Heikou (Black Dragon Mouth)
Heicheng (Black Dragon City)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
...
However, Yin Jixue thought of something else: "Then how did you manage to support them before?"
The demon king, who had been hanging his head, looked slightly uncomfortable: "Don't you already know?"
Yin Jixue sat down beside him: "I admire you for single-handedly supporting several cities." Even if the method was a bit crude.
This time, Lou Zhao didn't push her away, as if waiting for her to continue praising him.
But Yin Jixue had already changed the subject: "Winter has just passed, so it must be hard for them to find food. Let's send some over."
She was genuinely trying to do her part. Even though they couldn't provide much in terms of supplies, merchants would likely be happy to exchange food for glass and paper.
Moreover, it was time for Black Dragon City to open up trade routes. Isolating themselves wasn't sustainable.
She calculated the time. Those foreign merchants should have already left Black Dragon territory, and if they had been fast, they might have reached the cities of the Xuanwu clan.
They had exchanged all their goods for glass, paper, and pencils. When they returned, they would surely promote these items heavily to recoup their costs.
The demon king's men could simply tag along with their goods to ride the wave of popularity. Since the merchants had limited quantities of glass, once they drove the price up to the point where glass became a rare commodity, Black Dragon City could quietly release a batch for sale.
Yin Jixue explained her plan in detail, and Lou Zhao realized he had underestimated her.
Still, he agreed. He had fought countless battles in his life, always emerging victorious, but he had never experienced sitting down and calmly negotiating a trade deal.
However, if they were going to exchange goods, it might be better to trade for high-quality animal pelts instead of food. He glanced at Yin Jixue. His queen spent all day cooped up in her study, claiming it was too cold outside. Human clothing was far too thin, and she even wore skirts in winter.
They could trade for some warm animal pelts to prevent his frail wife from falling ill.
As for food, since they could distribute seeds in two months, they could wait until then. He had asked Yin Jixue for sweet potatoes because they could be planted, providing the other cities with seeds to become self-sufficient.
The experience of previous demon kings had taught him this: provide each city with food only twice a year. Once in the form of rations after spring, and once with the carcass of a level-six demon beast before winter. The rest of the time, they were left to fend for themselves—survival of the fittest.
He didn't tell Yin Jixue that this was the norm for demon survival. Those who couldn't adapt would perish alongside the barren land.
Lou Zhao chose a more tactful approach: "Spring is still two months away. I can wait until the sweet potatoes are harvested and bring both seeds and food with me."
Since the demon king had made his request, Yin Jixue had no objections.
...
Today, the miners were forced to work overtime, and they were thrilled. They wished they could work extra hours every day.
Here's what happened: it was already pitch dark outside, but with the streetlights, the mine was as bright as day. If the supervisor in charge of recording work hours hadn't noticed the time, the workers might have labored until dawn without realizing it.
The bus was parked outside the mine. The driver had dozed off and finally woke up when the miners finished their shift.
He didn't understand what had happened and casually chatted with the workers boarding the bus: "You guys finished late today. I've been here for two hours."
He had arrived just as the mine was supposed to end its shift.
The workers, who had earned extra hours today, grinned from ear to ear: "The lights in the mine were so bright, we thought it was still daytime! We hit the jackpot today!"
The miners boarded the bus one after another, while those living outside the city walked back to their dormitories in small groups.
They had long been curious about the bus. For the past few days, it had been arriving on time, and every time they saw it, it felt like a novelty. Unfortunately, since they lived nearby, they couldn't experience riding the bus themselves.