Great Wilderness Demon Lord

It took another three days to return from the valley to Wangbeibao.

Throughout the journey, Xiao Yunlan kept thinking about how to get along with the Digging Tribe.

The tribe of Shigen only has about forty able-bodied men who can participate in mining, and their mining tools are primitive. However, they are familiar with the terrain of the mineral veins, are skilled at mining, and hold the scarce resource of Azure Spirit Copper.

The safest approach right now is to let the barbarians be responsible for mining the ore, and then use the mined ore to exchange with the humans for food, iron tools, and other necessities for life and production, so that each gets what they need and achieves a win-win situation.

The day after returning to Wangbeibao, Xiao Yunlan sent someone to invite Shi Gen and the others to the General's Mansion to formally discuss the specifics of the cooperative mining operation.

In the small hall, the guests and hosts took their seats: Xiao Yunlan sat in the main seat, with Xiao Yu and Steward Wu standing by his side; opposite him sat Shi Gen, and the fox-man—the fox-man was named Ling She, and was the person in charge of external liaison in several small tribes. His Da Yong Mandarin was far more fluent than Shi Gen's, and he became the bridge for communication between the two sides.

Xiao Yunlan got straight to the point, his tone calm: "I've already inspected the mine, and the quality is quite good. Today, let's discuss how you can exchange the ore with us for food, tools, and other items."

The Spirit Tongue translated Xiao Yunlan's words into the barbarian language and informed Shi Gen.

Upon hearing this, Shi Gen's eyes lit up, and he whispered a string of barbarian words, which his nimble tongue then relayed: "Chief Shi Gen said that we are willing to mine the ore with all our might, just to exchange it for enough food, as well as good iron picks and iron shovels, so that our people can eat their fill and mine more easily."

Xiao Yunlan nodded slightly, his tone calm: "That's natural. You provide the ore, and we provide the food and tools—a fair exchange."

However, I have a few points to clarify. Grain needs to be transported thousands of miles from Zhenhuang Pass, and iron picks and shovels need to be forged by blacksmiths day and night. All of these require costs, so the quality and weight of the ore must be equivalent to the goods being exchanged.

In addition, if any wolf tribes harass you while you are mining, I will send troops to protect you; this is an extra guarantee we provide.

Of course, I have three more conditions for reaching this cooperation agreement.

A glint immediately flashed in Shi Gen's eyes. He leaned forward slightly, still struggling to speak, and stammered, "Conditions...what conditions? I...we can agree, we'll try our best to agree!"

Xiao Yunlan stated point by point: "First, all the ores you mine can only be used to exchange for supplies with us. You are not allowed to sell them to other caravans or trade them with other people privately."

Secondly, I will send people to reside permanently in your tribe. This will serve two purposes: first, to register the output and purity of the ore to ensure fair exchange; and second, to keep track of your needs so that we can facilitate the delivery of food and tools.

Third, you must ensure the safety of the miners. When mining, you must act within your means and not gamble with the lives of your people.

After the nimble tongue finished translating quickly, Shi Gen nodded repeatedly and then eagerly added a sentence in the barbarian language, still struggling to speak.

The Spirit Tongue relayed, "The leader said that all of these are acceptable! We only wanted to exchange ores for food and tools; we would never engage in private transactions."

"It is acceptable for the general to send someone, but the person sent must bring their own provisions. Our tribe already lacks sufficient provisions and is truly unable to provide them. Please understand."

Xiao Yunlan turned to look at Steward Wu, who immediately bowed and replied, "General, rest assured, the people we send will bring their own food and supplies and will not trouble Chief Shigen's tribe."

After discussing the core agreement, the two sides began to finalize the specific details—how to inspect the purity of the ore, how much food and tools could be exchanged for different grades of ore, the time for transporting supplies, the penalties for breach of contract, etc. Each item had to be clearly defined to ensure that neither side would suffer a loss.

Manager Wu took out a draft of the agreement that had been prepared in advance and read it aloud to everyone, clause by clause.

The standards for ore color testing, exchange ratios, delivery methods for materials, safety responsibilities, and penalties for breach of contract are all clearly and explicitly stated without any ambiguity, highlighting the core rule of "exchanging ore for goods".

When the text came to the section on ore color testing and exchange ratios, Ling She suddenly interrupted and asked, "General, how much food and tools can different grades of ore be exchanged for?"

We didn't know the value of this stone before, so we traded it based on our gut feeling, always afraid of being cheated.

Now that we are cooperating with the general, we request a clear explanation to ensure fairness.

Xiao Yunlan looked at Steward Wu, signaling him to answer. Steward Wu bowed and said, "This is easy. From now on, every time a batch of ore is transported to Wangbei Fort, we will ask the old craftsmen in the manor to check its quality and weigh it, and determine the exchange amount based on the quality and quantity."

Higher-quality ore can be exchanged for more food and tools; ore of average quality will have a different exchange amount.

We will refer to the market value of Azure-patterned Spirit Copper to ensure fair exchange and will never allow Chief Stoneroot's tribe to suffer a loss.

Xiao Yunlan added, "If you are not at ease, you can send your people to watch over the process each time the color is checked, the weight is weighed, and the exchange amount is determined. They can witness the whole process firsthand, understand it clearly, and confirm that everything is correct before handing over the ore and receiving the supplies."

Ling She quickly translated these words to Shi Gen. After listening, the doubts on Shi Gen's face completely disappeared, and his expression relaxed considerably. He nodded repeatedly to show his satisfaction and even said with difficulty, "Thank you, General. Fairness is good!"

After reading all the terms of the agreement, Xiao Yunlan looked at Shi Gen and said, "These are the general terms. The core is that you mine the ore and we provide the supplies, a fair exchange."

Go back and discuss it. If there are no objections, we will formally sign the contract tomorrow. If you have any other ideas, you can bring them up now, and we will discuss and adjust them accordingly.

Shi Gen and Ling She whispered to each other for a while, and then asked a few more details—when the first batch of supplies would arrive and how many tools were available.

Xiao Yu answered patiently and clearly, without omitting anything.

Having asked all his questions, Shi Gen stood up, placed his right hand on his chest again, and bowed deeply to Xiao Yunlan. His voice was still strained but incredibly solemn: "General, we have no objections. We will sign the contract tomorrow! Thank you so much, General, for giving our tribe a way to survive!"

Xiao Yunlan also stood up, raised his hand in a fist salute in return, and said sincerely, "Alright, it's a deal."

-----------------

The following day at noon, the signing of the contract between the two parties was officially held at Tuoxin Hall.

Shi Gen changed into clean and tidy clothes, and solemnly entered the hall with Ling She and an elder from the tribe.

Xiao Yunlan sat upright behind the large table in the center, his expression dignified; Xiao Yu stood to the side, holding two contracts in his hands; Xiao Duo held the inkpad and stood by his side, solemn throughout.

The contract was made in duplicate, one in Dayong Mandarin and the other in the common language of the Manchu people. The contents were completely identical, with each word clear and the terms distinct.

Wu Guan first read the contract in the Mandarin version of Dayong, and then Ling She translated it sentence by sentence into the Manchu language and read it to Shi Gen and the tribal elders.

Shi Gen and the other listened very attentively, nodding slightly after each section to confirm that the contents of the contract were correct and that they had no objections whatsoever.

After reading the contract, Xiao Yunlan took the lead in writing and signing his name on both contracts. Then he picked up the General Tuoxin Seal and stamped it heavily on the signature area, the vermilion seal clearly visible.

Then, Shi Gen stepped forward, first pressing his handprint on the barbarian language version of the contract, and then clumsily picked up a brush and drew a crooked mark on the Mandarin version of the contract as his signature.

Xiao Yu carefully organized the two contracts, handing one to Shi Gen with both hands, and then carefully put the other away and sent it to the General's Mansion's document room for archiving.

After the contract was finalized, Xiao Yunlan had strong liquor served—a custom in the north where both parties would share a cup of wine after signing the contract to show their sincerity and commitment to a lasting alliance.

Shigen took the bowl of wine, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. The strong liquor made him cough repeatedly, and his cheeks turned red, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face. It was full of joy and solemnity, and his eyes were full of expectations for the future of the tribe.

Xiao Yunlan also picked up his wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. Then he said to Shi Gen, "After you go back, you should prepare for the mining as soon as possible. I will send someone to deliver the first batch of grain and tools in three days."

Shi Gen nodded repeatedly, raised his hand to his chest in a gesture of respect, and then, with Ling She and the tribal elders, happily took his leave.

After everyone had gone some distance, Xiao Yu approached and whispered, "Grand Uncle, once this mine is officially opened for mining, our Wangbei Fortress will have a complete supply of spiritual materials. From now on, we will no longer have to worry about a shortage of raw materials when forging spiritual weapons and magical artifacts."

Xiao Yunlan slowly shook his head, his tone steady: "It's too early to be happy. Their tribe's mining methods are primitive, and they have few able-bodied men, so their output will definitely not be high in the short term. Let's proceed steadily and slowly."

Once their people learn to use iron picks and shovels, and learn to identify and sift ores, their mining efficiency will increase, and production will naturally increase gradually.

Xiao Yu nodded repeatedly in agreement, and his admiration for Xiao Yunlan's foresight grew even stronger.

Xiao Yunlan looked up at the outside of the hall. The sun was shining brightly, warm and inviting. The locust trees in the courtyard had sprouted tender green branches, swaying gently in the breeze, full of vitality.

The mineral vein cooperation has finally gotten off to a good start.