In an instant, the storm was about to break. Shouda Trading Company, established for nearly twenty years, faced its greatest crisis.
But this suppression of the Qiaan and Wang families seed to be just the tip of the iceberg.
anwhile.
To the northwest of Qeng’an County, near the Southern Desert, there lies a trade route that has existed for nearly three thousand years, known as the "Qengbei Corridor."
Due to the mountainous terrain within the Daqian Realm, the terrain in Qeng’an County is relatively flat, making it convenient for the transportation of bulk goods, and the distance is also short. Therefore, the trade convoys from Liaoyuan, Lingbei, and Longzhou predominantly travel through this "Qengbei Corridor" when heading to the Capital City.
The Longzuo Qian Family’s convoy was no exception.
For so many years, the Qiaan family’s convoys have traveled back and forth on this route countless tis and are already extrely familiar with it.
Qiaan Zhong is a steward of Qiaan’s Trading Company, and for these years, the transportation line of the Qengbei Corridor has always been his responsibility.
He travels back and forth between the Capital City and Longzhou several tis each year.
Over the years, traveling back and forth, he has walked this road countless tis and is already extrely familiar with everything on it.
When running the business, determining when to set off, at what speed to travel, how long it takes to find a place to rest, everything is clear, and the estimation error in ti has never exceeded one hour.
That day, as usual, he set off with the convoy, aiming to leave the pass by noon, so that by evening they could rest at an inn near the Capital City.
The Qiaan family has been running the trading company for many years, and transportation has always been one of its main businesses. Transporting rough iron from the Southern Desert to the iron-deficient Longzhou, taking care of part of the grain transport for the Qeng’an Zuoqiu Family, and shipping products like foreign glass produced by the Wang Family in Wang Ning to the Capital City are all within Qiaan’s Trading Company’s business scope.
Accordingly, the industry chain related to transportation at Qiaan’s side is also very mature. Warehouses are set up in each county specifically for storage and transshipnt, and transportation tools at critical stages have also been developed to be quite advanced.
Qiaan’s long-distance carts are pulled by specially purchased Wild Oxen from the north, larger than southern cattle, with more stamina, strength, and speed.
The carriage has also been specially modified as a fully enclosed big carriage with a lock, rain and windproof, and so level of defense. Even if they have the bad luck to encounter a fierce beast attack on the road, there’s a good chance of keeping the goods intact.
The front half of the carriage, near the head, also features a small cabin specially designed.
This small cabin is separated from the rear compartnt and can only be accessed from the front of the carriage, with windows on both sides. The space inside is just enough for two beds, facilitating the rotation rest for the Household Generals driving. On occasions where they must camp in the wild, it can also accommodate people by making do.
The modified carts are not only convenient and practical, but their cargo capacity is also 1.5 to 2 tis that of an ordinary ox cart, greatly enhancing the transportation capacity of Qiaan’s Trading Company. The risk of goods being lost or damaged during transport has thus been greatly reduced.
Both the transportation capability and reputation form the foundation of Qiaan’s Trading Company.
It is precisely because of its excellent transportation capability and the reputation built over the years for tily and quality delivery that Qiaan’s Trading Company has managed to gain the trust of other noble families, prompting them to entrust their goods for transportation.
However, today, sothing went wrong on this always-smooth route.
"What’s going on up ahead? Go over and check it out."
Seeing that the cattle carts up front hadn’t moved for a long ti and were blocking the road, Qiaan Zhong felt sothing was amiss and instructed his assistant accordingly.
The assistant imdiately complied, dismounted from the ox cart, took a horse from the Household Generals, and rode quickly ahead to find out.
Though this convoy was rely one of the many in Qiaan’s Trading Company, it was not small, boasting a full forty-eight cattle carts with Household Generals as guards on either side, stretching nearly two miles in length.
Although Qiaan Zhong possessed the strength of the Spirit Platform Realm, he was stationed at the center and couldn’t clearly see or hear what was happening nearly a mile away. Therefore, he felt truly perplexed at that mont.
After a while, the assistant hurriedly rode back with a noticeable look of worry on his face: "Uncle Zhong, the road ahead is blocked by barriers, guarded by soldiers from Qeng’an County, saying that the road is under repair and temporarily not passable."
"Repairing the road?" Qiaan Zhong was puzzled, "This Qengbei Corridor has been used for so many years, with carts and cattle treading daily, compacting the earth till it’s sturdier than official roads. Why repair it? Furthermore, all these years, never have I heard of Qeng’an County repairing this road~"
For so reason, he had an ominous premonition.
"Uncle Zhong, what should we do now?" the assistant asked, "Shall we rest here and wait for the road to be repaired?"
"No," Qiaan Zhong shook his hand, "Besides the usual miscellaneous goods from the north and south, this batch includes a significant portion of custom foreign glassware from the main store of Celestial Workshop, ordered from the Wang Family. I had already signed a contract with the shopkeeper of Celestial Workshop that the delivery must reach them within a month, and we can no longer afford any delays."
Two months ago, the Wang Family had already completed the custom foreign glassware and handed it over, leaving ample transport ti for Qiaan. If the delivery deadline is missed under such circumstances, the responsibility lies entirely with the Qiaan family, and a substantial amount of penalty for breach of contract would be inevitable.
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