Chapter 170: Teahouse Merchants |
"Master, this is the card it dropped." After everyone left, Du Yu secretly slipped a card into Qin Ziwen's palm.
Qin Ziwen glanced at the card.
[Building Card] Level 1 Leather Armor Workshop.
He silently put the card away. Only then did Du Yu walk over to the raptor's corpse and use his knife to cut off its claws one by one.
These pitch-black, sharp claws were natural daggers.
They were extremely hard and sharp.
Then came the hide on its body. After being dragged all the way here, the hide was somewhat damaged, but fortunately, the meat inside was preserved.
Processing such a large corpse alone would take too long, so Qin Ziwen called everyone over to help divide the meat. Everyone worked with great enthusiasm.
The commotion here attracted the attention of others. Dinosaur meat was still a rarity at this stage. While people had seen it, very few had actually eaten it.
Qin Ziwen looked up, a smile appearing on his face. "Long time no see. The meat isn't for sale, but since we're friends, I can personally give you two jin."
Zheng Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. "President Qin, this..."
Ever since his last failed attempt to invite Qin Ziwen to join his team, he hadn't seen him again.
The ten-building residential complex wasn't exactly huge, but it wasn't small either.
The only two times they had met were once during the previous giant-toothed beast attack and now.
Zheng Yuan said, "I appreciate the kindness. I'll bring you some sugarcane later. Don't refuse. If we're friends, then there should be give and take."
"Haha, alright then. I haven't had sugarcane in a long time," Qin Ziwen laughed.
"Got lucky. I obtained a sugarcane grove Resource Card during the settlement. The quantity isn't huge, but it's enough to satisfy a sweet tooth now and then," Zheng Yuan explained with a smile.
As they talked, they became more familiar again.
Zheng Yuan couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "You've changed a lot. After not seeing you for a while, you've become the leader of the Qin Alliance. I saw you guys hunting the Sarkastodon earlier. Very impressive. Great coordination, and good weapons too."
At this point, Zheng Yuan felt a pang of envy.
He had only joined the Alliance later, forced by circumstances after it grew powerful. His timing was relatively late, and with the Alliance having so many hunting teams, he hadn't made much headway. Fortunately, they had discovered the Altar earlier, and his team obtained a few cards. Plus, they managed to get through the second Home settlement after the crossing. It wasn't great, but it was better than nothing.
Qin Ziwen shook his head with a smile. "It's not that exaggerated. By the way, Brother Zheng, your beard is getting longer and longer."
Zheng Yuan touched his thick, bushy beard upon hearing this and said helplessly, "My beard has always grown thick since I was a kid. Makes me look old. Back in high school, elementary school kids often called me 'Uncle'."
Qin Ziwen found this amusing. "That's actually pretty good. People called you 'Uncle' in high school, and they still call you 'Uncle' after graduation. You're an ageless male god."
"Get out of here."
As the two chatted, the sound of a bicycle reached their ears.
The sound grew from far to near.
A red mountain bike, with the distinctive sound of its gears turning, passed by the two of them and finally stopped in front of Luo Gang.
The young man pressed the brakes, put his left foot down to stop the bicycle, and said breathlessly, "Teacher Luo! A merchant caravan has arrived. This traveling merchant group is quite large, with twenty people. And they have ox carts and horse-drawn carriages too."
"Have some water first. Speak slowly, no need to rush." Luo Gang took a cup of water from a nearby table and handed it to the young man.
The young man took a couple of sips, moistening his dry throat. After catching his breath, his voice regained its vigor. "Zhou Xiaqing has temporarily stalled the caravan. That merchant group is also quite interested in some of the things we brought out and agreed to wait an extra half-day."
Luo Gang praised them. "You did very well."
The young man gripped the handlebars and offered, "Teacher Luo, shall we head back now? I can give you a ride on my bike."
"Wait a moment." Luo Gang signaled for the young man to sit down first.
Then he found Qin Ziwen and Zou Jianghe and told them about the situation.
Qin Ziwen was also curious about these traveling merchants. "Alright, let's head back then. It's almost dark."
Zou Jianghe glanced at the sky and said, "Agreed. It's getting late."
The few of them made the decision and then gathered everyone to prepare for the return journey.
Watching everyone packing up, Luo Gang looked back at the waterhole.
His original intention was to set this place up as a simple outpost today, preferably with someone stationed here to completely occupy this water resource point. They could use it as a base to hunt beasts and form a second base.
But after today's on-site actions, he realized this plan was somewhat rushed and premature.
Temperatures dropped at night, and the Gobi Desert became lively. Leaving people here was still somewhat dangerous.
After packing up their things, the long line of two hundred people began the journey back the way they came.
By the time they returned to the residential complex, it was already seven in the evening.
Qin Ziwen had Du Yu mount Chitu and take the Crowned Eagle to the southern Altar to retrieve the cards that refreshed today. Then he found Jia Liangcai to inquire about the preparation of trade materials.
Jia Liangcai reported, "In reply to my Master, preparations are complete."
Jia Liangcai led him to the open space behind the corner. After being renovated, this area was left as an open space. On this space, a large amount of metal and parts salvaged from cars were piled up.
According to him, many of these items had been picked over by Li Tieshan. What remained were pieces that were difficult to rework or had a low cost-performance ratio—essentially "scrap iron."
In addition, there were two pieces of preliminarily processed leather.
"I recall that tanned leather was a forbidden item in Great Yong, right?" Qin Ziwen pointed at the leather.
Jia Liangcai smiled slightly and looked at his Master. "The more forbidden, the more expensive. However, this item cannot be sold openly. There are many eyes among the traveling merchants; it must be traded privately."
Qin Ziwen understood. The two exchanged a knowing smile.
With Jia Liangcai, a former official native to Great Yong, by his side, Qin Ziwen felt relatively at ease.
He called over some Qin Alliance members to help move the goods to the Teaching Building.
By now, nearly three-quarters of the students in the Teaching Building had migrated to the residential complex.
A little over a hundred people remained in this building.
Because there were eight Homes within the building, and almost all the cards obtained from the previous world were here, it was impossible to abandon the place. Those who stayed in the building were also mostly male students.
Seeing Qin Ziwen bringing people over, these male students enthusiastically stepped forward to help, carrying the items to Classroom 305 on the third floor.
This classroom had been converted into a reception room. Inside, there was also a simple teahouse made of bamboo sheds and wooden frames. This was the physical form of the Traveling Merchant Teahouse.
In the reception room, five traveling merchants sat comfortably.
They sat in relaxed postures, looking quite at ease. They listened to Luo Gang's quoted prices, conversed softly amongst themselves, and continuously tried to lower the price.
The door opened. Qin Ziwen walked in, with Jia Liangcai following behind him, bowing his back and lowering his head, looking like an utterly ordinary old man.
Jia Liangcai discreetly observed the five men, finally locking onto the merchant on the far left wearing a blue silk robe. From him, Jia Liangcai sensed a familiar aura.