Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 247: Battle Rations
An unexpected answer surprised Wells and Yale. Although the friendship battle flag was very important to the orcs and would not be easily given away, compared to being the only grain merchant for a race, everyone would surely choose to be the only grain merchant rather than ask for a battle flag.
However, both Wells and Yale were smart people. With a moment of thought, they understood Zhao Hai's meaning; Zhao Hai was telling them that he valued friendship over profit!
Wells looked at Zhao Hai, who was calmly gazing back at him. After a while, Wells raised his wine cup and said, "As you wish, Brother Zhao Hai."
Zhao Hai smiled slightly and lifted his own cup, saying, "Thank you, Brother Wells." The two exchanged smiles and downed their drinks in one gulp.
The friendship between men can sometimes be quite strange; there’s no need for many words or actions. Perhaps just sharing a drink is enough to become good friends. Yet, at times, this friendship must also withstand tests.
After sharing another couple of drinks, Zhao Hai finally spoke up, "Brother Wells, where are you heading now? If you plan to continue on, you might encounter the cavalry from Iron Wall Fortress, which could lead to a conflict."
Wells smiled faintly and replied, "The only reason I came here was to see Iron Wall Fortress, nothing special. Now that I've met you, it’s impossible for me to go there. Food is far more important than sightseeing."
Zhao Hai smiled slightly, "Looks like you won't let us off the hook. To be honest, I was thinking of opening a store in Beast God City. Hehe, you know, I have not only grain but also a lot of fresh vegetables. Do you think people would come to buy from a vegetable store there?"
Wells looked at Zhao Hai with a bitter smile, "My brother Zhao Hai, are you joking? Do you know how expensive vegetables are among the orcs? You could exchange an equal weight of vegetables for an equal weight of a mountain goat, and that’s if there’s a market for it. Do you think anyone would buy your vegetables?"
Zhao Hai smiled slightly, "It seems this could indeed be a good thing. By the way, Brother Wells, since you orcs love eating mutton so much, do you also have plenty of cooking methods for mutton? Is it possible to make mutton canned goods?"
Wells was momentarily stunned, then shook his head, "No, my brother, you know that while canned goods can be stored for a long time, there aren't that many cans available on the prairie, so we cannot make canned goods. In fact, making canned goods is too much trouble, and to be honest, the taste is really not to our liking."
Zhao Hai chuckled, "Then do you have any methods to prepare and preserve mutton for a long time? Of course, the taste must be good."
Wells looked at Zhao Hai in confusion, "My brother, what exactly are you trying to do? Why are you asking these questions?"
Zhao Hai smiled, "My brother, my territory is too vast, but I don’t have many hands. I need many hands, so I want to buy some slaves from you. I can exchange a large number of mountain goats for grain, but once those mountain goats arrive in human territory, they won't survive long. Since I haven't started any business related to mountain goats on the continent, if I bring them back, they will just die. So I want to find a way to kill the mountain goats and process their meat for long-term storage. This way, I can slowly find ways to sell the mutton. What do you think?"
Of course, Zhao Hai wasn't being entirely honest; he could store as many as he wanted in his space. However, there was one thing Zhao Hai had to admit: he wanted to make more money. If he could set up a deep processing plant for mutton, he would earn even more.
Currently, he had a large territory, but if he only farmed there, he could not earn much. If it weren't for the space magic tool, Zhao Hai wouldn't have so much capital now. To make money, he needed factories and industry to earn more.
Zhao Hai was also worried; it was fine to buy slaves among the orcs, but orc slaves wouldn't be able to farm. They could learn, but that would take a long time. In winter, those slaves would hardly have anything to do; it would be better to have some side businesses.