Chapter 59 The Golden Libra's Probing Move: When the Menu Meets Diplomacy...

“The Golden Libra Chamber of Commerce…” Lin Yue’s mind instantly conjured up the record in Old Tom’s book, “An Introduction to the Geography of the Continent.”

The Golden Scales Merchant Guild is one of the most renowned and powerful chain merchant guilds on the continent. Their trade routes span across various kingdoms, and rumors even suggest they have intricate connections with some hidden forces. Their symbol is this golden scales flag, representing fair trade and absolute power.

"This is troublesome." Lin Yue's brows furrowed deeply. Why would a powerful force of this magnitude risk crossing the edge of the Cursed Land? Was their goal merely to take a shortcut?

With Hope Town's current meager strength, making an enemy of them would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.

Showing off their muscles? Their pitiful muscles are like those of a newborn baby in front of the other side; not only will they fail to intimidate, they might even arouse the other side's greed.

"Don't panic. The more critical the moment, the calmer you need to be." Lin Yue forced his heart, which was pounding wildly due to a surge of adrenaline, to calm down. Facing such a behemoth whose strength far surpassed his own, a head-on confrontation would be suicide, as would showing weakness. The only way out was to project an air of mystery and unique value that made the other party "unfathomable," "unpredictable," and "unwilling to act rashly."

"Everyone, don't panic," Lin Yue shouted, taking a deep breath. "Stay calm. From now on, everyone except the pottery firing and brick construction teams, return to your residences or work sheds immediately. Do not move around or appear unnecessarily. In case of any accident, prioritize your personal safety and do your best to protect yourselves."

Upon hearing this, everyone became even more nervous, but they still followed the instructions and quickly returned to their respective areas.

Then, he turned to Gray and Stonefist and said quickly in a very low voice, “Gray, you and Amu guard the gate, but don’t show any hostility, just be vigilant. Uncle Stonefist, immediately put out the fires in the blacksmith’s shop and the brick kiln, and seal the furnace openings with wet mud. Cover all the fired bricks and ironware with dry grass and animal hides. We absolutely cannot let outsiders know that we can produce these things ourselves.”

Shi Quan paused for a moment, then understood Lin Yue's intention, nodded heavily, and immediately turned to make arrangements.

Lin Yue then looked at Ella, "Ella, there's one more crucial thing I need your help with. This caravan's origins are unknown, but they're very powerful. We must be extremely careful."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the several Silent Ones with distinctly alien features who were curiously peering out from a distance, and continued, "The appearance and demeanor of you Silent Ones are quite different from those of us ordinary people who roll around in the mud. Before we have a clear understanding of their background, I don't want you to expose yourselves to them too early, as this could attract unnecessary covetousness and trouble."

"Therefore, please immediately inform all the tribespeople, including Kalan and his woodworking workshop, to return to their dwellings and rest for the time being, and not to come out. Leave the outside matters to us for now. Remember, this is not because we do not trust you, but quite the opposite, it is to protect you."

Ella gave him a deep look and nodded solemnly.

Then, Lin Yue called Mia, who had grown into the logistics manager, and Aunt Lia, who was in charge of resident management: "Come on, follow me. We have guests, and we can't be impolite. Go and bring out the best oak square table and a few chairs that were just made in the woodworking workshop, and put them at the city gate."

He did not choose a small restaurant or a square, but instead set up the reception area at the entrance of the city wall, which was under construction and was half wooden piles and half brick and stone.

This is both a defensive line and the best exhibition booth.

Mia and Aunt Lia immediately sprang into action. Soon, a square table with a smooth, polished surface and several chairs with backs carved with simple vine patterns were placed in the shade of the city gate. Mia also brewed several cups of calming tea in the finest celadon ceramic cups, a mixture of dried calming mushroom powder and roasted wheat flour. The tea had a fragrant aroma and brought a refreshing coolness to the hot air.

Most importantly, it's the menu board.

Lin Yue took it, carefully wiped it clean with a damp cloth, then picked up a freshly shaved charcoal stick, took a deep breath, and began writing furiously on it. This time, the menu board was a completely new one, written in a neater and more standardized mainland common language, with the words "Foreign Trade Zone" written on it, and all prices were set with reference to current mainland prices.

[Hope Town Specialty Products - Foreign Trade Zone (Fair trade, no credit)]

【Refined Snow Salt (Bagged)】: Pure as snow, with a pure and authentic salty taste, absolutely free of impurities. Limited supply daily.

Price: 10 silver coins/50 grams or equivalent rare ore/medicinal herb

【Starlight Wheat Flour (Bagged)】: It has a natural fluorescent glow, a pleasant fragrance, and remarkable calming and sleep-inducing effects. Exclusively produced in Hope Town.

Price: 1 gold coin / 500 grams or equivalent magic materials / technical blueprint

【Secret Recipe Fragrant Grilled Meat Skewers (3 skewers per serving)】: Selected game meat, marinated with exclusive spices, with an unparalleled flavor and an unforgettable aftertaste.

Price: 5 silver coins per set

【One-night stay in a deluxe single room (with private bathroom)】: Experience a residential civilization that is 500 years ahead of the rest of the continent! Limited spots available, advance reservations required.

Price: 20 silver coins/night or provide one valuable intelligence item of grade A or higher.

Lin Yue also cleverly used Arabic numerals to indicate the quantity and price after the price.

When everything was ready, the huge caravan had arrived and stopped not far from Hope Town.

Three figures emerged from the caravan and walked towards the main gate where Lin Yue and his group were.

Leading the group was a slightly overweight middle-aged man with a kind smile. He wore a well-tailored robe woven from an unknown plant fiber that shimmered with a faint sheen; although he looked somewhat travel-worn, its superior quality was still evident. He walked with a steady gait, and his small eyes gleamed with shrewdness.

Beside him stood a tall, stern-faced man clad in heavy leather armor, with a long, obviously valuable sword at his waist. His steps were steady and powerful, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, scanning every corner of Hope Town.

Bringing up the rear was a man also dressed in guard leather armor, but whose demeanor was completely different from the others. Lin Yue noticed something from his overly upright posture and ever-present discipline.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome to our friends from afar!" Lin Yue greeted them with the warmest and most sincere smile. "I am Lin Yue, the mayor of this town. May I ask how you gentlemen are addressed?"

Fernando patted his chest and gave a standard merchant's salute, saying with a beaming smile, "Greetings, esteemed Mayor Lin Yue. I am Fernando, the manager of the Golden Scales Merchant Guild. Our guild travels frequently between the northern and southern countries, and occasionally, to shorten our journey, we choose to traverse the edge of the Cursed Land. However, we never expected to find such a vibrant town rising from this once desolate land. We are truly intrigued, so we have come to pay a visit and see if we can replenish some supplies and allow our caravan to rest here."

He turned to the side, pointed to the stern-faced man with a sword beside him, and introduced him: "This is our caravan's captain of guard, Rega, who is in charge of our safety on this trip."

He then pointed to the last guard with a distinctive air about him and casually added, "This is my assistant, Karl, who helps with some miscellaneous tasks."

Even when facing Lin Yue, a town mayor of unknown origin, Fernando, as the head manager of the caravan, was approachable.

"I see, welcome." Lin Yue warmly led them to the table and sat them down. Pointing to the red brick houses under construction in the distance, he explained, half-jokingly, "We are just a group of poor people who lost our homes in the war. We were guided by the gods and found a place to settle down in this land. Everything is still in the early stages. Please excuse our poor performance."

After Fernando sat down, his gaze seemingly casually swept over his surroundings. When he saw the unfinished foundation of the city wall, built with sturdy red bricks and gray cement, and the residents coming and going, who, though dressed in rags, had an unusually high spirit, a hint of surprise flashed in his shrewd little eyes.

He took a sip of the calming tea that Mia had served, and a cool and tranquil aroma instantly soothed his soul, making him feel much less tired from his days of travel.

"Excellent tea!" he exclaimed sincerely, then smiled and said, "Mayor Lin Yue is too modest. To be able to establish a settlement of this size in the Cursed Land and produce ceramics of this quality, this is no simple matter of barely surviving. Surely your town must have some extraordinary abilities that we are unaware of?"

Here it comes, the test has begun!

Lin Yue understood, but his face remained enthusiastic. He didn't answer directly, but pointed to the menu board that had just been set up next to him and gestured for him to enter.

"I wouldn't call it anything special, just some unique local products. Manager Fernando, you're a businessman, so let's cut to the chase. This is Hope Town's menu, which is also our price list. Here, we have the purest snow salt on the continent, starlight wheat flour that can lull you to sleep, and a secret-recipe roasted meat that can bring tears to the eyes of warriors. Of course, if you're interested in our living experience that's five hundred years ahead of the rest of the continent, we can also provide deluxe single-room accommodations."

Fernando and his companions curiously peered over to look at the menu board. When they saw the clearly marked prices of the goods, even the well-traveled Fernando couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

A small bag of salt costs ten silver coins? Less than a pound of flour costs one gold coin? This... this is even more outrageous than those luxury stores in the capital.

“Mayor Lin Yue, isn’t your price a bit too… outrageous?” Fernando’s smile froze.

“Is this outrageous?” Lin Yue picked up a sample—a small pinch of salt, as white and delicate as snowflakes, placed in a black ceramic dish. “Manager Fernando, you can try it. I guarantee you might not even find salt of this quality in the royal palace. As for Starlight Wheat Flour…” He pointed to himself, “you’ve already experienced its amazing effects in the tea you just drank.”

He then pointed to the peculiar symbols behind the prices: "Oh, right, I forgot to introduce them. These are the counting symbols we hope to use within the town, which I call Arabic numerals. Aren't they much more convenient than the horizontal and vertical bars you use? For example, this one that looks like a duck egg is 0, and this one that looks like a stick is 1..." He began to give a serious explanation of his technology.

Fernando and the previously silent consultant, Carl, stared intently at the concise yet efficient numerical symbols, their eyes filled with shock and greed. Both shrewd businessmen, they instantly grasped the immeasurable value behind these symbols. They could make bookkeeping, calculations, and information transmission simpler and more efficient than ever before.

How did this mysterious young man acquire such amazing knowledge?

Fernando felt his heart racing.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his shock, and began a true business negotiation with Lin Yue.

Fernando, a shrewd and cunning seasoned businessman, kept emphasizing the difficulty of the journey and the preciousness of the goods in an attempt to drive down the price.

Lin Yue, while enthusiastically promoting his products, subtly observed the three people in front of him. He keenly noticed an interesting detail: throughout the negotiation, the stern-faced captain of the guard, Rega, though silent, would subconsciously and quickly glance at his assistant, Karl, behind him whenever Fernando made a significant concession or decision on price.

While the assistant, Karl, spent most of his time observing his surroundings, he would always respond to Rega's gaze with a barely perceptible nod or shake of his head at crucial moments. Furthermore, Lin Yue noticed that among the seemingly disciplined guards surrounding the caravan, a small group stood out. Their posture and manner of vigilance bore a distinct mark of a regular army, completely different from the ordinary caravan guards. And that small group's gaze was consistently, almost imperceptibly, focused on the guard captain, Rega, and his assistant, Karl, rather than on the nominal caravan manager, Fernando.

"Interesting..." Lin Yue sneered inwardly.

The more the other party conceals their strength, the more complicated their purpose is, and the less they want to easily get into conflict.

So, ignoring Fernando's complaints about being poor, he turned his gaze to the silent captain of the guard, Rega, and said with a smile, "Captain Rega, I see you're a straightforward man. My Starlight Wheat Powder not only soothes the nerves and helps with sleep, but it's also incredibly effective at relieving the fatigue and mental stress of soldiers after long battles. Your brothers must need it too, right? How about this, I'll give you a small packet so your brothers can get a good night's sleep. As for the price... it's an exclusive product, no deception. After all, a good night's sleep is sometimes more important than a sharp knife, isn't it?"

His words, seemingly directed at Rega, were actually a veiled attack on Carl, the advisor hidden behind the scenes, and completely froze the smile on Fernando's face.

But Rega's gaze was drawn to something else. He saw the half-grown wolf that had been following Lin Yue's feet, curiously observing them.

When he saw the unique lightning bolt-shaped mark on Xiaofen's forehead, his perpetually icy face revealed an expression of disbelief and utter shock for the first time. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but due to the crowd, he ultimately kept them tightly shut.

He recalled some secrets circulating within the Chamber of Commerce about ancient bloodlines. Among them was the story of the Wind Chaser tribe, a powerful orc clan that controlled wind and lightning. The direct descendants of this powerful tribe were born with a wolf god mark shaped like a lightning bolt on their foreheads.

“…It’s…it’s that mark. How could it…how could it be here? And a cub at that?” He was secretly alarmed. “This strange town…this mysterious young man…what…what is their connection to the Windseekers?!”

In the end, Fernando, parched and exhausted, was defeated. He realized that he couldn't gain any advantage no matter what he did.

“Alright, Mayor Lin Yue, your eloquence, like your products, is truly impressive.” Fernando shook his head with a wry smile and made his decision. “Our Golden Scales Merchant Guild is willing to exchange a batch of Snow Salt and Starlight Wheat Flour at the price you proposed. However, before that, to show our sincerity and to better understand these products of your town, we would like to rest for a few days on the outskirts of your town. At the same time, Captain Rega, Mr. Karl, and I would like to have the honor of staying in the deluxe single room you mentioned, to personally experience the services on the menu and these products. Of course, we will pay the full price.”

“Of course, no problem.” Lin Yue laughed heartily. “Welcome to the first batch of fully furnished model rooms in Hope Town. I guarantee that the three of you will experience a stay that makes you feel at home, a place you’ll want to stay in forever, and a place you won’t want to leave.”

When Fernando, Rega, and Carl, led by Lin Yue, entered the three-bedroom, one-living-room model house with its own courtyard, they were once again deeply impressed.

The house itself, though simply built of red bricks and cement, was far less magnificent than the castles of the main city fortified with massive stones and magic, and certainly not as opulent as the noble mansions decorated with jewels and gold. However, its neat, clean design, full of geometric beauty, and its clever use of space and light impressed even these seasoned travelers.

As they stepped inside and saw the uniquely shaped but exceptionally comfortable wooden furniture, touched the smooth and warm ceramic tableware, and especially when Lin Yue demonstrated how to use the self-flowing faucet and the pristine white "throne" that could wash away all filth with a gentle shake...

Their worldview has been challenged once again.

Fernando stared at the toilet bowl bubbling with clear water, muttering to himself, "...A miracle...this is simply a miracle...if this were sold in the capital...those noblewomen would go crazy..."

Rega was particularly interested in the mortise and tenon chair that could support his entire weight and remain as stable as a mountain.

Meanwhile, the consultant, Carl, discreetly scanned every detail of the room and memorized it thoroughly.

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Author's Note: Lin Yue (appearing to embrace him warmly): You're here, brother! A warm welcome indeed!

Lin Yue (inwardly hesitant): Afraid, but striking hard! Even if it's just a fleeting moment, it's all worthwhile!