Chapter 58: Huang Da

  Yao Jue said he was preparing to save up money and return to the grasslands, Wang Kuang's heart moved, he wanted to make a good quality woolen blanket. Since Yao Jue had plans to return to the grasslands, he might as well let him go now and help collect some good blankets, one for making a billiard table and another for warm winter clothing. As for Yao Jue's mutton shop, it was simple, just get Sun Jiahan to help him make mutton soup, killing two birds with one stone, helping Yao Jue maintain his business while also training Sun Jiahan. However, since it was already autumn, they couldn't set off in time and had to wait until next spring to let Yao Jue depart, which would allow him to return to Jian'an around the end of summer.

  Yao Yue also heard Wang Kuang's plan and was quite moved. It had been over a decade since he last returned to the grasslands, and he didn't know how his father, mother, and several younger brothers were doing. Moreover, his current wealth and status could be said to have all been given by Xiao Dongjia, and in the future, he would also have to closely follow Xiao Dongjia's footsteps - who knows, maybe even greater wealth and honor awaited him.

  The fabric problem won't be solved until next year, but there's another difficult issue facing Wang Kuang right now - the stone for making billiard balls. Ordinary stones don't work, either too soft or too hard, some have sufficient overall hardness but are not good for grinding, such as granite which contains many components, especially quartz crystals, it's really hard to grind. However, Wang Kuang has a solution, he knows of a place where the stone meets the requirements. The real challenge is how to grind the stone into high-precision spheres.

  A few days later, the Fulaiguan Inn was equipped with custom-made tables and chairs. The original low tables and straw mats were only kept for a few guests who were not used to sitting on chairs. Many people came to see the novelty, marveling at the tables and chairs, and even trying them out. Later, a large wooden sign was erected in front of the inn's gate, causing everyone to wonder what it was for. The sign seemed to be designed to stand there permanently, with two legs buried underground and a roof-like structure on top to keep off the rain. Just as people were speculating, Sun Er brought Gao San over and stood under the sign, clearing his throat.

  "Gentlemen, this wooden board is called a notice board. Whenever our Rich Come Inn has any needs, we will post notices on it from now on. If you have any difficulties or troubles, such as searching for relatives and so on, you can also post notices on this board. In this way, traveling merchants who see the notices may coincidentally be able to help, which would be a good deed."

  This was another brainchild of Wang Kuang's, who had spent the entire night thinking it over. To produce precise spherical objects, he really didn't have a way to do it himself, as the techniques he possessed required many machines to complete, which were absolutely impossible to provide in this era. So, they could only put up a notice board to search for one. When thinking of putting up a notice board, an idea suddenly struck him - why not create a bulletin board? The Rich Come Inn was currently the place with the largest flow of people in Jian'an, and traveling merchants and pedestrians would often come to the Rich Come Inn. So, this bulletin board could serve as a medium, for example, if someone needed something but couldn't find it anywhere, while another person knew where it was, they might not know each other existed. With the bulletin board, such problems could be relatively easily solved. Wang Kuang also planned that in the future, if the Rich Come Inn opened branches, he would do the same thing, which would establish a good reputation for the Rich Come Inn and greatly help its business. However, he didn't dare to directly call it a "bulletin board", so after consulting with Old Man Liu, they decided on the name "Notice Column".

  The crowd heard Sun Er's words and was still whispering to each other, while the senior high school student next to them had already picked up a ceramic jar and quickly brushed on some rice paste, stuck a notice on it, and then placed the jar of rice paste with the brush on a small table specially set up next to the bulletin board.

  Those who were literate immediately read it out loud, and it turned out that the Rich Guest House was looking for skilled craftsmen who could grind stones into generally large and extremely round shapes. If you knew of any such craftsmen, you could also exchange information with the Rich Guest House for money or food.

  "What is Xiao Dongjia going to do now?" It was that passerby A again, who nudged passerby B with his shoulder. Passerby B shook his head and raised an eyebrow, looking at passerby A with disdain: "Scoff, Xiao Dongjia is a celestial being descended to the mortal world, how could you possibly guess what he wants to do?" These two guys had somehow become buddies after their last encounter, often going together to the Rich Guest House or the Yangrou shop, just so they could get a glimpse of Xiao Dongjia's methods and gain some insight. They had even heard that some barbarian had received Xiao Dongjia's guidance and was now living a life of luxury.

  At this time, a thin man pushed through the crowd and stepped forward in big strides, tearing down the poster. Gao San hadn't even left yet when he saw that the newly posted poster had been torn down, and he was furious: "What kind of person are you, randomly tearing things down?"

  But then the man said, "Gao San brothers, don't you recognize me?"

  "Who dares to recognize you?" Gao San heard him say this, and after calming down, he looked at him with a hint of disdain: "Don't think that just because you can mention someone's name, you can cover up this matter. Ask the people around, who in Jian'an doesn't know his reputation?"

  "It's true, it's true. Nowadays, even the third-year high school student is a celebrity in Jian'an. Not just him, but everyone at Fuli Inn, their names are all well-known throughout Jian'an, you can hardly find anyone who doesn't know them." Passerby A saw that there was something to be gained from this and quickly pulled on Passerby B's sleeve to join in. The surrounding crowd also chimed in agreement.

  "He was Huang Da, on the 30th of the last year of the lunar calendar, he invited me to his home, which is the one you introduced me to, and also took me to Dong Jia's house to meet Xiao Dong Jia."

  "Huang Da? The one who knocked on the door on New Year's Eve last year?" Senior Three tilted his head, thinking for a moment, and finally remembered this person: "So it was you, then you're even less qualified to tear off this poster."

  "Isn't this notice posted by Xiao Dong's family meant to find a craftsman?" Huang Da asked back.

  "It's just that we're looking for a craftsman, aren't you one?" Gao San finally came to his senses and realized that the person wasn't randomly posting flyers: "Quickly follow me inside, Xiao Dong is at home right now."

  This Huang Da Zheng was the one who sent pumpkin seeds two years ago. After the New Year that year, he returned the old horse and Wang Kuang wanted to give him some more money, but he refused, saying he had already received great kindness and didn't dare ask for more. He also said his legs were still good and he could continue working as a porter to earn money. After sending back the horse, he bid farewell and was never heard from again. Wang Kuang and Sun Mingqian had long forgotten about this matter, but unexpectedly, he appeared today and immediately exposed the truth.

  Wang Kuangzheng brought out a plate of stir-fried pumpkin seeds and a pot of tea from the kitchen. Since late summer this year, Fuli Inn's snacks to go with wine have added another dish of stir-fried pumpkin seeds, which is slightly more expensive than fried peanuts but only costs six cents per plate. Compared to Fuli Inn's signature dishes, it's much cheaper. Now some guests can spend an idle afternoon with a plate of fried peanuts, a plate of pumpkin seeds and a pot of wine.

  Seeing Gao San leading a person over, he looked somewhat familiar, but couldn't remember who it was. Before Gao San could speak, Huang Da rushed forward and knelt down with a thud, kowtowing to Wang Kuang several times, then stood up with his hands hanging down. Gao San saw that Wang Kuang had a bewildered expression, so he went forward and explained the situation, and only then did Wang Kuang remember that there was such a matter and such a person.

  "What's the point of this again? You brought me watermelon seeds, I'll pay you for them, that's only right. But it can't be worth such a big gift." Wang Kuang had previously thought that when Huang Dabao introduced himself as Huang Dabo and mentioned an older brother, that brother must not have been his biological brother. Otherwise, he should have been called Huang Er instead of Huang Da. In Wang Kuang's opinion, someone who could take care of a non-biological younger brother's wife and children was at least not a bad person. As for why there had been no news from him later, it must be because something had come up that he needed to attend to. Perhaps this was another person with a story to tell.

  "Did you hear that Senior Three knows the trick of this grinding stone ball? Did he uncover this move?" Before Huang Da could speak, Wang Kuang asked again. Unexpectedly, no sooner had this move been made public than someone came looking for him, and it was actually Huang Da. It seems that this world is not too big after all.