We bear people have power

The heavy snow blocked the roads, and although the road had been widened by Guan Bo, it was still quite difficult to travel. If it weren't for the fact that the caravan was full of martial arts masters, they probably wouldn't have been able to travel even twenty miles a day.

Even so, they could only travel fifty li each day. It took them four days just to cover the two hundred li of the newly built trade route.

But no one was in a hurry. In this kind of weather, the food could be stored for a long time, and there was no fear that it would spoil and become unsellable. As for the disaster in Wuji Kingdom, even the young monk Yideng was not too worried.

Back then, the Demon Extermination Alliance was essentially driven out of Wuji Kingdom. Yideng was young and not yet compassionate enough, so naturally he wasn't very willing to go back and repay evil with kindness.

Therefore, the group walked at a leisurely pace. After returning from the new road to the old road, which was the previously bustling trade route, the caravan from Sicklehammer City encountered many fellow merchants. These were all well-informed large merchant guilds who had heard about the disaster in Wuji Kingdom and had brought a considerable amount of grain with them.

But they certainly weren't like the caravans of Sicklehammer City, driven by the idea of ​​saving lives even at the cost of profit. These caravans came with the dream of selling grain for an equivalent amount of gold. Disaster relief? Forget about it.

At first, everyone went their own way. Even among caravans, there was mutual wariness, with everyone fearing that the other might occasionally double as a bandit. However, the insect lanterns of Sicklehammer City quickly attracted the attention of others.

An insect capable of continuously producing roaring flames was confined in a lantern-shaped iron cage, which was attached to all four corners of a carriage, making it clearly visible even in the wind and snow. However, when it came time to light a fire and cook, the sheer amount of damage it caused became apparent.

Other caravans had to dig and fill in the ground with stones to build stoves before they could even set up their iron pots to cook. But the caravans from Sicklehammer City simply took down their insect lanterns, found a flat spot, and laid them down—that became their stoves. They could cook as soon as they set up their iron pots. This meant that the people of Sicklehammer City finished eating and cleaned up before others even started their fires.

The caravan members of Sicklehammer City were all martial arts practitioners who had traveled all over the country. They were all flamboyant people, and seeing their own caravan's skills, they became smug. Picking their teeth with a straw, they walked smugly toward the other caravan's camp.

These two or three people didn't seem like they were there to rob anyone, so they weren't stopped. However, the members of the Sicklehammer City caravan were quick to criticize, saying smugly to the young people who were busy starting a fire, "Haven't eaten yet? It's not easy to start a fire in this weather. Yes, not everyone has our Sicklehammer City's specialties; this alien insect lamp is one of a kind in the world."

His attitude was so arrogant that it made you want to punch him.

However, those merchants who ventured out to trade were all discerning. They immediately recognized the men of Sicklehammer City as strong and robust, walking with a powerful stride and carrying sharp weapons at their waists. They were clearly not to be trifled with, not the honest, simple commoners, but rather ruthless warriors who had tasted blood. Therefore, no one actually intended to attack them for this verbal provocation.

The people from Sickle Hammer City only boasted a little, and after only a short while, Zhang Yuanshan ordered them back to the caravan.

This was just a minor incident, but it was a big deal for other caravans.

It is the nature of businessmen to pursue profit.

Braving the freezing cold and snow to travel to the Kingdom of Wuji, all for the sake of money, lots of money. And what business in this world is the most profitable? Everyone knows it's a monopoly.

What are these alien lanterns? No one had ever heard of them before, but in the past few days they'd witnessed their usefulness. They're a special kind of insect that eats almost anything, is very easy to raise, and can continuously produce flames. Moreover, these insects seem quite docile; aside from eating, they mostly just lie around sleeping, making absolutely no noise.

These foolish, utterly inept business enthusiasts only know how to use these insects as heaters, lanterns, and cooking stoves—what a waste! If they were transported back to Chang'an, with a little hype, their flames could be touted as divine fire from heaven.

So, how much would it cost to take a look and feel the heat of the divine fire?

How much would a dish cooked with divine fire cost?

Could those extravagant dens in Chang'an not be worthy of a divine fire spirit insect brought from the immortal Penglai Mountain? That's right, its origin and name have already been decided, and they are extremely feasible.

Although these insects eat almost anything, if we're going to hype them up and increase their value, we need to impose some restrictions. They must be fed only special spirit insect feed to ensure the purity of their divine fire; if fed anything else, it will lose its spiritual energy. And of course, the spirit insect feed itself must be monopolized.

These merchants believed that the number of these insects couldn't be too large; otherwise, they would have been discovered long ago. How could only this unheard-of caravan possess them?

Therefore, these merchants never considered the possibility of widespread adoption, let alone imagined that almost everyone in Sicklehammer City had one, or even several.

With this in mind, the merchants began to try various ways to get closer to Zhang Yuanshan. They could tell that Zhang Yuanshan was the leader of the caravan, and as for the seemingly high-ranking young monk Yideng... he was probably just a Buddhist because the caravan owner believed in Buddhism.

No sooner said than done, a caravan manager came to their door.

"Manager Zhang is young and promising. When I was your age, I was still working as a wine warmer and had never even seen an account book. Yet Manager Zhang is already able to lead a caravan all by himself. It's truly admirable."

A flowery sedan chair is carried by people, and flattery is always the best opening line.

Facing the man who claimed to be the manager of Hengyuan Trading Company in Chang'an, Zhang Yuanshan subtly passed him the wine cup. Although the wine was fragrant and refreshing, a fine wine he hadn't tasted in a long time, Zhang Yuanshan was a cautious man and didn't want to get too close to this person before figuring out his intentions.

"Manager Zhao, you're too kind. It's only because the master thinks highly of me that he appointed someone with little experience as the caravan manager. How can we compare to your Hengyuan Trading Company? You have several times more goods than us." Anyone can say nice things, and although Zhang Yuanshan came from a江湖 (jianghu, a world of martial arts and chivalry) background, his manners were second to none.

After exchanging a few polite words, Manager Zhao saw that Zhang Yuanshan was quite composed and didn't even ask about his purpose, so his opinion of him improved. He decided to ask first, "Manager Zhang, although this caravan is small, everyone looks to be highly skilled. May I ask who the owner is?"

There was no need to hide this. Zhang Yuanshan's purpose in going out this time was to gain experience and, incidentally, make a name for the caravan. So he said directly, "We are a caravan from Sickle Hammer City, and the owner is naturally the city lord."

Manager Zhao felt a chill run down his spine. The title of "Lord of a City" was no small matter. Especially outside of the Tang Dynasty, the so-called Lord of a City was practically equivalent to the ruler of a small country. Within their own city, their power was even greater than that of a regional governor in the Tang Dynasty; their words were law, and what they set was the law.

However, Sicklehammer City... I feel like I've heard of it somewhere before.

"Is it the Sickle and Hammer City that was exempted from commercial taxes before?" Manager Zhao asked.

“That’s right. The city lord loves his people like his own children, and taxes are extremely low. Commercial taxes are even waived.” Zhang Yuanshan said with considerable confidence.

Steward Zhao scoffed inwardly at the notion of "loving one's people like one's own children." These days, aside from the Tang Dynasty, these small countries rarely had a peaceful day. A true lord who loved his people like his own children wouldn't live more than a few days. Only small countries with iron-fisted methods and a total mobilization of soldiers could survive in this chaotic world.

However, exempting businesses from taxes is indeed a huge move; it's probably only done in one place in the world: Sicklehammer City.

"I never expected the Lord of Sickle Hammer City to be so farsighted; he is truly admirable. Steward Zhang, are these grains being transported to the Kingdom of Wuji? It seems Sickle Hammer City has had a bumper harvest this year." Steward Zhao subtly inquired about the situation in Sickle Hammer City.

“That’s right, this year’s harvest in Sickle Hammer City is bountiful, with a yield of 2,000 catties per mu, which is far more than we can eat. That’s why the city lord asked me to organize a caravan to try my luck in the Kingdom of Black Chicken,” Zhang Yuanshan said proudly.

"What is the yield per mu?" Manager Zhao seemed to have heard something unbelievable, his eyes widening in disbelief.

“Two thousand catties,” Zhang Yuanshan repeated.

“This… two thousand catties… hehe… hehe…” Manager Zhao really didn’t know how to respond to this number.

In his mind, he immediately labeled Zhang Yuanshan as someone who "can't even brag." Where in the world is there fertile land that yields 2,000 catties per mu? He must have planted some kind of magical seed that fell from the sky, not wheat or rice.

Although the number was so ridiculous that even Steward Zhao didn't know how to react, his purpose in coming here was to inquire about the alien insect lanterns. So he suppressed the urge to spit in Zhang Yuanshan's face and continued to try to get closer to him, saying, "I heard that Sickle Hammer City is a mountain city. I thought the produce would be somewhat scarce, but I didn't expect that not only would the harvest be plentiful, but it would also produce these alien insects. There shouldn't be many of these, right?"

Zhang Yuanshan then came to his senses, realizing that he had been inquiring about the exotic insect lanterns. He thought that if the product could sell well, it would be a good specialty product. However, to achieve this, he needed to convince people that he had a sufficient supply. Therefore, Zhang Yuanshan honestly replied again, "Not a small amount. These insects are easy to raise; I can easily have thirty to fifty thousand."

"Three to five... ten thousand?" Manager Zhao was stunned by this number again.

This seemingly reliable Manager Zhang doesn't play by the rules at all! He's not going to exaggerate like that! If you really asked him to produce 30,000 chickens, could he even do it? In that desolate mountain town, they probably couldn't even produce 30,000 chickens!

Zhang Yuanshan couldn't understand why Manager Zhao was so surprised. He had never considered that something that every household had could be a monopoly or a luxury item. Therefore, their conversation was completely nonsensical.

Manager Zhao felt a bit choked up. His prepared explanations had been completely overwhelmed by Zhang Yuanshan's claim of a yield of 2,000 catties per mu and another 30,000 to 50,000 strange insects. So, after exchanging a few more polite words, Manager Zhao staggered back to his caravan.

When the other managers of the small caravans saw Manager Zhao return, they immediately surrounded him, asking all at once, "How come you finished talking so quickly?"

"Is that Manager Zhang easy to talk to?"

"Are they planning to cooperate on the Zerg lantern issue?"

……

Manager Zhao gestured for everyone to quiet down, then concluded, "Manager Zhang is a complete liar; he's incredibly unreliable. If we were to partner with him, we'd likely be taken advantage of."

Upon hearing what the highly respected Manager Zhao said, everyone fell silent. In business, the worst thing is encountering such unreliable partners. But they didn't want to let go of the value of the alien insects; it was a highly profitable opportunity.

After a moment of silence, someone suddenly spoke up and suggested, "Since he's such an unreliable manager, it's not surprising that the caravan runs into problems, is it? I see they have forty alien lanterns. These things are rare and valuable, so that should be enough for us to share."

The chilling murderous intent in his words was unmistakable, and anyone could understand what he meant.

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhao's eyes began to flash with a sharp edge.