Chapter 961: New Visitors

If they were to buy more ships, 170,000 silver taels might not even be enough. Both of them knew clearly that this was far from the end.

The Yangshan Archipelago was a blank slate; there were countless projects that needed to be built from scratch, and every single one cost money.

He Lingchuan only had 280,000 silver taels in his hands. It sounded like a lot, but at this rate of spending, how many months could it last? "What's the rush?" He Lingchuan waved his hand, his spirit soaring, "You just go ahead and recruit more people, procure more supplies, spend whatever needs to be spent—don't save a single copper for me! As for the capital, you don't need to worry about that; I have my own ways."

Upon hearing "no need to worry about the capital," Ding Zuodong felt a weight lift from his heart, and his voice gained confidence: "Understood!"

"Spend when you must." He Lingchuan reassured him with an air of composure, "Bring out the boldness you had when you managed my properties in Dunyu. It may only be over 60,000 taels a month now, but in the future, it might be 600,000 or 6 million."

*Plop*, Lingguang didn't hold on tight, and half the peach in its hand dropped onto the table.

It picked it up to eat, hearing Ding Zuodong’s exclamation: "That would be wonderful!"

The premise of being able to spend over a million a month was that the proprietor had that much money, or that much credit.

He hoped that day would come soon.

He Lingchuan knew deep down that over 140,000 silver taels was an astronomical figure to ordinary people, but for his future plans, it was merely a drop in the bucket.

After finishing his report, Ding Zuodong tucked the ledger under his arm and walked out, his steps light.

If the proprietor said he had a way, then he had a way. As an employee, he only needed to do his own job well; why should he worry about such things?

The moment his back disappeared outside the door, He Lingchuan’s expression collapsed instantly, and he stood up to scratch his head vigorously.

Damn it, he’d spent over 60,000 in just one month! With such a huge deficit, where was he supposed to get the money? He had been calm and collected in front of Ding Zuodong, not because he was trying to show off. If even the boss panicked, what confidence would the workers below have to do their jobs? The soaring ambition was for the future; the current tight spot was a problem for now.

At the current rate of spending, a mere 280,000 taels wouldn't last long. He was afraid of encountering any accidents, which would make the silver flow away even faster.

However, his method for quickly gaining a foothold in a foreign land was rapid expansion, comprehensive development, and growing stronger before other forces took notice.

Time waits for no one.

Money, money, money—rushing the work meant spending more money.

The Yangshan Archipelago was currently in the early stage of massive investment, and the little output it produced was a drop in the bucket; all progress relied on him footing the bill.

Money wouldn't just fall from the sky; what method should he think of? Lingguang finished eating a peach just in time to hear He Lingchuan let out a curse.

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That morning, Blade Harbor also welcomed six new guests.

Blade Harbor was the largest port in the rear of the Mou Kingdom, located on the Golden Route. Countless travelers came and went every day, so these six guests were unremarkable, but one of them had a white bird perched on his shoulder, drawing the attention of passersby.

He took out a compass, opened it, and glanced at it a few times before frowning toward the south: "The Bee Needle is still pointing out to sea, within a distance of 120 li. This Spider Queen hasn't changed its location for several days. It looks like it intends to make its home on the sea this time."

"The Earth-Hole Spider Queen fled to the sea by boat?" someone else said, "I heard there is an entire archipelago to the south, and it's quite large."

Hiding among the islands? That was very likely. If they didn't have the Tracking Bee Compass, they really wouldn't be able to find their target among the many large and small islands.

"But how did it get over there? Such a large spider demon, and its molted shell is even bigger; an ordinary fishing boat couldn't carry it."

"It is an ancient demon immortal, after all; perhaps it has some other means?"

"You mean it drifted over a hundred li on the sea by itself? How is that possible?"

"Let's go take a look and see." The leader pondered for a moment and split the team into two groups; one group stayed at the port to gather information, while he took the other group to rent a boat.

Renting a small boat was surprisingly difficult. After walking through the entire massive pier, only two were available for rent, and the price was exorbitant. The boat boss took the money and told them that it was currently the palm harvesting season, so boat rentals were all at this price; if they waited, there would be none left.

Harvesting what palms? The three only said they were going to sea for sightseeing, and one of them knew how to row, so they didn't need to hire the boat boss. But the rent was even more expensive this way, and the boat boss specifically warned: "The depths of the Yangshan Archipelago are a restricted area; you cannot go there!"

"Why?"

"In the past, when ships sailed into the depths of the archipelago, the living people on board would go mad, and there were man-eating Yin-serpents in the sea, as well as pirates! So, sea ships can only follow the Golden Route, which is relatively safer."

The three caught the keyword: "In the past? What about now?"

"Now the archipelago is private territory; it has a lord. Island Master He has only opened up some islands and some sea areas; others are not allowed to approach, and fishing is not allowed either."

Island Master He? The leader made a note of it.

The boat boss added: "Anyway, don't go to islands that deviate from the route. Some places have undercurrents and whirlpools. Although the ocean currents have changed direction this season and there are fewer underwater undercurrents, you outsiders are not familiar with them, and if you rush in blindly, you still won't be able to get out!"

The three boarded the boat and left the port, heading south.

Today the wind was calm and the waves were still, the sea surface shimmering like gold. The leader fed the white bird some dried meat, and the seagulls in the sky were greedy too, so he threw a few small pieces of dried meat into the sky.

The seagulls flew down to catch them, not afraid of people at all.

After traveling another ten-plus li, the first island appeared ahead, lush with trees, like a bright pearl on the sea.

This should be the normal route, because there were other ships coming and going nearby, large and small, all peaceful and serene.

"Is this the Yangshan Archipelago?" The leader took out the Tracking Bee Compass and glanced at it, "Continue south."

Sailing into the Yangshan Archipelago, they realized the vastness of these islands. The small boat wove through the sea lanes, bypassing one island, only to find another ahead, and another... it seemed endless.

After sailing for a long time, they still couldn't see the vast open sea.

But there were fewer ships nearby, only an occasional fishing boat. The sea was eerily quiet.

If the Earth-Hole Spider Queen chose these islands for its new nest, it was truly clever. The leader looked at the compass: "Still need to go south."

Just then, a fishing boat ten zhang away kindly called out to them: "Hey, you can't go any further!"

The leader signaled for the small boat to row closer and asked the other party: "Why?"

"Ten li further ahead is Dragon Spine Island, and there are man-eating monsters on the island." The boatman told him, "If you row your boat close, you will be eaten!"

"What do the monsters look like?"

"Like snakes, with hands!" The boatman gestured with his hands, "Very big!"

The leader asked again: "My friend, can no one go up to Dragon Spine Island?"

"That I don't know, I guess Island Master He can, but no one else can!"

The leader thanked him and ordered the boat to continue forward.

"Hey, hey, I told you not to go forward!" The boatman shouted a few times behind them, and the boatwoman grabbed his arm and said, "Stop yelling, we're just passing acquaintances, they don't need your kindness!"

(End of chapter)