Chapter 459: Causing Trouble

Late at night, Li Banfeng was sitting in the fifth room, watching a film with the projector. After editing, the storyline became more coherent, the characters more fully developed, and the frequent frame drops significantly improved. The heroine in the film was becoming increasingly lifelike.

Li Banfeng praised, "To conceive such a complete film from a story written on paper, your skill has improved tremendously. It seems you've found a good teacher."

The projector flickered its lens and said, "It's all thanks to Director Qi's excellent guidance."

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "Don't flatter me; I can't take the credit. When it comes to filmmaking, I'm not even one percent as skilled as you. Are you really unwilling to introduce that teacher to me?"

The projector firmly replied, "You're talking about that young woman, aren't you? She truly is something I imagined myself."

Li Banfeng looked at the projector.

The projector calmly said, "Director Qi, I have always been loyal to you, and that has never changed."

As for past events, the projector might still harbor some dissatisfaction, but he wouldn't deceive Li Banfeng because of it. In his view, this woman genuinely was something he had imagined.

What exactly did this woman intend to do? Regardless of her purpose, Li Banfeng had instructed his wife never to let this woman harm the projector.

As the film drew to a close, Li Banfeng noticed a very familiar vase on the heroine's table.

"This vase is..."

"Director Qi, this vase is ours; I borrowed it as a prop."

This was the lost vase the glove had mentioned. What kind of technique was this?

"Director Qi, the newspapers from Black Stone Ridge are really good; they're almost like natural scripts."

Li Banfeng stood up and said, "I'll go buy some more."

Li Banfeng exited the newspaper office. Just as he was about to go buy some newspapers, he saw a rickshaw parked at the entrance. Rickshaws were uncommon in Black Stone Ridge; people usually traveled by small train.

The short, sturdy rickshaw puller stood up and said, "Sir, where would you like to go? I can take you... Is that you?"

The puller recognized Li Banfeng: "Little brother, you've come to Black Stone Ridge?"

Li Banfeng nodded: "Brother, why are you pulling a rickshaw here?"

"Business is good here, little brother. Are you working at this newspaper office? That's right. I told you back then, getting a job isn't shameful, and it's much better than a life-threatening occupation. Do you know the owner of this newspaper office?"

Li Banfeng smiled: "At a newspaper office, they usually don't call him a 'shopkeeper'."

"Yes, people here call him the boss. The boss here is named Li Qi. I'm here to find him."

Li Banfeng nodded: "Then you've found the right person."

The puller looked Li Banfeng up and down, observing his Western suit, and exclaimed in surprise, "You are Li Qi?"

Li Banfeng nodded slightly. The puller's face lit up with joy as he said, "Brother, get in quickly. I'll take you."

"Where to?"

"To Huangtu Bridge!"

"By this rickshaw?"

"This rickshaw is faster than the train. I have fire wheels under my feet!"

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu arrived at Huangtu Bridge by train. Leaving the train station, they saw empty streets. Li Banfeng sighed, "Business is tough here."

Ma Wu knew business was difficult in Huangtu Bridge, but he really wanted to try. If Xin Di could be transformed into Qiqiu City, then Huangtu Bridge might not be beyond saving.

The rickshaw puller was waiting at the intersection with his rickshaw, waving to Li Banfeng from afar: "Brother, you're here! And who is this friend?"

Ma Wu introduced himself. The puller nodded and said, "So it's Brother Ma Wu, I've long heard of your name. Gentlemen, please get in. I'll give you a tour."

In the past, various powerful families also had contact with local deities, but this was limited to core family members. After meeting Li Qi, Ma Wu had met many local deities. While it was one thing to treat them as brothers in everyday interactions, today a local deity was personally offering to pull a rickshaw. How could Ma Wu dare to ride in his rickshaw?

"You're too kind. We can just walk."

The puller seemed displeased: "What? Looking down on me, your brother? Do you think I'm too shabby because I pull a rickshaw?"

Ma Wu shook his head repeatedly and said, "I'm afraid of tiring you out."

"It would tire me more to walk slowly with you. Come on, get in the rickshaw."

Li Banfeng and Ma Wu got into the rickshaw, and the puller gave them a tour around the town.

Huangtu Bridge was rich in coal and yellow clay. A coal-sand river wound through the town, which had over a dozen bridges of various sizes. The four largest bridges, spanning east, west, south, and north, divided the entire town into four districts. Huangtu Bridge wasn't sparsely populated in every area. East Bridge, West Bridge, and South Bridge were relatively desolate, but North Bridge still had a fair number of residents, and occasionally people could be seen setting up stalls to do business.

Ma Wu asked, "How do these people make a living?"

The puller replied, "There are a few small coal mines nearby where they work. They don't earn much, just enough to get by."

Ma Wu then asked, "Are all the coal mines in Huangtu Bridge controlled by them?"

The puller shook his head and said, "How many mines do they even have? Less than one-tenth! If you two want to get into the coal business, I'll take you there. Huge tracts of mining land can be yours."

The puller took the two of them towards West Bridge, out of the town, and to the edge of Huangtu Bridge, where they finally saw the mines. The place was indeed substantial. When Ma Wu saw the mines, it was as if he had seen a mountain of gold; both his eyes lit up. The puller continued to introduce, "Look, these mine shafts, tracks, and mine carts are all ready-made..."

*Clatter!*

The mine cart fell apart.

The puller said, a little awkwardly, "These are minor issues. Fix them up, and they'll still be usable."

Li Banfeng didn't understand coal mines, but Ma Wu was an expert. "Old Seven, this brother isn't tricking us; this is a good mine. Although most of the equipment here is broken, if we call in our maintenance workers and fix it up, we can start operations in less than half a month."

Li Banfeng asked, "Why start with coal mines?"

Ma Wu replied, "Firstly, coal mines are profitable. Secondly, they employ many people. This large mining area can accommodate three to five thousand workers. Once the workers arrive, their needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation will follow. Business in the town will gradually flourish, and Huangtu Bridge will regain its vitality."

Ma Wu was full of confidence. Li Banfeng, however, was somewhat concerned: "If the coal mining business is so simple, why isn't anyone doing it?"

Ma Wu shook his head and smiled: "This business isn't for just anyone. An ordinary person would empty their pockets just to open a small coal pit. Operating a mine requires huge initial investment. We have the capital, which is why we dare to consider this."

Li Qi and Ma Wu indeed had substantial financial resources, but the four great families were also wealthy. Why hadn't they come to Huangtu Bridge to do business? Li Banfeng recalled Qiu Zhiheng once saying that doing business in Huangtu Bridge involved a lot of trouble.

Ma Wu had also inquired about the inside story: "Huangtu Bridge has too few people. Recruiting workers locally definitely won't work. If we recruit from outside, we'll have to cover their food, accommodation, and travel expenses, making the operating costs higher than other places. Furthermore, I've heard that the local merchants in Huangtu Bridge are difficult to deal with, always causing trouble for outsiders."

As he spoke, Ma Wu looked at the puller.

The puller waved his hand and said, "There's nothing difficult about them. Aren't they just those small coal pits in North Bridge? Leave this to me. Anyone who dares to cause trouble, I'll send them on their way directly. Brothers, go all out and do it!"

Ma Wu wanted to proceed, but Li Banfeng first clarified the terms with the puller: "In Huangtu Bridge, all territories, except those currently owned, must be ours to operate in the future."

The puller thumped his chest: "Even the owned places can be yours; I'll drive them all away!"

Li Banfeng waved his hand and said, "We won't covet owned territories. We're doing legitimate business."

The two parties agreed and signed a contract. With the local deity's backing, Ma Wu gained confidence and immediately took a train to Black Stone Ridge to recruit workers. Miners had a tough life, and having to go to Huangtu Bridge made recruitment truly difficult. Ma Wu doubled the wages, yet only managed to recruit just over two hundred people in three days.

Over two hundred people would suffice for now. "Let's get the coal mine running first." Ma Wu was very optimistic: "Old Seven, the coal mining business is easy. Once it's operational, we can just have our subordinates oversee it. I still need to return to Qiqiu City; that's our most crucial place."

With the miners in place and digging coal, Ma Wu brought in maintenance workers, purchased equipment and materials from outside, and got the railway from the mine to the station repaired. This wasn't a railway operated by an outside province; it was a small train railway for transporting coal. The engineering wasn't as particular; a few rotten sections could be repaired and then it would be usable.

Once the railway was repaired, the first batch of coal was also excavated. Ma Wu had already arranged for someone to contact a buyer in Green Water City, and the first deal was thus concluded. The costs were slightly higher, but because Li Qi and Liao Zihui had an agreement, they had an advantage in shipping costs, so the business was still profitable.

Watching the first cart of coal being transported out of the mine, Ma Wu was in high spirits. After leaving the mine and traveling less than a li, the railway had a problem; the mine cart overturned. For such an old, dilapidated railway, a breakdown was understandable. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Ma Wu ordered people to investigate the cause and carry out emergency repairs overnight.

That night, the railway was repaired. However, all sixteen carts of coal were stolen. This was outrageous, so outrageous that Ma Wu couldn't believe it: "Sixteen carts of coal, how could they possibly be stolen? Even if you watched someone try to move them, they couldn't!"

The train conductor said, "I don't know what they used, but in a flash, the coal was unloaded, and in another flash, even the people were gone."

Ma Wu frowned and said, "This must be those people from North Bridge causing trouble, right?"

Li Banfeng didn't care about these sixteen carts of coal; he cared about the methods used by the other party. To be able to move all sixteen carts of coal, the other party must possess a high-level magical artifact. Someone with such a high-level magical artifact definitely wasn't ordinary. It seemed they had underestimated these coal bosses.

The puller was still trying to comfort them: "Brother Ma Wu, this is my fault. I should have stayed with the train the whole time. I underestimated the situation."

Ma Wu didn't complain. It was normal to face some setbacks when a business just started. He first went to the station; the station was waiting for the evening's shipment, so he had to provide an explanation there. Green Water City was waiting for the goods, so he also had to provide an explanation to them. After handling everything properly, Ma Wu returned to the mine to continue digging coal. Li Banfeng tightened his vigilance to prevent anyone from targeting the mine.

That very night, something indeed happened at the mine. It wasn't the mine shafts that were affected, but the living quarters. The makeshift barracks were burned down, leaving the workers nowhere to stay for the night.

Ma Wu quickly led people to put out the fire. When they returned to check, the mine carts had been smashed, the locomotive's steam drum had been punctured, and its connecting rods broken.

Xiao Chuanzi said hatefully, "These bastards, they specifically target vital parts!"

The steam drum and connecting rods were unique, difficult to replace and repair. What was more alarming was that this time the perpetrators had acted right under Li Banfeng's nose. Li Banfeng, with his dual-eight-layer cultivation, had failed to detect any trace of them.

Where was the puller? He was a local deity, a cloud-level cultivator. If even he hadn't noticed, then the perpetrators' background must be immense! Why would such powerful adversaries target a mere coal mine?

Chuanzi was contacting people to repair the train when the foreman rushed over, frantic, and told Ma Wu, "The ledger is gone." The foreman's ledger, which recorded each worker's output, if lost, would make calculating wages impossible. These were workers recruited from Black Stone Ridge; how could they tolerate such an injustice? They all rushed to Ma Wu demanding an explanation.

One worker, agitated, stepped forward and pushed Ma Wu. Ma Wu didn't mind the push, but he was furious: "This is really cursed! Are there still cultivators of the dead here? I suspect their level isn't low!"

Li Banfeng shook his head: "This wasn't done by cultivators of the dead." He had fought against cultivators of the dead in Yaowanggou, so he was very familiar with them.

Ma Wu said, "Then which sect did this?"

"I can't tell which sect it is, I just feel like some ruthless people are causing trouble."

But if they are ruthless people, why are they just causing trouble? Why don't they strike with full force directly? Li Banfeng couldn't make sense of it for a moment.

As he pondered, the Tang Saber at Li Banfeng's waist began to tremble continuously.