The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 112 - 85: First Arrival at Tea City (Request for Pink Tickets)_2

Chapter 112: Chapter 85: First Arrival at Tea City (Request for Pink Tickets)_2

However, if there is a mere 20% profit on goods, it can lure merchants from all over to disregard the law and risk danger, let alone the outrageous profit that can be many times higher?

Therefore, it is only logical that the number of merchant teams converging on this official road in front of us is increasing.

According to Ning Xiaoxian’s estimation, there are already nearly ten merchant teams merging and mixing along this official road, and new teams continue to join, nodding to each other in greeting—hearty and amiable. This is understandable; after slogging through the mountains for months and possibly struggling with demons, the sudden sight of so many of their kind must spontaneously generate a sense of security.

By the way, she released the two little bat demons into the wild last night. They are too young and must live on blood; bringing them into Rock City would be harmful and not beneficial.

Now with enhanced senses, she can distinctly smell the scent of blood and medicinal plasters coming from many of the merchant team members around her. It seems that compared to them, the Cloud Tiger Trading Team has been quite lucky on this journey, with few casualties.

What surprised her was that from the Boundary Stele to the inside of the city, the road seemed to be paved with blue stone slabs. Although it was not as smooth as the cement pavements on Earth, at least it kept the dust down, and the recent rain did not make the road muddy and difficult to navigate. The merchant team’s wagons and horses, after traveling the rugged mountain roads, stepped onto the blue stone pavement and immediately became more comfortable and pleasant. The passengers’ faces also appeared more contented, and their impression of Rock City was favorably influenced.

This Rock City knows how to treat guests indeed. Coming from modern society, she is aware of the slogan "To become rich, build roads first," but the fact that the city’s officials also realized this was astonishing. It seems that there is no lack of talent in any world.

By the time they arrived at the checkpoint, the mixed groups on the official road had grown to as many as seventeen, forming a grand and imposing procession. Rock City had set up a temporary checkpoint about three hundred yards from the city walls, so as not to disturb the lives of the residents in the city. Those passing the checkpoint received a green token each. The merchant team leader could get many conveniences in the city with it.

It seems the City Mansion has dispatched extra manpower to inspect the people and goods of the merchant teams, hence the Cloud Tiger Trading Team was able to pass the inspection within two quarters, and continue on their way. However, the deeper into the city she went, the more Ning Xiaoxian felt something odd about this city.

Given its name "Rock City," using giant stones for construction would make sense. This was the first city she had seen in Otherworld, its towering walls uniformly made of large, neatly polished green stone blocks, comparable to the ancient city walls of Huaxia, also with parapets and corner towers but lacking the moats she had always wanted to see. Perhaps these city walls were designed mainly against demons, not human compatriots?

However, what is odd is that the green stones used in the walls seem to be from different eras; some are covered with moss and dull in color, marking the passage of time, while others are sharp and clearly bear the marks of recent hand polishing—seeming like recent constructions. These two were oddly mixed together, appearing repeatedly on various city walls, creating a strong sense of discordance.

Deng Hao walked ahead, and she took the opportunity to ask He Xiaojiu about it. This lad had already accompanied the merchant team to Rock City twice and knew much more than her: "The history of Rock City is over four hundred years. Since it became Tea City, the business has been booming. Seven years ago, it expanded extensively, with its territory increasing by more than twice, the original city walls were dismantled and rebuilt, with materials in short supply, later on, a lot of newly polished green stones were added." He laughed, "After the expansion, I’ve only been here once. The city is spacious and comfortable, with special warehouses for merchant teams to unload goods, which is very impressive compared to before—by many times better."

After crossing the sturdy and broad gates, the merchant team officially entered Rock City. Upon entering, she was once again amazed:

The central streets within the city were actually straight! Just the width of the four main roads reached about a hundred steps each, leading directly to the four city gates. Then the overall layout of the city was basically divided into a neat grid pattern. Such urban planning has obvious benefits, whether for transporting goods or troops; everything was efficient and direct. As she had surmised, the pavements of the city’s main roads were also made of blue stone slabs, even more refined and smoother than those outside, with the noise from the carriage wheels significantly reduced.

Having just entered the city, the waiting servants in green attires immediately came forward. After inspecting Deng Hao’s green token, they led the merchant team to the tea house district. Rock City is known for its tea, but the tea house district is not a place for tea drinking or lodging; rather, it is a place for cargo storage. The City Lord had impressively allocated the entire northern part of Rock City as a cargo area, where incoming merchant teams were directly taken there, receiving a warehouse to store their goods depending on the size of the team and the quantity of the cargo. The warehouses all looked identical, distinguished only by numbers on the doors, with dedicated personnel guarding each one.

Furthermore, according to the green-robed servant, local merchants and residents typically rent this tea house district for storage or even as storefronts for small businesses, with rent only about 70% of ordinary shops. However, during the harvest seasons of spring and autumn tea, this district must be unconditionally reclaimed, provided to passing merchant teams for free use. Even so, during Rock City’s off-season for business, the occupancy rate for this tea house district still reaches over 70%.

Even by Ning Xiaoxian’s standards, the planning of this tea house district can be described as "professional."

Since the expansion of Rock City, Deng Hao had come for the second time and was quite familiar with the process. Leading the merchant team, they claimed a warehouse and unloaded the goods. Since the new tea would enter the market at the earliest in four days, the next few days would be a time of free activity for the merchant teams. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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