Chapter 214: Inspecting Wine City

214. Chapter 211: Inspecting Wine City

"Fine, if there's nothing else, hurry back. Don't be a hindrance here." Lou Gao, seeing that the time had been mostly accounted for, said to Li Xuan in a sour tone.

Lou Gao also knew Li Xuan still had a lot to deal with, so he didn't try to keep him.

"Lord Lou, I'll come see you later; I'm heading back now." Li Xuan smiled, nodded at Lou Gao, then turned and left.

After leaving Fentian Ge, Li Xuan boarded a carriage and left Weapon City; after all, he truly had many matters to attend to and no time to linger.

After departing Weapon City, Li Xuan thought for a moment, then steered the carriage toward Wine City.

Weapon City is responsible for the Fifth Rank Heaven-Shaking Cannon, used for warfare, while Wine City's side business is brewing, which will become a pillar industry for Ladi Canyon in the future.

Of course, this is only a pillar industry before Alchemy Pill emerges; once Alchemy Pill appears, nothing yields higher profit! Wine City is managed by the Tao Family, and Li Xuan happened to be here for an inspection.

……

Soon, Li Xuan drove the carriage to the gate of Wine City.

Seeing that Wine City was about the same size as Weapon City, Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction.

There were no structures like Fentian Ge in Wine City; after all, brewing differs from forging and doesn't require earth fire, so construction was relatively simpler.

Li Xuan glanced at the Blueprint and saw that Wine City contained thirty‑six breweries, massive in scale, with corresponding supporting factories.

As for Wine City's underground, there were three layers totaling one hundred thousand square meters of massive Wine Cellar, capable of storing vast quantities of wine.

The temperature in the Wine Cellar was ideal, perfect for storing wine.

Wine City is now overseen by the Tao Family, since among Li Xuan's subordinates only the Tao Family can brew.

Unlike Lou Gao, the Tao Family are Li Xuan's own people; they are slaves Li Xuan purchased, and they fear him greatly.

The memory of Li Xuan burning those slaves with the Burning Heart Seal still lingered in their minds.

Facing Li Xuan's decisive and domineering nature, they had no thought of resistance.

Li Xuan packed up the architectural Blueprint of Wine City, then drove the carriage leisurely toward its interior.

Compared with the bustling Weapon City, Wine City was considerably quieter; within the vast city, only two or three Tao Family members roamed the streets.

"Young Master!"

A Tao Family member spotted Li Xuan entering Wine City, shouted in surprise, then fell before him and respectfully bowed his head.

"No need for formalities, stand up." Li Xuan smiled at the Tao Family member and said.

"Thank you, Master! The Clan Leader is brewing at Factory A3; I'll take you there right away." The Tao Family member sprang up, then led the carriage, guiding Li Xuan toward the factory.

After a few minutes, the Tao Family member finally brought Li Xuan to a brewery.

As soon as Li Xuan arrived at the brewery, he saw Tao Lin with Tao Family members waiting for him.

"Welcome, Master!" Tao Lin, dressed in coarse clothes and an apron, with several Tao Family members behind him, hurried forward and knelt before Li Xuan's carriage, bowing his head.

"All stand up; from now on a normal salute is enough, no need to kneel." Li Xuan said from the carriage to the surrounding Tao Family members.

"Yes, Master." The Tao Family member still did not rise, still kneeling.

"Tao Lin, long time no see." Li Xuan shook his head helplessly, then jumped down, helped Tao Lin to his feet, and said with a smile.

"Indeed, Master, long time no see." Tao Lin beamed at Li Xuan and said respectfully.

"Let's skip the formalities. Tell me, have you adapted to brewing in this Wine City?" Li Xuan asked Tao Lin.

"We've adapted, we've adapted. This place is perfect for brewing; if it weren't for the shortage of Tao Family members, we could run all of Young Master's breweries, producing massive amounts of wine daily." Tao Lin bowed and said to Li Xuan.

After Tao Lin stood up, the other Tao Family members also rose.

"Haha, that's good. Then, Tao Lin, I'm giving you authority: tomorrow go to nearby villages and select people suitable for brewing, aim to get all these breweries running; such a large place shouldn't be wasted." Li Xuan also handed the selection authority to Tao Lin.

Li Xuan trusted his subordinates, so he didn't hoard power; anything that should be delegated was given out, since his main task was cultivation, not making money.

To get the whole Wine City running, a single dilapidated Tao Family wasn't enough, so Li Xuan agreed that Tao Lin could recruit others to help.

"That's wonderful, Young Master. As long as we have enough people, all our breweries can run, producing at least tens of thousands of jin of wine daily!" Tao Lin said excitedly to Li Xuan.

Tao Lin also looked at Li Xuan excitedly, thinking how much Li Xuan trusted him to hand over the recruitment authority.

"Tao Lin, you will become the first City Lord of Wine City; most affairs will be under your management. In the future I'll assign people to co‑manage with you, and you should liaise with the caravan to convert wine into profit quickly, since Ladi Canyon can't forever rely on my subsidies; it needs its own industry to earn money." Li Xuan said with a smile to Tao Lin.

"Yes, Young Master, I will not betray your trust!" Tao Lin knelt before Li Xuan, fervently bowing.

"Alright, in a while I'll give you a formula; then you can brew some medicinal wine, combine it with your wine, and hand it to the caravan for sale, boosting income without expending much soul power." Li Xuan said with a smile to Tao Lin.

"Yes, Master." Tao Lin nodded again.

"By the way, have you been diligently cultivating this past year? Brewing is important, but cultivation can't be ignored. Tao Lin, report to me on your family's cultivation status." Li Xuan, recalling that the Tao Family is a Soul Master Family, asked Tao Lin.

The Heaven-Shaking Cannon requires a Great Soul Master to operate, so Li Xuan wanted to urge the camp's Great Soul Masters to cultivate; the higher their cultivation, the longer they can control the cannon, a pre‑emptive arrangement for the future. Then Tao Lin reported: "In answer to the Master, the family still has ten members, six possess cultivation talent, three children have reached Level 10, the remaining children have soul power at Level 8 or 9; they will soon break through." Tao Lin recited the details, as they were his own children.

"Additionally, the family has twelve Great Soul Masters; eight are at the Great Soul Master rank, two have broken through to Level 20 Great Soul Masters, the other members have recently advanced one or two levels, and the rest are essentially ordinary people." Tao Lin produced a small notebook and read its contents to Li Xuan.

"After wandering so long, you haven't had time to cultivate properly, but now that things are stable, you must cultivate well. Those who have hit a bottleneck should be taken out of the line; Tao Lin, send people to bring them to the City Lord's Mansion and wait for me. In two days I'll take them into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts." Li Xuan nodded at Tao Lin.

"Yes, Young Master, I'll take them there right away." Tao Lin bowed again to Li Xuan.

"Alright, that's all. I'm heading back." Li Xuan finished and prepared to leave.

"Young Master, aren't you going to see the brewery?" Tao Lin paused, then curiously asked Li Xuan.

"With you here, I'm reassured. Keep up the work; once the slave status is lifted, you can expand your own family." Li Xuan smiled, waved, then boarded the carriage and left.

"Thank you, Master! Master!" Upon hearing Li Xuan, Tao Lin and the other Tao Family members widened their eyes, and the next second they knelt without hesitation, bowing to Li Xuan.

Although there are now few restrictions, they remain slaves, which is a humiliation to them. Li Xuan's promise to cleanse this shame makes them sincerely bow to him.

Li Xuan left Wine City without looking back.

After leaving Wine City, Li Xuan thought for a moment, then returned straight to the City Lord's Mansion. Besides these two towns, there is another small town called Medicine City, where Li Xuan manufactures medicinal herbs, but it's currently unattended, and he was too lazy to check on it.

Back at the City Lord's Mansion, Li Xuan entered the secret room where Bai Chuan was resting.

At that moment, Bai Chuan was teaching Bang Chui how to use a short sword.

Although Bang Chui's constitution wasn't great, his sword practice was methodical, and his technique was gradually improving.

"Bai Chuan, you're doing well. Keep teaching; Bang Chui has little combat ability and needs thorough training." Li Xuan said with a smile to Bai Chuan.

Bang Chui is an auxiliary‑type soul master, basically having no combat power; if Bai Chuan can teach Bang Chui some sword techniques, Bang Chui will have more means of self‑preservation, and Li Xuan can be more at ease.

Moreover, Li Xuan remembers that he seemed to have taught Bang Chui some routines of the Eight Trigrams Wandering Dragon Palm, but he doesn't know whether Bang Chui still remembers them.

"Greetings, Young Master! I also see that little Young Master Bang Chui's constitution is a bit weak; let him practice the sword to make his body stronger," Bai Chuan immediately bowed respectfully to Li Xuan, lifted his head and said with a smile.

"What's there to be polite about, Bai Chuan? How long do you need before you can fight normally? I might have to go to the Star Dou Great Forest soon to help a few people hunt soul beasts and obtain soul rings, but it will only be the first and second soul rings, so it won't be too dangerous." Li Xuan patted Bai Chuan's waist, then laughed and said to Bai Chuan.

There's no helping it; Li Xuan is not yet ten years old, and compared with Bai Chuan, his stature is still a bit smaller.

"The little Young Master's medicine is very effective; I can already exert about eighty percent of my strength. If it's just dealing with a hundred‑year‑old soul beast, there should be no problem. The soul ring I need will probably require a while before I can hunt for it," Bai Chuan said to Li Xuan with a smile.

After his strength recovered, Bai Chuan visibly relaxed a lot; he looked brighter overall, and his smile increased considerably.

"Alright, pack up our things; tomorrow morning we set out to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts and obtain soul rings," Li Xuan smiled at Bai Chuan and said.

"Yes, Young Master, I will definitely spare no effort to protect you and the little Young Master," Bai Chuan immediately knelt on one knee and said earnestly to Li Xuan.

"What's there to be polite about? But Bai Chuan, remember that your main duty is to protect Bang Chui. My soul power level isn't high, but my combat ability is decent, and I have more means of self‑preservation," Li Xuan said to Bai Chuan with a smile.

"Yes, Young Master!" Bai Chuan said seriously.

"Alright, we still have to set out tomorrow; get some rest early. Bai Chuan, from now on you'll live in the City Lord's Mansion; ask Zhou Chen for a room key," Li Xuan thought and decided to let Bai Chuan stay in the City Lord's Mansion, as it would be safer.

"Yes, Young Master." Bai Chuan nodded in agreement and said nothing more.

Then Li Xuan led the two of them out of the secret chamber, returned to the surface, and each went back to their rooms to rest. — Early the next morning.

"Young Master, the Tao Family has arrived." Zhou Chen's voice came in from outside the bedroom.

Now Zhou Chen serves as the manager of the City Lord's Mansion, so the daily task of waking Li Xuan is assigned to him.

"Got it, have them wait in the reception hall; I'll go in a moment," Li Xuan replied groggily to Zhou Chen, then closed his eyes to rest a bit longer.

Ten minutes later, Li Xuan tidied himself and arrived at the reception hall.

"Greetings, Master!" Tao Lin, accompanied by a middle‑aged man and two children, bowed to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan stared at Tao Lin's party of four, was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered.

"Tao Lin, I didn't expect you to have broken through to level 20!" Li Xuan smiled brightly at Tao Lin; it was normal, as the Clan Leader of the Tao Family should be one of the more gifted members.

"I'm just lucky," Tao Lin replied with a smile, saying nothing more.

"By the way, from now on call me Young Master, not Master," Li Xuan said to Tao Lin.

"Yes, Young Master!" Tao Lin's eyes lit up as he smiled at Li Xuan, clearly wanting to elevate their status.

At that moment, Bai Chuan walked in from outside.

"Young Master, everything is ready; we can set out at any time," Bai Chuan said after entering the room, bowing to Li Xuan.

"Alright, rest for a while first. By the way, Tao Lin, what kind of soul beasts does your family usually need as soul rings? That way we can more conveniently help you find suitable soul rings," Li Xuan asked Tao Lin.

We're about to enter the Soul Beast Forest; Li Xuan also needs to know which soul beasts are most suitable for the Tao Family, so that entering the Star Dou Great Forest will be more directed and less labor‑intensive. (End of chapter)