Blue Silver Grass Strategy

Ling Yi's eyes first swept over Old Man Jin, Fu Shan and Li Qiang, especially the latter two. If someone didn't know, seeing the expressions of these two people at the moment, he would probably think that they were just like Long Ang and Qingqiu Li opposite them, as if they knew nothing.

Ling Yi shook his head helplessly in his heart at the performance of these three teammates, but his face remained calm. He nodded, stood up, reached into his arms and took out a stack of papers that had been folded many times.

Spreading the paper on the table, Ling Yi looked around and asked, "Master, seniors, how much do you know about the current ironware market in [Shuimu Principality]?"

Chapter 80 Where did the money go?

"Ironware market?"*2

Hearing Ling Yi's opening question, Long Ang and Qing Qiuli both frowned, not understanding why this topic was suddenly brought up.

You know, they are blacksmiths, and they have a pretty good family background, so naturally they also run iron-related businesses.

After all, as a blacksmith, he naturally has advantages and convenience in the iron trade.

However, if they were asked about the iron market in their respective cities, they could still give some relevant data, but what Ling Yi asked about was the iron market of the entire [Shuimu Principality]. In addition to the many senior blacksmiths who came today, they were spread across the three major cities and dozens of smaller towns in the principality, as well as more towns.

Therefore, the two Soul Sect-level powerhouses did not give their answers immediately.

We can't just say that we don't know the situation outside our own family, right?

We are all respectable people and we cannot show our weakness.

Therefore, Long Ang did not mention that he was a straightforward person. Like Qingqiu Li, he looked at Ling Yi with an interested look and was willing to hear more, like an open-minded elder who gave the younger generation the opportunity to speak freely.

Ling Yi, who had done his homework in advance, knew the situation of the two people very well, but he also changed the subject to be polite and said: "I believe the two seniors also know that the transaction volume of the iron market in [Shuimu Principality] last year was about 1.83 million gold soul coins..."

He asked and answered his own questions very smoothly, but Long Ang and Qingqiu Li, who were sitting opposite Ling Yi, suddenly narrowed their eyes.

Ling Yi lowered his eyes at the right time, looking at the papers spread out on the table, and continued:

"These 1.83 million gold soul coins, the major blacksmith shops in 'Muzhi City' accounted for more than 387,000 gold soul coins in transaction volume, ranging from ordinary farm tools, kitchen utensils, ordinary knives, axes, sticks, etc., to various 100-forged-level fine weapons and utensils, and so on...

The transaction volume of the two seniors’ cities, ‘Cold Wind City’, is around 320,000 gold soul coins, while that of ‘Azure City’ is less than 300,000 gold soul coins…”

"The total trading volume of various ironware in the towns and villages under the principality is about 50,000 to 60,000 gold soul coins..."

Upon hearing this, apart from Mr. Jin, Fu Shan and Li Qiang who had known about it for a long time, both Long Ang and Qingqiu Li could not help but frown.

Even Mr. Jin and the other two had complicated expressions on their faces at this moment.

"Um... Ah Yi... I'm older than you, just like Mr. Jin, so I'll call you Ah Yi~"

At this moment, Qingqiu Li spoke. He first glanced at Long Ang, whose expression was... relatively calm, and then he shifted his gaze between Old Man Jin and Ling Yi, while speaking.

As Ling Yi nodded and smiled, Qingqiu Li continued, "Although the data I have is not as complete as yours, I think there are three blacksmiths in this capital, so your data should not be wrong..."

After a pause, Qingqiu Li looked at Ling Yi deeply and asked, "Can you tell me where the other half of the ironware trading volume went?"

"Muzhi City" has 387,000, "Cold Wind City" has 320,000, and "Blue City" has less than 300,000, to be exact, it is a little over 291,000. The three major cities of [Shuimu Principality] add up to about one million gold soul coins.

Even if the areas outside the city are included, the transaction volume is just over one million.

To be honest, this data was somewhat beyond his and Long Ang's expectations.

But what they didn’t expect was that the ironware trading volume of the entire [Shuimu Principality] was actually 1.83 million gold soul coins!!!

So, where did the nearly 800,000 gold soul coins go?!

In the Douluo Continent, where one gold soul coin can meet the normal living expenses of an ordinary family of three for several months, what does 800,000 gold soul coins mean?

In the original novel, Tang San worked in the [Notting Junior Soul Master Academy] for three years and only earned one gold soul coin.

Of course, ordinary people are ordinary people, and soul masters are soul masters.

A first-ring soul master can receive one gold soul coin from the [Soul Hall] every month, a second-ring great soul master can receive ten gold soul coins, and a third-ring soul master can receive one hundred gold soul coins!

Why becoming a soul master is a class leap in the values ​​of everyone in Douluo Continent? In addition to strength, this real money is also a huge factor.

Money is not everything, but it can solve many troubles and problems in the world.

If you have enough money, without considering other factors, you can even buy the precious treasures of the soul master world and the coveted soul bones!

Ordinary people need to spend money on food, clothing, housing, transportation and so on, and soul masters also need to spend money, and the expenses are even higher.

As long as the spirit master pursues strength, he will never treat himself badly in terms of food. He will not eat spirit beast meat every meal, but he will definitely not just eat porridge, steamed buns, pickles, etc. It is very rare for him to change his taste and try something new.

Let me ask you, in this situation, who doesn’t want to have more gold soul coins in their pocket?

In the original novel, Bai He, the patriarch of the Min Clan and a dignified Soul Douluo, was stumped by a mere few hundred gold soul coins. This was because they had a grudge against the Spirit Hall. Otherwise, the young descendants of the family alone would be able to make a lot of money from the Spirit Hall every month.

Although there are many expenses for food, drink, training, etc. for the whole family, it is not as serious as the situation in the original book.

Therefore, Qingqiu Li and Long Ang, who are soul masters themselves and have a family to support, are very concerned about the disappearance of the ironware transaction amount of nearly 800,000 gold soul coins!

Although this is only the transaction amount, after deducting the cost of purchasing raw ore, ore during forging, charcoal consumption, labor, transportation and other expenses, the gross profit may be less than half, but that is still three or four hundred thousand gold soul coins!

It can be said that there are few people in the entire [Shuimu Principality] who can ignore such a huge sum of money!

If Ling Yi hadn't lied, if there really had been such a deal, if the ironware deal had been concluded under his own hands...

Thinking of this, both Qingqiu Li and Long Ang breathed heavier unconsciously.

He stared at Ling Yi with sharp eyes, waiting for his answer.

In response, Ling Yi smiled faintly, stretched out his hand and tapped the table, saying: "He ran over here——"

Following Ling Yi's pointing, Qingqiu Li and Long Ang looked up and saw that the general topography and city distribution of the [Shuimu Principality] were outlined in pen and ink on the white paper.

But Ling Yi's hand did not fall anywhere in the [Shuimu Principality].

Looking at the blank piece of paper that Ling Yi was pointing at, Qingqiu Li and Long Ang's hearts skipped a beat, and a bad feeling came over them.

At this time, Ling Yi's voice sounded at the right time: "In fact, the two seniors should know it, but they subconsciously don't think about it——"

Thanks to the book friends [Zuo Zuo 123zzz, Zhi Bi Hui Fu Sheng ＿ Cb, Tian Dao Chong Qin, Shu You 20171112093048614, Yue Ying Canci, Xue Li Liu, Qing Shui Shan Yao Shen, Kai Gong Di Yi Ke, Sunshorer] for voting for the monthly ticket, and thanks to the book friends [Yi Ye Feng Xuan, Shu You 20220316155407799, Amon Blasphemer, Oni Sauce is ALPEH, Sunshorer] for the reward, thank you all for your recommendation votes and follow-up reading, thank you all! (*^▽^*)

Chapter 81 Integrating Resources

“Tendou——?”

Qingqiu Li's expression did not look very good, and he squeezed out these two words from between his teeth.

Beside him, Long Ang also had a cold expression and remained silent.

If it was a certain force within the [Shuimu Principality], even if it was Grand Duke Mufeng, or a few marquises, the two of them would dare to make up their minds and take a small bite of the cake.

but……

[Tian Dou Empire] Ah, that is the suzerain state. Who knows, a soul master family with a deep foundation might pop up here and wipe them out.

In the small country of Shuimu Principality, everyone has some kind of relationship with each other through various connections.

But these things are not so useful between the suzerain state and the vassal state.

A weak country has no diplomacy, which is a truth that applies to all the worlds.

Not to mention that these blacksmiths cannot represent the [Shuimu Principality] and can only be regarded as the middle and lower class within the principality.

After all, in this world, small countries look up to big countries, and the people of small countries fear the people of big countries. So how could the people of big countries kneel down and lick the inferiors of small countries?

Wouldn't that make him a born traitor who has forgotten his roots?

"hehe--"

Seeing the two strongest blacksmiths in the Shuimu Principality like this, Ling Yi chuckled twice.

If we don't first throw out such an insurmountable "wall", how can the "thorn" among these two blacksmiths really humble themselves and cooperate with us?

Even though Fu Shan has the support of the military of the [Shuimu Principality], and Li Qiang has the court headed by Grand Duke Mufeng behind him, neither of them has a status that can convince people of the same level.

After all, Fu Shan and Li Qiang were just two high-level employees. They just worked for a small group called Shuimu Principality, where they were the chairman and general manager respectively.

The lower-level workers will be in awe of the two above, but the middle and lower-level employees, because of their own abilities, have the option of changing jobs at any time. They just need to maintain enough respect for their superiors, and that is enough.

Therefore, since he couldn't use the power of the tiger to bully others, Ling Yi had to exaggerate the external environment with strong winds, rough waves, deep water and small boats, so that the sailors who wanted to cross the river together could contribute their own strength safely. After arriving in the New World, everyone would have gold, silver and treasures.

Of course, the degree of exaggeration must be well controlled, so as not to scare people away. It is not easy to recruit good and capable sailors these days, let alone veterans who are capable of serving as important positions such as boatswain and combat captain.

Ling Yi waited for Qingqiu Li and Long Ang to calm down a bit, then continued with a smile: "You two seniors, don't worry. The [Tiandou Empire] didn't take the initiative to come to our [Shuimu Principality] to do business..."

After a pause, when the two men came back to their senses and looked at him, Ling Yi said again: "According to my communication with ironsmiths from various places, in fact, the ironware transaction amount of nearly 800,000 gold soul coins was purchased by soul master families from all over our [Shuimu Principality] in the [Tiandou Empire] which is closest to the Principality..."

"initiative?"

"buy?"

Qingqiu Li and Long Ang frowned at the same time, but a hint of realization flashed in their eyes.

I was just busy realizing that the foreign forces from the [Tiandou Empire] might interfere in the iron market within the principality, but I forgot that because all kinds of ironware need to be forged by blacksmiths one hammer at a time, some high-level blacksmith shops in various parts of the principality are often saturated with orders, or even have to wait for a long time.

Because each master has a different level of craftsmanship, people tend to subconsciously look for master masters to forge the tools they want for them, rather than looking for ordinary blacksmith shops opened by low-level or mid-level blacksmiths.

Ling Yi had witnessed this kind of situation many times in the blacksmith shop of his fifth senior brother Wang Meng a few years ago.

This phenomenon will not only make the smithies of senior blacksmiths unable to finish their business, but also make the business of low- and mid-level blacksmiths bleak.

Unless, like in Beikouhe Town, because it is located in a township, everyone has no choice, then Master Jiang, who is also a mid-level blacksmith, has always had a good business.

In addition to the complex triangle relationship between the "suck-up guys", "goddesses" and "tall, rich and handsome" on both sides of the ironware buyers and sellers, which leads to the introduction of foreign "paratroopers" and disrupts the local market, there is another disadvantage for the profession of blacksmith.

Blacksmith is a skilled worker.

In addition to one's own technical talent and strength, there is another factor that affects the growth of forging skills, which is the number of forging times one can get started.

Just like a sharpshooter is often fed by bullets, if there are not enough iron tools for you to shoot, even a talented person like 'Copy Soul Master' Ling Lingyi cannot achieve the astonishing achievement of being promoted to a blacksmith at the age of fourteen.

It is quite terrifying. Even Lou Gao, the future king of master blacksmiths, who had the guidance of the master blacksmith Tie Futu above him and unlimited consumables provided by the [Blacksmith Association] below him, only became a master blacksmith in his twenties.

We have strayed off topic. Let's get back to the improvement of blacksmithing skills. Only with enough consumables and enough forging times can an apprentice blacksmith steadily improve under the guidance of the master, until he reaches a bottleneck before reaching the upper limit of his own talent or the highest level of the master.

But just like Ling Yi's fifth senior brother Wang Meng, who is capable of forging high-quality weapons with eight hundred forgings, the orders he often receives are for weapons with around five hundred forgings.

In the long run, Wang Meng's skills have not deteriorated, which is considered good.

It’s not that Wang Meng doesn’t want to continue to forge weapons that are more than 800 forged, but the cost of consumables is too expensive!

Only when a soul master customer places an order can Wang Meng show his strengths and display all his superb skills.

The materials needed to make an eight-hundred-forged sword can often be used to make four or five five-hundred-forged swords!

This is the ratio of Wang Meng's metal material consumption. Mr. Jin, Fu Shan and Li Qiang, the three blacksmiths, can control it at a level of about one to two to one to three.

And with Lou Gao's guidance, Ling Yi can achieve the same 1:1.8 ratio as Lou Gao!

As you go further back, every 0.1 value becomes a step that is difficult to climb.

After explaining the situation of the iron market and blacksmiths in the Shuimu Principality in a straightforward manner to Qingqiu Li and Long Ang, he laid out all the underlying reasons and possible consequences on the table.

Ling Yi looked at the three blacksmiths beside him, Master Jin, Fu Shan, and Li Qiang. Under their affirmative gazes, Ling Yi looked at the two leaders from "Cold Wind City" and "Blue City" with a serious face and invited them:

“Senior Long, Senior Qingqiu, I am bold enough to invite you two to join us in establishing the [Blacksmith Association Shuimu Principality Branch], integrating all the blacksmiths in the entire principality, and allocating all ironware orders to suitable blacksmiths according to the supply and demand conditions, so that low-level and mid-level blacksmiths will have enough orders and business to do…

It also allows senior blacksmiths to have the opportunity to receive more orders that match their skill level, and hopefully improve their skills further..."

"As for the profit, to be honest, a 500-forged weapon is more profitable than ten weapons of the same specification that have just reached 100 forgings!"

"Those who can place orders to purchase weapons with more than 500 forgings are basically second-ring great spirit masters or above. We are all spirit masters, so we naturally know that compared to ordinary people, spirit masters have more gold spirit coins and will spend them on the right things—!"

“How much can you earn just by earning the silver soul coins and bronze soul coins that ordinary people earn?

If you want to make money, make the soul master's gold soul coins——!"

Chapter 82 Return to the Cold Wind

The beginning of March in the 2605th year of the Douluo calendar.

After half a month, the [Blacksmith Association Shuimu Principality Branch] has been initially established.

The branch has one president and five vice presidents, who are in charge of a series of matters related to the blacksmith profession, including the ironware business trading, raw material procurement, blacksmith apprenticeship training, blacksmith level improvement tests and certification, etc. for all blacksmiths in the entire [Shuimu Principality].

The position of president is held by Mr. King Kong Jin, who is the oldest and most experienced of the three original craftsmen of [Shuimu Principality] and also a fellow disciple of Tie Futu, the only master craftsman in Douluo Continent.

Although Mr. Jin is the president, he is old after all, so he is not usually responsible for the specific affairs of the association. He only does some overall planning and coordination work, and formulates some guidelines for the development direction and policies of the association.

In the entire [Blacksmith Association·Mizumi Principality Branch], there are four vice presidents who are specifically responsible for various work matters.