CHAPTER 311: CHAPTER 31: SOUTHERN TYCOON

Not long after dawn, Hong Yao walked out of an inn in Bailu County.

To avoid attracting attention, she had changed into a different outfit, now donning a mink fur coat that was far more stylish than her previous attire as a lady, looking like she was in her thirties with a bright gleam in her eye, clearly resembling a housekeeper dispatched by a major family.

According to the owner’s plan, the Blue Snow Field in Fengdan County has an enormous reserve that not only satisfies the daily needs within the county but can also serve as one of the main sources of income for Fengdan County.

Compared to Hongling’s armchair strategies and Lie Rou’s delicate upbringing, Hong Yao was the only one who was truly familiar with the sale of goods.

Due to successive beast attacks over the years, many merchants from trading caravans have been reluctant to enter and conduct business in Fengdan County; without commerce, there can be no exchange of goods and resources.

Yue Jinghua, well aware of this, assigned Hong Yao her first task, which was to restore commercial exchanges in Fengdan County, attracting trading caravans and even medium to large commerce associations to station there.

Prior to this, Yue Jinghua had also probed Teng Wu about allowing Yunhu Commerce to enter Fengdan County. However, for some reason, despite Yun Luo’s fondness for Blue Snow Candles, Teng Wu maintained a cautious stance and was unwilling to agree to Yue Jinghua’s request.

Yue Jinghua suspected there were hidden reasons, and thus did not force the issue, instead instructing Hong Yao to first attract smaller trade corps or local commerce associations with more flexible operations to station there.

Hong Yao had found out that the lord of Bailu County, Viscount Mo’er, was not only crude and brash, but also clearly lacked any talent for product development. He bullied the kind and feared the strong, especially suppressing those small caravans without influential backgrounds, and even invented various pretexts to collect all sorts of excessive taxes and levies.

Due to the circumstances, traders from these small caravans had no choice but to remain in Bailu County.

After strolling around the market, where commerce groups and caravans gathered, Hong Yao approached several merchants, but as soon as they saw the Blue Snow Candle, a novel item priced at a high ten Gold Coins, they all hastily declined.

Hong Yao was not in a hurry and continued to wander around the market, where a crowd had gathered ahead.

"Did you hear? Last night, the County Guard Army launched another attack on Fengdan County,"

"What a sin, so many innocent civilians in Fengdan County have died over these three years,"

"Exactly, especially with the Head Tax some time ago. I heard that many of the Fengdan County residents who were taken away ended up dead or committing suicide, leaving few survivors,"

"I saw soldiers on the street last night, well over a thousand of them, led by the County Guard Army leader, Zhang Chao. This time, I fear Fengdan County will be wiped out, rivers of blood flowing,"

"What are you talking about? Indeed, many died this time, but it wasn’t people from Fengdan County; it was the County Guard Army’s soldiers,"

A hunter carrying a hunting fork and holding two horned chickens came forward. He had went out of the city last night, hoping to hunt a few snow hares, but as soon as he approached the border area between Fengdan and Bailu Counties, he heard a terrifying, ghostly wail.

"The Bailu Army soldiers, they cried and screamed as if they’d seen a ghost. In the icefield, the air was thick with the stench of blood; it was too gruesome,"

"Could you have seen wrong? How could anyone in Fengdan County withstand Zhang Chao’s hammer blows?"

As there seemed to be something exciting to discuss, the market bustled with both merchants and citizens crowding around.

Even though they were residents of Bailu County, many had long been dissatisfied with Viscount Mo’er’s wasteful and greedy governance.

"No mistake, it was just one person," said the hunter as he put down the horned chicken, his face full of intrigue.

As soon as they heard that a single person was able to hold back nearly ten thousand soldiers of Bailu County, everyone called it unbelievable.

"I heard those fleeing soldiers say, that person is some kind of... beastmaster," the hunter, a simple man, scratched his head, unable to recall the exact term the soldiers used.

Worried that others might not believe him, the hunter gestured vigorously, inadvertently miming out the Giant Winged Mosquito King as well.

As soon as the Mosquito King was mentioned, the surrounding civilians all gasped in horror,

The local residents were no strangers to those mosquitoes; they live in the icefield area, specifically feeding on human blood and beast blood, the Giant Winged Mosquito King, each one the size of dozens of ordinary mosquitoes, with their proboscises gleaming coldly, notoriously ferocious insects.

If the enemy drove the mosquitoes to Bailu County, wouldn’t that lead to countless deaths and injuries?

"Isn’t this leading to a war," someone muttered, and the civilians started to panic. Even the merchants changed their countenance upon hearing of war.

Those delivering goods hurried their deliveries, and those receiving goods stopped their transactions, rushing to leave the contentious Bailu County first. The marketplace emptied out like scattering birds and beasts in no time.

Hong Yao sneered inwardly, and as she turned around, she saw a man dressed in splendid clothing not far away.

The man in splendid clothing had a restrained expression, as if pondering over something. Hong Yao noticed that the man’s attire was quite different from that of people from the Dragon War Empire or Shang Kingdom. With chestnut-colored short hair, a high nose bridge, a broad forehead, and wheat-colored skin, he looked like someone from the southern Ruison Federation.

Yet the splendidly dressed man was wondering to himself, "Does Fengdan County have a Beast Exterminator?" And judging from the hunter’s description, the Beast Exterminator’s grade must be such that they could command thousands of mosquitoes. With such a staggering number of mosquitoes, the person was hardly just a Beast Exterminator, but more likely a Beastmaster.

The man seemed to have noticed Hong Yao’s scrutinizing gaze as well and nodded to her before walking over.

"Lady, I saw you selling a type of novel lamp around just now. Could you show it to me?" The man’s accent carried a hint of the southern dialect. His appearance was rugged, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, not particularly good-looking but easy on the eyes.

Hong Yao smiled and took out the Blue Snow Candle.

The man’s eyes lit up immediately and he blurted out, "Honey candle?"

Honey candles were indeed the noble candles made from beeswax that Yue Jinghua had heard about previously from the Ruison Federation. Since the man knew about honey candles, he obviously came from no humble origin.

However, after examining the candle in his hand for a moment, he shook his head, "This is not a honey candle, but it seems to be more durable than honey candles. May I ask, Lady, where are these candles from? If I want to place a bulk order, how soon can you deliver?"

Without even asking the price, the man was requesting bulk supply, which made Hong Yao’s heart leap for joy.

The man in front of her was certainly a wealthy client.

Always meticulous in her work, Hong Yao knew that she could not make the decision on her own in this situation. Moreover, mining the Blue Snow Field required a lot of manpower and resources, all of which would have to be decided by the boss.

"Neither the price nor the delivery time can be decided by me. If it’s convenient, you can accompany me back, and our boss will discuss the specifics with you personally," Hong Yao pointed to a carriage that was parked at the entrance of the market.

"Then I’ll trouble you, miss," said the splendidly dressed man, who made a gesture of invitation before joining Hong Yao in the carriage.