Chapter 13 Li Luo of the Bottomless Pit

At this moment, Li Luo felt that nothing could hinder his progress. Until the depletion of the Spirit Water's miraculous light. In an old residence, inside a ledger room. Cai Wei, dressed in a long skirt, sat elegantly at the table, her figure graceful, with a curvaceous bust that seemed quite alluring. Yet at this moment, the beautiful oval face of hers was slightly frowning as she looked at some ledgers in front of her. "Old Manager Gu, it seems that the income of the Luolan Mansion in Tianshu County has drastically decreased this year," Cai Wei said, raising her gaze from the ledgers to several managers before her. The middle-aged man known as Old Manager Gu smiled wryly and nodded, "The Head Manager is correct; Luolan Mansion has nine merchant guilds and eighteen mining sites in Tianshu County. The medicinal production has been affected due to the internal changes within the mansion. Over this year, the three families in Tianshu County have been encroaching on us quite aggressively, especially the Song family. Among the nine merchant guilds, two have been dismantled by the Song family through various means this year and ultimately absorbed by them." Cai Wei's beautiful eyes turned somewhat cold. The Luolan Mansion had risen to become one of the four great mansions of the Great Xia Kingdom at an astonishing speed since it started from Nanfeng City in Tianshu County. However, apart from Luolan Mansion, there were still three major families in Tianshu County. Although these three families could not compare with the complete Luolan Mansion in overall scale, they were old established powers rooted deeply in the county with significant heritage. When the two family heads were still around, Luolan Mansion was in its prime, and the three families were quite obedient, but now, with the disappearance of the two heads, they began to take advantage of Luolan Mansion's internal and external troubles, starting to stir and act up. Cai Wei had heard from Jiang Qing'e that behind these three families, there might be indications from other top-tier forces, merely testing the current strengths and weaknesses of Luolan Mansion. The three families in Tianshu County were the Song family, the Bei family, and the Tifa family, with the Song family being the strongest and the most active in the past two years, constantly attempting to meddle, suppress, and encroach upon Luolan Mansion's merchant guilds and industries in Tianshu County. It should be noted that the head of the Song family used to visit annually with gifts. The change from then to now was truly like a performance. However, Cai Wei had experienced quite a lot, so she was not naive. The existence of Luolan Mansion inherently squeezed the interests of the three families; now that they saw Luolan Mansion in turmoil, wanting to trample a few times was not something one could call unjust; it was simply a matter of differing positions, naturally viewing each other as rivals. However, Luolan Mansion really couldn't spare much strength to put out the fire in Tianshu County; after all, support was needed everywhere else, not to mention the existence of Pei Hao, which only added to Luolan Mansion's woes. Cai Wei was silent for a moment before decisively saying, "For some merchant guilds that cannot turn a profit, let's temporarily close them directly; there is no need to entangle with them." Temporary patience was necessary; as long as Luolan Mansion stabilized, in due time, the three families would have to obediently cough up whatever they had taken. Hearing her decision, the managers below responded, as they too understood that Luolan Mansion's situation in Tianshu County was indeed a bit lacking in comparison. Tap tap. At this moment, someone suddenly knocked on the door, and Cai Wei said, "Come in." The door was pushed open, and Li Luo walked in. The several managers quickly bowed in respect upon seeing him. Li Luo waved his hand, and Cai Wei instructed them to withdraw, turning her beautiful gaze toward him, "Is there something the Young Mansion Master needs?" Li Luo cleared his throat lightly and smiled, "Indeed, there is a small matter I need to trouble Sister Cai Wei with." Sister Cai Wei's elongated and slightly charming eyes blinked, vaguely sensing some unease but still asked, "What is it?" Li Luo revealed a gentle smile and said, "It's nothing else; it's just that the four-grade Spirit Water's miraculous light has run out after consuming the previous fifty portions, so I would like to trouble Sister Cai Wei to help me procure another hundred portions." Cai Wei's expression on her fair, smooth oval face gradually froze at that moment, her beautiful eyes widening as she stared at Li Luo, her ample chest slightly heaving. "Procure another hundred portions? Four-grade Spirit Water's miraculous light?" Cai Wei's hands couldn't help but clench tightly; she had only managed the finances of Luolan Mansion in Tianshu County for a few days, could it be that they were going to go bankrupt directly? So she endured and endured, but ultimately couldn't hold back any longer; she slammed her palm on the table, her willow brows shooting up. "Li Luo, do you want to make me quit my job?" (End of this chapter)