NOVEL NEXT Chapter 149: Unexpected
White Ivy is really too unreliable.
But aside from her, Dragon Cypress couldn't find a second Flame Spider Roving Merchant that he could both trust and was willing to cooperate.
Dragon Cypress had no other choice.
Fortunately, when he was bored, he brought Fragrant Cypress with him and used cypress wood to make a lot of signboards in advance.
Fortunately, last autumn he harvested plenty of common Southern Sour Jujube Fruits, refined them into Ant Honey, which tasted fairly mediocre and thus he barely ate any, so there was a lot left over.
Fortunately, it was late winter season and he'd just picked Golden Light Fruit. After picking, Ink Orchid had been living on Kiwifruit Mountain with Blue Catalpa and Snakebark Maple, and they barely ate any either.
Common Southern Sour Jujube Ant Honey, mixed with refined Divine-Given Southern Sour Jujube Seed, and then padded with some common Woodberry and Sour Plum Ant Honey, blended together to make 15 cans of "Southern Sour Jujube Bee King Honey."
Of those, 10 cans were priced at 1,000 Source Stones, and 5 cans at 2,000 Source Stones.
Using the same method,
Common Golden Light Fruit Ant Honey, mixed with refined Divine-Given Scarletlight Fruit, then Southern's Lychee Life Seed brewed common Origin Force Ant Honey, along with some regular Lychee Ant Honey, plus some honey to adjust the flavor—a total of 15 cans of "Scarletlight Honey" were cobbled together.
Of those, 10 cans were priced at 1,000 Source Stones, and 5 cans at 2,000 Source Stones.
They were all sealed in the new style metal cans that White Ivy delivered last year, totaling 30 cans.
Rushed for a day and night, finished just in time.
Dragon Cypress hurried off.
...
—Melde must be so pissed she's blown her top.
—But can you blame me for this? It's White Ivy who's too impatient.
Dragon Cypress felt uneasy.
He first parked the Dominating Throne deep inside the Starship, only carrying a medium Spider Silk Bag with 170 Divine-Given Gorgon Fruit Seeds, and went straight to the small woods behind the hill to wait.
In the morning.
The Flame Spider Caravan led by Spider King Spurge slowly approached the gathering place.
White Ivy was as fiery as ever, maybe even more impatient, she spat out her own Life Seed ahead of everyone, keeping an eye on Spider King Spurge's Life Seed as it landed, immediately staking out her spot, letting her Life Seed take root and grow rapidly, young green leaves swaying in the sunshine and breeze.
"Spider King Spurge, I'm heading over now!"
White Ivy tossed out a line, turned to glance smugly at Melde who had just found her spot and was spitting out her own Life Seed, then waved her forelegs triumphantly, turned around, and set off with a spring in her step.
She crossed over the hill.
Dashed into the woods at top speed.
"Dragon Cypress!"
"I'm back! Ha—bet you didn't expect this, huh?"
White Ivy was very happy, very excited, also very smug.
Dragon Cypress: "..."
Dragon Cypress honestly hadn't expected White Ivy to come looking for him first.
"Where's Melde?"
"Melde's at the Ten Thousand Nations Continent too. She's slow, so I didn't wait, just got here first."
"You two split up?"
"Did Seven-Leaf tell you?"
"Yes—"
"Told you, Seven-Leaf has terrible bug-manners!"
"Did Melde divvy up all the goods?"
"All given to her! After tallying things up, I actually still owed her some Source Stones. But I'll pay her back soon."
"Did you borrow Source Stones from Spider King Spurge?"
"100,000, interest-free for three years. I used it all to buy Origin Force Food suitable for making 'Origin Force Honey'. Stuff that enhances comprehensive physique sells best, so I bought all of that, no problem right?"
"Uh… you spent all 100,000 Source Stones already?"
"Of course! Actually, it… maybe, might not be enough."
"I…"
Dragon Cypress wished he could bring the whole ant colony here to bite this dumb spider to death.
Produce 100,000 Source Stones' worth of Origin Force Ant Honey? Exactly who do you think you're going to sell it to?!
White Ivy hadn't noticed Dragon Cypress's anger at all, enthusiasm high and bursting with confidence, she asked:
"Dragon Cypress, last time that one jar of your Origin Force Ant Honey used about thirty different types of Origin Force Food for strengthening comprehensive physique, right?"
Dragon Cypress replied, drained, "Twenty-eight types."
White Ivy: "I just thought up a brilliant way to boost profits! But hey, since I thought of it, this part of the profit belongs to me!"
With a flicker of thought, White Ivy's carapace-tied Spider Silk Ropes all untied, and she took off three large Spider Silk Bags, saying grandly:
"Didn't you say you need Source Stones up front? Here, 3,000 Source Stones! Is that enough? If not, next year I'll move 5,000 Source Stones over for you! If 5,000's not enough, I can bring you 10,000!"
Dragon Cypress: "..."
At the sight of Source Stones, Dragon Cypress felt his mood improve slightly.
White Ivy was also the only Flame Spider Roving Merchant willing to haul large loads of Source Stones for him.
And looking at her carapace, the Origin Force Food purchased with 100,000 Source Stones actually wasn't all that much.
Most were just metal cans.
Dragon Cypress still hadn't figured out what he ought to say.
White Ivy then unloaded the Spider Silk Bag filled with metal cans, beaming with pride, "These Source Stones are all deposits, you know. Deposits for regular Origin Force Honey. I've already pre-sold 51 jars—worth 51,000 Source Stones' worth of Origin Force Ant Honey!"
"Dragon Cypress, last time you said your 'Refinement' skill is really strong? Our caravan's going to stay here about ten days. Is that enough time to make 51 jars?"
Dragon Cypress: "???"
Dragon Cypress wondered if he'd misheard, feeling a bit lost. "Fifty-one jars? Presold? Deposit already received?"
White Ivy looked a bit anxious, a bit embarrassed, and said: "I know this year's trip was a bit sudden, maybe there's not enough time… Do you have enough backup 'fruit honey' for blending? If not, you can add some honey. I've got honey prepared for you."
Dragon Cypress: "..."
Dragon Cypress had stocked up a large batch of regular Ant Honey after going wild foraging last year. Fifty-one jars definitely wasn't a problem.
But the problem was…
"How did you even sell them? Are the bugs of the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent all idiots? Don't tell me you've suddenly become a genius?"
Dragon Cypress truly couldn't comprehend it.
White Ivy bristled, proud: "I've always been the smartest Flame Spider!"
White Ivy offered a quick explanation: "Main thing is, I solved the deadly flaw of 'Origin Force Honey'—that it can't be stored long-term. Origin Force Honey is really popular with the Little Warriors, so I specifically visited the wealthier territories that have Little Warriors and let them do a tasting. The Little Warriors liked it, shouted until their elders would pay the deposits. Got it?"
Dragon Cypress: "!!!"
Dragon Cypress: "..."
Starting with the Little Warriors to pitch the 'Origin Force Honey'—that was a tactic Dragon Cypress had thought of before.
A little on the sneaky side, but it was definitely workable.
Dragon Cypress asked, "You actually found a way to solve the storage problem for 'Origin Force Honey'?"
"Of course!"
"It's simple!"
White Ivy manipulated her Spider Silk Rope, rummaging among her cargo, pulled out a bundle of rolled-up Spider Silk Bags from the bottom, opened one, and took out a petite Spider Silk Bag wrapped around a small, delicate bottle, handing it over to Dragon Cypress.
"Open it and see."
Dragon Cypress took it, opened it, and inside there was a minuscule, exquisite bottle coated outside with a layer of Multicolored Spider Silk.
Just looking at this bottle, you could tell it held something out of the ordinary.
Dragon Cypress's expression grew serious. He pulled out the stopper. Inside was a pale golden paste, its rich aroma dizzying enough to make a bug light-headed.
A distinct Origin Force Fluctuation—concentrated, not dissipating.
Clearly produced by the Bee Clan.
You could see it and feel it too—this was a truly top-level luxury product.
Dragon Cypress didn't recognize it, but instantly understood White Ivy's so-called "solution."
An utterly effective and ingenious method!
This White Ivy…
Dragon Cypress suddenly felt a little torn up inside.
Once again, he deeply felt how limited his own experience and knowledge were.
In the Ten-thousand Tribes Continent and the Ten Thousand Nations Continent, there were just too many strange and precious treasures he didn't recognize, had never seen, not even heard of.
Sadly, he probably wouldn't get the chance to explore or discover them himself.
"White Ivy Mountain Lord, what is this?"
Dragon Cypress humbly asked, curling his tentacles, preparing to taste a little.
"Wait! Don't waste it!"
White Ivy hurriedly stopped him and explained, "This is 'Bee King Jelly'—something only a few bee types with awakened Water System Ability can brew. Just this tiny bottle sells for 3,000 Source Stones. It doesn't have any special strengthening effect, it's just delicious at the top level. Only a few extremely wealthy Insect Clan will buy a bit, used for entertaining important guests."
"Bee King Jelly? Water System Ability? But I'm from the Water System too… How is it made?"
"Bee Kings direct their Worker Bees to gather pollen and nectar from Divine-Given Seeds to brew this. You're such a big ant; how could you gather honey? Don't even try—you'd ruin the Divine-Given Seed flowers, and that'd be a huge loss."
"Oh—" Dragon Cypress understood, warmed inside, and lapsed into thought.
The Bee Clan gathers pollen and nectar from common Life Seed Plants to make delicious 'Origin Force Honey'. That's a fairly pricey luxury as well, though nowhere near as outrageous as Bee King Jelly.
Dragon Cypress had also tried directing Miniaturization Worker Ants to gather pollen and nectar from common Life Seed Plants on his own territory before.
But Giant-Headed Ants simply don't have the honey-gathering talent.
It works, but you have to constantly keep an eye on the Miniaturization Worker Ants, giving them continuous commands and supervising them at all times.
Miniaturization Worker Ants are too petite and small-brained—no learning ability whatsoever—completely unteachable.
If you're not paying attention, the little nuisances will cause all sorts of accidents.
It's a real hassle.
So Dragon Cypress tried it briefly and gave up.
But if just this tiny bottle of Bee King Jelly is worth 3,000 Source Stones…
Maybe the Blue Ant's Refinement Ability could brew 'Ant King Jelly'?
It's worth a shot!
If it works, then it'd be worth investing some time and effort in this!