"Lei Ni took me around Blackstone Street. We ate at every stop, and the food was wonderful." Shipping season had arrived once again, and Suoding Island typically saw several hundred medium and large merchant vessels arrive each day, a figure that multiplied several times over during peak periods. As a result, commercial life on the island had already taken solid shape. Coming up from the docks and past the warehouses led straight onto the main thoroughfare, where inns, taverns, teahouses, theater troupes, specialty shops, bathhouses, puzzle mazes, and barbershops offered just about everything imaginable—with a dizzying array of snack stalls and eateries being the most common of all.
Lu Feiyan was a cultivator with a healthy appetite, yet she found herself stuffed before they had even walked half the length of the street.
"I even spotted a rock sheep down at the docks. It was so fat—no, I mean robust! Massive horns, beautifully groomed fleece, and a bronze medallion hanging under its neck." Her mouth had practically watered at the sight, but—"Miss Lei told me that was your mount back when you traveled through the Beijia Kingdom."
"That's right. He took a liking to Suoding Island, so I sent him there to retire," He Lingchuan chuckled. "That fellow scales sheer cliffs as if walking on flat ground. He was a tremendous help to me in the past."
Now that He Lingchuan was the island master, his days were largely confined to pacing around his own modest domain. With no real use for a rock sheep's talents, he had simply turned it loose to roam freely.
With the medallion around its neck, everyone on the island recognized it as Suoding Island's mascot, and no one dared harbor designs on its plump meat.
"By the way, didn't your brother come along today?"
"The other day, right after we finished drinking on your island and got back to Bailie, my brother received orders and rode out that very night."
He Lingchuan looked mildly surprised. "Did something happen?"
In truth, he already knew Lu Qingbang had departed; he had his own informants planted in the Lu family.
"There's business to handle, but nothing has gone wrong," Lu Feiyan corrected him. "No one can foresee the unexpected twists of war."
Yet He Lingchuan caught her use of the word "orders."
The Lu siblings were already the supreme commanders on Bailie's eastern front. Who had the authority to issue them orders?
Was it Lu Zhensheng, or...?
"Don't you need to rush back, Miss Lu?"
"Not for the moment, I suppose." Lu Feiyan was reluctant to dwell on the subject. "Your settlement here has only been open for six months. I heard shop rents are already exorbitantly high?"
She had inquired casually while shopping, and the merchant's answer had left her dumbfounded. A storefront on the main street measuring barely five or six square meters commanded rent equal to sixty percent of a prime shop in Qucheng!
Qucheng was the capital of Bailie, boasting a permanent population of over three hundred and fifty thousand. Suoding Island had been developed for only a few months—how could lease prices climb so steeply?
Though she had to admit, the island was indeed bustling with foot traffic.
"We've seen two consecutive harvest seasons recently, making the Golden Sea Route exceptionally busy, which brings a steady stream of visitors ashore." He Lingchuan had set his sights on the Yangshan Archipelago precisely because of its prime geographic location.
Late spring, early summer, and autumn were all harvest seasons here, meaning three out of four seasons saw peak traffic along the Golden Sea Route. As long as it was managed properly, the Yangshan Archipelago would never lack for patrons.
Agriculture was the foundation of survival, but how much coin could tilling the soil yield, and how many people could it support? What He Lingchuan truly wanted to develop was its commercial value.
He had several concepts in mind that had yet to be put into practice.
Across the water, Superintendent Wu had managed Blade Harbor quite well. Unfortunately, Blade Harbor was tiny—hemmed in by water on two sides and backed against mountains on the third. Constrained by its geography, it could not expand outward; its business model was mature, but it offered scant room for new opportunities.
Consequently, enterprising merchants and factions blessed with foresight and a taste for risk turned their gazes toward the burgeoning Yangshan Archipelago in search of new prospects.
And did that not align perfectly with He Lingchuan's ambitions?
As the old saying went, plant the wutong tree, and the phoenix will arrive on its own.
The premise, of course, was that the tree had to grow thick and strong enough to stand tall above the surrounding forest.
Lu Feiyan asked, as if offhandedly, "How many people are on Suoding Island now?"
He Lingchuan smiled. "Nowhere near as many as Qucheng."
Qucheng had a permanent population of three hundred and fifty thousand; Suoding Island naturally could not compete with that yet.
*Hah. This young woman isn't quite as blunt and simple as she appears.*
Lu Feiyan pressed on, "Could I buy a few storefronts on Suoding Island?"
"Purchases won't open up for another few months."
Suoding Island had been undergoing development for less than a year, and He Lingchuan had no intention of selling land or shop premises just yet. Where foot traffic was low and popularity had yet to peak, how much could parcels fetch? Selling now would simply be throwing away value.
The land merely sat there; its so-called "value" was entirely circumstantial. It could stem from commerce, foot traffic, or simply being closer to the powerful and wealthy—a pavilion near water catching the moon first. In short, its price would rise only when everyone agreed it was valuable.
Even so, the Yangshan Archipelago had already begun drawing long-term commercial partners, such as Platinum Island, Songyang Mansion, and merchant guilds from the Qing Kingdom, the Mou Kingdom, the Ya Kingdom, Bailie, and other lands, constituting a solid wave of outside investment.
While the two conversed, another green recruit stepped to the brink of the precipice.
The young man was remarkably sturdy, yet the moment he looked down, he swallowed hard in panic. His boots seemed rooted to the stone, unable to budge.
Looking up from below before the ascent had not felt like much, but once standing on the edge, the height was terrifying beyond belief!
Just two glances down made his head spin. Leaping into that... wouldn't he die?
The soldiers standing nearby raised a clamor, some shouting encouragement while others jeered.
Several breaths ticked by, yet the recruit still lacked the nerve to leap, sweat pouring down his brow in sheets.
Standing guard at the side, Moqi Feng remarked with cold detachment, "You're not cut out for this. Next!"
Lu Feiyan noticed the braids trailing down the back of his head and let out a soft exclamation. "Is he from the Ya Kingdom?"
Having fought against the Ya Kingdom along Bailie's eastern frontier, she was no stranger to that distinct hairstyle.
"He belongs to the Bailong tribe." He Lingchuan gestured with his chin toward Moqi Feng. "When their five hundred braves enlisted that day, every single one of them passed the trial of Bazhang Cliff."
As warriors, the Bailong elites easily satisfied all the physical standards. Otherwise, He Lingchuan would not have expended so much effort and cunning to win them over more than half a year ago.
The next three recruits likewise flinched at the crucial moment, failing the test of nerve.
Lu Feiyan strolled over and peered over the rim of the precipice. Below lay jagged, knife-like reefs and foaming white surf.
A full eighty feet of sheer drop. Anyone faint of heart would feel their limbs turn to jelly with a single look. To plunge from such a height, poor posture upon hitting the water could easily knock a person unconscious.
And if one struck the rocks, they would be dead on the spot.
Any recruit standing here likely could not stop imagining themselves smashed open like an overripe persimmon.
She turned to Moqi Feng. "Has anyone fallen to their death?"
"Of course," Moqi Feng replied, arms crossed over his chest. "Two months ago, an unlucky fellow was blown off course by a gust, slammed straight into the reefs, and had his brains dashed out."
He added for dramatic effect, "The waves that surged up back then were red."
The recruits waiting in line were already terrified, and upon hearing this, several blanched and took a collective step backward.
"Holy hell, you can really die from this?"
"Count me out! Risking my neck for a few meager bits of silver isn't worth it—not worth it at all!" someone blurted out. "I forfeit!"
Once someone took the lead in backing out, more than a dozen of the already wavering recruits lost their nerve all at once.
Chapter 1057