Chapter 966: Strict Oversight!

"How did the Yin-Serpents come out again? I passed through the Western Xiawan yesterday and saw several Yin-Serpents swimming in the sea; they were huge, almost as big as small whales!"

"Ah, was your ship alright?"

"As soon as we ran, the Yin-Serpents chased us. They swam around right in front of our bow for a long time; everyone on the ship was terrified. They kept poking their heads out of the water as if observing something, and only swam away after half a stick of incense." The man still felt a lingering fear. "Wasn't it said that this sea area was already safe?"

"When was that ever said?"

"The new master of the Yangshan Archipelago, isn't he able to control the Yin-Serpents?"

"That's really blowing it out of proportion; who knows how much of it is true?" His companion realized something. "Wait, that's not right. Yin-Serpents never went to the Western Xiawan before; that's outside the range of the Yangshan Archipelago."

"Ever since the archipelago's upheaval some time ago and the Yin-Serpent corpse tide, they've been darting around everywhere." The merchant sighed. "It's not strange for them to pop up anywhere now."

Commissioner Wu listened to a few sentences casually and didn't care.

Just then, Assistant Prefect Zhao walked in from outside. Commissioner Wu beckoned him over to a partition and asked:

"Are the accounts for last month finished? In three more days, the silver seals must be submitted to the national treasury."

"They are all done, don't worry." Assistant Prefect Zhao looked left and right, and only after seeing that the two merchants had walked far away did he say, "The Yangshan Archipelago hasn't come for inspection these past few days. I heard that they have already harvested most of their palm oil and have also tinkered with quite a few new goods."

Seeing that Commissioner Wu didn't make a sound, he asked again: "What do you think?"

Commissioner Wu rolled his eyes. "The new master of the Yangshan Archipelago is, after all, new to this trade. A novice lacks experience, and the quality is hard to control. The Shipping Commissioner's Office must strictly oversee and repeatedly inspect the goods from his place, urging them to become qualified as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes." Assistant Prefect Zhao immediately grasped the two keywords: "strictly" and "repeatedly." Come to think of it, Commissioner Wu's own palm forest seemed to have a bumper harvest as well, and they had been shipping goods these days. Every season like this, merchants from other places would come to Blade Harbor to collect palm oil.

If they dragged it out for another twenty days or so, the merchants would finish their negotiations and orders, and then each would find their way home.

Assistant Prefect Zhao understood Commissioner Wu's requirements; the sales and shop-opening permits for the Yangshan Archipelago would definitely not be issued in this half-month. If the Yangshan Archipelago wanted to sell oil later, it wouldn't be so easy.

Once the local harvest season passed, the big merchants who purchased bulk commodities would leave the port and head to other regions to split and resell the supplies on hand; after they left, only small peddlers and commoners would be left in Blade Harbor and the Xiawan to make sporadic purchases.

Simply put, the difference between the two is wholesale versus retail; the volume and price are not on the same level.

The Yangshan Archipelago's goods are mainly palm oil, with a huge volume, and they must connect with bulk purchasers. Once the delivery season is missed, a large amount of goods will pile up in the warehouse and cannot be sold; the tiny amount of goods moving in the retail market is a drop in the bucket.

The accumulation of goods will lead to poor circulation and a lack of capital turnover—

Money can only continue to generate money if it circulates at high speed in the trading process. For a novice island master like He Lingchuan, who has limited financial resources, once the goods cannot be sold, it is very easy to form a downward financial spiral.

Assistant Prefect Zhao immediately stated his position: "This subordinate will also diligently oversee and help them improve quality later, so as not to live up to the trust of the many foreign merchants in Blade Harbor."

Commissioner Wu sighed with emotion: "Doing quality well and building a good reputation is what is conducive to the long-term development of the Yangshan Archipelago and Blade Harbor!"

Assistant Prefect Zhao added softly: "My lord, I heard that this island master surnamed He has some skills; even the pirates who have roamed the archipelago for many years have been subdued by him."

This matter had been the talk of the town more than half a month ago, and the officials of Blade Harbor had already confirmed the authenticity of the news, all feeling it was incredible.

Assistant Prefect Zhao had rejected the Yangshan Archipelago's application three times, and he felt a bit uneasy in his heart.

After all, the other party is not quite the same as ordinary merchants.

Must this kind of trouble be handled by him?

"Those pirates in the Yangshan Archipelago, what real skills could they have?" Commissioner Wu snorted. "It's just that the Yin energy there is dense, making it impossible to make a living normally. Pirates are like weeds; they grow back no matter how many times you cut them, and in the end, no one bothers to argue with them."

"Then, it seems the Yin energy was also dispersed by Island Master He?"

"Seeing is believing. Deep in the archipelago, it is still shrouded in gray mist. You say he can really disperse it?" Commissioner Wu sneered. "Some people want to seek fame before seeking profit. Once the reputation is big, are you afraid that money won't roll in?"

"But I heard that several islands have already been cleared..." Assistant Prefect Zhao took one look at his superior's expression and immediately changed his tune. "This 'Island Master He' has been in Blade Harbor for several months, yet he has never visited you, my lord. How arrogant!"

"It is rumored that he has hosted many dignitaries and merchants, but only sent his subordinate, a supervisor surnamed Ding, to pay respects to me." Commissioner Wu smiled without warmth. "Young people, heh."

If he doesn't nod, the Yangshan Archipelago won't be able to sell a single bottle of oil or a single sheet of paper in Blade Harbor! The two returned to the front hall to work. Just as they sat down, someone rushed in from outside, fair-faced and dressed in brocade, looking anxious, almost falling when crossing the threshold.

It was almost late autumn, yet he was covered in sweat. He shouted at Commissioner Wu: "Teacher, something terrible has happened!"

This was Commissioner Wu's disciple, who ran a private school. Usually, he was a teacher of others and carried himself with grace; when had he ever lost his composure like this? Commissioner Wu frowned: "Has the sky fallen? Sit down and speak slowly."

"The Baoji has sunk."

Commissioner Wu stood up with a start and shouted reprimandingly: "What nonsense are you talking about!"

"It should have entered the port yesterday morning, but it was delayed and never returned. This morning, the crew of the Baoji returned by sampan from the sea, saying that the ship was attacked by Yin-Serpents. They failed to fight back and had to evacuate, and then, and then they watched helplessly as the ship sank."

The Baoji was Commissioner Wu's ship, only it was registered under this disciple's name.

The ship was ten zhang long. It wasn't the largest ship in his hands, but it was the newest, having only left the dock and entered the water last year.

The keel of the Baoji was a rare piece of white fir, a gift to Commissioner Wu from someone else. The Baoji built with it was extremely fast, and Commissioner Wu himself often took it out to sea.

Now that he heard this ship had actually sunk, Commissioner Wu felt terrible:

"What is going on! Why did the Yin-Serpents attack my ship? Did it sail into the Yangshan Archipelago sea area?"

"No, no, it was attacked while passing through the Western Xiawan!"

As soon as the three words "Western Xiawan" came out, Commissioner Wu swallowed hard. Assistant Prefect Zhao couldn't help but say: "Western Xiawan! Just now, those two merchants also said that the Yin-Serpents were sizing up their ship in the Western Xiawan and followed them for a long time, but didn't attack them."

Now Commissioner Wu found his voice grating: "I heard it."

"Could the Yin-Serpents be looking for your ship?"

Commissioner Wu kept a cold face and didn't say a word.

When would monsters like Yin-Serpents swim out of the depths of the Yangshan Archipelago to specifically attack a certain ship?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 967 =====