Chapter 91: Strategies for the Eastern Cities
Under the city walls, Lord Oez and his attendants rode on flying beasts, arrogantly clamoring to enter the city:
"We represent the Eastern Chamber of Commerce and want to do business with you. We are so sincere, why don't you agree?"
"Could it be that Lord Lin is bullying customers because of his big store and looks down on us who come from small towns?"
"Or is it that the goods from Ankang Town are not presentable and they are feeling guilty?"
“…”
Faced with the provocation, veins popped up on the foreheads of the Ankang Town guards and townspeople. They had been enduring for a long time.
These people clearly came here to cause trouble!
If they don't agree to let these people in, the other party will stand on the moral high ground and directly put labels on them. It's really disgusting!
It's just like a dog-skin plaster that can't be driven away.
It was not until Lin Muqiu climbed the stairs that everyone said happily, "Sir!"
Lin Muqiu said coldly: "Release the arrow."
Everyone was stunned, thinking they had misheard. But Augustine was the first to speak: "What are you standing there for? Shoot!"
Everyone no longer hesitated, and a torrential rain of arrows annihilated the entire city.
Faced with Lin Muqiu's sudden attack, Lord Oez fled in panic and looked extremely embarrassed. When the townspeople on the city wall saw him, they couldn't help laughing.
Oez said angrily, "Lin Muqiu, we're here to do business, is this how you greet us?"
Lin Muqiu said calmly, "Ankang Town's regulations prohibit guards from entering the city with swords, flying beasts, and loud noises. Is this how you do business with me? Or... are you deliberately looking for trouble?"
Everyone couldn't help but take two steps back.
Good man, this is the first person to oppose moral kidnapping! The lord just returned the words without moving!
That’s awesome!
Lord Oez blushed and changed his words, "Augustine! As my son, how dare you lay hands on your own father!"
Augustine's brows furrowed. "You were the ones who drove me out of the city and completely severed all ties, weren't you? Why, now that Ankang Town is doing well, you're eager to cling to me, your son? Don't be so vain!"
After saying that, he drew his bow and shot an arrow across the sky.
The arrow flew past Oez's head, making him terrified. He didn't expect that his son, who had always been tolerant, would become so sharp!
Augustine must have been influenced by Lin Muqiu, even his words are exactly the same!
Oez couldn't help sweating profusely, and said stubbornly: "No, I'm here to do business sincerely..."
"Oh?" Lin Muqiu smiled. "Since you're so sincere about wanting to do business with me, how much tax would you like to reduce for Ankang Town? And what goods would you like to purchase?"
"I..." Oez responded quickly, "For all the towns in the east, the tax rate will be reduced by 30% for you. We want to purchase all the goods in Ankang Town!"
"Deal!" Lin Muqiu agreed immediately.
The guards were all nervous, "Your Excellency, this is unacceptable!"
"My lord, the Duke of the East has always been treacherous. This matter cannot be agreed to!"
"Lord Lin, it's best to be careful!"
“…”
Lin Muqiu just smiled and said, "No problem, you are a guest. Please come into the store and discuss with me."
Seriously, who understands this? Just when I was about to break into the Eastern Chamber of Commerce, the other party took the initiative to bring it up. What's the difference between this and someone handing you a pillow when you're sleepy? So cool!
But she remained calm and said something nice, "As long as you are sincere, Ankang Town will not reject anyone's transaction application."
Lord Oez was stunned. He never thought that Lin Muqiu would be so frank.
Originally, he was just instructed by the Duke of the East to disgust Lin Muqiu and ruin the reputation of the Ankang Town Chamber of Commerce. He never thought that Lin Muqiu would actually agree!
He pursed his lips and a plan came to his mind.
*
East, Duchy.
The Duke of the East sat on his throne, toying with the list. The densely packed list of goods on it gave him a splitting headache. "Is this what you brought back?"
Lord Oez didn't dare to look up, his heart beating like a thunder drum. "Father, please don't be angry. Just listen to what I have to say."
Duke Qi Dongsi of the East sneered and slammed the list down on his head. "Listen to your excuses! Not only did you fail to discredit Ankang Town, you even spent a ton of gold coins buying up goods from Ankang Town. If you didn't know, you'd think you were a supporter of Lin Muqiu!"
The list fell lightly, and Oez felt it was his fate. He knew in his heart that the Lin Muqiu family was now the most powerful, even overshadowing the Dukedom. If his father got angry, he would be in trouble!
Originally, his father wanted to send him to win over Lin Muqiu, but when the beast tide incident happened, his father, who had always been on good terms with the imperial capital, immediately changed his attitude, so he had to change as well!
Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger!
The diamonds inlaid on the throne stung his eyes, causing his voice to tremble. "Father, what we're worried about is Lin Muqiu's business spreading across the east, causing a rapid exodus of residents from the city. So, why don't we just stop Lin Muqiu's business from continuing?"
The Duke chewed over these words in great detail, "Will it cause Lin Muqiu's business to cease to exist?"
"Right," Oez nodded vigorously. "Father, Ankang Town has always attracted people with its high-quality and low-priced goods and set up signs. Why don't we do the opposite and make everyone think that Lin Muqiu's goods are inferior?"
"Now that all the members of Ankang Town's Chamber of Commerce have gone to the north to do business, this is a great opportunity for us to strike at Ankang Town!"
"She won't have the energy to fight us!"
The Duke looked at the list that fell to the ground and fell into deep thought.
*
Five days later, in the town of Oez, at the market.
A few scattered mobile vendors were hawking their wares on the street:
"Ankang Town apples, crisp and sweet, 15 copper coins a pound, who needs it?"
"Purple-grade steel staffs made in Ankang Town, 7 silver coins each. Big sale! Don't miss it if you're passing by! Made in Ankang Town, absolutely guaranteed!"
"Ankang Town's blueberry jam, 40 copper coins a bottle, blue level, dipped in bread, absolutely delicious!"
“…”
Someone couldn't help but be curious and asked, "Is this really from Ankang Town?"
"No cheating!" the vendor patted his chest. "Haven't you heard? Ankang Town did business with our Lord a few days ago. I bought the goods from our town's Chamber of Commerce!"
"Oh oh." The man nodded and swallowed his saliva. When the others heard that it was a specialty of Ankang Town, they all came forward to watch the fun.
Everything about Ankang Town is enough to pique their interest.
Since the beast tide, the town of Oez has been severely damaged. In addition, more and more people have gone to Ankang Town to settle down, causing the economy of Oez Town to get worse year by year. If they did not have some foundation in Oez Town and were not on the sidelines, they would probably have left.
Thinking of this, they said:
"Give me an apple to try first!"
"Give me a staff!"
"Give me a bottle of blueberry jam!"
“…”
After receiving the goods, the few people felt an indescribable satisfaction in their hearts.
Since they can’t go to Ankang Town, are they not allowed to try some food from Ankang Town?
Besides, the goods of a town can best reflect the spirit of the town: whether they are honest, refined, and considerate enough for customers, which is itself an important part of their assessment of whether the town is worth settling in.
As soon as they put the food into their mouths, their faces changed immediately.
The man who took a bite of the apple vomited it out, "What the hell is this! It's all worm-eaten!"
The person who unscrewed the can of blueberry jam and smelled it looked even worse. "Why is there water in this? It's so watery, and there's sand and gravel in it. It's been there for a few days!"
The man who was checking the staff also changed his expression, "This is not steel at all, it's iron, I recognize it!"
The other onlookers also started talking:
"Oh my god, the things in Ankang Town are so bad! I guess it's just the good publicity. Fortunately, I didn't settle there!"
"Wow, my kid keeps writing to me, asking me to live there in my old age! I think he doesn't want me to live anymore!"
"Impossible, this isn't from Ankang Town at all. I've seen it before!"
"Bullshit! You're really talking bullshit! How can you afford to travel to Ankang Town?"
"My aunt sent me blueberry jam. How could I not know?"
“…”
The crowd started arguing, and those who spoke for Ankang Town were quickly squeezed out. Everyone was making a lot of noise, and the scene became a mess.
It is much easier to destroy trust in a town than to build it.
The vendor who saw this scene secretly raised the corner of his mouth in the dark.
Lin Muqiu, even if you are good at business, there is nothing I can do! Could it be that you can spy on this scene from thousands of miles away and stop it?
Even if you can stop this one city, can you stop all the cities of the Eastern Chamber of Commerce at the same time?
"Make way, make way, the vendors in Ankang Town are about to set up their stalls!"
Suddenly, a voice came from the opposite direction, and the man was seen pulling a batch of goods with a turkey. He was like a fish swimming among the crowd, running east and west, and finally squeezed into the center.
Ankang Town was already the focus, and as soon as these words were spoken, everyone's attention was quickly drawn to it.
I saw the cargo that the man was pulling. The apples were big and round, three to five times bigger than usual, bright red and cute to look at; and the blueberry jams were packed in small bottles, delicate and beautiful, the rich jam would not shake at all no matter how it vibrated; various weapons were inlaid with gems, the blades were shining silver, fast and bright, the details were handled with precision and minuteness, and there were many more novel treasures, too.
The people who came were Alex and Lind, who were looking at everyone with bright smiles on their faces.
Someone recognized them and said, "Hey, aren't they from Ankang Town? They used to be in the reselling business. It's been a while!"
Lin De coughed a few times and corrected himself, "It's not that I won't come, but we started a takeout business later, and it's getting bigger and bigger..."
Everyone: “…”
Wow, you got rich secretly, right?
Linde dropped his joke and said, "Our Lord has done business with all the major towns in the east. I was entrusted by the Lord to come and sell the goods from Ankang Town to the east. Take a look, what do you need?"
Everyone gasped.
That's not right! If this is what's from Ankang Town, then where did they get the things they just bought?
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