Chapter 306

After everyone left, Hu Xiao remained frowning, lost in silent thought with his head lowered.

Qi Bai smiled and asked, “What’s the matter? Do you think I shouldn’t have lent them the supplies?”

Hu Xiao had always considered himself clever enough, but when facing Qi Bai, he never seemed to gain the upper hand.

So now, when Qi Bai made a move that seemed completely without benefit in his view, his first reaction wasn't to directly refute/argue against) but to first consider if there was some aspect he had overlooked. However, after pondering for a long time, he still hadn't found the answer.

Hu Xiao thought for a moment and voiced his opinion: “If it were me, I wouldn't agree to lend them supplies.”

“Although we know the locations of the Qingchi, Songwu, and Sacred Antelope tribes, that doesn't mean if they don't return the supplies, we can simply go to their territory to demand them.”

Qi Bai raised his eyebrows, encouraging him: “What’s the reason? Tell me.”

Hu Xiao organized his thoughts: “To demand an explanation on the other party's territory, sending out just a few teams definitely wouldn't be enough. In terms of pure combat power, I believe Blackrock City wouldn't lose to any of them. But the problem is, the distance between these three tribes and Blackrock is too far. The consumption for our army traveling from Black Mountain and back would exceed the supplies we lent out.”

He frowned: “This way, once they break the contract and don't return the supplies, whether we pursue the matter or not becomes unprofitable. How can this be a good trade?”

Qi Bai said appreciatively: “You are very right.”

Although Hu Xiao didn't explicitly state it, he had subconsciously vaguely perceived a very important concept: war between cities is completely different from war between tribes.

War between tribes is simple. Two tribes clash, and the victor can take everything from the defeated side. The fruits of victory are obvious.

However, war between cities is different. It's a war of attrition for cities, and the spoils of war for the victor are also completely different.

Without Blackrock's construction tools and methods, the building process for other cities is prolonged, taking five or even ten years is normal. Therefore, in the beastman continent, the most precious aspect of a city often isn't the supplies within its walls, but the city itself.

Yet this is precisely what the Blackrock people need the least. After all, capturing a city requires defending it. Given Blackrock's current population size, they simply don't need a new city.

This creates a problem. Sending an army to the opponent's territory: not fighting is a loss; fighting might also be a loss and could even anger the Divine Temple behind them. The only thing Blackrock can hope for is that these three tribes keep their promises. It seems far too passive no matter how you think about it.

So, Hu Xiao thought it best not to lend the supplies at all; there was no issue with that.

Qi Bai laughed: “But what I care about isn't these supplies, but establishing two trade routes as quickly as possible through these three tribes.”

“Trade routes?” Hu Xiao asked, “What kind of roads are trade routes?”

“Trade routes aren't actual physical roads,” Qi Bai explained. “You can understand them as channels for trade between two tribes or two cities. With such channels, even if we don't participate in trade days, Blackrock's goods can enter other cities and tribes.”

“Think about the price of Blackrock's pottery jars, then think about the price of pottery jars outside. Even if the tribes buying goods from us exchange them out again at several times the price, wouldn't they still not be that expensive?”

Although there might be wandering beastmen) buying and selling some outside supplies on the beastman continent, these can't form a scale. The biggest reason is that the supplies between tribes are mostly similar; there's nothing worth beastmen taking the risk to travel back and forth between two places for.

But the emergence of Blackrock City completely changes this. Blackrock's novel supplies are not only highly useful but also cheap.

Didn't the economists on Blue Planet say that when profits reach fifty percent, people are willing to take risks? The benefits Blackrock City can bring them now far exceed fifty percent.

What Qi Bai needs now are people willing to "take risks" for this. For Blackrock now, the biggest problem) isn't shipping goods), but the market. And coincidentally, these three tribes are candidates with both manpower and markets.

“Songwu and Qingchi, these two cities, one is on the edge of the grassland, the other is further south. As long as we can maintain trade with them, Blackrock City's goods will turn into more supplies.”

By then, Blackrock takes responsibility for) developing the northern market, while Qingchi and Songwu handle the grassland and southern markets. Would Blackrock's product sales still be a worry?

So Qi Bai believed that the city lords and tribe leaders of the three tribes definitely wouldn't pass up such an opportunity. Just ask, where else in the entire beastman continent besides Blackrock can one find such a wide variety of supplies?

Of course, just in case, letting them taste a bit of sweetness directly also becomes an investment with an expectable return.

Hu Xiao's eyes widened as he tried hard to digest Qi Bai's words.

“So, the establishment of the trading street within the city isn't just for the tribespeople, but also for the beastmen who will come to Blackrock City to trade in the future?”

Hu Xiao's thoughts suddenly became clear. If the trade routes Qi Bai mentioned could be realized, the private assets the tribespeople could obtain would be simply immeasurable.

Qi Bai smiled: “Do you still think they won't return my supplies now?”

Hu Xiao shook his head vigorously. From bringing the three tribes to Blackrock, to letting them witness Blackrock City's prosperity, to today's arrangements, every step Qi Bai took was calculated for the farther future.

He finally understood why Qi Bai said he still had a long way to go. Hu Xiao now even suspected that if Shu hadn't proposed this request, Qi Bai might have initiatively lent out the supplies, because it was fundamentally) within his plan.

The banquet that night was very lively. The beastmen from the three tribes ate so many delicious foods for the first time and deeply felt Blackrock City's affluence). Especially the Qingchi group who had just come from Ji City—they hadn't received such sincere hospitality even in the Upper City.

A slightly tipsy beastman, eyes glazed, pulled Ma Ling sitting beside him, waving his hand and saying: “The beastmen in the Upper City... no good. Their lives aren't as good as yours in Blackrock. I heard... the Temple's Si Shi can't afford to keep slaves, sold off many slaves...”

He patted Ma Ling's shoulder: “Still, your Blackrock is good! Blackrock is good!”

Ma Ling smiled and refilled his cup: “I just love talking with you. You must come to Blackrock more often in the future.”

“Come,” the beastman giggled foolishly, “If the Young City Lord comes, I come. If the Young City Lord doesn't come, I still come. Hehe.”

Shu didn't hear this beastman's boastful words. That whole night, Shu, Hu Liao, and the others couldn't even taste the delicious food, their eyes constantly fixed intently on Lang Ze, their gazes so resentful) they seemed about to drip water.

Qi Bai observed his nose, his nose observed his heart, pretending not to see anything. When it was time to keep them in suspense, they had to be kept in suspense. They couldn't be allowed to think that Blackrock City's things were so easily obtained.

The day after the banquet, Shu and the others came looking again. Qi Bai didn't mention the handcarts at all, instead discussing wholesale prices for goods with them.

This was agreed upon from the start. If the three tribes could purchase in large quantities, Qi Bai could give them a cheaper price.

The reason Qi Bai didn't set the goods' prices too high was mainly because the transportation costs these days were simply too great.

The consumption and loss for a round trip would multiply the cost of even the cheapest goods several times over. If the final value of Blackrock's goods far exceeded the prices in the Upper Three Cities, it would completely deviate from Qi Bai's initial vision.

This was also why Qi Bai, from the very beginning, didn't set the prices for bulk goods too rigidly. Making money together was the right path.

Nothing is more afraid of than getting used to things. In short, already accustomed to the external prices, Shu and the others, upon hearing the wholesale price Qi Bai offered them, felt not even a trace of dissatisfaction. On the contrary, they felt they had gained.

On the fourth morning after the banquet, the beastmen from the three tribes finally finished purchasing the goods they needed and prepared to leave Blackrock City.

Outside the South City Gate, Shu, wearing his wood-flower clothing, stood by a handcart, excitedly waving at Qi Bai and Lang Ze: “Bao Bai, rest assured, I will definitely come back to Blackrock City next spring!”

It wasn't until the night before their departure that Qi Bai finally relented and agreed to exchange handcarts with them. However, the quantity fell far short of their requests. The Sacred Antelope tribe obtained two, while the Songwu and Qingchi cities got three each. This was only after Qi Bai reluctantly relented, considering the large quantity of goods they had bought.

Sun and Ling Ping also stated: “At the latest, we will definitely come to Blackrock again next autumn.”

Because they had too many goods, the three tribes would still travel together on their return journey.

The Songwu and Sacred Antelope tribes would first follow Shu to Qingchi City. After arriving at the city, Qingchi City would then send people to escort them back south.

This way, the journey would take a bit more time, but compared to the goods they carried, this hardly mattered anymore.

The group gradually moved farther away. Qi Bai turned around and saw Yang Luo's face wearing a dispirited and lost expression: “Grandpa Yang Luo, are you reluctant to part with them leaving?”

Yang Luo glared at him: “These people were brought back by you. Why would I be reluctant? The sooner they leave, the better. I still have lots of things to do.”

Qi Bai smiled and didn't continue teasing Yang Luo. They indeed had many things: the autumn hunt, harvesting wood-flowers, and the houses for the Silver Moon tribespeople. Matter after matter awaited their handling.

Time flew by swiftly amidst Blackrock City's busyness. Unknowingly, the long winter had passed.

In this cold winter, not a single beastman froze to death in Blackrock City.

The beastmen didn't need to curl up) in small tents and caves the entire winter either. Warm houses and sufficient food gave everyone abundant) energy.

Apart from necessary work, whether horned beastmen or sub-beastmen, everyone preferred to gather at the Bīng Sī - Military Department)'s large training ground. Training instead became a pleasure during the winter.

The biggest surprise this winter was undoubtedly the three heavy snowfalls.

It's no exaggeration to say that the moment Qi Bai saw the heavy snow, he nearly shed tears. Nearly three years! The long drought was finally seeing an end.

He finally understood what "A timely snow promises a good harvest" meant. Without rain, without snowmelt, watching the big river's water level drop bit by bit, that feeling of insignificance in the face of nature was simply too intense. Those who don't farm, who don't experience drought, absolutely cannot empathize.

Just as Qi Bai prepared spicy fruit and husked grain seeds, deciding to go all out this spring, anccident) suddenly (jiànglín -befell).

Qi Bai stood on the city wall, watching the beast tide, a dark, pressingly vast mass, vast and mighty charging towards Blackrock.

Qi Bai blinked. His first reaction was: There's actually such a good thing?