mtlumby2d Chapter 244 A token of love?
Chapter 244 A token of love?
After the ship docked, Jiang Mingche and Ji Xiaoman got off the boat directly. Xiaofan turned into a schoolbag and was carried on Ji Xiaoman's back.
"Wuhu!"
“We’re finally here…”
After getting off the ship, Ji Xiaoman opened his arms, embraced the blue sky and white clouds, and breathed in the air that was different from that of Jixia Academy.
Because the city is surrounded by the sea, there is a faint smell of sea breeze in the air.
"Jiang Mingche, let's go to the market!"
Ji Xiaoman said excitedly, and without saying anything, he took Jiang Mingche's hand and headed towards the bustling market in the outer city.
The entire Haidu is divided into three urban areas: inner, middle and outer.
The inner city is inhabited by the powerful people of Haidu, such as the ruling Tower family and some other members of the Arcana family. Only these people are qualified to live in the inner city.
The people living in the central city are some wealthy businessmen, rich and powerful people, some smaller magic families and so on.
The people living in the outer city are the lower class people of Haidu, all of whom are ordinary common people.
The class division in Haidu is very serious. Ordinary people have lived in the outer city for their entire lives and have never even visited the central city.
Haidu covers an area of over one million square kilometers and has a permanent population of over 100 million!
Of course, the largest number of them are the poor in the outer city, who account for about 90% of the total population, so the outer city also has the largest area.
The remaining 10% of the members of the Demonic Family and the Arcana Family basically all live in the inner city and the midtown area.
The economy of Haidu mainly relies on sailing, adventure, tourism, and manufacturing.
Ever since the trade with the great country in the clouds was opened up, many of Haidu’s products became popular in the King’s Continent, thus making a small number of people rich.
Thanks to the introduction of the old man and after giving the other party a tip of one hundred taels, Jiang Mingche and Ji Xiaoman entered the central city area smoothly and came to the Oriental Chamber of Commerce.
In the Midtown area, there are two main forces.
One is the Haidu Chamber of Commerce headed by Miledy, and the other is the Oriental Chamber of Commerce headed by Li Liguang.
The ship he and Ji Xiaoman were on previously belonged to the Oriental Chamber of Commerce.
The Haidu Chamber of Commerce is mostly composed of wealthy businessmen from Haidu, while the people of the Eastern Chamber of Commerce are a group of outsiders from all over the King's Continent.
In order to strengthen the trade between Haidu and various regions of the King's Continent, Miledy supported Li Liguang in establishing the Oriental Chamber of Commerce. However, later on, the power of the Oriental Chamber of Commerce was gradually regained by Li Liguang.
Recently, Miledy seems to have realized that it is not right to continue like this, and is trying to acquire the Oriental Chamber of Commerce. This is also the beginning of the plot of the Haidu race year...
"I didn't expect that the central city and the outer city would have such completely different scenes..."
After entering the central city, Ji Xiaoman sighed frequently as he looked at the surrounding buildings that were completely different from those in the outer city.
The outer city area of Haidu looks very ordinary and there are no symbolic buildings.
Ji Xiaoman was a little disappointed at first, but she didn't expect that this central city area would be such a different world!
Various exquisite attics are lined up one after another, and countless magnificent palaces stand on both sides of the road.
Oriental Chamber of Commerce, Wanbao Pavilion, Tianxiang Tower, Juxian Pavilion, Wanxiang Courtyard.
The people in the central city were all dressed gorgeously, completely different from the poor people in the outer city.
Following Jiang Mingche walking through the streets and alleys of the central city, Ji Xiaoman looked left and right.
It was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, she was full of curiosity about everything around her.
After wandering around for a while, Ji Xiaoman finally stopped in front of a stall.
"Madam, what kind of conch is this?"
Looking at the conch flowers displayed in front of the stall, Ji Xiaoman asked curiously.
Why are the conch shells sold at this stall so similar to the one my mother gave me before she died?
"This is called conch flower, a kind of ocean flower that is a specialty of Haidu..."
"The girl should be from another place. Is this her first time in Haidu?"
"This conch flower is very magical. Wearing it on your body will help you calm your mind..."
"When the wind blows, there will be a very pleasant sound of conch shells....
It was obvious at a glance that Ji Xiaoman was not a native of Haidu. The lady selling conch flowers started to deceive Ji Xiaoman and praised him to great heights.
"Give me two!"
Ji Xiaoman didn't think much about it and directly paid 10 taels of silver to buy two conch flowers.
If this thing was placed in the outer city area, it would cost no more than one or two taels of silver at most.
After entering the Midtown area, the price increased more than ten times!
However, the wealthy Ji Xiaoman doesn't care about these things because she is not short of money.
After buying the conch flower, Ji Xiaoman tried shaking it.
Carried by the wind, the conch suddenly emitted a wonderful and pleasant melody.
Seeing this, Ji Xiaoman showed a satisfied smile, then turned around and left.
After many twists and turns, Ji Xiaoman finally returned to the attic of the Oriental Chamber of Commerce and found Jiang Mingche who was watching.
"Jiang Mingche, this is for you!"
Ji Xiaoman said with a sweet smile, and directly handed one of the conch flowers to Jiang Mingche.
"This is......"
"Conch flower?"
After taking the conch flower from Ji Xiaoman's hand, Jiang Mingche's expression became a little strange.
Jiang Mingche had also heard of the conch flower, which was abundant in the sea city.
"Yes, this is the conch flower."
"I bought one especially for you, do you like it?"
Ji Xiaoman asked with a grin, fiddling with another conch flower in her hand.
When the breeze blows, the conch flowers suddenly emit bursts of clear and pleasant melodies, which are very beautiful to listen to.
"Don't you know the meaning of giving someone a conch flower?"
Looking at the innocent Ji Xiaoman, Jiang Mingche asked with a bit of a smile.
"What does it mean?"
"Does this conch flower have any special meaning?"
After hearing Jiang Mingche's words, Ji Xiaoman was stunned for a moment and asked hesitantly.
She really didn't think too much about it. She just thought the conch flower was very cute, so she wanted to buy one and give it to Jiang Mingche.
"In Haidu, only lovers who are deeply in love with each other will give each other conch flowers, which symbolizes a happy and long-lasting love."
"I will accept this conch flower as your token of love..."
Jiang Mingche spoke in a teasing tone and directly put the conch flower that Ji Xiaoman gave him into his pocket.
"A token of love?"
After hearing what Jiang Mingche said, Ji Xiaoman's face turned red and she felt shy.
The lady at the stall just now didn’t tell her these things!
She really didn't know that giving conch flowers as a gift actually had such a meaning.
"Then give me back the conch flower!"
"I don't like you, a bad guy!"
Ji Xiaoman's face flushed, and she spoke intermittently, wanting to snatch the conch flower from Jiang Mingche's hand.
"How can you take back a gift you've given away?"
"Forget it!"
Jiang Mingche easily avoided Ji Xiaoman's right hand that was trying to take back the conch flower, turned around and walked directly into the Oriental Chamber of Commerce.
"You idiot, wait for me..."
Because of the introduction of the old man, Jiang Mingche and Ji Xiaoman paid 50 taels of silver and stayed in the hotel next to the Oriental Chamber of Commerce.
The consumption in the central city is much higher than that in the outer city. The 50 taels of silver were charged only because the two people have oriental faces.
If a local person from Haidu comes to stay in the hotel and wants two rooms for a month, it will cost at least 200 taels of silver.
Those local people of Haidu seem to be very unwelcome in the Oriental Chamber of Commerce. It seems that there must be some considerable conflicts between the Oriental Chamber of Commerce and the Haidu Chamber of Commerce.
Both the Haifu Chamber of Commerce and the Oriental Chamber of Commerce were established with the support of Miledy, the ruling High Tower family.
The Haidu Chamber of Commerce is composed of local merchants from Haidu, while the Oriental Chamber of Commerce is composed entirely of Orientals.
These people came from all over the world of the King's Continent, from the countries in the Clouds and the countries in the Northern Wilderness. Jiang Mingche even met merchants from Chang'an here???
The Silk Road in Chang'an actually leads directly to the sea capital of the Sunset Sea? ? ?
This was something Jiang Mingche had never expected. No wonder when he left the Great Wall, he saw Haidu's specialties being sold in the markets. Jiang Mingche was a little confused at first.
Moreover, the overall structural layout of the Oriental Chamber of Commerce is very similar to that of Chang'an City, and is completely different from other buildings in the central city of Haidu.
From this we can see that Li Liguang, the president of the Oriental Chamber of Commerce, is most likely also from Chang'an.
Li Liguang was originally an outsider businessman, and no one knew where he came from.
After doing business in Haidu for many years, Li Liguang was appreciated by Miledy for his outstanding courage and determination, and was supported by her to become the president of the Oriental Chamber of Commerce.
After becoming the president, Li Liguang had more power and his ambition gradually expanded. He even wanted to directly merge the Haidu Chamber of Commerce and dominate the market.
Li Liguang's ambition was noticed by Miledy. In order to warn Li Liguang, Miledy specially prepared a big gift to give to Li Liguang on the day of the third anniversary celebration of the Oriental Chamber of Commerce, and took the opportunity to re-acquire the Oriental Chamber of Commerce.
At first, she gave Li Liguang so much power purely out of consideration for developing Haidu's trade, and never thought of letting Li Liguang dominate alone...
After all, Li Liguang has a lot of connections and resources, and can sell Haidu's specialties all over the world.
Today, Haidu's economy has developed based on industries such as trade, trade insurance, tourism, and manufacturing.
Naturally, she had to take back the power from Li Liguang and could not allow this outsider to continue to act lawless.
Being in a foreign land, Li Liguang could not defeat the ruling Gaota family in Haidu alone, so he could only compromise...
Otherwise, he would be greeted with the wrath of the entire High Tower Family and even all the Arcana families in the inner city of Haidu!