Chapter 92

Although the old man’s cultivation was supreme and his speed incredibly fast, it still took him over ten days to travel back and forth between the First Legion’s base and Green Mountain Village. By the time he returned, it was already mid-January.

On both sides of the mountain ridge, people were in a frenzy, digging simultaneously with astonishing speed, having already cleared through thirty percent of the mountain. The soldiers were all working with great enthusiasm. Without even mentioning other things, just the fact that they had meat every day made it much better than the military camp. Although the peasant women’s cooking wasn’t very good, compared to the rarity of seeing meat for one or two months, it was absolutely an irresistible delicacy. What did it matter to work a little harder?

However, the farmers of Green Mountain Village were somewhat unhappy. With meat every day, a large number of cotton quilts and fur mattresses, plus the constant wear and tear of tools and the charcoal used for burning mountain rocks, how much money would that be?

Now, they all genuinely admired and revered Jiang Xingchen. Seeing carts of goods being transported in and the yellow crystal coins flowing out like water, they all felt heartache for the Duke.

However, Jiang Xingchen himself didn’t have such thoughts. Although he felt a bit of pain when he initially took out 500,000 yellow crystal coins, money was meant to be spent, otherwise, what was the point of keeping it? Besides, if he really wanted to build his territory as he imagined, he would need to spend a lot more in the future. These 500,000 yellow crystal coins were just a drop in the ocean.

Seeing that the mountain excavation was progressing normally, Jiang Xingchen stopped managing it and left it to Han Xiaowu and the others to oversee. He had more important things to do.

In addition to studying the development of the array formations every day, Jiang Xingchen also had Du Rui bring in a lot of hard wood to start mass-producing toothbrushes. The Duke of the North had already told him that he was preparing to go to the capital, so he needed to prepare some for the Duke to use in building relationships. Those nobles in the capital might not be interested in mountain delicacies or precious jewels, but they would definitely like this practical and novel item!

Moreover, he had an even more important matter to attend to, one that directly related to whether he could receive the reward of expanding his territory...

While Jiang Xingchen was busy behind closed doors every day, the bomb he had planted during the food crisis finally exploded.

Those nobles who had hoarded grain were all confronted. The steamed bun recipes they had bought were completely useless; the buns wouldn’t cook properly, and the meat filling remained raw.

These people were stunned. How could this be? Did Mo Hongxian deceive them? Was the steamed bun recipe fake?

With this thought, over a dozen nobles, representing the others, went to the Purple Thistle Mercenary Group to question why this happened. Even if they returned all the money, it wouldn’t quell the buyers’ anger; they couldn’t afford it.

Mo Hongxian seemed to have known they would come. She calmly told them that the steamed bun recipe was correct, and the steamed bun shops in Hongyuan City were indeed using it.

Of course, they didn’t believe her and strongly demanded to see the kitchen of a steamed bun shop.

Mo Hongxian didn’t refuse, leading them with a smile to a steamed bun shop.

When they entered the kitchen and saw a helper pushing and pulling the bellows vigorously, the fire in the stove burning fiercely, and the steam rising from the steamer like a mist, their faces turned grim. They all understood that without this device to increase the heat, the steamed buns couldn’t be made.

“Damn, who knew the recipe needed to be used with this damn thing...” They were on the verge of tears, cursing Mo Hongxian in their hearts, but there was nothing they could do. The recipe she gave them was indeed correct.

“Gentlemen, how about it, I didn’t deceive you, did I!” Mo Hongxian smiled, her heart filled with joy. The frustration of having to give away the recipe was now gone, and she felt a sense of relief.

At the same time, in the Duke’s residence, the Duke of the North, with his hands behind his back, was smiling and humming a little tune.

“See, this time you’ll be ruined... I told you before, I’ll settle accounts with you eventually! As my nobles, you didn’t help me during the food crisis, and you even hoarded grain to sell at high prices... Hmph! This time, I’ll strip you of at least three layers of skin, and see if you dare to be so arrogant in the future!”

As he thought, the Duke of the North smiled smugly and whispered, “This kid Jiang Xingchen, he’s got a lot of tricks up his sleeve...”

Just as the Duke predicted, Mo Hongxian refused to provide the bellows, and those nobles were in trouble. They not only had to return all the yellow crystal coins they had earned from selling the recipes but also had to pay a substantial compensation.

While the medium-sized families could still bear it, the smaller nobles couldn’t. They came crawling to the Duke of the North for help.

The Duke of the North said coldly, “You think of me now, but what did you do during the food crisis in Hongyuan City?”

“Thump! Thump...” The entire front hall was filled with kneeling nobles, almost ready to tear out their hearts, begging the Duke to save them.

Seeing the nobles kneeling and weeping, expressing their repentance and making grand promises, the Duke of the North felt an unprecedented sense of pleasure, almost ecstatic.

Finally, after these nobles knelt for the entire afternoon, the Duke of the North nodded and agreed to speak to Mo Hongxian about selling the bellows.

After the small nobles left with gratitude, the medium-sized nobles also received the news and rushed to the Duke’s residence, kneeling in a row...

Actually, the bellows were not complicated to manufacture. Anyone with the right mindset could figure it out. Jiang Xingchen had already told Mo Hongxian this, so she had no intention of keeping it a secret. She only refused to sell it to cooperate with the Duke of the North. Now that the Duke had spoken, there was no need to hold back.

However, Mo Hongxian wasn’t one to be taken advantage of: “If you want to buy the bellows, remember, you took the recipe for free!”

The meaning was clear, and the small and medium-sized nobles who had hoarded grain were almost on the verge of collapse. They had thought they would make a fortune, but now they were losing everything.

However, the situation was stronger than the people. They had to comply with Mo Hongxian’s demands, reprice the recipe they had taken for free, and pay the Purple Thistle Mercenary Group. Only then did Mo Hongxian agree to sell the method for making the bellows.

After this incident, these small and medium-sized nobles not only failed to profit from the food crisis but also had to pay a substantial amount to save their estates. Otherwise, the compensation alone would have bankrupted them...

When the bomb Jiang Xingchen had planted in Hongyuan City exploded, Luo Yu, who had successfully negotiated with the Beastmen Alliance, returned from a place thousands of miles away.

“What? Are you crazy, agreeing to sell a hundred head horses?” Hearing Luo Yu’s news, all the priests in the Golden Lion Clan’s palace stared with wide eyes, shouting in disbelief.

“Don’t you know that breeding is our foundation... You actually traded head horses with the Qiankun Empire!” An elderly Beastman shouted loudly.

Beside him, a middle-aged man sneered and said coldly, “I told you before, Luo Yu isn’t suitable for this mission. Although he is the young clan leader, he isn’t mature enough!”

“Hm!” Another middle-aged man nodded and said, “Indeed, the sheep gut strings from the Qiankun Empire are very useful, but trading a hundred head horses for them is not a good deal!”

The Lion Clan Leader, sitting at the top, frowned deeply, his expression extremely grim. He hadn’t expected Luo Yu to sign such a contract. He had sent him to gain experience, but who would have thought it would cause such a big problem...

On the right side of the Clan Leader, a young man lowered his head slightly, a slight smile on his lips, his eyes fixed on Luo Yu.

“Heh heh! You dared to make such a big decision on your own, your position as young clan leader won’t be as secure in the future... I never thought the opportunity I’ve been waiting for years would come so easily!”

As the young man thought, an elderly minister on the right suddenly spoke, “I think trading a hundred head horses for sheep gut strings is not inappropriate... A hundred head horses have a limited effect and can’t breed many generations... But the effectiveness of the sheep gut strings can be seen from the battle at Pingjun City... This trade is very valuable!”

“Very valuable, my ass! Head horses are much more useful than sheep gut strings... Our Beastmen are always strong, whether we use sheep gut strings or not, but head horses are our secret, how can they be compared?”

“Hmph!” Luo Yu, seeing the accusations and insults from everyone, suddenly laughed coldly and said loudly, “The agreement I signed isn’t just about sheep gut strings!”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, but then they started criticizing him again, “Luo Yu, are you really that foolish, selling head horses for a little favor...”

Some people sneered and said coldly, “I really don’t know what else could make you sign such a contract besides sheep gut strings...”

Watching everyone’s expressions calmly, Luo Yu slowly took out a small jar from behind his back and opened it.

Instantly, a strong smell of alcohol filled the entire room. Everyone, including those who opposed Luo Yu, immediately fell silent, sniffing the air and staring at the jar.

“The additional condition I added is this wine...” As he spoke, Luo Yu called in a guard to pour a cup of wine for everyone.

“This strong wine is the best I’ve ever tasted, so I added it to the sheep gut strings... Now I’ve negotiated, and the wine maker will supply us with a hundred pounds of this wine every year from now on...”

Few people were listening to his words; their attention was all on the wine jar. Every Beastman was an expert in drinking, and the wine in the jar, just by its smell, was clearly a rare and excellent drink.

So, as Luo Yu spoke, all the Beastmen raised their cups to their lips and drank it in one go.

“Haha!” Seeing everyone in the hall raise their cups and enjoy the drink, Luo Yu’s lips curled up in a satisfied smile. He knew that this matter... was settled!