Turning his head, he found a tall Feline woman with silver-white hair standing over him and staring down at him appraisingly.
She had to be around 1.9 meters tall, even taller than my 1.8 meters...
Oh, she was wearing high heels, too.
The Feline woman wore a fitted police uniform, with a golden badge pinned to her chest.
The name on the badge, transliterated, was: Windermere.
What a familiar surname, Windermere...
"I'm terribly sorry, Officer. I just won some gold coins at the casino, so my smile got a little strange. But I'm willing to share my good luck with you."
Huang Cao immediately pulled a gold coin from his pocket and handed it over.
Of course, Huang Cao knew perfectly well that she would never accept it. In public, she couldn't possibly take it openly, either.
Sure enough, the instant he handed over the coin, her expression changed dramatically.
"No need. You gamblers spend every day drinking and carousing, yet in the end, you still have to rely on us to guard the border. Go on, go on. Stop getting in my way!"
"All right. May I ask your name, miss?"
"You only need to know that I'm from the duke's family... Forget it. My name is Shan Daier Wintermire. Remember it. I may be the noblest person you'll ever meet in your life."
"Why do you say that? Will I not be able to see you tomorrow?"
"From the way you speak, you sound like you're from out of town."
"To be honest, I'm from Yan Country, but my family is in Sargon. I came here to sell some things from home."
"I don't mind telling you. Everyone here already knows, anyway. Once I finish this damned internship today, I'll graduate from Victoria Guard Academy tomorrow. Then I'll be following my family to the border."
"So you're the eldest daughter of Duke Windermere's family. My apologies for my disrespect. It is thanks to the efforts of families like yours that Victoria enjoys such prosperity today."
Huang Cao put on a respectful act, intending to coax more information out of her.
"Not only are you handsome, but you're good with words, too. Unfortunately, you can't build any connections through me. That won't work on me."
The girl named Shan Daier Wintermire said this smugly.
Chapter 34: Trading Gold Coins for Pepper
"Miss Windermere, please hear me out. I learned a little divination in the rainforest, and fate has guided me to deliver a message to you."
"Divination? I don't believe in that stuff. But if you're going to say something nice and aren't charging me, I'll listen."
"Be careful of the person closest to you on the battlefield, because she may not be your relative. Please pass these words on to your descendants. One day, they will need them."
"What nonsense. Fine, I'll remember it—provided I live long enough to have children."
Since believing a little couldn't hurt her anyway, Shan Daier Wintermire adjusted her hat and left.
Watching the girl depart, Huang Cao said nothing more.
Someone might take those words as a joke, but saying them was no different from not saying them. At least a warning was better than nothing.
"Windermere... Looks like I met the ancestor of Little Cat's mother. I just don't know whether she's a direct ancestor."
Watching the girl leave, Huang Cao noticed that her features resembled those of the Duke of Windermere from the original storyline.
The current era was still several hundred years before the main story began. The War of the Four Emperors had not yet broken out, and Gaul was still alive.
Although she looked similar, she couldn't possibly be the same person.
"Victoria's nobles definitely won't welcome an outsider like me. For now, the only place where I can make something happen is the Commercial Association."
The new nobility and the old feudal nobility differed in their thinking. The former were more willing to accept new things.
The latter treated the country as their private property, so naturally they didn't welcome outsiders.
Because of the open and covert struggles behind the scenes, the Commercial Association's posters had been plastered everywhere to attract funding.
Before long, Huang Cao found a Gothic-style building. The mailbox beside it read: Victoria Commercial Association Headquarters.
"Esteemed sir, you can't enter without being a member. Please apply for membership first."
Before Huang Cao could walk inside, the pretty cat-eared girl at the entrance stopped him and directed him to another building to complete the membership procedures.
"So I have to go through the procedures first."
"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Too many people have been trying to cheat us out of funds lately. If you can demonstrate your value, you can become a member without paying the membership fee."
The attendant apologized politely. There was no melodramatic scene of her looking down on him.
The staff member handling memberships was also very enthusiastic and thoughtfully offered two membership plans.
Under the first plan, he paid fifty gold coins and received his membership status and card that very day.
Under the second, he submitted proof of his education and other qualifications. The qualifications had to be valuable, and the application would then take three months to review.
Huang Cao couldn't afford to wait three months. Besides, what qualifications did he have in this world? Even if he dug three meters underground, he wouldn't find a single document proving them.
The education he had received back home wasn't much better than that of the pink-haired siblings.
He paid the money readily and received his membership card. Then the attendant said:
"Esteemed sir, I must warn you that you can still change your mind. Once you have this card, you won't be able to join the Noble Lords' Chamber of Commerce."
"Don't worry. I've been fed up with those high-and-mighty lords for a long time."
"You're very brave."
Huang Cao and the other staff members cursed the nobles loudly in the hall without the slightest restraint. Afterward, he entered the Commercial Association proper.
As soon as he entered, several elegantly dressed nobles holding glasses of red wine congratulated him on joining.
After all, a fifty-gold-coin membership fee was no small sum. It was nearly a year's income for a small or mid-sized lord.
The members of the Commercial Association were naturally delighted whenever a new member joined. This was no ordinary association, but also a place for mutual assistance.
That mutual assistance, however, existed only among the upper classes. The steep membership fee had already barred most people from entering.
"From now on, I'll be relying on all of you seniors to guide this junior. If there's any profitable business later, remember to bring me along."
"You're too modest, brother. One look at you and I can tell you're destined for great things. Once you're successful, don't forget your old brother here."
Several other nobles echoed him. After the simple joining ceremony, the nobles went back to their socializing and couldn't be bothered with the new member anymore.
Huang Cao also saw the true purpose behind the association's founding on the notice board in the hall.
Small notes written by members themselves were pinned all over the board.
The notes described the various difficulties their authors were facing, such as shortages of technology and resources, along with the advantages they possessed.
Yet the board was covered in notes, which showed that hardly anyone was willing to help them. Otherwise, those notes should have been taken down long ago.
Unexpectedly, however, almost everyone who passed by the notice board glanced at its contents, and many people's expressions were quite intriguing.
Huang Cao naturally wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. He immediately wrote a note and pinned it up:
"Urgently looking to sell a large quantity of precious spices such as peppercorns. Anyone interested can find me on the third floor of the Rose Hotel, in the second room on the left."
Roughing it in the wilderness was out of the question.
But just as he finished writing and was preparing to leave, a large crowd stopped him.
"Brother, is that note you just posted real?"
"Do you have an exact number for the spices? I'll buy as much as you have."
Huang Cao cleared his throat several times to signal for everyone to quiet down. "I have roughly one and a half tons of peppercorns. It's not a huge amount, and it may not meet everyone's needs."
"I'll take it all for a thousand gold coins!"
"That little money is enough to send a beggar away? Don't say that, little brother. Anyone who looks down on you for a thousand gold coins is looking down on himself.
"You're only bullying him because he's from out of town. I'll take this batch of peppercorns for fifteen hundred gold coins."
"You old miser, you're not being any more honest yourself. Little brother, I'll offer sixteen hundred gold coins!"
Although the transactions were all conducted in gold coins, each coin in Victoria weighed only around ten grams.
Huang Cao knew perfectly well that these people had driven the price of peppercorns far above their real value, but their eagerness to buy simply couldn't be resisted.
Victoria's court nobles controlled the privileges of import and export. Whenever something good came in, they enjoyed it first, including precious seasonings such as pepper.
Thus, pepper was practically valuable but unavailable among ordinary people. In the end, Huang Cao sold all the pepper he had for two thousand gold coins.
Although he knew that, given the nobles' fervor, they would certainly be able to sell the pepper for an even higher price, his purpose today was not only to replenish his start-up capital, but also to make a name for himself and build up a network of connections.
Chapter 35: Too Bad It's Shi Huaiya, Not Shih Huaiya
"Of course, the things I brought with me aren't limited to these spices. I also brought inventions from my homeland. The transport route is somewhat difficult, though, and we have to pass through Kazdel's border."
"There's nothing we can do. Those Noble Lords control the border checkpoints, and the taxes are so high that we can only take this route."
As Huang Cao rambled on, he refined his backstory. Sure enough, the moment he mentioned the court nobles, everyone here seemed to lose their minds.
One by one, they became furious, as if they wanted to tear those people apart and eat them alive.
"Brother, I understand your situation all too well. If my family fortune weren't here, I would have moved away long ago." A Feline reached out and patted Huang Cao on the shoulder consolingly.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the head of the Shi Huaiya Family, as well as the vice president of the Commercial Association. You may call me Mr. Shi Huaiya."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Shi Huaiya. Victoria's business environment really isn't very good these days. When we have the chance in the future, we should venture out and make our fortunes elsewhere."
"Young brother, carrying so many gold coins around isn't very convenient. You already have a Commercial Association membership card.
"You can use this card to deposit money at any bank belonging to a Commercial Association member. To withdraw money, you only need to go to one of the banks under our name. There's no need to use the same bank."
"That really is convenient."
Could this be the predecessor of the United Bank?
Otherwise, having to withdraw money from the same bank every time would be incredibly troublesome, Huang Cao thought.
It seemed that Victoria already possessed the beginnings of modern commerce, though it was still rather underdeveloped.
"Mr. Shi Huaiya, are you free sometime soon? I'd like to invite you to dinner."
"Eight o'clock tonight. I happen to be planning to dine at the hotel where you're staying. We can discuss everything at the table." Shi Huaiya spoke heartily, then left without giving him the slightest chance to refuse.
Huang Cao didn't believe him at all. He had only mentioned that he was staying at the Rose Hotel today, and Shi Huaiya immediately said he was going to eat there.
Who would believe that?
After depositing the money in the bank, Huang Cao decided to establish a company of his own first.
A little over a year would be enough time for him to accomplish many things.
When filling in the company name, the image of the Antlered Goddess flashed through Huang Cao's mind again.
"The company will be called Abundance... Its main business will be growing and selling agricultural products, along with basic pharmaceuticals and other industrial fields."
Huang Cao thought to himself.
However, after applying for the business license in Victoria, he would still have to wait nearly half a month before it was delivered.
Besides, his company's business operations looked completely harmless to both humans and animals.
Harmless in the most literal sense.
When he returned to the hotel where he had been staying these past few days that evening, Mr. Shi Huaiya had already ordered the dishes and was waiting for his guest well before eight.
"Mr. Shi Huaiya, wasn't I supposed to be treating you? I can't possibly let you do this." Huang Cao said.
Shi Huaiya chuckled softly. "I was simply hungry. You young people can skip several meals and still be full of energy, but my body can't take that. Besides, inviting me to dinner isn't really your purpose, is it, Boss Huang?"
"Since you learned my name so quickly, I assume the person in charge of this hotel isn't exactly a stranger to you."
"Not at all. Your name merely came up in conversation. I couldn't help wanting to learn a little more about such a promising young man. Heroes emerge from the youth. From now on, the world belongs to you young people."
After exchanging a few rounds of commercial flattery, Huang Cao pulled a test tube filled with golden liquid from his trouser pocket.
"What is this?" Mr. Shi Huaiya's expression remained composed, though a trace of curiosity appeared in his eyes.
He assumed it was another somewhat unusual chemical reagent.
"If your information network is good enough, you should already know that I've registered a company."
"Boss Huang, you're flattering me. I don't have that kind of ability."
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