Cloud of the Qing Dynasty

Qingyue had already taken a step ahead, found a rather big restaurant, picked a relatively clean place on the second floor, ordered food and waited for them.

At the dinner table, Zhang Chi also continued to talk eloquently: "Whether Jinghong Villa killed the disciples of Shangqing Palace or not, at least judging from what we have seen and heard before us, Qin Wuqi was able to manage Jinghong Villa to the present situation , It’s really not easy, after all, a grand event like this is not something that any sect can do if they want to.”

"Oh? How do you say that?" Qingyue had already been overwhelmed by Zhang Chi's knowledge and miscellaneous insights all the way down, waiting for him to speak with piercing eyes.

Zhang Chi took a piece of food with chopsticks, and said vaguely while eating, "To hold such a grand event, you must first have money, a lot of money."

"Isn't this nonsense?" Qing Liu said dissatisfied.

"Don't interrupt, eat your meal." Qingyue gave him a reproachful glance, Qingliu smiled apologetically, and went to eat.

"Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about this meal." Zhang Chi pointed to the dishes on this table with his chopsticks and said, "From the time when the invitation was sent out to the beginning of the meeting, famous people from all walks of life came to the surprise one after another. Hongshanzhuang, if you come early, you might arrive a month earlier. Since everyone is here, Jinghongshanzhuang has to entertain you. From the arrival of the first batch of guests until the last batch of guests are sent away, there are several times before and after. In a month's time, so many masters from all walks of life and their entourage have eaten horses and chewed them down. If there are some small sects, they can be eaten up by just eating. In addition, most people in the rivers and lakes drink big bowls and eat big pieces of meat To be honest, except for a certain hero conference held by Shaolin Temple in the past, who could confidently give everyone a vegetarian diet, no host had the nerve to be stingy about "eating". How much silver does it cost to 'eat'?"

"... At least a few thousand taels. I'm afraid that the entire Wuling City doesn't have enough wine and meat, so we have to buy and transport it from other places." Qingyue said in shock, "And it's just the cost of food."

"In addition to money, there must be enough venues. Those rings, audience seats, and guest seats all need to be temporarily built, and windproof, rainproof, and trampling must also be considered. I roughly calculated that the benches used on the scene alone have to be marked with 2000 yuan. There are too many cards, let alone anything else." Zhang Chi said, "For the important people like Liu Yun who are invited here and us accompanying us, we have to arrange a place to live in Jinghong Villa, and the conditions can't be too bad, otherwise we will lose Jinghong. The face of Hongshanzhuang. Even other people from the rivers and lakes who come here spontaneously to compete and join in the fun must be able to find a place to stay, otherwise there will be chaos, even if all the inns in Wuling City are full. If it is not enough, we have to requisition a batch of residences that can be temporarily rented out from the people, and all of these require Jinghong Villa to have a strong handling ability and coordination ability to plan in advance."

"That makes sense, what else?" Qingyue nodded repeatedly.

"Again, there must be sufficient manpower. The contest site needs manpower to maintain order, so as not to cause disturbance or crowding caused by a large influx of unrelated people. There are so many people from the rivers and lakes suddenly gathered in Wuling City, and additional manpower is needed to help the local people maintain order. Law and order, plus all kinds of welcoming and sending, shopping and cleaning, this is the time to test a gang's management ability and comprehensive strength of its subordinates."

"Well, is there any more?" Qingyue listened very seriously, wishing to take a pen to write down each item.

"In the end, the organizer has to have enough face. If the organizer is just a little-known sect with no personal contacts, who will travel all the way to catch up with this event? When the time comes, a bunch of invitations will be sent out. If you go out, you may be able to invite some boring people from the nearby small sects who are in a hurry, so this kind of martial arts conference might as well be called the Niaobu Shit Cup Friendship Tea Party."

Even Mu Liuyun was amused by this remark, Qingyue thought about it, and then asked Zhang Chi: "However, after investing so much manpower and material resources to organize such a martial arts conference, you have to give bonuses to the winners, what can you do?" How much benefit will it bring to Jinghong Villa?"

"There are definitely benefits, and they far outweigh the investment. If you just throw money for nothing, no one would be so stupid, right?"

"I understand the truth, but I can't figure it out. Apart from collecting tickets, how can they get back their money?" Qingyue asked sincerely.

Among the disciples of the Shangqing Palace, some of them just concentrate on learning martial arts—such as Mu Liuyun, but there are also some who are more clever and flexible. The sect will focus on cultivating their management and management capabilities, so that they can manage sect affairs and even succeed in the future. The head of the sect, Qingyue is obviously in this category.

"Since you are so interested, let me analyze it with you." Zhang Chi took a sip of tea and began to talk, "A grand event like this will inevitably attract a large number of businessmen to come to the venue, the booths they rent, and the banners they display , everything has to be paid to Jinghong Mountain Villa. There are some people who have vision and brains and know how to do big business, and they will be willing to pay a large sum of money in exchange for such an "opportunity". Have you heard of Xianyu Tea House? More than ten years ago, this tea seller was just an unknown small shop. Later, they sent a large sum of money to the Shangqing Palace during the Huashan Sword Discussion Conference in the Shangqing Palace just to put their tea leaves on display. They went to the tables of the big bosses from various sects and sects. As a result, these sect masters and elders tasted something, and came to buy them one after another. Xianyu Tea House soon became the largest tea house in the capital, and even more so. The symbol of top quality tea in people's mind."

"Yes, I've heard of this too." Qingyue said, "Up to now, the tea leaves that the sect master and the grand masters drink are still ordered from Xianyu Tea House every year."

"That is to say, Jinghong Mountain Villa has a wider business network, and the 'sponsorship' this time is probably much more than Shangqing Palace." Zhang Chi laughed, "And most of the shops in Wuling City are owned by Jinghong Mountain Villa. There are so many people coming and going, and everything costs money for food, clothing, housing, and transportation, Jinghong Mountain Villa can't make a lot of money. In addition, most of the people from the rivers and lakes who are not included in the invitation card ask for money to travel back and forth, and enter the martial arts competition There is an entry fee for the scene, a seat fee for the seat, a registration fee for the ring, a tea fee for the tea, and even money for the medicine shop in Jinghong Villa if you are injured.”

Qing Yue secretly calculated in his heart: "...But, this is not much."

"That's right, these are just small things, and they are tangible benefits in a short period of time." Zhang Chi said, "More importantly, holding such a martial arts conference will not only greatly improve the reputation of Jinghong Villa, but also contribute to Comrades in the martial arts have demonstrated the strength of Jinghong Villa in all aspects, and established an authoritative image in the minds of many people, and the benefits it brings are truly far-reaching and far-reaching, and it is difficult to describe it in words."

Qingyue nodded silently, lost in thought, Qingliu said with some yearning: "Oh, if I was born more than ten years earlier, I could catch up with the grand occasion of the Huashan Sword Discussion Conference back then. Worse than Jinghong Villa."

"Should Liuyun have seen it?" Zhang Chi looked at Mu Liuyun who had been eating in silence.

Mu Liuyun nodded: "I see, it's not so lively."

"No way?" Qingliu and Qingyue didn't believe it.

Mu Liuyun said flatly: "If you are not comparable, you are not comparable. It is useless to boast."

Back then, he was still a young man who only knew how to practice martial arts behind closed doors, and he also pretended to be a disciple of the Qing Dynasty to watch the excitement secretly. Compared with the well-ordered atmosphere of high-ranking people at that time, the scene at Jinghong Villa this time was indeed much bigger too much.

***

The bigger the scene, the more people came, and the more disputes. While they were still chatting, there was another quarrel downstairs.

A somewhat frivolous voice laughed a few times, and the loud voice reached their ears through the noise of the crowd: "Women should obediently embroider at home and learn how men wield knives and swords. What does it look like?"

"Shut up! You are an apprentice!" The girl who spoke was obviously not very old, her voice was soft and soft, and she obviously had no momentum when she scolded people, "I'm learning my martial arts, can you control me?"

"The word 'Dengtuzi' is only suitable for ladies. Since you must set foot in the arena of men, you must have the awareness that others will not treat you like a woman."

"You! You are shameless!"

"Hey, uncle is also kind enough to teach you the rules of the world, but he still hates me? Well, so that you don't suffer more in the future, I will reluctantly teach you a lesson for your parents." There was a series of strange metal rubbing sounds, and the man's weapon had already been unsheathed, "Apologize to uncle, he has a lot of adults, so don't bother with you two little girls, how about it?"

"Ling'er, don't talk nonsense with this slut, let's go together!" Another voice screamed, and the two sides started fighting.

Qingliu, who had already finished her meal, put down her bowl and chopsticks, and lay down on the railing on the second floor to watch the excitement.

On one side was a middle-aged man in his thirties holding an iron fan, and on the other side were two young girls who were only fifteen or sixteen years old. One was wearing an emerald green skirt, and her face was puffy, very cute. , a long sword in his hand, every move looks quite familiar, and the other is a woman disguised as a man, using a pair of short swords.

The two little girls teamed up to attack, but they couldn't help the middle-aged man at all, they just smashed the scene to pieces.

The other guests all retreated to the side and talked a lot, but they didn't intend to intervene at all. After all, it is a big taboo in the world to intervene without knowing what is going on.Anyway, if the two sides quarreled badly, the iron guards from Jinghong Villa would show up soon.

The middle-aged man behaved wretchedly, but his martial arts were good. Not only did he deal with the pincer attacks of the two girls with ease, but his moves became more and more obscene. From time to time, he attacked the two girls' chests and buttocks, making them even more angry He used all his strength to attack fiercely, but his moves were out of order, and the situation gradually became dangerous.

Qingliu couldn't stand it any longer, and looked back at the calm Mu Liuyun: "Uncle Grand Master..."

After calling out, Qingyue tugged at his sleeve, and said in a low voice: "Now it's on the ground of Jinghong Mountain Villa, don't take it easy on your behalf, the notice in the city says that if someone is injured by a private fight, the You will lose the qualification, so that person dare not do anything to the two girls. I think a guy has gone out to inform the people of Jinghong Villa just now, and the iron guards will come soon. At this time, we'd better not make trouble good."

Qing Liu had no choice but to say with an aggrieved face: "I know..."