I Can See Your Combat Power
Chapter 1194 - Chapter 1194 Chapter Four Hundred and Eighty-Seven Support

Chapter 1194: Chapter Four Hundred and Eighty-Seven: Support Chapter 1194: Chapter Four Hundred and Eighty-Seven: Support Longzhou Calendar, 1786, November

Chaochang, first snowfall

Once a coastal city begins to accumulate snow, it’s like the heavens themselves cannot hold back the flurries.

In just one short night, the entire city of Chaochang was blanketed in white, and the sudden drop in temperature reduced the number of pedestrians on the streets by thirty percent.

If it weren’t for the sake of making a living, no one would choose to go out in this kind of weather, preferring instead to nestle in a warm house, heat up a pot of old wine, and gather a few small dishes as a reward for a year of hardship.

To live life with all one’s might and to enjoy with all one’s strength; this is perhaps an attitude etched in the bones of the Chaochang people.

Being in this prosperous yet turbulent city, even the most ignorant small folk have witnessed many great rises and falls.

Some are lost in these unpredictable fluctuations, while others come to appreciate the value of life.

The business of Du Shi Agency was back on track. The three small agencies coordinated well, and the low cost of ship maintenance, stable procurement channels, and impressive self-sufficiency quickly stabilized their footing.

No sooner had Yun Xiu stabilized than she began the second phase of her plan. She shared the favorable profits derived from Du Shi Agency’s advantages, reaching out to a multitude of small and medium-sized agencies with an olive branch.

In just a few short months, alliances were formed with over a dozen agencies, and she firmly grasped the initiative, leaving Tang Luo speechless in amazement.

“Why would these people want to cooperate with us?”

“Why wouldn’t they want to cooperate with us?”

Yun Xiu rolled her eyes and explained, “Right now, if small agencies go to sea alone, they face exploitation by pirates. The large agencies would rather see the small ones starve to death; they just ignore them. Small agencies can only ensure their safety by forming alliances. I have a reputable shipyard that reduces costs for members, I have stable sales channels, and not to mention strong military protection. Why wouldn’t they ally with me?”

“I understand what you’re saying, but hasn’t the situation changed now?”

Tang Luo expressed his concern, “Not to mention anything else, Chaochang has shipyards that have been passed down for over a hundred years; if not fifty, then at least thirty. As for stable human slave trade routes, there’s no shortage of slave traders in Chaochang who got their start from selling slaves. With the expansion of the alliance, your advantages will soon no longer be advantages, because anything you can do, others can do too!”

Compared to Tang Luo’s concern for the future, Yun Xiu seemed quite relaxed as she shrugged and said, “Then we’ll just do something others can’t.”

“Like what?”

“Like justice.”

Yun Xiu spread her hands and explained, “Everyone who can survive in the Chaochang agencies is slick. Dealing with them can be difficult yet simple. If you play mind games and manipulative tricks, they’ve got plenty of countermeasures. But if you remain unbiased and treat all allies with fairness, you can secure your position.”

“Is that all?”

“Of course, there’s more to it,” Yun Xiu said with a smile. “If it were only about being just, we wouldn’t attract so many small agencies to naturally gather around us. You need to also have a way of doing business.”

“What way?”

“Since it’s a cooperative alliance, it means they need to use our channels, which involves financial transactions and profit-sharing ratios.”

As she filled a bowl with pork ribs in front of Tang Luo, Yun Xiu smiled and said, “The method is simple, say a small agency wants to use our sales channel; taking a twenty percent commission is reasonable, even twenty-five percent works. At that time, we only take fifteen percent.”

“Fifteen percent?”

Tang Luo suddenly realized and, lifting up his bowl, said emotionally, “No wonder these agencies hold you in such high regard…”

“They do not hold me in high regard.”

Yun Xiu, with a smile, sat down and said, “What they respect is the order of the alliance and the way the profits are shared. Thus, there is no need for an excess of martial force. These allies that gather around us have already become the best protectors of Du Shi Agency.”

“At present, this business has entered a beneficial cycle. Whether it’s the scale of the shipyard, the supply channels, or the size of our martial might, as long as we maintain fairness within, we can continue to grow. Before Longzhou’s population dividends diminish, the alliance will be able to develop to a point where it can contend with major agencies. By that time, facing the overall decline in the population dividend, large agencies dedicated to the mass low-price population trade will find it much harder to turn around and compete with us for market share in Longzhou.”

“Impressive…”

Tang Luo exclaimed, “So this is the way of the Yun Family in business, huh?”

“There’s nothing impressive about it.”

Yun Xiu simply smiled lightly, sitting across from Tang Luo, “It’s just that there are so many clever people in the world, when a simple and honest fool appears, they naturally become precious.”

“Great wisdom often appears foolish; that is the way of the king. When everyone is nitpicky and calculative, coming across someone who acts fairly and is willing to give up a fair share is truly moving, and would inspire people to follow.”

“Okay, okay, no more compliments, or the soup will get cold,” she said happily.

Her eyes turned into two crescent moons, and Yun Xiu pointed at the soup pot with a laugh.

On this early snowy morning, the two young people consumed the warm soup and sat under the eaves, watching the snowflakes drift down into the courtyard.

“The weather is so nice today, why don’t we practice some grappling? I’ve already finished all nine forms of the external techniques~”

She spoke with all seriousness, but after several lessons, she knew well what he was planning. She let out a light huff, “Practice by yourself. I won’t be fooled.”

“What are you saying?”

Tang Luo lightly tugged at Yun Xiu’s sleeve, smiling as he pleaded, “To practice grappling, you need a partner. I’m now weak and out of breath. In case something happens, if I know a few moves and grappling techniques, I won’t be holding you back, right?”

“Well… well… let it be clear, we’re just practicing grappling, and you better not act inappropriately.”

Unable to withstand Tang Luo’s pleas, Yun Xiu agreed, her face turning red.

“Cough, what kind of person do you take me for!”

Tang Luo said earnestly, “Since I am still learning grappling, if there is any improper movement, I hope Instructor Yun will bear with me!”

I knew it would turn out this way.

Rolling her eyes slightly, Yun Xiu leaped gracefully, like a white lotus standing in the snow, with snowflakes fluttering down.

The young woman displayed her acrobatics to invite the delicate young master under the eaves.

Looking at the beauty… the martial artist standing tall in the snow, Tang Luo was filled with the thrill of battle. He stepped on the veranda and leaped out, pouncing toward the person in the snow like a fierce tiger.

Since the exercise was about close-range grappling, facing Tang Luo’s fierce approach, Yun Xiu executed the Jade Maiden Shuttle from her grappling techniques.

She darted into Tang Luo’s side like a rainbow shadow, their four arms met, and using a soft force she pushed aside his arms. Then Yun Xiu dropped her body to Tang Luo’s left side, her right hand lifting to flick his left arm away. Her body was as flexible as a white snake, her left leg entwining Tang Luo’s right, gathering force in her right shoulder, and then with a thunderous impact, she slammed into Tang Luo’s chest.

Knowing Tang Luo had thick skin and strong muscles, Yun Xiu did not hold back, her shoulder pushed forward explosively, expecting to send Tang Luo flying, but to her surprise, he did not budge at all.

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