SWNOVELXO Chapter 371 Desire to Act
Chen Mansion.
After hearing the reports from several of his employees, Chen Tieniu's expression darkened.
An increasing number of shops have already stopped supplying them, and several of the family stores are about to close.
He could clearly tell that this was a deliberate targeting.
After he reduced the rent for tenants and raised the wages of servants and employees, several merchants he usually collaborated with started to intentionally target him and the Chen Family's business.
This made him waver in his thoughts.
Should he, within his limited capability, help more people lead better lives, or should he protect himself, bowing to those people, making money just for himself, and ignoring the lives of others?
At this moment, a servant suddenly reported: "Master, Manager Zhao, Manager Xu, Manager Huang, and Manager Zhang have arrived, saying they wish to see you."
Chen Tieniu's face turned black; were these guys here to show off?
If he didn't see them, wouldn't that show he was afraid? He kept a stern face and said, "Let them in."
Quickly, four figures walked into the hall from outside. The leader had a smile on his face, stepped up quickly, shook Chen Tieniu's hand, and said: "Old Chen, regarding these recent matters, we are truly sorry, we were momentarily bewildered, you must forgive us..."
The other three also spoke up one after another.
"What you said is right, how much Silver is enough? People say that those who attain wealth should help the world, and we should indeed do something for the people."
"You were the first to awaken, Old Chen. In this regard, we are not as good as you."
"About the previous matters, we were in the wrong. Don't hold it against us, let's work together from now on..."
...
Hearing this, Chen Tieniu was taken aback; were these guys speaking in opposites to rile him up?
However, judging by their sincere appearances, they didn't seem to be speaking ironically.
This instead left him unsure of what to say.
When Chen Qi returned to the Chen Mansion, this was the scene he saw.
His father was conversing happily with the merchants who had been targeting the Chen Family recently, not at all like adversaries, but rather close friends. From their words, it was evident that they not only stopped targeting the Chen Family but would also increase their cooperation with them.
Moreover, they also seemed to plan to emulate the Chen Family by lowering rent and raising wages for tenants and servants...
Chen Qi stood there in disbelief for quite some time.
He and his father had been practicing their teacher's teachings, maintaining integrity in adversity and benefiting the world in prosperity, trying to use the power of the Chen Family to lead more people towards prosperity, yet they faced these people's suppression and targeting.
Out of helplessness, he had to seek help from their teacher.
Whether the Chen Family's business would be affected was not his main concern; he cared that, if the Chen Family fell, many people would lose their livelihoods.
The teacher not only promised to help him but also guided him in the Six Arts for a while.
Unexpectedly, by the time he returned home, the issue had already been resolved.
Indeed, the teacher has boundless abilities.
Seeing Chen Qi, a shopkeeper came over and smiled, saying: "Chen Qi, you must become an upright and incorruptible official with a heart for the world in the future. Use your talents well to make Daxia's people live better lives..."
Chen Qi could only nod in agreement.
But he was still curious; how did these merchants, who only had eyes for Silver, suddenly change their nature and gain such enlightenment? Could it be that they were threatened by the Spiegel Bureau?
The only possibility he could think of was this...
...
Ningxin Garden.
Study.
Li Nuo tossed a sheet of paper filled with writing into the brazier.
"Huang Tianyue suddenly realized he was too harsh on the tenants, who toil from dawn till dusk, barely making ends meet. Putting himself in their shoes, he felt a wave of despair and instantly understood Chen Tieniu..."
"Zhang Yuandong, after deep reflection, realized that his Silver could last several lifetimes, while countless people in the world still suffer, and thus developed a heart to help the world..."
"Xu Yunlang..."
"Zhao Dongcheng..."
Earlier, he had received information that, following Chen Tieniu, four more merchants in Chang'an greatly reduced the rent for tenants, returned contracts to home servants, and substantially increased the wages of shop employees.
Li Nuo had many ways to achieve this.
He could have sent someone to threaten them, and given the power of the Li Family, they likely would not refuse, but they would surely outwardly agree while discontented inwardly.
He could also use Cross and Vertical Skill to influence their thoughts, just as he did with Chen Tieniu, but that would require creating opportunities for face-to-face interaction, and being too obvious might arouse suspicion.
Only the means of the School of Calligraphy could achieve this silently, without anyone being able to connect the dots.
A family with such a powerful ability, yet buried in the long river of history, even its authenticity questioned, naturally has its reasons.
The School of Cross and Vertical was shunned like the plague simply for subtly influencing others' thoughts.
The School of Calligraphy's ability is even more terrifying.
No one wants someone to control others' thoughts and decide others' lives with just a pen stroke.
Unless that someone is themselves.
This ability touches upon certain taboos.
However, at present, Li Nuo's ability from the School of Calligraphy hasn't been of much use.
Just writing this page depleted that power, and it would take at least a day to recover.
Moreover, with his current strength, he can only exert the power of the School of Calligraphy on ordinary people, making it not fundamentally different from the Cross and Vertical Skill, just that the process is simpler.