"Three hundred and thirty thousand."
There was a table full of account books in front of the great elder. He was counting the accounts while wearing a pair of crystal-polished reading glasses and squinting his eyes.
"Grand Elder——"
Xiao Zhan was angry but also amused: "How many times have you flipped through this account book, and you still don't understand it? I think we should just change the name of this meeting room to the accounting office!"
"That's not impossible..."
The great elder listened with his eyelids raised, muttered something, and slowly put away the booklet.
Ever since the market became prosperous, this bad-tempered and stubborn old man has become like this.
He was just like a ball; no matter how hard he tried to kick or slap it, he never let go of his anger. He wore the glasses he bought at the auction every day to settle accounts.
Temper?
How big can a temper be? Can it be as big as these hundreds of thousands of real dollars?
Eating gold energy can nourish people, the ancients were not deceiving me...
The third elder looked at the eldest brother helplessly, pinched the jade bead, and said, "Recently, a mercenary leader came from the Qingshan Town and said he wanted to discuss the issue of stable supply."
"Can't the Third Elder decide on this matter himself? Why drag it to the meeting?" Xiao Zhan moved the table back and put down the tea bowl in his hand.
"Because the leader wants to barter, but he's afraid that the group doesn't have enough funds." The second elder helped.
The table for four people was occupied by the elder alone...
"That's not all. I don't think their mercenary group will last long."
The Third Elder has been handling foreign affairs for half his life. He is considered a man of great experience and is naturally ruthless in judging people. "Although mercenaries are all bloodthirsty, I think that Mu She is too aggressive and has a perverse personality. He must have offended many people."
"Moreover, they are in danger every day and have been injured, but the funds in the group are so scarce. This shows that everyone allocates funds on the spot and squanders them. They are just a group of unorganized, reckless people who don't know how to run a business."
"Oh? In that case, this business really can't be continued." The second elder touched his chin and subconsciously glanced at the first elder.
Then he looked away.
Things are different now. This old guy is unreliable now, and he can't just sit there and do nothing anymore.
It feels a bit uncomfortable.
"I think it's better to just refuse directly."
The second elder coughed twice and expressed his opinion, "Since you want to cut it off, just cut it off with a clean knife."
"Otherwise, if he gets involved with this mercenary group, it might cause resentment among his enemies, and then affect the business of my Xiao family."
"That's right."
The third elder nodded and agreed with him as he continued, "That's what I meant. But I think a little differently."
The second brother glanced at him.
It's a rare opportunity for me to comment, but I get criticized back. Aren't you trying to dampen my enthusiasm?
What will my grandson think?
"My idea is that since we have the initiative, we can use trade to make peace with most of them and stand on the same front with them."
The third elder's eyes wandered around, but he kept talking: "Over time, we will be tied together. If there is any trouble in the future, we can establish a friendship and ask them for help."
"What the Third Elder said makes sense."
Xiao Zhan nodded and changed the subject: "However, since we have come to this point, why not go a step further?"
The two elders couldn't help but look at each other, obviously understanding what Xiao Zhan meant.
Now that we can form a group, why not bind ourselves more tightly? For example, take the lead in establishing a mercenary guild or something, so that we can all make money together.
Those mercenary groups can focus their efforts on putting pressure on outsiders who have not joined, or they can use some tricks to suppress newcomers and reduce strong competitors.
Naturally, the Xiao family has a lot more bargaining chips. They don't need to pay much to gain a fixed and huge market and make a fortune.
"Chief, is this a bit too risky?" The second elder frowned.
This behavior is tantamount to land enclosure and division, which directly determines the pattern of this urban cluster.
As to whether it can be done, there is no doubt about it.
Apart from the Xiao family, which force could wholesale high-quality low-level elixirs? How many of those high-ranking alchemists would be willing to waste time and energy refining so many useless things?
Retail is cheap and of good quality, while wholesale is full and has few defects.
For a mercenary group that has many low-level cannon fodder and mainly conducts mountain sweeps, the Xiao family is the chosen partner.
What's more, it's not like they can't produce higher-end goods.
"Yes! Those families have had complaints for a long time. I think it won't be long before they take action."
The third elder seemed to see through everything: "Even those Dou Ling masters are watching here."
"This is not what we should be most worried about..." The Second Elder, who finally stood in the atmosphere, complained, "You are the Director of Foreign Affairs, but you didn't even think of that."
The third elder was stunned, and his expression changed slightly.
Obviously, he also realized the seriousness of the situation: "Chief, what about us?"
Xiao Zhan raised his hand to suppress his voice, then stood up and paced in the hall, thinking.
——The Mittel family!
Not only did they set up regional mercenary-merchant groups, but they also sought external alliances.
Eventually, they reached cooperation with merchants in various regions and merged into a business complex covering the entire Jia Ma Empire.
Then...
Nothing more happened.
The stable output of cultivation resources is already highly linked to mercenaries, and now there is also a commercial monopoly.
It can be said that the Miter family directly replaced the grassroots structure of the Jiama Empire. From the common people to the lower-level practitioners, everyone only knew Mittel family, but not Jiama.
Then, they only had auction houses in each city that they did not interfere with, and the headquarters were moved to the imperial capital, near the Yunlan Sect and the imperial palace.
Under the euphemism of marching into the imperial capital, they became the largest commercial force officially recognized by the empire.
No matter what, the Xiao family moved out of the imperial capital. Everyone present understood the ins and outs of these matters.
"This has happened before. Will Jiama allow it to happen again?"
The second elder frowned, but there was more than one thing that bothered him: "Besides, Mittel may not just sit back and watch us grow bigger."
"And that alchemist. He may not accompany us to do such a risky and unpredictable thing." The third elder, who had been AFK silently, finished off the opponent, but his blow caused real damage.
The Second was more worried than the others because he knew the source of the pills was the unknown master of his grandson.
What if this affected his grandson?
Xiao Zhan stayed there quietly for a long time, struggling in his heart.
He was different from these three old men. He had no intention of returning to the imperial capital from the beginning.
It would be best if it succeeds, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't.
Rather than jumping back into the muddy waters of the imperial capital, he would rather be a local rich man, living a safe and stable life.
If Dou Ling is placed in the imperial capital, there will be big brothers everywhere.
But if placed in the local area, he would be a top-notch strong man.
Same principle.
What's more, the new generation of the Xiao family has good talents and personalities. If they are trained properly, it is not impossible for three or five Dou Ling to emerge in the future.
Xiao Zhan didn't want to give up this opportunity.
"Three elders, the children grow up very quickly..."
The atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly became heavy.
"If it really doesn't work, just accept the amnesty then." The Great Elder, leaning with his eyes closed, tapped the armrest. "At worst, I'll sacrifice my reputation and ask for help."
The second elder's face trembled slightly.
Who else can the Xiao family ask for help now? It's none other than the Lionheart Marshal who is on par with the former family master's brother.
"Let's put this matter aside for now. We'll discuss it later."
As expected, when this matter was mentioned, Xiao Zhan felt a little annoyed and chose to avoid talking about it on the spot.
"Tatta…"
The maid knocked on the door and came in to say, "Patriarch, three elders, Miss Xiao Yu is waiting outside."
"Oh?"
The elders instantly perked up and straightened their postures.
Even Xiao Zhan was visibly relieved. He sat back in his seat and waved, "Let her in."
The maid glanced at the people's tea bowls from a distance.
"Yes."
"It's been a while since I last saw Yu'er." The great elder twirled his beard, his eyes full of smiles.
"Yeah, yeah... I don't know how she's doing in the academy."
The third elder also missed him from the bottom of his heart.
The Xiao family's top leaders valued this Canaan top student who worked hard to practice.
Especially in the past two years, my family has become rich, but I didn't tell anyone…
I feel so guilty about it.
Several leaders of the Xiao family smiled at each other, and the gifts in their arms had already been prepared for Xiao Yu.
…