Chapter 86 - 84: Golden Sword Hu Commercial Complex

Chapter 86: Chapter 84: Golden Sword Hu Commercial Complex

"Your ideas are great. Customers have it tough adventuring in the forest, so they’re bound to want some delicious food."

"But what happens after the customers buy the food? Where are they going to eat it? Are they just going to sit on the ground?"

"That’s unacceptable, of course!"

"A comfortable dining area is also crucial! It will directly impact the customer’s dining experience!"

"That’s why this spot is perfect. It’s on higher ground. Once we clear out these trees in front, we’ll have a direct view of the vast forest canopy. They can admire the beautiful scenery while enjoying their meal. It’s guaranteed to be an unforgettable experience for our customers!"

"And in the future, we could even build a treetop restaurant on the Dome Tree..."

Meanwhile, standing on a rock about a meter high, Lu Wei was still rambling on, laying out his grand blueprint for the "Golden Sword Hu Commercial Complex."

He couldn’t care less when Mirana would upgrade to a Silver Badge. All he cared about right now was making his business bigger and stronger as fast as possible.

After all, based on Bai Ya’s report, the customer traffic at the Dome Pillar was even better than he’d initially expected.

Right now, they were already averaging five or six groups of customers a day!

Once they built up a reputation, that number was bound to multiply!

That’s why he had to expand the scale, add more services, and turn this place into something like a "highway rest stop"!

He even dreamed of getting it listed in the *Gelan Forest Adventurer’s Manual*! Then, any Adventurer entering the forest from Heitai Town would come here to rest, eat, and shop!

Then he could truly just sit back and rake in the cash.

Of course, making that happen wouldn’t be easy.

First, he needed a comprehensive, detailed, and groundbreaking "construction plan."

"Do you have any other thoughts on the food court?"

Looking at Furen, Bai Ya, Zovir, and Anna, Lu Wei asked in a very democratic fashion, "If you have any, feel free to speak up. I’ll consider any reasonable suggestion."

"We don’t," the four said, shaking their heads in unison.

"Alright then. When we get back to town, I’ll hire people to start construction."

"Huh? Are we in that much of a rush?"

Furen was surprised. "But the shops haven’t even been built yet. Wouldn’t it be better to take things a bit slower?"

"There’s no time."

Lu Wei shook his head. "The Silver Scale Merchant Association is about to resume construction on the trade route. As soon as they arrive, they’ll hire away more than half the craftsmen and laborers in town."

"At that point, we’d probably have to spend several times more money just to hire anyone."

"And that trade route will take at least six months to a year to build. That’s why we have to finish the foundational construction of our entire commercial center before they start."

"That makes a lot of sense! Brother Lu Wei, you’re so forward-thinking!"

It dawned on Furen, and he was filled with admiration for Lu Wei’s foresight.

"So, are there any other zones besides the food court?"

"Of course! Follow me."

Lu Wei hopped off the rock and walked over to the west side, near the small creek in the woods.

"Here," he said, "we need to dig a channel to divert water from the creek. It’ll give us easy access to water, and we can also build a rest area on top of it."

"A rest area?"

"That’s right. The forest is fraught with danger, so a safe night’s sleep is incredibly valuable. Plus, some customers might want to take a bath."

Lu Wei smiled faintly. "So, we’re going to build an inn here. We’ll offer customers lodging and bathing services so they can fully recover their stamina and continue their adventures feeling refreshed."

Huh? An inn? Baths?

Furen and Bai Ya stared with their mouths agape, their faces a picture of shock.

While setting up stalls or even selling food in adventuring areas was something people had done before, opening an inn was an absolutely unheard-of innovation.

"B-But... will people really stay here...?"

After a long moment, Furen timidly voiced his doubt. "Even if people are willing to stay, they wouldn’t need to bathe, would they? I mean, the forest is full of streams..."

"There will always be some pampered customers."

Lu Wei wasn’t worried. "It’s true you can wash yourself in a stream, but that’s just cleaning your body. Soaking in a proper bath is a luxury."

"..."

’So, is adventuring supposed to be about luxury?’

’If you really want luxury, why not just stay in town??’

’You can take a bath there, and you can even visit brothels or go drink at a tavern!’

’Why on earth would you come all the way out to the forest for that??’

Furen’s eyes were wide. He simply couldn’t comprehend Lu Wei’s line of thinking.

But then he remembered that Lu Wei was much smarter than him. After wrestling with his thoughts for a while, he decided not to say anything more.

Then Lu Wei turned to look at the empty clearing to the south and continued, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"And for the entertainment zone, I’m planning to open a tavern first. Later on, depending on how things go, we can start collaborating with the town’s brothels."

"..."

Furen: ???

...

...

About half an hour later, under the stunned gazes of Furen and the other three, Lu Wei finally finished his "roadshow" for the Golden Sword Hu Commercial Complex.

As his "partners," Furen and Bai Ya’s assessment of this plan could be summed up in four characters—

????

Meanwhile, "veteran employees" Zovir and Anna also had a four-character review—

!!!!

Clearly, there was a significant difference between the two reactions.

But either way, "shocked" was the operative word.

"How much is all this going to cost...?"

Bai Ya began to calculate, her voice tinged with pain. "To build so many structures, and dig a water channel... we’ll need to hire at least seven or eight laborers, plus four or five craftsmen and masons. Their daily wages alone will be several Silver Coins."

"And since this place is so far from town, they’ll have to live and eat on-site. Factoring in room and board, the daily cost would be almost 1 Gold Coin."

"It’ll take a month at least to get it all built... Ah!"

"If you add it all up, it’ll cost at least thirty to forty Gold Coins!"

Bai Ya gasped, clearly stunned by such a massive figure.

And to be honest, Lu Wei himself was also a little surprised.

According to his earlier estimate, twenty Gold Coins should have been plenty.

’Damn, I forgot about room and board...’

"Don’t you worry about the money," he said. "Let’s just get started. If we run short, we’ll figure it out then."

Considering he could keep doing quests with Mirana, and the general store would continue to bring in profit during construction, Lu Wei figured he could probably secure the funds.

’If worse comes to worst, I’ll just hold off on building the tavern and brothel.’

’After all, compared to eating and sleeping, they aren’t exactly ’essential needs.’’

Seeing that he had already made up his mind, Furen and Bai Ya didn’t press the issue. Instead, they looked curiously at the last empty clearing, north of the Dome Tree.

"So what’s the northern plot for?"

"Oh, that’s the future trade district," Lu Wei said with a casual glance.

"Trade district?"

"That’s right. In the future, if other merchants want to do business here, they can set up their stalls over there."

"Huh?"

Furen and Bai Ya grew anxious. "Won’t that affect our business?"

"It’ll have some impact, sure, but we can restrict the types of products they’re allowed to sell. Anything that we sell is off-limits for them."

Lu Wei answered offhandedly, "And they’ll have to pay us a daily stall fee. They’ll even have to give us a cut of their profits."

"Oh, I see..."

Seeing that he had it all figured out, Furen and Bai Ya both breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to relax.

’As if Lu Wei would ever let himself get the short end of the stick!’

’I really was worrying for nothing!’

"Alright, we’ll do it your way... Oh, right. There’s one more thing."

Suddenly, Furen remembered what had happened before Lu Wei returned, and his expression turned serious.

He glanced at Anna, who was hunching over with her head down. Although he didn’t want to "tattle," he felt it was necessary for her own good. He said gravely,

"Brother Lu Wei, Anna’s been doing a great job these last couple of days. She’s sold a lot of merchandise. But... I think there’s a problem with her methods."

"To put it simply, it’s deceitful... Er, well, maybe not outright deception, but it’s certainly deceptive in nature."

"Take what just happened, for example..."

"...While it wasn’t a lie in the strictest sense, it definitely caused the customer to misunderstand."

"That’s the gist of it. I thought it was important to let you know."

His tone was quite earnest. Furen quickly recounted everything Anna had done.

In the end, perhaps worried that Lu Wei would actually forbid Anna from eating, he quickly added:

"Of course, she’s just a child, so it’s understandable that she’d make a little mistake."

"Who hasn’t made mistakes? I think it’ll be fine as long as she corrects her behavior."

"A suitable punishment would be okay, too, but it’s probably best not to be too harsh..."

Furen watched Lu Wei’s expression as he spoke, his tone apprehensive.

Meanwhile, Anna kept her head low, looking for all the world like someone waiting to be punished.

Zovir had even quietly moved to shield her with his body, apparently ready to take a whipping in her place... After all, that was how a Slave Master punished a disobedient slave.

In short, everyone was on edge.

Then, Lu Wei turned to look at Anna and nodded with deep satisfaction.

"Good. Anna, you did well!"

"Congratulations on passing your probationary period! As of today, you’re an Official employee of the general store!"