Chapter 93

It has to be said, the orcs' fondness for alcohol surpasses everything else. All the doubts about Luo Yu vanished after they tasted the distilled liquor. Even the young man who had been hostile towards Luo Yu had to admit that trading a hundred head of horses for catgut and this kind of liquor was not a bad deal.

Seeing the situation, Luo Yu maintained a smug smile on his face, his expression even showing a bit of arrogance.

But soon, when he noticed everyone's eyes turning blue and looking at him with wolf-like gazes, his smile suddenly froze.

"The production of this liquor is extremely low, even the Qiankun Empire doesn't have it. It's privately owned by a noble, and only ninety pounds are produced each year, and I've brought it all over!"

Luo Yu reacted quickly and immediately explained. These people were obviously eyeing the distilled liquor, but ninety pounds of distilled liquor was far from enough to share. If he didn't keep some for himself, he wouldn't even have the dregs left. As for the contract, only his father, the clan leader, could see it, so there was no need to worry.

Sure enough, the orcs were greatly dissatisfied. With only ninety pounds of distilled liquor, they would have to give some to the major clan leaders, leaving at most forty pounds for the Golden Lions. And the clan leader would take the lion's share, so how much would be left for him?

"Only ninety pounds a year, Luo Yu, weren't you tricked?" The young man who had been gloating asked.

"Hmph!" Luo Yu glanced at the young man with disdain and said, "This is what I got by adding a hundred head of beef cattle. Otherwise, they wouldn't have given it to me at all!"

"What's going on?" The clan leader, sitting in the main seat, frowned and asked sternly, "Why did you add a hundred head of beef cattle?"

They could accept trading a hundred head of horses for catgut and this distilled liquor, but adding a hundred head of beef cattle would be a huge loss.

"It's a hundred head of bulls! I'm not stupid enough to give them the cows!" Luo Yu quickly explained.

"Oh! I see!" The clan leader and most of the ministers breathed a sigh of relief. If it was just a hundred head of bulls, there was no problem.

"Who is the noble who made this liquor, and can he produce more?" The clan leader's attention immediately turned back to the liquor.

The other high-ranking members of the Golden Lions also showed expectant expressions. The feeling of their entire body being on fire was simply too wonderful, making them unable to stop.

"The person is named Jiang Xingchen, he's only sixteen years old, and Tang Chuxue didn't specify his exact identity! But he can enter and leave Tang Chuxue's tent at will, so his status must be significant... As for getting him to produce more of this liquor, it's probably impossible. He insists that only ninety pounds can be produced each year, which shows that this is his limit!"

"Ah~" Hearing Luo Yu's explanation, everyone sighed regretfully. And the name Jiang Xingchen was etched into their minds...

By the middle of January in the 234th year of the Qiankun calendar, the disaster caused by the continuous heavy snow and severe cold had subsided. A large amount of food and supplies seized by the Pingjun City were distributed, along with aid from the capital and the Qiyue territory, the affected areas had largely returned to stability.

With stable grain prices and a great victory over the Xuan Yuan Heavenly Sect, the contract securing next year's grain supply brought a sense of security to both the common people and the nobles. As the grand spring dance performance in early March approached, the stable mindset of the people and nobles made them increasingly interested in this unique and largest entertainment event in the empire. Those with the means began to attend the dances more frequently.

After several days of promotion, the new instrument, the drum, became popular with everyone. The strong rhythm, the deep, thunderous sound, and the heart-stirring feeling deeply attracted the audience and also prompted countless skilled craftsmen to begin researching its production.

Buffalo hide, a hollow, curved wooden barrel, a rim, rivets... After repeated research and countless attempts, the instrument was finally replicated.

At the Imperial Academy, the old dean Feng Xuanzhang didn't know how to express his feelings. On the one hand, the replication and wider promotion of the drum was a good thing, as relying on Jiang Xingchen alone couldn't meet the demand... But on the other hand, this meant that the military drums in the army would no longer be a secret.

He then reported this matter to the Qiankun Emperor, who surprisingly didn't care. Waving his hand, he said, "Since the production method is so simple and our empire's craftsmen can replicate it, the Xuan Yuan Heavenly Sect, with their superior craftsmanship, can definitely replicate it too. It's better to promote it directly!"

Hearing the emperor's words, Feng Xuanzhang breathed a sigh of relief, calming down from his anxiety. He then returned to the Imperial Academy and encouraged the students studying craftsmanship to replicate the drum in large quantities...

Meanwhile, far away in Qingfeng Mountain, Jiang Xingchen had no idea that the drum had been replicated and was still busy with his own plans.

After making over three hundred toothbrushes, he took out a pen and paper, wrote and drew on white silk, and instructed Du Roshan to send these items to Hongyuan City.

In the following days, he spent his time with Meier, checking the progress of the project, and exploring the functions of the array after its development.

His perception of fluctuations was indeed stronger than before, but not significantly. He still couldn't detect fish through the ice.

His control over the heat while cooking was also more precise, and he could clearly sense the changes in the food due to the heat, earning continuous praise from the old man, who said his cooking was getting better... However, this was still far from the array's effects as he had imagined.

His control over his own aura and the fluctuations he produced remained unchanged.

After multiple failed attempts, Jiang Xingchen couldn't help but feel discouraged: "Could it be that the array's effects have reached their limit..."

But then he thought, "That doesn't make sense. If the effects have reached their limit, why would it continue to develop? It can't be doing useless work..."

Unable to find the reason through deep thought, Jiang Xingchen felt quite depressed. Fortunately, Mo Hongxian brought him some good news. The secret formulas he had given away for free were now being sold, and the method for making the bellows had also earned a large sum of money. He had received over 700,000 yellow crystal coins in total.

With money in hand, there's no need to worry! Seeing his depleted resources swell again, the depression over not figuring out the array's functions dissipated.

"If I can't figure it out, I'll just stop for now. Maybe one day, by chance, the effects will become apparent!" He consoled himself and then went to watch Meier and Xin'er play chess.

During this time, the grand scale of the mountain-opening operation in Qingshan Village also caught the attention of the surrounding villages.

With the weather clearing up, people who had been staying at home for a long time went out to buy essential items like oil and salt in the towns, and easily noticed the continuous convoys of supplies being transported to Qingshan Village.

"Isn't that direction Qingshan Village? Why are so many vehicles transporting things there?"

"Look at all those vehicles, they seem to be full of grain and meat. How much must that cost!"

"Qingshan Village is known for being poor. Where did they get the money to buy so much grain?"

"What's so strange about that? Maybe their lord is rich. In such a harsh winter, it's normal to store more!"

"Bullshit! A rich and powerful lord would choose a poor place like Qingshan Village? They must be out of their minds..."

Driven by curiosity, some people followed the convoys and were stunned by the sight of thousands of people working.

"My goodness, what are they doing, opening a mountain?"

"Are they crazy, burning money for fun? Why dig a mountain for no reason?"

"Am I seeing things? Those white round things actually have people going in and out..."

The news spread quickly, and more people came to watch... Eventually, the Sky-Shaking Mercenary Group had to intervene, as the crowd was starting to affect the work.

The members of the Sky-Shaking Mercenary Group, who had seen blood, walked out with stern faces, their aura making the onlookers shiver. The villagers scattered like birds and beasts.

Although the villagers from other villages didn't dare to come, the news of Qingshan Village's mountain-opening operation spread.

This matter worried Han Xiaowu and the others. After all, the ten-thousand-acre wasteland didn't belong to Jiang Xingchen. If the news of such a large-scale operation spread, it might be seized upon by people with ulterior motives, and they advised him to temporarily halt the work.

But after hearing this, Jiang Xingchen smiled faintly, showing no concern, and said, "It's fine, don't worry about it!"

As a private soldier, Han Xiaowu couldn't interfere with Jiang Xingchen's decision, but he couldn't just ignore it, so he went to see the old man.

To his surprise, the old man also smiled faintly, waved his hand, and didn't even speak!

Han Xiaowu, of course, didn't give up. The empire had clearly stipulated that land could only be granted, and no noble or commoner could develop it without permission. If caught, it would be a serious offense.

But just as he was about to continue persuading the old man, the old man suddenly said with a sinister smile, "If I say it's fine, it's fine. If you want to know why... hehe, play two games of chess with me, and I'll tell you!"

"Uh!" Han Xiaowu was taken aback, shivered, and without thinking, punched himself in the stomach, then let out a dry retch and ran out, covering his mouth: "Old man, I feel like vomiting, sorry... ugh~"

The old man's eyes widened, his mouth and eyebrows twitching. After a moment, he pointed at Han Xiaowu's retreating figure and cursed, "You damn brat, you'd rather hurt yourself than play chess with me, damn it..."

Han Xiaowu ran far away, breathing a sigh of relief, rubbing his stomach, and showing a bitter smile. Playing chess with the old man was more terrifying than facing a tenth-level demon beast. Except for Zhao Danqing, the chess fool, who would dare to play with him?

But the most important thing was that if the old man was so confident that Lord Jiang was fine, then he must be fine. Otherwise, he would have risked his life to play a game of chess to get the old man to persuade Jiang Xingchen to temporarily halt the work!

While the news of Qingshan Village was spreading, in the Dingbei Marquis's residence in Hongyuan City, the Dingbei Marquis, upon receiving the letter from Du Roshan, was stunned.