10,000 Source Stones were quite heavy.

Dragon Cypress traveled back and forth between the Ten Thousand Nations Continent and Xianglan Mountain three times, running continuously for three days.

On the first trip, he transported some of the Origin Force Food back to the mountain, where Fragrant Cypress oversaw the Blue Ants' refinement.

On the second trip, he brought back the remaining Origin Force Food and 5,000 Source Stones.

On the third trip, he carried back another 5,000 Source Stones and the metal cans.

Dragon Cypress was busy in Xianglan Mountain for another three days, completing all the production of Origin Force Honey and Bee King Honey. It took two trips to transport them all.

There were 5 cans of Azure Bee King Honey, priced at 2,000 Source Stones per can.

There were 10 cans of Scarletlight Honey, priced at 2,000 Source Stones per can.

There were a total of 100 cans of various Origin Force Honey, priced at 1,000 Source Stones per can.

Adding to these were the previously delivered 30 cans of Southern Sour Jujubes and Scarletlight Honey.

White Ivy gathered all the goods, counted them twice, confirmed the quantities were correct, and then reported, "There are a total of 170 rice grain markers. The goods are priced at 170,000 Source Stones. I need to pay you..."

How much is 170,000 multiplied by 0.8?

White Ivy began to rack her brains to calculate.

Watching White Ivy, Dragon Cypress started to feel a headache too, and said, "136,000 Source Stones."

Dragon Cypress then said, "I'll give you that one can of honey-preserved Azure Fruit as a promotional sample; I won't charge you Source Stones for it."

"Huh? There's a gift too?" White Ivy said happily, "Thank you so much! You're so generous, Dragon Cypress Ant King!"

Dragon Cypress said, "..."

I'm conducting serious business with you! This is a big deal!

Dragon Cypress spoke seriously. "Last year, I owed you 6,000 Source Stones. This year, you brought 10,000 Source Stones in cash and 91,000 Source Stones worth of Origin Force Food. Plus, you repaid the 10,000 Source Stones to Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord on my behalf. On your side, that totals 117,000 Source Stones. Now, 117,000 minus 136,000 equals negative 19,000." He lifted his forelimbs and continued, "You owe me 19,000 Source Stones! Shall we settle with Spider King Silk Scrolls?"

White Ivy said, "..."

Then, White Ivy said, "No money—"

She then asked, "Can I owe it?"

Dragon Cypress said, "Owing it will do... Here's another opportunity to make money, White Ivy Mountain Lord. You can help find out if any insect is willing to sell an Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot. I want to buy one, in perfect condition, for Ink Orchid. These 19,000 Source Stones will be your deposit. My ideal price is 25,000 Source Stones. If you find one, buy it directly, and I'll make up the difference later. How much you earn from this deal depends on your abilities."

"Oh—"

"Alright—"

White Ivy said jealously, "You and Ink Orchid are both wealthy bugs, huh."

White Ivy muttered, "I reckon it'll be hard to find. Melde has an Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot and cherishes it like life itself. She wouldn't even let me borrow it to play with... absolutely refuses."

Not lending it is correct. If lent to you, it would most likely never be returned.

Dragon Cypress didn't respond.

White Ivy manipulated the Spider Silk Rope, tidying up the goods on the ground, and asked, "Dragon Cypress, can you calculate how much I could earn if this batch of goods is sold successfully? Once I make some money, I'll buy an Ice-Fire Water-Making Pot too!"

Dragon Cypress replied, "Around 25,000 Source Stones."

White Ivy sighed, "That doesn't sound like much."

That's not much? That's already more than 99.9% of the annual territory income of a Mountain Lord-Level Insect Clan Warrior, you know!

Dragon Cypress knew very well that White Ivy was eager to make a lot of money and get rich.

Dragon Cypress also hoped that his cooperation with White Ivy would continue for a long time.

Dragon Cypress said slowly, "Let me suggest two methods for you."

"I conducted a small test. Origin Force Food costing 3,000 Source Stones per can, with the current packaging method, can be stored for one year without any issues."

"So, next year's Southern Sour Jujube and Scarletlight Honey, I'll package them at 2,000 Source Stones per can or 3,000 Source Stones per can. This will reduce the cost of metal cans and Bee King Jelly for packaging. Your profit will be higher with each can sold."

White Ivy agreed, "Feasible!"

Dragon Cypress shook his tentacles and said, "This is the first method to increase income. However, we only have one last batch of the Divine-Given Southern Sour Jujube. The next batch of Divine-Given Azure Fruit won't be available for another three years. The Divine-Given Scarletlight Fruit also has limited production. The Ant King Honey made from Divine-Given Origin Force Fruit isn't hard to sell, but there is an upper limit to its production. White Ivy Mountain Lord, to earn more, we can only sell more Origin Force Honey, but it's impossible to drastically increase sales overnight."

Dragon Cypress said, "The second method to increase income... is to increase the variety of goods and expand the sales scope."

Dragon Cypress continued, "The method you mentioned last year is good. Next year, we could try to increase the variety of Origin Force Food to 100 types while also improving the quality of the Origin Force Food used. However, I do not recommend cutting costs. My suggestion is to produce Origin Force Honey at 2,000 Source Stones per can and try selling it to High-Level and Mountain Lord-Level warriors."

"The 1,000 Source Stones per can honey is for Primary-Level and Mid-Level Little Warriors. The 2,000 Source Stones per can honey is for High-Level and Mountain Lord-Level warriors. If successful, we could also make higher-grade honey, at 3,000 Source Stones per can, for sale to Lord-Level and even Insect King-Level warriors."

Dragon Cypress paused, then continued, "We could also consider producing a reasonable amount of Origin Force Honey that enhances Water System and Fire System Elemental Abilities. When you sell Scarletlight Honey and Azure Bee King Honey, you could also promote these as a side product, right?"

"Elemental System Origin Force Honey is definitely for Mountain Lord-Level or Lord-Level Insect Clan warriors, directly packaged at 2,000 Source Stones per can, or 3,000 Source Stones per can. It might be harder to sell, but the profit is sufficiently high."

White Ivy listened carefully to Dragon Cypress's suggestions and analysis. After a long period of thoughtful silence, she acknowledged, "We can start trying. This year, I'll try to promote and pre-sell; I'll ask around to see if any insects are willing to order."

Dragon Cypress said, "White Ivy Mountain Lord, that method of using different colored Spider Silk Bags and Spider Silk Ropes to track orders for Origin Force Ant Honey is somewhat cumbersome. Let me suggest a simpler way for you."

White Ivy said, "Go ahead."

Dragon Cypress said, "Use your Earth System Abilities to condense a smooth Stone Slab measuring 0.5 meters in length and width, and 1 centimeter in thickness."

Without saying much, White Ivy turned and activated her Talent Ability. Soil and stone gathered before her, condensed into a sphere, which was then compressed, stretched into a flat oval, and adjusted its shape, finally solidifying into the Stone Slab Dragon Cypress had requested. It floated down in front of him.

Dragon Cypress raised his front leg and engraved a mantis hind leg pattern on it, saying, "This represents Comprehensive Physique Enhancement."

He then carved a Woodberry Fruit Pattern, saying, "This represents a fresh fruit, light fragrance flavor."

Next, he carved a vertical line behind them, saying, "This represents 1,000 Source Stones per can."

Dragon Cypress said, "Every time you pre-sell one can of 1,000 Source Stones per can Origin Force Honey for Comprehensive Physique Enhancement with a fresh fruit, light fragrance flavor, you'll draw a circle here to mark it. In the end, count the circles to know how many cans of each type were pre-sold."

Dragon Cypress continued engraving a mantis hind leg pattern, a Woodberry Pattern, and then two vertical lines, and explained, "This is for 2,000 Source Stones per can, Comprehensive Physique Enhancement, fresh fruit, light fragrance flavored Origin Force Ant Honey. Similarly, for every can pre-sold, you'll draw a circle behind it."

White Ivy said, "Understood!"

White Ivy added, "A bit less trouble."

Dragon Cypress said, "Much less trouble!"

Dragon Cypress continued, "After your trading activities on the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent end, use the Stone Slab to tally your orders and purchase the corresponding Origin Force Food. When you come to my mountain, hand me the Stone Slab, and I will then tailor the production according to the statistics on it."

White Ivy said, "You're right. Your claws are nimble, and the patterns you engrave are exquisite. You should engrave all the icons."

Dragon Cypress said, "..."

Dragon Cypress added, "There is one minor issue. After next spring's trade, I will be evolving into a 3rd Age Period High-Level Ant King... Afterward, who will be responsible for trading with me?"

White Ivy said, "I have someone lined up, but it's not a Dulai Flame Spider. It's my best friend, a direct descendant of Yellow Peach Mountain Lord, a newly evolved 1st Age Period Advanced Little Warrior, a Golden Mantis Warrior. It is called Red Peach."

It seemed White Ivy indeed had a hard time within the Dulai Flame Spider Tribe, unable to find a Little Flame Spider to partner with for lucrative deals that could earn substantial Source Stones.

Dragon Cypress asked, "Golden Mantis warriors aren't skilled in transporting goods, right? If everything goes well, our cooperative business will only grow larger each year, requiring us to transport more and more items. We'll still need the broad-carapaced Flame Spider warriors for that."

Dragon Cypress suggested, "Consider partnering with Seven-Leaf Mountain Lord; you could share a Little Flame Spider Warrior."

"No need!" White Ivy said. "I've referred to Outworld Civilization Artifacts and designed a tool for transporting cargo."

Curiosity piqued, Dragon Cypress was about to ask for details when White Ivy proudly declared, "Next year, I'll bring it along to try out. I'll let you witness the intelligence of spiders!"

Dragon Cypress said, "...Fine!"

Dragon Cypress then said, "Give me some Spider Silk Bags and Spider Silk Rope."

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