The Five Northwestern Garrisons of Longzuo!
Centered around the Northwestern Garrison, this vast terrain is rich in water resources but poor in other natural assets. The local clans primarily engage in animal husbandry, mining, and the cultivation of drought-resistant crops.
The renowned heavy draft horses of the North are a specialty of the Northwestern Garrisons. Many clans in Longzuo Commandery purchase these horses to enhance their family's transport capabilities.
In total, the Five Northwestern Garrisons boast eleven seventh-rank clans, with countless eighth and ninth-rank clans scattered across the expansive grasslands. For most clan members, the furthest they have ever traveled is to the city of the Northwestern Garrison.
The city stands on the edge of the vast grasslands, its imposing walls capable of withstanding the assault of fifth-order beasts. Soldiers of the garrison army are stationed in the arrow towers atop the walls.
As the sun rises over the horizon, the world brightens.
The heavy city gates slowly open, and the waiting merchants, common folk, and wandering cultivators enter in an orderly fashion. Humanity occupies but a small part of the boundless grasslands.
Though the grasslands' yield pales in comparison to the South's abundance, they still offer unique products. For instance, the common and spiritual varieties of grass mushrooms randomly dot the landscape.
The former, known for its delicious taste, is a rare delicacy when cooked with the meat of grassland cattle and sheep. The latter is a rare and precious spiritual ingredient, beneficial when incorporated into medicinal elixirs.
However, both types of mushrooms are best when fresh, with their value diminishing sharply after two to three days. Thus, only dried products are available in more distant areas.
Chunyu Andong hails from an unranked Basalt family within the Five Northwestern Garrisons, showing exceptional talent from a young age. Yet, with his family's limited resources, it was impossible for him to break through to the Lingtai Realm and become a revered Ancestor.
At eighteen, Chunyu Andong set out as a wandering merchant, his travels taking him across Longzuo Commandery. Many in the Commandery share a similar story.
Most of these individuals die in obscurity far from home. A few settle down and form minor families. Only a rare few, through luck, opportunity, and effort, ascend to the Lingtai Realm and break through the rigid social hierarchy.
Chunyu Andong is one of these few successes. After reaching the Lingtai Realm, he continued to organize wandering merchants, establishing a modest trading company. Gradually, he lifted his insignificant family to the status of a ninth-rank clan.
Now the Ancestor of the Chunyu Clan, Chunyu Andong's achievements are complete.
Yet, he reminisces about his youth, wandering the Zhenze Garrison, adventuring in the Great Swamp with fellow cultivators, and trading between the East Sea and Hundred Islands Garrisons for meager profits.
He also fondly recalls, in the Yunwei Garrison, watching the sunrise with a young lady from a prominent family. Their disparate statuses led to their separation, a lifelong regret.
He yearns to travel once more, but now, over a hundred years old, his family relies on him, and his descendants need their Ancestor. He can no longer roam freely as he did in his youth.
For his family, Chunyu Andong has compromised, burying his nostalgia and hopes with him.
However, a new opportunity has rekindled the once-dormant passion in Chunyu Andong's heart.
The Hundred Flavors Residence branch in the Northwestern Garrison.
Thanks to the Yuwen Clan's adept management, this branch is one of the top restaurants in the area, hosting many high-end banquets.
Due to ingredient limitations, the menu focuses on beef, mutton, and spiritual meats, with the famous Lingxue Sheep being a premium choice for grilling or hotpot, known for its tender, melt-in-your-mouth quality.
Several storefronts next to the Hundred Flavors Residence were quietly acquired and renovated, now bearing the sign "Shouda Trading Company."
Undoubtedly, this new venture is a collaboration between the Wang Clan and their in-laws, initially intended to be named "Shouzhe Trading Company." However, Wang Shouzhe declined, and the company was named using the "Shou" generation, implying a promise of delivery.
The current manager of Shouda Trading Company's Northwestern Garrison branch is Lei Yongbai, a Lingtai Realm elder from the Changning Lei Clan. At 150 years old, he was sent to manage the new branch and contribute to the alliance's efforts.
Additionally, various young members from the allied families are stationed in the branch to work, learn, and continue their cultivation.
Branches like this require at least one Lingtai Realm cultivator to maintain standards and credibility. Although the Lingtai Realm cultivators from the allied families are limited and have their own duties, many elders have paused their work to pioneer new branches.
The families are also rapidly training the next generation of Lingtai Realm cultivators for future expansion and rotation.
On this day.
It's the second month since the opening of Shouda Trading Company's Northwestern branch. As a remote outpost, only one spiritual bird carriage arrives each morning, resting briefly before departing for Longzuo Commandery in the evening.
Manager Lei Yongbai starts his busy day with appointments to discuss the supply and pricing of White Jade and Fire Crystal spiritual rice with three eighth-rank clan leaders, as well as long-term contracts for fresh spiritual fish and a consignment agreement for their spiritual meat industries!
Tired of consuming spiritual meat, these clan members crave the fresh and tender spiritual fish, a highly sought-after product.
The young staff of the trading company, energized by the improving business after a trial run and promotion, are filled with confidence and ambition.
Customers trickle into the trading company, each with their own needs—some to send letters, others to purchase fresh goods.
"Senior Chunyu," a young clerk named Gongsun swiftly processes Chunyu Andong's paperwork, "Here's your travel itinerary. You'll reach the Commandery tomorrow, then take the carriage to Yunwei Garrison the same day, arriving the day after. After two days in Yunwei, you can take the Longzuo circuit carriage to Hundred Islands, Changning, and Zhenze Garrisons. Finally, you'll take the carriage from Zhenze back to the Commandery, then transfer to the Northwestern Garrison."
"This package ticket costs only a hundred Top Gold, but with our opening discount, you get 10% off! However, you must not exceed ten jin of personal luggage before boarding the carriage, or you'll need to purchase an extra luggage ticket."
Ninety Top Gold? Chunyu Andong feels dizzy. Excluding the seven days spent reminiscing in each garrison, the round trip takes only about six or seven days.
For ninety Top Gold, he can fulfill his long-held dream in half a month—a journey that would take nearly half a year by horse carriage.
The academy's carriages are not only fast but also take the shortest routes.
At that moment.
A crisp crane call pierces the sky as a spiritual bird carriage descends punctually. Although it's not the first sighting, it still draws a crowd.
After the carriage lands.
The first to disembark are the passengers—five in total. Aside from a young Qi Cultivation Realm individual, there are three Lingtai Realm cultivators and a middle-aged man with unfathomable cultivation.
Clearly, he is a Celestial Realm cultivator.
While Celestial Realm cultivators can float and fly for extended periods, it drains their spiritual energy. To expect them to soar through the night for thousands of miles is impossible.
In fact, even if a powerful Celestial Realm cultivator could manage it, it wouldn't be worth the exhaustion. Why not comfortably sit in a carriage overnight and arrive refreshed at your destination?
Once the passengers disembark, the company's workers begin unloading. The carriage is equipped with a small ice crystal cooler and a small cargo hold beneath the cabin.
The cooler stores high-end ingredients, including freshly caught seafood like large lobsters, abalones, and giant sea urchins with yellow roe, as well as chilled sea spiritual fish, such as premium cuts of a third-order Purple Gold Spearfish—excellent for sashimi.
Most of these premium ingredients, per the agreement with Shouda Trading Company and the Yuwen Clan, supply the Northwestern Garrison's Hundred Flavors Residence, with a small portion reserved for friendly clans.
Due to their fair prices and freshness, the restaurant's business has soared.
The cargo hold beneath the carriage contains light materials like precious spiritual silk and materials for profit.
Additionally, the carriage driver, Hui Qisi, carries a storage ring with custom clothes from the Zhou Clan in the Commandery, ordered cultivation pills, and about a dozen letters and small parcels.
After removing the storage ring, Hui Qisi heads for a meal and rest, while the spiritual bird is cared for by a dedicated person, fed spiritual food, and allowed to rest.
The clerks and workers get busy.
Some riders, carrying letters and parcels, set off to deliver them. Hundred Flavors Residence staff come to collect the freshest ingredients, with their customers already booked for lunch and dinner, seemingly insatiable for more.
Meanwhile.
Inside the Northwestern Garrison, the Xiong Clan of the Northwest, a local seventh-rank powerhouse, has a daughter about to be married. On the first day of Shouda Trading Company's opening, she took a carriage to the Commandery to order a beautiful wedding dress from the Zhou Clan's clothing shop, worth two to three thousand Top Gold.
"Shouda Trading Company" is responsible for delivering the dress from the Zhou Clan back to the Xiong Clan. The profit isn't much, but it opens new possibilities.
Wang Shouzhe once entrusted the Qian Clan to purchase wedding attire from the Zhou Clan in the Commandery, but the process was lengthy and lacked personal selection.
Seizing the opportunity, Shouda Trading Company partnered with the Zhou Clan to promote their clothing catalog. Whether transporting clients to the Zhou Clan for custom clothes or bringing the Zhou Clan's tailors for house calls, Shouda Trading Company earns a commission.
This demonstrates how the spiritual bird carriage system, once fully established, will transform life in Longzuo Commandery. Today, you can buy clothes in the Commandery, enjoy hotpot, and return home the next day.
If you're feeling down, you can watch the sunrise and sunset in Yunwei Garrison.
Or, on a leisurely day, you can fish in Zhenze Garrison or gallop across the Northwestern Garrison's grasslands for days! Of course, you could also feed seagulls in Hundred Islands Garrison and be home the next day to continue life…
Such conveniences have revolutionized the lifestyle of Longzuo Commandery's elite and a few business-minded commoners.
For the vast majority of the lower class, life remains unchanged.
Situations like that in the Northwestern Garrison are just the tip of the iceberg. The carriage system in each garrison is gradually taking shape, becoming big news and gossip in Longzuo Commandery.
Moreover, many "rumors" are spreading throughout the Commandery.
"Shouda Trading Company" was founded in response to the Qian Clan Trading Company's betrayal and pressure on its former allies. The founders of Shouda Trading Company were once close partners of the Qian Clan Trading Company, which suddenly demanded to increase its commission from twenty to fifty percent.
Forced into a corner, the partners sought to create their own channels. Initially, the Wang Clan and its allies intended to build Shouda Trading Company with the Qian Clan.
These rumors and facts have damaged the Qian Clan Trading Company's reputation, mocking their foolish strategic planning. It's said that even the Qian Clan's Purple Mansion Ancestor was alarmed, causing an uproar within the family.
At the same time.
In the main hall of the Qian Clan in Longzuo.
A broad-faced, authoritative middle-aged man smashes a vase in frustration, exclaiming, "Has that wretched Xue Rui returned yet?"
A profoundly cultivated butler replies softly, "Master, we've sent a fast horse to summon the young master. However, the Southern Six Garrisons are far, and it may take some time for him to return."
"Far? Why didn't he take Shouda Trading Company's carriage?" The Qian Clan master sneers in anger, "That wretched boy is good for nothing, turning on the Wang Clan without understanding the situation. He's made the Qian Clan miss a great opportunity!"
"Please calm down, Master," the butler advises, "The young master made that decision for the good of the Qian Clan. And the Wang Clan clearly had no good intentions. Perhaps they had already planned to leave us behind."
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas