Suo Jia and the group of fire wind warriors observed the party as it gradually reached its climax. Just by simply paying 200,000 gold coins, one could go up to the tree and pick a lychee. However, as for the order in which the people could go up… hehe…
As everybody knew, even though the lychees were all on the tree they were not all the same. There were some that already matured, and some that were not. The people who picked earlier would naturally be able to pick the better ones.
Moreover, being the first ones to pick represented a symbol of identity and status. Because this was an event that could raise one's reputation, then this picking order definitely had to be auctioned off.
As time continued to flow, finally… the party gradually ended. All of the guests eventually left the White Villa. After a short while, Eldest Sister pushed open the tent entrance and entered.
Walking in front of Suo Jia, Eldest Sister said in delight, "Young Master, allow me to report on today's income. In regards to the lychees, the money gained from entry fees totaled at 1,000,000 gold, and today we sold 720 trays, earning 7,200,000 gold. The auction for the order of lychee picking totaled at 8,000,000 gold. Because of all of these, today's total earnings were 16,200,000 gold!"
"Wa!" Hearing Eldest Sister's words, the scatteredly seated fire wind warriors all cheered as they stood up in excitement. Although they knew that they would earn a lot more compared to before, there was no way that they could have ever imagined the amount would be so much!
Originally, the lychee operation had an estimated net profit of 150,000 gold coins. Now however, everyone's earnings had roughly doubled. Within only a single month, each fire wind warrior had earned nearly 300,000 gold. Just how many things could they buy with this amount of money…
While watching the fire wind warriors jumping for joy, Suo Jia gently put a lychee into his mouth. Although each of them had earned 300,000 gold and thought that it was a lot, this was simply the price of an ordinary robe; they were still far from earning a great amount.
However, Suo Jia understood that within the service industry, he had just stepped into the aristocratic circle. Although such methods of earning money were not impossible, it was indeed slow. Compared to the weapons and food industries, it was still far behind.
Right now, however, although the fire wind warriors were already rather strong, they did not have the necessary strong equipment to face powerful monsters and enemies. After tasting the benefits of possessing magical equipment, Suo Jia knew that arming these fire wind warriors with equipment was his most urgent task. This was also the reason why Suo Jua set up the Commerce Union.
The Wild Rose Merchant Group's rank was still too low; it was currently still an F-rank commerce group. This made them unable to take on large tasks; only by taking on larger tasks could more profits be made, and they would also be able to get their equipment faster.
After enjoying the benefits of his magical equipment, in Suo Jia's opinion, although money could not raise a strong team, it could make the team stronger. This was why while training these girls, earning more money as soon as possible was the most important thing.
Only by starting this business and fully arming these fire wind warriors could he one day enter the Greater Trade Routes. As for right now, everything was dependent on money! To have money was the same thing as having equipment, and having equipment meant having strength, as well as having faster cultivation. This was Suo Jia's current goal!
Early the next morning, the fire wind warriors left the White Villa. Once again, they left to bring back a fresh stock of Snow Lotus fruits. This Snow Lotus fruit grew in the northern arctics, and within the local area it was considered a rare and valuable specialty. The price of a single ounce of them was worth more than 10,000 gold, and there was no set price.
The Snow Lotus flower could be used for slow aging, and the Snow Lotus fruit could help recover spirit power. It was precisely because of these two wonderful features that their prices reached such an extraordinary level. Both the flower and the fruit were generally sold in grams, as few people dared to buy in kilograms.
There were many reasons why the group had specifically chosen this Snow Lotus flower. Suo Jia did not allow them to purchase this from locals, but rather wanted them to personally pick it from the arctic ice. This was done to force the fire wind warriors to face their poor resistances to the cold, giving their fire element battle qi's cultivation many benefits.
On the other hand, since they were personally picking the fruits, the original costs became zero. A single ounce of Snow Lotus fruit could sell for ten thousand; if they came back with 300 ounces each, then the fruits of labor would provide each person 1,500,000.
The last aspect was that in the far north, although there were magical beasts inhabiting that area, they were all rather slow and sluggish. Even if they were to encounter some sort of dangerous situation, with the fire wind warriors' speeds, they could still safely escape. When considering the speed and strength of their team, they could gradually wear down and defeat their enemies.
It can be said that presently, picking these Snow Lotus fruits was the most suitable task for the fire wind warriors. Even though these tasks that were too difficult for more powerful warriors, the fire wind warriors could still handle these tasks because they possessed unique special abilities.
The fire arts' ability to resist cold, and the wind arts' ability to rapidly escape: these two abilities were truly indispensable for this mission. Even if one searched the entire world, one would only find that fire wind warriors possessed these traits. This was precisely why the price of the Snow Lotus fruit was so extraordinarily high.
Basically, if it were not the fire wind warriors sent on this mission, and instead other element occupations had been sent, at the very least they would have to be more powerful by a couple times just to enter these arctics. How many individuals that had the ability to pick these Snow Lotus fruits, aside from the fire wind warriors, were there? Even if one was to assume that there were such people, how many of them would be willing to venture into such bitterly cold conditions for the sake of this cheap business?
Moreover, there was one more special fact about the Snow Lotus fruit. After picking it, it would become water after just a month, and lose all medicinal qualities. Only these fire wind warriors could quickly and efficiently pick and deliver these goods back to the White Villa, and see such shocking profits.
Leaving aside how rare the Snow Lotus fruit was and the fact that it couldn't be preserved for long, what made this fruit such an expensive luxury was because of its unique capability of being able to recover spirit power. It also had beauty and cosmetic properties.
Generally speaking, even the cities closest to the north would rarely carry this Snow Lotus fruit, let alone in Holy Light City. The truth is, although the unit price of the Snow Lotus fruit was ten thousand gold, there still had to be someone willing to sell it!
The most important point was still that although the Snow Lotus fruit was rare, as long as one possessed enough strength, it was not difficult to pick. Its numbers were plentiful as well; however, it could not be preserved. Moreover, these Snow Lotus fruits grew in a dangerous area, often surrounded by formidable magical beasts.
However regarding all of these difficulties, they were not anything the fire wind warriors couldn't handle. Within this special environment, not only were they able to develop their strength, but they could also earn a lot of money. In addition, these fire wind warriors could, upon picking these Snow Lotus fruits, immediately eat a number of them to not only offset some of the damages done to their skin, but also increase their spirit powers in order to enable them to run their battle qi smoother.
Of course, the Snow Lotus fruits had limited uses. Perhaps it would increase one's spirit power after the first time it's consumed, but after one eats it a hundred times, it unfortunately does not have any effect anymore. Aside from arduously training one's body, nothing else can be relied on to improve one's self permanently; they can only be used as temporary solutions!
On the third day of the fire wind warriors' journey to rush to the north, finally….Suo Jia managed to successfully summon the Glacial Armor for the first time. The so-called Glacial Armor that covered his body was only a few centimeters thick and it was completely made from ice. Its hardness depended on its temperature; the lower the temperature, the sturdier the Glacial Armor.
Although this was only the first time that Suo Jia had ever activated the magic, during the past month, he had already managed to achieve very high levels of strength and hardness for his Glacial Armor due to his training in the Ice and Snow Pact. Currently, it was at least no worse than leather armor. The most important factor was that leather armor had to be thrown away as soon as it broke, but the Glacial Armor could be repaired at any time. No matter how much damage was inflicted on the Glacial Armor, it could be instantly repaired. This was the most powerful aspect of the Glacial Armor.