Lord of the Desert

Chapter 460 Amaterasu Sea

June 19, the 31st year of Zhenghe.

Southwest of Hezhou, afternoon.

The sky over the Chixiang Plain is eerily high.

To the west, clusters of orange-red rugged mountains are inserted into the Gobi Desert, like solid fire burning on the horizon.

To the north, the river was as thick as lead and mercury, cutting towards the southeast like a scimitar.

The forest has lived on both sides of the river for generations, embracing the cotton fields cleared by humans.

Between two green fields, five or six people walked in a line. In the front was a short old man with a goatee and wearing a conical hat.

"This is what I call red sandy loam. It is different from the soil outside Hezhou."

The old man stretched out his rough hands and grabbed a handful of sand from the cotton roots.

"You are the Star Lord of the Sand World, so I won't say anything more about the soil quality. Anyway, the most suitable soils for growing cotton are sandy loam and light clay."

He crushed the sand and threw it back into the leaves, then turned to look at Hong Fan.

The latter was dressed in a bright red military uniform with gold thread, and a square-topped hard-shell hat on his head. He looked like the rising sun, full of vigor and enthusiasm.

"Bu Sheng, what is the yield per mu of cotton field here?"

Hong Fan asked respectfully.

"I asked the Zeng family's steward, and he said the yield per mu is over 1,000 catties."

Bu Tianze grabbed a well-growing cotton plant and pulled it up. He looked carefully at the symmetrical pentagonal leaves and smiled.

“There are three advantages to growing cotton in Hezhou.

The first is the good soil I just mentioned;
The second is that the cotton seeds are good, and after years of hybridization, the roots have strong regeneration ability, and even if they are damaged, they can be repaired quickly;
The third is a good climate, with long sunshine hours and sufficient sunlight, and dry air and few clouds, which widen the temperature difference between day and night. Both are conducive to the accumulation of cotton fibers and improve the quality of cotton yarn. "

After he finished his muttering, he carefully planted the plant in his hand.

"In short, if you want to do textile business, there is really no better place in the world than Hezhou."

After investigating in the fertile cotton fields for more than an hour, the group turned back east along the river and arrived at Shuixin City at dusk.

This city was built at the confluence of two major rivers in Hezhou, Liangshui and Liehe - the latter was the one that Hong Fan saw in the afternoon, which flows northwest and southeast and got its name because it tore through the Chixiang Plain.

Today's dinner was held for the newly established textile company "Jinghuanhang" and was held at the Zeng family, the first family in Shuixin City. The specifications were extremely high, with more than 20 people sitting around a large table made of cut whole wood.

In addition to Hong Fan, the art saint Bu Tianze, and Hu Zhuang who arrived temporarily as a representative, the guests also included Hezhou's chief supervisor Mei Chengxue, whom Hong Fan had just met two days ago, and the core figures of the three major families in southern Hezhou and the two powerful families.

After several days of running around and negotiation, the business system was finalized.

Hong Fan held 10% of the shares, Qizuojian held 30%, and another 50% was distributed among the three aristocratic families of Hezhou Yin, Qin, and Zeng and the two powerful families. The remaining 10% belonged to Xiao Chu personally.

The first two parties provided technology, the middle five parties provided funds, land, and connections, and only Xiao Chu was temporarily doing a no-cost business.

At the table, there was a second-realm celestial being, three primordial magnets (including Bu Tianze), and seven innate beings, covering some of the most important faces in the southern half of Hezhou.

But Hong Fan came to the East alone and did not feel any contempt.

When they first met, even Yin Jia Tianren and Qin Zeng were quite polite to this overly young descendant from Liangzhou.

On the one hand, Bu Tianze and Mei Chengxue have deep connections in Hezhou, and they have made great efforts to lay a good foundation - it is not something that ordinary people can do to get Yin Lianfeng, the second-level celestial being of the Yin family and ranked 22nd on the Earth List, from "Yunshang Peak" to come to the banquet in person.

Secondly, Hong Fan himself has a high reputation. Not to mention his several super-class killing methods, just based on his battle records and progress in martial arts in the past few years, he has been widely regarded as the future top of the Tianjiao list and the Yuanci master.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

After nearly five years, the momentum he had accumulated had grown, and it was no longer as difficult to push things forward as before.

Open the jar of aged wine.

The silver chopsticks made a cold, crisp sound when they touched the fine porcelain.

"I heard that this is Mr. Hong's first time in Hezhou. What is your impression?"

The host Zeng Yingqiong asked a question.

She has a head full of silver hair, is about ninety years old, and is called "Floating Flame Light". She has reached the fourth level of Yuanci cultivation. She sits on the left side of Yin Lianfeng, facing Bu Tianze. "The mountains and rivers are beautiful, and it's an eye-opener."

Hong Fan answered truthfully.

"I've heard a lot about criminals being exiled to the northern border of Hezhou. I thought it would be desolate and cold, but after coming here I found that it's rich in resources and the climate is better than Liangzhou."

The locals at the table all laughed when they heard this.

"It's actually quite right to say that it's vast and extremely cold. The Kuaiye Mountains run across the middle of Hezhou, dividing the north and south. If you go to the territory of Zhenbeiwei in the north, you will understand how to describe the word 'hardship'."

Zeng Yingqiong joked.

"I wonder how the Feng family is doing in Tietai City now?"

Hong Fan interrupted and asked.

As an eyewitness to the Huaiyang Rebellion, how could he not think of the Feng family when mentioning Zhenbei Guard?

"It can be said that I have made many contributions, but life has not been easy."

The one who answered was Qin Hong, who was standing beside Bu Tianze and was known as "Banshanke" and was at the second level of Yuanci.

"This year, Tietai City and the Giant Spirits have been fighting frequently, and the situation is quite tense. It is said that even supplies such as food, fodder and medicine were in short supply last winter, and people were sent south several times to urgently purchase them."

"There's not enough food and medicine? Is the northern border so hard?"

Hong Fan frowned slightly.

Although he hated the Feng family, he did not want to vent his anger on Tietai City.

"Supplies in the north have never been abundant, but it's not to this extent. It's just that they just arrived and were bullied by the Zhenbei Guards."

Yin Lianfeng, who was sitting in the main seat, took over the conversation.

"Last September, Lord Kou asked the Feng family to visit him in Whiterun, but the conversation was not a very pleasant one."

There was a hint of sarcasm in his words.

"Of course the Feng family is a first-class family, but now is not the time when Feng Jianke and Feng Mubai are still here - Xiao Sefeng is only at the first level of Yuanci and is already the strongest fighter in the family. If the Zhenbei Guards only exert a little strength, they will be in trouble."

Hong Fan nodded when he heard this.

He had always heard that the Zhenbei Guard was not united internally, but was quite united when facing outsiders. The "Mr. Kou" mentioned by Yin Lianfeng was the strongest of the three celestial beings north of the Kuaiye Mountains.

Fifth on the list of the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth is “Amaterasu” Kou Fei.

It is said that Kou Yong is his distant descendant.

"Many of you have never been to Whiterun, so you don't know that the men of the Northern Frontier are straightforward and have violent tempers. Speaking of which, Lord Kou's name also has a great origin. Fifteen years ago, when he was traveling in Haizhou, he discussed martial arts with the Heart Saint Sect. He was dissatisfied with the subtlety of the "Nothing Outside the Heart" Shi Shengxuan's discussion, and they fought over a disagreement. At that time, thick clouds swallowed the sun and illuminated the sea and sky. The two fought to a draw, and that's how the three words "Amaterasu Sea" came into being."

The topic diverged from here.

"Mr. Kou fought a draw with the Saint Shi? That's right, the Saint Shi was still in the Heavenly Man Realm at that time..."

"Shi Sheng practiced martial arts for sixty-four years and became a martial saint. He ranks fifth on the Jietian Terrace, second only to Shanzhang's forty-three years."

"However, Shanzhang was born in a humble family, and only had the opportunity to practice martial arts when his meridians began to shrink. So the talent gap between the two is more than twenty-one years..."

When it came to the topic of comparing combat power and talent, all the warriors in the room were very excited even though they were young, which made Hong Fan feel like he was back in the Jinhai clan academy.

Several jars of liquor were soon emptied.

After eating and drinking, everyone was in high spirits and went to the Zeng Mansion's martial arts arena to openly practice their killing skills, which attracted thousands of people to watch.

The night rests on the torches.

Below it, ice fog, earth waves, and lightning were running rampant one after another.

Finally, Hong Fan played the role of the God of Fire again, blowing up more than twenty Jianmu trees in a breath, bringing an end to the night's revelry.

PS: I have been very busy these days and have no time to correct the text. If you find typos, please post them and I will modify them as soon as I see them.

(End of this chapter)