An Youyu walked south along the water bridge.
The closer he got to South Bridge, the fainter the fishy stench of the sea grew along the street, while the scents of dried medicinal herbs, mineral powder, and moist land soil gradually grew stronger.
All Land Goods in Seven-Masts Waters were shipped in by merchant vessels from outside the realm.
Whatever store could open here, no matter how big or small its storefront, had a few cross-realm supply channels behind it.
There were three Land Goods firms in total nearby.
An Youyu walked into the first Land Goods shop at the street corner and passed his donation slip across the counter.
The shopkeeper took it, angled the slip toward the window light, and first verified the official red seal of the supervisors before checking the float-commune holding the slip.
【Clown Float-Commune】.
"Clown actually filled their slot this year?"
His eyes moved further down.
【Donation Item: One Tiger-Head Mushroom】.
The shopkeeper's lips stiffened.
"With great effort they manage to fill a spot, yet they just had to draw this one?"
Those in the Land Goods business knew better than anyone how hard Tiger-Head Mushrooms were to find.
Yet if he truly had one in hand, the shopkeeper would actually be willing to offer a helping hand.
It wasn't just the twenty-eight communes competing in the Seven-Masts Tide Battle.
These commercial firms on South Bridge were also competing for a storefront sign.
According to the rules, when a slip holder came to the door, the firm had to tell the truth; if they were further willing to provide fish materials, weapons, medicine, or help locate a key piece of news, they could leave their firm's brand logo on the back of the slip, listing themselves as a 【Sponsor】.
Once the aided contestant seized a mast, the brand logo would gain a certification from that edition of the anchorage association, becoming a 【Famous Brand】 of that Tide Battle.
All three old firms on South Bridge had earned this title, though some more times than others.
The more times they earned it, the stronger their reputation.
Only by holding it through several consecutive editions could a firm truly be considered a renowned legacy brand.
This title was more effective than the shopkeeper boasting a hundred times in front of his store.
Therefore, whenever a favorite contestant to seize a mast entered South Bridge, there were always firms willing to lend goods or boats on credit, or even give away fish materials outright.
Clown had not entered the arena for real in many years, so naturally they were not considered a favorite.
"Pity. I don't have it here, nor have I handled one in recent years."
The shopkeeper returned the donation slip to An Youyu.
An Youyu went to the second firm.
After the second shopkeeper verified the red seal, he opened the public ledger according to protocol, then called a clerk to bring several old ledgers from the back cabinet.
After flipping through the new ledger, he flipped through the old ledgers.
He managed to turn up a few dried mushrooms with similar names.
As for live Tiger-Head Mushrooms, there wasn't a single specimen.
The final ledger was closed.
An Youyu refolded the donation slip, tucked it into his sleeve, and raised his head to look toward the end of the street.
The third, 【Luotu Firm】, was situated at the far end of South Bridge and was the oldest legacy firm among the three.
On the old bronze plaque of the Anchorage Residents Merchant Guild in front of the door, a long list of 【Famous Brand】 edition numbers was lined up below the shop emblem.
Upon stepping inside, An Youyu first noticed three price signs hanging side by side on the display shelves.
【Earth Eel Soil | Price: 1 shell coin per 100 jin】
【Stone Eel Stone Material | Price: 1 shell coin per 50 jin】
【Sunken Land Grotto-Heaven Soil | Price: 1 shell coin per 2 liang】
Beneath the first two signs were large open baskets, but beneath the land soil sign were only palm-sized, thick fish-skin bags stacked neatly, their openings sealed with fish glue.
There was no real land on the surface of the sea, nor was there a fixed seabed in the deep ocean where soil could be dug.
The soil and stone used by float-communes for building houses, firing ceramics, and refining metal mostly came from resource fish like 【Earth Eels】 and 【Stone Eels】; the soil and stone refined from them were plentiful and cheap, but were dead materials unable to sustain plant life.
Real 【Land Soil】 that could nourish medicine and sustain land plants could only be transported from 【Sunken Land Grotto-Heavens】 preserved from ancient land, which was also Luotu Firm's most famous commodity.
Behind the counter, Shopkeeper Xing was using a small scale to measure out newly arrived brown land soil into bags.
Just as An Youyu walked past the price signs, he raised his head to greet him: "Which kind of soil does the customer need?"
"I'm not buying soil. I want to find a medicinal plant."
Shopkeeper Xing gestured toward several tiered wooden shelves near the window.
"The ready live plants are all over there. Whichever you like, I'll wrap it up for you along with the soil."
An Youyu gave them a cursory glance, then walked up to the counter and handed him the donation slip.
"I'm looking for this."
Shopkeeper Xing set down the small scale and took the donation slip.
When he saw the four characters for 【Clown Float-Commune】, his gaze, which had been scanning casually, came to a halt.
Clown, universally acknowledged as dead last among the twenty-eight communes, had left its competition plaque empty for thirteen consecutive editions, yet now, just before the entry deadline, they actually added a new-residency fish-transformed member.
It was somewhat interesting.
However, further down was 【One Tiger-Head Mushroom】.
"With great effort you manage to fill a spot, yet you just had to draw the Tiger-Head Mushroom. Your luck really is something."
"Unfortunately, let alone Seven-Masts, right now in the entire Salt-Bone Sea, not a single commercial firm can produce a Tiger-Head Mushroom."
The previous two shopkeepers had only said they had no stock themselves.
Shopkeeper Xing's words, however, expanded the scope to the entire Salt-Bone Sea.
Since it couldn't be bought anywhere, he could only ask where this medicine came from.
"Where did the Tiger-Head Mushrooms previously sold in the Salt-Bone Sea come from?"
"Tiger-Head Mushrooms only grow in 【Sunken Land Grotto-Heavens】."
"Are there Sunken Land Grotto-Heavens in the Salt-Bone Sea as well?"
"There is one, called the 【Bone Lantern Grotto-Heaven】."
Shopkeeper Xing then roughly explained the supply channels for Land Medicine from the Bone Lantern Grotto-Heaven and the inner workings of how Yancheng Anchorage collected medicine.
Yancheng Anchorage controlled the land aperture passage to the 【Bone Lantern Grotto-Heaven】.
After Land Medicine from the grotto-heaven left the cavern, it had to enter Yancheng Anchorage first before being transshipped along several major anchorages.
Although the Tiger-Head Mushroom had a harvesting quota every year, it was often pre-ordered by local prominent families and large medicine firms before even leaving the land aperture.
The rare specimen that leaked through would only change hands among several major anchorages and could never reach Seven-Masts at all.
With the option of buying existing stock cut off, An Youyu turned his thoughts toward the source.
Sunken Land Grotto-Heavens were mostly hidden in deep-sea high-pressure waters. When he searched for such medicinal plants in the Zijing Sea in the past, he would usually look for a 【Land Harvesting Firm】 first—handing the name of the medicine to those who specifically entered grottoes to harvest herbs, letting them bring it back according to the order on their next expedition into the cavern.
Since the Salt-Bone Sea also had a Sunken Land Grotto-Heaven, it presumably had the same trade.
"Which land harvesting firm in Yancheng Anchorage takes orders for Tiger-Head Mushrooms?"
"The only one that can take it is 【Yicunchun】, whose head office is located in Yancheng Anchorage with branch offices scattered across every major anchorage in the Salt-Bone Sea. Most of the herb gardens in the Bone Lantern Grotto-Heaven facing the Salt-Bone Sea side are also in its hands."
"How do I place a harvesting order?"
"Don't even think about it."
Shopkeeper Xing said, "The price is secondary; Yicunchun's harvesting orders for Tiger-Head Mushrooms are already booked out three years in advance."
Three years.
Yet the donation slip had only given An Youyu seven days.
"Do you have a comprehensive chart of the Salt-Bone Sea here?"
Shopkeeper Xing poured the weighed land soil into a fish-skin bag, then casually pointed behind An Youyu with the freed scale beam.
"The chart is over there. Look for yourself."
...
Rate on N.U.
