Divine & Bizarre: Increasing Points to Invincibility-Chapter 859 - 234: The Great Yan Trembles! Leaving the Great Yan, Heading to Shangwu!_5
"And among those sailors who have been at sea, many have spent over a decade, even most of their lives there. If we dismiss them now, the morale of our seafaring workforce would be lost," he said with a worried look on his face, "We can’t just leave the trade ships idle, nor can we dismiss the sailors arbitrarily."
"Regrettably, we can only convert those two trade ships into fishing boats temporarily. Let those sailors take the ships to the nearby sea and fish."
"The fish they catch will belong almost entirely to the sailors themselves. That way, we can provide them with a livelihood for the time being."
"At the same time, those two trade ships won’t just be left idle at the dock, not moving at all."
"I see!" Yun Jiuqing suddenly realized after hearing his explanation, "No wonder when we arrived, we saw no trade ships at this dock; your ships have all gone out to fish!"
As soon as she blurted this out, Yun Jiuqing realized she might have said something hurtful inadvertently, exposing a sore spot.
She coughed softly, "I think, your trade ships can still make a voyage out at sea."
Huo Zhijin was startled, "Ah?"
Yun Jiuqing asked, "How much silver can one of your trade ships earn from a single voyage?"
"Um..."
Huo Zhijin hesitated slightly; discussing the revenue of their Huo’s Marine Trade with several people he barely knew seemed a bit improper. But, since these people appeared to be cultivators, if he didn’t cooperate, might he invite retaliation?
It wasn’t that he harbored bad thoughts about Fan Wu and the others, but there were too many cultivators who liked to engage in underhanded tactics these days! Especially in recent years, many great clans within the Great Yan Dynasty had set their sights on maritime trade. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
And these great clans, when competing with ordinary sea tradespeople, would use special tactics.
For example, by using cultivators to place a fierce spirit in a merchant’s household.
Such actions were all too common!
Remembering those unfortunate souls tormented by the cultivators from the great clans, Huo Zhijin took a deep breath. Knowing he had no other choice, he frankly said, "Excluding the food and fresh water needed for the voyage, wages for the sailors, maintenance of the ship, loss of goods, and the imperial sea tax... Our Huo’s Marine Trade can make, approximately, 500 taels of silver from one round trip."
After speaking, he added, "Although it’s just a strait between the Great Yan Dynasty and the Shangwu Dynasty, the strait is very wide. And on the sea... if we encounter extreme weather or sea beasts, we might be stuck for days on end. The round trip... it takes about twenty days."
"If the journey goes poorly, it’s close to twenty days. If it goes smoothly, it could take just over ten days, even ten days sometimes."
Isn’t that equivalent to... a journey from the Great Yan Dynasty to the Shangwu Dynasty taking about five to ten days?
To think that being adrift at sea could take so long!
Yun Jiuqing had thought traveling by ship would be fast since, after all, she had heard that those large ships relied on the wind. Turns out, these ships’ speeds seem slower than that of horses.
Meaning...
During the peak period when Huo’s Marine Trade owned three trade ships, aside from costs, they could make nearly two thousand taels of silver a month from maritime trade. It wasn’t just close to two thousand taels— it was exactly that amount.
In such an out-of-the-way frontier small town, a marine trade could make twenty-four thousand taels of wealth in a year! Of course, this was only what they could make at their peak and wasn’t sustainable all the time.
But on average, such a marine trade could make at least ten thousand taels of silver a year, right? Goodness, maritime trade truly is immensely profitable, no wonder the Situ Family is teaming up with the likes of the Xiang Family.
Too bad, those from the Situ Family never knew they were just being used by the Xiang Family to serve the Laws-Phantom Demon Venerable!
Such immense profits even tempted someone like Yun Jiuqing, who wasn’t short of money, but unfortunately, her Yun Clan in the Great Zhou Dynasty wasn’t near the sea.
Otherwise, once back in the Great Zhou Dynasty, she would be eager to have her father acquire several trade ships for her.
What a pity!
Yun Jiuqing smacked her lips, then addressing the Huo Zhijin in front of her, said, "If I give you Huo’s Marine Trade a thousand taels of silver to take us on a trip across the sea to the Shangwu Dynasty, would your marine trade take such a deal?"
Huo Zhijin was startled, and so were his two brothers beside him; all three looked at Yun Jiuqing in disbelief.
Huo Zhijin quickly said, "Miss, it’s not about the silver—this sea route harbors some extremely dangerous and terrifying sea beasts. A slight mishap, and both people and ship could become food for a sea beast!"
"Two thousand taels of silver," Yun Jiuqing doubled the silver directly, then smilingly said, "Your marine trade hasn’t been in business for a long while, has it? And as for the sea beasts, do you think we look like people who would be afraid?"
"This..."
Huo Zhijin was tempted; two thousand taels was no small amount. Subtracting a series of costs, their Huo’s Marine Trade could still earn at least one thousand five hundred taels profit.
Yun Jiuqing was also right, it had been a long time since they had done any business.
Every day, he could only watch helplessly as the silver in their marine trade’s reserves diminished.
Yet, he felt powerless to stop it.
And...
These three individuals from the Great Zhou Dynasty were likely cultivators, perhaps they had the means to deal with sea beasts? If they didn’t, why would they be so confident? Why wouldn’t they consider the sea beasts in the ocean a threat?
...
Two days later.
Early morning.
Upon standing on the deck as the ship was boarding, Huo Zhijin felt his mind had been clouded by the two thousand taels of silver; he had actually agreed to take the girl named Yun Jiuqing across the ocean two days ago, and had even accepted the two thousand taels from her.
Watching the coastline of the Great Yan Dynasty gradually recede from his sight, Huo Zhijin had a deeply troubled expression, "Let’s hope nothing goes wrong along the way!"
Indeed!
Fan Wu and the others were already on a long-distance trade ship, already sailing forth.
Cutting through the waves!
...
...
