Chapter Fifty-Four

Cheng Yuan didn’t give it much thought; his first priority wasn’t clearing this instance, but waiting for rescue. Disaster-themed instances usually took a long time to complete—sometimes a month, sometimes years. Cheng Yuan only hoped he could make it back in time for the college entrance exams.

When Cheng Yuan mentioned the toll fee, the merchant realized his life was not at stake this time, but he was sure to lose money and couldn’t help but feel bitter. Though men rarely shed tears, he found himself weeping silently. When Cheng Yuan noticed, he was startled to see the merchant in tears.

He couldn’t help but walk over. “Why are you crying? It’s not like I’m going to kill you.” The merchant looked at Cheng Yuan, feeling miserable but unable to say outright that he wished he didn’t have to pay the toll, knowing his fate was in Cheng Yuan’s hands. “There’s no need to worry about me, chief. These are tears of joy.”

Cheng Yuan frowned but continued, “Let’s establish a rule. Anyone passing through Black Tiger Forest of Mount Taibai must pay a toll.”
“I understand,” the merchant replied at once.
Cheng Yuan rolled his eyes. “I’m not finished—what’s the rush? The toll is one out of every twenty. Got it?”

The merchant immediately looked up, his eyes shining. “Truly, chief!” He had been prepared to lose everything, but with this rate, he could still make a good profit. Cheng Yuan glanced at him and nodded solemnly.

The five men nearby couldn’t sit still any longer. “Chief, why?”
Cheng Yuan pointed at the merchant. “It’s been a week and we’ve only had this one customer. Are we really going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs? Let him return safe and sound. At least he can spread the word that this trade route is still open and under our management. Only then will more caravans come. It’s about steady, long-term gains.”

Liu Xing protested anxiously, “But what if he goes back and tells everyone we’re here and charging fees, and then no one comes?”
Cheng Yuan chuckled and turned to the merchant. “Let’s make a deal: people and wool. How about it?”
The merchant gasped. “No way! Human trafficking is a capital offense!”
Cheng Yuan waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not asking you to kidnap children. I want you to recruit adults—men and women. If they don’t want to stay, they’re free to leave. For each successful recruit, you get a copper coin.”
The merchant nodded at once. After a brief conversation, Wei Chenguang, who had just returned with his weapons, said, “Chief, I understand—leave it to me.”

Cheng Yuan listened and found that Wei Chenguang’s explanation was more thorough, so he let him handle it. After the merchant, moved to tears, was released, Cheng Yuan felt a little uncomfortable under Wei Chenguang’s admiring gaze.

On the other hand, Wei Chenguang was already plotting, “When I log off, I’ll look up information: wool for money. The outside is all pastoral powers—good for raids and military training, and herding for profit. Inside, farming for profit, too. Wait… farming. Since we’re not following the main plotline, why not introduce the curved plow, the waterwheel? If we can add these, why not more improvements?”

In a flash, Wei Chenguang felt his mind whirring, like he was playing a civilization-building game. Cheng Yuan, of course, had no clue what Wei Chenguang was thinking—he only knew that Wei Chenguang was truly capable.

In just a week, he’d already built a prototype of the Jenny machine. Even though there was only one, it was enough to shear all of Helan Jia’s sheep. In doing so, Wei had switched his role from spearman to production commander.

According to him, Black Tiger Village was too small; there were too few tech upgrades to unlock, so this would have to do for now.

Though busy with shearing, he understood that power came from the barrel of a gun. So, except for him and Helan Jia, everyone trained daily. When he learned Cheng Yuan was building walls to fortify Black Tiger Village, he declared, “Once we have more people, we’ll make these walls out of reinforced concrete.”
Cheng Yuan instinctively objected, “Isn’t that a bit much?”
“It’s fine. We’re not following the main storyline anyway.”

With the support of the Meteorite Bow, Cheng Yuan’s skills improved rapidly. He even mastered a new ability—mounted archery—faster than the other five. It meant shooting arrows while riding, making him a nightmare in close combat. Most melee weapons, even with ranged sword energy, could only reach five or six meters. With mounted archery, he could shoot from fifty meters away, and if standing still, he could hit a target from over a hundred meters.

During one of Cheng Yuan’s routine patrols, two caravans entered Black Tiger Village’s territory. One of them headed straight for the village. Cheng Yuan mounted up and rode over with his five companions. The lead wagon stopped as he approached, and to his surprise, it was the merchant from a week earlier.

Wei Chenguang easily sold nearly a hundred pounds of wool fabric, and Cheng Yuan collected a handsome toll. The profits this time soared to a thousand copper coins. The merchant was delighted with the warm, clean fabric—perfect for winter clothes. In the harsh lands of Youzhou, this was a windfall.

Wang Buqian could hardly wait to go back and sell it, but he remembered his real reason for coming. He brought over a merchant from the other caravan. “Chief, this is Yue Qianqian—she has people with her.”

Cheng Yuan looked at the woman before him—curvaceous, expressionless—and nodded. “He told you my rules, right?”
Yue Qianqian raised her head haughtily. “A hundred people, pay up.”
Cheng Yuan nodded. “No elderly, sick, or disabled?”
“Eighty strong men, twenty women. One hundred copper coins. Deal?”
“We need to interview them first.”
“Fine.”

Xu Yifei was pushed forward. In real life, he was just another wage slave; in the game, he still hadn’t figured out how to make money. He wasn’t strong enough to escort caravans, lacked the talent and funds to join a sect, and had no land for fishing or farming. Manual labor barely kept him fed. So when he heard about a job opening at Morning Dew Pavilion, he came to try his luck.

Cheng Yuan looked at the man before him and asked casually, “We cover room and board—one copper a month. There’s training. Interested?”
Xu Yifei frowned. Even with food and lodging included, the pay was a bit low. “Can I ask what the job is?”
Cheng Yuan glanced up in surprise—it turned out he was a player. “In the morning, you move bricks; in the afternoon, patrol the mountains or do other tasks; evenings are free time, but you can’t leave the village’s territory.”
Xu Yifei thought it over. Jobs were hard to find these days, so he decided to give it a try. “Deal!”

That night, a hundred people arrived. Eighty-five passed the screening, and Cheng Yuan paid out eighty-five coins as agreed. The remaining fifteen were rejected; Yue Qianqian frowned but said nothing, since it was better than she’d expected.

By dawn, both caravans had left the village without incident. For Su Bing and the other four, who had followed Cheng Yuan from the start, it was a shock to see so many new faces overnight—and money in the coffers. Though there were still fewer people than under the old chief, they were all young, with some women among them. The five had thought of using their seniority to bully the newcomers, but before they could act, Cheng Yuan ordered them to train the recruits.