Chapter 692: The Owner of the Immortal Sea Building 2

Jiang Chenyi chuckled. "It’s not that people can’t get enough—it’s that supply can’t possibly meet demand. You must have never tried the seafood from the Immortal Sea Building, have you, Miss? They have over a hundred different preparations, and every single dish is unforgettable. Every Immortal Sea Building, no matter the city, is packed to the gills every day. On top of that, the Gu family also runs Nanyuan’s entire seafood distribution network, selling to countries all over..."

Ye Qianning listened, captivated. After Jiang Chenyi finished explaining everything he knew, she remained silent for a moment before speaking. "Nanyuan must be very prosperous now."

"It is. In the past, life in Nanyuan was miserable beyond words. Their seafood would be sold on consignment, but nobody wanted it, not even for four or five copper coins. Then the Gu family started buying it all up at high prices and even gave them lots of fruit seeds. Now, the fruit harvests are bountiful every year. Nanyuan’s fruit has become famous in the other nations and sells extremely well. Nanyuan has grown more prosperous with each passing year, and now nearly every household is quite wealthy. It’s no longer the poorest of the four nations." Jiang Chenyi’s voice was filled with admiration.

"You know so much, Young Master Jiang. Is the Jiang family also in the merchant business?"

"No, but the Jiang family is located by the seaport, so we deal with a lot of seafood. The seafood from the common folk in the city all passes through our hands before being delivered to the Gu family’s designated collection points."

Ye Qianning nodded slightly, her thoughts turning to the large ship from before. "Do Beili and Nanyuan also trade with each other?"

"Not for now."

"The ship you were just on was a Beili merchant vessel. If you aren’t major traders, how could you use a Beili merchant ship so freely?"

At her words, Jiang Chenyi’s expression grew a little awkward.

"The Gu family and Nanyuan have a signed contract. Selling privately is illegal. Surely you know that, Young Master Jiang?" Ye Qianning raised an eyebrow, her words slowing deliberately.

"The Jiang family has never done anything to breach the contract," Jiang Chenyi said quickly.

"Is that so?"

Jiang Chenyi looked up and met Ye Qianning’s gaze, momentarily stunned. In all his life, he had never seen a young woman with such a commanding presence in her eyes.

"Miss, the Jiang family really hasn’t done anything!" Seeing her brother stay silent, Jiang Yue couldn’t hold back any longer. "It’s just that some people are secretly working with Beili because the Gu family’s purchasing price is too low. They have to sell to the Gu family because of the contract, but the price Beili merchants offer is several times higher. So, of course, some people in Nanyuan are secretly trading with Beili. The Huo family is one of them. They own several mountains, and they’ve stopped selling their fruit and seafood to the Gu family. It seems it all gets sent to Beili now. The imperial merchants of Beili are very close with the Huo family, which is why they have access to Beili merchant ships."

"I see."

Ye Qianning felt she now had a better understanding of the situation.

"I heard that once the ten-year contract expires, the people of Nanyuan won’t sign another one with the Gu family. It seems they want to sell to Beili and other countries instead," Jiang Yue added.

"Heh."

Ye Qianning let out a soft laugh.

"Miss, what are you laughing at?"

"I just find human nature to be so fickle." ’It’s always been this way.’

’The ten-year contract... it seems its term is about to end.’

Jiang Chenyi fell silent. He understood what she meant. If the Gu family hadn’t offered high prices to buy all their seafood back then, Nanyuan’s population would have been reduced by at least half.

Nanyuan’s winters were too cold to survive without coal. Because of the Gu family, the common folk no longer had to run around everywhere trying to sell their fish. They could exchange their catch for money as soon as it was hauled in.

Gradually, the people began to have money in their hands.

In the first three years after the contract was signed, the Gu family apparently lost a great deal of money, yet they persisted in buying the goods and even built roads.

Back then, everyone said Boss Gu was a fool.

It wasn’t until the fourth year that the Immortal Sea Building restaurants became a sensation. The restaurants opened up a market for Nanyuan’s seafood, and only then did the situation in Nanyuan finally begin to improve.