After Being Abducted by the General

chapter 20

Yuan Congyun and Yang Zhongfa originally thought that as they headed towards the northern frontier, the amount of food they carried would only decrease. They thought it would be considered good if they could deliver half of it to the battlefield. However, they never expected that along the way, instead of decreasing, the amount of food they had kept increasing.

On their journey, following Liu Jixin's method, whenever they reached a city, they would first seek out the local influential families and forcefully persuade them to exchange food.

But that's not all. Their general originally wanted to exchange the batch of antiques and paintings from the Young Master Yuan for food, but was stopped by the Young Master himself. Instead, the Young Master produced a set of things called "soap" from somewhere. These things were pure white and delicate, emitting a faint fragrance, arousing curiosity among many influential families as soon as they were brought out.

However, the Young Master only sold a limited number of sets, usually just one or two sets at each place. Each set had four different carvings of plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums, all exquisitely crafted and luxurious. Despite their small size, they were sold at prices that astonished Yang Zhongfa and the others.

Especially when there were more influential families in a particular area, the soap sets could be sold at eye-popping prices.

Soap was a rare and peculiar thing, brought from Luoyang. Originally, these influential families only wanted to spend money to buy them for the sake of the army's face, to avoid trouble. But after seeing the finished soap products, each and every one of them felt a newfound curiosity and fondness.

Moreover, Yuan Li sold very few.

These influential families were wealthy, so wealthy that they would spend tens of thousands of money on a single meal, and they would complain if there was nowhere to put their chopsticks. They were so wealthy that they had ten maidservants waiting by their side even when they went to the restroom, casually playing with exquisite jade carvings.

Among these influential families, showcasing their wealth had become commonplace. Every time they arrived in a new place, Yuan Li would send Zhao Ying and Liu Jixin to inquire about the influential families' power and relationships, and then they would use this information for strategic marketing.

Those who held grudges against each other would have only one of the two influential families chosen to sell the soap. Those who had marital ties with each other would have the value of the soap conveyed through one family.

Yuan Li made great efforts to turn soap into a new tool for showcasing wealth among influential families.

The results were outstanding, and as a result, Yuan Congyun earned millions of times more money than the cost of the soap.

Of course, he didn't want money for himself. Instead, he exchanged the money for long-lasting provisions such as food, cloth, medicinal herbs, alcohol, and warhorses.

Among these items, only alcohol was not a necessity in troubled times but rather a luxury item. However, such luxury items could play a crucial role at specific times.

Yuan Li didn't exchange livestock such as pigs, cows, or sheep because there was still a distance to travel to reach Youzhou. If the livestock fell ill or contracted a plague on the way, even the horses would be affected, resulting in significant losses.

Of all the exchanged items, warhorses were the most difficult to acquire in large quantities. The influential clans all had their private armed forces and recognized the importance of horses as strategic resources. However, apart from horses, the other items were relatively easy to obtain through the exchanges.