Only under common interests can a more solid alliance be formed.
By uniting the Fan and Qi families, we can take down the small散户 (retailers) north and south of Tianheng—namely, the Hui and Wei families. Meanwhile, any losses incurred will be borne by Su Bai. The release of low-priced grains means just that—indirectly subsidizing their profits.
Of course, this is from Old Master Fan's perspective. In reality, Su Bai's schemes run much deeper.
After all, a situation without enemies is the most reassuring. A tripartite balance is never as stable as a single ruler holding sway.
This is what the grain merchants brought upon themselves.
Before Old Master Fan left, Su Bai gave him two golden apples. No further details were mentioned.
Old Master Fan naturally understood what it meant. After some polite exchanges, he pretended as if nothing had happened, stepped out, and left in his sedan chair.
"Baixiao, you can leave early today."
After returning inside, Su Bai went to the front counter.
"What time should I leave then?" Baixiao asked, puzzled—it seemed no specific time had ever been set from the start.
"Sort the contracts properly, arrange for restocking and inventory statistics, and post the laborer commissions. Decide your own time to leave; I'm heading out."
Su Bai said this casually. Without waiting for Baixiao's response, he turned and went out.
"Eh… Boss, you…" Baixiao's raised hand slowly dropped. She realized then that Su Bai wasn't just being relaxed—he simply didn't care about the shop's business anymore…
Or perhaps, he looked down on the business she had been handling…
On the desk lay three contracts signed by Su Bai: one for three billion Mora, one for 215 million, and another for over 600 million.
Beside them was the order she had signed, worth just over 50 million—now it seemed pathetically small.
"This scale of turnover… I'm afraid it's already on par with the Feiyun Commerce Guild." Baixiao swallowed hard, she had only seen such scale at Ningguang's place.
Especially the contract details—the grain items alone totaled over two million kilograms.
Including previous shipments, the outgoing stock exceeded three million kilograms.
Such reserves were already equivalent to the total inventory of some grain firms! How much does Qingce Village produce in a year? Where did Su Bai get so much?
Her mind was reeling, and the pressure mounted sharply.
"Lady Ningguang, just what kind of big shot have you pushed me toward…"
After a sigh of resignation, Baixiao began the "massive" workload, copying down every contract's data.
Although the final contracts would be notarized by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, firsthand information was always best obtained as early as possible.
Perhaps this was why Su Bai looked down on the contracts she handled. But Baixiao had no choice—everyone had their own considerations.
Meanwhile, Su Bai strolled along Yiyun Slope, heading south.
As for what Baixiao might be thinking, he had a rough idea. As a secretary sent by Ningguang, it was natural for her to have some reservations and resistance.
But he also knew that Ningguang was extending an olive branch. After this grain merchant affair, she would likely propose different levels of cooperation based on the strength and strategies he had displayed.
It was both uncomfortable and exhilarating…
Therefore, he didn't deliberately hide things from Baixiao—he showed her what she needed to see. What she didn't need to see was reserved for the person he was now going to meet.
Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Its main office was located at the southernmost tip of Yiyun Slope, in the southwest corner.
Even in broad daylight, the place was shrouded in shade, with eerie winds swirling about. It was enough to make anyone's hair stand on end. Thus, the only people who came here were either those arranging funerals or individuals with unusual skills.
However, Su Bai felt nothing at all. Mere spirits and ghosts weren't enough to impress him.
After all, he had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood in MC (Minecraft). The number of undead lives he had taken was close to a million, if not more.
After all, the drops from large batches of undead were truly enticing. Mob farms are forever the best.
As soon as Su Bai stepped into the grounds of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, the eerie winds around him suddenly scattered, and the swirling gusts swiftly moved away.
"Heh, if a certain young lady saw this, wouldn't she say I'm bullying the little ones?"
Su Bai mused to himself as he quickly approached the main gate of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. A female attendant was watching him but remained silent, as if she didn't see him, and her gaze drifted elsewhere.
"Hello, I'm here to see Consultant Zhongli."
Su Bai spoke politely as he approached her, but she showed no reaction.
"Hello? Can you hear me? Miss Attendant."
Su Bai patiently called out again, and this time she turned her gaze back to him.
"Ah, sir, were you speaking to me? My apologies."
Su Bai waved his hand to indicate it was fine. From what he recalled, this kind of situation wasn't unusual at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. So, he restated his purpose.
"I'm here to see Consultant Zhongli."
"Ah, Consultant Zhongli? He just returned. Please wait a moment, I'll inform him."
Su Bai nodded and stood to the side in a shaded spot to wait.
Visiting Zhongli was, in essence, visiting the Geo Archon.
In the current situation, Tianquan Ningguang was observing from the sidelines, even sending a secretary, seemingly content to watch the drama unfold. The Yuheng Star, who held the greatest responsibility for the people's livelihood and grain supply, had also remained silent.
The current situation was that the Grain Association was jointly squeezing out the general store. However, through Su Bai's manipulations, they had already been divided to some extent. He collaborated with the Fan and Qi families to take down the small retailers represented by A'Wei and Hui Shao around Tianheng Mountain. This was the surface-level benefit and agreement.
This way, grain prices would fall, everyone would get what they needed—some making money, others expanding their territory. With internal unity and implementation, they could better align with government policies in the future, both internally and externally.
But what Su Bai wanted went far beyond this. Once the beasts started feeding, how could they be made to let go of the meat in their mouths?
However, the more one desires, the more others' interests are affected.
If, in the future, the Grain Association were to speak with a single voice, and only one benchmark price existed for grain firms in Liyue…
"After all, this is still a business tactic. Supplies have never been lacking in Liyue so far. But as mentioned before, the final outcome of this competition will likely cross the bottom line of the Geo Archon. So, I came to ask—what is your view on this?"
Su Bai calmly explained his purpose and the stakes involved, then finally looked at Zhongli, who sat solemnly across from him.
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100 powerstones = 1 chapter
200 powerstones = 3 chapters
300 powerstones = 5 chapters