Taking the Long Dragon into her own hands wasn't something that Li Yue came up with on a whim, nor was it something that she just wanted to do for fun.
When she found out about Li Xunhuan's true identity and understood that no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to reach the top of the martial arts world. Li Yue naturally had the idea of 'wanting to have the power to control her own life'.
Li Yue didn't have this idea because she felt that Li Xunhuan wasn't reliable. Tanhua Lang was indeed a good person who could give up everything and could be called a 'Holy Father'. She simply couldn't put her life in the hands of others.
No matter when, no matter who the other party was, it wasn't a wise thing to do to tie everything to another person.
Putting aside martial arts, the only things that Li Yue could choose to control her own life were power and money.
If a person wanted power, they would usually go through the imperial examinations and enter the palace to achieve their goals. Those with boldness and courage could choose to rebel and directly stand at the top of the pyramid.
But for Li Yue, who had a different worldview from the common people of this era, becoming an official or an imperial concubine wasn't a suitable choice, let alone rebelling. She couldn't do something that would cause chaos in the world for her own selfish desires.
Thus, Li Yue could only choose the option of 'money'.
Li Yue still remembered that she had read an article called 'Money Can Connect Gods' a long time ago. She especially had a deep impression of the article that said, 'Money can connect gods, and there is nothing that cannot be done'.
She understood that money wasn't everything, but in this feudal society, money could solve most of the problems that she might face in the future.
Being a rich woman was the easiest thing for the current Li Yue to achieve, especially now that she could borrow the 'power' of the Li family's veteran caravan.
However, Li Yue did not intend to rely solely on the Li family's shop to do business. She wanted to have her own people and shop. Therefore, Li Yue set her sights on the Long Dragon, who was in a state of internal strife.
The Long Dragon Gang was one of the local gangs in Shuo Zhou City. Their headquarters was in the west side of the city, and they were relatively trustworthy. They were also the most powerful gang in the area. However, their members were all ruffians, and they didn't have any martial arts masters.
One of the characteristics of local ruffians was that they bullied the weak and feared the strong, so it was relatively easy to deal with them. At the same time, their brains were more flexible than ordinary people, and they were more suitable for inquiring about information and opening up business routes.
Li Yue had always been a woman of action. On the day she integrated the Long Dragon Gang and confirmed her position as the Gang Leader, she ordered people to go to Xi City to buy raw materials for soap production.
When the peddlers in Xi City heard that the Long Dragon Gang was coming to buy things, they were very nervous. They didn't dare to sell, nor did they dare not sell. When they actually received the money from the Long Dragon Gang, they were all stunned and felt that they were dreaming. One of the peddlers even bit himself, leaving a bloody bite mark before letting go.
There were only two main ingredients to make soap — oil and alkali.
Shuo Zhou City was located outside the Great Wall, and there were nomads who often sold cattle and sheep in Xi City, so oil was naturally not lacking.
However, when it came to alkali, Li Yue had a headache.
The most suitable alkali to make soap was sodium hydroxide, but with the current industrial level, it was very difficult to buy. Li Yue could only settle for the next best thing, which was to buy all the alkali and halogen alkali that could be bought in the market.
The materials were all prepared, so all that was left was the actual operation.
In the Long Dragon Gang's Main Hall, a courtyard that was originally used for the Gang members to gamble and play, several large cauldrons were set up. According to Li Yue's instructions, a dozen or so men dressed in coarse linen robes, with hats on their heads and masks on their faces. They divided themselves into several groups and surrounded the cauldrons.
Some added firewood, some added raw materials, and some stirred. They silently and carefully tried to make soap.
The firewood under the pot was burning brightly. Inside the pot, a lump of greasy paste kept rolling along with the stirrer's movements. A strange and rich smell mixed with the white mist permeated the air, making the burly men's faces turn pale. They secretly felt that their Gang Leader was deliberately causing trouble for them.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the courtyard was very strange. Some of the more timid gang members who had just returned from Xi City almost fainted when they saw the people and pots in the courtyard.
The older gang members also didn't understand what their Gang Leader was trying to do. They touched the warm silver in their sleeves and felt that the Long Dragon was going to die soon. Should they spend some time looking for their next boss?
Recently, Li Yue didn't have the fortune of personally seeing the courtyard of her own gang, which was like the scene of a Hogwarts potion class. Naturally, she couldn't understand the feelings of the gang members who were troubled by the strange smell.
In this year, there was no winter or summer vacation. As the new Gang Leader of the underworld, after the seventh day of the New Year, she obediently carried her cloth bag and went to school.
The children in the school were still immersed in the New Year's atmosphere and hadn't recovered yet. Before the teacher appeared, they were chattering non-stop. The topics couldn't be separated from fireworks, new clothes, and New Year's money.
Li Yue looked around the classroom in boredom and found that several people were no longer in their seats. Lu San Egg was one of them. She cast a questioning look at Zhu Er, but Zhu Er gently shook his head. Obviously, he also didn't know where Lu San Egg went.
The children didn't argue for long before the old teacher pushed open the door and entered the classroom.
Suppressing the doubts in her heart, Li Yue studied and wrote as usual. When it was time for lunch, the old teacher took her to the study without warning and asked her some questions about her studies in a pleasant manner. He then tactfully hinted that she could bring her parents with her the next time she went to school.
When she suddenly heard that her parents were called, Li Yue was a little worried for a while. She suspected that the things she did at school in the past had been exposed and the old teacher had found out that she was one of the instigators. However, the old teacher's attitude was too amiable and didn't seem like he was looking for trouble. For a short period of time, she was quite confused.
When Li Yue told Li Xunhuan and Uncle Fu that her parents were called, Tanhua Lang put down the wine pot in his hand and was stunned for a while. Uncle Fu immediately reacted and even congratulated Big Li And Little Li with a smile.
"Little Miss has always been intelligent and studious. She has always been the best in school. This old man thinks that the teacher wants to recommend Little Miss to Shuozhou Academy."
Li Xunhuan turned to look at Uncle Fu. "The provincial and county academies outside the border also accept female students?"
"I haven't heard of it, but Little Miss has always worn men's clothes since she started school. I'm afraid that the teacher didn't think of this."
Tanhua Lang looked at the little girl in front of him who wore simple clothes and only had her hair tied up in a ponytail. Since he was born, the women he had met could be generally divided into four categories. The first was a well-educated and well-mannered lady like Lin Shiyin. The second was an ordinary woman like the servants at home who worked hard to make a living. The third was a courtesan like Xiao Hong and Xiao Cui who used their beauty to serve people. The remaining were all Jianghu women with different personalities and styles.
In the face of Li Yue, who was completely different from other children her age and was exceptionally intelligent and lively, Li Xunhuan knew that he couldn't treat her in the usual way. The education he had received since childhood had made him think of teaching Li Yue to be a traditional woman who didn't leave the house. However, the moment this thought appeared, a voice of objection rose in his heart.
He shouldn't and didn't have the right to interfere in other people's lives. Therefore, if the little girl wanted to do something, even if it was something that deviated from the norm in the eyes of the world, he wouldn't oppose it. He only needed to watch quietly and reach out his hand at the appropriate time so that the little girl wouldn't fall.
Li Yue looked at Li Xunhuan and the expression in her eyes changed several times before finally calming down. She knew that the other party had made a decision. However, she spoke her thoughts in front of him.
"Uncle Li, I don't intend to leave school and go to Shuozhou Academy. I also don't intend to take the imperial examination."
"Even if we don't mention the imperial examination, going to a provincial or county academy to study is beneficial for ordinary people."
"But, has Shuozhou Academy ever produced an A-level scholar?
Not to mention an A-level scholar, since the founding of the country, Shuozhou and Jinshi have only produced a few.
Besides, there's still Tanhua Lang, Uncle Li, at home. Do you have no confidence in me or in yourself? "
Li Yue patted her cheeks. Not long after, she began to ramble.
"Putting everything else aside, what if in a few years I pass the imperial examination and am taken in as a son-in-law?
Do you want to see me being hit with embroidered balls by all the noble ladies in the capital?
With my face, not to mention the noble ladies, maybe even the princess will take a fancy to me. If I don't pay attention and become a son-in-law, then — "
"Nonsense — cough cough cough cough —"
"Uncle Li, are you okay?"
Li Xunhuan coughed for a while before stopping. Li Yue took the opportunity to change the wine pot in his hand into hot tea. He didn't say much. He just waved his hand and asked Li Yue to go back to her room to practice calligraphy.
Before the little girl left, Tanhua Lang's face was still tinged with a sickly pink color. Seeing this, Rio's heart was alarmed.
In the original work, when Li Xunhuan appeared, he looked like he was half-dead from a chronic illness. Li Yue couldn't remember whether he had a hereditary family disease or a lung disease caused by drinking. Since there were signs now, she should make plans early. She decided to tell Uncle Fu and Tie Chuanjia to have the family's kitchen stew snow pear with rock sugar every day for Tanhua Lang.
Not long after Li Yue left the study, Tie Chuanjia pushed open the door and entered. Li Xunhuan looked at the smiling Uncle Fu, then looked at the bearded Tie Chuanjia. He coughed softly.
"Recently, Xiao Yue … did she buy any storybooks from the bookstore?"
Uncle Fu and Tie Chuanjia shook their heads in unison. Tanhua Lang frowned.
"That's strange. I don't have many storybooks in my study, and the teachers in the school wouldn't let them read books other than the Book of Songs. Where did Little Yue learn these strange words from? Could it be … that child?"