Backed by the Headquarters

"But," Li Zhishu downed his drink in one gulp, and said in a deep voice, "Without you, the [Blacksmith Association - Water Wood Duchy] would never have existed!"

"That's right!" / "You're absolutely right!" / "What Old Li said is exactly what I was thinking!"...

Just then, Long Yin, Qingqiu Xin, and their friends, who had been pretending to fetch food, couldn't hold back any longer and started to speak up.

"You guys—"

Ling Yi rolled his eyes at everyone, annoyed. He had just been inwardly praising them for being perceptive.

"Brother Yi, now that you're back, should I inform my father to come to Mountain Sea Estate first and discuss it?" Long Yin grinned and said.

Upon hearing this, Qingqiu Xin nodded quickly and added, "Yes! And my father too..."

"Wait a minute." Ling Yi pressed his hand down and asked, "Now that I'm back, it's natural for me to pay a visit. What would it look like if they came to my place?"

"Furthermore," Ling Yi paused, his gaze sweeping over Long Yin and Qingqiu Xin, before saying irritably, "What are you two up to? Don't think I don't know. Let me tell you, the Blacksmith Association's affairs aren't as simple as you think. Don't give me any unsolicited help, understand?"

"Discuss it," you say? How much do you look down on those people in ' Wood Plant City '?

"Believe it or not, those guys should know I'm back by nightfall—"

At this point, Ling Yi glanced around at everyone around him, meeting their eyes in each one's gaze, and fully mobilized his mental power to sense their emotional fluctuations:

"Indeed, the Blacksmith Association - Water Wood Duchy Branch was founded under my leadership, together with my master (Old Master Jin), Masters Li Qiang and Fu Shan, and my brothers Long Ang and Qingqiu Li."

"But as you should also know, this association ultimately has its own limitations, namely the blacksmiths' own status and strength, which limits its upper limit of development."

"It's like when we were buying raw materials within the Heaven Dou Empire, we encountered situations where sellers there arbitrarily raised prices."

"In addition, even within the duchy, in some places, such as the territories of those marquises, the development of the association is quite limited."

"But with the arrival of the Grand Duke and several marquises, you should be able to see that the association's development is truly progressing in accordance with the goals I initially set, and my plans and ideas can finally be implemented."

"Now, although we have almost no say in the association's upper echelons, the association has truly developed. All the blacksmiths have been promoted to a certain extent, and our trading team has also been effectively trained and is now capable of working independently."

"It can be said that the current [Blacksmith Association - Water Wood Duchy Branch] is the mature power organization I had hoped for..."

"Brother Lei," Ling Yi turned to Zhang Lei beside him, "How many more blacksmiths are there in the association compared to four years ago?"

Zhang Lei thought for a few seconds and replied, "There are probably more than 1,800 more."

"What about the level?" Ling Yi asked again.

Zhang Lei: "Among these people who started from scratch, after four years, there are eleven senior blacksmiths, one hundred and ninety-five intermediate blacksmiths, around one thousand junior blacksmiths, and the remaining six hundred or so are still blacksmith apprentices..."

Ling Yi nodded, then asked, "Of these people, how many are from the Grand Duke's mansion or the various marquises?"

"From what I learned from Old Master Jin, apart from the two senior blacksmiths and the twenty-seven intermediate blacksmiths who are the Grand Duke and several marquises, the others should all be ordinary people, Soul Scholar, and One-Ring Soul Master who joined on their own..." Zhang Lei replied quickly.

Nodding, Ling Yi didn't ask any further questions. He winked at Li Zhishu, pointed to the various wine pots on the table, and smiled:

"Old Li, it's been four years, and you've developed so many varieties of fine wines. It seems that wine lovers on the Douluo Continent are in for a treat!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhishu smiled proudly, but humbly replied, "Hey! I was just figuring it out by chance. Some of the other grains you mentioned back then, I haven't figured out yet. I just replaced the main ingredient with ' Blue Silver Rice ' based on some original brewing recipes, and researched new proportions and fermentation times..."

Four years ago, when they were still on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire, Ling Yi told Li Zhishu that after returning to the Water Wood Duchy, he should take some time to study the brewing process.

In Ling Yi's prediction, with the large-scale planting of "Blue Silver Rice", in addition to meeting the daily consumption of the people of "Blue Silver Territory", there should be a lot of food left over.

Ling Yi, who did not want the "Blue Silver Territory" to be involved in the grain trade in the short term, hoped to use Li Zhishu to transform the extra "Blue Silver Rice" into another high-value commodity that would not easily offend certain people.

Alcohol became the best choice.

At the same time, Ling Yi, who was familiar with the profits of alcoholic beverages, also used the exorbitant profits of alcoholic beverages to lure the rulers of the Water Wood Duchy into the game and expand the planting area of "Blue Silver Rice".

This was a business that, like salt and iron, was once a state monopoly in ancient times.

"There are many types of grains used for brewing, and each type contributes differently to the flavor of baijiu. For example, sorghum adds aroma, corn adds sweetness, rice adds cleanliness, wheat adds spiciness, glutinous rice adds smoothness, and barley adds spiciness..."

She was a young lady from Shu Capital. Her family ran a folk-style tavern. If it weren't for the fact that the young lady from the martial arts school in Mount Emei and her classmate happened to pass by once, Ling Yi could have really learned the whole brewing process by hand.

Even so, Ling Yi, who had learned some theoretical knowledge, still had no problem providing Li Zhishu with some winemaking ideas.

"Don't be modest~" Ling Yi raised his wine glass and clinked it against Li Zhishu's, laughing, "Back in the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, I drank those so-called good wines that cost two hundred Gold Soul Coin a bottle, and they weren't much better than yours..."

"Arrange some aged wine for me later, I'll send it to my senior brother and uncle so they can have a taste too—"

"No problem!" Li Zhishu finished his drink and readily agreed, then belatedly tilted his head and said, "Wait a minute, we often bring wine to Old Master Jin and Ah Feng's father and their dozen or so fellow disciples—"

"I mean my senior brother Lou Gao, and Lou Gao master, my Uncle Tie Futu." Ling Yi shook his head, a few blushes of drunkenness rising on his cheeks, and said with a smile.

"Oh—" Li Zhishu immediately realized, "It's that short, chubby guy from back then... cough! That Lou Gao Soul King! I remember him, from the [Blacksmith Association]—"

"Hehe~" Ling Yi patted Li Zhishu on the shoulder and said with a grin, "Old Li, I have some news for you. Senior Brother Lou Gao is now Soul Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhishu's face lit up with joy. Ignoring the teasing in Ling Yi's words, his eyes gleamed as he said, "So, with Mr. Dugu Bo added to the mix, our ' Blue Silver Territory ' now has two Soul Emperor- level powerhouses as reinforcements!"

"If San Jin's (Dugu Xin's ) father breaks through to the Soul Saint, then..."

Before Li Zhishu could finish speaking, Ling Yi casually said:

"Uncle-Master Tie Futu broke through to the Soul Douluo more than two months ago—"

Li Zhishu: "..."

Zhang Lei: "..."

Long Yin, Qingqiu Xin, Zhang Mufeng, Dugu Xin ... who were initially puzzled by Ling Yi and Li Zhishu conversation, were all speechless.

Surprised? Unexpected? (*^▽^*)