Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 747 - 723: Trapped Snake Island
"Managing the clothing, food, housing, and transportation needs of a city is vast. Grains, vegetables, and meats aside, the Textile Workshop must hasten the production of various clothing and hats for men, women, young, and old, and stock up on essentials like firewood, rice, oil, and salt. Luckily, in the Riverfront Village, villagers are responsible for mining..."
Jiang Yuan manually gathered resources while pondering silently.
Actually, after visiting Sand Hill City, I can open the Ancient Teleportation Array behind the house with spirit stones. But since it’s my private teleportation array, I don’t want it to be like a bus that anyone can use.
Therefore, before Sand Hill City can establish connections with other cities, to avoid the hefty "transport fees" from the Silver Valley teleportation, I have to transport resources myself with the help of the System Storage Bag.
After all, with five million spirit stones in reserve, the upcoming trades will mainly be bartering, making it easier for City Lord Ming to control and manage the entire city. Once the sales channels are established and the teleportation array is built, we’ll have plenty of spirit stones to purchase better cultivation techniques and magical treasures, making self-reliance for the Furious Fire Bear Race a dream within reach!
Leng Yutang was perceptive and stepped forward to help Hu Zhile teach Yun Ying daily vocabulary, while inwardly contemplating excuses to linger longer.
Even staying one more day in the courtyard would be good!
Unfortunately, his friend Hou Ze wasn’t skilled, and his cultivation realm wasn’t high enough to develop a deeper friendship with Mr. Jiang. Otherwise, he could occasionally come to the courtyard for a meal...
"Daoist Leng, could you see if you can forge this magical treasure?" Jiang Yuan finished his farming work and initially thought of using the blueprint purchased with three hundred thousand spirit stones from the System Mall at the workbench. Then he remembered having a genius artifact refiner on hand to review if he could craft it. After all, the blueprint wouldn’t disappear from a glance; however, the workbench was different; once used, the blueprint would be gone.
Working on this from both angles, the sooner the Fire Gathering Basin is crafted, the better, especially with two sets of Earth Fire Essence waiting in the storage bag.
"Ah, let me see!" Leng Yutang, eager not to leave, was overjoyed upon hearing this!
Helping forge a magical treasure means he can stay for a few more days, right?
After closely examining the blueprint for a moment, he respectfully returned it, "Having received the teacher’s magical treasure blueprint, I have nothing to offer in return. Fortunately, I have Flood Dragon scales in my storage bag that can be used instead. Together with accumulated materials, I shall craft three Fire Gathering Basins for you, would that be alright?"
Crafting one Fire Gathering Basin takes two days, so three would mean six days, and more meals to enjoy!
Jiang Yuan was taken aback, "That’s all? You don’t need to follow the blueprint?"
"No, no, no, artifact refining and alchemy are no different, besides the specific materials and each refining step’s timing. During my apprenticeship, the first test was memory skills, and this is fundamental knowledge."
"Thank you, Daoist Leng. Once the Fire Gathering Basins are crafted and delivered to Sand Hill City, we won’t be delayed by any encountered Earth Fire Essence in mining progress."
"No need to be formal, I’ll start preparing the materials for crafting right away!"
Qing Niao, listening nearby, was puzzled. Not seeing her brother for two days, she wondered what interesting things he had encountered elsewhere, and quickly asked, "What essence? And the Fire Gathering Basin, brother, what are they used for?"
Jiang Yuan retrieved a firestone from his storage bag and handed it over, "Here, seen this before?"
The scorching heat thrilled her, but upon holding it, she realized the contained power was too weak; decent as fuel, but insignificant for absorption and refining.
"Is this a specialty of Sand Hill City?" Bai Yunqi cultivated the Water Element Technique, dispassionate towards fire, using a Gold-Scattering Fan to ward off the heat, remarked, "It seems better than gold silk charcoal, but I’ve never heard of it. Even through Gongxi Yanchang’s channels of sale, it takes time for merchants to accept it."
Xie Chenyuan nodded in agreement, "Business has its intricacies. Although we’ve dealt with Gongxi Yanchang, handling various interests requires time and effort to delve deeply, to avoid being misled."
"I can’t handle business affairs," Qing Niao waved her hand hearing this, sighing again, wishing she had the talent to gain more benefits from her brother! Regrettably, she wasn’t adept.
Yun Mo slightly lowered his head, indicating he wasn’t articulate either.
Hu Zhile eagerly volunteered, "Venerable Family, I can give it a try!"
"Wouldn’t that delay your cultivation?" Jiang Yuan was also troubled by the trivial matters of trading throughout the city, but Sand Hill City was the best example—falling behind means being beaten! Members of the courtyard, except Old Dog, were insufficient in their realms, so focusing on cultivation was proper business.
Leng Yutang, overhearing this, was thrilled and quickly recommended, "Teacher, could Hou Ze handle this task? He’s the shopkeeper of a magical artifact store at Golden Carp Lake Market, my best friend! He excels in business! In past years, when I suffered from cold poison, he supported me by tirelessly trading magical artifacts, and I can vouch for his character as dependable, and you can audit at any time. He definitely won’t embezzle!"
An excellent opportunity! A perfect chance for my friend to secure Mr. Jiang’s golden backing! As long as he makes Sand Hill City’s business flourish, even without future artifact crafting needs, I can leverage his connections for occasional meals at the courtyard.
Over the years, supporting each other is how we’ve endured; some opportunities are unreasonable not to strive for.
Jiang Yuan didn’t need to recall much; the neighbor always accompanied by a golden-haired little monkey left a deep impression. Moreover, having dealt with him customizing an incense burner, verified by the system as a reliable merchant, managing this substantial business task should work.
"In that case, contact your friend to see if he’s willing. If you can sell Fire Stones in bulk at a fair price, it would be an enormous blessing for your clan."
"I’ll contact Hou Ze right away!" Leng Yutang was so delighted he wished he could finalize the matter immediately.
...
The Golden Carp Lake Market, surrounded by a thick white mist, was unusually quiet.
Outside the window, there was nothing but white—no wind, no rain. It was as if the whole world was reduced to just you and your little companions.
Hou Ze looked at the sleeping golden little monkey, then at the magical artifact samples displayed in the shop, pondering how to urge Yutang to gather more blueprints and craft a high-quality magical treasure to serve as the shop’s star attraction, thereby drawing more customers.
"The Golden Carp Lake Market is still too low-level; we shouldn’t craft magical treasures too exquisite and expensive, or else how many could afford them?" He diligently contemplated the rules of business.
Thinking how Yutang had already recovered and no longer needed to spend so much money seeking medical treatment everywhere, he resolved to work hard at earning and saving money, aiming to open a shop in a bigger, more advanced market. That was the true capability!
"Buzz buzz buzz~"
Lost in thought, the Communication Stone suddenly vibrated.
Picking it up casually, Hou Ze mumbled under his breath, "Can’t even find your own hometown, yet you trouble a neighboring young lad, an outsider, to guide you back. Isn’t that embarrassing..."
Before he could finish speaking, he heard the other party’s excited voice babbling incoherently, but all Hou Ze could extract were three words—big business!
Directly comparable to a major business covering every aspect of a city with a population of over ten thousand!
"Oh, my God! Wake up, stop sleeping!" Hou Ze leapt in excitement, rushing to shake the golden monkey awake, "We’re going to make a fortune! Hahaha, such big business! If they let some commission fall through their fingers our way, we’ll be rich!"
Woken from a sweet dream, the golden monkey rubbed its eyes in bewilderment, watching him jump and shout around the small shop, wondering if this kid had gone mad dreaming about getting rich?
"Chirp chirp!" It stepped forward, patting him with a retracted claw, but it was evidently ineffective.
The little monkey simply grabbed a water cup on the table and splashed a cup of cold water on Hou Ze’s face, bringing peace to the world.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
He paused and came to his senses, "Yes, yes, it’s still too early to be happy. Yutang is only giving me a shot, hasn’t handed me the deal yet!
What’s a Fire Stone? What’s the market, its advantages, and disadvantages? I know nothing about how to run it?"
Hou Ze silently rejoiced over his broad network and decided to first probe if anyone knew of it, how much it sold for, before getting involved!
Time ticked by, each minute feeling like a year as he stared at the Communication Stone.
Finally, a well-informed friend replied, having heard the name "Fire Stone" on Trapped Snake Island, though unsure if it was what he was looking for.
"My God, something unique to Trapped Snake Island? In that case, I guess I’m not completely ignorant, right?" Hou Ze habitually muttered to the golden monkey.
Without waiting for a response, he continued whispering to himself, "With my low realm, and no powerful backing, I’m stuck hustling in a low-grade market like Golden Carp Lake.
Going to an advanced market would be truly eye-opening—that’s the hedonistic world! So many shops needing vast resources daily, much of which comes from Trapped Snake Island.
The whole island, under the special array of the Demon Realm Alliance, operates night and day, only dealing in large volumes. Without some capital, you’d just be there for sightseeing..."
Muttering while rummaging through his Storage Bag, he soon pulled out a pile of Spirit Stones and two treasured top-notch Teleportation Talismans. Hou Ze felt a twinge of heartache, "Trapped Snake Island is so far from here, ordinary talismans won’t suffice. This time I’m spending big, hoping to really secure the big deal and make us rich..."
Prepared, he instantly left the shop with the golden monkey.
Though he had never personally been to the renowned Trapped Snake Island, as a competent merchant, he naturally knew its general location. A top-notch Teleportation Talisman turned to ash, and Hou Ze stood at the dock, wide-eyed, staring at the giant airship’s slowly drifting tail fin, looking like a country bumpkin.
In the sky, various flying ships, flying swords, and even flying beasts and clouds weaved through the air;
In the sea, there were more strangely-shaped vessels and massive sea beasts;
He had arrived at the dock’s Teleportation Zone, where even just the teleportation array spanning twenty to thirty meters in diameter stretched far beyond sight. Countless demon cultivators in bizarre outfits bustled about, transporting large packages filled with unknown goods—some heading onto the island, others preparing to leave.
"See that, now that’s doing business! Our little shabby shop doesn’t even count as small-scale!" Hou Ze watched enviously, even more excitedly imagining what if he could secure Mr. Jiang’s business, could he make his mark on Trapped Snake Island too!"
