Firefly Journey

After resting for a day, the next day, based on Piero's description, the two discussed renting a carriage from a local car dealership and recruiting drivers and porters.

In small places like Luchi, much of the infrastructure is inadequate. It's only because of its strategic location that it has some decent shops; otherwise, it's not much better than Torreg.

The only carriage rental company in town is a national chain, so its reputation is absolutely solid, and it can also guarantee the quality of the horses.

The rental department of the "Tuojinzhe" carriage company is sparsely populated. As a transit point in this remote border town, most people come here to change horses, and very few people rent carriages.

Piero led Lin Yuanran inside, and the staff members nearby quickly came over to greet them.

"Good morning, gentlemen. How may I help you?" The lean staff member was very enthusiastic.

"Good morning," Piero greeted with a polite smile. "We'd like to rent some carriages. Do you have any recommendations?"

“Of course.” The lean man gestured for him to follow. “Please come with me.”

He led the way, and the two followed, passing the rental department. Behind them was a large stable, with rows of untethered wagons piled up beside it.

"This is the place. Please feel free to choose."

Lin Yuanran and Piero exchanged a glance, then went to the stable and examined it seriously.

Before setting out, the two had discussed it. They were going to the mountains and fields to collect rabbit fur. The horses had to be able to withstand the bumpy road. They didn't care about the price, as long as the quality met the requirements.

Piero said that such requirements cannot be met by ordinary horses; at least a hybrid horse with the bloodline of a magical beast is required.

The "Tuojinzhe" chain carriage company is renowned throughout the country and naturally has many mixed-breed horses, and even purebred monster trailers. Of course, the prices are beyond Lin Yuanran's current means.

Considering that after purchasing the rabbit fur, a warehouse would need to be rented for storage, since the goods would be stockpiled for winter, and taking into account the cost of purchasing the rabbit fur, Lin Yuanran wouldn't spend too much in this regard; as long as it was usable, it would be fine.

Based on this principle, the two stood in front of several mixed-breed horses.

“These look good, what’s the price?” Piero asked. Lin Yuanran didn’t answer. He never bargained when buying vegetables in his original world, so it was better to leave this to Piero and just observe and learn from him.

The lean man approached and said respectfully, "Sir, you have excellent taste."

These are hybrid offspring of the 'devil antler deer,' inheriting some of their endurance genes. While their speed is average, their strength lies in their stamina, allowing them to adapt very well to mountainous environments.

He first introduced the characteristics of mixed-breed horses, and then continued, "Each horse costs 15 copper coins per day, with different discounts for weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly rentals. The deposit is half of the rental period. You know, there are always some dishonest customers."

Piero nodded, then asked Lin Yuanran, as a formality, "What do you think?"

"Absolutely no problem." Lin Yuanran shrugged. Who am I? Where am I? I don't know anything.

Piero thought for a moment and said to the lean man, "20 horses, rent for half a month first, and I will consider whether to extend the fee later."

In addition, I need a fleet of large-capacity freight cars, as well as skilled drivers and porters. I think you should be able to provide that, right?

“Of course, no problem,” the lean man said with a smile.

The professions of coachman and porter are basically tied to carriage rental companies.

Needless to say, the coachman is essential; regardless of what the renter does, the carriage always needs someone to drive it, though the latter is mostly used for transporting goods.

This is similar to how instant noodles, sausages, toothpaste, and toothbrushes are always displayed together in the supermarket in Lin Yuanran's original world; the professional term for this is "related display."

"Please wait a moment while I go and arrange the details with my colleagues. We'll finalize the details of the cargo box, the driver, and the porters. In the meantime, you can go to the lounge to wait. There are some fine wines that have been brought from Yicheng there."

After the lean man finished speaking, he hurried off to get things done. Lin Yuanran and his companion watched over the stables for a few minutes before heading to the resting room he had mentioned.

A staff member brought out a jug of wine, which was poured for the two of them. It tasted pretty good; it was indeed worthy of being transported from the capital, and was better than the wine brewed by Olek himself.

“Two horses and one carriage. I’ve calculated it for you. Based on your current wealth, you can only rent a maximum of three carriages. You need to set aside money for purchasing rabbit fur, renting warehouses, and maintenance,” Piero said, taking a sip of wine.

Lin Yuanran said, "I have a feeling that even if we mortgaged the rabbit fur from the three carriages to a bank that was willing to lend money, it wouldn't be enough for 1 crystal coin?"

“Of course not.” Piero rolled his eyes. “You don’t have enough capital. Even if you went to lend money at high interest rates, you wouldn’t be able to raise enough by the end of summer.”

So, besides stockpiling rabbit fur, you'll need to do something else, like working part-time while studying.

Lin Yuanran said, "I understand, but what should I do? Do you have any better suggestions?"

Piero smiled and said, "In this world, besides security companies, there are also 'guilds' belonging to superhumans. These corporate organizations only accept superhumans and, like security companies, take on various commissions."

But since they are superhumans, they certainly don't deal with trivial matters. When they are hired, they are often tasked with dealing with supernatural phenomena.

Do you understand?

"I know exactly what I'm doing," Lin Yuanran said. "Which guild should I join?"

"Whatever, I'm just here to give you advice. I'm just an ordinary person, how would I know the ins and outs of a guild?" Piero said with a helpless expression.

Lin Yuanran nodded inwardly. This was indeed a way to make money. He would look into it in detail once the rabbit fur matter was settled.

The two chatted for a while, and soon the lean man arrived.

He first greeted the two respectfully before getting to the point: "Honorable guests, your needs have been arranged. Please go and check them."

The two followed the lean man back to the stable, which was already crowded with people, some feeding the horses hay, others assembling carriages.

The cart drivers were feeding the grass; the group was rather thin. The porters, on the other hand, were shirtless, mostly wearing only shorts, and were quite robust; among them were orcs and giants.

The lean man led over a middle-aged man dressed in coarse linen clothes and said to the two, "This is Charlie Johnson, an experienced coachman who has been to many places in the principality. He will be in charge of our company throughout the trip. If any unexpected events occur during the journey, you can contact us through him."

The two said they understood, and after exchanging ideas for a while, they confirmed that there were no problems and went to the rental department to sign the contract.

After the handover was completed, the two returned to the ghost hotel.

"Get ready, we're leaving tomorrow."

As they were parting, Piero said something before entering the room.

"it is good."

……

……

P.S.: I can't build a flawless new currency system like some experts, so just take a look at the part about consumption and don't delve into it too deeply.