...
That night.
Wang Shouzhe's carriage returned to the main residence once to draft several letters entrusted to the household heads for delivery.
He informed the closer related families first to avoid any resentment they might harbor against the unscathed Wang family after suffering from a disaster. Even if they had already discovered signs of the insect disaster, it wouldn't hinder the Wang family's friendly gesture.
In addition to this, Wang Shouzhe only brought two household heads with him. They rode on horses throughout the night. Upon arriving at Dingpu Ferry, they secretly crossed the Peace River using a family-owned fishing boat. By the time they reached Changning Guard City, the day had just barely dawned.
In the sunlight, the city walls of Changning City were majestic and radiant.
The city walls were over ten zhang tall and the whole body was built from solid black stone bricks. There were fully armored soldiers with crossbows stationed on the battlements. Every few dozen zhang, there was also a gigantic crossbow stationed for defense.
Although Changning Guard City is only ranked as a county-level city, it was more formidable and domineering compared to the prestigious cities on Earth.
There was no choice, this world was not the Ancient Huaxia. In this dangerous foreign land, many powerful monsters and dangerous beasts roamed. Once a beast tide occurred, high walls and solid cities were mankind's only barriers.
Ping'an Town also has city walls, but compared to Guard City, it was vastly inferior.
Wang Shouzhe and his two companions stopped their horses gradually before the city gate. They dismounted and joined the crowd of people hurrying into the city early in the morning. Although at this time, those entering the city were mostly farmers, petty merchants, manual workers, and other common people.
Seeing Wang Shouzhe and the household heads leading tall and large horses and dressed extravagantly, they instinctively gave way and showed reverence.
In the Great Qian Land, the Profound Martial prominent families were the privileged class. Even the most downtrodden small prominent family was not something that a commoner could compare with.
At the east city gate.
Two fully armored soldiers stepped forward to inspect Wang Shouzhe's family token, and then respectfully invited him into the city.
After entering the city, he didn't dally and led his horse directly to the Qian Family Business Group. The Qian Family Business Group had businesses throughout Longzuo County, its strength was profound and it had excellent credibility. The Insecticide Powder, made by the Purple Abode Academic Palace, was handled mainly by the Qian Family Business Group.
This alone made the Qian Family Business Group very wealthy, not to mention their business was not limited to just the Insecticide Powder.
After pulling out the Wang family's token, the household heads waited outside. Wang Shouzhe was led into one of the side halls in the business sector, and after the maidservant offered him fruits and tea, she withdrew.
Wang Shouzhe calmly sipped his tea and looked around. Even though it was just a side hall in one of the branches of the business group, it was still decorated luxuriously. The various precious wooden screens, furniture, antique ornaments simply placed here and there, each one was highly valuable.
Even with Wang Shouzhe's rather "superficial" knowledge, he could perceive the value of the decorative items in this side hall. They were worth at least hundreds, if not thousands, of Qian Gold, showcasing the profound wealth of the Qian Family Business Group. They were truly worthy of being the dominant wealthy clan in Longzuo.
As a transmigrator, Wang Shouzhe understood, of course, the psychological tactics of the Qian Family Business Group.
After about a quarter of an hour.
A kind-faced, chubby middle-aged man walked in: "The Family Head of the Ping'an Wang family has personally come, I, Qian Mou, have failed to receive you from a great distance. Please forgive my rudeness."
Wang Shouzhe's eyes narrowed, the other party's seemingly casual polite remark revealed some colossal information.
He had only been the clan leader for these two or three days, and given the current decline of the Ping'an Wang Family, even a change in clan leader wouldn't cause much attention. Unexpectedly, not only did the Qian Family Business Group notice, but they also confirmed his identity within a quarter of an hour.
They were truly worthy of being one of the commercial giants dominating Longzuo. Their information gathering ability was very strong. And the man's surname was Qian, he had an extraordinary temperament, he most likely was a bloodline member of the Qian family.
"Oh, come now, it's my intrusion that brought me here, so it's already a great honor to be greeted by Principal Qian himself," Wang Shouzhe responded in a similarly humble and courteous manner. The person with the last name of Qian could hardly be the head of the shop.
The Qian Family business is enormous, even the shopkeeper of the Changning branch is a big shot, they wouldn't be here to deal with him, the Clan Leader of a declined family who only reached the Vital Energy Refining Realm.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a bit before sitting down.
Once seated, without heading towards the main topic, Principal Qian and Wang Shouzhe casually talked about everything from Elder Zhou Xuan to Elder Longyan, then to the achievement of cultivating at the Purple Abode Academic Palace. Throughout these discussions, Shouzhe showed outstanding knowledge.
Wang Shouzhe also had grand plans for this visit and naturally couldn't show any signs of fear, he played along by making small talk and subtly revealing his superior logical and cognitive skills.
"What a pity, Shouzhe. With knowledge like yours, if you took part in the re-examination at the Purple Abode Academic Palace, it might secure your position as a disciple. Their focus is not merely on the cultivation base and talent, but also on the broad views and stature of the disciples. I think the Wang family in your hands will sooner or later regain its peak, or even exceed it." Principal Qian seemed to take Wang Shouzhe more seriously and both praised and lamented him.
"Principal Qian, don't make fun of me," Wang Shouzhe shook his head with a bitter smile, "Our Ping'an branch of the Wang Family only wants to survive peacefully, nothing more."
In the midst of their courteous exchange, the two started addressing each other as brothers.
"Shouzhe, you rushing to the Qian family business late in the night, could it be you have a big business deal in mind?" Principal Qian, who had been exchanging courtesies for a while, couldn't wait anymore and started segueing into the main subject.
At these words, Wang Shouzhe gently put down his teacup, his eyes filled with calmness: "I do need a favor, Brother Qian, I need five thousand bags of insecticide powder."
At these words, Principal Qian's hand trembled slightly. He glanced at Wang Shouzhe in disbelief, and after some time suppressed his anger, "Brother Shouzhe, are you here to mock me?"
"Why would Principal Qian say such a thing?" Wang Shouzhe replied with utter calm, "Surely the grand Qian Family business can't be out of five thousand bags of insecticide powder?"
"Do you realize how much five thousand bags of insecticide powder is? One bag weighs about a hundred catties, once diluted it's enough for a hundred acres of fertile land, five thousand bags is enough for five hundred thousand acres." Principal Qian frowned, "The total amount of fertile land owned by Changning Guard City and the various towns under our command is only about one million five hundred thousand acres."
"I know." Wang Shouzhe's face remained undisturbed, his eyes were very serious.
Principal Qian's expression gradually became intrigued: "Brother, this isn't a joke?"
"Of course it's not a joke." Wang Shouzhe said, "Although Ping'an branch of Wang family is just a bottom-tier Rank 9 Family, we would surely not treat this lightly."
"Well, well, well, brother, you've truly given me quite a surprise. This business deal is definitely mine." Principal Qian spoke with a joyful expression, "However, the Changning branch of Qian's business only has two thousand bags of insecticide in stock. The other three thousand bags have to be transferred from other branches, which will take at least ten days."
"Why is the number in stock so small?" Wang Shouzhe frowned slightly.
"That's already a lot, last years' supplies were almost entirely cleared out." Principal Qian responded seriously, "The production of the powder relies on the crops that are grown and harvested accordingly each year. Last year saw a bountiful harvest resulting in excess production by nearly ten percent. The plan was to sell it to each family at a low price, but only a few were willing to stock up at that price. And so, at the end of last winter, our supply in Changning Guard City was left with a surplus of two thousand bags."
"Why didn't those families stock up when prices were low?" asked Wang Shouzhe casually.
"Well...alright, this isn't exactly a secret anymore, a lot of families already know. I'm not breaking any clan rules by telling you." Principal Qian hesitated a little, then reluctantly admitted, "The medicinal materials used in the insecticide are planted by various prominent families. As this was proving to be profitable, more families started investing in these medicinal farms. As a result, the production in the past couple of years has been increasing, also we have been purchasing raw materials at a lower price. This winter's batch of insecticide powder has a lot of...you know. The larger families have quicker access to such information."
Hehe~ Wang Shouzhe understood; it was a case of overproduction, and market saturation. Though he wasn't an expert in economics, his awareness and consciousness were still above the inhabitants of this Mysterious Magical World.
"In that case..." Wang Shouzhe, after contemplating for a moment, said, "I'll take the two thousand bags of insecticide in stock of the shop as well as the three thousand bags of future goods."
"Well, brother Shouzhe, what do you mean when you say future goods?" Principal Qian completely didn't understand the term, his round face full of confusion.
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