novelbest Chapter 567 - 566: Want to Participate?
Chapter 567 - 566: Want to Participate?
"Peddling goods from street to street?"
The members of the Long-eared Rabbit Clan exchanged glances, their faces full of confusion. What was she suggesting?
Si Shuo explained with a smile, "Things like steamed buns, flatbreads, and dried noodles can be packed into bamboo baskets and carried on a shoulder pole to sell in other parts of the city.
Think about it. Our Guanping City is huge, and there are so many Beastmen. Not everyone has heard about the delicious food over here. And even if they have, they probably don’t think it’s worth crossing more than half the city just for a bite to eat.
The Red-bellied Eagle Clan, the Black Fox Clan, and the Ball Python Clan have plenty of members. Once they get skilled at cooking, if even half their clan pitches in, they’ll be able to produce a ton of food...
I know everyone is lining up to eat right now, and demand is outstripping supply. But after three to five days, once the initial excitement dies down, they’ll have a lot of surplus food. That’s the perfect opportunity for you to buy it cheap and set up stalls to sell it in other parts of the city!
It’s just a way to earn some money through hard work, but I was wondering if your clan would be interested in taking on the job..."
Shu Shu listened intently. Understanding what Si Shuo meant, he nodded repeatedly with a smile. "We’ll take it! We’ll definitely take it!
The only income our clan has is from renting out these guest caves. They were passed down to us from our Long-eared Rabbit ancestors. Even though we have to pay the City Lord Mansion a portion of Crystal Stones out of our own pockets every month, we don’t want to give them up.
To support our families and cover that Crystal Stone deficit, we take whatever odd jobs we can find. We’re not afraid of hard work. We’re just afraid the jobs will only last a day or two, and then we’ll have to go searching for another way to make money all over again..."
They were used to a life of not knowing where their next meal would come from. But the greater the hardship, the harder they worked, and the more they held onto their principles.
Si Shuo smiled. "Good. Have your Clan Leader and elders go negotiate with those three clans. If you can secure this work, it could become a long-term business for you.
When you do, come visit me. I’ll have something good prepared for you."
Shu Shu pressed his lips together, unable to resist asking in a low voice, "Si Shuo, why are you giving us a hand?"
They’d had very little contact before this. It was always others mocking them, calling them stupid, cowardly, and foolish—people only ever stepped on them. No one had ever stood up to lend them a hand.
Si Shuo tilted her head. "No particular reason. I just think your clan has principles and is worth befriending.
If all goes according to plan, we’ll be putting down roots in the Guanping Beast Country. It’s always good to have more friends; it opens more doors."
Shu Shu grinned. "The Long-eared Rabbit Clan will remember your kindness, Si Shuo. If you ever need any help in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask."
The Long-eared Rabbit Clan worked with impressive efficiency. By the time Si Shuo had gone home and eaten a meal, they had already settled the matter.
Si Shuo handed him a palm-sized Beast Skin Bag.
Shu Shu took it curiously. It was light as a feather. ’What could be so mysterious?’ he wondered. He opened it and saw several Bone Rings!
Si Shuo lowered her voice to a whisper. "These are Storage Bone Rings. After you buy the food, you can put it inside. It’ll be easier to carry, and they even have some ability to preserve freshness and warmth.
The space inside isn’t huge, but they are very difficult to refine, mostly because the materials are hard to find.
I’ll sell them to you for one Level 15 Crystal Stone each. If you don’t have enough Crystal Stones now, you can pay in monthly installments."
Shu Shu trembled. Storage Rings were items one could only hope to stumble upon, not actively seek out. His Long-eared Rabbit Clan had a history spanning over a thousand years, yet in all that time, their ancestors had only ever managed to acquire a single Storage Ring, one with a mere twenty cubic meters of space.
He knew their value all too well, and now Si Shuo was offering ten of them at once! The price for all ten was less than what they had paid for that single one.
Even if each one cost ten times as much, they would have to grit their teeth and starve themselves to buy them.
"Si Shuo, this price is too low! How about this: we’ll pay the price of one Level 16 Crystal Stone for each Bone Ring. Even then, we’re still the ones getting the better deal."
She hadn’t expected him to proactively offer a higher price. ’It seems my trust in him wasn’t misplaced.’ Si Shuo didn’t refuse, just smiled and nodded. "Alright."
Shu Shu nodded eagerly. "Then please wait a moment while I go inform my Clan Leader."
With that, he pushed the Beast Skin Bag back into her hands and hopped away in a flash.
Ji Liang couldn’t help but let out a hiss. "Little Shushu, have you noticed? The Beast Clans in Beiping City seem to be polarized. They’re either incredibly cunning and always looking for an angle, or they’re extremely principled.
These few clans certainly seem worthy of long-term cooperation, but we should still observe them for a while longer."
"Mm, as they say, distance tests a horse’s strength, and time reveals a person’s heart. We’ll know for sure by next spring," Si Shuo chuckled. "There are a lot of members in the Long-eared Rabbit Clan. Their presence isn’t just in Beiping City; you can find traces of them throughout the entire Guanping Country.
They may not seem prominent in other areas, but they’re absolutely top-notch when it comes to gathering information and running errands. They could be a great help to us."
"That’s right. Their clan members might be ordinary, but their network of friends and family is vast. That’s one of the main reasons they’re able to occupy half the guest caves at the North Gate," Yin Jiang added with a nod.
"It’s not just the Long-eared Rabbit Clan. These neighboring Beast Clans have relatives in various Beast Cities, too. So," Wei Ce said with a slight cough, "my Father and the elders have been discussing. Once we have a thorough understanding of the situation in Guanping City, we should do as the locals do—use marriage to form alliances and build our own network."
Si Shuo let out a little "wow." "In that case, we all need to keep our eyes wide open and choose Beastmen with both good character and ability. If we choose well, our in-laws can be a great asset. But if we choose poorly, they’ll just bring a host of problems and become a burden, or even a cancer."
The males nodded in agreement. On the Yongchang Continent, because Beast Marks could be transferred, the status of females was significantly higher. If they chose a female who didn’t know how to cherish and dote on her male, the males of the Iron-eating Beast Clan wouldn’t just fail to find happiness—it would be the start of their misery!
The cubs listened quietly, each one looking like a little adult, which was especially endearing.
Little Hong raised her hand and said with a smile, "Then, Uncles and Aunties, you can use my superpower to see if the other person is sincere about building a life with them. That should help avoid most of the unhappiness, right?"
Wei Ce couldn’t help but ruffle her hair. "Absolutely. On behalf of all those uncles and aunties, let me thank our Little Hong in advance."
Xu Chi raised his hand as well. When all eyes turned to him, a smile played on his lips. "I heard that before winter sets in, Lin City is holding a grand martial arts tournament. Apparently, anyone who achieves a high rank gets to choose a high-quality partner."
Si Shuo moved closer, hugging his arm and puffing out her cheeks. "So, you want to participate, Xu Chi?"
Xu Chi froze for a second, then shook his head vehemently. "No! I have you, A Shuo. There’s no point in me entering that competition. But the other males of the Iron-eating Beast Clan could take a shot."
She knew exactly what he meant, of course. Seeing his earnest, flustered reply, Si Shuo almost burst out laughing.
But she managed to keep a straight face and let out a little huff. "Xu Chi, when you were in the Southern Continent, didn’t you ever run into situations like this? You never thought about competing?"