Even a dumb spider has its own dumb ways.
White Ivy used short spider silk ropes, ten centimeters long, in white, red, and purple to count things.
White for single digits; red for tens; purple for hundreds.
Melde put the corresponding spider silk rope on each pile of Origin Force Food she had sorted.
Clumsily, painstakingly, White Ivy counted the total number of ropes, four times in a row—first time, 1980; second time, 2060; third time finally right; checked the fourth time...
"White Ivy Mountain Lord, I suggest you keep the Grass Dragon with you all the time. Its math is solid."
Dragon Cypress offered sincerely.
"I’d love to bring it here too... But no need!"
"Ink Orchid, Little Drago Cypress, it’s getting late. You two should pack up and head home."
Dragon Cypress agreed, then said seriously, "White Ivy Mountain Lord, Ink Orchid and I live right next to the Ten Thousand Nations Continent. If word gets out about the Divine-Given Seed, we might just..."
White Ivy’s face turned serious. "I understand! My lips are sealed. Don’t worry, if anything happens to you, I’d suffer a huge loss and get nothing in return. I know that very well."
As long as she understood the stakes, that was enough.
Dragon Cypress added, "White Ivy Mountain Lord, could you please watch things here for a bit? I want to pay a visit to the Spider King Spurge."
White Ivy: "You have something to discuss with it?"
Dragon Cypress: "The Spider King Spurge has taken good care of me. Last year was too hectic so I didn’t visit, but I should this year."
White Ivy: "Just a friendly visit? Forget it. It’s busy right now."
White Ivy: "You two don’t linger here. Hurry up and go, or you’ll attract suspicion from the other caravans. I’ll send your regards to the Spider King Spurge for you."
"Alright... Don’t forget!"
Dragon Cypress called for Ink Orchid and they packed up their purchases together.
Eight hundred Source Stones plus two metal cans, packed into a big sack—Ink Orchid carried that.
All sorts of Origin Force Food worth 7,200 Source Stones—jam-packed into another big sack. Dragon Cypress was strong, easily lifted stuff dozens of times his own weight. He carried that one.
Starship Passage. The Dominating Throne floated slowly by, cargo loaded to the brim.
Ink Orchid took out the metal can White Ivy had given as a gift.
The can had a lid, its outer layer was also metal, there was a layer of spider silk sandwiched in the middle, and the inside wall was a thin, smooth, hard layer of stone, made by condensing fine sand grains with an Earth System ability.
Ink Orchid cradled it and studied it for a moment, and immediately figured out how to open it.
Scraped off the tree resin sealing the lid, held the can in her front claw, bit onto the pull ring with her mandible tooth, gave a hard yank, and the lid popped off—a unique honey scent immediately wafted out.
"Dragon Cypress, I love trading with White Ivy Mountain Lord!"
Dragon Cypress responded.
"Dragon Cypress, don’t you like White Ivy Mountain Lord? She gave you so many presents!" Ink Orchid demanded.
Dragon Cypress sighed, "But whenever I met her before, I just felt White Ivy Mountain Lord wasn’t mature or steady enough. After today’s trade, it turns out that’s not all..."
Ink Orchid, puzzled, asked, "What is it?"
Dragon Cypress: "She’s not sharp enough, not stable enough—it’s hard for her to win the trust of the great tribes and lords. White Ivy Mountain Lord’s business will always stay small, maybe even struggle to find her own path. She’s better off sticking with Melde all the time..."
Dragon Cypress shook his tentacle, saying, "That’s not bad, actually. As long as White Ivy Mountain Lord teams up with Melde, it’s like we’ll have a steady trading relationship with one of Melde’s caravans."
Ink Orchid was thoroughly confused.
Dragon Cypress: "Ink Orchid, for stable and reliable Flame Spider Caravans, Melde’s group is quite good."
"White Ivy is good too!" Ink Orchid dipped a claw in the honey and tasted it, full of praise, "Tasty!"
Those sharp claws weren’t great for picking food out of the can.
Ink Orchid had a flash of inspiration—buried her head, wiggled her tentacles, dipped them in honey, then held her tentacles with both claws to lick them clean.
Dragon Cypress: "..."
Ink Orchid stirred her tentacle around, scooping out a honey-pickled yellow peach. She happily licked the honey off the surface and offered it to Dragon Cypress.
"Dragon Cypress, here, have a peach."
"Not hungry... Ink Orchid, you have it..."
Ink Orchid munched away, then asked,
"Dragon Cypress, when we get home, are we trading with Ghost Fan right away?"
Dragon Cypress: "No rush. First, we’ll build up the mountain pool. Open up the nursery, and plant all the precious seeds we just got."
Ink Orchid: "Right. Get those orchid seeds planted first!"
Ink Orchid: "Dragon Cypress, so, how much profit does our trade with Ghost Fan make?"
Dragon Cypress explained to Ink Orchid, step by step: "First on the books—we lent him 600 Source Stones, take back 800, so 200 Source Stones in interest; sold 100 Fruit-Scented Orchid Seeds at 8 apiece, that’s 200 in profit; 7,200 Source Stones’ worth of Origin Force Food, we’ll set aside 3,200 for Ghost Fan. Since we bought them from the caravan, the price is already high—no need to bump it up again. We’ll sell those to Ghost Fan for 3,600, so 400 profit. Ghost Fan really needs Origin Force Food that helps with digestive system upgrades—200 Stone Orchid Seeds, let’s price them at 100 Source Stones, that’s the highest price possible. Compared to selling to the caravan, that’s a 50 Source Stone profit."
"Add all that up—the total value of our trade goods is 5,300 Source Stones, profit is 850."
"Let’s factor in what we buy. Ghost Fan Seeds, the kind that boost spiritual power, you and I both want as many as we can get. Ghost Fan Seeds have thick shells; if stored properly, they’ll keep two or three years easily."
"Regular Ghost Fan Seeds, let’s buy 800 at 0.5 Source Stone each. That’s 400 Source Stones out, and by caravan prices it’s 1 Source Stone each. So if we eat them ourselves, that’s 400 saved; same principle, Divine-Given Ghost Fan Seeds—each one saves 7 Source Stones. Buy 270, that’s 1,890 saved..."
"So the total we earn from trading and what we save—adding them up, that’s 3,140 Source Stones. Plus, Ghost Fan’s Divine-Given Seeds only ripen in autumn. Depending on the situation, we might float him some Origin Force Food for emergencies and charge interest accordingly..."
Ink Orchid listened carefully, caught on to the last sentence, and cheered, "Wow! Awesome! Big profit!"
Ink Orchid suggested, "Dragon Cypress, didn’t we still keep 4,000 Source Stones’ worth of Origin Force Food?"
Dragon Cypress: "Yep."
Ink Orchid: "We could sell all of that to Ghost Fan, then buy as many Divine-Given Ghost Fan Seeds as we can!"
Dragon Cypress: "There’s a limit to any kind of upgrade. Ghost Fan Seeds are for us to eat—too many isn’t good either."
Ink Orchid: "But what if we find other Insect Clan Warriors?"
Dragon Cypress: "Exactly!"
Dragon Cypress elaborated, "Only when you successfully resell the goods you got from one Insect to another—that’s profit. Buying AND selling, that’s roving merchant business. The key to trading on the road is a smooth in-and-out flow of goods. The biggest mistake is buying stuff no bug wants, and in the end having to choke it all down yourself, or let it rot on your carapace."
Dragon Cypress: "So we need to find more Insect Clan Warriors on the Cloud Trace Continent."
Dragon Cypress paused, wiggled a tentacle, scooped some honey from the can to taste, and continued:
"For the remaining 4,000 Source Stones’ worth of Origin Force Food, let’s each keep 2,000 for our own growth and evolution."
Dragon Cypress pondered, "I’m thinking about spending 1,000 more Source Stones’ worth of Origin Force Food to raise a Gigantification Soldier Ant..."
"Great!" Ink Orchid immediately got Dragon Cypress’s thinking, and said,
"We’ll head out to look for a Land of Origin Force, search for other Insect Clan Warriors. Round Cypress will manage the territory and take care of the Life Seeds; the Gigantification Soldier Ant will protect the territory and hunt for food."
Ink Orchid’s thoughts whirled, then she asked, "Is the Gigantification Soldier Ant called Spiked Cypress?"
Dragon Cypress’s first Life Seed is Dragon Cypress, the second is Round Cypress, and the third is Spiked Cypress.
Dragon Cypress’s own name is Dragon Cypress. The Intelligent Worker Ant is named Round Cypress. So naturally, the Gigantification Soldier Ant will be called Spiked Cypress.
Dragon Cypress: "Correct!"
Ink Orchid: "But if we two eat all that Origin Force Food, won’t we lose all our trading capital?"
Dragon Cypress: "Simple. Just borrow."
PS: New week, gunning for the new book charts. Two extra Chapters tonight! Please follow, vote, and if you can, toss a tip!