Blessed by Abundance, Scourge of Terra

Turning my head, I found a tall, silver-haired Feline woman looking down at me with a scrutinizing gaze.

She had to be at least 1.9 meters tall, taller than my 1.8 meters...

Oh, she was wearing high heels.

The Feline woman wore a fitted police uniform, with a golden badge pinned to her chest.

The letters on the badge transliterated to: Windermere.

A familiar surname, Windermere...

"My deepest apologies, Officer. I just won some gold coins from the casino, so my laughter might have been a bit off. But I'd be happy to share my good fortune with you."

Huang Cao immediately pulled a gold coin from his pocket and handed it to her.

Of course, Huang Cao knew she wouldn't accept it. In public, even she couldn't take it face-to-face.

Sure enough, the moment he offered the coin, her expression shifted.

"No need. You gamblers spend your days in debauchery, and in the end, it's up to us to guard the border. Go on, get out of my sight!"

"Very well. May I ask for your name, miss?"

"Just know that I'm from a ducal family... Fine, my name is Shan Daier. Remember it—I might be the noblest person you'll ever meet in your life."

"Why do you say that? Won't I see you tomorrow?"

"From your words, you seem to be from out of town."

"To be honest, I'm from Yan Country, but my family is in Sargon. I came here to sell some of our family's goods."

"I'll tell you, since everyone here knows anyway. Today ends this damn internship. Tomorrow, I'll graduate from the Victoria Guard Academy, and then I'll follow my family to the border."

"So you're the young lady of Duke Windermere's household. My apologies for not recognizing you sooner. It's thanks to your efforts that Victoria enjoys its current prosperity."

Huang Cao feigned respect, hoping to pry more information from her.

"You're good-looking and sweet-tongued, but you won't get anywhere with connections. That act doesn't work on me."

The maiden named Shan Daier said smugly.

Chapter 34: Trading Gold Coins for Pepper

"Miss Wintermire, please hear me out. I learned a bit of divination in the rainforest, and fate guided me to deliver a message to you."

"Divination? I don't believe in that. But if you're going to say something nice and not charge me, I'll listen."

"Be wary of your closest kin on the battlefield, for they may not be your true family. Please pass this message down to your descendants, miss. One day, your posterity will need it."

"How strange. Fine, I'll remember it. Of course, that's assuming I live long enough to have children."

Figuring there was no harm in believing a little, Shan Daier adjusted her hat and left.

Watching the departing maiden, Huang Cao said nothing more.

That remark might be taken as a joke, but saying it or not made little difference. A reminder couldn't hurt.

"Wintermire... Looks like I've met an ancestor of Little Cat's mother. I just don't know if it's a direct line."

As the maiden walked away, her features closely resembled the Duke of Wintermire from the original storyline.

The current era was still centuries before the main plot began. The War of the Four Emperors hadn't even erupted, and Gaul was still alive.

Though she looked similar, it couldn't be her.

"Victoria's nobles definitely won't welcome an outsider like me. The only place I can stir up some trouble is the Commercial Association."

The new aristocracy and the old feudal lords differed in ideology. The former were more open to new things.

The latter treated the nation as their private property, naturally hostile to outsiders.

Due to the covert infighting, the Commercial Association's posters were plastered everywhere to attract funds.

Before long, Huang Cao found a Gothic-style building. A mailbox beside it read: Victoria Commercial Association Headquarters.

"Respected sir, you cannot enter without a membership. Please apply for a membership card first."

Before Huang Cao could step inside, a pretty cat-eared girl at the entrance stopped him and directed him to another building for the membership process.

"So I need to go through procedures."

"My apologies for the inconvenience. There have been too many people scamming for funds lately. If you can demonstrate your value, you can become a member without paying the fee."

The attendant apologized, without any of those cliché novel scenes of looking down on people.

The staff handling memberships were also very enthusiastic and thoughtfully offered two membership options.

One option was to pay fifty gold coins. Pay that, and you'd get your membership and card the same day.

The other was to submit proof of your education or similar credentials—valuable credentials were required—and then wait three months for review.

Huang Cao couldn't wait three months. Besides, what kind of credentials did he have in this world? Dig three feet down, and you wouldn't find a single word of proof.

His formal education wasn't much different from that pink-haired pair of siblings.

He paid the money without hesitation, got his membership card, and then the attendant added:

"Respected sir, I must remind you that you still have a chance to back out. Once you hold this card, you cannot join the Noble Lords' chamber of commerce."

"Don't worry, I've long been fed up with those high-and-mighty noble lords."

"You're truly brave."

Huang Cao and the other staff members cursed the nobles without restraint in the lobby, then made their way inside the Commercial Association.

As soon as they entered, several elegantly dressed nobles holding glasses of red wine came over to celebrate his joining.

After all, the fifty-gold-coin membership fee was no small sum—it matched nearly a year's income for a mid-to-small-sized lord.

The existing members of the Commercial Association were naturally delighted to have a new member, since this wasn't just any association; it was a place for mutual support.

But that mutual support only existed among the upper echelons, as the steep membership fee had already shut out most people.

"From now on, I hope you seniors will guide me, this junior. If there's ever a profitable venture, remember to bring me along."

"Young brother, you're too polite. Anyone can see you're cut out for big things. When you make it big, don't forget your old brother here."

The other nobles chimed in as well. After the simple initiation ceremony, they went back to their own socializing, too lazy to bother with the new member any further.

Huang Cao spotted the true purpose of the association on the bulletin board in the hall.

The board was covered with handwritten notes from the members.

Each note described the writer's current difficulties—like a lack of technology or resources—along with their own advantages.

But judging by the sheer number of notes still plastered there, hardly anyone was willing to help; otherwise, they would have been taken down long ago.

Yet surprisingly, almost everyone who passed by the board glanced at its contents, and many wore expressions that were hard to read.

Huang Cao naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. He wrote a note of his own and stuck it up:

"Urgently looking to offload a large quantity of precious spices like Sichuan pepper. Those interested can find me in Room 2 on the third floor of the Rose Hotel."

Roughing it outdoors was out of the question.

But just as he finished writing and was about to leave, a crowd blocked his way.

"Brother, is that note for real?"

"A large quantity of spices—got a specific number? I'll take however much you have."

Huang Cao cleared his throat to quiet them down. "I've got about one and a half tons of Sichuan pepper on hand. Not a huge amount, so it might not meet everyone's needs."

"I'll take it all for a thousand gold coins!"

"That little money? You'd give that to a beggar? Don't look down on the young brother—I'd look down on you too. You're just bullying him because he's an outsider. I'll take the whole batch for fifteen hundred gold coins!"

"Old man, you're not exactly innocent either. Young brother, I'll offer sixteen hundred gold coins!"

Don't be fooled by the talk of gold coins—each one in Victoria weighed only about ten grams.

But Huang Cao knew full well that pepper was wildly overpriced in these people's hands, yet they couldn't resist buying it.

Victoria's court nobles held a monopoly on imports and exports, enjoying the best goods first, including precious seasonings like pepper.

As a result, pepper was essentially priceless on the open market. In the end, Huang Cao sold all his pepper for two thousand gold coins.

He knew that, given these nobles' frenzy, they could probably sell it for even more.

But today, besides securing startup capital, his other goal was to make a name for himself and build some connections.

Chapter 35: What a Shame It's Shi Huaiya, Not Shi Huaiya

"Of course, I didn't just bring spices. I also brought inventions from my homeland, but the transport route is tricky—I have to go through Kazdel's border."

"Can't be helped. Those noble lords control the border crossings, and the tariffs are so high that this is the only way."

As Huang Cao spun his tale and fleshed out his backstory, sure enough, the moment he mentioned the court nobles, everyone in the room lost their composure.

They were all indignant, practically itching to tear those nobles apart.

"Brother, I completely get your situation. If my roots weren't here, I'd have moved long ago." A Feline reached out and patted Huang Cao's shoulder in comfort.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the head of the Shi Huaiya family and also the vice president of the Commercial Association. You can just call me Mr. Shi Huaiya."

"A pleasure, Mr. Shi Huaiya. The business environment in Victoria really isn't great right now. When the chance comes, we should definitely venture out and explore."

"Young brother, I see you're carrying a lot of gold coins—that's not too convenient. Now that you have your association membership card, you can use it to deposit money at any bank owned by an association member. To withdraw, just go to any of our member banks; no need to stick to the same one."

"That's incredibly convenient."

Could this be the precursor to a joint bank?

Otherwise, having to go to the same bank every time to withdraw money would be a real hassle, Huang Cao thought to himself.

It seemed Victoria already had the rudiments of modern commerce, though it was still far from perfect.

"Mr. Shi Huaiya, do you have any free time recently? I'd like to treat you to a meal."

"Eight o'clock tonight. I happen to be dining at the hotel you're staying at. We can talk over dinner." Shi Huaiya said heartily, then left without giving anyone a chance to refuse.

Huang Cao didn't buy his excuse. He'd only just mentioned staying at the Rose Hotel today, and now this guy claimed he was planning to eat there?

Who would believe that?

After depositing the money in the bank, Huang Cao decided to first establish a company of his own.

A little over a year was enough time for him to accomplish many things.

When filling in the company name, the figure of the Antlered Goddess flashed through Huang Cao's mind again.

"The company name will be Bounty... the main business is agricultural product cultivation and sales, along with basic pharmaceutical and similar industrial fields," Huang Cao thought to himself.

However, business permits and such wouldn't reach his hands until nearly half a month after submitting the application in Victoria.

Besides, the scope of his company's operations looked utterly harmless at first glance.

Harmless in the most lethal sense of the word.

That evening, he returned to the hotel where he had been staying. Before eight o'clock, Mr. Shi Huaiya had already ordered dishes and was waiting for his guest.

"Mr. Shi Huaiya, didn't we agree that I was treating you? This makes me feel unworthy of such kindness," Huang Cao said.

Shi Huaiya chuckled softly. "I was just hungry. You young people can skip a few meals and still be full of energy, but my body can't handle that. Besides, treating me to dinner isn't really your goal, is it, Boss Huang?"

"Since you learned my name so quickly, I take it the manager of this hotel is no stranger to you."

"Not at all, not at all. I just happened to mention you, a promising young talent, and couldn't help wanting to know more. Heroes emerge from youth—the world ahead belongs to you young people."

After a few rounds of mutual flattery, Huang Cao pulled a test tube containing a golden liquid from his pants pocket.

"What's this?" Mr. Shi Huaiya's expression remained calm, though a hint of curiosity flickered in his eyes.

In his view, it was likely another special chemical reagent.

"If your information network is sharp, you should already know about the business I registered for my company."

"Boss Huang, you flatter me. I don't have that kind of ability."