Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo' Chapter 1325 618: Profits and Losses (Part 4)

He is currently worried about the seeds: "Big Brother Zhang, let's see how many seeds He Jiaqing stole."

"No need to check, let him take whatever he wants. Those are all good seeds, plant melon and you get melon, plant beans and you get beans, but he can't grow what he wants."

The next night, Zhang Wanlong had a couple of drinks with Root and was about to go to bed when someone came to buy seeds again.

Zhang Wanlong laughed, "This is really strange, why have people been coming to me to buy seeds these last two days?"

No matter how much money they offer, the seeds are not for sale!

The man didn't persist, got up and left. Zhang Wanlong asked Root, "A few days ago, when we went to Greenwater City, we brought back a lot of newspapers. Do you remember where we put them?"

Root remembered, Seventh Master had told him to read more newspapers.

He fetched a pile of newspapers from the backyard, and Zhang Wanlong carefully flipped through them.

His gaze stopped on a photograph: "It's this person, named Du Wenming!"

Root, who learned a lot of characters with Zhang Wanlong, read the news: "Is he from outside provinces?"

"Yes, an outsider," Zhang Wanlong's expression was serious, "Why did he also come to me to buy seeds?"

...

In Greenwater City, at Ye Tang Tea House, Mr. Kong Fang poured a cup of tea for Du Wenming: "Are you sure you didn't mistake the place?"

Du Wenming said: "The place is absolutely correct, Cui Tiq was here for sure. The Chu Family and He Family have plots in the vicinity. I have inquired about some rumors from them. This Farming Cultivation technique is quite formidable, and Li Qi bought a lot of seeds from him."

Mr. Kong Fang was pondering the connection: "What does that foreigner want the seeds for? He's stirred up so much trouble at De Song Cliff. Does he want to use Farming Cultivation's seeds to cover it up? That's too far-fetched."

Du Wenming speculated: "Could it be that the peddler doesn't want to interfere in this matter?"

"He can't ignore it; De Song Cliff is a piece of proper land. He cannot watch it slip away! Moreover, even if the peddler ignores it, the Inner State cannot possibly ignore it. I've heard they've also invested a lot in De Song Cliff; this matter cannot just end like this."

...

In Wujiang City, Inner State.

Yue Congde, the second son of Song Demei, was recounting the experiences at De Song Cliff to Lord Fan, Lord Lu, and Lord Bi.

He had narrated this experience many times. Over these days, eleven people had asked him about the event.

Because it was related to the epidemic, Yue Congde was initially confined in a cell, with someone directly questioning him through a wall. Inner State People have special physical structures with strong resistance to epidemics. However, because Cui Tiq is a Sick Cultivation disciple, they took ample precautions.

After a few days, no anomalies appeared on Yue Congde, and some of the precautions against him were relaxed. Some began questioning him face to face.

Now, Yue Congde finally met with the Cabinet Ministers, and today was an important opportunity for him to showcase himself.

But while performing, he mustn't exaggerate. Having recounted it over a dozen times, the challenge would be if his account suddenly didn't align today.

The three Cabinet Ministers were seated in a chair, their bodies supporting three heads, watching Yue Congde.

Lord Fan first spoke: "Did the barbarians utterly destroy De Song Cliff?"

Yue Congde nodded continuously: "As far as I know, not a single one was left."

"How did you return?"

This matter couldn't be told truthfully.

The real situation was, he admitted his identity to Cui Tiq and showed Cui Tiq the entrance to the Inner State, and Cui Tiq let him go.

Merely revealing the Inner State's entrance could cost him his life. Fortunately, he had already thought of an explanation before returning and had repeated it a dozen times in these two days, long memorized and ready.

"The barbarians' epidemic didn't affect our physique. I used a disguise technique, pretending to have a rash, and played dead among the corpses. At that time, so many people in the village had died that the barbarians did not check everyone individually, thus did not notice me,

After he left, I took a walk around the village and found that within the village, there was, there was no one left alive."

Yue Congde suddenly paused, which made the three Cabinet Ministers somewhat suspicious.

Lord Lu sternly questioned, "Why did you hesitate in your speech just now?"

Yue Congde hurriedly explained, "I just didn't see any survivors in De Yuan Village; the situation in other villages, I inferred."

This explanation was acceptable. How many people died at De Song Cliff could still be investigated by spies. Even if Yue Congde wasn't accurate in his account, the impact wouldn't be significant.

The three Ministers were very satisfied with the inquiry's results. Although the storm at De Song Cliff had subsided, they had two significant takeaways: first, the foreigner Cui Tiq's defiance of the peddler would surely receive severe punishment; second, the foreigner Cui Tiq's technique was ineffective against the Inner State people.

The Greenwater Beggar and Wan Jinxian have disappeared. If Cui Tiq were to die by the peddler's hand, Puluo State would no longer be able to resist the epidemic.

Even if the peddler spares Cui Tiq, his epidemic would not affect the Inner State people, and Inner State need not worry about the epidemic from Puluo State.

Yue Congde received a reward. He took the reward money and, just as he was about to leave Lord Fan's residence, suddenly felt an itch on his back.

He scratched with his hand and felt the surface of his back was not very smooth.

What happened?

Yue Congde instantly tensed up, feeling the itch on his back grow increasingly intense.

Can't scratch, must not scratch again.

Is this a rash?

There was no issue before, why did a rash appear today?

Mustn't let anyone see, mustn't...

PS: If Zhang Wanlong doesn't sell seeds, where will Cui Tiq get his hands?