Chapter 487 – Appearing Aggressive
Smith smiled when he heard Zhao Hai, he turned to Randolph and said, “Father, Little Hai used to tell me this, but since it was winter, there weren’t really good plants available. However, it seems like we need to go all out in helping Little Hai to acquire various plants. If Little Hai develops the antidote, then it would really be very good for us.”
Randolph nodded and said, “Alright, go send the orders. Have the entire clan seek for strange plants, the more the better. Right Little Hai, do you need Magic Beasts as well?”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “I do. Magic Beasts can also be used for making medicine. The more the better.”
Randolph gave a nod, then he looked at the people in the room and said, “Did you listen carefully? Fully coordinate with Little Hai.” Those present didn’t dare to oppose it, they immediately agreed. All of them knew that this matter shouldn’t be neglected, it was very important for the family.
Zhao Hai looked at the others and sighed in relief. Then he turned his hand and retrieved a large bottle from the s.p.a.ce. This bottle had enough volume to contain ten jins of water. It was made of gla.s.s and was gotten from one of the Robert Family’s stores.
Naturally this bottle wasn’t special, its contents were. Randolph and the others looked at Zhao Hai, they don’t know why Zhao Hai retrieved such a big bottle.
Zhao Hai carefully placed the bottle beside Randolph and said, “Grandfather, the family should distribute this water to everyone. If they encounter any accidents or get poisoned, drinking this water will be very useful.”
Randolph looked confused at Zhao Hai, “What is inside this bottle? Is it potion?”
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, “The liquid in this bottle isn’t a potion. It is much more effective compared to a potion, this is Life Liquid!”[1]
Life Liquid! When they heard Zhao Hai say this, all of the people present breathed a cold air. Life Liquid was something very useful, no matter how rich you are, you might not be able to get it.
Randolph stared at the bottle for quite some time, then he turned his head to Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, this, is this really Life Liquid?”
Zhao Hai nodded and said, “Yes, I’ve obtained this from a 9th rank expert of the Radiant Church. At the time, the 9th rank was cooperating with the Fighting Bulls to deal with the Herculean Bulls. When he was killed by me, I obtained this Life Liquid. I asked the person where he got it, he said that it was given to him.”
Randolph nodded, he also got something from Zhao Hai’s words. He frowned and said, “The Radiant Church are meddling with the Beastmen?”
Zhao Hai nodded, then he told Randolph about what happened the last time he was in the Prairie. He also introduced his status as a Prince of the Cow-headed race.
Randolph was surprised at Zhao Hai. He didn’t think that Zhao Hai would have such a status. Beastmen don’t trust humans, it was surprising to know that Zhao Hai was actually a Beastman Prince.
But then he immediately thought about the Radiant Church, he hesitated for a moment before he turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, since you now have some sort of status in the Beastman Prairie, you should play attention to the the movements of the Radiant Church in the Prairie. Know what they are planning to do. And if you can make the Beastmen turn on them, then that would be fantastic.”
ZHao Hai smiled faintly and said, “Grandfather can feel relieved, I’ve already figured out the temperament of the Beastmen. It would be easy for the Beastmen to deal with the Radiant Church. There aren’t any radiant Church believers in the Prairie, as long as they are members of the Radiant Church, the Beastmen wouldn’t be able to trust them.”
Randolph nodded and said, “I’ll accept your Life Liquid, it’s very useful for the current situation. Right, since you’ve given this to the family, the family wouldn’t be ungrateful. Now that you have the Golden Island as a territory, the family can provide you with a fleet to help manage it.”
Zhao Hai declined and said “Grandfather, doesn’t need to trouble himself. I really don’t need to deal with the pirates in Golden Island. Making the family move would be very troublesome. This Life Liquid isn’t very important to me, I also have some left on me.”
Randolph nodded, then he looked at Zhao Hai in appreciation. At this moment, he felt that Zhao Hai looked more pleasing to the eyes. He was a decent human being, a good leader, willing to help the Calci Family, even giving them Life Liquid. At this point, Zhao Hai was much better than the other members of the Calci Family.
Randolph looked at the other members of the family and said, “Alright, we have a lot of things to do. All of you know your a.s.signments, go back and deal with the. Remember to not make any mistakes.”
The others nodded, then Randolph made them disperse. Smith went with Zhao Hai to Rustling Tree Courtyard. The two sat on the living room, then Smith turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Little Hai, how do you plan to handle Golden Island’s situation? I think you should be careful about this. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be only the Aksu Empire that would come after you, all of the n.o.ble controlled pirates would be going after you as well. You may even aggravate the situation even more.”
Zhao Hai nodded, he understood what Smith meant. But now that he knew the location of Golden Island as well as knowing about how lawless the place was. It would be a pity if he doesn’t make use of the pirates.
Of these pirates, it would be impossible for all of them to be affiliated to a Great Clan. Those who had connections could just sell their loot over to those Great Clans. However, for those who didn’t have any connections, they can only find a middleman and sell their loot at a much lower price.
There was a huge business opportunity here. Zhao Hai’s idea was to turn Golden Island into a free port. Pirates can trade on the island, but they have to pay a certain amount of tax. Merchants can trade here as well, and naturally, they would also be taxed.
Zhao Hai wanted Golden Island to be a place for Merchants, Pirates, and other influences to trade, like some sort of black market. He will place the tax here at a very low level. Pirates can also take refuge in the island. If he manages to achieve this goal, the island wouldn’t only be a goose that laid golden eggs, it would in itself turn into a golden goose.
When Smith asked him this question, Zhao Hai didn’t immediately tell him of his plans to make the island a free port, he just said, “It’s not difficult to subdue the island. Although its location was very special, it wasn’t irreplaceable for the pirates. In addition to the reputation that I have gained, those who would dare to attack me shouldn’t be true pirates. In the end, if anyone really wishes to challenge me, then I won’t be polite to them.”
Smith knit his brows, he really didn’t want Zhao Hai to have any conflicts with Great n.o.bles. If the situation goes to south, things wouldn’t be good for Zhao Hai.
Looking at Smith’s expression, Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “Uncle, rest a.s.sured, the solution for Golden Island is nothing more than a two-step process. First step is to not attack them, make it known to them that we mean well while at the same time making them respect us. Second step is to then offer them benefits. This point is actually something that I needed uncle’s help with. I’m preparing to turn the island into a free trading harbor. No matter pirate or merchant, all of them can come to the island and trade. What does uncle think?”
Smith stared for a moment before his eyes lit up. He was a Merchant and he naturally understood what Zhao Hai was planning to do. If Zhao Hai really managed to accomplish this, then the yearly income of Golden Island would be comparable to Sky Water City, if not more.
However, he soon recovered from his thoughts as he frowned, “This is a really good idea. But if we really do as you said, then would Merchants really dare to go to Golden Island? Wouldn’t they be afraid to get robbed?”
Zhao Hao smiled faintly and said, “This is simple, I can just issue a rule disallowing violence inside Golden Island. I shall also make sure that the rule would get applied at a thousand li radius around the island’s waters. Those who dared violate this rule would get eliminated. With this, n.o.body should act unreasonably. What does uncle think about this?”
When Smith heard Zhao Hai, he couldn’t help but look into Zhao Hai’s eyes. Zhao Hai was appearing very aggressive these past few days. Hearing him say that he would eliminate those who would dare violate his rule in a thousand li radius of the island seemed like he was also expressing his aggression at this time.
In the past, only Great Clans dared to speak such words, but now, Zhao Hai was also speaking it. This was undoubtedly due to the change in Zhao Hai’s status.
Moreover, Smith was certain that if Zhao Hai completes this matter, his Golden Island would surely become another Sky Water City, another huge trading harbor.
At this point, Smith was admiring Zhao Hai. He knew about the Buda Clan vanis.h.i.+ng, but in just one year, they were able to reach this height. They can now appear on the continent, this was all because of their current strength, it was also because of Zhao Hai.
For a clan to survive, strength was an indispensable resource. However, strength alone was not enough, the clan also needed a smart leader and good direction. Zhao Hai’s leaders.h.i.+p was already well proven. Having such a head, the Buda Clan would be able to overturn their past situation and became one of the powerful Clans of the Continent, the only thing that they require was time.
When Smith knew about Zhao Hai’s plan for Golden Island, he understood that the island would have a lot of work needed to be done. There were things that needed help, and Smith wanted to provide it.
1. I keep forgetting what this is called