Chapter 964: New Troubles

"Let it be." He Lingchuan did not mind; at worst, he could just hire a ship at a high price later. "Seeing you two trudging over covered in mud, what is the urgent matter that you had to come to the island to find me?" Ding Zuodong opened his mouth to speak, and just then He Lingchuan noticed some seats in a clearing within the bamboo grove, so he said, "The sky isn't falling; come over and rest for a moment."

Wherever there are people, there is a market.

This was a large workshop, with over three hundred people living nearby. Everyone had grown tired of the communal meals and started thinking of other things, so some people brought out their skills to set up tea stalls or prepare snacks, providing a place for the laborers to rest after work while earning a little extra money for themselves.

In this clearing, there was a small market, with everything from fish and wild vegetables to rattan and bamboo furniture, and even noodle soup, tea, and bamboo-tube rice.

There was also a large man squatting on the ground, weaving a grasshopper to give to a child nearby.

He Lingchuan recognized the profile at a glance—wasn't this Qiu Hu? He called out, and Qiu Hu scratched his head and came over.

"What are you doing here?" He had clearly sent Qiu Hu to Xiaoxu Island; how did this guy suddenly appear? "The task you entrusted to me is finished, and it went very smoothly." Qiu Hu said sheepishly, "I just came over to take a look."

Take a look? Look at what? He Lingchuan’s gaze swept over Lei Ni behind him; her eyes were a bit shifty.

Oh, he seemed to understand.

He didn't expose them, but instead invited the four of them to sit at the tea stall. The tea vendor smiled more brightly than a flower, wiping the bamboo stools incessantly with a towel: "Island Master He, please sit, please sit!"

He Lingchuan stuffed a few copper coins into his hand and went to fetch the steaming bitter tea himself, familiar with the routine, while Qiu Hu hurriedly stepped in to help.

They brought back five tubes of tea in total.

That’s right, the tea sets here were also made of bamboo, convenient and quick as they were sourced locally.

It was just that the bitter tea was served in thick bamboo tubes, about the thickness of a pen holder, nowhere near as exaggerated as the Giant Bamboo Dragon Tubes.

The workers needed tea to quench their thirst, so the tea here was sold by the "tube."

As soon as they sat down, the surrounding commoners saw the posture of people discussing official business and quickly dispersed one by one.

Within two zhang of this table, there wasn't a single outsider left.

The local commoners feared officials like tigers.

He Lingchuan had no choice but to subsidize the stall owner a bit more for the tea.

Then he walked over to the barbecue stall nearby and ordered a hundred skewers.

Centipede Island was originally the base camp for the Three Paths Pirates and had not been disturbed by the Yin spirits, so the island lacked nothing in terms of snakes, insects, rats, and ants, but it had no live pigs or cattle; the few they had were brought over by commoners.

Eating meat was too luxurious, and the barbecue stall hadn't known that Island Master He would grace them with his presence, so what was roasting on the stove were all ingredients easily scavenged on the island.

Wild rabbits, bamboo rats, quail, sea slugs, oysters, sea snails, yellow mushrooms picked from the forest, and grasshoppers that couldn't jump much after autumn—all were threaded onto skewers and roasted over the fire.

Since it was the Island Master ordering, the skewers were brought to the table in batches.

The grasshopper legs were charred, and Ding Zuodong frowned slightly at the sight, but as soon as He Lingchuan said, "Everyone eat, don't be polite," Guan Ke immediately took a skewer following his lord, chewing with a beaming smile and repeatedly saying how fragrant it was.

He Lingchuan casually placed a sound-insulating barrier before asking Ding Zuodong, "You said earlier, what happened?"

"My Lord, I have been contacting foreign merchants to ship out goods these past few days. Seven or eight of them were very interested after testing the oil products and expressed a willingness to cooperate. Two of the fleets mainly handle maritime transport for the Mu Kingdom and the Ya Kingdom, and their order volumes are very large."

It went without saying that the middleman who made the connection must have been Guan Ke, but Ding Zuodong didn't mention it.

Guan Ke was the local know-it-all, accurately grasping information on incoming and outgoing commercial goods, which was how he managed to secure a generous salary under He Lingchuan.

"Isn't that a good thing? Where is the problem?" He Lingchuan picked up a skewer of roasted quail.

"The problem is that we have sent oil products and medicinal herbs to the Maritime Trade Office for inspection three times, and each time they were rejected, claiming they were unqualified." Ding Zuodong held a skewer of yellow mushrooms, turning it over and over, but had no appetite to eat it. "In Blade Harbor, without the quality permit issued by the Maritime Trade Office, one cannot open a shop, nor can one publicly sell, transship, or load and unload goods."

The Maritime Trade Office was the official agency managing the port, mainly inspecting foreign goods on incoming and outgoing ships, levying taxes, and handling trade matters. In Blade Harbor, it also held all the functions of the local government office and wielded great power.

He continued, "Among the spoils you seized from the Three Paths Pirates, there are several shops in Blade Harbor in good locations. We had intended to use them to open shops, but now I'm afraid that will have to be postponed."

He Lingchuan immediately realized where the trouble lay.

As long as the Maritime Trade Office didn't issue the permit, the freshly produced palm oil, herbs, timber, fish, and mushrooms from the Yangshan Archipelago—including future specialties like fluorescent spores and spider silk—could not be publicly sold in Blade Harbor!

"Can't we set the trading location on our own island?"

"The foreign merchants won't accept it." Guan Ke interjected, "For many years, merchants have tacitly agreed that bulk goods are traded in Blade Harbor, and these goods must hold a permit from the Maritime Trade Office to prove their quality is up to standard before anyone will buy them."

In other words, the approval of the Blade Harbor Maritime Trade Office was crucial. Without that piece of paper, it would be difficult for He Lingchuan to sell things even on his own island.

Unless he didn't do business with outsiders.

Guan Ke looked serious: "Furthermore, opening a shop in Blade Harbor is also very important. It not only allows one to display goods to all merchants and commoners but also makes it convenient for customers to come and negotiate. If we can't open this storefront, business will be hard to conduct."

"There is no way the quality of our produce is problematic." He Lingchuan asked the two, "Does the Maritime Trade Office like to make things difficult for people?"

"Generally speaking, if there are no major quality issues, you can get by just by giving small gifts or hosting a meal or two," Guan Ke replied. "If the discrepancy is larger, you just offer a bit more in tribute."

In short, within the scope of rules and regulations, the permit wasn't hard to get.

"We sent goods for inspection three times, and we also gave gifts three times and hosted three meals. The Inspector Zhao in charge of the random inspections ate until his mouth was oily, but every time he gave an 'unqualified' result." Ding Zuodong's expression darkened. "We went to find the Superintendent Wu who heads the Maritime Trade Office, and he said that official business must be handled officially, and that Inspector Zhao's verification results are the standard."

When Ding Zuodong went to find Superintendent Wu, he certainly didn't go empty-handed.

Under these circumstances, Superintendent Wu still gave him a hard rejection.

He Lingchuan stroked his chin: "Have we offended anyone from the Maritime Trade Office in our dealings?"

"Never."

How long had He Lingchuan and his people been in Blade Harbor? They had been burying their heads in their own business, and only recently had they started dealing with the Maritime Trade Office, all for professional business matters.

How could there be any old grudges? Guan Ke, however, said: "My Lord, what is your relationship with the Bai Lie?"

He Lingchuan felt a jolt in his heart: "What do you mean?"

"This Superintendent Wu is from Qu City in Bai Lie, and his family is related to the Lu family by marriage. I heard that he was able to become the Superintendent of the Maritime Trade Office because the Lu family pulled many strings behind the scenes." Blade Harbor was borrowed from Bai Lie and was now managed by the Qing Kingdom; the human relationships, power dynamics, and entanglements here were incredibly messy, and only a local know-it-all like Guan Ke understood them. "Of course, Superintendent Wu’s rise was also recommended by the Qing Kingdom’s Imperial Brother-in-law, Ning Guangrong."

"The Yangshan Archipelago was bought from Bai Lie by you, and I heard the price was very... favorable." Cheap, practically a cabbage price. "Now that the Yangshan Archipelago is flourishing, is there someone who is unhappy about it?"

After buying the Yangshan Archipelago, He Lingchuan had backhanded the hat of the "big sucker" right back onto the Lu family's head. Could Bai Lie be happy?

They wanted to watch others become a joke, but ended up becoming the biggest joke themselves. Guan Ke put himself in their shoes; if he were the head of the Lu family, he would at least be depressed to the point of internal injury.

They couldn't get the Yangshan Archipelago back, so couldn't they find a way to add some obstacles for He Lingchuan? How many people were so magnanimous that they could watch others take full advantage of them without being jealous, still smile and say congratulations, and still sincerely want to cooperate with the other party?

They would be wishing you would fall flat on your face so they could stomp on you hard to vent the pent-up anger in their hearts.

He Lingchuan nodded slightly; so that was it.

It was Bai Lie pulling strings behind the scenes again. This time it was even more despicable, using official channels to suppress him.

The Maritime Trade Office was the local bully of Blade Harbor, an official power. He Lingchuan was a lord on the Yangshan Archipelago, but in Blade Harbor, he was just a commoner.

Historically, the people do not fight with officials; He Lingchuan wouldn't get any good results from going head-to-head with the Maritime Trade Office.

If the authorities want to deal with you, they can turn regulations into a whip and lash you until you are looking for your teeth on the ground.

The Lu father and son had struck very accurately this time, temporarily choking the Yangshan Archipelago.

The first round was price gouging, and they had tasted the sweetness; this was the second round, and they wanted to win, wanting to press their advantage to ruin He Lingchuan.

"My Lord?" Guan Ke asked, seeing him distracted.

"Hmm." He Lingchuan came back to his senses, "Continue."

"Furthermore, this Superintendent Wu himself has a hundred acres of mountain forest, all planted with cash crops, including a large amount of palm, herbs, and fruit trees. His steward had also approached me in the past, asking me to help contact buyers." Guan Ke paused and added, "What is planted in the mountain forests and fields of the Qing Kingdom is not up to the commoners to decide. The Wu family has earned quite a lot of money relying on these trades."

It wasn't just the Qing Kingdom; whether it was the Yuan Kingdom or the former Xiji or Panlong City, what the fields produced—rice, wheat, cotton—and what the mountain forests produced—sweet potatoes, buckwheat, sorghum—were all restricted by the authorities; you couldn't just plant whatever you wanted.

Who didn't know that differentiated management made more money? Wouldn't it be better to plant herbs, tea, tobacco, or fruit trees in the mountains instead of grain?

You couldn't. If there isn't enough grain, the country isn't stable.

But Superintendent Wu's family wasn't made of ordinary people; he could earn this money beautifully.

Therefore, the future economic output of the Yangshan Archipelago might deal a blow to his family's livelihood. As long as Superintendent Wu was unhappy, he could cause He Lingchuan a "billion" little troubles.

He Lingchuan had invested most of his wealth into the construction of the Yangshan Archipelago—spending money on renting ships, buying materials, and spending large sums on social interactions—but the most expensive part was labor. Now, nearly nine thousand people across fourteen islands were working for him. Although most were short-term workers for the palm harvest season, the money spent was real.

Every morning when he opened his eyes, before he had done anything, he had to spend over two thousand silver taels, which was two million coins.

This speed of spending money was something he never dared to imagine when he was a young master in the past.

(End of chapter)