Chapter 160: Chapter 159: Visitors from the Nobility

There are two ways to sell the Kerosene.

The first is for Zhao Chi to make it himself in the Great World.

This would save him the tax of moving it from his own territory to the Great World.

Many small roadside shops, or people who have lost their territories, do it this way.

But the downside is that he would be the only one making it, which means very little manpower.

The second way is to produce it in Zhao Chi’s territory.

This would allow the female Refiners to participate.

Manpower would increase significantly.

But when taking it out of his territory, he would have to pay a tax.

Even so, overall, he would still earn more than if he made it himself.

It’s just that a large portion of the profits would go to the nobles.

’It’s a bitter pill to swallow.’

However, even if Zhao Chi sold this Super-Improved Kerosene in large quantities, he wouldn’t have to worry too much about attracting attention.

After all, this Technology wasn’t exactly cutting-edge.

It was like a kindergartener who could solve second-grade math problems.

People who saw it would just say, "Not bad," or "Pretty impressive," but no one would take it seriously.

It was the same for Zhao Chi’s situation.

"Yo, this Kerosene is pretty good." "This Kerosene burns so brightly, let’s buy some." "This place must have a new formula, let’s buy some to take back and try to copy."

At most, that’s what would happen.

No one would say:

"Holy shit! This is classified Technology! Don’t let it get out!" "Quick, capture him for research!" "Don’t let him escape, dissect him for observation!"

...It wouldn’t be like that.

No powerful organization’s research institute would kidnap the uncle selling pancakes downstairs just to study why his secret sauce is so delicious.

So, Zhao Chi wanted to choose the second method.

Let the female Refiners produce it and make money for him.

But, unfortunately...

This Kerosene Technology was, after all, "Super-Improved" grade.

These Basic female Refiners couldn’t handle it yet.

Never mind guaranteeing the Mass, they couldn’t even guarantee they could successfully produce it at all.

After all, they had only changed their profession one day ago.

He couldn’t ask too much of them.

In that case...

For now, he could only choose the first plan.

First, Zhao Chi would have to make it himself in the Great World, then sell it on consignment at the Exchange.

But similarly, a normal Trade also had a transaction tax.

The nobles would still take a huge cut.

And the Exchange would take a small Transaction Fee.

But it didn’t matter.

Zhao Chi could set the price a bit higher to pass the cost of taxes and transaction fees onto the buyers.

Everyone did it.

That’s why items sold out in the open were much more expensive than those in the black market.

But where to produce it was another problem.

There were no specialized Refiners in the family, nor in the entire village.

He’d have to go to a neighboring village or the town.

’What a hassle...’

With the black market gone, Zhao Chi was finding it hard to adjust.

He still had 179 Gold Coins, which could support him for the time being.

He decided to wait and see for now.

At the very least, he should finish making Shirts for all the female villagers first.

He had to be fully prepared for battle at all times.

When a battle broke out, their upper body Defense would also be increased.

Time to find Tang Ruan and start crafting!

Just as he was thinking this, a notification came from the family group chat.

It was from his eldest uncle, Zhao Qizong:

[It has been confirmed that our village’s additional cooperation has been canceled. Everyone can return to their normal lives.]

[Everyone performed very well this time. We can say we worked together to overcome this difficulty.]

[The family may undergo significant adjustments in the future, but everything is for the sake of a better life.]

[No need for everyone to wait any longer. You can all go rest.]

Just as expected.

It was just as Zhao Chi had predicted.

The extra quota was canceled.

But everything comes at a price. He wondered what price the Zhao Family had to pay this time.

However, these matters were too far removed for Zhao Chi; he had no standing to participate in them.

His current policy remained: development, development, development!

He found Tang Ruan, who was sweating profusely from her work.

"Tang Ruan, let’s go. Time to start crafting!"

Tang Ruan had been waiting for Zhao Chi. Upon seeing him, her eyes curved into smiling crescents.

"Alright, my lord. Come on in."

Zhao Chi slipped inside.

By now, Zhao Chi could be considered a qualified Tailor.

[Name] Zhao Chi

[Tailor] Sewing 17

[Specialization] Silk Stockings 16, Shirt 1

points in Sewing increased crafting speed by 17% and also provided a 17% Mass guarantee.

Crafting faster, with better Mass.

It was the same for the Silk Stocking Specialization.

It increased crafting speed by 16% and also provided a 16% production guarantee.

Originally, the Effect wasn’t obvious when it was only increased by 1 point.

But now that both had been raised to over 10 points, the Effect was very clear.

Calculating just the crafting speed for Silk Stockings, it was a 33% increase.

Besides these.

Zhao Chi’s normal Mood was around 80%.

With the boost from the Carefree Spring, he could maintain a constant 130% Mood.

If he was intimate with Gu Qing for a while, he could also get a temporary Mood increase of about 30%.

It just consumed Physical Strength and Energy.

But it was worth it.

After all, Gu Qing’s Mood also increased a lot.

One person’s exertion in exchange for two people’s improved Mood was a pretty good deal.

But Gu Qing wouldn’t let Zhao Chi get too tired.

That woman always wanted to subvert the natural order.

She liked to be on top of Zhao Chi.

Zhao Chi didn’t have a competitive desire to "always be on top," so it was easier for him, and he just let her do as she pleased.

Whether Gu Qing genuinely liked it that way or was just trying to take care of Zhao Chi so he wouldn’t get too tired, Zhao Chi didn’t mind.

Unfortunately, this Mood boost’s Duration wasn’t very long.

And it wasn’t like Zhao Chi could keep Gu Qing in bed all day just for this Mood Bonus.

Gu Qing, on the other hand, would be very willing...

Her endurance was also very high.

But Zhao Chi... his Ability was limited, after all.

So, he would temporarily ignore this part of the Mood Bonus.

Zhao Chi only counted the part added by the Carefree Spring.

The portion exceeding 100% could also increase crafting Efficiency.

So this was another 30% increase.

All things considered.

If Zhao Chi was making Silk Stockings, his total Efficiency had already increased by 63%.

And this was without him having used any Enhancement on his Efficiency Attributes.

Originally, crafting and applying Enhancement to one pair of Silk Stockings took about 6-7 hours.

Now, it would only take around 4 hours.

The same logic applied to Shirts.

Shirts took longer than Silk Stockings, about 8 hours.

After all, Shirts used more material and had a stronger Durability Attribute, so of course they took more Time.

But with the bonuses, the total time was also reduced from 8 hours to about 5.4 hours.

But this was only for now.

After all, every time he used a Speeding Charm, it counted as one day’s work experience.

As long as Tang Ruan was around, Zhao Chi could use them indefinitely.

Combined with Experience Fruit, his Professional Skills could be accumulated and leveled up quickly.

Zhao Chi: [Tang Ruan, did you eat the Experience Fruit?]

Tang Ruan: [I ate it.]

Zhao Chi: [Good, then let’s start crafting!]

Tang Ruan: [Mhm, do your best, my lord.]

Zhao Chi had wanted to make all the women’s Shirts in one go.

But at 5 PM, Zhao Chi was interrupted.

The system chimed again.

It was Zhao Huai calling again.

Zhao Huai: [Zhao Chi, get over here, quick. Someone from Zone 7 is here again.]

Zhao Chi felt his Inner Heart tighten.

’Nobles from Zone 7?’

’I wonder what it’s about this time.’

’They can’t be here for Gu Qing, can they?’

Zhao Chi: [Why are they here? Do you know?]

Zhao Huai: [How would I know? Who would dare ask about the business of those big shots? Just get over here. It’s the clan’s public house again.]

Under these circumstances, even if Zhao Chi didn’t want to go, he had to.

He handed the territory over to Gu Qing.

After separating from Tang Ruan’s Body, he had to return immediately.

Gu Qing quickly grabbed Zhao Chi.

"My lord, are they here for me?"

"I’m not sure. Not necessarily."

Gu Qing’s expression grew serious.

She pointed to the white wall of fog in the distance.

Then she said with determination, "My lord, if anyone comes in, I’ll hide inside that wall of fog. I absolutely will not let them find me or cause you any trouble."

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