Three minutes later, the soldiers had opened all three wagons. Furs were stacked neatly inside.
"Miss Maria, please inspect them."
Lin Lei blinked and gestured toward the wagons.
"Gu'er, Maha, go take a look. Be careful not to damage anything."
"Yes, miss."
The two guards beside Maria exchanged a glance, then stepped forward to feel the quality of the furs.
"Miss, the goods are all quite good, and most of them are in excellent condition. They do look rather old, though—not like anything recently hunted."
Gu'er leaned down and whispered in Maria's ear.
Maria's expression shifted slightly, and her eyes grew brighter.
"Baron, this batch of goods is quite good. Though some of it is old, it's been very well preserved and is in excellent condition. How about this? I'll buy it from you at the original market price for new pelts. Consider it a gesture of friendship."
"I'm truly grateful. I never expected Miss Maria to be so generous. I, Lin Lei, am happy to call you a friend."
With Maria keen to cultivate a relationship with Lin Lei, their deal went very smoothly. After confirming the value of the goods, Maria offered him one million gold coins.
After taking one hundred thousand gold notes from her pocket as a deposit, Maria left without looking back.
"Henry, that girl is no simple person. I suggest you don't get any ideas about her."
After Maria left, Lin Lei's expression turned serious.
"Why? We got along great just now. She even said I was funny and admired me a lot."
Henry asked, puzzled.
Looking at Henry's lovestruck face, Lin Lei knew he wouldn't listen to anything bad about Maria right now, so he said no more.
Poor kid. You're not even in the same league as that woman. Still, at least you have a good father. She probably won't do anything too outrageous to you. Just take it as a learning experience.
The next day.
Maria arrived at Lin Lei's courtyard early in the morning with the gold notes. In less than twenty minutes, they had settled the payment and handed over the goods.
Just as she'd arrived in a rush, Maria left in a hurry. Clearly, they took a deal of this size very seriously.
"Luo Ji, have the buyers for the ore arranged the deal?"
Lin Lei asked Luo Ji.
The previous day, Luo Ji had personally led a team to the trading market. He hadn't just gone to sell the furs; he'd also sought out buyers for the ore.
After making the rounds, he'd found buyers for both the ore and the furs. Later, Lin Lei sold the furs directly to Maria, so Luo Ji had only needed to contact the ore buyers.
"They said they'd come first thing this morning. They should be on their way."
Lin Lei nodded and considered this.
The previous day, Luo Ji had told him the buyers were Dwarves from Iron Hearth Fortress. It made sense; Dwarves were the most passionate about minerals. They'd bankrupt themselves for a single piece of fine ore.
Lin Lei had met Dwarves before. Back when he was a Centurion, he'd competed against a Dwarf named Huo Er. The two had come to admire one another, and Lin Lei wondered if he might see him this time.
"Bang! Bang!"
A rhythmic knock at the door interrupted Lin Lei's thoughts.
"Baron, the Dwarves who want to buy the ore are here."
"Let them in."
With the sound of heavy footsteps, several Dwarves Lin Lei recognized came before him.
Lin Lei withdrew his gaze with some disappointment and left the ore deal to Luo Ji, remaining nearby as a listener.
As a baron, he was increasingly constrained by his noble status and had to start minding his words and behavior. These Dwarves weren't important enough for him to negotiate with personally.
After a fierce war of words, Luo Ji managed to confuse the Dwarves so thoroughly that he ended up lowering the price and selling the ore to them.
"If anyone tells me Dwarves are all honest and simple again, I'll cut them down with my forty-meter blade."
Lin Lei cursed under his breath. Because of Luo Ji's foolishness, he had to step in personally.
This time, the two sides finally reached an agreement and sold the ore for six hundred thousand gold coins.
After the goods had been handed over, just as the Dwarves were about to leave, Lin Lei couldn't help asking,
"Is your young master Huo Er doing well?"
The Dwarves exchanged glances, their faces stricken with grief.
"Baron, Huo Er died in the uprising a month ago. His body was taken back to Iron Hearth Fortress and buried."
"He's dead?"
Lin Lei was surprised and saddened, though, on reflection, it was only to be expected.
Lin Lei gestured for Luo Ji to see the Dwarves out, then asked to be left alone.
His mood sank, but fortunately, he soon pulled himself together and regained his optimism.
Everyone went through low periods in life and faced all kinds of difficulties. Some grew despondent and never recovered, giving up on themselves. Others adjusted their outlook, kept striving, and made it through.
Lin Lei was one of the latter.
"Think of something happy, like the one million six hundred thousand gold coins. With that money, I can at least build my territory up to the size of Wheat Town. I can buy more people, train more knights, and expand my power."
Lin Lei muttered to himself, gently patting his cheeks with both hands.
"Luo Ji."
Thinking of this, Lin Lei turned to Luo Ji.
"Make the purchases listed on this paper. These are all important supplies for developing our territory, and a chance for us to take off. I'll give you three days to get it done. Will that be a problem?"
Luo Ji accepted the parchment Lin Lei handed him in both hands. It listed forty-nine items to purchase, with a total cost of more than one million gold coins.
Puzzled, Luo Ji asked,
"Are we buying too much? Just the five tons of grain will take at least ten wagons to transport, not to mention all the other odds and ends. On top of that, we're supposed to buy five thousand people, when our territory has only a little over a thousand. Won't we be biting off more than we can chew?"
Lin Lei took out one of his homemade cigars and drew a deep breath.
"I've thought about that too. This is a lot of goods, and we'll need at least thirty wagons. But I plan to hire three mercenary companies and ask the Viscount to lend us troops from Flower Territory to help with this supply run."
"Yes, sir."
Realizing that Lin Lei had already made plans, Luo Ji stopped asking questions.
As an officer serving his lord—and a man born into a noble family—he understood better than most that a lord's authority was absolute. Even if Lin Lei made the wrong decision, he couldn't openly contradict him.
Since Lin Lei had a plan this time, Luo Ji would carry it out without hesitation, whatever the consequences.
"Bring Lin Yu here."
Lin Lei turned to the guard beside him.
Lin Yu was one of the slaves Lin Lei had bought. He was now a freeman of Crouching Dragon Ravine and had been selected during the soldier recruitment to become a proud infantryman. Because he trained diligently and progressed quickly in his cultivation, he had already risen to squad leader, with ten soldiers under his command.
His parents had both been slaves, and he had been born one himself. He had no name, only the nickname "Mad Dog." Lin Lei had given him the name Lin Yu, using his own surname. When Lin Yu finally had a name of his own, the world suddenly seemed brighter to him. He grew less taciturn and began trying to talk to others.
"Clip-clop, clip-clop."
The soldiers under Lin Lei all walked like this, their steps ringing out whenever they marched.
Lin Lei looked toward the sound and saw a short, dark-skinned young man appear in the doorway. He had a broad frame but little flesh on it, making him look rather thin. His cold black eyes sent a chill through anyone who saw them.
"Baron."
Lin Yu stood before Lin Lei, looking straight ahead.
"Lin Yu, you're here. I have something for you to do."
Lin Lei was pleased with his spirited appearance.
"There's a cosmetics shop in Flower Territory. Go buy a few boxes of face powder and rouge."
"Yes, sir."
Lin Yu took the purse from Lin Lei and left.
Lin Lei had given him five hundred gold coins to buy the cosmetics. They weren't for Lin Yu, of course, but for Aierlan. Just then, it had occurred to him that he'd never bought her a present, so he'd called Lin Yu over.
"Perhaps I should go to the Lord's Mansion and pay my respects to the Viscount. As a member of Flower Territory, it wouldn't look right to visit without calling on him. Besides, I need to borrow Flower Territory's soldiers the day after tomorrow."
Lin Lei paced as he thought, then grabbed his coat from the chair and headed outside.
Three hours later, Lin Lei returned to his courtyard, in a good mood as he toyed with the cosmetics in his hands.
He hadn't seen the Viscount at the Lord's Mansion. The servants and guards there said the Viscount had apparently gone to meet Admiral Daelin at Princess Jaina's coming-of-age ceremony.
He'd been gone for over half a month, and it would be at least another half a month before he returned.
Lin Lei's plan to meet the Viscount had fallen through, but he'd still achieved his goal.
He hadn't seen Lord Edward, but he had met Miss Alice. After leaving the territory, Lord Edward had entrusted all authority to his daughter, giving Miss Alice the power to command the territory's soldiers.
Lin Lei and Alice had a good relationship, and she readily agreed to his request, which wasn't unreasonable.
Of course, Lin Lei had paid fifty thousand gold coins for their services. But considering he was getting several hundred elite soldiers, he thought the money was well spent.
He had the money to spare; he was only worried that he wouldn't find a way to borrow troops. Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly.
Luo Ji also returned to report on the purchases. Most of the major items were nearly taken care of. All that remained were miscellaneous goods—things that were scarce but important, like the trace elements the human body needed.
The remaining goods would have to be gathered gradually from the market. If they were lucky, it would take only a day; if not, it might take three days or more.
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