CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 028 ANT LIFE’S FIRST FORMAL TRANSACTION

Dragon Cypress was all too familiar with the various negotiation tricks used by the Dulai Flame Spider Caravan, and now he was turning them around on Melde.

Melde was a capable merchant and refused to back down even a little.

After arguing for half the day, the Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot finally sold for 8,200 Source Stones.

8,000 Source Stones was Melde’s bottom line, not a single stone more.

The extra 200 Source Stones were Melde’s token of appreciation that Dragon Cypress could actually go toe-to-toe with him for two hundred rounds.

"Are you calculating your Source Stones together?"

Melde asked.

Dragon Cypress: "Together! We split everything we earn fifty-fifty."

"Fifty-fifty. Split evenly."

Ink Orchid agreed.

—That sly Little Ant King, tricking the Little Mantis out of his Divine-Given Seed~

Melde felt he saw right through it, but didn’t call it out.

Melde asked, "Which types of Origin Force Food do you want to purchase? Dragon Cypress, you’re more familiar with the goods on my back, so I won’t give a lengthy introduction."

Dragon Cypress: "20 Green Torreya Seeds from the territory of the Mountain Lord Level Spotted Mantis Warriors; 20 Stone Chestnut Seeds from the Mountain Lord Level Horned Locust Territory; 100 Blood Rice Seeds from any Mountain Lord Level Ant King Territory..."

Dragon Cypress rattled off the names of thirty-six types of Origin Force Food in one breath, specifying they must all come from Mountain Lord Level Insect Clan territories.

Finally, he said, "These add up to one set, total 1,000 Source Stones. Ink Orchid and I need four sets."

Melde: "..."

Melde: "Dragon Cypress, slow down, you’re talking too fast, I didn’t catch it all. Let’s start over and go item by item. Twenty Green Torreya Seeds, right?"

"From the Mountain Lord Level Spotted Mantis Warrior Territory!" Dragon Cypress emphasized.

Melde: "60 Source Stones."

Melde manipulated his carapace-bound pack with spider silk, which acted as nimble tentacles, swiftly shuffling things around. First, he took out a large empty Spider Silk Bag and spread it on the ground, then pulled out a full one, opened it, and separated 20 Green Torreya Seeds, arranging them neatly.

Melde: "Twenty Stone Chestnut Seeds, right?"

Dragon Cypress: "From the Mountain Lord Level Horned Locust Territory."

Melde didn’t say much more, controlled the spider silk to search and fetch, and lined up the goods neatly...

...

Melde was meticulous in his work: the thirty-six Origin Force Foods Dragon Cypress listed were all pulled out one by one, arranged, quoted, then totaled up.

Melde: "Total comes out as 1,117 Source Stones. Dragon Cypress, you made a mistake on purpose, didn’t you?"

Dragon Cypress: "I didn’t miscalculate. What I mean is, after a discount, we’ll round it down to a neat 1,000 Source Stones."

"No way!" Melde flatly refused.

Dragon Cypress said softly, "Melde, I remember the procurement prices for these Origin Force Foods. I did the math for you, don’t worry, there’s plenty of profit."

Melde: "..."

You little rascal, now you’re trying to take advantage of me in reverse.

Melde was annoyed.

"Dragon Cypress, if I’d known it would come to this, I’d never have let you take part in the caravan’s dealings."

"Melde, saying that really hurts my feelings."

"This is the Ten Thousand Nations Continent..."

Melde only managed half a sentence, then asked, "How many sets are you going to buy?"

"Four sets, 4,000 Source Stones."

Dragon Cypress: "Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot, 8,200 Source Stones; Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds, 1,000 Source Stones; the total value of what we’re selling is 9,200. After buying four sets of Origin Force Food, we’ll have 5,200 Source Stones left over."

"Last year Spider King Spurge had you lend me 100 Source Stones worth of Origin Force Food, principal plus interest, I should pay back 110. That leaves 5,090 Source Stones."

"The year before, as we parted, you gave me 5 Black Sparrow Wheat, worth 2 Source Stones... this one I’m not repaying!"

That was a gift, never expected you to pay me back.

Melde: "Alright... just the fact you remembered warms my heart."

5,090 Source Stones would fill five large bags. Dragon Cypress was too small to carry them; Ink Orchid would have to make five trips to haul them back to the territory.

Next year’s transaction, they’d have to go through the hassle of hauling them here all over again.

Dragon Cypress proposed his settlement plan: "Melde, how about you give us 90 more Source Stones, and keep the remaining 5,000 with you for a year, no interest. Next year, we’ll clear it by taking five more sets of Origin Force Food."

"Got it! Sharp Little Ant King."

Melde manipulated the spider silk and scooped away the 100 Round Cypress Seeds he’d quoted for 50 Source Stones earlier.

"That’s more reasonable."

Melde stared calmly at Dragon Cypress.

Dragon Cypress knew Melde never budged an inch when it came to business; he helplessly nodded his tentacles in agreement, but couldn’t help complaining:

"Melde, if you keep this up, you’ll never have any friends."

Melde replied coolly, "Business is business, friends are friends."

Melde was very satisfied at Dragon Cypress’s concession. Spider silk waved, he took out 90 Source Stones, put them separately in a small Spider Silk Bag, and offered,

"I’ll throw in a few extra Spider Silk Bags for you. You’ll need them when your territory grows."

"You short of any quality plant seeds? I’ll toss in a few more as Life Seeds. Dragon Cypress, what do you want?"

"Orchid Grass!" Ink Orchid blurted out.

Melde: "Orchids aren’t really the best choice for Life Seeds."

Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid loves orchids. Melde, help her collect some orchid seeds. We’ll pay for them."

Melde fell silent for a while, then asked, "What variety do you need?"

Dragon Cypress: "No fixed variety for now. Melde, if you happen across a region suitable for orchids, just ask the local Insect Clan Warriors to collect some seeds for us. For the caravan, that’s just a few words, right?"

"Transporting them isn’t trouble? I still have to charge a fee!"

Melde: "Let’s settle this by variety: at least 10 seeds of each variety, and you pay me 20 Source Stones for each. How’s that sound?"

Ink Orchid hopped up and down, gleefully agreeing, "Deal! Deal!"

"Good. I’ll keep a note."

Melde then asked, "Dragon Cypress, what about you?"

Dragon Cypress: "I want Green Torreya, Great King Fir, Golden Pine, Silver Fir, Snake Apricot, Black Emperor Peach, Red Tangerine, Blood Oranges... twenty seeds of each."

Dragon Cypress listed, in one breath, fifteen of the continent’s top-tier plant species.

These had all been cultivated by Great Tribes over countless generations, at great effort. They were connected to the interests of entire clans, seeds were never sold, and it was strictly forbidden for them to leak out.

But Dragon Cypress also knew the caravan had ways of getting their hands on them, and that Melde sometimes happened to have a few on him.

When the caravan sold or gifted these seeds, they would always issue a stern warning: [For Life Seed use only. Absolutely not for cultivation or propagation, and must not be spread.]

Life Seed plants produced Origin Force Food, but could not reproduce through seeds.

With regular planting, the trees that grew would bear seeds that could normally sprout, meaning they could be cultivated on a large scale.

If this was discovered, at the very least you’d be told to dig them up; at worst, it might spark inter-clan conflict, or even escalate to war.

But Dragon Cypress, living far off on Cloud Trace Continent, had no such worries. He was already planning to open orchards on Xianglan Mountain and Molan Mountain to mass-cultivate these top-level plants.

The benefit of large-scale breeding was twofold: first, it greatly increased the chance of producing Divine-Given Seeds; second, if you did get a Divine-Given Seed, the Origin Force Food produced would be tops on the whole continent in value.

Melde wasn’t dumb—he heard how many seeds Dragon Cypress wanted and instantly saw through the plan, bluntly saying,

"Dragon Cypress, you’ll need to pay Source Stones for that."

Dragon Cypress: "Didn’t you say you’d throw some in?"

Melde: "I said I’d give you two seeds for Life Seed use, not help you start an orchard."

Dragon Cypress protested, "Melde, Ink Orchid and I just bought 9,000 Source Stones worth of goods from you, and you’re only giving us a stingy two seeds as a bonus?"

Melde snapped, "Don’t you know the caravan well? Then you should understand where these seeds come from."

Dragon Cypress: "Fine, not as many then—just ten of each."

Melde fell silent for a long while, then, in a weighty tone, said: "Dragon Cypress, you and Ink Orchid are planning to start orchards and mass-plant on Cloud Trace Continent, right? Here’s my advice: don’t get greedy; it’s best to focus on breeding just one big crop."

"No matter what you do, only by putting all your heart and energy into it will you succeed and grow strong."

"I can only give you ten each of Green Torreya, Great King Fir, Golden Pine, Black Emperor Peach, Dominant Chestnut, and Spotted Star Pear. Take these and try them out first; once you’ve chosen the right one to focus on, I’ll help you get more seeds."

"Fine..."

Dragon Cypress agreed.

Melde didn’t know about the Dominating Throne, nor that Dragon Cypress could develop an Ant Kingdom.

A single male Ant King, plus a Flower Mantis Warrior, would have their hands full trying to grow even one plant species at a commercial scale.

Dragon Cypress didn’t bring it up either.

All transactions agreed upon.

Melde set about gathering and packing up the goods with spider silk.

All sorts of Origin Force Food and 90 Source Stones packed to the brim in a big bag.

At last, Melde handed over five colorful Spider Silk Scrolls to Dragon Cypress.

One side of the scroll was embroidered with blue-green Zeqi Grass, hand-spun by Spider King Spurge himself, and served as his token—this was the "Spider King Silk Scroll."

The other side was embroidered with a red spider, red representing 1,000 Source Stones.

Five Spider King Silk Scrolls meant they now had 5,000 Source Stones deposited with the Spider King Spurge’s caravan.

If they couldn’t find Melde later, they could go directly to Spider King Spurge—it was his stuff, and he’d be responsible.

Dragon Cypress packed up and asked, "Melde, if our territory gets a Divine-Given Seed, will you come again next year?"

Melde: "I have another trade route on the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent, where many old friends are waiting for me. Every other year I have to make a trip. On the Ten Thousand Nations Continent, I can only come every other year."

Melde asked, "Dragon Cypress, you know the White Ivy Mountain Lord, right?"

Dragon Cypress: "Of course."

Melde: "What do you think of him?"

Dragon Cypress: "Pretty good..."

Melde: "Next year, White Ivy will come to the Ten Thousand Nations Continent with Spider King Spurge, and will handle trading with you. Dragon Cypress, how about that?"

Dragon Cypress: "Melde, I trust you."

Melde: "You can trust White Ivy, too."

"And Spider King Spurge, he thinks highly of you."

Melde added earnestly, "Once I get back, I’ll explain everything to White Ivy. Next year you just bring your Spider King Scroll to White Ivy, and he’ll hand over the Origin Force Food."

"It’s the same with Divine-Given Seeds. White Ivy will offer a fair purchase price and will help you keep it absolutely secret."

PS: Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, good health, and best of luck in the Year of the Rabbit!