The carriage was swaying on the bumpy road. Stan sat in the carriage, chatting flatteringly with the big businessman sitting opposite him.
In front and behind the car, there was a long queue that seemed to have no end.
The big businessman was a middle-aged man who looked more respectable than Stan. He had a small mustache, which he carefully groomed with sheep oil and even had his hair curled on both sides. Even in the hot summer, he still wrapped himself tightly and even buttoned the top button of his collar.
All the buttons on his body are made of rhinestones. The perfectly cut rhinestones reflect bright light when hit by the sunlight.
He had a ceramic brooch on his chest, which made him afraid to even make big movements. After all, everyone knew that ceramics were fragile.
Something fragile, rare, and beautiful is itself a symbol of luxury.
"It's so desolate here." The big businessman looked out of the car window. He didn't even see a decent village along the way. The villages here were just a few houses each, far apart from each other, and there wasn't even a street.
Stan nodded. He had the same feeling when he first came here. He couldn't even believe that there was a shop here that could buy and sell porcelain. He followed the merchant's words and said, "But it's better this way. If it was in a busy place, I'm afraid I wouldn't have a chance."
There are local tyrants in prosperous cities, and it is impossible for others to spit out what they have eaten.
Big businessman: "That's right, but have the people here ever thought about selling porcelain outside?"
Stan smiled and said, "The young people here are very smart. They only sell rhinestones. They don't dare to touch tea leaves and porcelain."
This aroused the interest of the big businessman. He had met many small businessmen, most of whom could only see the immediate benefits and did not know why they died when they died. He himself was still a small businessman, and before he found a backer and built his own network of relationships, he did not dare to compete with the big businessmen for profits.
Merchants would kowtow in front of nobles, but they would never be nice to their peers who were selling the same things as them.
If they gave the other person a good look, it only proved that the other person would die soon.
Money is their faith, and anyone who hinders them from making money is a pagan. When dealing with "pagans", businessmen will use methods that are more terrible than the church.
"I'm in need of some capable hands lately," said the big businessman, "people who can manage things and use their brains."
Stan understood, and he smiled and said, "If those young people are still here, maybe we can take them away this time. If they are out, we can only wait until next time."
The big merchants did not continue the topic because they had already seen the city gate.
But this time, the businessman and Stan both looked dazed and opened their mouths in disbelief.
Unlike the town in Stan's memory, this time the town was no longer deserted.
Dwarves and goblins came in and out. They were dressed in cloth that was not decent but clean and tidy. They no longer grew strange beards like the wild people in the mountains, or carried stone axes and knives.
They even put on shoes.
There were also elves with pointy ears carrying luggage and walking towards the town. The elves brought their families with them, including the elderly and children, and they even greeted the dwarves and goblins.
The city gate was noisy and noisy, and it seemed no different from a big city.
After all, you can’t see so many elves in big cities.
Because of their beauty, elves have always been a "hot commodity" in the slave market. Many nobles hope to exchange their slaves for elves, not to mention lovers.
The big businessman soon discovered the business opportunity and asked Stan: "Can I buy these elves?"
Stan was not sure. He said, "You can ask the boss. Maybe he is willing to sell it."
The caravan could not enter the city, so the carriage stopped at the city gate. Stan got off the carriage first, then flatteringly helped the big businessman out of the carriage.
As soon as they got off the car, a short goblin came trotting over. He was wearing a sheepskin hat. Although he was sweating because of the heat, it was obvious that he liked the hat and was unwilling to take it off.
"Mr. Stan." The little goblin took off his hat and saluted, first greeting Stan, and then looked at the big businessman next to him.
Stan introduced, "This is Mr. Hamm."
The goblin took off his hat again towards Ham.
Ham didn't take the goblin seriously and even thought he was being looked down upon. His face suddenly turned a little grim.
A businessman who is favored by Stan is certainly not an ordinary character. Ham has been doing business with the royal family for many years. Standing behind him are not ordinary nobles, but the most powerful people in this country.
Even ordinary nobles had to put aside their arrogance and drink and chat with a businessman when they saw him.
The little goblin was still perceptive. He immediately saw that Ham looked down on him, so he just said to Stan: "Mr. Stan, take Mr. Ham in."
Stan nodded, and the goblin bowed and stepped back.
After they walked away, the little goblin rolled his eyes, but he was not angry. When he was a slave, such merchants would not even look at him, and he had no chance to walk up to them.
"We'll get there by following this cobblestone road." Stan led Ham onto the cobblestone road.
Ham's face still didn't look good, and the corners of his mouth drooped: "The boss here sent a goblin to pick us up?"
Stan quickly laughed: "This little goblin has been staying at the city gate. He greets everyone who comes. People in the supermarket won't come out."
Ham's face returned to normal.
The two of them stepped onto the cobblestone road, without anyone else by their side.
Ham was not worried. He had been a superior man for more than ten years and did not think anyone would dare to attack him.
The two men slowly walked to the entrance of the supermarket. The dwarves and goblins coming in and out of the city did not look at them sideways. Although there were few customers in the supermarket, there were still humans coming in and out occasionally. These dwarves and goblins living in the deep mountains and forests could not see how noble Stanham's clothes were.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs, like Stan when he first came to the supermarket, Ham was also shocked by the tile floor, but he did not lie down, nor was he reluctant to leave like Stan. He just pretended to be calm and swallowed his saliva: "Is this the tile floor you mentioned?"
If we could transport such a floor and sell it to the royal family...
Ham couldn't help but breathe heavily.
"Yeah," Stan said, a little proudly. "I wasn't as calm as you when I first saw the tile floor."
Ham coughed lightly and said pretentiously: "Things like this are indeed rare. I can't blame you."
Just a set of porcelain dishes can sell for a huge price, let alone using them to pave the floor.
With such a floor, even the most ordinary and simple wooden house will instantly become luxurious and elegant.
While they were talking, the supermarket's automatic sensor door had already opened.
The last time Stan came, there were not many customers, so Ye Zhou asked someone to turn off the automatic sensor. This was the first time he saw the door open automatically.
Hamm looked at the door frame after a moment of surprise. He said to Stan, "What kind of mechanism is this?"
Stan shook his head. “The guy opened the door for me last time. Maybe it’s because you came this time that this happened.”
Ham was flattered by this obvious flattery. He stroked his beard and finally a smile appeared on his face.
Stan breathed a sigh of relief. The reason why he chose Ham was because Ham had the greatest power among the businessmen. When Ham ate the meat, he could drink some soup without worrying about others coming to snatch the meat away and leaving him without even the soup.
"Mr. Stan." A woman in a blue dress walked out from inside the supermarket.
She had shiny curly hair, fair skin, and wore a pair of flat shoes. She walked with a graceful posture, which was completely different from the reserved movements of the noble ladies nowadays. She had the appearance of an aristocrat, but the manners of an ordinary civilian woman.
This time Ham didn't feel like he was being treated poorly.
After all, many nobles prefer to use beautiful maids rather than men.
Feng Ling looked at Hamm and asked Stan with a smile: "Who is this?"
Stan: "This is Mr. Hamm. He's a great man."
Well, Bistan is richer, Feng Ling understood, so the smile on her face became more sincere: "Or are you still just looking at porcelain and tea like before? Do you want to see something else?"
As she spoke, she welcomed the two of them in.
This time, without waiting for Stan to speak, Hamm said, "Besides porcelain and tea, is there anything else that hasn't been bought by others?"
Feng Ling: "Quite a few. The boss told me before that I can show you some perfume when you come over this time."
There are perfumes on the market now, but they don't last long enough, they're not fragrant enough, and there are only a few scents.
But perfume is a necessity for the nobles. They need perfume to cover up their body odor and increase their charm. Perfume is their second piece of clothing.
Especially in the summer, you will inevitably sweat when attending a party. If you don’t use perfume, there will be a room full of smelly men, which is enough to drive people away, not to mention the ladies.
Even perfumes of poor quality were luxury items that only nobles with high titles could afford.
After all, the process of extracting perfume from flower petals is complicated, the tools are not efficient enough, and the output is too little.
Hamm looked at Stan after hearing about the perfume, and Stan quickly said, "I know too few nobles, and there's nowhere to sell it if I buy it."
Ham nodded: "Then take us to see it."
Along the way, Ham's attention was attracted by many things, but he knew clearly what he came for, and these things were just there, and he could look at them after he finished his business.
The perfumes bought in the supermarket are certainly not good ones. Ye Zhou bought them at wholesale prices and placed them in the same area as affordable cosmetics and skin care products. Usually no one comes to this area. After all, in the previous few planes, no one cared about whether their skin was good or whether they smelled good.
Even when they came here, the previous customers were all farmers, and there were hardly any female customers coming in. Even if they did, they only bought necessities.
Ye Zhou has never sold these things for a penny.
Not many employees in the supermarket use these, probably because they see Ye Zhou only uses Dabao, so others at most use their points to exchange for some Dabao.
Feng Ling thought this was an opportunity, so before introducing the perfume, she smiled and said to Stan and Ham: "In addition to perfume, there are also soaps and skin care products here. Skin care products can keep the skin moisturized and anti-aging. Sunscreen can protect the skin from sunburn and tanning. Even if it is exposed to the sun, it will not get darker."
Feng Ling kept bragging with her eyes closed. She didn't know whether Westerners of this era preferred tanning or whitening.
Ham became interested, and Feng Ling immediately took out a trial package. Ham's hands were well maintained. After all, he didn't need to do many things himself, nor did he need to work under the sun. After applying the hand cream, he rubbed the back of his hand and then put the back of his hand to his nose and sniffed it.
Nowadays, more ladies use mutton fat, but even if it is soaked in spices, it doesn’t smell as good as hand cream.
As for the moistness - Ham thinks it's about the same, but as long as the flavor is good enough it's fine.
"Give me one thousand of each of these." Ham was wealthy and felt that these were small change.
After he had bought all the skin care products, Feng Ling contentedly took him to the cabinet full of perfumes.
The perfumes were packed in glass bottles of various shapes. Although they were all wholesale goods, the packaging was not much different from that of big brands. At least it looked intimidating, and at least Ham was intimidated.
Feng Ling sprayed a little on his wrists and asked him to smell it one by one.
At first, Ham was surprised and tried them slowly with great interest. He even discussed with Stan which smelled better.
But after smelling a dozen scents, Ham's nose could no longer smell anything.
But he still waved his hand and bought all the perfumes available in the supermarket.
Ham never asked about the price from beginning to end. There were so many boxes in the convoy he led, all filled with gold coins.
Stan had a smile on his face but gritted his teeth in jealousy.
After selling the stockpiled skin care products and perfumes, Feng Ling's attitude became better. She looked at Ham not as if she was looking at a person, but as if she was looking at a golden Buddha. And it couldn't be the kind with gold foil, it had to be made entirely of gold.
"There are several types of tea." Feng Ling brought Ham to the tea area. "Some teas have low production and are more expensive, but this doesn't mean that cheap ones are unpalatable. It's just that everyone has different tastes, and some people may like cheap ones..."
Before she finished speaking, Ham interrupted her rudely: "Cheap things are of course not as good as expensive ones. Am I someone who can only buy cheap things?"
Ham deadpanned, "Only cheap people buy cheap things."
Feng Ling: “…”
I can bear it.
After spending most of the day, Ham finally finished picking out what he wanted to buy.
As for some other products, he would have to wait until the next day to continue selecting them. Ham was not going to leave before meeting the supermarket owner.
He paid generously for accommodation and strongly requested that there should be no goblins or dwarves around the house where he lived - elves were allowed, and as for the people he brought with him, they could be accommodated casually, and he only kept two servants to serve him.
Stan didn't get to live with Ham, he lived in a separate building.
After the two separated, Stan secretly went to see Ye Zhou - Ham certainly needed to be pleased, but in comparison, Ye Zhou was more important.
After all, he was a big customer, so even though it was already dark, Ye Zhou had to cheer up and receive him.
Ye Zhou asked Cao'er to pour two cups of strong tea. Before Stan sat down, he took a big sip. After he felt a little more energetic, he looked at Stan.
There was no smile on Ye Zhou's face. This was not the first time he met Stan. The two parties were barely familiar with each other and the contract had been signed long ago. There was no need for them to act enthusiastic to each other.
"Mr. Ham, the man I brought here today, is an important person." Stan sat down opposite Ye Zhou with ease. He also picked up the teacup - he was reluctant to drink his own tea. Even when making tea, he would use the broken tea leaves. He would sell the good tea leaves for money.
Stan sniffed the tea with enjoyment, then slowly took a sip and closed his eyes, savoring the taste.
"He's not short of money." Stan told Ye Zhou the truth, "but he's short of status."
Stan said with a smile: "Businessmen like us only want money at the beginning. Once we have money, we want a backer. Once we have a backer, we want to be a backer ourselves. Money can't buy a title. The less we have, the more we want."
Ye Zhou looked at Stan: "I can't give him a title."
Stan leaned forward slightly, and lowered his head to express his submission at the moment: "But you can give him something that will allow him to have the title."
Ye Zhou smiled: "Sugar? Tea? Porcelain?"
Stan shook his head. “What you can give him is more valuable than these things.”
Ye Zhou was now interested. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Mr. Stan, just tell me straight."
Stan sat back down and whispered, "Lights. Lights that light up on their own."
Ye Zhou did not refuse immediately. Although he could not sell lamps that were connected to electrical wires, he could sell those that ran on batteries.
In this way, Ham must not only buy the lamp, but also the battery from him.
Only Ye Zhou can sell lamps and batteries. Unlike tea and porcelain, no matter what the quality is, at least merchant ships at the port will deliver them in a steady stream. The quantity may be small, but it will not be absent.
Cosmetics and perfumes also have alternatives here.
But if Ye Zhou sells the lamps, it would be a monopoly. No matter whether it is light bulbs or batteries, there is no substitute for either of them.
A candle cannot be compared to a lamp, even if it is just a table lamp.
Stan: "The church will pay a huge price for it. As long as the church agrees, it's not difficult to give him a baronial title."
"Instead of mentioning it to others, it would be better for you to sell it to him. Then he will bring you many benefits."
His words were too tempting. Ye Zhou was indeed short of money now, and a large sum of money.
Ye Zhou: "I'll consider it."
Stan knew that his persuasion was successful, so he looked at Ye Zhou, waiting for Ye Zhou to say what he wanted to hear.
After doing business for so long, Ye Zhou is no longer the young man he was at the beginning. A smile appeared on his face: "When Mr. Stan leaves, he will take away fifty more sets of tableware than we agreed on."
The set includes four shallow plates, a soup bowl, four small bowls and four spoons.
Such a set of leaf boats is sold for one hundred gold coins.
Stan got what he wanted. He stood up, bowed to Ye Zhou, and walked out unable to hide his excitement.
Fifty sets means he saved five thousand gold coins, which is a lot of money for Stan. When he sells it, a set of tableware will cost five hundred gold coins. He will only lower the price if the other party buys a lot.
Ye Zhou watched Stan go out. After Stan left, Ye Zhou collapsed on the sofa.
He had wanted to sleep a long time ago, but after drinking a cup of strong tea and talking for so long, he was now in a state of wanting to sleep but unable to count.
After lying on the sofa for more than ten minutes, Ye Zhou stood up and prepared to go out for a walk.
During this period, there is a new look in the town every day. It is more like a real town than before.
Perhaps seeing that more dwarves and goblins bought houses in the town, many farmers in the surrounding areas also took out money to buy houses in the town. However, they would not move in to live in the town. After all, it was inconvenient to live in the town, and they still had fields to take care of.
There is a big temperature difference between night and day, so Ye Zhou picked up a sun-protective clothing hanging on the rack and put it on. He held a kerosene lamp he got from farmers in his hand, lit it, and left the supermarket.
Ye Zhou stepped on the stone road, a cool breeze blew past him, Ye Zhou relaxed his body and took a deep breath in the wind.
Although it was already dark, the elves were still moving. They held torches and carried the gifts piled on the streets into the houses.
The stars are shining brightly tonight, and tomorrow should be a cloudless day. Ye Zhou walked onto the street, moving forward aimlessly. Occasionally, people who knew him would stop and bow to greet him, but Ye Zhou would just wave his hand and tell them not to pay attention to him.
Someone who didn't know Ye Zhou whispered to the person who bowed, "Who is he?"
"Why is it a human race?"
They are all hostile towards the human race. In their eyes, the human race will only bully them and hurt them. Moreover, the human race is extremely arrogant in front of them and will not listen to them at all.
The person being asked quickly said, "That gentleman is the owner of the supermarket! This town belongs to him!"
The person asking the question couldn't believe it: "Then why did he let us live here?"
"Yeah, there are very few humans willing to sell things to us."
The people being questioned were all those who had been imprisoned by vampires and rescued by Ye Zhou. Their responses were all the same: "Mr. Zhou is different! He is different from those humans!"
“Not only did he save us, he also gave us a house for free so that we could have a job.”
"If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be able to buy anything, and you wouldn't be able to buy a house here."
These former "blood slaves" wanted to praise Ye Zhou to the sky.
“Hopefully he can stay here forever.”
The "blood slaves" were worried: "If Mr. Zhou leaves, we definitely can't stay here any longer. Where can we go then?"
The new residents were terrified.
They all looked at the man walking slowly on the road.
Ye Zhou also noticed everyone's gaze. He turned slightly, and the dim light of the kerosene lamp illuminated his face.
The residents took a deep breath. The man was too young and too handsome, completely different from the merchant lord they had imagined.
Ye Zhou smiled at the people who were looking at him.
The residents themselves didn't understand why, so they followed the example of the "blood slave" before, stopped where they were and bowed and greeted each other from a distance. They didn't feel humiliated, but rather felt it was very natural.
Ye Zhou also waved at them.
He continued walking forward.
He actually had no intention of developing this place into a real town.
But now, the town is slowly recovering.
It already has the look of a town.
Ye Zhou didn’t know where its future lay, but at least now, he was beginning to like this place a little.
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