"After you open a store, gangs will send people to it. Once you reach an agreement with them, you can continue to open it. If you can't reach an agreement, you can't open it."
Al's wording was more euphemistic, but Mo Lan understood it directly.
"It's just the protection fee. I understand. Are there no other conditions? For example, go to the city lord's mansion or the castle to report? Apply?"
"Ah, why do you need to apply?"
Al looked at Mo Lan doubtfully, and Mo Lan nodded.
"It seems that if you want to open a shop, you only need the permission of the gang. Hmm, it feels weird."
"I hope these gangs can talk to me well, otherwise..."
A trace of ferocity flashed in Mo Lan's eyes, and the evil look on his face made Al tremble subconsciously.
"I just have to run."
"Take me for a walk around Dongcheng District, mainly places with shops."
Al nodded and took Mo Lan around Dongcheng District.
There is a blank area about fifty meters away from the residential area on the city wall. There is no building in the blank area, but it is now occupied by various stalls and hawkers. They have black hair, black eyes, yellow skin, and familiar accents.
It feels like visiting a temple fair when I was a child.
"Candied haws on a stick, we sell candied haws on a stick. They are made on a bunch of candied haws for one coin. They are sour, sweet and delicious..."
Entering the house area with a familiar melody, most of the houses here are made of mud bricks, but there are also many built of wood and stone.
There are various types of houses with wooden and earthen walls, and there is no horizontal or vertical structure, giving people a very scattered feeling.
Al skillfully led Mo Lan around, and soon he was brought to a place with a lot of people.
The houses here are vaguely transformed into a street. There are pubs, grocery stores, grain stores, etc. on the street, and there is a lot of traffic.
However, Mo Lan still shook his head in disappointment.
"Go to the next one."
When Al heard this, he immediately ran out of a small alley with Mo Lan. When passing by the tavern, he said hello to a person before leaving.
Not long after, Mo Lan saw another street similar to the one before, but Mo Lan still shook his head after looking at it.
"Next."
I looked over one place after another, and after looking around Mo Lan, I felt a little disappointed.
"Let me ask you, are there mercenaries, adventurers, mercenaries, etc. in the city?"
"Yes, there are adventurers' guilds, warriors' guilds, archers' guilds, assassins' guilds, all of them."
Hearing this, Mo Lan's eyes lit up.
"But I'll go to the Adventurers' Guild and the Fighters' Guild to have a look."
Al nodded when he heard this and led the way directly.
"The Warriors Guild and the Adventurers Guild are both together, in the middle of Dongcheng District and Beicheng District."
Al walked with Mo Lan for a long time. Red Maple City was much bigger than Mo Lan expected.
After walking through the streets and alleys for a while, Mo Lan finally saw two halls close to each other in front of a street.
The doors of both buildings are very high, and the curved arches look very shocking. The adventurers' arches are painted with various patterns of monsters and money, and the doors of the warrior union are decorated with figures and weapons.
, looks rough but has quite a charm.
What surprised Mo Lan was that this street was very bustling with people coming and going. Mo Lan felt the lively atmosphere as soon as he entered.
Both sides of the street where three carriages can run are full of shops, and what particularly attracts Mo Lan's attention is the blacksmith shops all over the street. The sound of hammers clanking echoes in the street, and each one is forged one by one.
Weapons bring the excitement of this street to a higher level.
"Al, let me ask you a question, which city gate has the most adventurers and warriors passing by?"
"North City Gate!"
Al replied without thinking.
"Okay, where we are now, which way is closest to the North City Gate?"
On this east-west street, Al took Mo Lan to a path behind the Adventurer Hall.
Even though it was a small road, it could allow a half-carriage to pass, but the flow of people on this road suddenly became much thinner.
However, Mo Lan carefully noticed that almost everyone who came and went on this road carried weapons with them, and almost everyone who came back 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. Seeing this, Mo Lan nodded with satisfaction.
"Do you know the guy who lives around the corner?"
Mo Lan asked, pointing to the house at the corner of the intersection.
"I don't know."
Al shook his head.
"I want to rent his house, what should I do?"
"You can go to the gang here and they will help you if you want to negotiate."
Mo Lan blinked when he heard this.
"Is this a gang? Isn't this an agency? Forget it, just 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 many people."
It didn't take long for Mo Lan to see a large courtyard. The people in the courtyard had fleshy faces, many scars on their bodies, and were surrounded by evil spirits. They kept their weapons close to their bodies, which was obviously not a good thing.
As soon as Mo Lan came over, he saw a group of people beating a...player at the entrance of the yard?
Well, I am indeed beating a player.
Al led Mo Lan to the entrance of the small courtyard, bypassing the beaten player.
"Little devil, what are you doing here?"
"Scar, he wants to rent a house and open a shop."
This fierce man with a scar on his face glanced at Mo Lan.
“Where do you want to open a store?”
"The house next to the intersection behind the Adventurer's Guild."
Al said aloud.
"Rent a house for one hundred coppers a month, and you have to pay three months first."
“How to calculate the protection fee for opening a store?”
Mo Lan continued to ask.
Scar smiled when he heard this, and the scar on his face looked a little ferocious when it was pulled.
"If you open it there, no matter whether your business is good or not, you will get two hundred coppers a month."
"Two hundred coppers? So expensive?"
"You poor man, stay away."
Scar's face turned cold.
"I can pay the protection fee, but if I pay the protection fee, what will you do?"
Scar's face improved slightly after hearing this.
"There are no gangsters to rob you, no one to rob your store, no patrol guards to extort you.
As long as someone is causing trouble in your store, the Black Crow Gang 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 protection fees?"
Scar gave Mo Lan a different look.
"meeting."
Mo Lan blinked when he heard this, this gang is really honest.
"How much will it increase?"
"Take one-tenth of your money, and then the Black Crow Gang will send a person to help you, ship goods, transport goods, sell things, establish various relationships, and help you deal with various things, including killing people."
After saying this, Scar smiled ferociously at Mo Lan.
"If the money you make can alert our gang leader, there will even be professional warriors to protect you and your shop."
Mo Lan fell into silence and suddenly asked.
"Can you help someone change their profession to a warrior?"
Scar smiled ferociously.
"Money, lots and lots of money."
"Sir, the Black Crow Gang has been in Red Maple City for twenty years and is the most disciplined gang in the entire Red Maple City."
Al suddenly said something. Mo Lan smiled and said to Scar.
"Deal, and your gang leader is really a talent!"
"I wish you fortune. Besides, you are not the first to say this."
