Chapter 011: Weijia Merchant Guild

Hearing that another person had come to see the guild leader, the guard immediately stopped Du Fan.
This guard had just started working and didn’t even know Du Fan. As the population of Doha City grew, many newcomers had never even seen Du Fan before.
“Go tell your leader it’s me, Du Fan,” Du Fan said right away, looking at the two soldiers blocking him.
“Hoh, what’s going on today? Kid, let me tell you—if you just want to have some fun, I’ll let you in. But from what you’re saying, I have no idea if you’re here to cause trouble for the leader. You really can’t come in.”
“Du Fan? Are you saying you’re Lord Du Fan?” one of the soldiers asked in surprise after hearing Du Fan’s words.
“That’s right. I am Lord Du Fan. Since you know my name, hurry up and inform your leader, Baty.” Du Fan said with a smile after seeing that the soldier knew his name.
Before Du Fan could finish speaking, bursts of loud laughter came from the other side.
“Haha! You really think you’re Lord Du Fan!” The guard who had asked if he was Lord Du Fan laughed even harder.
“Hmph.” Seeing the two men laughing arrogantly, Du Fan snorted. A violent gust of wind energy instantly blew the two guards into the guild hall.
“Someone’s causing trouble! Brothers, come and help!” The two guards shouted as soon as they rolled into the guild hall.
Du Fan had controlled his strength well, using just the wind to blow the two guards into the hall without hurting them. So, as soon as they rolled in, the guards quickly got up and started shouting loudly.
Hearing their shouts, Du Fan smiled. He placed a chair in front of him and smiled at the two guards who had gotten up.
“Hurry up and leave! Once the other brothers arrive, you won’t be able to get out!” One of the guards said tentatively, seeing Du Fan’s calm demeanor.
“I’m not leaving. I want to see just how strong you really are.” Hearing this, Du Fan sat even more firmly.
“Who dares to cause trouble at Weijia Merchant Guild? Don’t you know it’s owned by Lord Du Fan?” a tall, dark, and muscular man at the front shouted.

“I am Lord Du Fan!” Du Fan immediately said upon hearing that dark-skinned man’s voice.
“It’s really Duke Du Fan!” a guard behind the dark-skinned man shouted loudly.
The person who spoke was a resident who had grown up in Doha City. When Du Fan first arrived in Doha, he was lucky enough to meet him several times.
“Is it really Duke Du Fan?” The burly leader of the guards asked skeptically after hearing what the other person said.
“Then bring your leader here!” Du Fan said directly upon seeing the leader of the guards.
“Okay, wait a moment; I’ll go see the leader right away.” Hearing this, the guard leader immediately went to find Bati.
Soon, under the lead of the guard leader, Bati appeared.
“Lord!” Bati called out as soon as he saw Du Fan from afar.
“It really is the Lord,” the surrounding guards said in surprise, seeing how they addressed Du Fan.
Especially the two guards who had initially teased and made things difficult for Du Fan fell to their knees in fear.
“Lord! Please forgive us!” The two guards who had been mocking Du Fan knelt before him and struck their heads loudly.
“Get up! As guards, it’s your duty to prevent strangers from meeting the leader,” Du Fan said, looking at them.
“Yes, Lord. Please, this way!” Hearing Du Fan’s request, Bati quickly replied.
“Bati, let’s talk in your room.” Ignoring the two guards still kneeling before him, Du Fan followed Bati straight to the leader’s office.
“Bati, there have been too many matters these days, and I’ve only come to see you now. Do you mind?” Du Fan said, looking at Bati.
“What are you saying, Lord! Even though I’m not in the city lord’s residence, I often keep in touch with Elsik and the others. Since you’re so busy, you should remember to rest more!” Bati changed the subject, saying things that made Du Fan feel very comfortable.
“Good, Bati. I won’t waste time circling around. I’m facing financial problems lately, and I just want to know if the guild has any extra funds,” Du Fan said seriously.

“The lord said that the guild has just started to develop under my leadership, and there are many areas that need funding. But rest assured, my lord—I’ll go check right away to see the guild’s liquid assets. I’ll try my best to allocate all the funds to you, aside from necessary expenses!” Hearing Du Fan say this, Bati immediately understood that with the Empire’s north being invaded by the Green Clan and war breaking out, a large amount of money would be needed. It was quite normal for Du Fan to be short of funds. With his father at war, as his son who ruled over four provinces, Du Fan would surely provide strong support!

“Good, then go and check quickly,” Du Fan said promptly upon hearing Bati’s words.

Soon, Bati came in holding something that looked like a piece of paper.

“My lord, I’ve just done the calculations. The total amount of funds we can give you is 2.78 million gold coins,” Bati said as soon as he entered.

“Very good, excellent,” Du Fan praised repeatedly upon hearing this.

When Bati established the guild, Du Fan hadn’t invested anything. It wasn’t until now that he remembered he actually had a guild. Initially, Du Fan only wanted to see how the guild was operating. As soon as he entered, he noticed that the Wei Jia branch seemed to be doing well, so he asked if there was any extra money available. Unexpectedly, this simple question led to the discovery of over 2 million gold coins—a complete surprise for Du Fan.

“My lord, all the money is in these card-like items. Please take them!” Bati said as he placed a pile of crystal cards in front of Du Fan.

“Haha, Bati, tell me, how do you run our guild?” Du Fan laughed heartily after receiving over 2 million gold coins.

“My lord, it’s actually quite simple. I just engage in trade—transporting the specialties of our Siluo Province to other places and bringing back what’s lacking in our province,” Bati replied with a smile.

Although Bati described it simply, Du Fan knew well that such trading required keen insight and excellent timing skills! It seemed that Mr. Bati was truly suited for business.

“President Bati, let’s see if there are other ways we can earn money,” Du Fan said thoughtfully.

“Lord, if you’re truly in dire need of money, you might want to consider the Beiba family.” Hearing Du Fan say this, Bati realized clearly that the duke must be extremely short of funds. “Or, Lord, if it’s really urgent, I can dissolve the merchants and raise the funds temporarily.”
“The merchant guild must not be dissolved,” Du Fan said firmly. In such a short time, it had already brought him so much wealth. How could he possibly think of dissolving the guild?
“Then I should go check out the Beiba family’s area?” Du Fan thought for a moment before saying.
As one of the traditional merchant families on the continent, the Beiba family possessed immense wealth! In many people’s eyes, they could even be described as wealthy enough to rival nations.
Soon, accompanied by Bati, Du Fan arrived at the Beiba family’s branch in the Siluo Province.
Though called a branch, in Du Fan’s eyes, this branch was far less grand than the Weijia Merchant Guild’s headquarters, which was based in Dhoha City of the Siluo Province!
“Greetings, President Bati!” Clearly, the two guards at the gate recognized Bati and greeted him upon his arrival.
“Bati, do you come here often?” Seeing how familiar the two guards were with Bati, Du Fan quickly asked.
“Yes, Lord. When our guild does business on the roads and in other places, we need a lot of information. But as you know, we merchants don’t have even a basic intelligence network. As a result, we have to come here to ask for the information we need,” Bati replied immediately when Du Fan asked.
“Hmm, it seems we need to establish our own intelligence system as soon as possible!” Du Fan said thoughtfully after hearing Bati’s words.
Establishing a complete and efficient intelligence system was extremely important for Du Fan at this time, whether for business or military purposes, as there was a great need for information.
“Lord, actually, establishing a complete intelligence system isn’t difficult at all. All we need to do is set up branches of the Weijia Merchant Guild in cities big and small. Once our branches are spread across all the cities on the continent, our intelligence system will surely be very comprehensive,” Bati said.

“I’m afraid these things won’t be resolved in just a day or two,” Du Fan said with a sigh after hearing Bati’s plan.
“That’s true, my lord, but once such an intelligence network is established, the benefits it brings are beyond anything money can measure,” Bati replied.
As they talked, Bati led Du Fan to Walwei’s room.
“Duke Du Fan! President Bati! You’ve both come? Come in, sit down! Come in!” Walwei called out loudly upon seeing Du Fan arrive.
“Haha, Lord Walwei, your place is truly magnificent. It’s far more impressive than our Weijia Merchant Guild!” Du Fan said with laughter after entering Walwei’s room.
“That’s because you’re frugal and don’t like to show off. Otherwise, who else could outshine the Weijia Merchant Guild in those places?” Walwei replied immediately.