Chapter 50: Chapter 46: The Deal
Luo De waved his hand, signaling the guards to untie Lusen.
"Your attitude is more suitable for negotiations."
Luo De let Lusen sit down and asked, "How will you compensate?"
Lusen reached into his pocket and took out two wooden bottles, introducing them:
"These two bottles of Shadow Potion can help the user blend into the shadows and sneak. Linda and I relied on them to get in."
Luo De glanced at them, not even reaching to take them, and shook his head slightly, "Not enough."
"I have nothing else."
Lusen smiled bitterly, "All I have on me is the Wizard Meditation Technique, but if your spiritual power isn’t strong enough, forcibly learning it will only harm you."
"Are you a wizard?"
Luo De looked at Lusen with some surprise, "So the Dawn Society is an organization of witches and wizards?"
"I’m just a wizard apprentice, Lord Baron, wizards haven’t existed in the world for a long time."
Lusen explained, "The Dawn Society accepts all spellcasters, not just witches and wizards."
Luo De did not comment further, glancing at the small wooden bottle and said, "I don’t want to make things difficult for you; it’s just that these two potions are still not enough."
"If you don’t have items to exchange, I can let you go back to get them, leaving your companion Linda here."
Luo De’s request wasn’t excessive; after capturing prisoners, nobles typically sent people back to convey messages and then bring items to ransom them.
It’s a commonly accepted rule, and Lusen didn’t find it unreasonable.
However, Lusen didn’t want Linda to stay here.
Linda had an impulsive character, and the Lord Baron before them wasn’t a gentle person.
If a conflict were to arise, all previous efforts would be wasted.
Moreover, Lusen wasn’t comfortable letting Linda go back alone.
"Wait a moment."
Lusen got up and walked over to Linda, "Hand over the Magic Gem."
"What are you doing?" Linda, still sobbing, widened her eyes.
"Give it here!"
Lusen urged seriously, and seeing his demeanor, Linda reluctantly handed the gem over to Lusen.
Lusen returned to Luo De and placed a sparkling blue gem in front of him, explaining:
"This is a Magic Gem, which can temporarily store low-level spells. It might not be useful to you, but it is worth a hundred gold coins to us."
"I’ll leave it here as collateral and come back to retrieve it. What do you think?"
Luo De didn’t respond immediately but reached out to pick up the Magic Gem.
A system message soon arrived, consistent with what Lusen had described.
The value of the Extraordinary Gem was undeniable, and Luo De nodded slightly, "Okay."
As soon as Luo De finished speaking, a system prompt appeared before him,
[Obtained an Extraordinary Gem, Gem Collector progress: 3/5]
Could it really be that easy?
Luo De couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased.
Once entry progress was made, it wouldn’t regress. Luo De had tested this, so even if the gem was returned in the future, it wouldn’t matter.
Upon hearing Luo De’s agreement, Lusen breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What do you want?"
"Iron ore, slaves, weapons, and armor, anything will do."
If all goes well, Luo De’s five thousand mu of farmland will conservatively yield two million pounds of grain upon maturity. The autumn harvest will require a lot of manpower to handle this grain.
The current Frost Leaf Town is too small, and with enough food, expansion is necessary.
Though Frost Leaf Town has a blacksmith, the production is too slow.
Lusen thought for a moment and said, "There isn’t much iron ore, but I can bring weapons and armor, and there might even be slaves.
How many sets of armor do you need?"
Luo De was somewhat surprised and, after carefully putting away the Magic Gem, looked seriously at Lusen and asked, "It seems you have quite a lot of armor?"
"We have witches and spellcasters."
Lusen smiled without providing much explanation.
That piqued Luo De’s interest even more.
He stood up and, extending an invitation to Lusen and Linda, said, "It’s been a tiring ordeal, let’s have the kitchen prepare something to eat, and chat over a meal."
"Sure, I’m feeling a bit hungry myself."
Lusen happily accepted Luo De’s invitation, and Linda was helped up by Avril.
Luo De told everyone a few words, asking them to keep today’s events confidential, and then headed to the hall with everyone.
Martha was awakened and, along with the slaves, prepared a sumptuous supper, making Lusen and Linda very happy.
After supper, Luo De and the two also concluded their discussions.
Their ransom price was twenty chain armor shirts and skirt armor, totaling more than thirty gold coins.
Luo De felt this price was sufficient.
More importantly, Luo De agreed with Lusen on a trade route, and in the future, the Dawn Society would bring in more items.
Although Luo De didn’t explicitly say this, in the future, he could pay with salt, so Lusen only had to bring them, and he had confidence they would eat them up.
Luo De kept his promise and escorted the two away from the manor after the supper.
Luo De reminded everyone for the second time that no one should mention the night’s events again, as if nothing happened.
After a busy night, Luo De got up a little late the next day and arranged a meeting with Simon from the caravan around noon.
"The source of these slaves is questionable, isn’t it?"
Upon their first meeting, Luo De didn’t hold back and went straight to the point.
Simon’s smile stiffened a bit, but he didn’t back down, saying, "Why would you think that...?"
"I don’t believe that Eagle Ridge and Border City wouldn’t want slaves like blacksmiths and brewers. Transporting them to the Northern Territory for sale is foolish."
These two are not only craftsmen but also quite young, especially the brewer.
In Border City, these two craftsmen together could sell for at least eight gold coins, up to twelve gold coins.
That’s a sky-high price for many.
The Northern Wasteland is not a rich place, and aside from lords, no one can afford it.
Even lords need to consider carefully whether it’s necessary to buy these two people.
Not every lord would be as keen on development as Luo De.
Luo De stared straight at Simon and asked, "Are you afraid to sell them in those two places?"
Simon’s awkward smile turned bitter, at a loss for words.
This isn’t my fault!
This group was bought from another slave-selling merchant; it was cheap, costing only six hundred silver coins.
However, after buying, he found out that these people were villagers from Eagle Ridge, with a few being residents of Border City.
Eagle Ridge belongs to Count Hawk, and Border City is under Marquis Cold Blade, both regions belonging to nobles.
Free citizens can move away on their own, but if you catch someone from their domain to sell as a slave and it’s discovered, it will surely anger the lord.
Such circumstances would spell complete ruin!
Because of this, he had no choice but to transport them to the distant Northern Wasteland for sale.
"You’re joking, esteemed Lord Baron..."
Simon racked his brains, wondering how to deceive the lord in front of him.
But Luo De mercilessly interrupted him.
"Alright, then I’ll write a letter to inquire with these two lords if any people have gone missing from their domains recently."
Luo De didn’t actually know Count Hawk or Marquis Cold Blade, but it was enough to intimidate Simon.
He quickly tried to placate, "Please, don’t say anything. I can give you a thirty percent cut of the profits from these slaves!"
Luo De did not immediately agree but instead asked, "How much did you spend on these slaves?"
"Eight hundred silver coins, Lord Baron."
Simon replied honestly, feeling a bit timid and shrinking his neck.
Merchants always save some profit for themselves when selling goods.
Luo De was well aware of this but didn’t expose Simon and directly stated, "Twenty-seven slaves, including the two craftsmen, I’ll give you twelve gold coins."
"This..."
Simon hesitated, but inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
At least there’s some profit to be had.
After momentarily hesitating, Simon nodded, "Alright, Lord, since you’ve discovered, let’s execute it as you say."
Luo De saw that Simon didn’t haggle much and knew this guy must have earned some money.
However, Luo De didn’t mind and continued, "I don’t see much value in the other goods on your car. I can exchange them for wolf pelts and jerky, just don’t continue north."
"Moreover, in the future, if there are such cheap slaves, feel free to bring them here."
Though Frost Leaf Town is adjacent to Border City, it’s quite distant, with basically no interaction among the domains.
And Eagle Ridge is even farther away, so Luo De doesn’t mind taking these unauthorized citizens.
At worst, he could send them to the Black Stone Mountain Range to open up iron ore for him.
"Alright, Lord Baron."
Simon happily agreed.
Both ended the discussion pleasantly, and Luo De asked Lawrence to settle the new slaves.
As for the blacksmith and brewer, their special status required special arrangements.
Luo De personally took the two back to the manor, when the guards informed him that Gang Le’s caravan had returned.