Chapter 106 Investing in the Future, The Expedition to Blackrock Early in the morning, at the city gate…

Early in the morning, the city gate was already packed with people, and the scene was chaotic.

"Listen up, everyone!" Brother Li shouted to his newly promoted deputies, "While I'm gone, the city wall must continue to be repaired. Every day, the number of bricks laid and the amount of cement used must be done according to the rules. Anyone who dares to slack off or cheat will have their legs broken when I get back."

"Team leader, what if it rains and the cement doesn't dry?" a young worker asked innocently.

"Are you a pig-brain?" Li Ge smacked him on the head in annoyance. "When it rains, don't you know to do something else first? Move all the timber into the shed, or help the agricultural team dig drainage ditches. In short, people can't be idle."

Meanwhile, on the other side, next to the massive Hope No. 1 heavy truck, chaos reigned.

People were carrying all sorts of supplies and hurriedly piling them onto the truck.

"Hey, hey, be gentle! Those boxes were just fired up, don't break them."

"Here, here, put the bacon and canned goods here, don't mix them with the tools."

Ah Hu stood atop the high carriage, waving his arms and shouting hoarsely as he directed the loading process, his voice nearly losing its quality.

“Brother Kailan,” a young man from a woodworking workshop came running up, panting, carrying a bundle of freshly sanded table legs. “Where are we going to put those new furniture sets the mayor asked us to bring? There’s almost no room left in the car.”

"Put it here, and make sure it's covered with hay so it doesn't get bumped or knocked over." Kaylan instructed him while handing him a detailed list. "While I'm gone, you'll be in charge of the furniture for the new house. Remember, the dimensions and mortise and tenon joints must be exactly as shown in the blueprints. Even the slightest deviation will cause problems."

Aunt Leah was also leading the women of the logistics team in the final inventory of supplies. She held a slate ledger in one hand and a charcoal pencil in the other, muttering to herself as she worked tirelessly.

"Auntie," Lin Yue leaned closer to Auntie Leah, looking at the ever-growing list of supplies, a knowing smile spreading across his face, "Is everything almost ready?"

Aunt Leah didn't even look up, counting a bag of snow salt while giving him a disgruntled look: "That's about enough. I just don't know if our hard-earned savings are enough for you to squander outside."

“Mayor,” she glared at Lin Yue with a resentful look, “I really don’t understand you anymore. Don’t you have any idea what the situation is in our town right now? We just finished a war, and then we signed that agreement with the Duke. There’s barely any grain left in the warehouse. And now you’re asking to take away half a warehouse’s worth of goods. You’re going to empty our coffers!”

She grew angrier as she spoke: "Besides, didn't you say you were going to Blackrock City to find people for us? How come you haven't even found any people yet, and you've already kidnapped several of the most capable foremen in our town? Are you trying to find people or destroy our house?"

Mia, who was helping pack spices nearby, couldn't help but whisper in agreement, "Exactly! Mayor, isn't this what you used to say about Uncle Stonefist... what was it called again? Oh, right, it's called taking and eating at the same time!"

As soon as she said it, she realized something was wrong and quickly covered her mouth.

Lin Yue felt a pang of sadness upon hearing the name Shi Quan.

Yes, it's been a long time since I've seen that grumpy old man who's all bark and no bite. I wonder how he's doing now, whether he's finished dealing with things at home, whether he's... eating on time...

Just as a sense of loneliness and longing was brewing in his heart, preparing to sublimate and lament the impermanence of life and the separation from his companions, a cool and slightly disdainful kitten voice rang out in his mind.

That's right, that's right, they took both food and goods.

It's Xiao Hei.

The melancholy that Lin Yue had just begun to feel, typical of an artsy young man, vanished in an instant.

He felt a throbbing sensation in his temple.

"How dare you say that?" Lin Yue retorted inwardly, "You heartless bastard! Since you leveled up, have you walked a single step on your own? You're either clinging to my shoulder or leaning on Xiao Fen's back. And you're eating specially supplied smoked fish. You're the one who's truly taking advantage of everyone."

"Aren't humans and stupid dogs supposed to serve this system?" Xiao Hei's answer was confident and full of the logic unique to felines.

But you're not a cat!

That is now.

Lin Yue: "..."

He took a deep breath, tried to calm his expression, and forced a helpless smile at Aunt Leah and Mia: "Ahem, Aunt, Mia, you have to understand. This is called an investment."

"Our purpose in going there this time is to explore the large-scale talent recruitment market in Heishi City, which is located in Xiwang Town. The good stuff we brought is our recruitment advertisement, a demonstration of our strength. We need to let them see the benefits and the hope before they are willing to work with us, right? No pain, no gain. There is no such thing as getting something for nothing in this world."

A young man carrying a bundle of shovels was passing by when he heard this and couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Mayor, you've managed to get Xiaofen out of nothing, haven't you? You're always getting things done..."

Lin Yue's forehead twitched violently again.

“That’s not called a trap, that’s called a scoop,” he roared at the young man’s back, his face flushed. “It’s a scoop from behind, a scoop from the heart, do you understand? Your cultural level needs improvement.”

...

Amidst words of farewell and reluctance, the second aid and recruitment team from Hope Town, bound for Blackrock City, was finally ready to depart. This time, Amu and Mia did not accompany them. Amu's injuries from the last battle had not fully healed, and Lin Yue had granted him special permission to stay behind and recuperate. Mia, naturally, would stay to take care of him.

The entire town spontaneously gathered at the gate to see them off.

"Awoo...woowoo..."

Xiao Fen followed beside the convoy, her huge wolf head filled with grievance and reluctance, making whimpering sounds, and rubbing her head against Lin Yue's leg.

"Alright, alright, it's not like I'm not coming back." Lin Yue squatted down, hugged its fluffy head, and rubbed it hard. "You've grown too big now, like a little calf. Taking you to Blackrock City would scare people to death. Be a good boy and stay home. Once we've established ourselves over there, we'll come back for you right away. Really, I promise, I'll even bring you the best bones from the city."

Xiao Fen understood. She licked Lin Yue's face with her tongue, then let go of him, obediently walked to Gray's side, rubbed against him, and then quietly squatted down at the city gate.

"Set off!"

The convoy, laden with high-quality supplies and skilled technical personnel from Hope Town, slowly drove out of the city gate under everyone's watchful eyes, embarking once again on its journey towards Blackstone City.

This time, they were no longer cautious pathfinders and guests.

Rather, he is half the master.

...

The scenery along the road remained as desolate and oppressive as ever. But upon closer inspection, it had changed somewhat from when they first passed by.

Although the fields along the roadside were still barren, small groups of farmers could be seen laboriously tilling the land with extremely rudimentary wooden plows. Their eyes, though still weary, were at least no longer as stagnant as before.

“Mayor, look,” Aunt Leah said excitedly, pointing to the farmer working in the fields, “the plow he’s using…it looks a bit like our curved plow?”

Lin Yue looked closely and, sure enough, the wooden plow the farmer was using, although still rough, already showed faint traces of a curved plow in the structure of the plowshare and the plowshare itself.

"Looks like Ryan's quick on his feet," Lin Yue thought to himself.

Change has already begun.

When the familiar gray walls of Blackrock City reappeared before his eyes, Lin Yue's feelings were completely different from last time.

This time, he showed no nervousness whatsoever; instead, he exuded a calm and composed demeanor, as if he were inspecting the work of his own branch store.

He produced the gold-embossed letter of appointment for Chief Development Advisor, personally signed by Duke Kaslan. The city guards who had initially intended to rip them off at the city gate bowed and scraped before welcoming them in with utmost respect, not even daring to collect the city entrance tax.

When they headed straight for Hope No. 1 Store, the desolate scene before them still made everyone's hearts sink.

The shop's doors were tightly shut, covered in scratches. The concrete ground in front of the shop was covered with dust and fallen leaves, a far cry from the bustling scene when it first opened.

Lin Yue stepped forward and knocked on the door.

After knocking for a long time, a wary voice finally came from inside: "Who...who is it?"

"It's me."

The next second, the bolt was suddenly pulled open, and the dusty door creaked open.

Aque, Lingdang, Shitou, Feiye, and several other young people who had stayed behind rushed out with tears in their eyes, as if they had seen a savior. To their surprise, Kawen was also there.

"Mayor, you're finally back."

The shop was even more desolate than Lin Yue had imagined. Most of the tables and chairs were gone, and the few that remained were missing parts. The shelves were empty, and the floor was covered with footprints and trash.

Lin Yue had them unload all the supplies they had brought before calling Kawen and Feiye aside to inquire about the situation in detail.

“Mayor, it’s all our fault for being useless…” Fei Ye’s face was filled with self-blame and anger. “After Young Master Ryan sent troops to seal off the shops, he took us all to a secluded courtyard. Although we didn’t suffer much, we were essentially under house arrest. When the negotiations ended a few days ago and he released us, the shops… the shops had already been emptied by those opportunistic bastards.”

Carwin sighed and added, "During this time, we barely managed to avoid going hungry thanks to the help of Young Master Ryan's men and the remaining members of my caravan. Although the workers at the factory in the suburbs were not arrested, their food supply was cut off because their shops were sealed off. They are also relying on the grain we send over to keep them afloat, so their meals are certainly not as plentiful as before."

Lin Yue looked at Kavin's face, which had also become noticeably thinner, and felt a surge of gratitude. He knew that feeding so many people under these circumstances was no easy task.

"Mr. Carwin, thank you for your hard work this time."

“Boss Lin, what are you saying?” Carvin waved his hand. “Now that I’m the manager of Hope No. 1’s Blackrock City branch, I naturally have a responsibility to be responsible for everyone. And this time, we also owe a lot to that fat grain merchant in the city. If it weren’t for him giving us priority in supplying food for so many people because of our past relationship, I wouldn’t have been able to manage on my own. We owe him a huge favor.”

“I understand.” Lin Yue nodded, feeling even more favorably disposed towards Carwin and the fat grain merchant. “This time I brought enough supplies and manpower. If the shop is short of anything or needs anything, just tell Aunt Leah. Take a good rest these next couple of days and clean the shop thoroughly. I’m going to the city lord’s mansion, and once everything is arranged, we’ll reopen.”

"By the way, take good care of Kailan. It's his first time in a human city outside Hope Town, and he's a little nervous."

...

When I returned to Ryan's courtyard, the atmosphere was completely different from the last time.

Ryan greeted him personally at the door, a genuine smile on his face.

"Brother Lin Yue, you've finally arrived."

"Lord City Lord," Lin Yue returned the greeting with a smile, "it seems you've been having a good time lately."

He was referring to the fine silk aristocratic dress that Ryan was wearing.

Ryan shook his head with a wry smile and invited him into the study.

"Not bad? I'm getting annoyed to death." He poured Lin Yue a cup of red leaf tea and complained, "Those blueprints you gave me are a bunch of hot potatoes. My good brother has people watching me every day, trying to get his hands on those things. My father is also urging me every day, asking me when I can turn those things into real food and weapons."

“I need your help, Brother Lin Yue.” Ryan’s expression turned serious. “I need your people and your technology to help me turn those blueprints into reality. Only in this way can I truly gain a foothold in this city.”

Lin Yue looked at him: "I can give you the people and the technology. But I also have my conditions."