Profits and Losses

After receiving the contract, Cui Tike pondered it for a long time before confirming that it was true.

The Peddler did indeed pay him.

He tried to return the deed to the Peddler: "I don't want this land, I just want a person." The Peddler scoffed, "What kind of talk is that? I'm not a human trafficker!"

Cui Tike hurriedly explained, "You misunderstood me. I have a friend who lost his life, and I want to bring him back." The more anxious Cui Tike became, the more problematic his expression became.

The Peddler understood. "You want to bring someone back to life? That's difficult." Cui Tike, holding the contract, said, "Here, take this. I'm willing to pay even more."

The Peddler shook his head. "I have a way, but mine isn't the kind of miraculous recovery you're looking for. You'll have to find the way you want yourself." "It's too late," Cui Tike shook his head. "He might already be..."

"As long as we can find a way, we'll definitely make it in time," the Peddler said, glancing at Cui Tike. "Those flowers can't be kept inside clothes forever; the wildflowers on the mountain need to be taken out to get some fresh air from time to time."

Cui Tike took a can from his pocket, which seemed like some kind of hint. Li Banfeng nodded at Cui Tike; it was indeed a hint.

Before Cui Tike could understand Li Banfeng's meaning, the Peddler said, "There's something important to do right now. The people of Virtue Praise Cliff aren't all dead yet, but they'll be soon. I'll give you a piece of Proper Land. If you turn it into Old Land, I absolutely won't forgive you."

This is a difficult matter to handle.

If we don't want Virtue Praise Cliff to become Old Land, Virtue Praise Cliff must send people Virtue Praise Cliff. But in its current state, not even grass grows, let alone people. Cui Tike, however, had an idea. "I have a group of friends who are very resilient; they should be able to settle here."

The peddler shook his head. "No, not the Dao Lao Gui (刀劳鬼), whether it's the Dao Lao Gui from Dao Lao Ridge or these you're carrying around." Tritike pointed to the Dao Lao Gui beside him. "They're not really Dao Lao Gui in the true sense; they're my..." The peddler still shook his head. "No matter where they come from, they must be sent back to Dao Lao Ridge!"

There was no room for negotiation with the Peddler, so Cui Tike quickly went to think of a solution.

Li Banfeng was still pondering the cause and effect of the matter when the Peddler pushed his cart away. "Junior brother, wait a moment," Li Banfeng quickly called out to the Peddler.

The Peddler pulled out Feather Duster and asked, "What is it?" Li Banfeng quickly changed his tune, "Senior brother, don't rush off yet."

"Why aren't we leaving? There's no business to be done here!" The Peddler didn't even bother to shake his Pellet Drum.

"Who says there's no business? I'm still here, aren't I?" Li Banfeng took out his wallet. "I'll buy a box of matches!" "Five cents."

Li Banfeng didn't have any change, so he gave the peddler a hundred-yuan note. The Peddler grimaced, looking rather unhappy.

That's how business is; you have to make money, you can't fight for more. He gave Li Banfeng a box of matches and gave him some change.

Taking the opportunity, Li Banfeng asked, "I didn't quite understand what you just said about making and losing money. How exactly did you do this business? Did you and Cui Tike make a profit or a loss?" "Didn't I just say that this business was a loss, but not a big one?"

"Everyone in Virtue Praise Cliff is dead and childless, isn't the compensation enough?" Li Banfeng handed the Peddler a cigarette and lit it with a match.

The Peddler put down his cart, took a puff of his cigarette, and said, "Different businesses require different approaches. There's certainly no business that guarantees profit, but you need to have a general idea of what kind of business it is."

There are small-scale businesses, stable businesses, businesses with dramatic ups and downs, and businesses that result in total loss.

Business in Medicine King Gully was stable and steady. Yao Xin had fallen, but the foundation of Medicine King Gully remained, so I handed the business over to Xu Han. Old Xu didn't need to play any tricks; just honestly keeping the business running would be enough for him.

The business in Sea Eat Ridge is extremely volatile. If they can withstand the Insect Plague, it will be equivalent to saving this Proper Land and countless lives, which would be a huge profit. If they can't, Sea Eat Ridge will be doomed, which would be a devastating loss.

This kind of business is the hardest to do. I planned to do it myself, but after finding Cui Tike, I got held up by other things. Just then, I saw that you were doing disaster relief in Sea Eat Ridge, so I asked Cui Tike to go to you. I didn't expect you to actually make it happen.

You dared to dream and dared to take risks. Everyone thought Sea Eat Ridge was doomed, but you carried Cui Tike to the very end. From then on, I trusted you, and I wanted to do business with you through thick and thin.

I initially thought Virtue Praise Cliff was in the same situation as Sea Eat Ridge, so I still wanted to pursue this business with you. Even if you didn't agree, I would find a way to get you to agree. However, after gaining a clearer understanding of Virtue Praise Cliff's situation, I realized this business wasn't suitable for you. Virtue Praise Cliff is rotten to the core.

What's happening here is no longer a simple power struggle; these people's actions have nothing to do with morality. They want to start a war and engulf the entire Pro State.

This kind of business has no chance of making money; it might not even cover the current period. When you encounter a business where you'll lose everything, you have to find someone else to run it.

"Thousand Liang Workshop's situation is very similar to Virtue Praise Cliff's. Cui Tike did a very good job in that business, so I still chose him. Although Virtue Praise Cliff still lost money in that business, the matter never went beyond Virtue Praise Cliff's scope, so the loss wasn't much, and the payment still has to be made. Do you understand now?"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and said, "Then you might as well explain things clearly as soon as possible, so that Cui Tike wouldn't be so hesitant and have been forced into this situation."

The Peddler chuckled, "Brother, it's easy for you to talk when you're not in charge. You think it's inappropriate for me to make Cui Tike hold back? If Cui Tike were allowed to act freely, he could slaughter Pro State tomorrow!"

I let him decide for himself who should be killed, hoping to leave Virtue Praise Cliff with more capital. But now, nothing has been left. That's business; I can only accept it."The Peddler was about to leave again when Li Banfeng called out, "Senior brother, wait a moment."

"What are you waiting for?" the Peddler said impatiently. "Am I just going to waste my breath on you? Don't I need to do business?" "Business is business, I'll buy a candle."

"Two cents."

Li Banfeng gave him another hundred-yuan note, Peddler angrily gave him his change.

"Brother, I've already patronized you twice, let's talk about something else!" The Peddler picked up Feather Duster: "What else is there to talk about? Tell me quickly!"

"I have a way to break the boundary."

The Peddler put the Feather Duster back and rolled a cigarette for Li Banfeng: "Junior brother, sit down and let's talk."

The two sat side by side. The Peddler struck a match and lit a cigarette for Li Banfeng: "Tell me in detail, how did you break the boundary?" "I built a bridge on the boundary, and people can walk across it."

Li Banfeng wanted to explain the principle of the hidden bridge to the Peddler in detail, but the Peddler couldn't wait to ask, "How many people can cross your bridge at a time?" "Three to five people should be enough."

The Peddler's smile faded, "I see."

Li Banfeng was displeased. "What? You think it's not enough? Do you look down on me?"

The Peddler got up and tidied his cart. "It's not that I look down on you, but the methods to cross the boundary are very rare. But three or five people are far too few. Besides, you're Balance Person now. You don't need to go to such lengths to help three or five people cross the boundary, do you?"

Li Banfeng said, "I'm not just sending three or five people; I want to bring out all three Three-Headed People of Three Heads Junction."

Upon hearing this, the Peddler became interested. "This is big business, a business with huge ups and downs, and also a very difficult business. Do you want to do it?"

"I want to! But it's hard to find the right way. I know nothing about Three Heads Junction."

The Peddler took a piece of Medicine Candy from his cart and handed it to Li Banfeng: "I know quite a bit about Three Heads Junction. We can do business together, but the bridge that crosses the boundary line requires at least two hundred people to cross at a time."

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Give me some more time."

The Peddler pushed his cart and said, "You have plenty of time, but that foreigner doesn't have much left. He's made such a mess of Virtue Praise Cliff, let's see where he'll find anyone to help him."

Cui Tike went to a new land, a very remote new land.

This new land stretched as far as the eye could see, with farmers diligently cultivating the land and hunters constantly coming and going. Reaching the village, Cui Tike inquired along the way and finally found Zhang Wanlong.

"Mr. Zhang, I've finally found you!" Cui Tike was very excited.

Zhang Wanlong looked at Cui Tike carefully, then smiled with some surprise, "This foreign friend, have we met before?" Cui Tike was taken aback. "Of course we've met, I even bought seeds from you."

Zhang Wanlong shook his head and said, "You must have mistaken me for someone else. I never sell seeds to others."

This attitude was unacceptable to Cui Tike. He took out a few seeds from his pocket. "These are the ones you sold to me back then, you don't remember, do you?" Zhang Wanlong carefully examined the seeds for a while: "The seeds look somewhat similar to the ones I cultivated, but these really weren't sold to you by me." "Then who else could have sold them to me?"

"It could be them," Zhang Wanlong called out towards the cornfield. Two men who looked exactly like Zhang Wanlong approached. Zhang Wanlong explained, "These two crops are mine. They might be impersonating me to do some shady business."

As they spoke, Zhang Wanlong's face darkened, and he said to the other two Zhang Wanlong, "Did you sell the seeds to someone else?" The other two Zhang Wanlong shook their heads repeatedly, "We didn't sell them. There are rules under Brother Long's command that the seeds cannot be sold."

The two Zhang Wanlong denied it, so Zhang Wanlong called over a dozen more Zhang Wanlong: "Which of you sold seeds to him?" All of the Zhang Wanlong shook their heads and denied it. "We did not sell any seeds."

Cui Tike frowned and asked, "Mr. Zhang, what exactly do you mean? Are you asking about the price?"

Zhang Wanlong shook his head repeatedly, saying, "I don't sell seeds, so how can I talk about prices? It's just that I've grown so many crops that someone might break my rules and sell you their seeds."

"This matter needs to be investigated slowly. You wait in the village for a while. I'll have my wife start a fire and cook. After the hunters return, we'll compare the evidence one by one. We must get to the bottom of this."

How could Cui Tike have time to investigate this with him?

Even if the truth were found, it wouldn't help Cui Tike in any way. Left with no other option, Cui Tike left the village.

Little Genzi walked up to Zhang Wanlong and asked, "Brother Zhang, why are we stopping this business?"

"Business is business, but it depends on who you do it with." Zhang Wanlong took out an antenna from the drawer. "I asked a friend at the radio station to buy this for me. It's a good product!" He took a pumpkin, found a syringe, and injected the pumpkin with it.

After the injection, he took a drill and drilled a hole in the pumpkin. "Hmph~" the pumpkin made two noises.

Zhang Wanlong quickly reassured her, "It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt. I've had anesthesia." Pumpkin calmed down a little.

Zhang Wanlong picked up the antenna and said to Pumpkin, "This antenna is a bit cold, just bear with it."

When the antenna was inserted, the pumpkin trembled again. Zhang Wanlong adjusted the antenna's position, and some sounds came from inside the pumpkin. At first, the sounds were somewhat noisy, but after several adjustments, the sounds gradually became clearer.

Little Genzi looked bewildered and asked, "What is this?"

"A radio!" Zhang Wanlong wiped the pumpkin juice off his hands. "Let me tell you, this is technology. You can't just study gold juice every day; you also have to study science and technology." Little Genzi still didn't quite understand the concept of technology. In Pro State, very few people could listen to the radio.

He squatted down next to the pumpkin and listened attentively for a while. Just then, the host was recommending a newly launched kitchen knife.

Little Genzi snorted, "This science and technology is all a lie. If a kitchen knife could cut through iron like mud, then why would we need a cleaver to kill someone?"

The host happened to be talking about this. "With this cleaver, one second you're chopping vegetables in the kitchen, the next you can be taking someone's head off, ensuring a surprise attack." Little Genzi scoffed, "One second I'm stirring soup, the next I'm pouring sauce, and I can guarantee a surprise attack too! What's the use of this technology?"

Zhang Wanlong laughed and said, "Why are you arguing with a guy? Wait a minute, the real stuff hasn't come out yet."

After waiting for half an hour, the call ended, and a sweet voice came from the pumpkin. "Dear listeners, Ah Hui is here to bring you the latest news from Virtue Praise Cliff. According to informed sources, Virtue Praise Cliff has been hit by a rare plague, and the fate of tens of thousands of residents is unknown. Further details are still under investigation..."

Zhang Wanlong looked at Little Genzi and said, "You figured it out now, didn't you?"

Little Genzi nodded and said, "The progress of science and technology is really amazing."

"Sweet, isn't it! Ah Hui's voice... Who told you that! Something happened at Virtue Praise Cliff, didn't you hear? There was a plague outbreak there, who do you think did it?" Genzi shook his head. "Whoever did it, it shouldn't concern us, right?"

"That's hard to say," Zhang Wanlong said gravely. "The plague might very well be related to the Disease Cultivator. 'Green Flower is the ancestor of the Disease Cultivator,' but he hasn't shown his face for a long time. Wan Jinxian is also Disease Cultivator,' and there's been no news of him since."

The foreigner who just came is also Disease Cultivator and seeking to sell us seeds. Who knows what he's up to? We need to be careful. If this gets involved with the Virtue Praise Cliff incident, we can't afford the consequences.

Little Genzi stared intently at the radio-equipped pumpkin, silently remembering Zhang Wanlong's words.

He felt he didn't know much about Zhang Wanlong, and there was still a lot to learn.

The next day at noon, another man came to the village, carrying a box of silver dollars. He placed the box in front of Zhang Wanlong and said, "Brother Zhang, I've come to buy something from you." Zhang Wanlong was taken aback. "Brother, what's your name?"

The man introduced himself, "My surname is Sun, my name is Sun Yusheng, I'm from the Ink Fragrance Shop, I'd like to buy some good seeds from you." Zhang Wanlong smiled and said, "You want to buy seeds too?"

The man was taken aback: "Has anyone else been here?" "Yes."

Who is it?

"Never mind who it is, let's talk about the rules first. If you want grain, or melons, fruits, or local specialties, you can choose whatever you like, but I never sell seeds."

The man frowned: "Really not selling?" "No."

"Fine, I guess I came to the wrong place." The man picked up his suitcase and left. Little Genzi asked, "Can't we do business with this person either?"

"Of course we can't do it," Zhang Wanlong laughed. "This man's surname isn't Sun, it's He. He's He Jiaqing, the First Young Master of the He Family. He used a disguise, but it can't fool my eyes. He Jiaqing and Li Qi don't get along. We can't offend our old customer for the sake of one business deal with him."

"That's right," Genzi nodded repeatedly, "Seventh Master is one of our own."

Zhang Wanlong glanced outside the door. "This man is hard to deal with; he'll definitely come back."

Genzi scoffed, "Let him come, we're not selling to him."

"If we don't sell it to him, he'll take it himself. He Jiaqing is a thief repairman; most people wouldn't know that."

Upon hearing this, Little Genzi picked up his spoon. "Tomorrow I'll stay home and keep watch. If he dares to come, I'll give him a spoonful. From now on, we'll be able to smell him as soon as he shows his face."

"You can't guard against thieves forever, even if you're a thief for a thousand days. This trick won't work." Zhang Wanlong smiled and added another lock to the cellar. The next day, when the two returned from their farm work, Zhang Wanlong's two wives were cooking.

"Has anyone been here today?" Zhang Wanlong asked. "No one has!" his two wives answered in unison. The two men went to the cellar and took a look.

Little Genzi checked the lock and said to Zhang Wanlong, "No one has touched this lock. He Jiaqing didn't come." "That's not necessarily true." Zhang Wanlong took out a medicine bottle and dripped two drops of medicine onto the lock.

After a moment, a vine emerged from the keyhole, bearing a rosebud the size of a palm. A woman, about the size of an index finger, stood atop the rosebud and bowed to Zhang Wanlong.

Zhang Wanlong asked, "Has anyone touched you today?"

"Yes, a man came in and was being indecent; he touched her several times." Zhang Wanlong then asked, "Did he take the seeds?"

"I didn't dare stop him after he took it."

"No need to stop me, just take it!" Zhang Wanlong waved his hand gently. The woman bowed again, the petals closed, the flower shrank into the vine, the vine shrank into the keyhole, and the lock returned to its previous state.

Genzi wasn't too surprised. Having followed Zhang Wanlong for so long, he was used to this kind of thing.

His current concern is about the seeds. "Brother Zhang, let's see how many seeds He Jiaqing stole first."

"No need to look, let him take whatever he wants. Those are all good seeds. You reap what you sow, but he just won't grow what he wants." The next night, Zhang Wanlong and Genzi had a couple of drinks and were getting ready to go to sleep when someone else came to buy seeds.

Zhang Wanlong laughed, "That's really strange. Why are people coming to me to buy seeds these past two days?" No matter how much money they offer, he just won't sell the seeds!

The man didn't linger and got up to leave. Zhang Wanlong asked Genzi, "We went to Green Water City a few days ago and bought a lot of newspapers. Do you remember where we put them?" Genzi remembered that Seventh Master had told him to read more newspapers.

He brought a stack of newspapers from the backyard, and Zhang Wanlong carefully flipped through them one by one.

His gaze lingered on a photograph. "This is the man, his name is Du Wenming!"

Genzi, who knew quite a few characters from Zhang Wanlong, read the news aloud, "Is this someone from Outer State?"

"Yes, he's from Outer State," Zhang Wanlong said gravely. "Why is he also coming to me to buy seeds?"

At the Ye Tang Tea House in Green Water City, Master Kong Fang poured Du Wenming a cup of tea. "Are you sure you haven't come to the wrong place?"

Du Wenming said, "The location is definitely correct. Cui Tike has indeed been here. The Chu family and the He Family both own Land Block in the surrounding area. I have heard some rumors from them. Their Farming Cultivator methods are quite powerful. Li Qi has bought a lot of seeds from them."

Master Kong Fang pondered the connection, "What does that foreigner intend to do with the seeds? He caused such a huge incident at Virtue Praise Cliff, does he really want to cover it up with seeds for Farming Cultivator? That's absurd."

Du Wenming offered a speculation. "Is it possible that the Peddler didn't want to get involved in this matter?"

"He can't just ignore it. Virtue Praise Cliff is a Proper Land of land, and he can't just watch it disappear like this!" Master Kong Fang was very confident in his judgment. "Besides, even if the Peddler doesn't care, Inner State can't just ignore it either. I heard they've invested a lot in Virtue Praise Cliff, so things can't just end like this."

Inner State, Boundless City.

Song Demei's second son, Yue Congde, was recounting his experience at Virtue Praise Cliff to Lord Fan, Lord Lu, and Lord Bi. He had told this story many times before; in the past few days, eleven people had asked him about the events.

Because of the epidemic, Yue Congde was initially locked in a cell and questioned by a special person through the wall. The people of Inner State have a special physical structure and have a strong resistance to the epidemic, but because Cui Tike was a disciple of the Disease Cultivator sect, they still took full precautions.

Several days later, Yue Congde showed no abnormalities, and the guard against him relaxed somewhat, with some people beginning to question him directly. Now, Yue Congde finally met with the cabinet ministers, and today was a crucial opportunity for him to make a good impression.

But while performance is important, don't exaggerate. I've said it a dozen times before; if I can't keep up the rhyme today, things will get complicated. The three cabinet ministers sat in one chair, one body supporting three heads, looking at Yue Congde.

Lord Fan spoke first, "Did those foreigners wipe out Virtue Praise Cliff?" Yue Congde nodded repeatedly. "As far as I know, not a single one was left."

"How did you get back?"

This is something that can't be told the truth.

The truth is, he revealed his identity to Cui Tike and showed Cui Tike the entrance to the Inner State, and Cui Tike let him go.

The mere fact that he revealed the entrance to the Inner State could have cost him his life. Fortunately, he had prepared his explanation before returning, and had repeated it more than ten times in the past two days, so he had memorized it well.

"The plague of those barbarians couldn't affect our bodies. I used disguise to pretend I had a rash and played dead among the corpses. At that time, too many people had died in the village, and the barbarians didn't check everyone individually, so they didn't notice me."

After he left, I walked around the village and found that there were no survivors. Yue Congde suddenly paused, which aroused suspicion among the three cabinet ministers.

Lord Lu asked sternly, "Why did you seem guilty when you spoke just now?"

Yue Congde quickly explained, "I just didn't see any survivors in Virtue Source Village. The situation in the other villages is just my deduction."

That's not wrong. The exact number of people who died at Virtue Praise Cliff can be investigated by spies. Even if Yue Congde's statement is inaccurate, it won't have a significant impact.

The three officials were very satisfied with the results of the interrogation. Although the storm at Virtue Praise Cliff had subsided, they had two important gains: first, the foreigner Cui Tike had disobeyed the Peddler and would surely be severely punished; second, Cui Tike's techniques were ineffective against the people of the Inner State.

Green Water Beggar and Wan Jinxian have disappeared. If Cui Tike dies at the hands of the Peddler, Pro State will no longer be able to resist the plague. Even if the Peddler spares Cui Tike, his plague will not harm the people of the Inner State, and the Inner State need not worry about the plague from Pro State.

Yue Congde received his reward. He took the silver and was about to leave Lord Fan's residence when he suddenly felt an itch on his back. He scratched it and felt that his back was not quite smooth.

What's wrong?

Yue Congde tensed instantly; he felt an increasing itch on his back. He couldn't scratch, he absolutely couldn't scratch anymore.

Is this a rash?

I was perfectly fine before, how did I get a rash today? I absolutely can't let anyone see it, I absolutely can't...