The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#452 - The richest man in the world

Li Bubai's expression shifted slightly. "Could it be that he's also come this time?"

"That's right," Lü Qinghou nodded. "The big boss of the Grand Treasure Pavilion, Jin Duoduo, is currently in Wen Family Manor."

Hearing this, even the usually listless Duke of Ying brightened up. "Really? Even old Fifth's mysterious husband has arrived? But I haven't seen him in the manor these past few days!"

"He arrived earlier than everyone else, but he's not staying with us. He's living alone on the other side of the manor."

Yu Wenyu's face also showed a hint of realization upon hearing this. "No wonder I was wandering around the manor yesterday and came across a heavily guarded courtyard, but the maidservants there stopped me. I was wondering if there was some forbidden secret place in Wen Family Manor, but it turns out he was here."

"It is said that Jin Duoduo has never shown his true face to anyone, and even on his wedding night, he wore a mask," the Duke of Ying sighed. "To be so cautious even with the person you share a bed with, doesn't he find life a bit boring?"

"If you had as much wealth as he does, you'd probably be even more careful," Lü Qinghou said leisurely. "Compared to Jiang Lei, he's the one who's really being targeted."

In any dynasty, anyone who is publicly recognized as the richest person is bound to be coveted.

Even now, no one knows exactly how much money Jin Duoduo has. Some say that if all his wealth were converted into gold, it would be taller than the number one mountain in the world. Others say that if all the luminous pearls in Jin Duoduo's treasury were taken out, they could illuminate the entire capital at night.

Some even say that Jin Duoduo takes at least 10% of the profits from every money-making business in the world. Although this is a bit alarmist, it's not entirely unreasonable.

Having developed to its current state, the Grand Treasure Pavilion is no longer limited to serving the people of the martial world and acting as a martial arts version of Taobao. Its tentacles have extended to all walks of life, including money houses, inns, shipping,镖局, and even maritime trade. Some are run by himself, while others involve investing in other people's businesses.

Now, even if Jin Duoduo doesn't do anything, money will flow into his pockets every day, and it can't be stopped.

Jin Duoduo was once very troubled by this because he realized that no matter how hard he tried, his spending speed could not keep up with his earning speed.

That is to say, he had no hope of squandering his entire fortune in his lifetime.

This discovery was too heartbreaking! In order to prevent this kind of upsetting thing from happening, Jin Duoduo resolutely decided to find a few more people to spend money with him, so he married Wen Qingqing, the fifth daughter of the Wen family.

Speaking of this marriage, there was actually a small episode.

It is said that after Jin Duoduo decided to get married, he asked his men to help him find suitable women, and in the end, a total of six candidates were selected.

In addition, there was also a woman from a small family who, although she didn't know how to make money, was good at managing the household. In a month, she spent less than ten taels of silver.

Jin Duoduo's brows furrowed deeper and deeper as he listened to his subordinates' reports. It wasn't until he heard that Wen Qingqing had spent all 10,000 taels of gold, and had bought things that were nice to look at but useless, and that she had even made herself a small boat out of silk that couldn't be launched, that Jin Duoduo's brows finally relaxed and he slapped his thigh and said, "It's her!"

That's right, if a person is as rich as Jin Duoduo, then what he values in a wife is no longer her family background or virtue.

On the contrary, the ability to squander money is the most attractive trait to him.

However, Wen Qingqing is not the only one who wants to help Jin Duoduo spend money.

Who in the martial world doesn't know that Jin Duoduo is richer than a country? Even a little bit of skimming would be wealth that ordinary people couldn't imagine in several lifetimes, and if they could cut a piece of meat from him, or even take all his wealth for themselves... such a temptation is enough for many people to risk their lives.

Therefore, there have been many people who have had ideas about Jin Duoduo in the past, many people now, and certainly many people in the foreseeable future.

Jin Duoduo has long been prepared for this. From the beginning, he has never shown his face in front of others, and his true identity has always been the biggest mystery in the martial world.

Even very few people have spoken to him. Even when he has to show up in person, he wears a mask on his head, and the clothes he wears are very thick, so that people can't see his figure.

"The world says that Jin Duoduo only has money in his eyes, but he is willing to travel thousands of miles for his wife to attend this birthday banquet, even if he doesn't show his face afterwards, it is enough to show that he is not just a ruthless and unjust merchant," said the Duke of Ying.

"Thank you for your kind words, Duke," a voice sounded from behind the Duke of Ying.

It was a man wearing a Maitreya Buddha mask on his face. Although it was not yet winter, he was already wearing thick cotton clothes, and his hands were tucked into his sleeves, looking a bit comical.

"Jin Duoduo?" Lü Qinghou raised his eyebrows.

"Precisely."

Although they had already guessed, Jin Duoduo's straightforward answer still surprised everyone present.

In fact, even though they knew that he was in the manor now, most people didn't expect him to show up at this birthday banquet. After all, according to his usual style, he would definitely avoid such a crowded place.

Jin Duoduo looked around, taking in the expressions on everyone's faces, and then his gaze stopped on Lu Jing. "What's wrong? Are you all not welcoming Jin?"

"That's not it," Li Bubai shook his head. "It's just a bit strange. Boss Jin came to the manor ahead of everyone else, presumably to minimize contact with others. I thought you were planning to congratulate the Old Matriarch alone and then leave directly."

"I did originally have this plan," Jin Duoduo nodded. "My carriage is already prepared, and I was going to sneak away after the birthday banquet started and you all took your seats, but then I saw a name on the guest list this time and changed my mind."

After saying that, he smiled slightly at Lu Jing. "You must be the great hero Lu Jing."

"That's right. I wonder what Boss Jin wants to say?" Lu Jing said politely.

"Oh, I've been looking for you for a long time."