Chapter 949: Zhu Erniang's Settlement Agreement

It had mountains and lakes, lush trees, and was characterized primarily by porous caves; flat land was rare. Although the scenery was beautiful, it was not well-suited for human production or labor. Zhu Erniang focused her inspection on several rift valleys. To humans, these were rugged, barren places—nothing but solid rock and sea wind, where an ordinary person could easily fall to their death. Yet, Zhu Erniang gave them a solid "not bad" rating.

These underground cavities were interconnected, dark, and damp, but they were better ventilated than the Demon Nest, making them perfect for breeding fungal mats and aphid-cattle.

The island had fresh water, as well as the clay that the cave spiders required.

The more complex and varied the terrain, the greater the cave spiders' range of activity. Humans would only see Pan Si Island as a flat surface, but to a swarm born with a talent for climbing, this was a three-dimensional kingdom with many levels! It was much larger than the territory Zhu Erniang had held in the Demon Nest swamps, better than the canyons in the east of Mou State, and the entire island was for her and her sisters to enjoy alone.

They quickly selected a valley at the southern end of the island, which was shielded by dense jungle; one would never discover the deep pit here without walking right into it. To the north was a freshwater stream, and to the south was a backwater bay about two fathoms deep, where the seawater became calm, making it easy to gather schools of fish—perfect for the cave spiders' fishing operations.

The spider demon sisters quickly patrolled the area, wandering back and forth through the various fissures and holes, before saying in unison:

"This is the one."

Zhu Danniang was straightforward, and she happily said to Zhu Erniang, "Little sister, we have a home."

This place looked like it would be comfortable for the long term; from now on, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to drive them away.

Zhu Erniang pointed to the largest fissure: "Go in!"

The spider kin lined up and went inside. Further in was a massive water-eroded cavern, which could easily accommodate even the largest of the fairy kin.

"This place is truly excellent." Zhu Erniang did not hesitate to express her satisfaction. "Do you have any other requirements?"

She could communicate with Zhu Danniang in real-time and had already heard about the situation in the Yangshan Archipelago from her sister. Of course, this kid wouldn't insist on gifting her an island for no reason; both sides had already agreed on certain conditions.

Finally, they were getting to the point. He knew that one didn't need to beat around the bush with a pragmatic great demon like Zhu Erniang.

He Lingchuan said with a serious expression, "In addition to the exclusive agency for spider demon goods we previously discussed, there is an urgent matter right now that I must ask Erniang to help with."

"Hmm, speak." Zhu Erniang was a tenant now, so she naturally had to be a bit polite to her landlord.

Thus, He Lingchuan briefly explained the labor shortage during the palm harvesting season, then said, "This autumn's harvest is of vital importance; please help me, Erniang!"

"Can do." Zhu Erniang agreed quite readily: "Just like the other agreement, pay in profound crystals."

Demons living in the wilderness had no use for silver; she had already negotiated with He Lingchuan that he would act as the agent for the spider nest's output, but the final settlement must be in profound crystals.

Previously, when she traded with humans in the Demon Nest swamps, it was barter; but here, she only wanted profound crystals.

He Lingchuan was overjoyed: "As expected of Erniang, straightforward!"

This was equivalent to the cave spiders being employed by him.

The others all felt it was strange—what way could this giant spider have to solve the labor shortage?

But just as this thought emerged, everyone heard a rustling sound coming from inside the fissure, like wind blowing through fallen leaves.

However, where would there be fallen leaves inside a cavern?

Then, a dense swarm of cave spiders emerged from the fissure.

The largest were like galloping horses, and the smallest were not even the size of a human palm.

The scene was like a fountain overflowing; even the color of the rock itself was covered by the black-and-white spotted spiders.

A fountain made of spiders! Facing such a display, everyone except Dong Rui and He Lingchuan couldn't help but take two steps back, feeling a chill in their hearts.

So many cave spiders!

It turned out that the ones Young Master He had recruited were not just two, but an entire massive nest, thousands upon thousands! A faint white mist also drifted out from the fissure, which did not dissipate in the wind and grew thicker and thicker.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui knew at a glance that the mirage demon had come too!

It had left the Demon Nest swamps with Zhu Erniang and ended up following her here.

The two exchanged a look and said nothing.

The fewer people who knew the secret of the mirage demon, the better.

These spiders ignored everyone, bypassing the group to continue forward; some went to cut branches and leaves, some sprayed spider silk, and others carried debris out of the fissure to discard it.

As soon as they landed, the big cleanup of the new nest began immediately, with clear division of labor and seamless cooperation—not a bit inferior to worker ants.

Seeing this, everyone realized and probably guessed what they could do. Sure enough, He Lingchuan rubbed his hands and said, "Then I will entrust the palm harvest on Dragon Spine Island and the other three islands to you, Erniang."

These six islands were all originally no-man's-lands covered by yin-evil, and the hired laborers refused to go up there no matter what.

Dong Rui shouted in his heart that he was shameless; they were only developing fourteen islands in total, and this guy was having the cave spiders take charge of nearly thirty percent, especially since Dragon Spine Island was huge.

He Lingchuan understood his expression and rolled his eyes.

What was the big deal? The exclusive product agency agreement he signed with Zhu Erniang was actually a consignment agreement—meaning he only paid money, no, paid profound crystals, after he sold the products for Zhu Erniang.

This saved him from having his own capital tied up in goods and accumulating inventory.

No choice, he was poor! He had to pinch pennies and try to take advantage in every aspect.

Zhu Erniang didn't have any objections. She didn't need to worry about inventory, much less turnover issues.

As long as He Lingchuan paid the profound crystals in the end, this kid's credit was actually quite good, even a bit better than other humans.

The cave spiders' ability to climb in mountainous terrain and pick and transport fruit was far stronger than humans. For palm trees one or two fathoms tall, the large spider demons didn't even need to climb the trees to get the fruit; they just shot a bundle of silk up, stuck it, and gave it a shake, and they could pull down the clusters laden with ripe fruit.

However, the cave spiders could only harvest, but they couldn't press the fruit.

Aside from weaving, the cave spiders were unable to perform overly delicate tasks.

"Tell your subordinates to prepare the boats."

He Lingchuan clapped his hands and laughed: "Many thanks, Erniang! Shall we start work this evening?" The harvesting work on the Yangshan Archipelago was already in full swing, and not a single day could be delayed.

This prehistoric great demon's spider descendants numbered over ten thousand; once they started, it could greatly alleviate the labor shortage. The labor force she saved for He Lingchuan could be reassigned to do other things.

Zhu Erniang snorted. She had just moved in, and the kid surnamed He was already impatient—how unreasonable!

But she was too lazy to complain, and she followed her sister into the fissure to arrange their new home.

He Lingchuan turned around and said to the crowd with high spirits: "Let's go back too!"

Two days later, the former Erdao pirate leader, now Erdao captain Min Tianxi, requested an audience with He Lingchuan, saying he had good news.

1 qing = 100 mu, 400 qing = 26 square kilometers.

I suspect most people don't have a concept of the figure 26 square kilometers, so here is an example: the Forbidden City is said to have 9,000+ rooms and an area of 720,000 square meters, which is 0.72 square kilometers.

The surface size of Pan Si Island is roughly 36 Forbidden Cities.

(End of chapter)