Junior Brother Zhou Yi

Xi Zhicai shook his paper fan and said with a smile: 

"Master, do not worry. Since you have entrusted this matter to Zhong, he will certainly handle it properly. 

As for the capable generals needed for your personal guards, Zhong will also find suitable candidates for you." 

Yuan Shu was delighted to see Xi Zhicai taking on these troublesome matters and said happily: 

"Sir, you truly have the talent of Xiao He!" 

Xi Zhicai humbly replied: "Your concerns are also my concerns. I dare not accept such high praise." 

... 

After finishing his meal, Yuan Shu returned directly to his residence. 

His actions had attracted too much attention in the past two days, so he needed to keep a low profile. 

The mission to squander two million had to be postponed until Yuan Feng's attention on him diminished. 

Fortunately, the time limit for the mission was quite long, so there was no worry about failing due to expiration. 

Thinking about the squandering mission, Yuan Shu suddenly remembered that his limited-time mission had yet to be settled. 

He silently commanded, "System, I want to settle the mission." 

"Ding! System received. The limited-time main mission is being settled! 

The host has received 10 attribute points, 5000 reputation points, and a set of basic steel forging techniques! 

Please allocate your attribute points." 

As always, Yuan Shu said, "Allocate all to luck." 

At the moment, he didn't need to command armies in battle, so assigning points elsewhere was pointless. Increasing luck was the best choice. 

"Dingdong! Attribute points successfully increased! 

After the increase, the host's updated attributes and skills are as follows: 

Strength: 15, Leadership: 36 (Skill 'Greedy Wolf' +5), Intelligence: 25 (Skill 'Greedy Wolf' +5), Politics: 22, Charm: 55, Luck: 16 

Skills: Mediocrity, Arrogance, False Emperor, Greedy Wolf." 

With ten more points in luck, Yuan Shu immediately felt more at ease. 

After settling the mission, Yuan Shu called Yuan An into the room. 

"Yuan An, summon Shen Xiu for me. I have something to discuss with him." 

"Understood, young master. I will fetch him immediately," Yuan An replied and left. 

Around Shen Hour (3-5 PM), Shen Wansan rushed back, covered in dust from travel. 

Upon entering, he bowed and said: 

"Master, I was supervising the renovation of our shop on the commercial street when I received your message, so I hurried back." 

Seeing Shen Wansan's dedication, Yuan Shu was secretly pleased. 

As expected from someone produced by the system—loyalty at full capacity. He truly valued his master's orders. 

He spoke warmly to Shen Wansan: 

"Zhongrong, I called you here to discuss something. 

Do you think it would be feasible to expand our merchant caravans across all the regions of the Han Dynasty?" 

Shen Wansan thought for a moment and replied: 

"It is feasible, but to establish trade outposts in every region of the Han Dynasty will take a very long time. 

It could take several years, or even a decade—it is not something that can be accomplished overnight." 

Yuan Shu nodded at Shen Wansan's realistic assessment. 

There was still plenty of time before the chaotic era began, so he was in no hurry. 

He said to Shen Wansan: 

"Then let us proceed with this goal—starting from Luoyang, we will gradually expand outward." 

Shen Wansan cupped his hands and said, "Xiu will follow the master's command!" 

Yuan Shu suddenly remembered his secret brewing technique for baijiu—this was a strategic weapon! 

As for the basic steel forging technique, Yuan Shu decided to hold onto it for now. 

There was no rush; he would use it when he built his army. 

"Zhongrong, I have a secret brewing formula to give you. 

Take a look and tell me how we should operate this business," Yuan Shu said, handing over the complete baijiu brewing process to Shen Wansan. 

Holding the documents, Shen Wansan curiously asked: 

"Master, does this wine have any special characteristics?" 

In his experience, there were countless brewing recipes in the world, each claiming to be unique. 

Making a fortune from such things was not easy. 

Yuan Shu said, "The wine brewed using this secret method is unlike any other. 

Calling it the finest wine in the world would not be an exaggeration." 

Shen Wansan knew Yuan Shu would not deceive him about such matters. He was astonished and said: 

"Master, if we can truly brew the finest wine in the world, we will make not just millions, but tens of millions!" 

Yuan Shu instructed Shen Wansan: 

"First, brew the wine and see for yourself how it turns out. 

How much would it cost to build a distillery?" 

Shen Wansan thought for a moment and replied: 

"A medium-sized distillery would cost around 500,000 coins to build. 

If we expand its scale, the cost will be even higher."

Yuan Shu waved his hand directly and said:

"I will now give you an additional budget of two million coins. You must build the best distillery according to the requirements in this document!"

Shen Wansan thought to himself, The lord has approved another two million coins for me. This must be an incredible level of trust.

It was clear that the lord had high hopes for this brewing process. Since that was the case, I, Shen Xiu, must handle this matter perfectly for the lord.

Thus, he solemnly replied, "Rest assured, my lord. The distillery is in my hands."

…

Early the next morning, as usual, Yuan Shu went to Cai Yong's house to study.

This time, Yuan Feng did not escort him, so Yuan Shu's extravagant carriage once again appeared on the streets of Luoyang.

Just as the carriage was about to reach Cai Yong's residence, Yuan Shu saw a young noble dressed in white, carrying a zither on his back, standing at the entrance of Cai Yong's home, seemingly about to enter the courtyard.

Isn't that the handsome young man Zhou Yi from the Yue Dan Review?

What was he doing at Cai Yong's house? Could it be…?

A sudden feeling of joy rose in Yuan Shu's heart.

He had been troubled over how to recruit this extraordinarily talented commander, and unexpectedly, he had run into him here.

Since Zhou Yi had come to Cai Yong's house carrying a zither, he was either here to seek guidance on music or to learn the zither.

Regardless of which possibility it was, Yuan Shu had a way to build a connection with him.

Yuan Shu hurriedly said to the coachman, "Stop the carriage!"

Following his order, the coachman began to slow down, but before the carriage even came to a full stop, Yuan Shu had already rushed down and ran toward Zhou Yi, calling out:

"Brother Zhou Yi!"

Hearing Yuan Shu's voice, Zhou Yi turned around with a hint of confusion.

Upon seeing Yuan Shu, Zhou Yi smiled and said,

"So it's Brother Gonglu. What brings you here?"

During the Yue Dan Review, Yuan Shu had left a deep impression on him.

Although all the noble sons of aristocratic families mocked Yuan Shu, Zhou Yi had a perceptive mind and could sense that Yuan Shu was not as simple as he appeared.

Yuan Shu responded warmly, "My teacher is Master Cai Yong. I come here every day to study. What about you, Brother Zhou Yi?"

Zhou Yi answered in surprise, "I am also a disciple of Master Cai, and I have been learning the zither from him all this time. How is it that I've never seen you before, Brother Yuan?"

He's actually my junior fellow disciple! Yuan Shu felt even more delighted.

If they built a strong bond as fellow disciples, it would be just as good as sworn brotherhood.

With this connection, it would be much easier to win Zhou Yi over.

It also made sense that Zhou Yi had taken Cai Yong as his teacher.

"If the melody goes astray, Zhou Lang will correct it."

His son, Zhou Yu, was a zither prodigy, so he must have had a great teacher.

It seemed that the knowledge had been passed down from Cai Yong.

Yuan Shu spoke to Zhou Yi with great familiarity:

"I just became Master Cai's disciple yesterday to study Confucianism under him. That makes you my junior fellow disciple."

In reality, since Zhou Yi had joined earlier, he should be the senior disciple.

However, in the late Han dynasty, seniority was based on age and status.

Didn't Guan Yu and Zhang Fei serve Liu Bei for life after calling him elder brother?

Besides, Yuan Shu might have been a year older than Zhou Yi, so calling himself the senior disciple was still somewhat reasonable.

Zhou Yi clearly didn't think too much about it. Since they were both students of Master Cai, he didn't mind whether they called each other senior or junior.

He simply saw Yuan Shu's enthusiasm as goodwill and politely said,

"In that case, I will rely on Senior Brother's guidance in the future."

Seeing that Zhou Yi had acknowledged him as the senior disciple, Yuan Shu laughed and said,

"Of course! How could a senior brother not take care of his junior? How about after today's lessons, I treat you to a drink?"

Zhou Yi smiled and politely declined:

"I appreciate Senior Brother's kind offer, but I have important matters in the afternoon. Let's meet another day."