Chapter 500: Chapter 389: Going Crazy
"It is madness, but I’m not the one who’s mad," Long Yi laughed, "Just wait and see."
A thousand packages of refined salt officially hit the shelves in Long Yi’s former supermarket, and within just two days, they were all sold.
Of that, three hundred packages were taken directly by the Imperial Palace’s kitchen.
Abbas’ jaw almost dropped.
On the first morning, a sign was placed in front of the supermarket.
"Premium Special Supply Salt now in stock, limited quantities available."
In the shop, there was a dedicated area showing ten bags of salt, next to which stood a fully armored Earth Dragon Knight dispersing the surrounding dampness with his Fighting Aura. A sign in front of it read: "Valuable food product. Not for sale. Please do not touch."
The price.
One Black Dragon coin!
A Black Dragon coin is a gold coin, every bag of salt was selling for a gold coin! Word spread fast in the Empire within a day. There was mockery and spectators. But as one or two buyers appeared, sales began to rise exponentially. On the second day, the folks from the Imperial Palace kitchen taking three hundred packages skyrocketed the value.
In just two days, they had made a thousand Black Dragon coins. After deducting the two hundred Black Dragon coins given to the Earth Dragon knight, and the nearly insignificant production costs...
Damn! This was even more profitable than smuggling!
Abbas pinched his plump face in frustration.
I’m such a fool!
If we can’t buy much, can’t we still sell the premium ones?
A bag of salt sold for a gold coin could last about a month. Although most people couldn’t afford it, at least one third of the people in the city surrounding the Imperial Palace could bear the cost! If every family could buy this...
God damn it! Abbas felt like his heart was going to stop.
Seeing Abbas in surprise, Long Yi smiled and said, "Old Master, I think we need to set up a factory."
"A factory! I have one!"
Abbas laughed heartily. He knew that his gamble paid off. This Luo Yi was really a talent! Such a talented person came to work with him instead of someone else. It was as if he had been blessed by the Dragon God!
Abbas’ connections and finances, plus available locations, meant that things progressed super-fast.
Long Yi designed an assembly line system for the factory and hired several Earth Dragon knights to oversee salt drying.
Compared to dragon riders, the job of an Earth Dragon knight is dull and uninteresting, and the pay isn’t great either. Therefore, some poor Earth Dragon knights will do some work, mostly as bodyguards. But working in the salt field is a lot simpler, you just need Fighting Aura.
In half a month, the factory was up and running. Watching the premium salt being packaged, Abbas was grinning from ear to ear.
Those are gold coins!
Indeed, the Premium Special Supply Salt quickly dominated the high-end market with an astonishing speed as Long Yi had planned. The profit margin on this refined salt was astonishingly high. Ordinary salt operates on thin margins, relying on volume for profitability. However, the profit of this high-end salt per bag was enough to sell hundreds of packages of ordinary salt!
Now, Abbas was laughing even in his dreams!
But at this point, several people almost swooned with jealousy at Abbas’ success.
Especially him, Kemos-Black.
Similar to Abbas, Kemos was a member of the Black Family and was well into his nineties. Unlike the greedy Abbas, Kemos placed more emphasis on the nature of the commercial activities themselves. He knew how to incentivize his employees, and that led to his rapid rise, becoming one of the top players in the Royal commercial sphere. But what happened next took him by surprise.
First, it was the unexpected emergence of the supermarket. The innovative business model made Kemos applaud, but it was not in Abbas’ character to do something like this.
Regardless, the fancy supermarket appeared.
Then, there was the issue concerning the Premium Special Supply Salt.
Even in Kemos’ own family, they were now using this type of salt. It must be said that the salt was beautifully crafted. The snow-white color and refined texture is easily distinguishable from the inferior ones. But he never imagined there would be such a craze for this high-priced salt.
In Kemos’ view, even if he had come up with this type of salt, he would have set the price at a silver coin as that’s what he thought it’s worth.
But they had set a price of a gold coin! He was almost sure that not even the extremely greedy Abbas would set such a price!
Behind all this, there was one person.
Luo Yi
Kemos had done a series of investigations. This Luo Yi was a royal outlander, living at the border of the White Dragon Empire and the Green Dragon Empire. Because of his good fortune, he discovered the Fire Eye Giant Diamond and had offered it to Abbas, earning his gratitude. In return, he was given the run-down supermarket. Due to the remarkable performance of the supermarket, Abbas trusted him and sent him to work in the salt industry.
This Luo Yi, he’s a talent.
This remarkable talent was secured by that stupid swine, Abbas!
No way, such talent, should be mine!
One day, Long Yi and Ai Lin, along with an invisible Suolin, headed to a nearby restaurant for breakfast soon after they woke up.
Lately, rumors have been circulating that the legendary Long Yi infiltrated the Imperial City. The entire city is in panic; security patrols on the streets have increased by several folds, and every few minutes a group of people pass by. Long Yi had become a big boss and is recognized as Abbas’s nominal nephew. These two identities were enough for him to establish a strong reputation. The warriors also recognized him and greeted Long Yi when they met him.
"Hey, brothers, has that Long Yi been caught yet?" Long Yi asked from afar.
"Shush! Keep it down!" The leading warrior rushed to put his finger to his lips.
"Mr. Luo Yi, I beg of you not to bring trouble to us. Ever since recent times, the Emperor has been acting crazy. He’s requested all able-bodied warriors from the Imperial City to patrol the streets, stressing that Long Yi could be here. Tell me, even if Long Yi really comes, how can a few of us handle him?" The warrior complained.
"We can simply pray that when we die, we can splatter our blood all over him so he’ll have nowhere to hide." Another warrior retorted with twisted lips.
"Forget it, I haven’t had enough of life yet. There have been ten or so reported sightings of Long Yi these days, but each time has turned out to be false alarm. It scared me so badly, my heart almost stopped. Next time we hear where Long Yi has appeared, we better run slower." The leading warrior laughed.
As soon as they sat down, an old man took a seat at their table.
"Mr. Luo Yi?" The old man asked.
"Yes, I am Luo Yi. May I ask who you are?" Long Yi looked in puzzlement at the face that bore a slight resemblance to his current one.
"I am Kemos, Kemos Black. In terms of seniority, I should be considered your uncle." Kemos replied with a smile.
"Ah, it’s you. I’ve heard much about your great reputation. It is an honor to finally meet you!" Long Yi and Ai Lin quickly stood up to bow in salutation.
"Hehe, alright, alright, sit down." Kemos said, smiling in satisfaction.
"May I ask why you are here..."
"I came specifically to find you." Kemos said.
"Find me?"
"Yes, find you." Kemos said, "Have you been working for Abbas this whole time?"
"Yes, I only recently returned to the Imperial City. Fortunately, Uncle Abbas took me in, so I’ve been helping him out." Long Yi said humbly.
"Then, how much did he give you?" Kemos asked bluntly.
"Um... well..." Long Yi scratched his head uncomfortably. His wig shifted slightly, and he quickly stopped.
"If I guessed right, that stingy old miser probably didn’t give you much, did he?" Kemos remarked.
Long Yi couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly. "To be honest, it really isn’t much."
"Haha, that old pig is always like that. No matter how much he earns, he always keeps it all to himself. He turns a blind eye to the exploits of his subordinates. But he watches them like a hawk for the slightest mistakes. No matter how much you earn for him, the moment you make a tiny mistake, he wouldn’t think twice about ending your life."
"Ah? Is it really that bad?" Long Yi exclaimed, his face filled with astonishment.
"It’s worse than what I’ve told you. Don’t tell me you haven’t heard any such stories."
"Alright, I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never really believed them." Long Yi confessed.
"It’s all true. The two businesses you managed previously, do you know what happened to the people who were responsible for them before you? Surely you’ve actually heard about it, you’re not that naive." Kemos retorted.
Long Yi merely laughed bitterly. "Actually, I’ve heard about it. But, I thought ..... it was only for outsiders. After all ..."
"You’re an outsider. If you make any mistakes, he won’t hesitate to abandon you." Kemos said.
All Long Yi could do was helplessly shake his head with a pained expression on his face.
"But, there is another way." Kemos suddenly changed the subject.
"A way?"
"Yes! You can come and work for me!" Kemos proclaimed, "You can look around the entire Black Dragon Empire’s business world to ask what kind of person I, Kemos, am. For those who work under me, the most severe punishment for an error is termination. Compared to Abbas’s hasty trigger to behead people, what I do is more in line with the approach of a normal businessman. Besides, I am fair in rewarding and punishing. If you work for me, simply based on your two feats, I would esteem you, letting you count money until your hands become sore. You wouldn’t end up destitute like you are now."
Long Yi hung his head, his face full of hesitation.
"Alright then, I understand that this may be difficult for you to digest all of a sudden. You can go back and think about it. If you find it acceptable, you can come and look for me anytime. Don’t tell me you don’t know how to get to my house. My family business is always open to you."
Kemos finished.
"Hmpf! The toilet at my home is also always open to you! You shameless creature!"
With a loud cry, everyone knew who arrived based on the timbre of the voice. (To be continued. If you like this novel, please vote or recommend it at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. For mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
