Feng Xiyan shook his head and replied to Bai Hanyun’s question, "We currently have fewer than 12,000 soldiers fit for battle, so I’m planning to recruit more."
After he said that, Bai Hanyun nodded in agreement, "You are right. You will need more soldiers if you want to win this war against the Yuezhi Tribe."
She then pondered for a moment and added, "Alright. I will see what I can get for you."
Relieved by her answer, Feng Xiyan smiled and bowed sincerely toward the bronze mirror. "Thank you, Fairy Bai. You have helped us so much that I don’t even know how to repay your kindness."
Feeling embarrassed at his words, Bai Hanyun cleared her throat and said, "Don’t worry about it. I’m also gaining something from helping you."
Hearing this, Feng Xiyan thought, ’I haven’t given her anything except those offerings. To her, those vulgar things must be useless. Fairy Bai must have said that just to consider my feelings.’
Unaware of his thoughts, Bai Hanyun asked, "Feng Xiyan, do you need anything else besides the firewood and bronze ore?"
"We have enough supplies for now, Fairy Bai." Feng Xiyan replied.
"Alright. Then I will go and prepare the firewood and bronze ores for you." With that, Bai Hanyun tapped the antique mirror’s frame twice, ending the communication with Feng Xiyan.
She then placed the antique mirror back on the bedside table, sat on her bed, and opened her laptop.
As she searched the internet, she muttered, "Mhm, bronze ore is harder to buy than fine steel. Maybe I should just give Feng Xiyan fine steel instead."
With that thought, she began searching for where to buy fine steel. A few minutes later, she dialed a number and waited.
Soon, someone picked up the call. "Hello?"
"Good morning, Sir. Is this the Mu Family Construction Materials Store?" Bai Hanyun asked.
"Yes. Miss, are you looking to buy something?"
"Yes. I’d like to buy 50,000 pieces of high-carbon steel pipes," Bai Hanyun said. "Do you have them in stock?"
The man’s eyes lit up as he thought, ’This is a big customer!’
With a plan to strike a huge transaction, he said, "Miss, our price for high-carbon steel pipes is based on weight—3,600 yuan per ton."
Hearing this, Bai Hanyun thought, ’Since Feng Xiyan wants to forge weapons and armor, the materials will be melted anyway. In that case, I don’t need to worry about the quantity. I can just buy more for him.’
With that in mind, Bai Hanyun replied, "Then give me 10,000 tons."
The man nearly fell from his chair when he heard the amount she wanted. Steadying himself, he said, "Miss, that is around 400,000 pieces of high-carbon steel pipes. Are you sure you want that much?"
"Yes. I will transfer 6 million yuan as a down payment and pay the rest upon delivery," Bai Hanyun answered calmly.
Realizing she was serious, the man was ecstatic. Jotting down the order, he replied, "Alright!"
After exchanging contact information, Bai Hanyun gave him the address of her warehouse and transferred the 6 million yuan.
The moment he saw the incoming transfer notification, the man finally relaxed. He smiled and said, "Don’t worry, Miss Bai. I will deliver the goods today."
"Good. Then I will be waiting," Bai Hanyun said in a good mood.
After ending the call with the store owner, she called Li Dagou.
"Boss Li, do you have any good coal or firewood for blacksmithing?" she asked as soon as the call connected.
Accustomed to her odd requests, Li Dagou calmly replied, "The best coal for blacksmithing is bituminous coal with low sulfur content. Miss Bai, do you want to buy some?"
"I do. Do you sell it?" Bai Hanyun asked.
"Of course. How much do you need?" Li Dagou asked.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Hanyun said, "I need at least 20,000 tons of coal for now."
Hearing that, Li Dagou smiled as he thought, ’As expected from Miss Bai. She never buys in small quantities.’
Li Dagou put away his thoughts and replied, "It’s 1,400 yuan per ton, totaling 28 million. Do you need anything else?"
Since she was already speaking to Li Dagou, Bai Hanyun decided to buy more supplies for Feng Xiyan.
"Yes. I want 5,000 tons of rice, 2,000 tons of flour, 1,000 tons of beans, 10,000 boxes of canned meat, and 2,000 boxes of assorted condiments."
After saying that, Bai Hanyun thought, ’Based on average daily consumption, these supplies should be enough to feed the soldiers and citizens of Xiqiang City for at least four months.’
While she was calculating in her mind, Li Dagou’s smile stretched from ear to ear.
He quickly calculated the prices and said, "Miss Bai, japonica rice is 4,000 yuan per ton, white flour is 2,700 yuan per ton, and soybeans are 4,500 yuan per ton. For canned meat, it’s 270 yuan per box, each containing 24 cans, and 150 yuan per box for assorted condiments."
Li Dagou paused for a moment and calculated the total before adding, "The total for the food and bituminous coal is 60.9 million yuan. Since you are buying so much, I will give you a 400,000 yuan discount. Your final total is 60.5 million yuan."
400,000 yuan was not a small amount of money.
The fact that Li Dagou could give her such a big discount showed how sincere he was and how much he wanted to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with Bai Hanyun.
After listening to what he said, Bai Hanyun sighed inwardly and thought, ’It’s really not easy to feed 80,000 people. Thankfully, the antiques given by Feng Xiyan and the others can fetch high prices. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to help them at all in my current situation.’
Despite her thoughts, Bai Hanyun calmly transferred 10.5 million yuan to Li Dagou as a down payment and said, "Boss Li, please deliver the goods today. I need them urgently."