As soon as I exited the subway station, my eyes were met with dozens of skyscrapers and the destination of this trip: a glass sunroom over a hundred meters tall.
A fully automatic, integrated villager planting and harvesting, stacked quad wheat farm.
The average daily output had already reached a significant scale. Anyway, in the warehouse designed by Su Bai, wheat was simultaneously collected by water stream hoppers and destroyed by hoppers feeding into a lava pool. This was to prevent the villagers in the automatic farm from picking up the wheat and refusing to work.
The entire farm warehouse usually maintained a state of over three hundred chests fully loaded. If fourteen chests were taken away, they would be replenished by the next day.
This is what you call powerful logistical support.
"Whew!" Su Bai wiped the slight sweat from his forehead, sat on a wooden chest in the warehouse, and let out a long sigh. On the ground were two full rows of shulker boxes.
There was a rather interesting phenomenon: even when items from the MC world came to the Teyvat world, they could still be stored in chests regardless of their volume. For example, one piece of cobblestone was a standard one cubic meter, and a stack was 64 cubic meters. Yet, a chest with a volume of two cubic meters could hold 54 stacks.
Perhaps some mysterious law was at work here. Su Bai didn't quite understand it either, but it wasn't important. There was just one last step, and today's work would be done.
After taking a deep breath, Su Bai jumped down from the chest, opened the chests one by one, and released all the wheat inside. This process was no different from throwing items away. The wheat in the two rows of shulker boxes was dealt with in just five minutes.
By now, the warehouse was piled high with a mountain of grain. Fifty thousand kilograms—a full fifty tons.
"Done and dusted!"
Pushing open the warehouse door, Su Bai glanced around. It was still quiet, with only the occasional chirping of insects. This was a specially rented remote location. Although he didn't plan to keep the dual-crossing door too secret, it was best to delay its exposure as long as possible.
That's why he had chosen a dilapidated warehouse in Liyue Harbor that had been unused for years. It was not only remote but also dirt cheap. Usually, no one came around here. Once he earned enough money to buy a ship in the future, he wouldn't have to go through all this trouble.
As for the Ministry of Civil Affairs' warehouse, Su Bai didn't want to cause trouble. It would be hard to explain things appearing out of thin air. So, deliveries were always transported from this warehouse to the Ministry of Civil Affairs' port dock for official handover.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window frame, casting a glow at the foot of the bed. Su Bai opened his sleepy eyes, checked the time, dozed off for a little longer, and then got up.
Thankfully, the shop was in Feiyun Slope. If it were near Chihu Rock, he'd have to get up early without fail—the noise from the street in the morning was loud enough to be heard inside, unbearably noisy. Su Bai had tested this himself and switched inns the very next day.
"Haah... another beautiful day." Su Bai pulled open the shop's main door and stretched languidly. He had been busy for half the night, so he clearly hadn't gotten enough sleep.
Although he had already opened the shop almost two hours later than the surrounding stores, the beds in Liyue still couldn't compare to those in MC. The energy recovery rate wasn't as high. After sleeping all night, he could still feel tired.
"Boss, a serving of steamed buns and plain congee."
There were also street vendors on Feiyun Slope, though very few. Coincidentally, there was one right outside his shop, just packing up. Su Bai bought breakfast and carried it back inside to eat slowly, continuing his daily routine of waiting for business.
However, today was a bit different. Across from Su Bai's shop, on the second floor of a small tea house, four people sat gathered together, watching Su Bai return to his shop from afar.
"Master Fan, that's the guy. He's been selling grain at low prices on the market, disrupting our chamber of commerce's plans!" said one slightly younger man through gritted teeth, frowning. "The procurement merchant Zatt from Snezhnaya, whom I was negotiating with, was snatched away by him!!"
Master Fan quietly watched the direction Su Bai had left, his gaze profound.
"Young Master Hui, I say we should go warn this kid! He's too unruly. What do you say, Master Qi?" Another man of similar age had a gloomy expression.
"Ah Wei, it's not the time to act rashly now. Let's talk about something more practical," Old Master Qi stroked his beard. Though he said this, he didn't think much of Su Bai, as the order wasn't that big anyway.
The one mainly anxious was Young Master Hui. Orders totaling nearly eighty thousand kilograms had been snatched away back and forth.
"Master Fan, please say something. How does the chamber of commerce plan to deal with him?" Seeing Master Fan remain silent for a long time, Young Master Hui couldn't help but feel impatient. The other three also started discussing among themselves.
These four were the main leaders of the Grain Chamber of Commerce. Master Fan and Master Qi held the most power within the chamber. Young Master Hui and Ah Wei together were also a significant force. In a tripartite balance, they had elected Master Fan as chairman.
At times like this, he had to be the one to speak.
"Wait a moment, let me think," Master Fan waved his hand, turned around, and sat down. Seeing this, the other three knew Master Fan had a plan in mind and sat back down as well.
"In my opinion, there are three methods we can choose from," Master Fan began. However, since it wasn't directly under his name, as chairman, offering a fair option for everyone to choose together was the way to ensure longevity.
"We're all ears!" Young Master Hui cupped his hands respectfully. Having fought to build his business to this scale, he was no fool. Though displeased, he didn't show it. As long as he could recover the losses, it was fine.
"First, turn an enemy into a friend. Harmony brings wealth. Send someone to talk to him, invite him to join the chamber, and jointly manage the grain trade."
"Rejected."
"Rejected."
"Rejected."
Master Qi didn't mind much; more people meant more strength. However, Ah Wei and Young Master Hui wouldn't have it. Let Su Bai join the chamber? How many orders would he need to take to be satisfied, and from whose hands would he take them?
"This Su Bai has completed three orders totaling eighty thousand kilograms. That's already a significant force within our chamber, but who knows how much more he has in hand? With careful moves, even the Ministry of Civil Affairs won't detect a monopoly. Turning an enemy into a friend is the best strategy in the current situation," Master Qi explained his seconding decision but didn't insist further.
"Master Qi, Master Fan, Su Bai's shop has been open for over half a month now and has already taken nearly a hundred thousand kilograms worth of orders from us. As said before, who knows how much more he has, and how big his appetite is? The internal situation of the chamber is best left undisturbed," Young Master Hui explained with a frown.
"Yeah, and playing like this, the smaller firms below won't be able to hold on. Master Fan, Master Qi, your sides are stable, but ours is gathered from individual散户. We can't withstand too big a hit. What if this guy releases another hundred thousand kilograms?" Though Ah Wei looked dull minded, he wasn't stupid. He knew who he and Young Master Hui represented.
At the head seat, Master Fan listened to the three's arguments without directly stating his own view.
"Then, everyone, the second method is to engage in a battle of attrition by lowering prices to drain the funds in his hands."
In other words, a price war. Using the chamber's large scale to force Su Bai out of the market.
"Under consideration."
"Under consideration."
"Under consideration."
All three shook their heads in unison. Although this method was effective, it depended on the situation.
"This guy has shown significant volume. If it's a price war, at least more than half the chamber's forces need to cooperate. With such major moves, only foreign merchants would benefit. In the current situation, Master Fan, are you willing?" This time, it was Master Qi who spoke. Ah Wei and Young Master Hui remained silent.
"Hehehe, I'm naturally unwilling too," Master Fan said with a light laugh. "So, the only path left is the third one."
"Since the grain price is low, the four of us will mobilize funds and buy it all up!"
The three looked at each other and nodded in unison.
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100 powerstones = 1 chapter
200 powerstones = 3 chapters
300 powerstones = 5 chapters