Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 110 A Confused Business Deal

Zhou Ye sighed inwardly, realizing that these wealthy and powerful families were indeed well-informed, which greatly increased their success rate in doing business.

Especially in terms of clothing, food, housing, and transportation, cloth is a necessity in some respects, and can even substitute for other goods in certain situations. Therefore, buying at rock-bottom prices (one or two tenths of the original price) carries almost negligible risk of loss.

Ultimately, Fufeng County is a trading city. It not only has mountain products like medicinal herbs and mythical beasts, but also mines and metallurgy. Furthermore, it has a considerable amount of mountainous and agricultural land, resulting in large areas of tea plantations, cotton fields, and silkworm farming.

Finally, through the passing caravans, these goods were continuously sold to the wealthy inland regions.

However, a special situation has arisen. The caravans, being risk-averse, have temporarily suspended trade. Coupled with the influx of large quantities of spoils into the market, this has ultimately led to a complete imbalance between supply and demand.

However, this imbalance will be short-lived. After all, rebellions cannot occur frequently, and the stockpiles of spoils from previous wars are not that numerous.

The chaos in Fufeng County will actually affect the operation of various industries. A situation of supply falling short of demand is inevitable in the future.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ye couldn't help but chuckle to himself: Now, apart from the skyrocketing price of grain, it seems that other goods are also in abundance? So, it's getting harder and harder for ordinary people to live!

Noticing Zhou Ye's hesitation, Gu Jiu asked, "Brother Tian, ​​do you have 300 taels of silver with you?"

"Oh, Ninth Brother, what's wrong?"

"If you trust me, give me 300 taels. I guarantee I'll turn it into 1000 taels within a year. It's a rare opportunity; any losses are on me. How about it?"

Zhou Ye glanced at Gu Jiu thoughtfully.

To be fair, in the eyes of Gu Jiu and He Jing, 300 taels was neither too much nor too little for Zhou Ye. Even if there was some loss, it wouldn't be crippling, but it would certainly be painful to see.

But turning 300 taels into 1000 taels? And without having to bear any risk yourself? This is blatantly offering benefits.

Without a doubt, what Gu Jiu needs is Zhou Ye's attitude: is he willing to become Gu Jiu's person?

Perhaps for these scions of noble families, palace intrigue is their instinct; they were born knowing how to form cliques? In other words, Gu Jiu is like this, and so is He Jing.

Since that's the case, then—Gu Jiu has given way too much!

"Ninth Brother, how could I possibly accept that?"

"Hehe. We're brothers, no need to be so polite."

"Then—then I'll leave it to you!" With that, Zhou Ye took out 300 taels of silver notes and handed them to Gu Jiu.

Gu Jiu's face immediately lit up with a smile. He visibly became much more affectionate.

Zhou Ye didn't really care much about business matters. He was just more familiar with He Jing and Gu Jiu, and they had indeed taken good care of him.

Regardless of He Jing and Gu Jiu's motives, one should still remember the kindness shown to them. If you can help them in the future, then lend a hand; if you really encounter something truly difficult? Then—we'll see how things go!

After leaving the Gu family, Zhou Ye made another trip to his home at the docks to prepare some things for Xiao Jie. Then he found an eatery, got a few hearty dishes to go, and quickly returned to his home in the outer city.

At dinner, there were probably not so many substantial dishes that Xiao Jie would normally eat. He wolfed down his food, finishing almost everything.

But after finishing the meal, Xiao Jie felt embarrassed: "Brother A-Ye—"

Zhou Ye chuckled: "Xiao Jie, these are all for you. Take a look. Here's a leather armor set, and you can choose any of these weapons. I don't know which weapon you're most comfortable with."

"No, no. I only learned the boxing techniques at the martial arts school, and I don't have the money to buy martial arts manuals for weapons yet."

Just as I thought. No wonder several members of the Haoyi Brotherhood have already reached a high level, yet they couldn't even take down Hei Liu, an ordinary person? This is the tragedy of the poor; they almost all lose at the starting line.

"Here, take this Immaculate Glazed Skill manual. And these martial arts books—pick a few you like!"

The Immaculate Glazed Skill is widely known, but it's extremely difficult to master. Therefore, its origins are often unknown. Regardless, it's a top-tier body-tempering technique; it all depends on Xiao Jie's perseverance and effort.

Those martial arts manuals were the ones Gu Jiu gave him during the day. Zhou Ye had already flipped through them; most of them were third-rate martial arts manuals, with only two being second-rate.

For Zhou Ye, learning new martial arts techniques was no longer of much significance, so he didn't care about giving away a few books.

You know what, Xiao Jie's taste isn't bad. He ended up choosing a book called "Five Elements Plum Blossom Blade," a second-rate martial arts technique. Perhaps he also prefers swordsmanship, because he even chose a long sword as his weapon.

Seeing that Xiao Jie had already made his selection, Zhou Ye smiled and said, "There's paper and pen in the room. You can copy down the Immaculate Glazed Skill first. Let me take a look at this 'Five Elements Plum Blossom Knife' and help you assess its contents."

"Okay! Thank you!" Xiao Jie seemed very excited. His lips moved slightly, as if he had a thousand words to say but couldn't get them out.

Zhou Ye chuckled and patted Xiao Jie on the shoulder: "Don't mind it. I've been running in the mountains for so many years, don't you think I've already mastered it?"

"No, that's not it."

"Isn't that right? As long as you accumulate experience over time after mastering the basics, even the worst person can build up some resources, right?"

"Hehe." Xiao Jie chuckled a few times. He nodded gratefully to Zhou Ye again.

Fortunately, young people like Xiao Jie are simple-minded and have relatively little experience, so they have no idea that ordinary martial artists who have entered the realm of internal strength simply cannot produce so many precious items.

However, this was for the best, as it saved him a lot of trouble with words. After returning to his room, Zhou Ye immediately began reviewing the book "The Five Elements Plum Blossom Knife".

Interestingly, thanks to his obsessive-compulsive tendencies regarding his interface, the secret codes, hidden meanings, and invalid content in martial arts manuals were no longer secrets at all. This particular manual, "Five Elements Plum Blossom Blade," was filled with invalid content, making deletion and modification extremely easy. In no time, Zhou Ye had finished reviewing the martial arts manual.

At this moment, Zhou Ye suddenly had a very strange idea—why not collect a large number of folk martial arts books like this?

Is it entirely possible for me to find gold in the shit?

Forget it, I can't bite off more than I can chew. I haven't even mastered the martial arts techniques I already have.

After reviewing the manual, Zhou Ye took out another martial arts technique: the one he had obtained from the He family, "Azure Dragon Swimming in the Water."

After some research, Zhou Ye discovered that this martial art could indeed be used in water. It could also be used in relatively confined spaces such as boats and rooms. It emphasized agile movement and tricky attack angles.

Furthermore, while Azure Dragon Swimming in the Water can be considered a martial art, it can also be used with smaller weapons such as daggers and water-splitting spikes. Therefore, it is suitable for a wide range of situations.

Regardless of all that, let's practice first. Azure Dragon (Second-rate): Not yet an expert (0/10)

"what?"

Zhou Ye was surprised to find that the prerequisite basic martial arts skill for Azure Dragon was actually Wind and Thunder Capturing Hand (third-rate)? In other words, according to the panel's judgment, this martial arts skill was still classified as a fist technique? Therefore, it was directly displayed as "second-rate"?

This is a bit unexpected; I didn't realize that fist-based martial arts techniques could occasionally be useful. And it also allows you to quickly obtain the entry-level reward—a single point of natural attribute!

The next morning, Zhou Ye handed the book "Five Elements Plum Blossom Knife" to Xiao Jie and asked, "Xiao Jie, I have some business to attend to today and should be back before dinner. Your departure is almost settled. But I still need to ask you one more time: are you really sure? That means leaving your hometown, and you'll hardly see your parents and family anymore?"

"Brother Ye, I've really thought it through. It doesn't really matter where I go, as long as I'm as far away from home as possible," Xiao Jie sighed. "Ugh! Like Da Jin and Xing Hua, how can I possibly stay here?"

"Then get ready and leave in the next few days. Don't show your face in public, not even to your family. Before you leave, I'll arrange for you to meet your parents."

"I know that, Brother Ye. Actually, it's quite nice at your house. I've never eaten so much meat in my life."

The two of them burst into laughter.

After leaving home, Zhou Ye quickly arrived at the dock warehouse area, as agreed with Xiao Wu.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Wu was already waiting with several people. After introductions, the one in the lead was named Master Ding.

"Young Master Zhou, may I ask what kind of business you're in?" Master Ding asked enthusiastically. "Would you like me to introduce you? We have almost all kinds of goods here."

Zhou Ye suddenly remembered that Gu Jiu had mentioned cloth yesterday, so he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and asked with a smile, "Excuse me, do you have any cloth?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Master Ding was very excited. "I'll take you to the cloth warehouse. The warehouse is full of all kinds of silk and cloth."

'

'

However, upon entering the fabric warehouse, Zhou Ye was slightly speechless.

There were bundles of cloth piled up like small mountains, almost filling the entire warehouse. There must have been at least tens of thousands of bolts inside.

Observing Zhou's expression, Master Ding cautiously asked, "Young Master Zhou, are you satisfied? If you buy all the cloth here, I can make the decision and give you the best possible price—no, how about 5, no, 4500 taels?"

Looking at the fabrics before him, Zhou Ye admitted that he was tempted at that moment. They were simply too cheap.

Just considering the cotton cloth here, there must be at least 2 bolts, right? And the more valuable silks, there must be 3 or 4000 bolts as well. If we calculate the price of the cotton cloth, each bolt is worth at most 2 qian of silver? And yesterday Gu Jiu mentioned that the current market price of cotton cloth should be around 3 qian of silver?

Are you kidding me? Has the price dropped again?

Zhou Ye smiled slightly and casually made a cut: "4200 taels. Pay a 200 tael deposit first. Give me five days, and I will raise the remaining 4000 taels."

"Alright!" Master Ding was overjoyed. "You're so agreeable, and so am I! It's settled then!"

Hearing that Master Ding had agreed, Zhou Ye was somewhat amused and exasperated. Perhaps his bargaining had been too high.

Then came the signing and sealing of contracts. All the cloth in the warehouse was transferred to Zhou Ye. The warehouse lease was also transferred to Zhou Ye. Including the warehouse guards and night watchmen dispatched by the transport guild, an additional 20 taels of silver would be paid to the transport guild each month.

In other words, both sides can save a lot of trouble. It's just that the warehouse owner has changed the name.

After finishing all that, Zhou Ye quietly slipped Xiao Wu a 100-tael silver note as his commission.

Xiao Wu happily accepted it. He whispered, "Brother Zhou, I've already inquired. There's a ship to the prefecture city within three to five days. Just wait for my good news. If you're not home, I'll slip a note inside."

"Okay! Thank you for your hard work."

I never imagined I'd end up in the cloth business so unwittingly. But then I thought, all those silver notes are useless sitting around, so why not try making a fortune off the war? Even if I lose them all in the end, I can just go and hunt a few more monsters.

After finishing all that, Zhou Ye prepared to make another trip to Wang's Pharmacy. After all, he'd been receiving their stipend money, but hadn't gone to help last time. He felt he should at least offer some explanation, right?

Unexpectedly, Wang Zhengyu was very easy to talk to after arriving at Wang's Pharmacy. He also expressed understanding of Zhou Ye's explanation. However, the most important thing was that the loss was not significant, since the Wang family had even saved on an extra reward.

"Young Master, I'm truly sorry this time. If you ever encounter any problems in the future, I'll try my best to come and help."

"Brother Xiaotian, don't be shy. I'll definitely need your help then."

"That's good. As long as it's troublesome for martial artists who have reached the Qi Refining stage, I'm still fairly confident in handling it."

"It's alright. Actually, what I really want is for you to break through to the Mingjin level soon. It's better for both of us."

"Hehe. Thanks for your kind words!"

—"

To be honest, by this point, Zhou Ye had a vague feeling that the temporary position at Wang's Pharmacy was becoming a bit of a burden. It was precisely because the initial negotiations had been so vague that this kind of mess had arisen.

Unlike the He and Gu families, whose relationship was much cleaner and more straightforward, Zhou Ye only provided the money and was responsible for supplying the goods. He could ignore all other trivial matters.

However, to be fair, Wang's Pharmacy is one thing, since it was the first place he was seconded to. There's still a certain connection there. If there are similar secondments in the future, he definitely won't accept them again.

Thinking about these things, Zhou Ye walked slowly towards his home in the outer city.

However, as soon as Zhou Ye stepped into the alleyway leading to his home, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

The neighbors looked panicked, most of them hiding at home, too afraid to go out. Several doors were even smashed. It seemed like someone had vandalized the area.

Fortunately, his home was safe and sound. Zhou Ye smiled and shook his head. Was this some forgotten corner?

Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the gate and returned home, he saw Xiao Jie squatting in the yard, sobbing with his head in his hands: "Brother Aye, they've come to our door. They beat my parents. They even killed Uncle Gao and Aunt Gao. Waaah—! Waaah—!"

"???"