The surface of the wood was smooth and shiny after it was cut open. There was no need for any special protection, and the wood would not rot even after thousands of years.
Sea mussels that were not scarce in the offshore sea. Even though their flesh was stinky and poisonous and inedible after the shell was pried open, the round pearls that grew inside were smooth and large like the pearls on Earth.
And the organs of beasts that could greatly benefit certain male functions after eating them … In the eyes of the mainlanders, the wonderful Hellfire Archipelago was full of gold. Many ordinary things that were of little value in the eyes of the Hellfire people were priceless in the eyes of the mainlanders.
For this reason, when Someril stood at the door of a simple bark house that occupied an area of more than 300 square meters and told Luqi and his partner that Zhang Lisheng sympathized with the encounter of the caravan and not only planned to ask the Wizard Li tribesmen to let them go, but he was also willing to try to see if the natives could compensate the fleet with some Hellfire Archipelago specialty, most of the mainlanders' eyes in the treehouse lit up right away.
However, there were also a small number of people who had unnecessary worries. "Compensate us with some Hellfire specialty? I-Is this really feasible? Don't anger the Hellfire people instead …" A middle-aged man, who was wearing a shirt that was so dirty that its color could not be seen clearly and whose sleeves were rolled up, became silent for a while before expressing his concerns with a bitter expression.
"So what if we anger them? We can't leave anyway," Antonio shouted and blocked the middle-aged man's words. "We don't know why those barbarians want to keep us. Instead of living in fear all day long, it's better to anger them and let them chop off our heads."
The courage shown by the descendants of the noble Sea Haines City's governor, which was inversely proportional to his wisdom, shocked the ladies around him. It also snapped Luqi, who was in deep thought, back to reality right away. "I don't think it's that bad, Antonio. Since that Mr. Lisheng can propose to let the Wizard Li tribesmen compensate us, he must have some confidence in completing this matter.
Madam Someril, can you please take me to see Mr. Lisheng right away? "
"Of course." The Atlantean woman nodded and brought the few main leaders of the mainland caravan to Zhang Lisheng's bark house.
He stood at the door and looked around. He saw that the light was bright, the huge window was facing the ocean, and the ground was covered with many whole pieces of beast fur. The young man's living environment made Luqi's uneasy mood relax by half.
He secretly took a deep breath. Just when he was about to speak, he was shocked to see a native running past him hurriedly. The native knelt in front of the black-haired young man not far away and began to talk non-stop.
"Luqi, look! That shorty actually knelt down in front of that black-haired guy! It's so weird …"
Do you think the person we're going to see is a spiritual monster that has transformed into a human? "When Luqi was listening to what the Hellfire tribesman was saying, Antonio whispered in his ear.
The grandson of the former Sea Haines City's governor thought that his voice was not loud, but the instant his words left his mouth, Zhang Lisheng glanced at him.
At such a life-and-death moment, Luqi could no longer tolerate his companion's stupidity. Lowering his voice, he roared, "Shut up, Antonio! Mr. Lisheng doesn't look like a Hellfire guardian spiritual monster at all! Madam Someril has long said that it's only because of a coincidence that he obtained a distinguished position in the Wizard Li tribe."
Antonio, who had never been reprimanded like this before, was stunned for a moment. When he was about to explode, he suddenly realized that all of his companions were glaring at him. He was an impulsive playboy, but he was not a real fool. At once, he realized that even if the black-haired young man in front of him was really the transformation of the Wizard Li's guardian spiritual monster, he should never expose him.
Antonio forcefully swallowed the anger that surged up in his heart. With a flushed face, he lowered his head and no longer said anything. However, both of his hands had unknowingly clenched together. When he was secretly gnashing his teeth, a calm voice suddenly entered his ears. "The headman of the Red Mountain Harbor has agreed to my request and will let you leave tomorrow.
They will also compensate you with some Hellfire specialties, mainly wood. On top of that, if you're still willing to come to Scorpion Island to trade, it's best that you bring some young and healthy slaves next time. The Wizard Li is willing to exchange them with jewelry. "
The young man's first sentence made all of the mainlanders have an incredulous ecstatic expression on their faces. By the time he finished telling all of the good news, Luqi calmed down and took a few steps forward to bow deeply. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Lisheng. Once we return to the Sea Haines City, we'll definitely repay you handsomely …"
"I'm a person who is obsessed with academics, so I don't need your repayment, Mr. Luqi." Zhang Lisheng shook his head and pointed his finger at Someril by the side. "If you really want to repay me, just repay Someril. If it wasn't for her repeated requests, I wouldn't have bothered with this kind of matter."
"Of course, we'll repay you, Madam Someril, but you're our benefactor," Luqi thought about it and insisted. "You may not know the value of the Hellfire Archipelago's wood in our Kattaman City State. Some of the tree species are even more valuable than silver. After I sell them, I'm willing to contribute half of my share to repay your kindness. I believe my companions in the caravan will also do the same."
Luqi appeared to be very generous, but in fact, he did not give anything at all. Instead, he might even get a greater benefit. His companions were stunned for a while before snapping back to reality one after another. Immediately, they nodded their heads continuously.
"Mr. Luqi, my position in the Wizard Li tribe is not enough for those native choresmen to take the risk to cut down those precious tree species that are far away from their habitats." Looking at this group of mainlanders who had just seen the hope of getting out of danger and immediately had the dream of getting rich, Zhang Lisheng could not help but burst into a chuckle. "However, it's not a problem to ask them to add some precious ores to the compensation.
If you and your business partners are really willing to contribute half of the profit, just give it to Madam Someril. She plans to follow your fleet to the Kattaman City State, so she must have some pocket money. "
"Alright, Mr. Lisheng." Luqi nodded hard. "Can you tell us more about the slave trade?"
"Human trafficking is a trade that violates my moral standards." The young man sighed pretentiously. "However, since the Red Mountain Harbor's headman has specifically mentioned it, I have to tell you about it.
The Wizard Li tribesmen intend to buy some mainlander slaves to serve as choresmen so that they can show off their strength to the surrounding Hellfire tribes. They said that several dozens of seasons ago, your ancestors had once used a ship to bring slaves to sell … "
As Zhang Lisheng was speaking, he looked at Antonio. "Judging from the time, it should be Mr. Antonio's grandfather's caravan. In short, they plan to trade again this time, and the more the better."
No matter how lowly the slaves were, they were still mainlanders. Selling their own kind to the barbarians who ate raw meat and drank blood was a terrible crime no matter what. However, Luqi's perspective on this trade was different from others.
He pondered for a while and immediately said, "It's very simple that they want young and strong mainlander slaves. The central and eastern parts of the Green Leaf Mainland have been in constant war for several decades, so there are many prisoners of war who have lost their freedom. However, the price …"
"A thumb-sized orb pried out of a sea clam in exchange for 50 slaves. On top of that, if the warehouse is full of slaves, the cabin will be filled with Scorpion Island's specialty wood," Zhang Lisheng casually said.
"This is a crazy price, Mr. Lisheng!" Luqi seemed to know the value of a large and clean Hellfire orb very well. His breathing unwittingly quickened.
"Is that so?" The young man smiled and rolled his eyes before adding, "You can also introduce other caravans to transport slaves to the Red Mountain Harbor. They'll give you a Hellfire orb for every 300 slaves."
Personally transporting goods and extracting benefits from other people's goods was the difference between a retailer and a wholesaler. The eyes of the mainlanders who were secretly criticizing Luqi in the treehouse lit up right away. Saban, the flagship captain of the caravan who knew the route the best, blurted out without realizing, "How can the Wizard Li people guarantee that they'll trade according to the conditions?"
"The aborigines won't give you any guarantee, but I'll help you," Zhang Lisheng smiled and said, "Of course, nobody can guarantee this as well. It's up to you whether you believe it or not …"
"Of course, we believe you! Of course, we believe you …" Upon hearing the young man's words, the mainlanders replied in unison. When Zhang Lisheng saw that they had become preoccupied, he quietly smiled in satisfaction and chased these greedy people out of his bark house with just a few words.
That night, the young man ordered the native choresmen to prepare a very sumptuous dinner and bid farewell to the other Shrimp World No. 2 explorers. For this reason, he could play the greatest role among the explorers by staying on Scorpion Island. For this reason, nobody said anything about Zhang Lisheng's decision to stay, except for Allison who looked a little melancholic.
At noon the next day, the weather was warm and sunny. Taking advantage of the warm spring breeze, the well-loaded mainland caravan set sail and braved the wind and waves to leave the giant crab's tail stinger lying in the Hellfire sea region and sailed into the distance.
Standing on the coast with the binoculars, Zhang Lisheng quietly watched Someril, Allison, Luqi, and the other people, who were eagerly waving at him, disappear. Even the fleet had shrunk to the size of a bean. After waiting for more than ten minutes without moving, Zhang Lisheng finally breathed a long sigh of relief and casually hung the binoculars on his waist before muttering, "They're finally gone …"
At the instant when the young man put away the binoculars, the Red Mountain Harbor's native chief, led by the headman, suddenly shouted loudly, "All tribesmen gather and board the ship!
All tribesmen gather and board the ship … "Inexplicably, tens of thousands of ordinary aborigines who had just converted to the Wizard Li not long ago began to gather together and drove them to the fishing boats in the harbor.
"Pundit, Headman Srusa has asked us to board the ship!" The native choresman who had just been assigned to serve Zhang Lisheng yesterday was mixed in the crowd and hurriedly ran to the beach to kneel at the young man's feet.
"No, we'll stay on the shore," Zhang Lisheng casually replied. Lowering his head to shield his eyes with his hand, he raised his head to look at the red sun with a relaxed smile on his face.
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