Chapter 576: Before the Great Catastrophe
The courtyard occupied an area of more than two mu and consisted of eight houses. It was rather a quiet and secluded place, complete with the few orange trees that surrounded it. The last time Yan Liqiang left the Imperial Capital, the publis.h.i.+ng company hadn’t owned this property. Hence, this was undoubtedly a newly-purchased courtyard by Fang Beidou during the past two years.
Several rooms on the ground floor of the courtyard’s building were used as storerooms where the unsold newspapers were kept. It had been two years and ‘The Great Han Times’ circulation had exceeded twenty thousand copies, covering the entire Imperial Capital region. The scale of the publis.h.i.+ng company had grown several times, and could truly be considered the best newspaper in the empire. Despite its popularity, it wasn’t strange that there would be several unsold copies for every issue. The rooms that Yan Liqiang guarded in this courtyard were piled with these newspapers that were printed but never got sold.
In Yan Liqiang’s previous life, these newspapers would ultimately be turned into paper pulp again. However, this would be too wasteful in the Great Han Empire. People in the Imperial Capital might not buy these newspapers as the content was already outdated, but in an era where the flow of information was relatively obstructed, many people would still buy them if they were delivered to provinces and prefectures that were further from the Imperial Capital. Even if it was half a year or a year outdated, the people there would still see these as rare and interesting items. Hence, the leftover newspapers stored in the houses of this courtyard that Yan Liqiang guarded would be bought by some traveling merchants and sold off somewhere far away. It went without saying that these outdated newspapers would be sold at much cheaper prices. This would bring profit to the publis.h.i.+ng company, and it was also way better than turning them into trash or paper pulp.
During the daytime, the leftover newspapers would be collected and stored in the warehouse. Some merchants would come and buy stacks of them. These were all taken care of by designated people, so Yan Liqiang didn’t have to worry about it. This meant Yan Liqiang was free during the daytime, and he only had to work when everyone went home at night. Apart from Fang Beidou who would occasionally drop by to check everything, no one else would come and check up on him. Hence, Yan Liqiang was still free and this position was most appropriate for him as it gave him the best cover in the Imperial Capital.
The former guard of this place was an old man. Since he was old in age, Fang Beidou found a reason to transfer him to a distribution center in the city to reduce his workload, leaving Yan Liqiang alone here.
It had been two days since Yan Liqiang had arrived. He trained alone in the courtyard at night and left the courtyard during the daytime to stroll around in the Imperial Capital. Eventually, the plans and tasks he had to do slowly took shape in his mind.
To someone who was caught in the vortex of power, taking every step in a place like the Imperial Capital was like treading on thin ice. The chances of getting murdered lurked around every corner. One misstep might lead to horrible death or clan extermination. The danger involved was beyond imagination. Yet, everything was peaceful to w.a.n.g s.h.a.gen, ‘an ordinary person’ from the lowest social cla.s.s who guarded the warehouse and stood aloof from worldly affairs, only asking for adequate provisions.
The Emperor backed ‘The Great Han Times’. No ordinary thugs or even bureaucrats in the Imperial Capital dared to find any trouble with the publis.h.i.+ng company. Thus, Yan Liqiang would go unnoticed if he stayed here. Even if he died of old age here without doing anything, not many people would know that this courtyard was once guarded by someone called w.a.n.g s.h.a.gen.
Some might not even recall w.a.n.g s.h.a.gen’s existence. Yet, the name kept revolving around Fang Beidou’s mind. He was bothered but he had to keep it cool.
Finally one evening, four days since Yan Liqiang started guarding the warehouse, Fang Beidou ‘took the opportunity’ to check on this courtyard when he descended Mount Longqi.
Hearing the birds chirping on the tree outside the courtyard and the knocks coming from outside, Yan Liqiang who was training under the orange tree knew it was Fang Beidou. He straightened his clothes, then walked unhurriedly to the door. He pretended to peek through the crack of the door, before quickly opening it for Fang Beidou.
“Greetings from s.h.a.gen!” Yan Liqiang pretended to look fearful.
Fang Beidou sized up Yan Liqiang from head to toe, then nodded. “Ahem, have you gotten used to life here for the past two days, s.h.a.gen? I’m just here to look around…”
“Yes. This place is really a lot better than the Datong Inn I was staying at before I came here…” Yan Liqiang smiled earnestly as he welcomed Fang Beidou inside. Fang Beidou’s coachman and his lavish four-wheeled carriage were left waiting outside. The coachman was none other than Xu Enda’s brother, Little Wu. Compared to two years ago since Yan Liqiang last saw him, Little Wu seemed to have grown bigger and stronger. He was wearing armor and he carried a sword on his waist.
“Open up a few storerooms, I would like to take a look…”
“Right away…” Yan Liqiang led the way with a bunch of keys in his hand. He unlocked one of the rooms that was used as a store, then went in with Fang Beidou.
The room was filled with stacks and bundles of newspapers. It smelled like printing ink and the herbal packages of a mixture of patchouli and mugwort leaves were used as insect repellents. Instead of smelling unpleasant, the strange scent made the place feel more secluded and mysterious. Since this was a storeroom, the windows were sealed to prevent theft and fire. Only a window near the inner wall of the courtyard was left open. Hence, this could be considered a quiet place.
“Be more attentive even when you are sleeping at night. This place mustn’t catch fire at all costs. Look out for insects too. The insect repellent herbal packages hanging on that pillar must be changed every two months…” Fang Beidou spoke absent-mindedly as he walked through the piles of newspapers. He was wondering about how to bring up the topic so that it didn’t seem too out of the blue. After all, Yan Liqiang hadn’t explained anything about this matter in his letter. He only instructed Fang Beidou to make some arrangements for this person. This made him even more curious.
“Yes, s.h.a.gen shall remember your orders, Manager Fang!”
Fang Beidou froze when he heard the voice beside him. He felt as though he was being placed under a binding spell. The voice wasn’t s.h.a.gen’s but Yan Liqiang’s. It deadpanned, but Fang Beidou could hear the mockery and laziness in it.
Fang Beidou struggled to turn his head around to look at s.h.a.gen’s face.
s.h.a.gen was still s.h.a.gen, only that the smile he had on his face right now kind of annoyed Fang Beidou. He would never forget that smile because the last time he’d seen it, he was running b.u.t.t naked around the Imperial Capital while shouting ‘I love you Cuihua’. To him, that day felt like a trip to h.e.l.l.
“It’s… It’s you…!” Fang Beidou’s throat went dry as he stammered while staring at Yan Liqiang blankly.
“Yes, it’s me!” Yan Liqiang nodded. “Ahem, long time no see! It seems like you have been doing very well in the Imperial Capital, Manager Fang!”
Fang Beidou looked into Yan Liqiang’s eyes as he was suddenly at a loss for words. Then, his palm came flying with lightning speed at Yan Liqiang’s chest…
The smile remained on Yan Liqiang’s face. When Fang Beidou’s palm was about to strike his chest, Yan Liqiang gently lifted his hand and blocked his attack.
As soon as their palms came into contact, Fang Beidou felt the strength instantly dissolving in his hand.
He retracted his hand, still staring at Yan Liqiang as his voice trembled slightly. “Is it really you?”
“Of course!” Yan Liqiang nodded.
“Why are you here?”
“Of course it’s to fulfill my original promise to you!” Yan Liqiang sighed then said gloomily, “If I still wasn’t here yet, I’m not sure how many people in the Imperial Capital can escape when the Heavenly Tribulation strikes…”
Fang Beidou’s countenance immediately changed as he felt a burst of energy. “What should I do?”
“You don’t have to do anything. Just be prepared to distribute the newspapers by then!”
“You want to write something?”
Yan Liqiang shot a glare at him, then pointed to his own nose. “Do you think I’m young right now?”
Fang Beidou nodded.
“So I’d like to live a few more years. Do you think people will believe what I write?”
“How then?”
“Haha, I have my ways…”