Chapter 812

"Huh? What is it?"

Su Qin said softly, "Be careful. I remember Zhao Jiao telling me before that you have some conflict with Xiao Ning and the others?"

Zhao Chi nodded. "It wasn't really that big of a grudge. I had one clash with Xiao Rui, Xiao Luan, and Xiao Ning—the three of them—but we never actually fought."

Su Qin said, "Then be careful. Xiao Ning is no kind-hearted woman. If you don't have to, don't provoke her."

Zhao Chi laughed. "Why would I provoke her? They're the ones who came looking for trouble with me."

"Mm, exactly. Developing the territory with all your heart is more important than anything else. I can see that your potential is higher than anyone's among us. Given time, you'll definitely surpass most people."

Zhao Chi was a little puzzled.

Su Qin was very close with Zhao Jiao, but she hadn't had much interaction with Zhao Chi.

Why did she have so much confidence in him?

Although Zhao Chi was confident in himself too, hearing it from an outsider still felt a little different.

Zhao Chi said, "Don't worry. I never start trouble. If I don't have to, I don't even leave my territory."

Su Qin nodded. "Exactly. A lord's first duty is developing his territory. Keep it up. Although I'm a year above you and became a lord a year earlier, my development hasn't been smooth either. I've gone through a lot of setbacks. If you have any questions, you can come ask me too."

Zhao Chi smiled. "Got it. Thanks."

"No need. I'll be off then. See you later."

"See you."

Zhao Chi didn't return to his territory, but went to the clan leader's house instead.

Zhao Shizhang and several elders had all returned and were gathered there.

Seeing Zhao Chi, they were all a little surprised.

Zhao Shizhang laughed. "What's up, Zhao Chi? Something going on?"

Zhao Chi nodded. "Clan leader, regarding our super-bright fire oil, it's better for us to keep it for internal use for now."

Zhao Shizhang hadn't expected him to bring this up.

He thought for a moment, then nodded. "You're worried about Xiao Ning and those alien races?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry, I understand. Besides, we don't even have enough fire oil to distribute within the clan ourselves. There's no way we'd give it to outsiders now."

Zhao Chi was reassured.

"Good. There may be more fire oil coming in over the next few days. I'll just contact Third Brother directly to receive it."

"That's fine. Tell Chen Dashi not to worry. Whatever he makes, we can take it all."

Although Zhao Chi could make over a hundred gold coins' worth of fire oil every day, a hundred gold coins was still something the Zhao clan could easily absorb.

At least for the near future, Zhao Chi could keep making fire oil to exchange for gold coins.

"Understood. I'll head out first then."

"Mm, alright."

Zhao Chi greeted the other elders, then returned to his territory.

Back in his territory, Zhao Chi first went to Penglai Village to take a look.

Twenty new female villagers arrived today. Gu Qing reassigned ten of them as animal husbandry workers.

Animal husbandry workers could raise poultry and livestock, and also herd.

Their professional skill was animal husbandry.

Among them, the husbandry team leader was named Mu Yang, with a decent personality.

The cattle shed had also been finished last night. It covered a sizable area and could hold 100 head of cattle.

But these Feathered Cattle were too massive in size, so it could only hold 50.

Another one could be finished by tonight, and then all the Feathered Cattle could be accommodated.

From now on, this cattle shed would be the workplace for the ten female husbandry workers.

Zhao Chi handed over all affairs of both territories to Gu Qing, slipped into Tang Ruan's body himself, and entered the oil refinery.

Now all the female workers in both refineries had returned.

Each wore an apron, their bare, smooth backs exposed, working at full capacity making fire oil.

They couldn't make high-brightness fire oil, but ordinary fire oil was no problem for them.

Fire oil was the raw material for super-brightness fire oil, simple to make, and they could handle it perfectly.

With them making fire oil, Zhao Chi could go straight to refining it, saving some time.

Amid the greasy smell, another day passed.

At 8 a. m. the next day, a message came from the clan.

【Attention all: today at 10 a. m., please go to the village central square for a meeting】

The village central square?

What kind of meeting would be held there?

That place was rarely used as a meeting venue—usually it was for entertainment.

Especially the children, who liked to play there.

But Zhao Chi could easily guess it had to do with Xiao Ning.

Although that woman said she was just coming home to visit, judging from her situation yesterday, she must have taken some position among the alien races.

This time it definitely wasn't as simple as just coming back to visit.

Zhao Chi stopped his work.

He took Tang Ruan straight to Xiaoyao Spring to wash off the greasy smell.

Then he slept until just past nine.

This time he consumed 75 Quick-Craft Talismans and produced 1,380 liters of ultra-bright fire oil.

While there was still time, he immediately contacted Zhao Cang.

Zhao Chi 【Third Brother, another 1,380 liters of fire oil — should I bring it over to you now?】

Zhao Cang 【Huh? Now? I was just about to head off to a meeting】

Zhao Chi 【It won't take long, just a few minutes】

Zhao Cang 【Fine, I've opened the access permissions for you, come on over】

Activate the Random Mark Talisman, teleport.

Soon, Zhao Chi harvested another 276 gold coins.

But he didn't leave right away; instead, he requested a list.

Zhao Cang said, "Look at it when you get back? The meeting's about to start."

Zhao Chi said, "I only buy the rare materials for Quick-Craft Talismans and fire oil — do we only have these 470 Quick-Craft Talismans left?"

Zhao Cang asked in a low voice, "You're… buying supplies for Chen Dashi?"

Zhao Chi smiled and said, "Mm, yes."

Zhao Cang nodded: "Right, our clan only has this much left, but I can ask the others, and the other families should have some too. Though buying from other families might be a bit more expensive — about the same as the Exchange."

"It's fine, just stock up a reasonable amount, and I'll also take these 5 Self-Select Material Treasure Chests."

"Mm… 470 Quick-Craft Talismans, 5 Self-Select Treasure Chests, and these rare materials… 320 gold coins total."

Just right.

Zhao Chi still had 336 gold coins — more than enough.

Although he was down to only 16 gold coins again, he now had a full 800 Quick-Craft Talismans.

The rare materials purchased were also enough to produce 3,000 liters of fire oil.

It looked like the money was gone, but it had all turned into real goods.

The quick trade complete, Zhao Chi returned to the Great World.

Every household had come out.

Apart from the patrol teams, the entire village's people were gathering toward the central plaza.

Lords and commoners alike.

Clan members and independent players alike.

Looks like a full-village assembly.

Arriving at the village central plaza, it could truly be called a sea of people.

After all, the plaza wasn't large, and over a thousand people had to squeeze in here, making it look very crowded.

Everyone was looking toward the north.