Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 283: Special Request
Whoosh!
The tent flap was forcefully pulled open, and a figure rushed in. The elder of external affairs couldn't help but furrow his brow; he knew it was Beta without a doubt. No one else would dare burst into his tent like this. He put down the steel pen in his hand and looked up at Beta.
At this glance, he was taken aback because Beta was holding a grain bag, looking at him with excitement. The elder frowned and asked, "What is it, Beta? Is there something you need?"
Beta gasped for breath, set down the grain bag, and looked at the elder with excitement. He slowly opened the bag and poured the bamboo rice onto the ground.
The elder watched Beta's actions intently, then his gaze was drawn to the bamboo rice on the ground. This was the best rice he had ever seen in his life. He could no longer sit still, stood up, walked over to the bamboo rice, grabbed a handful, and put it in his mouth to chew lightly.
Good rice! The elder looked up at Beta and asked, "Is this Zhao Hai's rice?"
Beta nodded. The elder inquired, "Is it all the same?" Beta nodded again, and the elder immediately said, "Go ask Zhao Hai to come."
Beta said nothing and turned to run outside.
The elder slowly sat back down, but his eyes never left the bamboo rice on the ground. Such good rice was something he had never seen before. If all the rice Zhao Hai produced was like this, he wouldn't mind paying double the price, let alone half.
After a while, footsteps could be heard outside the tent, followed by Beta and Zhao Hai entering. This time, the elder was very courteous; he stood up and bowed to Zhao Hai, saying, "Welcome, sir. Please have a seat."
Zhao Hai didn't dare take it lightly and hurriedly returned the gesture, then walked over to sit on the elder's right side.
In the human race, the left side is considered more prestigious, so sitting on the right side was a sign of humility, which was why the elder had a good impression of him. Once Zhao Hai was seated, the elder looked at him and said, "Sir, I am truly grateful that you have brought us such high-quality food this time."
Zhao Hai quickly replied, "Elder, you flatter me. It is an honor for Zhao Hai to catch your eye."
The elder, however, didn’t pay attention to Zhao Hai's modesty and stared fixedly at him, asking, "Why would you sell us such good food at such a low price? Please speak frankly."
Zhao Hai smiled slightly and replied, "It's nothing really; there are two main reasons. First, this food is produced in my own territory, so the cost is low. Second, since I have just arrived on the grasslands, I need to open up the market here, so the prices are this low. Of course, this doesn’t mean I will raise the prices later; please rest assured, my food prices will remain unchanged."
The elder nodded, acknowledging Zhao Hai's reasoning. He then asked, "How much food can you deliver to our tribe this year?"
Zhao Hai frowned and said, "Only about fifteen million pounds. Currently, my transportation capacity is limited, and I can only trade for this month. After a month, winter will come, and I need to return to my territory; I can't continue delivering food here."
The elder understood and nodded. After all, the human race would eventually return to their own territory; they couldn’t spend winter with the orc tribe. However, fifteen million pounds of food wasn't a small amount.
Zhao Hai looked at the elder and smiled slightly, saying, "Elder, may I have the honor of meeting His Majesty King Xiqi to discuss our cooperation for next year?"
The elder was momentarily taken aback, then thought for a moment and said, "I can’t decide that. I will report it to the prince and give you an answer tomorrow."
Zhao Hai nodded and looked at the elder, saying, "There is one more matter I’d like to discuss with you. My food convoy has finished unloading and is about to leave. Could you arrange for the payment for the first batch of food? This way, I won’t have to specially transport that back later."
The elder paused for a moment and nodded, saying, "That is not a problem, but we have not prepared the payment yet. You will need to wait a day. May I ask what you would like? All mountain goats?"