Shumei Paper Mill—an elegant name, fitting for a woman of rare talent.
According to the report in Lüshui City's *Qiuyuan Evening Post*, two years ago, the paper mill Shen Rongqing bought from the He family was this very Shumei Paper Mill. Back then, it had only been a short notice on page three of the evening paper.
Arriving at the paper mill's entrance, Li Banfeng didn't rush inside. He wasn't certain whether this mill still belonged to Shen Rongqing.
He first stopped at a newsstand, bought two magazines, and struck up a conversation with the proprietor.
"Do you know who owns this mill?"
The newsstand owner shook his head. "I've sold papers here for over a decade, and I haven't seen the boss here once in the past two years."
"You saw them before?"
"Of course!"
"The previous owner was surnamed He. Did you really see him?"
"Who said anything about He? The owner here was surnamed Tu!"
"Surnamed Tu?" Li Banfeng was puzzled. The paper had clearly reported that Shen Rongqing purchased this mill from the He family.
Was this stallkeeper talking nonsense?
"What was the former owner's name?"
"Tu Shumei. Here in Heishipo, Boss Tu was quite someone. In the paper and printing trades, there wasn't a soul who didn't know her. Later, for reasons unknown, she couldn't keep the business going and transferred it away. That sort of thing happens all the time in Heishipo."
Tu Shumei.
She was surnamed Tu, as well.
Li Banfeng recalled something Qin Xiaopang had mentioned: Tu Yinghong was also from Heishipo.
Could this Tu Shumei be connected to her?
Li Banfeng asked, "How old is Boss Tu?"
The vendor thought it over. "As I recall, when she was still running the mill, she was pushing sixty."
She wasn't Tu Yinghong; the ages didn't match up.
Or was she related to Tu Yinghong in some way?
"I'd like to meet this Boss Tu. Do you know where she lives?"
The vendor shook his head. "No idea. I heard she isn't in Heishipo anymore."
"Does she have any relatives living here?"
"None. Back when Boss Tu's business was at its peak, a reporter came by for an interview. Boss Tu said her parents were long dead, she had no children and no siblings, and had built the business all on her own. A true heroine!"
In that case, she might not have any connection to Tu Yinghong after all.
Was this vendor reliable?
If he remembered an interview from years ago, why didn't he know the news from the *Qiuyuan Evening Post*?
Was it simply because that brief notice had been too inconspicuous?
"Do you carry the *Qiuyuan Evening Post* here?"
"Don't have it. You from Lüshui City? Nobody in Heishipo reads the *Qiuyuan Evening Post*." The vendor chuckled. "If you want serious news, I've got the *Lücheng Daily*."
That was a paper run by the Ling family, and it still had a market in Heishipo.
Even with Ling Miaowen and Ling Miaoying dead, someone was still operating the Ling family's papers.
The vendor continued, "Now, if you want something less than serious, I've got plenty. The least serious one in Heishipo has to be *Night Fragrance*!"
Li Banfeng's cheek twitched.
Who said *Night Fragrance* wasn't serious?
"Give me a copy of *Night Fragrance*."
"You want the newspaper, the magazine, or the motion picture?"
Li Banfeng paused, startled. "You carry motion pictures too?"
"Sure do! *Night Fragrance* puts out a new motion picture every week. I've got the latest release, and back issues in stock!"
They were even selling them at newsstands now?
The vendor wriggled his eyebrows. "Want one? Twenty-eight dollars!"
Li Banfeng frowned. "Twenty-eight dollars isn't cheap. I might as well go to the cinema. Isn't *Bloodgun Detective* more thrilling than this?"
"How can you compare the two? *Bloodgun Detective* plays in a movie theater. If you get all worked up watching it, are you going to have a go right there in the theater? How shameful would that be? Aside from Lüshui City's Ma Junyang, I doubt anyone could pull off something like that.
"*Night Fragrance* is completely different! You set up the machine at home, play it in secret, and no one is the wiser!"
"And what if your wife catches you?"
"Nothing to be afraid of even if she does! Just watch it together. Let me tell you, my wife loves watching it..."
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I don't have a motion picture player."
"I've got them right here! Also made by Night Fragrance—genuine Qichuan brand."
Qichuan brand?
Who came up with that name?
Xiao Chuanzi?
Why did he drag me into the name too?
The vendor brought out the player, asking eight hundred.
Li Banfeng countered with six hundred, but the vendor refused. "This stuff sells itself. Eight hundred is already cheap! Plenty of families scrimp and save just to keep one at home, and lots of newspaper reporters scramble to buy them too.
"Tell you what—I'll throw in the newspaper, the magazine, and that reel of film for free, plus a projection screen as a discount. But for the machine itself, not a penny less."
The vendor wouldn't budge, but Li Banfeng wasn't upset.
He bought the player, picked up the machine and its stand, tucked the newspaper and magazine under his arm, and walked to the paper mill.
The mill's gatekeeper walked over, looked at Li Banfeng, and asked, "Who are you looking for, sir?"
"I'm looking for your boss."
"May I ask your business?"
"I'm a reporter."
Seeing that Li Banfeng was decently dressed and carrying a motion picture player, looking every bit the part of a reporter, the gatekeeper said, "Please wait here a moment, sir. I'll go check with our manager."
Before long, the manager arrived and asked with a smile, "Excuse me, which newspaper are you with, sir?"
He couldn't say *Night Fragrance* right now; he needed a respectable publication.
"I'm a reporter from *Heishi Zatan*. I'm working on a special feature on the paper manufacturing industry."
The manager became much more courteous. *Heishi Zatan* carried considerable weight in Heishipo.
"Our boss isn't at the mill. Could we reschedule for another time?"
Li Banfeng said, "That won't really work. I'm on a tight deadline for this piece."
The other man didn't press the matter. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Banfeng carried his machine and left.
Shen Rongqing owned many businesses, all deeply hidden, and her subordinates were well-trained. Digging up anything on the surface would be difficult.
He needed to see if he could find an insider.
Bai Qiusheng and Yuwen Qi were from Heishipo; he'd best consult the two of them first.
Li Banfeng headed straight back to the newspaper office. Bai Qiusheng said in surprise, "Seventh Master, you're here!"
Li Banfeng held up the player and smiled. "Where's Chuanzi? I'm here to celebrate his success. Go set up some drinks, quick."
Not only did he want to celebrate, but he also intended to reward him handsomely: give Chuanzi a sum of money and grant him a twenty percent share in the player business.
Bai Qiusheng said with an awkward look, "Seventh Master, Chuanzi is sick. He hasn't been able to get out of bed for two days."
"Sick?" Li Banfeng's head buzzed. His thoughts immediately flew to Disease Cultivators.
He went to Chuanzi's room and found him lying flat on his bed, completely drained of color. Seeing Li Banfeng, Chuanzi tried to speak, but no words came out.
"Did Chuanzi meet anyone recently?"
The question stumped Bai Qiusheng.
Chuanzi had been busy handling the projector business lately and had met countless people. Where was he supposed to begin?
"Seventh Master, how about we sort through it slowly..."
"Sort through it on the way. Let's send Chuanzi to Lüshui City first."
"Seventh Master, the doctor said Chuanzi is too weak to be moved lightly."
This was troublesome. If he really had crossed paths with a Disease Cultivator, Li Banfeng had no other way to resolve it aside from Critick.
In his anxiety, he suddenly heard the liquor gourd whisper in his ear, "Little brother, find a place so we can talk."
Li Banfeng returned to his room. The liquor gourd said, "Little brother, this fellow's symptoms are different. Ma the Fifth was genuinely sick, but this little brother looks more like he's exhausted."
"Just plain exhaustion, and after resting for two days, there's still no improvement?"
The liquor gourd replied, "I followed the Medicine King for many years; I wouldn't mistake basic pathology. Why don't we consult Elder Sister?"
Li Banfeng went back into the Portable Abode, and the liquor gourd explained Xiao Chuanzi's condition to the gramophone.
*Whoosh!*
"From the symptoms, it looks like overwork. If he's been lying down for so long with no improvement, how is his physique usually?"
"Very robust."
Back when he drove the steamroller, Chuanzi's build had been solid, and after entering a pathway, his physical condition had improved even further. Reasonably speaking, sheer fatigue shouldn't have struck down a young man like him.
The wife asked again, "Does he possess cultivation?"
"A Tier 1 Craft Cultivator."
"Has he made anything good lately?"
"He built a motion picture player." Li Banfeng showed the player in his hands to his wife.
Beside them, the projector gave a cold snort. "Crude materials, an utter eyesore."
Compared to him, it was certainly rough.
"But this thing is cheap and affordable for ordinary folk. Just hang up a screen at home, and they can watch movies."
"How does it sell?" The wife rarely inquired about business matters.
"Business is booming."
"That explains it, Husband. When a Craft Cultivator creates something good with a stellar reputation, their cultivation time surges rapidly. The more people who use it, and the better its reputation, the faster it grows.
"Judging by this boy's state, he's definitely about to advance to Tier 2, and might even leap straight into Tier 3. An ordinary person's physique simply can't withstand such an advancement."
Never mind ordinary people—even Li Banfeng couldn't endure skipping tiers to advance.
"Do you have a way to help, Madam?"
"Oh, Husband, if this were any other pathway, skipping a tier in advancement would mean certain death. But the Craft Cultivator and Tillage Cultivator pathways are special exceptions; there's still room to mitigate it. I'll write a prescription. Go fetch some medicinal herbs first, Husband."
Li Banfeng said in delight, "You have such methods, Madam?"
The gramophone chuckled. "Oh, Husband, didn't you find a real treasure by marrying your humble servant?"
"A priceless treasure! A true treasure!" Li Banfeng pressed his cheek against the gramophone and rubbed vigorously against its cabinet door for a good while.
The gramophone laughed breathlessly. "Husband, stop, you have stubble! You're tickling your humble servant to death!"
The wife wrote out a prescription with her stylus. Li Banfeng sent someone to gather the herbs, then brought over the Red Lotus to refine them into a pill.
"Feed this pill to him and have him rest quietly for a while. When the peddler comes, buy a bowl of Soul-Restoring Soup, and he'll be able to pull through."
Li Banfeng quickly fed the pill to Chuanzi.
After taking the pill, Chuanzi showed visible improvement. Once Li Banfeng had properly arranged everything, he summoned Bai Qiusheng.
He brought up Shen Rongqing.
Bai Qiusheng's reaction was much like Ma the Fifth's: "Shen Rongqing is a peerless woman of talent. Every scholar in Heishipo knows her name."
"Two years ago, she bought a paper mill in Heishipo. Do you know anything about that?"
"No," Bai Qiusheng said, shaking his head repeatedly. "A woman of talent like Shen Rongqing wouldn't be doing business, would she?"
"What's wrong with doing business? Is it disgraceful?"
Bai Qiusheng chuckled dryly. "She can support herself purely on her talent. There's no need for her to waste effort and energy on business."
Li Banfeng asked further, "Do you know a person named Tu Shumei?"
"I do. A true heroine. She's a Craft Cultivator and a big shot in the paper and printing trades.
"That hand-cranked printing press Chuanzi bought earlier was made by Tu Shumei. All the small newspaper offices in Heishipo rely on those little presses to make a living."
A Craft Cultivator?
Tu Yinghong was also a Craft Cultivator!
Yet the ages didn't match.
"How old is Tu Shumei?"
Bai Qiusheng pondered for a moment. "If I remember correctly, she should be sixty this year."
Sixty years old.
Assuming she reached Tier 1 at twenty and cultivated step-by-step for forty years, her cultivation should be around Tier 5.
Since she was a master in the paper and printing trades, she clearly possessed talent. It wasn't impossible for her to have reached Tier 6, or even close to Tier 7.
She had invented the hand-cranked printing press, which had an excellent reputation and was widely used.
If she had leaped across another tier, that would make her Tier 7, or even close to Tier 8.
That matched Tu Yinghong's level of cultivation exactly.
Li Banfeng returned to the Portable Abode and asked his wife, "Can a Craft Cultivator alter their face?"
Before the gramophone could answer, Hong Ying spoke up from the side: "They can, Brother Seven. Next time, capture a living Craft Cultivator and bring them back, and I'll let you see my past countenance."
PS: If Ling Miaoying knew Tu Yinghong was sixty years old, one wonders what he would think.
Chapter 327