Birds of a feather flock together; people are sorted into groups.


    This group of wealthy elders could y together because they certainly had simr hobbies.


    Chen Chengye had a fondness for ancient books, while Lu Bo liked antique furniture; the other few elders were much the same, all fond of collecting antiques.


    When they spoke, they referenced antiquity, and even in making friends, they''d count back eight generations, with no one less than those from a prominent family making it into their circle.


    This was more than just a hobby; it was also a form of nostalgia!


    Zhou Yi cupped his hands and said, "This was recorded in the fragmented scrolls passed down by my ancestors; it looked pleasing, so I had someone make it."


    "Excellent, very excellent!"


    Lu Bo praised continuously, feeling that Zhou Yi''s family had deep knowledge and was qualified to be his friend.


    Chen Chengye showed a look of pleasure, thinking that in today''s crappy world where people no longer cherished the old values, finding an intriguing person amidst the pitch-ck dust and smoke was truly satisfying.


    "Shopkeeper Sun, bring out the wine, tonight we shall not return until we''re drunk!"


    Saying so, he waved his hand to the servants outside, and promptly picked up the box of food and arranged the dishes ording to his ancestors'' tradition; a modest gathering required no less than sixteen dishes.


    After the wine had made three rounds.


    "It truly is pear blossom white wine brewed by the ancient method, rumored to have gained fame before the Da Qian era; such a rich vor is iparable to today''s!"


    An elder named Yang Chong said, "But to only charge one silver coin for a pot is too cheap, it rather undermines our status."


    The old financiers, hit by the tides of the time, saw severe losses to their ancestral fortunes, but the family wealth umted by their forebears was too great.


    Land and mining rights aside, with all the gold gourds and silver balls buried in the cers, they could spend ten lifetimes without running out as long as they did not engage in business.


    Meanwhile, they faced exclusion by the rising business families and looked down upon the new industries, so the only thing left for them to do in their lives was to maintain the dignity of their heritage.


    Zhou Yiughed and said, "If Elder Yang finds it cheap, we could set aside a special vat for brewing ording to your taste, so that others would not be able to drink it, no matter how much money they offer!"


    "Is that possible?"


    After a moment''s thought, Yang Chong considered the vor of pear blossom white; with its potential to make the tavern famous, having a dedicated vat would symbolize status. He immediately took out a silver note of a thousand taels.


    "Please trouble Shopkeeper Sun!"


    Others, like Chen Chengye, were not as fond of the wine as Yang Chong was, but they found the idea entertaining and began to take out their own silver notes to book a vat each.


    In recent years, Zhou Yi had almost been in hermetic meditation, influenced by scriptures and cultivation techniques, moving closer to the Immortal God and further from humanity. Hising out of seclusion was precisely for experiencing the secr world and to restore his humanity, naturally relinquishing his attitude of being the foremost in the world.


    Since he was running a tavern, he ought to put his heart into it, rather than just acting as a figurehead from above.


    He noted down everyone''s preferences in detail, promising that they could taste their personalized brews in a month''s time.


    At this moment.


    A voice called into the tavern, "Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! The Mohist master has created a mechanical carriage that moves without horses..."


    Zhou Yi heard this, momentarily stunned, then gestured to call over the newsboy.


    "Buy a newspaper."


    The newsboy looked about ten years old, yellow-faced and skinny, in tattered clothing; he took a newspaper from hisrge, slung-over bag.


    "Only five coins."


    Zhou Yi saw the newspaper, with its dark images, and took out a silver coin, "Give me twenty copies."


    The newsboy''s face lit up with joy as he gave numerous bows, "Thank you, Shopkeeper! You will surely make a fortune!"


    "Interesting."


    Zhou Yi pointed to the doorway and said, "I''ll erect a newspaper box here tomorrow; deliver twenty copies every day."


    The newsboy, excited to the point of wanting to kneel and kowtow, was quickly helped up by Zhou Yi, who prepaid for the next day''s newspapers.


    He returned to the tavern.


    Chen Chengye said, "Shopkeeper, give me one. Let''s see if there truly can be a carriage that doesn''t require a horse to pull it!"


    Zhou Yi smiled and did not exin. There would be vehicles flying in the sky and running underground in the future. He handed out four sections of the newspaper.


    Upon ncing at the front page headline, Chen Jiye focused on the blurry image – only whenpared with the context above and below did he realize it was a lotive, which moved automatically by burning coal without the need for animals to drag it.


    "Steam engines again! And coal burning!"


    He pped the newspaper fiercely onto the table, and after downing two cups of wine in frustration and regret, he managed to suppress the anger boiling in his heart.


    Those present knew the reason. The Chen family had owned several easily mined, high-quality coal mines near the capital, but they had traded them with the Imperial Court for thousands of acres of fertilend!


    Lu Bo had simrly been fooled before and snorted coldly, "There''s no such thing as the Mo family. The founder just made up that title to promote machinery, and even hired a few carpenters to pretend to be descendants of the Mo family!"


    To this, Chen Jiye disagreed, retorting, "If there isn''t a Mo family, is it really the immortals of Kunlun Mountain who are passing down the knowledge?"


    "Hmph! The founder ims to be a disciple of Kunlun, a younger martial brother of Emperor Tai Shi from the previous dynasty, but isn''t it just a ploy to rally the remnants of Qing Kingdom?"


    Lu Bo said, "The talk of Immortal Gods is pure nonsense. Emperor Tai Shi was a tyrant, and even with his pursuit of immortals and Tao, he did not achieve immortality. Nowadays, even Buddhism and Daoism have begun to modify their scriptures, focusing on ethics and de-emphasizing Immortal Gods."


    Chen Jiye insisted, "There are immortals in this world!"


    "Are you going to mention your ancestors, the bowls and dishes that were ''stolen'' from an immortal?"


    Lu Boughed mockingly, "My Lu family has a lineage of three to four thousand years, dating back before Da Qian; we were a noble family. Our ancient family records even im that we had immortal ancestors!"


    "What do you mean ''stolen''? Those were gifts from the immortals."


    Chen Jiye became so angry that his veins bulged, and his Qi-Blood circted, causing his body to swell half a foot in size, "Your Lu family is just a bunch of greedyndlords; what kind of immortal could possiblye from you!"


    Lu Bo was not the sort to back down easily. With his family''s deeply refined Qi-Blood martial arts, he rolled up his sleeves, ready to settle things with Chen Jiye then and there.


    "Gentlemen, please calm down."


    Seeing this, Zhou Yi quickly stepped forward to intervene, gently pressing on their shoulders, "Whether or not there are Immortal Gods in the world is not important. This ''train,'' let''s call it that for now, will cause a tremendous upheaval in thend."


    Chen and Lu felt an overwhelming force pressing down on them, forcing them to sit obediently, and they couldn''t help but feel a shock of rm.


    Yang Chong asked, "Shopkeeper Sun, what is your opinion?"


    Zhou Yi said, "Trains never tire, and as long as coal is burned, they can run day and night, iparably more efficient than oxen and horses. Moreover, the tremendous power of the steam engine grants it a carrying capacity a hundred times that of carts pulled by animals..."


    Chen Jiye couldn''t contain his shock and asked, "Does that mean horse farms will lose their value?"


    The dividends of a changing era were too immense; even the wealthy who only scraped a bit off the sides still made a fortune. For example, the ancestral horse farm of the Chen family, whose business flourished with the increasing demand for transport, became a significant source of ie for them.


    Zhou Yi shook his head and said, "It won''t be entirely worthless, but its value will decrease substantially."


    "You make a good point!"


    Chen Jiye stood up abruptly, sped his hand in a salute and said, "Thank you for the guidance, shopkeeper. I have matters to attend to at home and will visit again in a few days."


    Lu Bo and the others also stood to leave, and although they did not own horse farms, they could use this opportunity to severely profit off the families that were slow to react.


    Zhou Yi cleaned up the wine cups and dishes, and while no one else was around, he used the Qingchen Technique, immediately making everything as clean as new.


    "Nowadays, I can still manage with the few customers, but in the future, I''ll definitely need to hire help, not just cooks but also wait staff!"


    ...


    Half a month passed.


    The Li Hua Bai tavern had gained a local reputation. Since the tavern did not serve meals, many customers bought wine and ate their food elsewhere.


    On this day.


    Zhou Yi arrived at the tavern early in the morning, and first took the newspaper out of the box, only to find a familiar name on the front page headline.


    ——Director Lu of Zhaowen Academy publicly dered that "trains" would rece livestock, and horse farms would be worthless!


    "These old wealthy folks may look conservative, but they''re actually more adaptable to fresh ideas than most, sharp as monkeys. The Imperial Court hasn''t even sold the trains to the public yet, but they''ve preemptively ced their bets against the horse farms..."