#52 - Chapter 52 Mei's Tavern
As a martial artist at the Skin Refinement realm, detecting someone tailing him was easy.
Cheng Feng, having just left Hu's Tavern, was well aware of this.
In Cheng Feng's eyes, a Skin Refinement martial artist, the one following him was most likely from Hu's Tavern.
Cheng Feng hadn't considered investigating Hu's Tavern's background.
He didn't have the time, nor did he intend to.
According to Master Wang Tieshan, in Qingxi City, those with backgrounds were the core members and upper echelons of the three major families and the four major gangs.
The major families had their tacit agreements, and the four major gangs wouldn't easily start wars.
As long as Cheng Feng didn't bully others, Wang Tieshan was enough to protect his closed-door disciple.
It was like what President Wang said in his previous life: 'No one around me is as rich as I am.'
There was no jealousy or anything like that.
After becoming Wang Tieshan's closed-door disciple, Cheng Feng had unknowingly stepped onto the stage of Qingxi County.
He was no longer the nameless nobody he once was.
Cheng Feng still had doubts about his status as a closed-door disciple.
After all, Wang Tieshan hadn't explicitly told him about this status.
He was currently just the tenth inner disciple.
Apart from Li Mo wanting to invest in him and being the first to show goodwill, Cheng Feng hadn't seen anyone else.
Even his ninth senior brother, Zhang Zhuo, only contacted him out of their previous connection, not because of his status.
Cheng Feng didn't know that Wang Tieshan truly both loved and hated his disciple.
He loved the disciple's talent and intelligence, and he naturally hated the talent and intelligence as well.
Having spent some time together, Wang Tieshan had a considerable understanding of his chosen closed-door disciple.
Born into poverty, he had relied on his talent to rise above others.
He was no longer just an ordinary person.
However, his late-blooming talent was difficult to mention.
Fortunately, Cheng Feng was relatively low-key and not arrogant or domineering.
Wang Tieshan simply let Cheng Feng be.
Cheng Feng naturally wouldn't announce his secret, but he couldn't stop those who were envious and jealous from making wild guesses.
Disciples without talent hated that they didn't have Cheng Feng's talent, and disciples without status envied Cheng Feng's current status.
No one doubted Cheng Feng's skill.
Master Wang's experience and discerning eyes had never been wrong in over twenty years.
Cheng Feng also had his own troubles that he couldn't voice.
If he could, Cheng Feng would be willing to lower his reputation in exchange for a stable life.
His current life was built on silver taels.
Cheng Feng didn't care about the little tail following him.
He would just shake them off.
His next goal was still taverns, just not Hu's Tavern.
Selling to Hu's Tavern was only because ordinary wine was bought there, and it was close to his home. They might run into each other in the future.
It was just two catties of good wine; it wouldn't cause any trouble.
Tie's Tavern, Wang's Tavern, Mu's Tavern, Zheyuan Inn, Fulin Inn, Lingyun Inn.
Cheng Feng visited one tavern and inn after another.
Some praised Cheng Feng's wine, while others sneered at Cheng Feng's Chunxiao.
Cheng Feng calmly watched his wine receive mixed reviews, feeling that this was equivalent to market research in his previous life.
He didn't need to be angry or have other emotions.
Everyone's taste and preference were different, and their personal wealth naturally varied.
The deeper he went into Da Zhou, the more he understood the plight of the common people.
Cheng Feng didn't have a so-called saintly heart.
In a situation where he could barely protect himself, it was already good enough that Cheng Feng didn't kick them when they were down.
He visited one shop after another that might be interested in selling his wine.
Basically, not many shops dared to cooperate with Cheng Feng.
Cheng Feng had a final target for cooperation in mind: martial arts schools.
Based on the market and the people, the feedback on his wine was quite good.
Who wouldn't like a wine with good taste and a cheap price?
It was just that Cheng Feng was still wary.
Currently, no one with any real strength dared to cooperate with Cheng Feng.
Until Cheng Feng arrived at Mei's Tavern.
The front of the tavern was somewhat dilapidated and messy, with few customers.
According to others, this was a decades-old tavern, but due to the owner's poor management in recent years, it had suffered losses and was even facing the risk of closure.
Looking at the somewhat dilapidated Mei's Tavern in front of him, Cheng Feng thought, this was the last known tavern.
Cheng Feng had visited all the potential customers in the southern city area.
Of the ten catties of Chunxiao, he had sold two catties to Hu's Tavern for one tael of silver.
He had used another two catties for sampling in various shops, but he hadn't found a suitable partner.
Some disliked the high price of Chunxiao, while others exaggerated that Chunxiao wasn't worth one tael and wanted to lower the price.
Cheng Feng didn't care about the merchants' price-cutting tactics.
In business, it was all about business, and even if the tactics were disgusting, Cheng Feng accepted it as his own lack of skill.
The results never lied.
Of course, those who didn't meet his standards were also added to his blacklist.
You can use price-cutting tactics, but I can choose not to sell to you.
It was just a mutual selection.
He had worked hard to cultivate to the Skin Refinement realm, and it wasn't just for show.
Cheng Feng believed that he had gotten lucky.
A handicapped person was actually able to create a real product based on the knowledge in the short videos, and it was divided into four grades.
The potential was simply limitless.
Of course, Cheng Feng wouldn't get carried away.
His current greatest hope for promotion was still to improve his strength.
The lack of silver could only be remedied by his skills or knowledge.
Cheng Feng had heard Zhang Zhuo talk about the situation of the various forces.
That was completely different from the information and perspective that Cheng Feng had previously been exposed to.
The mentality and perspective of a commoner were also slowly changing.
There was no harm in communicating with the upper-class figures of the county.
What he benefited from was himself!
Cheng Feng wasn't a person who curried favor with the powerful, but he wouldn't be so aloof as to not make friends.
Zhang Zhuo and Li Mo treated him to a meal that cost twenty taels, not including the non-sale Yun Chun wine.
Cheng Feng asked himself if he could temporarily hang out with them.
The theory of equality was even more nonsense.
If he didn't have Wang Tieshan backing him, would they communicate with him?
Don't be ridiculous.
What were they after?
They were after Wang Tieshan, and that he might develop in the future.
It was just a potential investment.
Twenty taels were still very important to his current situation, but for those wealthy young masters, it was just the cost of a meal.
It wasn't worth mentioning.
Cheng Feng asked them to find a way to study medicine, also because there was hope.
If it was someone from the village or a neighbor, it was estimated that it would take two years to get any news.
It was just a mutual benefit.
Inside Mei's Tavern, the owner was an old man with gray hair, a wrinkled face, and very skinny.
Only his eyes showed a trace of shrewdness.
Seeing Cheng Feng enter the store, he asked dryly, "Are you here for wine, guest?"
Cheng Feng was speechless.
No wonder it was declining!
What else would you come to a tavern for if not to drink?
Cheng Feng nodded, "Bring me a bowl of your signature wine, and a side dish."
Having just one tael of silver, Cheng Feng was prepared to test this decades-old brand a little.
He had been talking to those shopkeepers all day, and his mouth was dry.
It was a good time to rest.
The shop assistant busily followed the order.
The shop assistant was petite, dressed in gray, and wearing a small hat.
But Cheng Feng's eyes, trained by several women, had long seen that this shop assistant was a girl.
Some dust was on her pretty face, affecting her appearance, making it difficult for Cheng Feng to see clearly.
Otherwise, she would really be a good-looking woman.
Cheng Feng simply stopped here, drinking ordinary wine and eating ordinary side dishes.
He sighed. It seemed he really couldn't get any bargains.
Doing business was really a bit of wishful thinking.
Cheng Feng in his previous life had some contact with various industries.
The sales pitch was simply introducing things, saying good things and not saying bad things.
Cheng Feng had talked for a long time with the previous tavern owners, but they were all shrewd and wanted to go straight to the wine recipe.
No one wanted to buy and sell directly.
After drinking this fruit wine-like drink, Cheng Feng tossed the remaining Chunxiao on his body and filled his own small wine jar.
He should go home after drinking this bowl.
But he didn't expect that even sitting in the corner, the aroma of the wine hit the passing shopkeeper.
Looking at this young man who came to drink alone, Mei Zhou stepped forward and cupped his hands, "Young brother, where did you buy this wine?"
Seeing the old shopkeeper taking the initiative to inquire, Cheng Feng's abandoned thoughts came to life again.
He raised his hand and said, "Old sir, you flatter me. If you are willing, I can share some with you."
