Free Web NovelChapter 466: Chapter 256: The Younger Cousin’s Idea
He arrived at a house to find Luo Daoist inside, crafting something. Upon seeing Cheng Zongyang, Luo Daoist moved to stand and bow, but Cheng Zongyang stopped him.
"There’s no need for formalities. I heard from Steward Luo that you’ve replicated the Array?"
Luo Daoist smiled. "More or less. After studying the principles of those two Teleportation Arrays and understanding the materials, a one-to-one replication is certainly possible. But asking me to research a completely new Teleportation Array, or to alter its range, would take a great deal more time."
Cheng Zongyang waved his hand dismissively. "No, no, just being able to replicate the existing Teleportation Array is a success in itself. Go on and finish the final steps. Don’t mind us."
Luo Dingran also handed a few metal pieces to Luo Daoist.
Taking the materials, Luo Daoist got straight to work. He began by smelting the metal into the required shapes. Then, following the information from the books, he crafted the Startup Token and engraved it with the Array Text. Finally, he placed the Token on the Array Plate and added a Spirit Stone. If there was no reaction, he would melt it all down, re-engrave it, and try again.
The entire process lasted for nearly two hours!
When a glow finally appeared, Luo Daoist excitedly removed the Spirit Stone and retrieved the Startup Order.
Cheng Zongyang had been watching the entire time, while Luo Dingran had gone to attend to other matters. Luo Daoist came before Cheng Zongyang and said respectfully, "My lord, the Array Plate has been successfully replicated."
Cheng Zongyang had already walked over to look at the Array Plate.
His first impression was that it wasn’t as exquisite as the purchased one, but the difference wasn’t significant.
He immediately used his appraisal skill on it.
As the appraisal results appeared, Cheng Zongyang read the description. When he saw that the range was also 5,000 li, a smile touched the corners of his mouth. Slowly, the smile grew until he could no longer suppress it, and he broke into loud laughter.
After such a long wait, Luo Daoist, with his Array Talent, had finally managed to replicate it. He had done so based on the Array Manual, the Array Plate Manual, the Arrangement Guidebook, and numerous other purchased documents on arrays.
’If he can replicate the first Teleportation Array, he can replicate a second, a third, a fourth—and even more!’
A moment later, he looked at Luo Daoist and asked, "How many Points did this pair of Array Plates cost in total? Have you kept a tally?"
At this, Luo Daoist shook his head. "I wouldn’t know, my lord. I only know to request materials for my research and experiments. Perhaps you could ask Steward Luo."
Just then, Luo Dingran returned, holding a cup of water.
"My lord, have some Spiritual Water."
This Spiritual Water was made from Spiritual Liquid gathered by the Spirit Liquid Collector, which was then diluted with regular water. It offered considerable benefits to one’s health.
"Thank you." Cheng Zongyang took the cup and then repeated his earlier question.
Luo Dingran said, "It cost a fair number of Points. There were many failures, which meant a lot of wasted materials. The total should be over fifty thousand Points. That’s ten times the cost of the original Array Plate."
At this, Luo Daoist looked a bit embarrassed. After all, with so many failures, some waste was inevitable. He had only been concerned with requesting materials; he had no idea they had cost so many Points.
Cheng Zongyang smiled. "That’s to be expected for the first attempt. Now that you’ve succeeded, it won’t be as difficult to make more. What do you think you can get the cost down to?"
This time, Luo Dingran also shook his head and looked at Luo Daoist. "Give me a list of the materials you need for the next one. That way I can calculate the cost."
"Yes, yes. I won’t be as wasteful this time." Luo Daoist nodded immediately and went over to his desk.
Five or six minutes later, Luo Daoist returned with a list for Luo Dingran.
Luo Dingran sighed helplessly as he looked at the nearly seventy different types of materials on the list, but fortunately, the quantities required weren’t large.
"Is this the amount of material for one set of the Array?" Luo Dingran asked.
"Yes, and we still have quite a few materials left over from before," Luo Daoist replied quickly. "Those can be used as a backup. After all, I can’t guarantee I’ll succeed on the first try the second time around, either."
Luo Dingran could understand that.
After a quick calculation, he turned to Cheng Zongyang and said, "The Points for these materials are estimated to be around seven thousand. If we include the backups, we can round that up to about ten thousand."
’In that case, it seems the purchased one was actually cheaper,’ Cheng Zongyang muttered to himself. But he also understood that the final cost depended on factors like procurement channels for the materials, purchase quantity, and the crafter’s proficiency.
He didn’t dwell on it. If a complete set could be made for ten thousand Points, he still considered it a net gain.
"I need to go to the Eye of the East Sea soon. Keep making the Array Plates; I’ll have a use for them in the future," Cheng Zongyang said. "They are the priority for our Points."
"Yes, my lord," Luo Dingran and Luo Daoist said in unison, cupping their hands in a salute.
With the matter of the Array settled, Cheng Zongyang breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, he had Luo Dingran prepare the rice seeds. Before departing, he needed to arrange for the two and a half million catties of rice seeds he owed the Da Yi Commerce Association, as well as the seeds required by Tiantuan Village. This was to avoid any issues if his trip to the sea prevented him from returning on time.
The second matter was the tribute for the Li Family, but Zhou Zhendong would be handling that, so he didn’t need to worry about it.
After three to four months of preparation, the farmland in Botao Town had already been planted. The harvest, however, wouldn’t be until April.
Once all the farmland in Botao Town was harvested, they would no longer have to worry about the demand for rice seeds and Medicinal Materials. They could even expand the volume of their rice seed trade with the Da Yi Commerce Association.
The demand for two and a half million catties of rice seeds had nearly depleted the entire stock within the Wilderness World.
He stored all of these rice seeds in a newly created storeroom in the transit area. In the future, Zhou Zhendong would handle the trade with the Da Yi Commerce Association.
Several new, large underground storage spaces had been excavated at the transit station, allowing for the temporary storage of even more goods.
After that, he also had Cheng Yuanfeng make a trip back to Cheng Family Village to bring over his cousin, Cheng Zongwen.
「By the time these matters were arranged, it was already the next day.」
