Chapter 90 The Dwarf Storm Ah Hu is currently crouching in Blackrock City…
Ah Hu was squatting at the entrance of an inconspicuous courtyard on North Street in Blackstone City, idly poking at an ant nest in the corner with a straw stick.
This was his fifth day of waiting in Blackrock City.
Five days ago, following the mayor's instructions, he arrived at the small courtyard newly acquired by the Clover Caravan in Blackrock City. He found it empty; there was only an honest-looking old gatekeeper and a few caravan workers in the courtyard.
"Our boss? Our boss has taken the caravan to the capital." The old gatekeeper yawned and said indifferently, "If you have anything to say, just tell me, and I'll pass it on to him."
“No.” Ah Hu hugged the earthenware jar, which was wrapped tightly in animal hide, even tighter, shaking his head like a rattle drum. “The mayor said that this thing must be handed over to Boss Barry in person. He also has to speak to him face to face.”
No matter how the other men tried to persuade him, Ah Hu remained unmoved. He was an honest man; once the mayor assigned him a task, he had to complete it word for word.
So, for the next five days, he would come to the gate of this small courtyard without fail, morning, noon, and evening, like a dutiful debt collector, rain or shine. His "I won't leave until I see him" attitude left the people in the courtyard both amused and exasperated, but helpless.
Meanwhile, the Barry they were talking about was on his way back to Blackrock City, in such a good mood he almost wanted to hum a tune.
He made a fortune on his trip to the capital.
The nobles of the capital had long heard of the fame of snow salt, but the quantity available on the market was extremely limited, having already been snapped up by the powerful princes and ministers. This time, Barry's sudden release of such a large quantity of high-quality snow salt immediately caused a sensation among the desperate lower-ranking nobles and wealthy merchants, sparking a frenzy of pursuit. Barry even managed to use a connection to the royal family to successfully deliver the ten finest jars of snow salt into the palace storeroom through a major merchant guild.
Although he didn't get to meet any important figures directly, the mere fact that he was a royal procuring agent was enough to increase the price of his snow salt several times over, and also made his little-known caravan a prominent presence in the capital's business circles.
"Hmph, Blackrock City? That's just the beginning." Barry sat in the swaying carriage, stroking a heavy money bag full of gold coins, a smug smile on his face. "Once I've opened up the capital city route, I'll be a big shot who can go toe-to-toe with the Golden Scales Merchant Guild."
When he returned to his courtyard in Blackrock City, laden with goods and wealth, full of pride, he happened to run into Ah Hu, who appeared at the door on time, just like clocking in for work.
"Brother Hu? What are you doing here?" Barry jumped off the carriage in surprise.
Ah Hu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the person in charge had finally returned. Instead of going forward immediately, he turned and left, leaving Barry completely bewildered.
Just as Barry was catching his breath after directing his men to unload all the goods they had acquired from the trade, Ah Hu reappeared at the gate of the courtyard carrying a leather bundle.
He solemnly handed the package over.
"Boss Barry, you're finally back." Ah Hu wiped his face and relayed Lin Yue's words verbatim, "Our mayor said that what he promised you has been made. He wants you to bring a large enough warehouse and enough sincerity to pick up the goods in Hope Town."
After saying that, Ah Hu turned and strode away as if he had completed a sacred mission, leaving Barry alone, holding the heavy pottery jar, bewildered in the wind.
"What...what's in here?" he muttered to himself curiously. He weighed it in his hand and shook it, and a slight sloshing sound came from inside.
Several of his buddies also curiously gathered around, having heard about the man from Hope Town who came to stake out the town every day from the gatekeeper.
"Boss, this thing looks pretty sturdy, is it some kind of treasure?"
With a belly full of suspicion, Barry carefully placed the package on the stone table in the center of the courtyard. When he opened the package, he saw a dozen or so strangely shaped pottery jars.
They spent a long time studying the ingenious lever-type iron buckle on the top of the pottery jar, and finally managed to pry it open with a "click".
To their astonishment, the iron lid remained firmly in place, as if it were permanently attached to the mouth of the can.
"Boss, this thing... seems to be stuck to something." One of the employees tried to pry it off, but ended up splitting his own fingernails.
"Idiot, use your brain." Barry cursed irritably, then found a flat piece of metal, carefully inserted it along the gap in the lid, and pried it open with force.
"Pop!"
With a crisp sound, accompanied by a very slight hiss, the iron lid popped open.
The next second, a rich aroma of the unique spiciness of fire crystal pepper burst forth from the mouth of the jar, instantly filling the entire yard.
"Holy crap, this...this smell..."
"It smells so good. It tastes just like the spicy chicken that's currently selling well at Hope No. 1 Store."
Everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Barry leaned closer to take a look and saw that the earthenware jar was filled to the brim with bright red, glistening chicken pieces, topped with a generous amount of fiery chili pepper slices and exotic ginger slices. It was clearly the signature dish of Hope No. 1 Restaurant: Spicy Chicken Cubes.
"Boss, did you order some spicy chicken from the branch to go?"
Barry's heart pounded as he looked at the still vibrant, fragrant chicken nuggets. He knew this definitely wasn't takeout. Because Ah Hu, that honest man, had said it had been prepared over ten days ago.
Meat and vegetables prepared more than ten days ago not only showed no signs of spoilage in the hot weather, but even perfectly retained their color and aroma as when they were freshly cooked!
This is no longer a simple cooking technique.
With trembling hands, he used a clean wooden skewer to pick up a piece of chicken and carefully put it into his mouth.
The next second, his shrewd eyes widened suddenly.
The taste was exactly the same as what he had eaten in the store. In fact, because of the long soaking time, the flavor of the spices penetrated even deeper, and the taste was even richer.
"Try it all," he said to the staff, suppressing his shock.
Everyone rushed forward and quickly devoured the entire can of spicy diced chicken.
"Boss, is there any more? Another can, please?" a young waiter asked, licking the oil from his lips, still wanting more.
"Get lost!" Barry cursed irritably, then carefully put away the remaining sample cans as if they were treasures. "These are samples; we need to keep them and see how long they can last."
He made a quick decision and ordered his steward, "Immediately contact the best mercenary group in the city and tell them that I, Barry, am going on a long trip and need the strongest guards. Then empty all the usable wagons in our caravan and go to the bank to withdraw all my savings and exchange them for gold coins."
"Boss, what's going on...?" the manager asked, puzzled.
Barry's eyes burned with a fiery passion: "I'm going to Hope Town to buy goods. I have a feeling that these small earthenware jars contain more than just food; they hold a huge business opportunity that will allow our Clover Caravan to truly rise to prominence."
Over the next few days, Barry and his caravan were conducting what seemed like a scientific experiment.
Every few days, they would open a sample jar and carefully record the food's condition, smell, and taste.
The first day's dish was spicy diced chicken, and it tasted perfect.
On the third day, we had braised chicken pieces, which were savory and flavorful with tender meat.
On the fifth day, they opened a jar of fruit. When the diced fruit appeared before them, the entire caravan erupted in excitement.
"Oh my god, it's fruit, fresh fruit."
For these merchants who travel year-round, meat can be carried alive and slaughtered at any time. But fruit is the most perishable and rarest delicacy. And now, they can actually eat fruit as fresh as if it had just been picked from the tree in this town on the edge of a cursed land far from their homeland. This impact even surpasses that of the canned meat they had previously encountered.
On the sixth day, it was sauerkraut stewed chicken. The tangy and appetizing flavor whetted everyone's appetite.
Day 8…
Barry couldn't sit still any longer after the last can of chicken and mushroom broth was perfectly devoured.
He led a large convoy of well-equipped mercenaries, escorted by twenty experienced mercenaries, loaded with almost all of his gold coins and various rare resources that Hope Town might need, and set off again towards Hope Town.
When Barry arrived in Hope Town, weary from his journey, and saw the warehouse piled high with Hope brand canned goods, he felt so happy he could hardly breathe.
“Mayor Lin…” His voice was trembling, “I want all of these…”
"Don't rush, Mr. Barry," Lin Yue said with a smile, inviting him to the reception office of Store No. 1 and personally pouring him a cup of freshly picked calming flower tea. "Business can be discussed slowly. I also have a few newly developed limited editions here; would you like to try them first?"
After a friendly yet intense exchange of compliments and a lot of back-and-forth, Barry finally bought out almost all of the first batch of canned goods from the Hope Town food processing plant at a price that made his mouth water but felt was a great deal.
After the transaction was completed, Barry looked at the long list of goods that had practically emptied half of his caravan and couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile: "Mayor Lin, I really admire you more and more. I'm very curious, just how many more of these novel and practical ideas are hidden in your head?"
"Well, that's a trade secret," Lin Yue said with a mysterious smile.
Just as Barry was about to take his leave and arrange for people to load the cargo, he suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, Mayor Lin,” he lowered his voice and leaned close to Lin Yue’s ear, “this time when I went to the capital, besides selling salt, I also heard some unpleasant rumors about the Dwarf Kingdom.”
Lin Yue felt a chill run down his spine.
Barry continued, “I’m not entirely sure of the specifics. But the manager of the large merchant guild that has dealings with the royal family mentioned in a veiled way that the relationship between the royal family and the dwarf kingdom seems to have become unusually tense recently. It’s said that the royal family has long coveted the dwarf kingdom’s superb forging techniques and abundant mineral resources.”
He paused, then analyzed, "As you know, the major powers on the continent are currently in a delicate balance. While our human kingdoms are the most numerous, they are riddled with internal conflicts. The elves are powerful, but have always been peaceful and self-sufficient. The orc tribes, though fierce, are mostly scattered across barren grasslands and mountains, unable to form a unified force. Only the dwarves…"
A glint of light flashed in Barry's eyes: "They possess the finest weaponry, the strongest fortresses, and the richest mineral veins. But they also have a fatal weakness: a lack of food and supplies. Their mountain kingdom simply cannot grow enough food to feed their entire population."
"I suspect the royal family wants to exploit this weakness, using economic blockade and military pressure to force the dwarven kingdom to hand over their core technologies and mining rights. Once the royal family gains control of the dwarves, their military strength will be unprecedentedly enhanced. At that time, it will be a trump card, whether used to deal with internal troubles or... even to suppress the elves."
“Of course,” Barry added, “these are all just my speculations. But there’s no smoke without fire. I just wanted to remind you that you have… a dwarf master here. Just in case… I mean, just in case…”
Barry didn't finish his sentence, but Lin Yue already fully understood what he meant.
He saw Barry off and returned to his office alone, his mood unusually heavy.
He could already foresee that once these major forces clashed, Hope Town would inevitably be drawn into the storm, regardless of whether it wanted to participate.
The conflict between royalty and dwarves... the divide between elves and humans... and the damned tragedy of the earth...
This game is getting bigger and bigger.
"It seems that some things are unavoidable," Lin Yue muttered to himself.
He picked up a stone slab and wrote a few words on it:
[Hope Town Strategic Weapons R&D Project (Top Secret)]
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