Mythical Creatures Strategy Guide

Arthur finished writing the last line with his head down, then looked up and asked, "What about the Royal Court itself? If the Gray Zone doesn't relocate, the Royal Court still won't have enough manpower to maintain itself."

The royal court is too large, and the cost of maintaining it is also very high.

If Amber stayed here, she might be able to recover some of her health. But she had already agreed to join the Hero Squad, and Chu Sheng couldn't possibly keep her tied to this ruin as a gardener.

Yinye bit her lip: "How about... I stay?"

"No," Chu Sheng and his grandmother said at the same time.

Yinye was taken aback.

Grandmother scoffed, "What are you staying for? To force the sacred tree to listen to you sing?"

Chu Sheng nodded: "That's too immoral. The sacred tree doesn't deserve such a crime."

Yinye slammed her hand on the table in anger: "Don't you guys even know anything about music?!"

Ella raised her hand: "I can stay and move the stones!"

Chu Sheng patted her head affectionately and said, "If you stay, the royal granary won't last more than three days."

Amber didn't speak. She looked at the blank area on the map, her expression somewhat tired.

Chu Sheng also looked down at the map, and his eyes suddenly lit up little by little.

Arthur noticed his expression, and his ahoge (cowlick) stood up: "What kind of crazy idea have you come up with this time?"

"Then let's not just use the royal court for living." Chu Sheng raised his head, smiling brightly. "This place needs to be used in a different way."

With half a piece of honey vine flower cake in her mouth, Ella mumbled, "Should we switch to the kitchen?"

"Your idea is very promising," Chu Sheng said, patting her head. "But you could broaden your perspective even further."

"How about changing to a large kitchen?"

"Even bigger."

Ella's eyes lit up: "King of Grilled Fish Kitchen!"

Yinye raised her hand to cover her face: "Shut up."

Chu Sheng pointed to the open space on the south side of the map: "Turn this area into a market."

Grandmother frowned: "The market?"

"Yes, a multi-ethnic trade market." Chu Sheng pushed the map in front of everyone. "What's the biggest problem facing the royal court right now?"

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. Seeing the cat-man's support, Chu Sheng had no choice but to continue.

"No money, no manpower, and high maintenance costs. It's understandable that Gray Domain doesn't want to move in; home is where the heart is. But leaving Royal Court empty won't do either."

Arthur nodded: "That's true. The royal court can't last long on Her Majesty's shoulders alone."

Chu Sheng looked at Ambowen: "Your Majesty, how much stuff is left in the royal treasury that can be directly exchanged for money?"

Amber thought for a moment: "Honey vine wine, sacred tree resin, herbs, elven fabrics, and some sealed silver and glassware. But it's best not to sell the silverware; it's an heirloom."

"Don't leave the silverwares alone," Chu Sheng decided immediately. "Only sell things that can be produced continuously. Resins, herbs, flower wines, and textiles—those are the right things to trade."

Chu Sheng turned to look at his grandmother: "The Gray Domain has many local specialties, right? Stardew berries, moonflower fruit, silver leaf tea, dried meat, and so on. You usually eat and use them yourselves, so there aren't many channels to sell them. When you sell to passing caravans, don't you often get the price lowered?"

Chu Sheng knew this for a reason. During the Cat Territory Celebration, he saw the Grey Elf specialties being sold by merchants, which were clearly priced at a price that didn't belong to them.

Grandmother snorted coldly: "Those merchants are all black-hearted. Last time, a dwarf traded three hoes for two bags of silver leaf tea from me, saying that the tea market in the north wasn't good this year. Later I found out that he went to Snow Wolf Territory and resold it for fifty silver coins."

Silverleaf whispered, "Grandmother, didn't you chase them all the way to their camp and cut off half of their beards?"

Grandmother glared at her: "That's called legitimate recourse."

Chu Sheng slammed his fist on the table: "That's why we need to have our own market! Good products are useless if they're only good for selling to people who know their value! Let people from outside come to the royal court to buy them. You can set your own prices, and weigh them before any transaction is completed, so we don't get fooled by people trying to cheat us with hoes."

"A balance scale?" Arthur became interested.

"Standardize weights and measures." Chu Sheng pointed to the square. "Set up a weighing station at the market entrance. The old man from the gray area will lead out, and the cat-people from the cat-cat will lead out. Both sides will keep an eye on it. If the seller underpays, they will be fined; if the buyer defaults on payment, they will be fined; if the cat-people take an order but don't work, their deposit will be withheld; if the caravans are late with their commissions, they will be blacklisted and can forget about ever entering the market again."

Arthur's quill pen began to write rapidly.

Grandma's eyes lit up: "You're quite the talker, lad."

Chu Sheng waved his hand: "Don't rush me, I haven't started trying to trick you into investing money yet."

Amber placed her hand on the edge of the map and asked softly, "Chu Sheng, where do the market's customers come from?"

"Cat collar".

Chu Sheng took out the pass from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"This is the highest pass for Cat Territory," Arthur explained. "Seeing this pass is like seeing Her Majesty Audrey."

Grandmother's gaze towards Chu Sheng changed again: "Just how many queens have you offended, you brat?"

Chu Sheng cleared his throat: "This is called making many good connections."

Grandmother narrowed her eyes and whispered something to Yinye. Yinye's face turned red, and she glared at her grandmother.

Chu Sheng pretended not to see it.

"The cats have readily available market experience, caravans, scouts, hunters, and a complete employment business."

Ella grinned in dissatisfaction: "Cat people are stingy and arrogant."

Chu Sheng ignored her: "What are caravans most afraid of? Getting lost, monsters, bandits, and losing their goods with no one to compensate them. Cat-people scouts can explore the way, cat-people hunters can track, and cat-people messengers can deliver urgent messages. Put these services up for sale in the royal market, with clear prices, calculated by the day, by distance, and by the level of danger."

Arthur looked up: "Who sets the danger level?"

"The Gray Zone and the Cat Territory will jointly decide," Chu Sheng said, then looked at Arthur, rubbing his hands together, "If, I mean if..."

Arthur refused without hesitation: "The Empire cannot get involved; the autonomous dominion has its own rules."

"No rush." ​​Chu Sheng was somewhat disappointed and put the pass back. "The first step is Cat Territory and Gray Domain. Cat Territory will be responsible for bringing customers, and Gray Domain will be responsible for the goods. Royal Court will be responsible for the venue, reputation, and warehousing."

Amber asked softly, "Reputation?"

"The royal court? Isn't that enough?" Chu Sheng pointed at her. "The market run by the Elven royal court will make foreign merchants feel safe, and the imperial nobles will find it rare."

Arthur nodded. "That's true."

Amber looked down at the map, her hand resting on the central sacrificial path: "There are some areas of the royal court that outsiders cannot freely enter."

"Of course." Chu Sheng nodded. "The Sacred Tree Ritual Path, the Queen's Palace, and the Observatory will all be sealed off. The market will only be located on the south and west sides. The south side is close to the hunting path, making it convenient to enter and exit, and will be used as the front market for setting up stalls, displaying signs, and signing contracts. The west side will be used as warehouses and storage areas. The treehouse complex on the east side will be used as inns to collect accommodation fees. The central square will only be open on holidays and will not be used for business at other times."

Arthur stopped writing, glanced at him, and said, "You've thought this through very thoroughly."

"I'm just bored," Chu Sheng said casually.

"Where's the money?" Grandmother stared at Chu Sheng, who was talking non-stop, for a long time before suddenly speaking up. "Building bridges costs money, building warehouses costs money, hiring cat people costs money, and hiring dwarves costs even more. We Gray Domain people don't work for free."

Chu Sheng laughed: "That's why we can't rebuild the entire royal court all at once."