At the beginning of the month, two days before the trade between Nine Bamboo Mountain and SITONG Trading Company, another honored guest surnamed Zhu arrived at Sanqing Peak.
Zhu Kui.
Of the two Zhu brothers, Zhu Bo was a good hand at working the land, but when it came to doing business, Zhu Kui was the one to watch.
A few days earlier, Lu Bei had wiped out the diehards in one fell swoop. After Zhu Bo received the news, he hurriedly sent Feng Si back to Dasheng Pass, while Zhu Kui traveled through the night to come here and stabilize the situation.
Thanks to Ding Lei's incredible efficiency, Lu Bei had taken Four Scenery Peaks, Five Heng Peaks, Six Yang Peaks, Eight Goose Peaks, and Nine Pine Peaks in one go. Excluding Sanqing Peak, where not even a single Spirit Bamboo grew, only three of the eight peaks still had business dealings with SITONG Trading Company.
What Zhu Kui had to do was lure them with profits and force SITONG Trading Company out by throwing money around.
He was very confident about it.
Whatever the business, whenever Old Zhu Family entered the field, everyone else could only bow and yield.
If they played fair and competed over money, SITONG Trading Company could not compare with Zhu Family Trading Company. If they played dirty...
Zhu Kui wished they would.
Wu Zhou bore the surname Zhu. Whether it was the imperial court that governed the realm or Huangji Sect, which oversaw the cultivation sects, everything was decided by Old Zhu Family. Within Wu Zhou, whoever dared to stab them in the back or trip them up would be no different from committing suicide and withdrawing from the game.
Zhu Kui was extremely optimistic about Nine Bamboo Mountain's Spirit Bamboo industry. There were simply too many details that could be worked with. With careful operation, it could absolutely grow into Zhu Family Trading Company's pillar industry.
Without even looking far ahead, it would be no problem to guarantee several generations a life free from worries over food and clothing.
With good fortune bringing good spirits, Zhu Kui cheerfully climbed Sanqing Peak. He hooked an arm around Lu Bei's shoulder and laughed. "Brother Lu, you're quite a character. Not only do you occupy a remote mountain and enjoy its refined solitude, you even raise a whole den of glossy red-furred foxes. You really know how to enjoy life."
"Come off it, Brother Kui. Someone like you is what living looks like. What I'm doing is surviving." Lu Bei handed the roast goose to the little foxes, then casually grabbed one and began stroking it.
"Ying ying ying—"
After a month of feeding them pills, cooked food, and other delicacies, Lu Bei's efforts had not been wasted. The little foxes had lost their initial wariness and trusted him completely, letting him pet them without resisting.
The first little Fox Spirit had also let down her guard. Gifted with extraordinary intelligence, she had learned quite a few human characters under Lu Bei's instruction. She was currently striving to take human form, and becoming an adult was just around the corner.
Incidentally, not long after learning how to write, the little Fox Spirit had written her own name in front of Lu Bei—Hu Jiao.
The names of the Demon Race formed naturally after they gained Spiritual Intelligence. They were inheritances hidden within their bloodlines, something humans could only envy.
This was a good thing. Otherwise, given Lu Bei's naming ability—with Meier, Lili, and Number Eight as the upper limit, and Steel Cannon, Wangcai, and Laifu as the lower limit—it was hard to guarantee that this den of foxes would not revolt in the future.
"Haha, Brother Lu, you're being modest again. You're still as amusing as ever."
Zhu Kui did not take Lu Bei's so-called survival seriously. When their conversation turned to business, he said frankly, "I heard from Big Brother that besides Spirit Bamboo, you also want to do some other business?"
"That's right. I was just about to ask you for advice, Brother Kui."
Lu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly. "If I refined finished pills, a very large quantity of them, would you have any good sales channels, Brother Kui?"
"What grade of pills?"
Zhu Kui said, "If they're consumables like Qi Ling Pills and Qi Gathering Pills, don't waste your time, Brother. That business can't be done."
"How so? Doesn't Huangji Sect buy them too?"
"They do buy them, but..."
Zhu Kui organized his words, then spoke plainly without beating around the bush. "Consumables like Qi Ling Pills and Qi Gathering Pills aren't difficult to refine. Take Ning Province for example. Dasheng Pass can cooperate with other sects, allocate quotas each month, and exchange money for goods. It could even delegate authority to the counties, such as Langyu County. It's reasonable and logical, but it doesn't conform to the rules."
"Come on, speak more slowly."
"Brother Lu spent some time fooling around in the Alchemy Room at Dasheng Pass. You know how much water there is between the raw materials and the finished pills. That's one layer of profit. Dasheng Pass reports the monthly total, then distributes it to various places after it enters the warehouses. All the twists and turns in between make up the second layer of profit. As for whether there are any other profits, I wouldn't dare speculate."
Zhu Kui gave a sly chuckle and continued, "Everyone knows that having each county directly purchase finished pills reduces expenses. At the very least, it saves time, effort, and money on transport. But cutting off someone's source of wealth... makes everyone unhappy. Don't cause yourself trouble by doing something that earns neither gratitude nor profit."
"Thank you for pointing me toward the light, Brother Kui. I understand now."
Lu Bei nodded deeply, then raised his brows. "Then suppose some people aren't interested in money and don't take the profit between raw materials and finished products. If you purchased them directly and then sent them all to Dasheng Pass, would there be any room for profit?"
"Of course there would. Both layers of profit would still be there. We'd earn the same way as before, only even more easily. It's reasonable, logical, and compliant with the rules. Most importantly, it would be more legal than before, so no one could catch us with a handle."
Zhu Kui looked at Lu Bei in confusion. "But the problem is, you'd be busy for nothing. Why waste your time?"
Lu Bei smiled freely and said solemnly, "The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every common man."
"..."
Zhu Kui said nothing. He looked at Lu Bei as if he were looking at an idiot.
Everyone saw it. It was not that he had picked a fight for no reason. Lu Bei had insulted his intelligence first, so he had insulted Lu Bei back.
"Brother Kui, to be honest, there is still money to be made. Small profits and high sales volume—you should understand that principle."
"I don't."
Zhu Kui shook his head like a rattle drum. "Brother, that's not how money is made. If I use inferior raw materials while selling them as superior ones, it won't affect the pills' final quality... Well, it might affect it a little, but it would still fall within the accepted standards. You could say it wouldn't affect their use. But passing off inferior finished pills as superior ones is punishable by death under the law. Even my surname being Zhu wouldn't save me."
"Brother Kui, you've misunderstood. Do you think I'd pass off inferior goods as superior? I really can make a profit. I guarantee that the quality of the pills will be absolutely fine!" Lu Bei gave a mysterious smile.
"What, have you developed a new alchemy technique that saves materials?"
Zhu Kui's eyes lit up. "Tell me all about it. Quickly."
Lu Bei would produce the pills, and Zhu Kui would resell them with Huangji Sect's official label from Dasheng Pass. The profits were promising.
As a merchant, it was hard not to be tempted upon hearing of such enormous profits.
"Commercial secrets. No comment."
Lu Bei decisively shook his head and agreed with Zhu Kui that as long as he could refine consumable pills that met the quality standards—and produce them in large quantities—Zhu Kui would handle the purchases and resell them to downstream buyers.
"When exactly? When can you deliver the goods?"
"No rush. Wait a little longer. By the beginning of next year at the latest!"
Lu Bei was utterly certain. He remembered clearly that the Open Beta would take place in the 824th year of Wu Zhou—that was this year. It was already midsummer, so the Inner Beta would be arriving before long.
That night, they drank to their hearts' content atop Sanqing Peak. Zhu Kui had brought Roast Goose from Bright Moon Tower, Lu Bei's favorite.
Five Fox Spirits were there to accompany them as well. If one ignored the fact that they had yet to take human form, were greedy, and even stole alcohol, then the plot of "The Night Three Men and Five Foxes Got Drunk" sounded pretty exciting.
At the wine table, Zhu Kui thumped his chest and guaranteed that since Lu Bei had helped Zhu Family Trading Company secure such a major deal, the Zhu brothers would certainly reward him generously. In the future, Lu Bei could take a share of the net profits from the Spirit Bamboo business every month.
As for who would pay that money...
Dasheng Pass would purchase the goods at the original price. Zhu Kui declared that he would still make a profit, while the various sect leaders of Nine Bamboo Mountain also declared that they had not lost out.
There was no need to go into too much detail about business matters. As long as everyone earned money and everyone was happy, that was enough.
The next day, Zhu Kui hurried from peak to peak and paid visits to several sect leaders. On the day of the trade, he took the Spirit Bamboo from several peaks with a lavish offer right in front of the person in charge of SITONG Trading Company.
On this trip, the sect leaders earned so much that their legs nearly came apart, while Zhu Kui spent so much money that his legs nearly came apart too. Everyone was satisfied—except the person in charge of SITONG Trading Company. His legs nearly came apart as well, but from anger.
He went to Langyu County to complain at Magistrate Li's residence, only to be sent away with several sighs from the other party. He had no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit.
As for Lu Bei, on the very day the trade ended, he went from being the despicable villain whom every peak despised to an honored guest seated at every sect leader's table. Even Pang Miaosong, with whom he had previously had friction, had softened after accepting his gifts and begun addressing Lu Bei as brother and sister.
After seeing the Zhu brothers off, Lu Bei agreed to meet them again another day in Dasheng Pass. He had the little foxes watch the front and back doors and the courtyard walls, then slid down the well rope to search for the map that had been left behind.
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