with him after his death?” One of Chen Shen’s men asked. While Chen Shen had over a hundred lackeys, he only had a few followers1.
“Pangzi! Don’t simply touch this!” Chen Shen scolded when he saw one fat hooligan try and touch it.
“Boss! There is enough here for us to gamble for half a year! I can also get a woman!” Jin Pangzi salivate.
“Hmph! How shallow!” Chen Shen snorted coldly in reply.
“Shallow? Don’t say that boss. We just don’t think money is important.”
“So you are trying to prove me right?” Chen Shen spoke impolitely to his men. However, he had hundreds of lackeys so he still had the prestige. “Let me tell you. This money is just a drop in the ocean. Your boss here is about to help you make a lot of money. If you succeed in this, there would be endless glory and wealth!” Chen Shen explained to his men. Even several hundred gold was far from endless wealth. On top of that, they were all lower than even the common citizens. All they could do was bully the weak and they have never met the more influential groups of the world.
“Boss. Who did you meet with?” Some people wondered. They wanted to know who was so generous to immediately give away thirty gold.
“That is a secret.” Chen Shen tried to be mysterious.
“Even if the boss doesn’t say, we already know! It has to be Lord Kuai!” Someone else declared. As Chen Shen’s uncle worked for Kuai Liang, Chen Shen occasionally went to his uncle for help. They have also seen Chen Shen going to Kuai Liang’s place.
Chen Shen also did not bother correcting them as Liu Mang already said that he could not expose his identity. If Chen Shen were to expose Liu Mang’s identity, rather than be rewarded, he would suffer the consequences.
“Brothers. You all have a share to this money!” Chen Shen said to his subordinates.
“Ooh! Boss is formidable!” The others cheered. They said money was not important but it was simply them hating the rich. They would not give up the chance to be rich.
“Boss! I knew you are the best!” Jin Pangzi cheered and reached out for the money. There were hundreds of them so each person could have a few thousand coins.
“Pangzi! Your hands are definitely the fastest!” Chen Shen slapped his subordinate on the back of his head. It was definitely an action inherited from his uncle. It was even possible that Chen Shen has already surpassed his uncle in this respect.
“Let me tell you first. None of you are to take this money away!” Chen Shen warned.
“Boss! If we don’t take it away, how can you say we have a share?” Jin Pangzi complained as he continued to stare at the money grudgingly. It was one thing if the money was not there but it felt horrible to be able to see it yet unable to reach it.
“This money is for you to buy clothes!”
“Buy clothes? I already have clothes at home. There is no need to trouble Boss!” Jin Pangzi said as he tried to reach out for the money again, only to be slapped again.
“This money is to buy silk clothing that only nobles would wear! Don’t say your Boss never takes care of you!” Chen Shen replied.
“We are going to wear silk clothes and become like those high class people?” The others asked and discussed with each other in amazement. They were talking about clothes exclusive to nobles.
“Boss are you talking about the kind of clothes you are wearing?” One person, named Er Danzi asked as Chen Shen’s clothes was also made of silk.
“Yes, but no!” Chen Shen laughed and shook his head.
“Boss! What do you mean?” Er Danzi asked. He was someone who had strength but was not good with his head.2
“My clothes is made from silk but it is not the type I want you to buy.” Chen Shen explained.
“Ah, we cannot wear nice clothes like Boss’s.” The others groaned in disappointment.
“My clothes here is not good! You need to buy the one with the best quality!” Chen Shen shouted.
“Boss. Is this gold really to buy us clothes? Isn’t it too much?” Jin Pangzi frowned. He initially thought that Chen Shen was joking around but when they had pointed out that Chen Shen’s silk clothes had holes in it a long time ago, Chen Shen became extremely angry. For this Chen Shen to ask them to buy better clothes than his meant that Chen Shen was not joking.
“If I do not buy clothes for you then who would I buy it for? I can’t wear that many clothes!” Chen Shen replied in a bad mood.
“Boss! Silk clothes is too expensive! It is too much of a waste for hooligans like us to wear it! It is better not to buy it!” Jin Pangzi replied awkwardly.
“Are you afraid?” Chen Shen asked. They were all originally people who wore coarse clothing all day. It was to the extent that they felt reluctant to wear new clothes. It was too big a step for them to suddenly upgrade to silk clothes.
“Pangzi! Even if this money belongs to your father, he would not buy you clothes when he sees your terrified look! You would look terrible in everything! On the other hand, the nobles bestowed this money to us for the purpose of buying clothes so that we can serve them! If you don’t wear proper clothes, I will make you suffer the consequences!” Chen Shen understood that these hooligans all lived tough life. That was why they were reluctant to wear new clothes. Chen Shen was willing to bet that if he did not threaten them, these people would definitely just keep the money as household expenses or they would buy the clothes but never wear it. They may be hooligans but they were not orphans.
That was why Chen Shen made it clear that they had to buy silk clothes and wear it to work for the nobles.
Jin Pangzi took a deep breath after hearing Chen Shen’s explanation. He then cupped his fist and shouted. “Boss! I understand!” Jin Pangzi did not live alone. He had a family to worry about. If he had silk, he would definitely give it to his family first and then sell the rest for money. It has been half a month since his family had meat.
“Alright. Let’s go and buy clothes with this money.” Chen Shen said as he patted Jin Pangzi on the shoulder. Chen Shen understood Jing Pangzi and planned to buy food for his men with any leftover money.