86: Chapter 86 Expanding the Shed and Establishing the Memorial Hall, Retainers Reassured

Early the next morning, the Outer Port of Blue Moon Island became completely chaotic.

The first batch of people escorted by Commander Tie Zhan arrived half an hour earlier than expected.

Twenty small cargo ships were lined up in a row. The railings were packed with dense figures; some held children, some carried tattered boxes, and some had absolutely nothing, wrapped only in old clothes stiffened by the salty wind.

Trailing behind the ships was a string of low-grade sea-burden beasts, their backs tied with dismantled ropes, sail bones, and broken wooden crates.

However, things were not chaotic on the Blue Moon Island side.

Su Qingli had already expanded the long tents at the Outer Port thirty zhang to the east the previous night.

Four lines for identity verification, deed verification, flow management, and registration were set up in a row.

Leng Feng had also rushed back before dawn, bringing the remaining patrol guards and a newly drawn group of Dao soldiers to clear the entire path from the Outer Port to the open space at the West Slope Tents.

Lu Changyuan stood outside the long tents, watching the streams of people file in, and suddenly felt that this scene was even more challenging than that night on Xuangui Island.

On the battlefield, one Faces blades.

Now, he was facing a pot of living people.

If the pot cannot hold them, it will rot faster than blades.

"In the first batch, there are many family members of Loose Cultivators and craftsmen."

Su Qingli handed him the roster, "I have re-categorized them based on the supplementary quota list you brought back. Those who can repair ship bottoms, fix winches, or sew hard sails go to the shipyards first; those with severe old injuries or carrying children go to the West Slope Tents first; those without old deeds or debts, who also have some strength, are registered under the Workshop first."

Lu Changyuan flipped through two pages and nodded, "What about the Loose Cultivators?"

"Those at Qi Refining Level 3 or above are recorded separately."

"Not organizing them into battle troops first?"

"Not yet."

Su Qingli's tone was steady, "They are supplementary quotas, not people you raised from scratch on Blue Moon Island. First give them a way to survive, then work, then a place to stay, and finally, we will see who is fit for the front lines."

Lu Changyuan closed the roster, "Correct."

People were being brought in one by one.

Ships were also being dismantled one by one.

By noon, dozens of overturned, broken ship bottoms had been laid out in the old shipyard on the west side of the Outer Port. The newly arrived shipwrights were initially guarded, but when they saw that Blue Moon Island had truly sorted the broken masts, old ropes, and fractured ribs by category, and saw people distributing dry rations and purification powder according to the roster, the stiffness in their eyes noticeably eased.

Things were more direct on Lu Hu's side.

His injuries from last night had not fully healed, yet this morning, he was already standing outside the West Slope Tents with thirty veteran Dao soldiers.

Not to suppress the people.

But to establish rules.

Who gets water first, who gets porridge first, who with injuries goes to the medical tent first, who dares to steal, who dares to cause trouble, who dares to sneak toward the Spirit Plant Garden and the Workshop in the middle of the night—all of this was clearly stated.

His voice was loud, and his blade was real.

But after stating the rules, he personally carried a child who had been vomiting on the ship all night to the medical tent.

That scene was seen by many newcomers.

The fear on their Faces subsided a level.

Lu Changyuan watched for a while, then turned and went to the small temporary Workshop outside the Spirit Plant Garden.

After taking only a few steps, he suddenly heard Lu Hu's voice behind him.

"My Lord."

Lu Changyuan turned around.

Lu Hu had just come down from the West Slope Tents, his shoulder armor still stained with porridge and medicinal ash, and a shallow scratch from a child's fingernail across his Face, yet his expression was even more solemn than when he was killing people on Xuangui Island.

"Over at the West Slope, I want to add one more rule."

"Speak."

"The veteran Dao soldiers will be divided into three shifts, rotating to guard the tents, protect the water supply, and patrol the night paths."

"It's not to prevent these newcomers from causing immediate trouble, but to let them know the moment they open their eyes that Blue Moon Island doesn't just toss them a meal and ignore them, nor can they just barge into the Workshop and Spirit Plant Garden because they were given a bowl of porridge."

"When there are people to uphold the rules and people to protect their path to survival, their hearts will slowly settle."

Lu Changyuan looked at him, "You will lead it yourself?"

"I will lead the first shift."

Lu Hu answered quickly, "During that trip to Xuangui Island, the brothers all learned what it means when people are in chaos and the lines collapse. Now that there are so many more mouths on the island, and the merchant firms outside and the tide of supplementary quota people are colliding, relying only on a few rules to suppress them isn't enough."

"The veteran brothers must first hold down the most chaotic areas."

He paused here, then added another sentence.

"What you fought to bring back shouldn't rot in this pot."

Lu Changyuan looked at him for two breaths, then nodded.

"Granted."

"Pick another twenty stable ones from the old Dao soldiers and temporarily assign them under you between the West Slope Tents and the unloading lines at the Outer Port."

"I am not asking you to be a jailer."

"It is to let the newcomers clearly understand that the blades of Blue Moon Island first uphold the rules, and then protect the people."

Lu Hu cupped his fists, his chest feeling as if it had been heavily struck by those words.

He didn't say anything more, just nodded heavily, turned, and went toward the West Slope Tents.

The Workshop was originally just a small shed for testing talisman paste and wood shavings.

Now, there were three newly erected small bronze pots outside the shed, the bottoms of the pots connected to fire-patterned stone troughs, with several sealed wooden boxes placed beside them.

Ye Zhe was squatting in front of the wooden box on the very edge, staring at the pile of fine, purplish-pale gold peels inside.

Hearing footsteps, he immediately stood up and saluted, "My Lord."

Lu Changyuan glanced at him.

The boy's Face was still dark and thin, and his cuffs were still frayed, but his eyes were different from when they were in the Zhao family's courtyard.

More steady.

Also more composed.

"Didn't sleep last night?"

"Slept for two hours."

Ye Zhe answered honestly, "I got up in the second half of the night to check the sealing lines of the Thunder Bamboo Garden once more. The roots of the thunder bamboo were undisturbed; the peels and wood shavings shed naturally, and the living roots were not touched."

Lu Changyuan nodded and walked into the shed.

Chen Mo was standing, supporting himself on the table.

This old talisman master had overexerted himself severely on Xuangui Island, and his Face was still as white as paper, but his eyes shone brightly as soon as he saw the three pots.

"Young Lord."

"Have you tested it?"

"Tested a pot's worth."

Chen Mo pointed to the light green jade cup on the table, "I used old wood shavings washed by thunder intent, fine peels, Evil-Suppressing Sand, and added the most common purification powder as a base. What came out cannot be called a Spirit Medicine; it can only be called a purification liquid."

"But I had a Loose Cultivator picked from the Outer Port who was lightly contaminated test two drops."

"The stuffy Qi in his chest that wouldn't dissipate subsided by half a percent."

"If used to wash wounds, wipe armor plates, or soak talisman paper, the effect would be even more stable."

Lu Changyuan picked up the jade cup.

The liquid inside was clearer and thinner than ordinary medicinal liquids, and one could vaguely see a faint thread of golden-purple light swimming inside.

It was indeed not a mature Spirit Medicine.

But its value was not in its potency.

It was in its stability.

This was the first time Blue Moon Island, without relying on hoarding goods or sweeping the market, was trying to create a product that could truly be sold and defended, using things grown by their own hands.

Su Qingli then entered the shed.

She slapped a list on the table, "Three pots of liquid can be divided into at most eighty-seven small bottles. If it's only for Blue Moon Island's own use, it's not worth it; if sold externally, it's too little."

Chen Mo asked subconsciously, "Then are we still making it?"

"Yes."

Lu Changyuan put down the jade cup, "But we won't sell it all."

He looked at Su Qingli, "First, reserve thirty percent for the Outer Port medical tent, the shipyard, and the newly arrived people registered under the Workshop, so they know Blue Moon Island isn't just about collecting deeds and money."

"The remaining seventy percent will be used as samples."

"Doesn't Jubao Pavilion want to see a buyout?"

"Let them see."

Su Qingli's eyes moved slightly, "Just look?"

"Look at the samples, but don't set a price."

Lu Changyuan said, "If they really want to drive down the price, they will first try to test you by saying 'low quantity, unstable formula, difficult to sustain raw materials.' It's perfect; we can also use their words to see how big the appetite for this thing is outside."

Chen Mo smacked his lips, as if wanting to curse the merchants for being black-hearted, but in the end, he just let out a 'heh'.

Ye Zhe stood in the back, listening very carefully.

Lu Changyuan glanced at him, "These three pots, you will keep an eye on one of them from now on."

Ye Zhe was stunned.

"I am not asking you to be the head manager right now."

Lu Changyuan said, "It is for you to start learning from recording wood shavings, heat control, and sealing lines. On the Workshop line, those with a keen eye survive first."

Ye Zhe's throat moved, and he agreed in a low voice.

In the afternoon, the people from Jubao Pavilion arrived.

The person who came was a thin, tall old man whose robes were so clean they didn't have a trace of the salty wind; he wore two jade rings on his fingers, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.

He claimed his surname was Zhou and that he was the General Manager of the East Route.

As soon as he entered the shed, he first praised how strictly the rules were established at the Outer Port of Blue Moon Island, then praised the pure color of the purification liquid, and finally said as if casually, "It is not easy for a small place to come up with such a thing. If Island Master Lu is willing, Jubao Pavilion can offer a sum of Spirit Stones first to take over the formula and the subsequent sales channels."

"You just focus on production, no need to waste effort finding buyers."

Su Qingli stood to one side, expressionless, "How much are you offering initially?"

Manager Zhou smiled, as if giving plenty of Face, "The initial price is 300,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, plus a listing on an East Route sales channel."

Chen Mo in the back almost blew his beard up.

300,000 sounds like a lot.

But if all the subsequent channels were truly sold, it would be no different from snuffing out the future of the not-yet-grown Thunder Bamboo Garden.

Lu Changyuan, however, did not get angry.

He only placed the three bottles separated from the eighty-seven small bottles on the table in turn.

"The first bottle, for washing armor."

"The second bottle, for wiping wounds."

"The third bottle, for soaking talisman paper."

"Manager Zhou, please look at the effects first."

Manager Zhou's eyes flickered; he clearly did not expect Lu Changyuan not to bargain first, but instead to let him test it.

After testing, the layer of merchant-like flat smile on his Face grew deeper.

Because he could tell that as long as the quantity could be increased, this thing was definitely worth more than the price at hand.

But just as he was about to take advantage of the situation to drive down the price, a burst of footsteps suddenly came from outside.

Lu Hu lifted the curtain and entered, his expression more solemn than usual.

"My Lord."

"Among the first batch of supplementary quotas, there is a veteran who insists on seeing you."

"He says he used to follow the Clan Head."

"He also said that if Blue Moon Island really wants to take in the thousands of people coming after, it is best to first understand the four words 'Old Seal Bid Case'."

Everyone in the shed went silent at the same time.

Lu Changyuan raised his eyes.

Manager Zhou was also stopped by this sudden interruption, his eyebrows knitting slightly.

Lu Changyuan did not accept the low price he had just tried to pressure him with.

He just placed the three sample bottles on the table back into the wooden box and said calmly, "Manager Zhou, you have seen the samples today, and you have quoted your price."

"Blue Moon Island has just taken in people, ships, and a new Workshop; this deal does not need to be settled in one word."

"Let's talk again tomorrow."

The smile on Manager Zhou's Face stiffened slightly, "Island Master Lu, distributing goods on the East Route is all about timing. If we delay by one day, the price might not necessarily be the same."

"Then let's wait until tomorrow to see whether your Jubao Pavilion's price goes up or down."

Lu Changyuan's tone was not heavy, but he left no room for negotiation, "Leave one sample bottle for you to take back for verification; Blue Moon Island will use the rest."

"As for the buyout."

"Wait until I have stabilized the people and the pots on the island, then I will listen to you slowly."

Manager Zhou looked at him for a moment and, in the end, did not force it further.

He was a merchant.

A merchant could see that pressing further at this time would only kill this deal that had not yet fully matured.

"Good."

He nodded slowly, "Then this old man will come again tomorrow."

After Manager Zhou left with one sample bottle, the shed became quiet again.

At this moment, he finally understood that Commander Tie Zhan's words yesterday about the "accounts of the living, accounts of the dead, and the Old Seal Bid Case" were not thrown out casually to suppress things.

Blue Moon Island had just caught the first tide of people.

But the deeper, older accounts had already followed this tide of people and delivered themselves to his doorstep.