Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 425: 211, Smooth Trip to the Prefectural City

New Yu Era 1322, September 12

Xingnan Prefecture City, Shengxin Residence, third floor, Elegant Room

"The business Brother Hou entrusted me with is now all set, one hundred top-grade warhorses, each priced at thirty-five thousand taels, and another five hundred good breed warhorses, each priced at six thousand five hundred taels. The total price for the warhorses is Six Million Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand Taels of silver;

The two thousand sets of common-grade treasured battle armor ordered by the Hou Clan, will be delivered tomorrow, the original price per set is over one thousand taels, but since Brother Hou is purchasing such a large quantity at once, I'll give you a discount, rounding it down to One Thousand Taels each, making a total of Twenty Million Taels;

The common-grade treasured swords, bows, crossbows, and all other standardized weapons amount to thirty thousand pieces, after the discount, the unit price is Four Hundred and Fifty Taels, for a total of Thirteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Taels."

As Wan Xingyun laid out each amount, his gaze never once strayed from the two brothers of the Hou Clan. Such a large sum of money, even for him, the Young Gang Leader of Xiong Yun Gang, the largest gang of Xingnan Prefecture, was somewhat astonishing when he found out yesterday. He wanted to see what kind of reaction the brothers would have upon hearing the totals.

As expected, both Hou Yujie and Hou Yuduan showed expressions of shock, pain, and even disbelief as he announced the total cost of these items.

After all, they are still a third-rate small clan. Even if they have prospered, they've yet to experience such things in life. Seeing such expressions when faced with nearly Forty Million Taels of silver.

Wan Xingyun shook his head internally, beginning to worry whether the two could actually afford to pay.

"The total price for the three types of goods is Thirty-Nine Million Five Hundred Thousand Taels of silver. According to the transaction terms initially agreed upon with Brother Hou and my Xiong Yun Gang, an upfront payment of Twenty Million Taels is required, with the remaining Nineteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Taels to be paid off before June of next year. I wonder if you two..."

"Young Gang Leader Wan, rest assured, tomorrow we pay cash upon delivery!"

Wan Xingyun was momentarily taken aback. He had assumed the brothers would want to haggle the price or reduce the quantity purchased and would need further persuasion, but they promptly agreed to the deal.

"Good, the two of you are quite decisive. Tomorrow morning, I will transport the goods outside the city and personally conduct the trade with you!"

He did not hesitate for long, though; this order was lucrative for his Xiong Yun Gang as well. Since the deal was settled, he promptly agreed, bid them farewell, and stated that they would meet again at the time of the transaction tomorrow. Hou Yuduan and Hou Yujie did not try to detain him.

After Wan Xingyun left, only Hou Yuduan and Hou Yujie remained in the guest room. They exchanged glances, a trace of peculiarity emerging on their faces.

Li Sanyun walked in from outside and noticed their peculiar expressions, he asked, "What's wrong, this Wan Xingyun should be easy to deal with, right?"

The brothers nodded. As the Young Gang Leader of Xiong Yun Gang, a first-class force, Wan Xingyun was indeed someone easy to negotiate with.

After pondering for a moment, Hou Yujie was the first to speak, "This Young Gang Leader Wan is indeed easy to deal with. However, our doubts aren't about this but about how our trip to the Prefectural City has been so smooth?"

Hou Yuduan also nodded, his expression containing a hint of doubt.

They had arrived at the Prefectural City the day before. Given that they were purchasing such a large number of supplies, both had refrained from discussing the details with Li Sanyun during the journey, knowing that he had been to the Prefectural City before. After some inquiries, they learned that only one local first-class force in Xingnan Prefecture, the Xiong Yun Gang, could sell these three types of goods. They had both prepared to spend a substantial sum to negotiate with the Xiong Yun Gang, only to find that not only did they not have to spend any money, but the members of the Xiong Yun Gang had actually sought them out first.

"When Wan Xingyun greeted us yesterday, it was clear he already knew our intentions. The prices for the horses, armor, and weapons were proposed by him first. How did the Xiong Yun Gang know in advance that the Hou Clan intended to buy these items in the Prefectural City?"

Li Sanyun shook his head, chuckled lightly, and said, "You two young masters underestimate the Xiong Yun Gang. They are a first-class force that has been established in Xingnan Prefecture for over seven hundred years. It's no exaggeration to say that they are well-informed of every move in the six counties of Xingnan Prefecture. Considering the direction of the war and the role our Hou Clan has played in this big battle, it wouldn't be difficult for them to deduce that the Hou Clan would be involved in the upcoming Hedong conflict, and to guess that we would be purchasing these military supplies isn't hard."

"What we are puzzled about isn't this, it's the untargeted goodwill of the Xiong Yun Gang!"

"Goodwill? Our transaction alone is set to net the Xiong Yun Gang several million taels. With horses, armor, and weapons, they are second-rate traders who can make such a big profit just by turning them over. It's not surprising that they show goodwill, is it?"

Hou Yuduan shook his head and said, "You're thinking too simplistically. While the earnings are indeed substantial, like you said, the Xiong Yun Gang is a first-class force that's been in Xingnan Prefecture for over seven hundred years. We can't measure them by our standards. Several million taels of silver might be a huge profit for a third-rate or even a second-rate power, but for them, it should be just fine!"

Hou Yujie continued, "But look, from the time we entered the city yesterday, have you noticed? The Young Gang Leader of Grandmaster Realm, Wan Xingyun, personally received us; and the three items we wanted to purchase seemed as if they had been prepared in advance. Preparing within one day! Horses and weapons are still okay, but the battle armor we ordered has to be rushed to stamp the Hou Clan Lotus mark on it. Let alone one day, even ten days might not be enough...

Hearing their discussion, Li Sanyun suddenly realized the implication.

"Fourth Young Master, are you suggesting that the Xiong Yun Gang had already prepared this batch of goods in advance?"

Hou Yujie nodded gravely and said, "Not only did they know we needed these goods, but they even guessed the quantities with startling accuracy..."