CHAPTER 225: CHAPTER 223 THE GRAIN MERCHANTS_1

Chairman Gale, sitting at the forefront, felt extremely uncomfortable under the surrounding gazes. Yan Xing’s eyes, in particular, held a multitude of implications, making Gale want to jump up and flee.

Could there be a problem with the Assassin’s Guild? Impossible! The Assassin’s Guild doesn’t even know I was the one who issued the assassination mission; how could Yan Xing possibly know? He must be just guessing.

The Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce was the leader of the commercial sector in Nuta City; even among the grain merchants present, more than half were its members.

Gale didn’t know what Yan Xing meant by summoning them during the banquet at the special envoy’s residence. But whatever Yan Xing wanted to do, he just had to stop him from succeeding.

"Knight Yan Xing, I’ve long wanted to meet you to discuss the grain issue," Gale said, adopting the air of a seasoned merchant. "The purpose of merchants doing business is to make money. Only if there’s profit to be made will merchants exhaust their efforts and take risks to transport surplus goods to where they are scarce. Without adequate profit, merchants would absolutely not do such a thing.

"Now, a great war has broken out in the Wildwind Highlands. As part of the human race, we are, of course, willing to contribute to the Duchy. But we are not just individuals. We have families—parents, spouses, children. Our employees also have families, spouses, and children.

"If we don’t make money... what would we eat? What would our families eat?

"If we don’t make money... why would we come to such a dangerous place as the Wildwind Highlands?

"If we are really forced to leave Nuta City, could the Eternal Commerce Group supply the city’s needs all on its own?"

Gale’s words resonated with the grain merchants.

The great war that had erupted in the Wildwind Highlands had traceable origins. Count Theodore had hoarded military provisions early on, reducing the amount of grain sold. The grain merchants had noticed this, which was why they invested heavily to buy grain from the Duchy’s heartland. Transporting it all the way from the mainland to the highlands, coupled with losses during transit, transportation costs, and the expense of hiring mercenaries for protection, all contributed to a very high premium on the grain that reached Nuta City. After arriving in Nuta City, taxes had to be paid, storage arranged, guards hired, and further losses accounted for—all adding to another very high premium.

With costs soaring, the grain merchants were counting on selling the grain at a high price to make a wartime profit. But just as they managed to drive up grain prices with the outbreak of war, Yan Xing’s Eternal Commerce Guild began distributing grain to its employees. The quantity was ample, and its quality was even better than what the grain merchants had.

With the residents of Nuta City having food to eat, the price of grain simply wouldn’t rise. Every grain merchant was bleeding inwardly, watching their full granaries with tear-filled eyes. They despised Yan Xing to the core.

Fortunately, as the scale of the war grew, a large influx of outsiders poured into Nuta City, causing an upward trend in grain prices. But who would have thought that Yan Xing, who had been out of sight for a long time, would initiate another massive recruitment drive as soon as he returned to Nuta City, distributing grain vigorously once more. They hadn’t even savored the sweet taste of rising grain prices before it was smashed back down.

Count Theodore was naturally pleased, but the grain merchants were utterly despondent. The war had reached a stalemate, but it was certain to end by winter. If the Orc and Elf allied forces advanced, the grain merchants would have no way to transport the grain in their storehouses. If the Orc and Elf allied forces retreated, grain prices were certain not to rise to the levels the grain merchants hoped for. This meant that many grain merchants would face complete financial ruin. Merchants in other industries would also suffer greatly as a consequence. Nuta City might very well face a commercial winter after the war. Merchants would shun the place, leading to an extreme shortage of supplies.

Therefore, what Gale said was not an overstatement and also echoed the sentiments of many grain merchants.

For Yan Xing, however, the departure of these merchants and his opportunity to fill the void was naturally a great advantage. But Yan Xing’s sights were no longer fixed solely on the Wildwind Highlands. To the vast world, this highland was merely a speck of land. If Yan Xing’s Eternal Commerce Guild truly wanted to expand beyond the Wildwind Highlands, it couldn’t resort to exterminating other merchants.

Thinking of earning all the money oneself would only lead to a dead end. Only by making money together could one gather more people to conduct even greater business. However, not just anyone could board his ship.

Yan Xing genuinely didn’t know if Gale was among those who had placed the five assassination commissions with the Assassin’s Guild. But, as the saying goes, one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers. If the Eternal Commerce Guild was to lead the establishment of a new business system, they naturally had to kick the obstructive Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce out of the way first.

Yan Xing waited for the grain merchants to discuss amongst themselves for a while before responding to Gale’s pressing remarks.

"If it were yesterday, it would have been understandable if Chairman Gale believed that the Eternal Commerce Guild could not supply Nuta City’s needs. But now, if you still believe Nuta City can’t function without you, even after seeing my special envoy’s residence, you are truly deceiving yourselves. Eternal Domain and Thunderous Swamp can provide Nuta City with all the daily necessities it requires. And I can supply as much as is needed..."

Yan Xing’s words sent chills down the spines of the grain merchants. They had all seen the granaries in the magic projection behind Yan Xing and knew that Eternal Domain was massively clearing land for agriculture. With the Eternal Commerce Guild in Nuta City, grain merchants basically couldn’t stir up any trouble regarding food supplies.

Looking again at the items displayed in the special envoy’s residence, none were purchased from Nuta City merchants; everything came from Thunderous Swamp. This indicated that Thunderous Swamp possessed a complete production and manufacturing system, capable of supplying Nuta City’s material needs using the swamp’s resources. The departure of merchants from Nuta City threatened no one.

Realizing that the grain in their warehouses would rot before it could be sold, the merchants were as distraught as if mourning their own parents. Some were probably even contemplating suicide.

Chairman Gale hadn’t expected Yan Xing to be so aggressive. Standing up, he shouted to the other grain merchants, "I think we don’t need to stand here and be ridiculed! Let’s all go to my place and discuss a countermeasure together. The Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce will definitely find a way to minimize everyone’s losses."

Gale urged the grain merchants to leave.

But at that moment, Yan Xing said, "I invited you all here to discuss the purchase of grain..."

Upon hearing this, the grain merchants who had just started to rise from their seats immediately sat back down. Some even shifted in their chairs, pretending they were merely adjusting their position due to fatigue, not that they had intended to leave with Gale.

How could they leave at a time like this? Gale still had a warehouse full of grain he didn’t know how to deal with; what plan could he possibly have to reduce the losses for so many merchants? Lord Yan Xing had just mentioned buying grain! Could it be that he intended to buy up all the grain they held? They weren’t expecting him to buy it at cost price. If they could just lose less, everyone would surely be deeply grateful to Lord Yan Xing.

So, all the grain merchants sat up straight like primary school students, waiting for Lord Yan Xing to discuss the grain purchase.

Only Gale stood there, isolated.

Yan Xing smiled and asked Gale, "Chairman Gale, are you leaving, or will you sit down?"