Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Genava split up again and arrived at the "Wolf's Den" near Westport.
"Here's your Red River Language primer. Familiarize yourselves with it for a few days, and then someone will come to teach you." Bai Chen handed over several copies of the "books," which Genava had scanned, typeset, printed, and preliminarily bound, to Su Na, Li Qiong, and others.
Su Na was quite surprised:
"So fast? I thought there weren't any readily available?"
"How did you know?" Long Yuehong blurted out.
Su Na revealed shallow dimples and raised the translator in her hand, saying:
"I used it to get the information from those, those servants."
"These are the textbooks we used to learn Red River Language, with some revisions. Plus, we have a robot assistant that saves a lot of time." Most of what Bai Chen said was true.
Su Na and the others didn't really understand why a robot assistant could save so much time, but since those very magical, very powerful, and very good people said so, they believed it.
Once the textbooks were distributed, Su Na and the others eagerly flipped through them, chattering among themselves:
"How do you pronounce this?"
"Isn't there phonetic notation?"
"I, I can't read..."
"Hey, I'll teach you."
Seeing this scene, Bai Chen and Long Yuehong realized that they had made a mistake when compiling the textbook yesterday because they were in too much of a hurry:
Unlike the students who started learning Red River Language within "Pangu Biology," many of the women in the "Wolf's Den" hadn't even mastered Ashlands writing, and a few were even illiterate.
Fortunately, Su Na, Qin Xiaozhen, and Du Yumei could barely read and write and could teach the others.
"Looks like we need to make an Ashlands writing primer too..." Long Yuehong muttered softly, subconsciously turning his gaze to Genava.
Smart people are really better than carbon-based people in some ways.
Genava nodded, indicating that it wasn't a problem.
Once Su Na and the others calmed down, Bai Chen asked:
"Is there enough food?"
"Yes." Li Qiong nodded quickly. "Boss, uh, Ogg got a lot of grain in the building, enough for about half a month. And, and that marijuana business is doing very well, and it's especially profitable..."
At this point, Su Na interrupted her:
"But, once we get our footing, we won't do it anymore. Those people are like crazy. Especially those who smoke that new Bliss Island product, once they run out of money and can't get more in time, it makes me feel bad for them. If we didn't have guns to scare some people, they might have just robbed us!"
She spoke a little incoherently, still shaken by what happened yesterday evening.
"Yeah."
"Right."
"..."
Many of the women present echoed her.
Bai Chen nodded:
"That's good."
Su Na hesitated for a moment, then asked:
"If we don't sell it anymore, will those people go crazy if they can't get it? Will they rob us? Will they die because of it?"
"That's when you need good marksmanship." Bai Chen replied calmly. "Those who can quit will naturally quit. Those who can't quit should just die sooner, which is a good thing for them and their families."
Bai Chen didn't continue the topic and instead said:
"What kind of business do you plan to do in the future? What are your ideas?"
Su Na had a reminiscent expression and said slowly:
"We plan to renovate the first floor, but not as a hot pot restaurant. Instead, we'll open a fast-food restaurant. That hot pot you mentioned requires too many spices and ingredients, and the price will definitely be high. It can only do business with sailors and merchants. But the people in the nearby blocks have a huge demand for very cheap fast food. Most of them work at the port and factories. Both husband and wife are very busy, and they come home late and tired. Cooking themselves requires using coal, wood, or electricity. As long as the price is right and the grain source is stable, I think it should sell well...
"We'll consider the hot pot restaurant later, on the second floor. It won't be too big...
"We also plan to set aside a floor for a bathhouse, the simplest public bathhouse. There are many lower-class citizens in the surrounding blocks, and they are eager to take showers. Their own homes don't have private bathrooms, so they can only wash in public places, which is very inconvenient...
"The nearby bathhouses often run out of water and are about to close down. This building never stops..."
As she spoke, a faint smile appeared on Su Na's face.
Although Li Qiong, Qin Xiaozhen, and the others already knew about this plan, they were still listening with great anticipation, as if just listening would make them feel happy.
Long Yuehong listened in a daze, unable to believe that this was a plan formulated by a group of former slaves who didn't understand Red River Language and didn't know anything about Initial City.
Isn't this analysis too detailed?
Noticing the change in his eyes, Su Na said a little embarrassedly:
"These past two days, we've been using the translator to talk to those servants and ask them questions. They actually know a lot."
Bai Chen nodded slightly:
"Well done."
She then talked about some of her own suggestions, such as opening a grain store and, after accumulating some wealth, trying to cooperate with some merchants in the port.
Finally, she emphasized:
"Remember to exercise and practice your marksmanship."
"Yes!" Su Na and the others nodded heavily.
Leaving the Wolf's Den, descending to the first floor, and returning to the street, Long Yuehong looked back at the seventh and eighth floors where Su Na and the others lived and said with emotion:
"They are really full of motivation, and they also know what is good and bad, and understand what should and shouldn't be done."
Bai Chen looked at the jeep not far away:
"In the beginning, they always have beautiful expectations for the future. After experiencing many difficulties and setbacks, I hope they can still remember their mood and thoughts today."
In the Ashlands, those who can stick to themselves are actually the minority, a very small number.
Long Yuehong fell silent, not knowing what to say. Genava then said:
"In Tarnan, there are actually many people who can at least avoid harming others."
"That's because there are robot guards watching." Bai Chen smiled slightly and glanced at Long Yuehong.
This was the guy who had been scammed by the locals.
As they spoke, they returned to the jeep.
Just then, several security officers in gray-blue uniforms ran wildly from the corner of the street, holding pistols.
After seeing Long Yuehong and the others, the leading short, fat man slowed down and asked:
"Have you seen someone pass by?
"Wearing a thin black coat, brown hair, green eyes, and wearing a scarf like you, but covering his mouth."
He pointed at Bai Chen.
Bai Chen pulled at the simple, elegant thin scarf around his neck and answered frankly:
"No, we just came out of the building."
The short, fat man didn't ask any more questions and led his men, running again.
"Did that guy do something wrong?" Long Yuehong muttered, looking at the backs of the security officers.
"Maybe." Bai Chen opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat.
............
Golden Apple District, Citizen Street, No. 18, General Focas' residence.
On the way there in the gray off-road vehicle, Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao were subjected to at least three temporary inspections. Fortunately, they didn't bring military exoskeletons or heavy weapons and behaved like the most law-abiding relic hunters.
"Who are you looking for?" The guard at the door stopped them.
Focas was the most senior and famous general in Initial City. When Olei died and Initial City split, he firmly stood on the side of the Senate, commanded the army to suppress the rebellion, and then repeatedly wiped out the Mindless, Aberrant Creatures, and other forces, developing several settlements for Initial City.
He was now in his late fifties, past his prime, and considered to be half-dead in the Ashlands. He gradually faded out of the list of legion commanders and was only responsible for a portion of the city defense forces. Of course, he was also in the Senate.
Facing the guard's questioning, Jiang Baimian smiled:
"We have an appointment with the general to discuss cooperation on a batch of books."
After asking for instructions, the guard cleared the way, and Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian entered Focas' study, led by the butler.
Focas' house was paved with marble, and the staircase railings and other places were lined with different statues, with exquisite murals on the walls as decorations. It looked very luxurious.
His study was the same, with rows of books bathed in golden sunlight.
At the first sight of Focas, a word immediately appeared in Jiang Baimian's mind:
"Lion!"
Whether in appearance or momentum, this general was like a lion watching its prey.
However, perhaps because of his age, his yellow hair was quite sparse, which inexplicably added a bit of comicality to him.
Wearing a neat general's uniform and standing by the window, Focas' yellow eyes moved slightly, glanced at Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao, and asked in a deep voice:
"Are you the relic hunter team that discovered the Anti-Intellectualism's whereabouts?"
Shang Jianyao nodded first:
"Yes, they also sponsored us 50 Aolei."
Focas frowned, a little puzzled.
ps: Recommend a book, Sui Qingfeng went out of the palace, no, returned to the starting point, the new book "The Elementary School Student of the Great Ming Dynasty", a unique style is the only one, worth a look!