Sun Mo and An Xinhui followed Lian Fangcao through the spiderweb-like caves. After making many turns, they finally arrived at a deep pit.
Under the illumination of the spirit diamond, a copper-green ore vein appeared before Sun Mo.
"It's a copper mine!"
An Xinhui held Sun Mo's hand tightly.
What was free money?
This was it!
The Nine Provinces used gold as the currency, but gold and silver were precious metals. They were rare and inconvenient to carry around. Hence, copper coins were the main currency in the market.
Digging up a copper mine was equivalent to digging up money.
However, in the Nine Provinces, once any copper mine was discovered, it would belong to the country. Private individuals were forbidden from mining it. After all, mining rights and coinage rights were the moneybags of the emperor.
However, the mines on the Darkness Continent weren't included in this rule.
Although it was publicly acknowledged that whoever discovered the mine would own it, in truth, whoever had the bigger fist would own it.
However, the Greenmist Forest was a floating secret realm. Other than Sun Mo, who could use the teleportation gate to reach it, it was impossible for other people from the Nine Provinces to get a share.
Hence, Sun Mo enjoyed it alone!
Perfect.
"Have you guys explored the reserves?"
Sun Mo asked.
"We don't have such technology, but I've checked before. There are many of these green-colored stones. They can be found everywhere under this mountain range."
Lian Fangcao had obtained the memories of those invaders and knew that this was a good thing. However, they were still in the primitive stage of distributing resources. In the aboriginal tribes that hadn't even developed the barter trade system, there was no need for copper coins.
"Sun Mo, these are my thanks gifts for you!"
Lian Fangcao smiled, filled with sincerity.
"They are very valuable gifts. As repayment, I will give you a saint-tier cultivation art and three peerless-grade heaven-tier cultivation arts."
Sun Mo wasn't a stingy person.
After digging out this copper mine, even if Sun Mo wasn't the wealthiest person in Great Tang, he would be ranked in the top ten.
"With this, we can invest in various industries and extend the school's reach to various places."
An Xinhui had no objections to Sun Mo's generosity.
Money was meaningless to An Xinhui because everyone was a cultivator. The equivalent currency they used was spirit stones. However, to the Central Province Academy, money was indispensable.
With the Central Province Academy as the core, Jinling and the surrounding cities would become prosperous and a city circle would be formed, creating a siphoning effect.
Talents, resources, policies...
Who doesn't want to live in a big city?
As the number of people increased, the number of students the Central Province Academy could choose from would also increase.
Most importantly, when the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians were tied to a single school, not even the Great Tang Emperor would dare to casually bully this school.
It was only a matter of time before it became a national school.
"Fangcao, have you found any metal ores or spirit stone veins?"
Sun Mo thought of the weapon used by Lu Zhiruo's monkey. Liu Tong had inspected that type of ore before, and the quality wasn't bad. It was more suitable to forge weapons compared to iron.
"Yes!"
Lian Fangcao felt a bit awkward, because they had already discussed this issue internally. That was to monopolize it. The green-skinned girl felt that doing this would make them seem too greedy.
This was also the reason why everyone agreed to give the copper mine to Sun Mo. They wanted to shut his mouth first.
"Sun Mo, I have something I want to tell you!"
However, as the clan leader, he had to think about the future of his clansmen.
"We are friends, there is no need to be so cautious!"
Sun Mo consoled.
"These two mineral veins are our private property. We want to sell them to you at the price of the Nine Prefectures."
The clansmen could not possibly rely on farming for their entire lives, could they?
How much money could they earn then?
Selling ores was still the fastest way to earn money!
"There are differences in the prices of these mineral veins in the Nine Prefectures. For example, the plains lack iron, and iron is very expensive. However, the price of iron weapons in Great Tang is ordinary."
Sun Mo explained.
"I understand this. You just have to pay us 80% of the price of iron weapons in Great Tang."
Lian Fangcao gave a great discount.
An Xinhui wanted to agree on Sun Mo's behalf.
This condition was too generous. The pitiful Lian Fangcao even had an expression as though they had taken advantage of her.
As expected of the aboriginals who had never seen the world, they were all so foolish.
"Mn!"
Sun Mo nodded, but he felt very rueful in his heart.
(Do you know that selling resources is the most foolish way to survive?) (Although wealth comes quickly, what will the later generations eat?)
Upon thinking of this, Sun Mo felt heartache for the country's rare earths. These were strategic resources, but they were bought away by foreign merchants at such a low price.
"Oh right, what if we discover a new mineral vein in the future? Who will have the rights to it? "
An Xinhui was worried.
Let alone the fact that Sun Mo had a spirit qi roaming dragon that was proficient in searching for veins, even if he didn't, given the professional mining knowledge of the people in the Nine Prefectures, it would be easier for him to find mineral veins compared to these aboriginals.
"It will belong to whoever finds it!"
Lian Fangcao glanced at An Xinhui in puzzlement. (Is there a doubt?) "Don't worry, even if you guys find a large mineral vein, we won't take it for ourselves."
They had discussed this problem before, and the conclusion they got was that how could Sun Mo and the others from the Nine Prefectures understand their mother forest better than the aboriginals who had lived here for generations?
During these few days, there were already several old men with rich mining experience leading five mining exploration teams and preparing to search the forest again.
"Do you need me to arrange for some mine slaves to come over?"
Just as Sun Mo's voice rang out, he was rejected.
"No need!"
Lian Fangcao was most afraid of too many humans entering her homeland. What if they couldn't be chased away in the future?
"Alright."
Sun Mo didn't mind. (When you guys have an abundance of resources, your desires would be unquenchable and a hierarchy would be formed. At that time, you guys would definitely fight to use mine slaves.)
(This is for sure. Who would be willing to go down the well to mine every day?)
(Wouldn't it be nice to be a manager who can earn money just by drinking tea and eating pastries?)
As for whether the mine slaves would be too big and they wouldn't be able to get rid of them?
Sun Mo wasn't worried.
(There are quite a lot of slaves in the Nine Prefectures who sell themselves.)
(Speaking of which, as a man of socialism, isn't it too shameless for me to use slaves?)
"However, I hope that the production of ores won't decrease. We should try our best to deliver them once a month.
An Xinhui suggested.
"No problem."
Seeing that Sun Mo didn't raise any objections and even agreed to her request, Lian Fangcao also became easier to talk to.
"As long as one is alive, one must have a skill. I will take some time out every month to teach you guys how to grow medicinal herbs."
Sun Mo had originally planned to use this place as a herb garden.
He wanted to make use of this to rope in more alchemists and doctors. In the end, he would monopolize the entire medicinal herb market in the Nine Prefectures and form a medical giant.
This industry was extremely profitable.
"Mn!"
Lian Fangcao led the way. "I'll bring you guys to a good place."
An Xinhui was very agitated. After today, the Central Province Academy would have a 1,000-year foundation. As long as they didn't court death, it was impossible for them to decline even if they wanted to.
In the future, they could focus on spirit runes, alchemy pills, and botany.
However, Sun Mo's spiritual control technique and puppetry technique seemed to be very impressive as well.
Sigh!
His childhood sweetheart was too all-rounded. This was also a problem!
The three of them walked for over an hour and finally arrived under a huge tree that was in the midst of withering.
Its towering branches and leaves had already turned yellow. When the wind blew, they would peel off like moss.
"Do you know what this tree is called?"
Lian Fangcao asked.
Sun Mo fell silent. He knew.
He had seen this plant before in the Darkness Continent's Strange News Log.
Its fruits matured once every 64 years. The taste wasn't good, and there wasn't much nutrition. However, the juice of this fruit would secrete a type of enzyme.
This enzyme had a strong positive stimulation effect on the cells of humans and animals. It could allow the body's sensitivity toward spirit qi to increase.
Simply speaking, even if a person couldn't sense spirit qi, as long as they ate a few of these fruits, they would be able to sense spirit qi.
An Xinhui had also read about the records of this plant from her grandfather's diary. Hence, she was instantly stunned. After that, she revealed an extremely disappointed expression.
"It's a pity that it has withered to death!"
If this tree was still alive, it would become the most important strategic resource. It could allow ordinary people to become cultivators and allow cultivators to be more sensitive toward spirit qi. Wasn't this powerful enough?
"The warriors in our tribe would be given one of these fruits every year. It has greatly increased our battle prowess, but ten years ago, it started to wither. Hence, our inventory grew smaller and smaller."
Lian Fangcao sighed.
After that, she took out a wooden box and passed it to Sun Mo.
"These are ten spirit fruits. I'll give them to you."
Sun Mo didn't take them.
"Just accept them!"
Lian Fangcao forcefully stuffed them into Sun Mo's hands. "Don't feel that it's too little. We don't have many left either."
"If I can save this tree, can you give me half of the harvest every season?"
Sun Mo spoke.
"What? You can save it? "
Lian Fangcao was badly shocked. She grabbed Sun Mo's arm and a look of wild joy appeared on her face. "How?"
"This tree withered because you guys used some medicinal herbs to fumigate it!"
Sun Mo activated Divine Sight and saw the data. As expected, it was the same as his diagnosis.
"Ah? Didn't it have bugs? "
Lian Fangcao didn't understand.
"If it's just the bugs, this tree can still live for over 100 years. Clearly, you guys used some fumigating herbs to expel the bugs. The smoke is actually poisonous."
Sun Mo explained.
"Right! Right! That's it! "
Lian Fangcao hurriedly nodded.
"A lot of its trunk has rotted, causing its circulation system to collapse. There's no supply of spirit qi and water. Hence, I have to use spirit rune techniques to re-establish a new circulation.
"After that, I have to inscribe spirit runes on its few remaining leaves to assist in absorbing spirit qi...
"After that, I have to concoct a poison to kill the bugs and get rid of the mold.
"Oh right, those mold spots are caused by the excrement of the bugs."
By counting them, there were at least six types of symptoms on this tree.
Lian Fangcao didn't understand, but her intuition told her that this was very troublesome.
If Sun Mo could cure it, that would be super amazing.
"Sun Mo, we'll have to depend on you."
Lian Fangcao hugged Sun Mo. "As long as you can save it, I'll convince the elders in the tribe to give you half of the fruits."
An Xinhui also looked at Sun Mo in astonishment.
(You can even do such a thing?)
She understood how unbelievable the solutions Sun Mo spoke of were. Other than him, no one in the Nine Provinces would be able to do it.
...
After staying in the Green Mist Tribe for a total of three days, Sun Mo and An Xinhui went to the ecological garden again. After inspecting the various warehouses, they returned with great rewards.
"It's better not to bring those equipment back to the Nine Provinces, or it'll cause a huge commotion."
An Xinhui felt a little fearful.
"You're worrying too much. We won't be able to use them anyway."
Sun Mo shrugged. Those were all high-tech items. Even though he had learned those languages, he still felt a headache just by looking at them.
Sun Mo didn't care about the remaining matters and left them to An Xinhui to handle. He planned to settle down and learn, improve himself, and guide the Calabash Brothers at the same time.
However, at this moment, a mysterious letter was placed on Sun Mo's table, messing up his plans.
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