strokinit Chapter 194 Early Winter
Chapter 194 Early Winter
Chapter 194 Early Winter
Early winter raised its head behind those cotton-like thin clouds, and as October passed, the weather gradually turned colder.
Gebu breathed on the thick glass window, wiped it with his sleeve, then pressed his face against the window and looked outside.
Let me see, humans, humans—carriages, dwarves, dwarves, carriages.
coming.
"Hey, Michalice! Durin and the others are here!"
Two weeks have passed since the night the peacock died.
During this time, Gebu and Dao Nu kept a low profile, using Dandelion Dance as their base, enjoying everything the city had to offer while getting a general idea of the city's underground herbal medicine business.
A fire in the backyard of the Silver Moon Corridor burned away all traces of Lady Peacock's existence.
At first, her old subordinates clung to the fantasy that their old peacock would stage a triumphant return, leading them back to their peak—and then, perhaps, she would ignore the problems on the books—but Geb quickly helped them back to reality.
The peacock is doomed, and the Rat King is about to face a storm.
The dozen or so herbal medicine shops in this city, and the related industries behind them, are like radishes pulled from the mud—when the peacock was there to protect them, no one dared to have any bad intentions. But now that she's gone, everything is a mess. Even the old farmers who gather herbs dare to go into the shops and make a scene, saying that the shops owe them money for their goods.
Of course, who encouraged these workers to fight for their rights?
He is a kind and righteous halfling (goblin).
This was just one of the actions Geb had taken. In the past two weeks, he had mobilized people from all walks of life to squeeze the business of Seven Seas Pharmacy from all sides.
An old farmer demanding payment, a customer requesting a refund, and a priest accusing the pharmacy of selling illegal potions—
The flagship store of Qihaiqi Pharmacy was packed with customers, but there wasn't a single decent customer; they were all there to cause trouble!
Just when Peacock's old hands were having a hard time, Gebu appeared as a savior, using his silver tongue and his skill in writing empty checks to fool all the troublemakers.
After fooling those who came looking for trouble, Gebu turned his attention to the minor bosses who managed these rare medicine shops.
"Let me make this clear: the peacock is not coming back. And what will come knocking next will not be people asking for money, but rats seeking your lives. That Rat King has a huge appetite; he wants to devour the entire peacock herb trade in both the New and Old Kingdoms. He doesn't trust you, and he won't spare you old folks."
"The Gray Ravens are a dog-eat-dog organization. Without Peacock as their backer, it's a pipe dream to think they can keep all their current territory. However, you've all served under Peacock for so long and survived this long; you're no ordinary people. If you trust me, I'm willing to fight for you all—a chance to live and keep your livelihood."
"Even if that Rat King has a huge appetite, he's still just a rat on the ground. If he wants to swallow such a large industry, he'll have to gnaw it in piecemeal. I have the Salt and Iron Merchants Association backing me, plus everyone's support, so I have enough capital to negotiate with him."
"Believe me, I will find a way for you to survive. Of course, this will come with certain sacrifices and concessions—but the Peacock has been exploiting you all, otherwise you wouldn't have any reason to falsify accounts. I guarantee that even if you give some benefits to the Rat King, your lives won't be any harder than before."
Gebu didn't say something, but these old hands understood perfectly: this so-called concession certainly wasn't all going to the Rat King; the halfling would also take a cut.
But they had little choice. Everyone was waiting for the Seven Seas Apothecary to fall so they could devour its corpse, except for this seemingly ambitious and capable fellow who was still trying to keep the apothecary alive.
Most shop owners agreed (of course, the vast majority of them were just trying it out—a last resort), but a few stubborn guys planned to go out and work on their own. Gebu didn't stop them, but talked to them individually later.
Gebu privately promised them better terms, if the other side was too greedy or stubborn—
Oh dear, what bad luck! It's dark and stormy, and the shop is on fire?
Gebu knew that his financial resources were far from enough to take over all the shops, and he also lacked the energy and manpower to operate them.
All I can do is try to gain a little advantage from this chaos.
Through this series of maneuvers, Gebu successfully won over all of Peacock's remaining followers in the city of Martina, and prepared to negotiate with the Rat King with the crow's head after arriving at Shanhaiguan-Queen's Port.
Two weeks later, the Salt and Iron Merchants Association finally arrived in Matiana.
"Mimic, Dulin and the others are here!"
Geb shouted up to the Dandelion Dance Theater.
No reply.
The swordswoman usually gets up before dawn to train without fail, full of energy like an ox. Did she sleep in today?
Gebu went up the stairs, knocked on the door, but no one answered. Seeing that the door was unlocked, he pushed it open and went inside.
"You knife-feeding woman—"
Ok?
Dove was sitting at the table, lost in thought, holding something in his hand.
Gebu walked up to her, but the woman still didn't react.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
These words startled the woman with the sword. Her hand trembled, and the object in her hand flew out and was about to fall to the ground.
"Hey!"
With quick reflexes, Geb grabbed the object with his wizard's hand.
It was a rose brooch, crooked and covered in cracks.
"Broken? I'll get you a new one," Geb mocked.
"Hey, give it back to me!" The woman with the sword reached out to snatch it, but Gebu had no intention of keeping the broken brooch and let the woman take it back.
Seeing the woman's serious expression, Gebu thought for a moment and asked, "Are you in a hurry?"
"You come in without knocking?" the swordswoman scolded.
"I've been knocking for ages—forget it, I'm too lazy to argue with you. Dulin and the others have finally arrived. Hurry up and get ready, let's go meet up with the Chamber of Commerce."
"Oh," the swordswoman replied absentmindedly, hiding the brooch inside her clothes. Gebu glanced at the little thing.
"Judging from your reaction, is this a keepsake?"
"I suppose so." The swordswoman's eyes flickered for a moment.
"Tsk tsk tsk. An iron tree in bloom."
"Stop being sarcastic—it's not what you think." The woman glared at Gebu, then lowered her eyes and casually mentioned, "By the way, the caravan's next stop is Shanhaiguan. I have an old friend nearby. If possible, I'd like to take a short break and go see him."
"We need to get to Shanhaiguan before the Descent of the Gods festival. The caravan will stay in Matiana for a while before setting off again, so the journey will be quite tight," Gebu said.
The woman with the sword immediately said, "That place is very close to Shanhaiguan; it won't take more than three days."
"What's all this mystery about? What kind of place is it?" Seeing the woman's reaction, Gebu knew things weren't so simple and pressed for an answer.
"It's a place called San Vandu Monastery."
"Sanvandu—that name sounds familiar?" Gebu scratched his chin, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Ah, Sanvandu wine?"
The swordswoman nodded. Saint Vandu Abbey was a renowned winery in the New Kingdom—winemaking was one of the Church's many privileges, and the New Kingdom's red wines, grown in its warm climate, were particularly famous.
"Okay, let's go together—I'll do some market research anyway."
"I think you're just greedy!"
"Hey, killing two birds with one stone!" Gebu grinned, looking like he'd been caught red-handed.
With Gebu's support, the swordswoman seemed to be in a better mood. She quickly tidied herself up and went out with Gebu to greet the caravan.
Looking at the woman's tall figure from behind, Gebu always felt that there was something heavy hidden in this guy's past.
That brooch—a rose, the Rose Knight?
Perhaps it was fate that led the swordswoman to participate in her "Rose Knight" plan back in the Red Chamber.
Hey, I'd like to see what's going on with that "old friend".