Chapter 48: The Spiritual Roots of Heaven and Earth

  "This time, I have indeed come for the sake of the Feng Wei Cao, and also for the consideration of the tens of thousands of martial artists in these three southwestern states!" Qing Ling said calmly, but her words countered Wang Guan Lan's previous statement that they were not there for the martial artists of the southwest, making it clear that she had no ulterior motives.

  Wang Guanlan didn't mind her attitude, because at this moment, he had already thought of a sinister and wonderful idea to deal with this young girl, thinking that he was already in an invincible position, so he seemed extremely calm.

  "So you're saying I'm using a petty person's mind to measure a gentleman's heart?!" He chuckled, "No big deal, I was originally just a petty person anyway. Qing Ling, please go ahead and tell me your true intentions!"

  "I've come for the Five Poison Secret Realm that will open two years later!" Qingling said, her eyes clear and sparkling with a hint of boldness.

  "Five Poisons Secret Realm?!" As soon as he heard these four words, Wang Guanxiao, who was originally standing by and preparing to watch the commotion, was also shocked, involuntarily straightening his body. The Five Poisons Secret Realm, which would open two years later, was not a secret, nor was the legend of the peerless Daoist artifact, the Lu Ding, within the Five Poisons Secret Realm. Therefore, the four words "Five Poisons Secret Realm" were extremely sensitive at this time. As the son of the Ning Wang Fu, Wang Guanxiao naturally knew how much pressure the legend of the Lu Ding had brought to the Ning Wang Fu. Now, suddenly hearing that Qing Ling was here for the Five Poisons Secret Realm, he certainly didn't dare to be careless.

  "The Five Poisons Secret Realm opens once every sixty years, it's not only a grand event for the three southwestern states' martial world, but also a grand event for the entire martial world. At that time, the number of warriors and Taoist priests entering the Five Poisons Secret Realm will be no less than a few!"

  "What does that have to do with anything? The Five Poisons Secret Realm is indeed located in the southwestern three states, but it's an open secret realm. As long as a warrior or cultivator can enter, no one will stop them, and no one dares to stop them. What does this have to do with Feng Wei Cao?"

  "Of course, it's related. Without the phoenix tail grass, there wouldn't be enough antidote pills. Without antidote pills, martial artists and Taoist priests who enter the Five Poisons Secret Realm will definitely suffer heavy casualties. I'm sure you two young masters haven't thought of this, have you?" Qing Ling said calmly. "Martial artists and Taoist priests outside the three southwestern states can carry enough antidote pills with them, but what about those within the three southwestern states? Antidote pills are like other pills, they require phoenix tail grass. Without phoenix tail grass, not only will the efficacy of the pills be greatly reduced, but there's also a possibility of bad pills being produced. Fourteenth Young Master, I'm sure you wouldn't want to see such a situation either, would you?"

  Wang Guanlan didn't say a word, but his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Qing Ling had pointed out something he had overlooked. The Five Poisons Secret Realm was notorious for its toxicity, and everything within it, whether plants or animals, were poisonous to some extent. Even the precious treasures inside were related to toxic substances. As a result, warriors and cultivators who entered the secret realm had to bring large quantities of antidote pills to ensure their safety. With the opening of the Five Poisons Secret Realm imminent, those who planned to explore it would undoubtedly prepare antidote pills. Although there might not be a shortage now, as the opening time approached, the demand for antidote pills would surge, and no one would think they had enough medicine. Once the antidote pills became popular, they would quickly affect the supply of Feng Wei Cao, an essential material for making them. If he were to restrict the production of Feng Wei Cao at this time, the antidote pills in the three southwestern states would inevitably be in short supply. When that happened, he would become the target of public criticism. Although Ning Wang Fu dominated the three southwestern states, this matter involved a top-grade treasure, and his background made it possible for others to shift the blame onto Ning Wang Fu. If something were to happen to Lu Ding later on, people might suspect Ning Wang Fu, and at that time, even Ning Wang Fu wouldn't be able to cover it up.

  Having understood this link, Wang Guanlan's mood suddenly became extremely bad. However, he was not prepared to admit defeat, but instead raised his head and smiled, "So to speak, it turns out that I wrongly accused Miss Qingling. Miss Qingling did this for the martial artists of our southwestern three states to have enough antidote medicine, so she came up with such a move. Forgive me, forgive me!!"

  "It's not worth mentioning!" Although Wang Guanlan spoke politely, Qingling was no ordinary person and could clearly hear the sarcastic tone in his words. However, she didn't seem to mind, "The Five Poisons Secret Realm is notorious for its poison after all, so it's only natural to be cautious. Although I'm not from the three southwestern states, the martial heroes of those states have always been very considerate towards me. So, this time I've really come on their behalf to discuss something with the Fourteenth Young Master!!"

  The martial arts heroes of the three southwestern provinces?!!

  Wang Guanlan sneered again in her heart, "I'm afraid you're here to speak on behalf of those powerful families in the three southwestern states?!"

  At this point, he didn't say anything, but only showed a difficult expression. "Miss Qingling's kindness is appreciated, but this matter still needs to be carefully considered!"

  "Thinking ahead, why?!" Seeing Wang Guanlan's embarrassed expression, Qingling asked, "Can't the Fourteenth Young Master feel the sincerity of the southwest martial arts friends? Or is it still for the sake of a small profit from the Phoenix Tail Grass that you are being so calculating?"

  "This is no small profit!" Wang Guanlan looked up at Qingling, "We Ning Taihang calculated that if this year's Fengwei grass and the previous year's planting volume are equivalent, we can only raise the price to three times higher, and the profit will be only three or four times that of last year. However, if we compress the planting of Fengwei grass, we can increase the price of Fengwei grass by up to 50 times. This difference is not just a matter of Ning Wangfu, but personally, I would lose over 1 million taels of silver in one year. If this continues next year, my loss will be no less than 1.5 million taels. The Five Poisons Secret Realm opens three years later. According to Miss Qingling's idea, if we maintain the full planting volume of Fengwei grass before the opening of the Five Poisons Secret Realm, in three years, my loss would be at least 4 million taels of silver. Miss Qingling, do you think 4 million taels is a small profit?"

  The words made everyone in the room take a cold breath, 40 million taels?

  Is this four million taels? Four million taels in three years? Is that possible? And if you add the losses of the Wang family, what about that? According to the proportion of Ning Wangfu's industry profits submitted, Wang Guanlan lost more than 4 million taels in three years. So, Ning Wangfu lost at least over 2 million taels, isn't this just nonsense?

  Now, Wang Guanxiang's gaze at Wang Guanlan also turned unpleasant. What are you, a young man, boasting about here? I'm not unaware of the benefits of Yicheng, and in one year, it's just a small amount of silver that can't be picked up with chopsticks. How did it become several million taels when it came to Wang Guanlan?

  "What, you think it's impossible?!" Wang Guanlan seemed to read the gaze of several people, and his waist began to straighten up. This table was full of sons of nobles, but they were all just a bunch of country bumpkins. Did they understand economics? Did they understand monopoly? Did they understand that capital is bloody? That the hearts of capitalists are black? They didn't understand anything, yet they dared to discuss economics in front of me!

  "King Qing, do you still remember what I told you last time? Let's discuss it with a few people and see if, according to the young lady's idea, my losses over the past three years have indeed reached 4 million taels!"

  "Right!!" Wang Qingwei slightly bowed his head and raised it again, saying "Fourth Master, two ladies, our original plan was like this!"

  "Fengweicao itself is a rare resource——!"

  “……………”

  “………”

  "It has characteristics such as uniqueness and monopoly..."

  “………”

  "The position of Dan medicine is just like the position of salt in food, so we can sell it as salt and be salt merchants!"

  ………

  "Nobody can't live without salt, so nobody can't live without lemongrass!!"

  "We now have pricing power!!"

  ………

  "We're ready to try deep processing!!"

  "Classify various pampas grasses, grade them, and divide them into different grades according to their quality and marketability!!"

  …………

  …………

  He talked freely for nearly half an hour, and Wang Qing finally stopped, looking at the four sons of the king who were stunned, as well as the two peerless beauties, and the leaders of the Huā Lí Wèi who had heard such a speech for the first time. He suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment, that he had subdued them all - the fourth son of the Wang family, the wandering heroes of Jingling Lake, the top courtesan of Mingyue Pavilion, and even the two leaders of the Huā Lí Wèi. This was an outcome he had never thought possible before, nor dared to think about. But today it had actually happened, and now he couldn't describe his emotions at all.

  "Alright, Fourth Brother, two ladies, did you hear that clearly?!" Wang Guanlan smiled slightly and looked at the three people in the room, "Did Wang Qing say it clearly?!"

  "It's clear, very clear!!" The fourth son let out a long sigh. What Wang Qing had said earlier, some concepts and ideas, although he had never heard of them before, were not difficult to understand at all, and could even be said to be very simple. He was able to easily comprehend them, and in the process of listening, he unconsciously followed his way of thinking and deduced the results, which shocked him greatly. What Wang Qing had said was feasible and extremely easy to implement, with strong operability. According to their method, Wang Guanlan's annual income could indeed reach as much as he had said. The loss over three years would be at least 4.67 million taels of silver, and if operated well, the loss could even reach 5 million taels of silver. This number was likely to make even the Ning King's mansion feel apprehensive.

  The two women were not fools, and the fourth son could settle this account. They could also settle it, and after thinking carefully, their expressions became somewhat awkward.

  Their face is indeed big, and the reason is very sufficient. However, no matter how sufficient the reason, no matter how big the face, losing 5 million taels on the first meeting, this kind of thing, wherever you put it, can't be justified. They are not rascals, once the account is settled, there's nothing more to say.