Chapter 35 Professional Team
"But what?"
Seeing him hesitating, Mo Lan asked.
"Once you open a shop, gangs will send people to you. If you can reach an agreement with them, you can continue to open the shop. If you can't reach an agreement, you can't open the shop."
Al's wording was rather euphemistic, but Mo Lan understood it immediately.
"It's protection money, I understand. Are there no other conditions? For example, reporting to the city lord's mansion or the castle? Applying?"
"Ah, why do we need to apply for a registration?"
Al looked at Mo Lan in confusion, and Mo Lan nodded.
"It seems that if you want to open a shop, you only need the approval of the gang. Hmm, it feels weird. "
"I hope these gangs can talk to me nicely, otherwise..."
There was a gleam of ferocity in Mo Lan's eyes, and the murderous look on his face made Al shudder subconsciously.
"I just had to run."
"Take me around the DC area, mainly to places with shops."
Al nodded and took Mo Lan around the DC area.
There is a blank area about fifty meters away from the residential area on the city wall. There are no buildings in the blank area, but now it is filled with various stalls and vendors. People with black hair, black eyes, yellow skin, and familiar accents and jokes immediately gave Mo Lan the feeling of visiting a temple fair when he was a child.
"Tang haws, selling Tang haws, one copper nas for a string, sour and sweet, so delicious..."
We entered the housing area with a familiar melody. Most of the houses here were made of earthen bricks, but there were also many built of wood and stone.
There are various types of houses made of wood, earthen walls, and none of them are straight or flat, giving people a messy feeling.
Al skillfully led Mo Lan around inside, and soon brought them to a place where there were more people.
The houses here form a street, on which there are taverns, grocery stores, grain stores, etc., and there is a lot of traffic.
But Mo Lan still shook his head in disappointment.
"Go to the next one."
Upon hearing this, Al immediately took Mo Lan and ran out of an alley. When passing by a pub, he said hello to someone before leaving.
Not long after, Mo Lan saw another street similar to the previous one, but he still shook his head after looking at it.
"Next."
He looked at one place after another, and after looking around, Mo Lan was a little disappointed.
"Let me ask you, are there any mercenaries, adventurers, hired guns, or anything like that in the city?"
"Yes, there is the Adventurer's Guild, the Warrior's Guild, the Archers' Guild, the Assassins' Guild, and all of them."
Mo Lan's eyes lit up when he heard that.
"Take me to the Adventurer's Guild and the Fighter's Guild to have a look."
Al nodded when he heard that and led the way.
"The Warriors Guild and the Adventurers Guild are both together, between the DC area and the North City area."
Al took Mo Lan for a long walk. Red Maple City was much bigger than Mo Lan had expected.
After walking through the streets and alleys, Mo Lan finally saw two halls close to each other in front of a street.
The doors of the two buildings are very tall, and the curved arches look very shocking. The arch of the adventurer is painted with various patterns of monsters and money, and the door of the warrior guild is painted with human figures and weapons. It looks rough but quite charming.
What amazed Mo Lan was that this street was very prosperous, with people coming and going. As soon as Mo Lan entered, he felt the lively atmosphere coming towards him.
There are shops on both sides of the street, which is wide enough for three carriages to run. What particularly attracts Mo Lan's attention are the blacksmith shops all over the street. The clanging sounds of hammers hitting iron echo in the street, and the weapons being forged one by one make the street even more lively.
"Al, let me ask you a question. Which city gate has the most adventurers and warriors passing through?"
"North Gate!"
Al answered without hesitation.
"Okay, where are we now? Which road is closest to the North City Gate?"
On this east-west street, Al brought Mo Lan to a small path behind the Adventurer's Hall.
Although it is called a small path, it can accommodate one and a half horse carriages. However, the flow of people on this road suddenly became much thinner.
However, Mo Lan noticed carefully that almost everyone coming and going on this road carried weapons with them, and those returning almost all had some injuries on their bodies, and some even carried animal skins on their backs.
The most important thing is that although there are shops on the roadside, there are not many of them. Seeing this, Mo Lan nodded with satisfaction.
"Do you know the guy who lives around the corner?"
Mo Lan asked, pointing at the house at the corner of the intersection.
"do not know."
Al shook his head.
"I want to rent his house, what should I do?"
"You can go find the gang here. If you can reach an agreement, they will help you."
Mo Lan blinked when he heard that.
"Is this a gang? Isn't this a gang agent? Forget it, call it a gang if you want. Take me to find the gang here."
"Well, the gang here is called the Black Crow Gang. This area is their territory, and there are a lot of people."
Soon Mo Lan saw a large yard. The people in the yard had fat faces, many scars on their bodies, and a murderous aura around them. They always carried weapons with them and it was obvious that they were not good people.
When Mo Lan came over, he saw a group of people at the gate of the yard fighting a... player?
Well, it is indeed hitting a player.
Al took Mo Lan and bypassed the beaten players and came to the gate of the courtyard.
"Little devil, what are you doing here?"
"Scar, he wants to rent a house to open a store."
The ferocious man with a scar on his face glanced at Mo Lan.
“Where do you want to open a store?”
"The house at the intersection behind the Adventurer's Guild."
Al spoke out.
"The rent is one hundred copper nas a month, and you have to pay for three months first."
"How is the protection fee for opening a store calculated?"
Mo Lan continued to ask.
Scar smiled when he heard this, and the scar on his face was pulled to make him look a little hideous.
"Open it there, no matter whether your business is good or not, you will get two hundred coppers a month."
"Two hundred copper nas? So expensive?"
"Poor bastard, get out of here."
Scar's face turned cold.
"I can pay the protection fee, but what will you do after I pay it?"
Scar's expression improved a little after hearing this.
“There are no thugs robbing you, no one robbing your store, no patrolling guards extorting you.
Whenever someone messes up your store, the Black Crows will help you solve it."
"major."
Mo Lan gave a thumbs up and asked again.
"If my business is good, will you continue to increase the protection fee?"
Scar looked at Mo Lan with surprise.
"meeting."
Mo Lan blinked when he heard that. This gang was really honest.
“How much will it increase?”
"We'll take one tenth of your money, and then the Black Crow Gang will send someone to help you with shipping, transporting, selling things, establishing all kinds of connections, and helping you deal with all kinds of things, including killing people."
After saying that, Scar gave Mo Lan a ferocious smile.
"If the money you earn can alert our gang leader, we will even have professional warriors to protect you and your shop."
Mo Lan fell into silence, then suddenly asked.
"Can you help people change their job to warrior?"
Scar smiled grimly.
"Money. Lots and lots of money."
"Sir, the Black Crow Gang has been in Red Maple City for twenty years. It is the most disciplined gang in the entire Red Maple City."
Al suddenly spoke up, Mo Lan smiled upon hearing that and said to Scar.
"Deal, and your boss is a real talent!"
"I wish you good fortune. Besides, you're not the first one to say that."
Scar smiled grimly.
