Chapter 173: The Story of Babel
"No, those aren't problems," Xia Yu shook her head upon hearing this. "Because my target customers have never been the general public."
"You mentioned so many countries just now, why skip Kazdel?"
"Ah? Kazdel?" Swire was stunned. "The city of the Sarkaz..."
She hesitated, stopping herself mid-sentence.
"Say whatever is on your mind," Xia Yu signaled that she didn't need to worry.
"Kazdel... erm," Swire flashed an awkward yet polite smile. "First of all, do they even have money?"
"Secondly, even if they do have money, are you sure the Sarkaz won't just choose to rob you instead of buying? It's not that no one has looked at that market, but..."
That single 'but' explained everything.
"First, once I settle things in Lungmen, I'm heading to Kazdel," Xia Yu said leisurely. "I've heard the current Lord of Fiends, Theresa, is an interesting person, and I plan to take a look."
"Secondly, even if the market in Kazdel can't be opened, I have some connections in the Ursus Snowfield. Whether it's mobile platforms or various agricultural products, I believe they'll be very happy to purchase them."
"As for high tariffs? Heh, let Ursus try and collect them if they have the guts. But I suspect that until their new generation of warships is fully fielded, they won't have the courage to collect a single cent of tariffs from me."
They really aren't afraid of a beating from a Dragon Lord.
Hearing this, Swire was breaking into a cold sweat; this was sounding incredibly illegal.
But thinking about it being Ursus, then it was fine.
"Wait, you're leaving Lungmen?" She finally caught the key information in those words.
"What's wrong?" Xia Yu looked at her in confusion. "I only came to deliver a letter to Xiao Ch'en; the free clinic was just a side thing. I never planned to settle down here."
"I expect quite a few people on the continent have already started heading toward Lungmen..." Swire felt a headache just imagining the scene.
"Then let them go find me in Kazdel... forget it, that really isn't a good place," Xia Yu couldn't help but laugh herself at that point. "Consider it their bad luck."
She couldn't stay in this world forever.
"I see..." Swire was full of disappointment.
"I want to ask your family to help me set up the framework for these three companies," Xia Yu said bluntly. "I don't have money, so I can only give you this as payment."
As she finished, a large jar of wine slowly emerged beneath a Golden Ripple.
"Jade Nectar. You should know its effects," Xia Yu introduced. "I've only saved up this much for now; consider it a deposit. I'll make the rest slowly. When I return from Kazdel, I'll send four more jars as the final payment. How does that sound?"
"It's a deal!" Swire agreed without a second thought.
She had seen the effects of this wine with her own eyes. Her grandfather, who was bedridden just the other day, had been able to get out of bed these past few days. All sorts of check-ups showed his body was incredibly healthy; this wasn't some harsh, temporary stimulant.
But there was only one small bottle of that wine, no bigger than her palm. Once it was gone...
Swire had been wanting to ask for more wine, but she understood how precious that liquid was and had never been able to bring herself to ask.
She didn't expect it to be this easy...
Honestly, a wine jar the size of a human head, and five of them in total, was more than enough for the Swire Family to take action. What was setting up the framework for three companies to provide jobs for a hundred thousand people? For the wealthy and powerful Swire Family, that was nothing.
A little something leaked from the gaps of Adams Swire's—her grandfather's—fingers would be enough.
This was a good item that would allow him to truly enjoy his twilight years. For a super-wealthy man like him, as long as it didn't cost the Swire Family's lifeblood, it was fine.
Not to mention, this wine wasn't just for him to drink. As a member of that social stratum, how could he not have connections? There were plenty of wealthy men his age in the world.
With just a little effort, this could bring unimaginable benefits to the Swire Family. Compared to that, the employment of a mere hundred thousand people... was truly not worth mentioning.
"The family will go all out for your request," Swire promised. "Forget a hundred thousand people; even a few hundred thousand more wouldn't be a problem!"
"That's what you said," Xia Yu's eyes lit up as she looked at her.
"Uh..." Swire froze for a second, then gritted her teeth. "Yes, it's absolutely not a problem!"
In the face of her grandfather's health, problems had to become non-problems.
Although the Swire Family looked prosperous right now, undercurrents had long been swirling within.
Everyone knew Grandfather's body couldn't hold out for many more years. But among the next generation of successors, her own father... sigh, he wasn't exactly... sensitive when it came to business.
Because he used to be a playboy who didn't like business. She heard from Grandfather that he was a major headache in his younger years...
It wasn't until she was born that her father gradually settled down and began learning to inherit the family business. But without having gone through the forge, he was naturally full of flaws and had caused quite a few jokes.
To this day, Grandfather still felt his ability wasn't enough to shoulder the entire Swire Family.
But what choice was there? The people of that generation in the Swire Family... their abilities were generally mediocre. Her father was already the best of a bad bunch, which led to the current situation.
Grandfather's time was nearing its end, and the other branches were also restless, all wanting to snatch more for their own homes.
If Grandfather could hold on for a few more years... the significance for the Swire Family would be completely different. This was a consideration for the family.
For Swire herself, Grandfather was one of the few who completely supported her ideal of being a police officer.
When she originally chose to be a cop, she didn't know how many people had mocked her, feeling she was just as shiftless as her father... only Grandfather had firmly supported her.
Having grown up under Grandfather's protection, Swire naturally didn't want to see the old man pass away on a sickbed. No one could change the fact that one's time was up.
But at least on the day he left... let it not be so painful.
"Miss Bailu," after calming down, Swire did the math. "How about you make a few more demands?"
She felt that compared to the other party's five jars of wine, what the Swire Family had to give was simply not worth mentioning. This wine was too hot to handle!
It wasn't like they were asking her family to support those Infected, just to set up a company system. The subsequent operations wouldn't require her family's intervention.
No, this really was too much.
"Don't worry, there will be many things I'll need your help with in the future," Xia Yu didn't mind. If you want the horse to run, you have to let it graze, right?
After all, she was a complete hands-off manager; there would definitely be plenty of places where she'd need others to worry for her.
And while the Jade Nectar was precious, for her, it was just something that refreshed punctually at midnight every day.
Besides, a scale of a hundred thousand people?
She didn't think she would only have that many people in the future.
She still had a large group of people in the Snowfield. If she waited for them to develop the Snowfield slowly on their own, how long would that take?
For the upcoming trip to Kazdel, if talks went smoothly, Babel would also be partly hers. Tens of millions of Sarkaz—how big of a market was that?
Why be mercenaries, fighting and killing all day? Such good physiques would be a waste if they weren't used for farming and pulling plows!
There would be plenty of use for the Swire Family in the future. Swire felt she had given too much; Xia Yu felt she had given too little.
These hundred thousand people and three companies were just the beginning.
"Have you heard of Babel?"
"Babel?" Swire looked confused. "I don't know. Is it some kind of building?"
"Legend says that in ancient times, people were united and built a giant tower that reached the heavens," Xia Yu began the tale. "But that high tower angered the gods. The gods sent down a divine punishment, confusing the people's accents so they spoke different languages and subsequently scattered everywhere."
"From then on, humans could no longer unite to build such a magnificent tower."
"So, it's a mythological story?" Swire blinked.
"I heard a while ago that in Kazdel, the current Lord of Fiends established an organization called Babel," Xia Yu said. "The people who know this name... are very few now."
"So, I'm thinking of heading there. Maybe I'll see some old friends. And since she chose Kazdel, chose Theresa... maybe I'll stay there too."
"To witness her choice."
At this, she looked at Swire. "But given the environment in Kazdel, you know, when visiting a friend, one must bring a gift."
"So there will still be many places where your family's help is needed. No need to decline."
Hearing this, Swire didn't know what to say.
Until the meal was over and Xia Yu hopped onto Ch'en Hui-chieh's motorcycle and left, Swire was still standing on the street, clutching the wine jar.
"Wait!" Looking at the jar in her hands, Swire suddenly panicked.
Such a precious thing—what if it got chipped or bumped?
So she made a phone call home. Before long, a Swire Family motorcade with a hundred burly bodyguards appeared in front of the restaurant.
The troop hurriedly and carefully protected her and the wine jar as they rushed back to the manor.
Upon returning home, Swire told her grandfather everything that had been said tonight in minute detail.
"Five jars..." Adams Swire looked at the head-sized wine jar in front of him and sighed.
"This is a massive favor we're owing."
"Tell me about it," Swire sighed as well.
"Beatrix, let your father personally oversee this matter," Old Swire finally spoke after pondering for a while.
"Ah? Doesn't Father have group business to attend to?" Swire was somewhat confused.
"This should have been your job," Old Swire looked at his granddaughter helplessly. "This was originally an opportunity you secured for the family, but I suspect you definitely can't let go of your ideals, right?"
"...Sorry, Grandfather," Swire said sheepishly.
"Therefore, it can only be your father," Old Swire said slowly. "She only sought us out for cooperation for your sake. Otherwise, in all of Lungmen, would she really be unable to find anyone else?"
"So, this task must fall on you father and daughter. I wouldn't be at ease giving it to anyone else."
Chapter 174: How Can Anyone Eat Hotpot So Early in the Morning?!
"Those Sarkaz still refuse to cooperate?"
Xia Yu looked at Ch'en Hui-chieh with some speechlessness.
"They... sigh," Ch'en Hui-chieh shrugged, frowning. "Even after seeing those cured Infected with their own eyes, they aren't very moved."
"I've been observing these past few days. Their backbone is a group of Sarkaz Mercenaries; perhaps they are inciting them in the shadows. After all, besides the Sarkaz gathering place in the slums, there are quite a few other Sarkaz in Lungmen."
"And those individual Sarkaz have basically all been treated by now."
"So I'm very curious," Xia Yu stroked the Vision in her hand. "Only a thousand or so Sarkaz... where do they get the courage to directly face Greytail and the LGD?"
"A thousand Sarkaz sounds like a lot, but those with actual combat capability are likely only the fewer than sixty Sarkaz Mercenaries," Ch'en Hui-chieh was also very puzzled. "The others are the old, weak, sick, and disabled. If they tried to cause trouble, they probably wouldn't even be able to walk out of the slums..."
They weren't all warriors. If it were really over a thousand Sarkaz warriors, Wei Yenwu would have to be out of his mind to let them in. Most of them were the old and weak.
Indeed, not the entire Sarkaz race was war-crazed. Among the tens of millions of people in Kazdel, the old, weak, sick, and disabled still made up the majority. It was just that proportionally, no nation in the world had a higher ratio of soldiers to civilians than the Sarkaz.
But that was only because they couldn't survive otherwise; they were forced by their environment.
The ordinary mercenaries seen in the story are generally already stronger than many Sarkaz; at least they can come out to take jobs on their own.
If they were truly tens of millions of war-crazed fanatics, the Sarkaz wouldn't have been chased like dogs by every nation. At least during the period before the Crystal Age and after the decline of the hegemons, they truly had the potential to rise.
"How about this, go check on them again this morning and communicate with them," Xia Yu felt the Painting Scroll in her hand. "I'm going to find someone and will meet up with you in the afternoon."
"Find someone? Who?" Ch'en Hui-chieh asked subconsciously.
"Someone has been trying to influence this treasure of mine," Xia Yu said with a smile as she stroked the Painting Scroll. "I'm going to see her."
"What? Lungmen has people like that?" At this, Ch'en Hui-chieh was wide awake. "I'll leave the other side to Hoshiguma. I'll take the LGD forces to help you!"
"Don't," Xia Yu waved her hand. "It's not an enemy, just someone with excessive curiosity. Besides, she probably has people from Baizao following her."
"If you lead the LGD to surround them, how is Wei Yenwu going to explain it to Baizao? Hmm, that sounds pretty good, actually. How about..."
She looked at Ch'en Hui-chieh expectantly, while the latter turned her head awkwardly.
How should she put it—even if she was very dissatisfied with Wei Yenwu, she wouldn't go as far as using this method to trip him up.
So she could only rush out to find those Sarkaz.
Xia Yu stretched on the spot, found a rope to tie around the Painting Scroll, and slung it over her back.
Sigh, if she had the body of an older sister like the Tarnished or Acheron, she could just carry the scroll in her hand. Wearing it on her back looked weird no matter how you sliced it—too small, not fitting.
But as Bailu... the small Draconic Girl paired with the large Painting Scroll on her back was actually strangely harmonious.
How sad. Bailu, look at Dan Heng. Strictly speaking, he's younger than you, but he's already a tall young man. And you? A tiny little thing, greedy and running away from home all day. With this height, when you sit in a doctor's chair, your feet can't even touch the floor. People will talk about it for a lifetime.
What? This is the masterpiece of the Vidyadhara Dragon Preceptors?
Mhm, I'll remember you guys. Dragon Preceptors, right? Just wait until I go to the Luofu and see if I don't punch your mouths crooked!
Just like that, carrying the Painting Scroll, Xia Yu trotted out the door.
The moment this Painting Scroll was brought out, she could feel that power that had been trying to communicate with it at every moment these past few days snaking over again. These days, whenever she was moving goods, someone would always try to scratch at it and run away.
Now she was going to see exactly who was messing with her business!
Though she said that, in her view, there were only those few people it could be.
Who else could it be? Only her brothers and sisters would be able to perceive Dusk's Painting Scroll and try to connect with it.
She just didn't know which one it was.
Hmm, the eldest, Chongyue, is guarding Yumen, so it's probably not him.
The second, Wang, has already become a Wangwang ice pop; probably... hmm, it's actually hard to say. Maybe a fragment is in Lungmen and felt its little sister's scroll, so it came to look.
The eldest sister, Ling, is probably still a drunkard in Shangshu.
She hadn't met the second sister, but she was likely in the imperial court; there was no reason for her to appear in Lungmen.
Jie is already gone.
Mama Shu is probably still farming in Dahuang City. Oh, right, she should find someone to send those crop seeds from the seed vault she inexplicably got from the World Serpent to her; maybe there will be a miracle.
Ji is a merchant, running all over the world; it would be normal for him to appear in Lungmen, a trading port.
The eighth is unknown.
Next is Nian. Her appearing in Lungmen... wouldn't be an accident.
The civil engineering brother who builds gardens basically never leaves home.
Dusk is the same—never leaves home, so it wouldn't be her. If it were her, she wouldn't need to communicate; she'd just walk right inside.
Yu basically never leaves Baizao.
These twelve siblings... hmm, Xia Yu was actually quite interested. If the time hadn't been so tight last time, she would have liked to interact more with Dusk.
Following that occasional teasing, Xia Yu arrived in front of a shop.
She glanced back. Sure enough, the Black Raincoats was still following. Bitter laborers; she wondered if they got tired of jumping around rooftops all day.
Looking at the red-colored hotpot restaurant in front of her, Xia Yu was speechless.
There was no longer any need to say who it was.
"Welcome, how many... eh? Little sister, you are..."
The front desk was a bit dazed. Was such a small child coming to a hotpot restaurant to eat so early in the morning?
Where were her parents?
"I have an appointment," Xia Yu sighed. Such was the plight of the loli body.
"An appointment... ah, there is a guest of the same race as you," the receptionist was a bit hesitant, mainly because this child was too small and had no adult watching her.
If something happened...
"You're here," at that moment, a smiling face peeked out from a private booth. "If you're here, hurry in. I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Xia Yu walked straight over, while the receptionist was still conflicted.
If she remembered correctly... that guest ordered the extra-spicy pot, right? They were authentic Shangshu flavor. Was that really suitable for such a cute little girl to eat?
What? Why did she remember so clearly?
Heh, if someone walked in right as you opened in the early morning and ordered the signature extra-spicy pot, you'd remember it clearly too.
Up until now, that was the only table of guests in the shop. After all, who comes to eat this so early in the morning? Even as a shop owner, she had never seen such a thing.
Even coming at lunchtime would be normal. At this hour... this was breakfast time, right?
Ignoring her conflict, Xia Yu entered the booth.
"Aiyaya, whose child is this?" Nian made a face as she looked at the tiny Bailu in front of her, reaching out a hand to rub her head. "So cute."
Xia Yu reached out to block her restless small hand. "Be serious!"
She put on a stern face. "I'm asking you, have you been the one teasing my treasure these past few days?"
"Treasure? Your treasure?" Nian still hadn't given up, reaching out to try and pick her up. "You child, why does that scroll look so familiar to me?"
Xia Yu blocked her hand again. Wow, this person has no sense of personal space.
"Oh, I remember now," Nian stopped slightly under her sharp gaze, though the mischievous smile on her face didn't fade at all. "Isn't that the collection of my dear little sister who's so good at painting?"
"Little sister, how did you get your hands on it? I begged her for a long time and she never gave it to me. Sigh, I guess as an elder sister, I just lack authority."
"So you and that merchant hit it off," Xia Yu said as she sat across from her, preventing those restless hands from reaching out again, "and went around selling her fake paintings everywhere?"
"Eh? How did you know?" Nian blinked. "Did she tell you?"
"Suspicious, very suspicious," Nian rested her chin in her palm as she sized up the tiny Draconic Girl opposite her, looking pensive. "I don't recall having a sister like you. After Number Twelve came out, there shouldn't have been anyone else."
"And to be able to get a treasure from that shut-in little sister, and look like this, so young... and know about these things..."
She clapped her hands exaggeratedly. "Could it be... that girl Dusk actually..."
"I never would have thought, I never would have thought! Behind that shut-in look, she actually had a child behind our backs!"
Nian said in a pained tone, "Fine, exactly which bold fellow did such a thing?! And Dusk! She's too bold, doing the whole 'pregnant before marriage' thing!"
"To not even invite me, her sister, for a single cup of wedding wine! Outrageous, truly too outrageous!"
"Little niece, you've suffered these years, haven't you? Living a hard life with that bitter-faced mother of yours. Having to come out and brave society at such a young age. Sigh, Dusk is really too much!" She looked at Xia Yu with a face full of pity, reaching out. "Come, let Auntie Nian give you a hug. Poor thing, don't cry now~~~"
Xia Yu expressionlessly blocked her hand.
Then she took out her phone.
"I've recorded everything you just said," she said solemnly. "I'll show it to her next time I see her!"
"Fine by me," Nian said giggling. "I was just worrying that my shut-in sister wouldn't want to leave the house."
"I'll show it to the others as well," Xia Yu added. "Your farming sister—someone asked me to send a batch of seeds to her. I can just give them to her and let her see how you're making up rumors about Dusk's scandals."
Nian's face froze instantly.
Sister Shu is a very serious person. If she found out... hiss!
"Your big brother is probably already on his way to Lungmen," Xia Yu continued. "I'll show it to him too while I'm at it."
"Now, let's talk this out reasonably!"
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