Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Kaine tried hard to recall her past memories, but in the end she could only understand them literally.

eat!

Just eat it and that’s it!

419 Ursus people who are addicted to sugar

belch.

Kay and the mayor looked at the empty fruit platter in front of them and simultaneously let out a burp.

In the past, they would never have imagined that they would one day eat so much fruit that they were stuffed.

What normal person eats a fruit platter for dinner?

However, neither of them dared to speak or ask.

Kayne clearly knew something, while the mayor knew nothing, but he could just follow Kayne's lead.

The two of us have no past grudges or recent animosity, so there's no need for her to drag me down with her.

With that in mind, he did whatever Katie did.

"Gentlemen, these fruits taste pretty good, don't they?"

“Of course, of course,” the mayor quickly agreed, “In Ursus, even I, the mayor, can’t enjoy a fruit meal so freely.”

Of course, after all, who eats fruit as a main meal? Especially in Ursus, where tropical fruits are practically nonexistent.

"Do you two think the people of Ursus will like these fruits?"

“Oh, to be honest, if these tropical fruits that we’ve only ever seen on TV were put in stores, people would go crazy for them,” the mayor replied casually. “Not just the general public, even nobles would flock to them.”

Ursus people have a sweet tooth and are the world's largest consumer of sugar.

Half the reason is due to the sheer size of the region, and the other half is that people in high-latitude areas need to store up calories and fat to survive the winter. Not to mention Ursus, even the Russians in my previous life had a sweet tooth. During the Soviet era, various tropical fruits from Cuba were in short supply, and it was difficult for an ordinary person to buy those fruits in the market.

Unfortunately, the Soviet Union at that time was walking on one leg with a limp. Its heavy industry was unparalleled, putting immense pressure on the entire Western world, but its light industry...

Here's a joke: a kitchen debate, haha.

When Nixon questioned him, Khrushchev could only keep shifting the topic to the superiority of the system. He also knew that the Soviet Union's terrible light industry was completely crushed by the United States.

What's even more interesting is that, despite knowing this, he still brought up the longwave radio station and the joint fleet incident, which further deteriorated Sino-Soviet relations, ultimately causing the Soviet Union to completely lose this only ally that could help its Big Brother recover.

It also lost 20 percent of the Soviet Union's foreign trade volume at that time.

It's important to understand that at the time, most of the Soviet Union's allies relied on it for support, and we were one of the few who could provide a lifeline to our big brother, but in the end, we were forced to leave.

Oh. Getting back to the point, there's no doubt that high-latitude regions crave sugar, but unfortunately, due to insufficient sunlight, the fruits grown there are mostly bland and tasteless, completely inferior to tropical fruits.

This is also the means by which Xia Yu provided the infected people in the snowfield with a place to live and make a living.

"So, can I interpret the mayor's words as meaning that these fruits have a very good market in Ursus?" Xia Yu asked with a very interested expression.

“Uh, of course, almost all businessmen know that,” the mayor paused, taken aback. “You mean…”

"Then why, even though they know the profits are so high, do they see hardly any tropical fruits in Ursus?"

Xia Yu pondered, “I once heard someone say that capital becomes bold once there is a suitable profit. If there is a 10% profit, it will be used everywhere.”

"With a 20% profit, it becomes active; with a 50% profit, it takes risks; for a 100% profit, it dares to trample on all human laws; with a 300% profit, it dares to commit any crime, even risking being hanged."

At this point, Xia Yu smiled and looked at Ms. Kaine, "Could it be that the tropical fruits that the Ursus people are so enthusiastic about can't even bring merchants a 10% profit margin?"

“…Your words are truly insightful,” Ms. Kayne said, remaining silent for two seconds. She felt that something could be related to these words, but she didn’t have much time to think about it.

She dared not leave the person in front of her standing there waiting for her to finish thinking.

Ms. Kayle could only quickly reply, "Profit... naturally, I dare not say ten percent. There are many reasons, such as the long distance, the fact that fresh fruit doesn't keep well, and the high cost of freezing, which is simply unaffordable for ordinary people, etc..."

"More importantly, canned fruit is more profitable, less troublesome, and has lower transportation costs, so only a few people in Ursus will spend a lot of money to import fruit from distant Minos and Sargon, but it is out of reach for ordinary people."

"If such fruit could appear on the Ursus market without large-scale international transportation, and at a much lower price than previous fruits," Xia Yu said with a smile, "would it be welcomed by the people of Ursus?"

“That’s beyond doubt,” the mayor continued, finally getting to his area of ​​expertise. Speaking of the economy and people’s livelihood, he said eloquently, “As far as I know, even canned fruit from Sargon is not something that ordinary workers in Ursus can afford to consume regularly. If such fruit were to enter the market, my city would be in an uproar.”

"What's that saying again? If the Uka War were to be fought ten times, at least half of them would be for the sake of those sugar-producing knightly estates in Kazimir."

People living in low latitudes will never understand the obsession with sugar and fat among people in high latitudes.

In this era where everyone is just struggling to survive, while fruits in low-latitude regions can serve as food in extreme cases, there are usually better alternatives.

In high-latitude regions, the sugar content of tropical fruits is crucial for people to survive the harsh winter.

It's fair to say that people living in high-latitude regions have ingrained the importance of sugar into their genes.

In the past, in those underdeveloped times, everyone made do with what they had. This category belonged to oils, while sugar was a complete luxury.

Now, with the advancement of technology and the continuous popularization of education, the Ursus people have gradually discovered that sugar is the best. Therefore, from the conquest of Casimir to the war with Letania, and the military expedition to partition the Gallo Empire, this is part of the reason behind it.

The Casimir Plains have a pleasant climate and are rich in sugar, though not as good as Victoria, it's still enough to make Ursus envious.

Sugar is a guarantee of survival, profit, and money.

In her past life, Xia Yu had seen a video about a traditional Russian snack: two slices of marinated fatty pork sandwiched between a slice of pickled cucumber, which was eaten directly.

Yes, eat it raw... fatty pork...

This kind of food, which makes him, a southerner, feel mentally uncomfortable just looking at it, is a snack for Russians...

He didn't understand, but he was shocked.

He was as shocked as when he first learned that sugar could actually be used in cooking, because he had never eaten any sweet dishes since he was a child... They were either spicy or salty. The white sugar at home was usually just soaked in water, or used to make a sugar egg or a glutinous rice ball. In his previous understanding, these were not considered dishes.

But using sugar in cooking is actually quite normal, something he only discovered after starting university.

"I see," Xia Yu said, looking thoughtful. "As long as production isn't a problem, it's fine, right?"

“Of course, uh,” the mayor replied instinctively, “you mean?”

"What I mean is, if I can provide enough tropical fruit, can your city handle it?" Xia Yu replied with a smile.

"Ah, this..." Upon hearing this, the mayor was unsure whether to agree or not.

What does this mean exactly?

Forced sale? Extortion?

But judging from what he said before, it doesn't seem like it...

“You mean…” Ms. Kayne sensed something different and asked tentatively.

The mayor was an official and a politician, and he considered Xia Yu, who was in front of him, to be in a superior position. Faced with such an inquiry from a superior, he naturally assumed it was some kind of subtle solicitation or extortion.

His hesitation stemmed from the fear that the amount exceeded what he could decide, since he wasn't a single, all-powerful figure like the mayor of Chiplini.

As a businesswoman, Ms. Kayne sensed a business opportunity because of this identity.

“Come with me,” Xia Yu said, standing up. “I’ll show you the purpose of your visit, and that’s also why I’m treating you to a fruit platter.”

Right, we did have a purpose. We came here to see if the entity on this ship was actually the Sarkaz royal court... How did we end up talking about fruit?

Oh, so it was someone else who started it, and with this atmosphere... it's really a bit scary...

As a result, they completely forgot about it.

Seeing Xia Yu get up, the two quickly followed.

The group arrived at the entrance of a huge cabin.

“I know what you’re here for, after all, that snowstorm probably scared a lot of people,” Xia Yu said with a smile as she stood at the door. “But I still have to tell you that it was just a helpless act of self-defense.”

As he spoke, he opened the door.

“My simulated Gaia is not something to kill people,” the hatch slowly opened, revealing a verdant world to the two of them.

"Welcome to Project Eden. You two are the first outsiders to see it. Please feel free to explore."

"This...this is..." The moment they stepped into the cabin, it felt as if they had traveled from the harsh winter of Ursus to the sweltering summer of Sargon. Looking at the lush jungle before them, with countless familiar and unfamiliar fruit trees scattered everywhere, the fragrance of fruit in the air constantly stimulated their senses.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Xia Yu's lips curled into a slight smile.

Yes, my Eden Plan is what's right in front of you. The so-called weapon doesn't exist at all; on the contrary, it's the salvation that you Ursus people have always dreamed of.

The Sarkaz royal court doesn't exist; there's only a ship loaded with goods and technology.

So when the news got back, faced with such enormous benefits, the nobles looked at their hundreds of thousands of troops and then at the technology that could change the entire Ursus.

Can they still sit still?

420 I'll reiterate again

The wages of avarice is death.

Driven by the pursuit of power and profit, they even resorted to forcing the infected within their own country to rebel after their attempt to instigate a war between Ursus and Yan failed.

Can the nobles really resist the allure of this technology?

That's probably impossible; the only thing that could bring them to their senses is the bloody executioner's blade.

There was also the watchful eyes of others around.

But what if—and I mean what if—we give them the wrong impression? Let them think that this thing isn't so easy to use?