The next day arrived.
There's a reason why the Joint Gathering is called a "rally".
For most of the attendees, the real highlight wasn't the infighting between nations, but rather the product displays and trade sessions that followed the formal meetings.
Commodity trading is not as simple as just exchanging money for goods.
Agricultural products need to be planned for next year's planting area and varieties based on orders; industrial products also need to be prepared in advance and production lines arranged; many Sea of Corruption specialties can only be harvested or hunted by accurately grasping seasonal changes.
Showing samples in advance, discussing intentions, and finalizing approximate quantities and prices are crucial for maintaining stable trade routes.
Thus, on the vast sandy land outside the town, a bustling, makeshift market, even larger than the Mining Town itself, unfolded.
The entire schedule for the Joint Gathering was arranged in advance: the formal meetings were compressed into the middle few days, while about two weeks were reserved before and after them specifically for this kind of open-style product display.
Including the meeting days, the entire gathering will last for a full month.
In addition to the dozen or so countries of varying sizes along the coast of the Sea of Corruption, there will also be a large number of independent caravans, well-known mercenary groups, and Sea of Corruption exploration teams from all over the world (it's not only Pejite that has people venturing deep into the Sea of Corruption to risk their lives, but Pejite has the largest scale) participating in the exhibition.
Whether it's selling adventure spoils, purchasing supplies, seeking specific commissions, or gathering intelligence and expanding connections, the Joint Gathering is a generally safe and fair trading venue, after all, it is backed by various countries.
Yes, it's at least much safer than Pejite's black market. For a gathering of this size and with such complex participants, the venue planning naturally cannot be taken lightly.
The Commercial Federation put a lot of thought into this, clearly dividing the open-air market into two main areas: the "National Exhibition Area" and the "Personal Business Area".
As the name suggests, the "Exhibition Area of Various Nations" is reserved for the prominent nations of the Sea of Corruption that have funded the formation of the International Confederation of Wizards.
The "Personal Commercial Zone" is open to anyone who can afford the rent, from large independent merchant groups to small vendors with only a few pack animals; they can set up a stall and operate by paying a fee based on the area.
As an important grain-producing area in the Sea of Corruption region, the Valley of the Wind naturally has a place in the "Exhibition Area of Various Nations".
At this moment, in the exhibition area for various countries.
Nausicaä, accompanied by five bodyguards, walked with Trudeau towards the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind's booth early in the morning.
Unlike those stalls outside that are divided into four levels—"gold, silver, bronze, and iron"—but are actually just places that use straw ropes to rip people off.
The main body of the exhibition hall is an amazing giant tent, with an area comparable to a medium-sized shopping mall in Mu En's previous life.
Hundreds of sturdy wooden pillars, each over ten meters high, are buried deep in the sand, supporting a heavy canvas canopy that has been treated to prevent fire and sand damage.
The tent's frame is constructed from Ceramic Steel tubing, ensuring its stability even in strong winds.
To prevent people from stirring up sand and soil, which could affect the display environment and the cleanliness of the merchandise, the tent was filled with heavy wooden pallets with grates, creating a flat and sturdy walking surface.
Sand will leak through the grating; it can be cleaned periodically.
The booths of various countries are distributed along the wide main avenues and side paths planned inside the tent, with each booth covering an area of several hundred square meters.
Along the way, Nausicaä looked around curiously.
At the Valley of Sand booth, various unpolished rough stones and meticulously cut gems shone brightly. This area, also part of the Mountains of the Wind, is famous for its gem deposits.
The Waji Valley booth displayed snow-white, crystalline sea salt. It looked ordinary, but it was actually a precious sea salt that had undergone countless processes to extract from highly toxic seawater.
Pakashe's booth had an industrial feel, showcasing lamp oil, grease, and samples of pre-processed petrochemical materials refined from crude oil.
The host, the Mining Town, had the most "simple and unpretentious" booth – displaying various shapes of Ceramic Steel Ceramic Steel, as well as weapons, Ceramic Steel, and even decorative Ceramic Steel sculptures.
Don't ask, the answer is that we have more Ceramic Steel than we can use.
She also noticed that several small agricultural countries, like the Valley of the Wind, with pristine lands, did not display many goods.
As Trudeau walked, he revealed the International Confederation of Wizards's secrets to Nausicaä: "Don't be fooled by the sign saying 'Exhibition Area for All Countries,' there are actually only about a dozen countries qualified to exhibit here."
"The reason it's written as 'various countries' is because that old bastard Haideng vain; he wanted it to sound impressive."
"By the way, don't tell anyone else, that guy holds a grudge."
Nausicaä: "----Okay."
She thought Chairman Haideng was a cultured man.
The group soon arrived at the middle of the tent, where a wooden sign that read " Valley of the Wind " in Eftal language was hanging on a pillar.
However, apart from the yellow paint-painted boundary lines on the ground and that lone sign, there wasn't even a table here.
Elder Trudeau, our counter—
Nausicaä was a little puzzled; she couldn't very well let them build the platform themselves, could she?
Trudeau, however, seemed unfazed, chuckling as he surveyed the surroundings.
He quickly beckoned to a waiter who wore International Confederation of Wizards gear badge on his chest.
The waiter trotted over, a professional smile on his face, "Sir, how may I help you?"
Trudeau didn't waste any words, simply pulling a small leather pouch from his pocket, pouring out two double-snake gold coins, and handing them over. "Here, for the counter rental fee."
The waiter's smile froze for a moment, then he looked somewhat embarrassed. "Sir, according to the International Confederation of Wizards's regulations, the rental fee for the exhibition area is four Gold Snake Coin."
"I know," Trudeau said with a wave of his hand, his tone matter-of-fact. "I'll rent the first half first, and I'll pay for the remaining two in the second half."
"This will prevent someone from coming up with lame excuses to end the meeting early and swindle money from honest businessmen like us!"
The waiter's expression grew even more awkward. He looked around and lowered his voice, "Sir, you can't say that. Last time, and the time before that, were all accidents. The sandstorm warning and the insect swarm warning were real, although they weren't on such a large scale—"
Trudeau raised an eyebrow and stared intently at the waiter.
After hesitating for a moment, the waiter took the two gold coins and sighed, "Alright, we'll rent the first half of the venue as you requested. I'll have someone bring the counter over right away."
He was genuinely afraid that this seemingly intimidating old man would cause a huge scene and expose the matter, leaving him in serious trouble.
After the waiter hurriedly left to attend to other staff, Nausicaä asked in a low voice, "Elder, do we even have to rent out the counters here?"
"It was Haideng's idea all along! Saying things like ' The International Confederation of Wizards needs to eat too,'" Trudeau scoffed. "Pah! The service wasn't much better, but they had a whole bunch of excuses for charging."
He snorted and continued to complain, "And this shameless guy has ended the gatherings early more than once with false alarms like 'insect swarm attack' or 'sandstorm' to swindle everyone out of their venue fees. I won't fall for it this time."
Nausicaä now understood why Trudeau disliked Haideng.
It seems that governing the Valley of the Wind and dealing with the outside world are two completely different disciplines.
She decided that she could no longer just bury herself in the affairs of the valley and the research on the Sea of Corruption, but should travel more.
Soon, a team of International Confederation of Wizards workers arrived pushing several carts piled high with wooden components.
These components are all produced in a standardized manner, including display stands of different heights, lockable lockers, multi-tiered shelves for placing samples, and so on.
Meanwhile, other members of the Valley of the Wind caravan also brought over bags of exhibits that had been prepared in advance from the camp.
Under Trudeau's command and Nausicaa's assistance, various products were placed on the "Hui" font booth in categories.
As the last item was placed in place, the sunlight perfectly illuminated the desert.
The Valley of the Wind exhibition area is now officially open.