Chapter 791: They’ll Have to Cough Up Blood

"Young Miss, how do you know so many people from all those clans?" Luo Xuan asked, puzzled.

People from Loulan, the Barbarian Clan, and Beijiang are often seen in the Four Nations, but clans from Guanghai, the Arid Lands, the Desert, the Northwest, and the Eastern Border are rarely active here.

It was as if all the major clans from outside the Four Nations had gathered at once.

Even if an emperor personally invited them, it would be impossible to get such a complete gathering.

"Interests. Where there are mutual interests, there are friends," Ye Qianning said with a laugh. She turned to Luo Feng and said, "Tell them I will definitely be there tonight."

"Yes."

Luo Feng bowed and walked out the door, his heart still racing. He swore he would follow the Sect Leader for the rest of his life.

’Just as I reached the door, I overheard the Sect Leader’s words.’

’The Sect Leader considers us all family...’

’Back when I was sick, my mother saw me as a burden and abandoned me on a barren mountain. Family... that was something I didn’t dare to even think about...’

’But the Sect Leader, someone I’d never even met before, called us family. An indescribable feeling welled up inside me, and I just wanted to cry.’

"Interests? But Young Miss, haven’t you only been back for a little over a month?"

It takes over a month to travel from Guanghai to Dayu City by sea. How could they arrive just in time for Elder Chen’s birthday celebration?

"I have my ways. All that matters is that I have what they want. Alright, you can all get back to your work. I need to prepare a few things for the banquet tonight."

"Yes."

Luo Wen and the others bowed and withdrew.

Ye Qianning rose and walked to the desk. She picked up a brush and began writing some contracts. ’The Arid Lands, the Desert, and the Northwest have large populations, but it’s difficult for their people to venture out.’

’They subsist only on the scarce things they can grow to fill their bellies. It’s not that they don’t want to trade; it’s that they have nothing to sell.’

’Even if goods were transported there from other regions, the people have no money to buy them. They can’t afford them even at standard market prices. Who would go there to run a losing business? That’s why they’ve always remained poor.’

’To get rich, they need to have something of sufficient value to attract merchants.’

’The clans from the Arid Lands, the Desert, and the Northwest also brought soil samples from their homelands, but there hasn’t been enough time for me to study them in detail yet.’

’The contracts for these people will have to wait for now. I can only make a judgment after I’ve researched their soil.’

’Loulan, the Barbarian Clan, and Beijiang—these three have always valued commerce. I can choose long-term cooperation with them. Their contracts can be finalized tonight.’

"Pangtuan, are you in your room?"

The voice was accompanied by a knock on the door.

"Father Gu, I’m here," Ye Qianning replied without looking up.

Hearing her response, Gu Shuo pushed the door open and came inside. "What are you writing?"

"Some contracts. Father Gu, it seems Nanyuan, along with some merchants from East Shu and Beili, are planning to boycott the Gu family’s businesses," Ye Qianning said, finishing a stroke and looking up.

"I just found out about that myself. How did you know?" Gu Shuo asked as he walked closer.

"I have my sources. Also, Prince Feng wants to carve up your Immortal Sea Building. Do you have a counter-plan?" Ye Qianning asked, pulling another sheet of Xuan paper in front of her.

"I hadn’t heard about that part. If I’m no longer in the seafood business, the Immortal Sea Building truly loses its value. But if they want to carve it up, they’ll have to cough up some blood first." Gu Shuo’s tone was light, completely dismissive of his opponents. He reached out, picked up one of the contracts Ye Qianning had written, and began to read it.

"If not bankrupting them completely, we should at least peel ten layers of skin off them to feel satisfied. That one hundred eighteen million, if split among the Four Nations, isn’t actually that much for each of them, right, Father Gu? The only question now is what Xi Yan is thinking."