Chapter 90: News from the Far East (Part 1)

“Hiss—you actually want cultivation materials about the ‘Dao’?” Wang Qinian gasped sharply first, and the color quickly drained from his once rosy face. Although his smile remained, it looked worse than a cry.

Seeing Wang Qinian make such an expression, George’s heart sank immediately. Seeing that his expression was not fake, George tried to ask, “Is it very difficult to solve problems in this area?”

“Let’s not talk about it first; these material classics are not easy to find. These paper-made things are hard to preserve. It’s fine to keep them in a room usually, but wanting to take them through the great winds and waves of the sea? Pfft, that’s really tough.” Wang Qinian quickly restored his facial expression to normal, but his face color could not return that fast.

Hearing Wang Qinian start his old talk again, George’s half-hanging heart finally calmed down, and he smiled and said, “Every time you order for guests, you talk nonsense and find a pile of excuses. You say it’s difficult here and dangerous there, isn’t it just to sell at a high price? You can set any price you like. Since we bargain high and settle low, I have two full months in Karada, so we will surely agree on a price.”

Wang Qinian knew that because of his usual past behavior, George was suspicious of the truth in his words just now. After all, living to this age, Wang Qinian had encountered such situations where he dug his own grave more than once and had his own ways to deal with it. He put on a bitter face, shook his hand, and said, “It’s different! It’s different! This time it’s really different. Please don’t make things hard for me. Besides, you have your own cultivation path; those things are not very useful for you. Spending a lot of money just because of a sudden whim is clearly not worth it.”

‘Without Zhang the butcher, can we still eat the pig with hair on?’ Seeing Wang Qinian resist so much, George knew that even if he forced him to agree, he would probably pretend to agree but act against it deep down. Determined to get those things, George would not hang himself on one tree. He looked at Wang Qinian with an unhappy expression and said, “Forget it. Anyway, there is not only your imported goods shop. If you insist on refusing, I will go ask other shops.”

After saying this, George turned around as if to leave.

“Then please go well! Come back when you have time. As long as it is not those things you just mentioned, I guarantee I can get them for you.” Wang Qinian’s face relaxed a bit, and his tone became much softer. Although his words had a tone of easing the relationship, the meaning of sending the guest away was very strong.

‘Wait! A businessman never has a reason to push a deal away. If it is about economic risk, I have already explained it very clearly; it can be transferred to me. Also, his facial expression obviously changed when he just heard about the ‘Dao’ classics. What kind of trick is there in this? Let me test him first.’ Suddenly, a spirit light flashed in George’s mind. He had already turned around, so he quickly stopped his foot about to step out and turned back.

Seeing George, who was about to leave, suddenly turn back, Wang Qinian, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, had to perk up again. He put on his usual smiling face and asked, “What’s wrong, Lord? Did you remember something you haven’t done yet?”

“I think I heard you say that your ancestors once had a famous strong person. If I remember correctly, you said that ancestor’s title was the Flying General of Longcheng.” George started chatting about some seemingly irrelevant words.

Wang Qinian said with some shame, “That was several hundred years ago! The fact that our ancestors were once rich is almost a joke to talk about now. It is all because the descendants were unfilial and shamed the ancestors. Think of me, I am even further from my hometown, wandering on foreign land, and I don’t even have the chance to worship my ancestors during festivals.”

George suddenly dropped a bomb: “The reason you ended up here is not because of your connection with people of the ‘Dao’, is it? I heard that in the Flying Dragon Empire, it is not a legal religion.”

Hearing this, Wang Qinian’s face, which had just recovered, turned white again. At the same time, one hand reached under the counter, as if he was ready to draw a knife if they disagreed.

“I said, are you preparing to make a move? Don’t even look at your old arms and legs; can you beat me?” George’s warning had already worked, and he pressed his advantage and started to threaten, “Even if you win this time, what will you do? I am still a Noble, even if it is in Karada. It is quite easy to find some connections and get some Guards over. Anyway, this is the Western Continent. Those guys haven’t even dealt with the ‘Dao’ cultivators from the neighboring Tu Long Kingdom. It is unlikely that they would not kill enemies right at their doorstep and travel halfway across the sea for half a year just to bring you bad luck.”

“What you say is also… correct.” Wang Qinian’s right hand, which was under the counter, suddenly loosened and dropped down.

Finding that Wang Qinian’s tone had softened, George, seeing that his intimidation worked, took the opportunity to start tempting him: “See? Who doesn’t want to make money? Among so many imported goods companies, only you are from the Flying Dragon Empire. If you look for others, it will not be as convenient as you. Also, I just saw that you have some connection with the ‘Dao’ school. If so, who else should I find to do this? At least in Karada, there is no one more suitable than you. If you get this job done, I will never treat you badly.”

“Although it is said so, I also believe your promise, Lord. But I was also a person wanted by the ‘Path of Enlightenment’ sect back then. Now going to collect those sensitive materials involves very great risks.” Wang Qinian clasped his hands together in a begging gesture, with a mournful face and a humble expression, and said, “If my news gets back, they might not send people here to kill me. But it is not hard for them to issue an official document to cut off my supply. If such a thing happens, are my whole family supposed to go drink the northwest wind?”

“That is impossible, right? You did not go to the Flying Dragon Empire personally to restock. Anyway, you trade with the distant ship fleet; do they even recognize who you are? Even if they recognize you, those people have done business with you for so many years, so they will definitely not care about your past identity. Anyway, the possibility of news getting back is extremely small.” George had a suspicious expression and lightly tapped the table with his hand while asking, “Besides, even if the news gets back and the Flying Dragon Empire issues a ban on you, I do not believe that the Flying Dragon Empire’s orders can affect merchants who pin their lives and fortunes to their waists to go out to sea.”

In the era before crossing over, where spies were everywhere and surveillance was all around, no matter how much economic blockade was tried, it could not be fully executed. Especially in a world like this now.

After George’s well-reasoned speech, Wang Qinian’s previous strong attitude seemed to loosen a bit. However, he still looked down, pondering and wavering. He just let George talk alone without expressing any opinion. As for whether to take this job, there was absolutely no promise. This behavior of hiding like a turtle really made George feel like a fox trying to catch a hedgehog—no place to start.

Given the current situation, George knew that saying more for now would not be very useful. He thought for a moment and decided to take another path: “If you think trading with merchants from the Flying Dragon Empire is too risky, can you buy from merchants who do business with the Tu Long Kingdom?”

“Hehe, do you mean Tu Long? I’m afraid it is almost impossible to do business with them! After all, there are too few merchants brave enough to go there.” Wang Qinian, who raised his head, spoke with a sense of schadenfreude.

“Even merchants go there so little! That is really strange.” George’s expression seemed to have the four big words “I don’t believe it” written all over his face.

Wang Qinian seemed to get interested: “Isn’t it because it is chaotic! It is because the true central power of the Tu Long Kingdom was originally held by the Emperor’s widow, Concubine Hui—the current Empress Dowager Luo Kunni. A woman holding power is something never seen before in both the Flying Dragon Empire and Tu Long Kingdom. This has caused the legitimacy of the court to be seriously questioned. It made each province be taken over and ruled by hereditary noble families. They ignored or half-obeyed the Emperor’s edicts, pushed them away as much as possible, and basically did whatever they wanted. It is not easy for local nobles to give up their power once they have it.”

“This situation is a bit similar to the countries in the south. But the trade routes there are not cut off either. Merchants always chase profits; as long as there is money to be made, who is afraid there won’t be anyone to sell?” George waved his fingers and stated his argument.

“But even if someone is willing to do a capital punishment business, no one does a losing business. Internally, the Tu Long Kingdom has reached a point where local areas often delay tax payments, and the enslavement of Freemen is also not rare. The court is even more corrupt, with laws and discipline broken and criminals running rampant. Local governments take pride in corruption and bribery. Although there might be some administrators in certain areas who act independently and insist on being honest and fair, the people are poor and destitute, and the whole country is in a state of decay. Local nobles fight endlessly, and only under external pressure will they unite to resist together.” Wang Qinian spoke with more and more enthusiasm, “In that place, many towns have now turned into ruins, and even in those towns that have not been abandoned, many abandoned buildings can be seen. On the other hand, due to the corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, and slowness of the state institutions, the raids by the Newji, the Chain Gang, and pirates have become free and easy, reaching an unprecedented level of recklessness. The small villages that suffer have no one to rely on because the state never sends troops to defend, and they are too weak on their own. Only occasionally powerful wanderers appearing in the villages can pose a threat to these raiders. The slave trade is very active in this country. Criminal organizations often kidnap Tu Long residents and then resell them to slave owners in the Pamir United Arab Emirates and other central regions.”