He closed the forum and sighed, looking at the village before him. Despite some construction, it was still rudimentary.
Wild Mountain Village was newly established, its foundation far too weak. Taxes, grain, and minerals were all at zero.
Xiao Jing would have to supply the resources for development himself.
The only reason the village had been able to develop so far was because of the resources Xiao Jing had obtained from the Pre-Qin Secret Realm.
Otherwise, the cost of paying for his 100 Terracotta Soldiers alone would be enough to worry him to death.
After all, while the Terracotta Soldiers were puppets and didn't require food, their salary was extremely high. At 200 coins a week per soldier, 100 units cost 20,000 coins a week, which converted to two taels of gold.
The five taels of gold he had on hand would only last him two weeks—and perhaps not even that long. After all, the Secret Realm would produce another 100 Terracotta Soldiers for him next week.
With 200 Terracotta Soldiers, the pressure of their salaries would be even greater.
Therefore, after clearing out the bandits, the most urgent matter facing him was to make money.
Wild Mountain Village had only just begun to develop, and it would be a long time before he could collect taxes. He had to find other means.
Among his options, Xiao Jing pinned his greatest hopes on the 'Basic Shop' blueprint.
Though it was called a shop, after carefully reading the blueprint's description of its functions, he understood it in modern terms.
'This wasn't a shop at all; it was clearly regional online shopping, just like on Earth.'
The 'Hundred-Li Merchant' trait could connect with other territories within a hundred-li radius that had also built a shop, allowing buyers and sellers to establish their intent to trade.
The basic shop came with its own altar that could teleport goods for a fee. It completely eliminated the need for logistics, facilitating transactions through the void.
This was one of the main reasons he valued the Basic Shop blueprint so highly.
"Money, money, money!"
Xiao Jing sighed to himself, then summoned Guo Yun. He took out the Basic Shop blueprint and said solemnly,
"Elder Guo, this is the blueprint for a Basic Shop. It will allow us to trade with the surrounding villages and towns and will be a huge help to our village's development."
Huh?!!!
Hearing this, a look of surprise appeared on Guo Yun's wrinkled face.
"Could this be one of those legendary, powerful blueprints that the great clans treat as a foundational treasure?"
He carefully accepted the Basic Shop blueprint, a sense of admiration growing in his heart. He hadn't expected the Village Chief to obtain such an exceedingly rare blueprint, one rarely seen on the market, just from a mission to eliminate bandits.
"To think that a little old man like me would one day get to handle a legendary architectural blueprint said to possess magical abilities!"
After this exclamation, Guo Yun gave his solemn promise. "Lord Village Chief, rest assured. I will personally supervise the construction! I will see to it that this shop is built within two days!"
"With your respectable reputation, Elder Guo, I have nothing to worry about."
Xiao Jing thought for a moment. He was hesitant, but he still took out the Yellow Turban Barracks blueprint.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted by the Yellow Turban Barracks.
After all, its 'Rapid Conscription' trait could train villagers into Tier One soldiers. It was the very definition of 'troop spamming'.
The temptation of being able to quickly raise a Tier One force was immense!
"Elder Guo, take a look at this Yellow Turban Barracks..."
Guo Yun took the blueprint. After just two glances, his expression changed drastically. He waved his hands in horror, saying, "Village Chief, this... we absolutely cannot get involved with this..."
Seeing the confused look on Xiao Jing's face, Guo Yun explained with a wry smile.
"They are called the Yellow Turbans, but they are followers of a heretical doctrine! Lord Village Chief, you must not be tainted by this Yellow Turban heresy!"
"My lord, you are deep in the mountains and may not be aware of the situation outside. But we refugees have already lived through the Yellow Turban disaster."
"Those people from the Way of Supreme Peace are masters of deception. They bewitch the common folk in the countryside, gathering them to raid the surrounding areas. Before I came to your village, my lord, I had already heard whispers that those Daoists have rebelled. They are gathering villagers from all corners, intending to attack and seize Shanwu City. The Imperial Court has already issued a warrant for their arrest, and an official notice will likely be posted soon..."
"My lord, this blueprint might offer a temporary advantage, but building it will surely draw the attention of the Imperial Court. The gains are not worth the risk..."
Xiao Jing listened, lost in thought.
Of course he knew about the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but he didn't know the exact year it started.
The information about the Way of Supreme Peace from Guo Yun's lips confirmed that the current time was right on the eve of the Yellow Turban outbreak.
After all, before the rebellion, they were known as the Way of Supreme Peace. Only after it erupted did they become the Yellow Turbans.
"You're right, Elder Guo. Once the shop is built, I'll trade this blueprint to someone else!"
Xiao Jing nodded and retracted the Yellow Turban Barracks blueprint.
Guo Yun had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Xiao Jing ask, "Elder Guo, you said the Yellow Turbans are gathering troops to attack Shanwu City. In your opinion, do they have the strength to actually take it?"
That was right. Upon hearing Guo Yun mention the Yellow Turbans massing to attack the city, an idea had sparked in Xiao Jing's mind. He had set his sights on Shanwu City.
'After all, under normal circumstances, my strength is limited and my background is practically nonexistent. Even if I earned merits fighting the Yellow Turbans, it would be difficult to receive any significant reward from an imperial court controlled by the Ten Eunuchs and the great clans. It would be better to let the Yellow Turbans take Shanwu City, and then recapture it myself, seizing control of it from the shadows...'
After a moment of frowning in thought, Guo Yun said hesitantly,
"From what I understand, it's unlikely..."
He added,
"Shanwu County is a border city; its strength cannot be underestimated. From what I alone know, it has over 3,000 Tier One and Tier Two county soldiers. The Yellow Turbans, on the other hand, are mostly commoners with very little strength. No matter how useless the County Magistrate is, surely he can't fail to defend Shanwu City!"
'Over 3,000 Tier One and Tier Two county soldiers?!!'
Xiao Jing was stunned. 'So this is the power of the local magnates? Even a small county seat has so many troops.'
He let out a long sigh, temporarily dismissing the idea. 'Scheming for Shanwu City will require long-term planning. For now, I'd better focus on developing the village!'
...
「Time flew by.」
Two days later, the Basic Shop in Wild Mountain Village was completed.
Xiao Jing had been closely monitoring the shop's construction for the past two days, so he received word the moment it was finished.
With a touch of excitement, Xiao Jing stepped into the quaint, antique-style shop.
The shop's interior was extremely simple, containing only a counter. Behind it stood a round Pixiu altar.
[Shop Counter]: Can establish contact with settlements within a hundred-li radius of the village.
[Basic Shop Altar]: Used to teleport traded items (Fee: 20% of the transaction price).
Ignoring the properties of the counter and altar, Xiao Jing walked up to the counter and opened the shop's interface panel.
[Building]: Basic Shop
[Quality]: Third-rate (Yellow)
[Tradable Parties]: Shanwu City, Tam Tribe
[Can Teleport Traded Items]: Yes
[Transaction Tax]: 2% (when trading with Shanwu City, collected by Shanwu City), 0% (Tam Tribe)
[Item Teleportation Fee]: 20%
[Products]: None at present
The shop's panel clearly displayed two nearby settlements available for trade.
One, unsurprisingly, was Shanwu City.
The other was a bit of a surprise, though not entirely unexpected by Xiao Jing: a tribe from a nearby Alien Race called the 'Tamu'.
However, Xiao Jing was rather surprised that within the Basic Shop's effective range—a radius of one hundred li—only two potential trading partners qualified.
It wasn't that there were too many; there were far too few.
After all, in a hundred-li radius filled with countless villages and towns of all sizes, the fact that only Shanwu City had a Basic Shop was a testament to how precious this type of blueprint was.
At that moment, the names of the two trading partners were pulsing on the panel.