World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 170 - 170 One Two Three Gold Coin an astronomical number of Gold Coins!_2

170: One Two Three: Gold Coin, an astronomical number of Gold Coins!_2 170: One Two Three: Gold Coin, an astronomical number of Gold Coins!_2 Suo Mu spoke very conservatively; in reality, the production for half a year would be far more than ten million jin.

Following this, Suo Mu expressed his concerns, “But even if the half-year production reaches ten million jin, or even twenty million jin, when converted into Gold Coins, it’s only about twenty thousand, which is a very, very long way from one hundred and fifty thousand Gold Coins.”

According to Suo Lun’s estimates, at this rate of development, in four months, the total production of the salt fields could reach at least fifteen million jin.

But these salts converted into Gold Coins would also amount to only twenty thousand, which is far from enough to take back Tianshui City.

Then Suo Mu said, “Master, we are currently facing three fatal crises.”

“The first crisis is that the seventy or eighty thousand jin of food we brought will soon be consumed.

Even if we drink porridge every day, we can only last about twenty days.

After twenty days, we will run out of food.”

Suo Lun had already noticed this point, fortunately, there was enough salt available now; otherwise, drinking porridge every day would be very difficult for these salt workers to bear such high-intensity labor.

Suo Mu continued, “The second crisis is that yesterday we discovered a ship stealthily observing our salt fields from afar.

This ship was definitely sent by Gui Xingfu.”

“Did they discover anything?” asked Suo Lun.

The Samurai leader Suo Mu replied, “Because they were far away, they only saw the salt fields and not the salt on the fields.

So they thought we were digging fields to prepare for planting food, and they were mocking us.

However, Gui Xingfu will definitely continue to send people to surveil us, and I’m afraid that one day the secret of our salt fields will be discovered.”

This was undoubtedly true; even if Gui Xingfu trapped Suo Lun on Chaos Stone Island to die of his own accord, he would still conduct long-term surveillance.

The Samurai leader Suo Mu said, “The third crisis is that our accumulated salt is increasing, but we can’t sell it.

We don’t have enough ships to transport this salt, nor can we find a buyer large enough.”

In four months, there would be more than ten million jin of salt, enough to supply Rage Wave Kingdom for more than a month—indeed, no merchant could handle such a large batch of salt.

Suo Mu added, “Moreover, the shipping routes around Chaos Stone Island are blockaded by the Gui Clan’s fleet.

Even if we had enough ships, it would be difficult to get our salt out.”

Indeed, slipping out one ship under the cover of night might go unnoticed, but a fleet of hundreds of ships would find it difficult to conceal their movements.

By then, Gui Xingfu could easily rob these salt transport ships by disguising his people as pirates.

These three crises were all extremely deadly.

If unresolved, the vitality of the entire island would be strangled in an instant.

Suo Lun remained silent, instead looking out over the sea toward the west.

Now, whether it was the development of salt fields or the production of salt, everything had entered a regular pattern.

These salt workers were professionals after all; once they got the hang of the principles of salt-making, they quickly became even more proficient than Suo Lun.

The errors made before were gradually corrected, the salt-making became more standardized, and the output continued to rise.

So now was the time for him to leave, and the time to solve these three crises.

“I will leave the territory tomorrow and return in at most half a month,” Suo Lun stated.

“By then, not only will I bring back enough food and a sufficient fleet, but I will also bring back more than fifty thousand Gold Coins.”

Suo Mu was astonished; even if the salt stores surpassed two or three million jin in ten days, it could sell for at most three or four thousand Gold Coins—how could it possibly reach fifty thousand Gold Coins.

But he had grown fully accustomed to his master’s miracles.

If he said he would bring back fifty thousand Gold Coins, then he definitely would.

As for how it would be achieved, that was not something for him, the Samurai leader, to imagine.

He simply did not possess the nearly heaven-defying intellect of his master.

…

After Suo Lun left Chaos Stone Island by ship, he took a large detour on the sea before landing at a dock on the northern side.

This place was already within the jurisdiction of the kingdom and not within the sphere of influence of Gui Xingfu.

After landing, Suo Lun and Ye Jingyu disguised themselves and traveled lightly under the cover of night, tirelessly heading toward the imperial city.

He needed an astronomical amount of Gold Coins, an astronomical amount of food, and a huge fleet.

The salt he planned to sell was not tens of thousands of jin, not even millions of jin, but tens of millions of jin, or even more.

For such an astronomical amount of salt, there was only one entity in the entire Rage Wave Kingdom that could handle it, and that was the royal family.

Traveling incognito, day and night, after four days, Suo Lun finally reached the outskirts of the imperial city.

The two had entered the royal castle in the guise of samurai, for his current visage could not be seen within the castle walls; no lord could enter without the king’s command.

Half an hour later, Suo Lun appeared outside Duke Zhi Ting’s residence.

He directly took out the jade pendant given by Zhi Ting and said to the servant of the Duke’s household, “Please inform His Grace that an old friend seeks an audience.”

A quarter of an hour later, he was in the secret chamber of Duke Zhi Ting.

…

“Suo Lun, you asked Gui Xingfu for a Chaos Stone Island where not even weeds can grow?” Duke Zhi Ting asked.

“Yes,” Suo Lun replied, not expecting the news to have spread so fast.

“The older the ginger, the zestier it is.

You really couldn’t outwit that old fox, Gui Xingfu.

You were not only humiliated, but also trapped on that barren land.”), Duke Zhi Ting said, “Now, the whole royal city is calculating the date of your demise.

Are you seeking my help?

Then I must tell you, I can assist you, but don’t harbor too high hopes, my assistance will not exceed five thousand Gold Coins.”

Suo Lun couldn’t help but be startled.

“You might think I’m heartless.

You helped me win seventy thousand Gold Coins in that big wager with Zhi Ning, and yet I can only offer you five thousand Gold Coins, right?”), Duke Zhi Ting said with a trace of pain in his eyes, (“Just five days after you left the royal city, one of my treasuries was robbed.

Not only were all the Gold Coins stolen, but several hundred people died too.”

“Was it Prince Zili’s retribution?” Suo Lun asked.

“Of course it was him,” Zhi Ting said, his face twisting in anguish, “The location of my treasury was top-secret, even those guarding inside didn’t know where they were.

Apart from myself, only a trusted concubine of mine knew, and now…

she has also vanished.”

Instantly, Suo Lun could feel Zhi Ting’s pain.

He hadn’t only lost Gold Coins, but also affection; he no longer knew whom he could trust around him.

“How many Gold Coins were lost?” Suo Lun inquired.

“Ninety thousand,” Zhi Ting answered, “Seventy thousand of which were won from Zhi Ning, and the remaining twenty thousand belonged to my treasury’s funds.”

Ninety thousand Gold Coins.

With that, Zili not only recouped a massive amount of his losses but also caused Zhi Ting severe damage.

“So now, I can only support you with five thousand Gold Coins,” Zhi Ting said, “Moreover, one must help oneself before expecting help from others.”

The last statement, uttered by Zhi Ting, held a hint of mystery, as if to imply something more.

Suo Lun bowed and said, “Your Grace, you have been as kind to me as a mountain, how could I possibly ask you for money?

On the contrary, I am here to propose a business deal to you, to help you earn an astronomical sum of Gold Coins.”

“An astronomical sum?

How many Gold Coins are we talking about?” Zhi Ting asked, “Fifty thousand?”

“Not just that,” Suo Lun said.

“Eighty thousand?” Zhi Ting’s breathing had become a bit rapid.

“Not just that,” Suo Lun said.

“One hundred thousand?” Zhi Ting was trembling.

“Even more than that, much more,” Suo Lun said.

More than one hundred thousand Gold Coins?

Where in the world did such a huge business exist?

Zhi Ting asked, “So what’s the actual sum?”

“This deal will make money through generations, earning beyond a million Gold Coins, surpassing the annual taxation of the kingdom,” Suo Lun said.

Zhi Ting’s eyes suddenly burst open, revealing an utterly incredulous light.

…

Note: Here’s the second update, even if I’m far from home and a thousand miles away.

I still bring my laptop to write, committing to an update of eight thousand words.

Brothers, I beg for your support and for your votes, I bow to you with pastries in hand.