"Harpagon is much bolder than Shylock, and has more vision and a fighting spirit. Once Captain Costo is proficient in navigation, I plan to have Harpagon take charge of transoceanic trade."
The castle study at night.
Liszt and Carter butler Carter each sipped a glass of red wine, savoring it slowly and chatting about the past, present, and future.
Carter's hair had turned quite a bit grayer, but he was in much better spirits than when he first arrived in Flower Town: "Sir, isn't it too much of a step to start cross-sea trade now?"
"Right now, we're just using the foreign trade channels of Tulip Castle and Beer Castle to incidentally build channels belonging to Flower Town. There's no rush to take over these channels," Liszt smiled slightly. " Flower Town is only temporary. In the near future, I will have my own city or island."
He took a sip of red wine and continued, "I can't always stay under the protection of the family. Father might not mind, but Levis and Lytton will always have something to say."
"It turns out your vision has extended to much more, sir. Please forgive my limited perspective."
"Looking far ahead is one thing, but doing well in the present is another. I need you to remind me of that often, Mr. Carter."
The master and servant flattered each other, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
A moment later, the topic turned to Flower Soap.
Carter was deeply moved. "I was quite surprised to hear your conversation with Mr. Harpagon. I never imagined that Flower Soap would be so popular and capture such a huge market share."
"It was expected that it would be popular."
Liszt calmly stated.
Actually, Flower Soap doesn't involve much technology, and its cleaning power isn't phenomenal. However, the addition of pig pancreas and certain substances from wood Flower Soap does give it a lot more texture—smoothing, lathering, and a tightening effect on the skin. This is enough to completely outperform soaps with mediocre cleaning power.
If you're used to showering with regular soap, the sudden appearance of Flower Soap will be a huge surprise. A thorough cleanse will leave you feeling refreshed and radiant.
For the nobles, this was enough to make them abandon scented soap and switch to Flower Soap.
As for the fact that using Flower Soap can arouse a husband's sexual interest, this is something that only Mrs. Gelta knows; it's estimated that no one else is aware of it.
Naturally.
Thanks to the Flower Caravan's deliberate promotional efforts, the reputation of Flower Soap began to spread from North Valley City to the entire Coral Island. Coral City, in particular, has always been a trendsetter in fashion.
The cost of Flower Soap was not low, and it was impossible to give a sample to every nobleman. Harpagon did not adopt Shylock's method of casting a wide net, but instead targeted his efforts precisely.
"Miss Shirley, this is a gift from my lord, Baron Liszt: two bars of Flower Soap made in Flower Town. It is more beautiful than regular soap and better suits your stunning beauty and noble demeanor."
"Oh, is this from Brother Liszt? Thank you!" Shirley happily accepted the gift, noticing a Parchment attached to it.
The Parchment bears Liszt's own handwriting in the Snake Script.
"My dearest Little Shirley, I'm very busy in Flower Town and unable to visit you in Coral City. I can only give you two bars of our specialty Flower Soap. May beauty always be with you—your brother, Liszt."
"Honorable Madam, Harpagon sends her greetings."
" Harpagon, the captain of the Flower Caravan, is that right? Did Liszt send you?" Lady Penelope received Harpagon.
" Baron Liszt misses you very much. He sent me to bring you two bars of Flower Soap, a specialty of Flower Town. I hope you will like them," Harpagon said respectfully. " The Baron said that if you like them, you can send someone to inform the caravan at any time, and the Flower Soap will be provided to you free of charge."
"Specialty Flower Soap? Just a kind of scented soap?" Lady Penelope wasn't a naive girl like Shirley. Her eyes lit up, and she understood everything. "This boy is getting smarter and smarter. No wonder he looks like that woman Melissa. This shrewdness is truly worthy of being the Marquis Merlin's grandson."
Harpagon gave an awkward smile and remained silent. He dared not comment on a nobleman, especially his own lord.
Lady Penelope said, "Alright, I'll accept the gifts. If they're really good, I'll put in a good word for him; after all, I still have many people I know."
"Greetings once again, Harpagon takes his leave."
Flower Soap are undoubtedly disrupting the traditional soap market.
This was a huge deal for Shylock and Harpagon, but for Liszt, it was just another way to make money. He gave his subordinates some pointers and then forgot about it.
Now, he has a new task.
This afternoon, the Smoke changed. "Mission complete. Reward: Five rotten bones."
It goes without saying that Marcus and his men, far away on Black Horse Island, had already completed the construction of a temporary outpost on the island and housed one hundred serfs.
A new task was subsequently assigned.
"Task: Feeding the horse herd requires a large quantity and variety of pasture grass. Black Horse Island is not currently suitable for growing more pasture grass. Why not cultivate Corn Grass in Flower Town to increase the nutrition for the Black Blood Steed herd? Please cultivate 100 acres of Corn Grass. Reward: One Elf Bug."
The quest to reward the Elf Bug is definitely something I need to complete; every single one of Elf Bug is a treasure.
But when Liszt saw the task details, he frowned deeply. He summoned the manager of Barley Hamlet and asked, " Gergil, how many acres of Corn Grass are currently planted in Barley Hamlet?"
"My lord, there are a total of thirty acres of Corn Grass."
"If Corn Grass is planted now, can it germinate and safely overwinter?"
"This..." Gergil hesitated. "My lord, Gergil has never tended to Corn Grass in winter and doesn't know if it can survive the winter."
"So how many Corn Grass of seeds did you harvest?"
"The seeds were all handed over to the administrative office, probably several hundred kilograms. A lot of the Corn Grass was cut down and used for grazing, and only a small portion was used for seed."
Liszt glanced at the weather outside; it was almost late autumn, and the weather was no longer warm.
Such a climate is not suitable for growing crops, but the Smoke Mission is here and cannot be ignored, otherwise it is difficult to ensure that Elf Bug will be born—he was certain that it was a Corn Grass Elf Bug, but whether it could be conceived was hard to say and depended on the progress of the mission.
No matter how difficult it is, we have to keep going, even if it means being forced into it.
He immediately ordered, "Reclaim seventy acres of land immediately and expand the Corn Grass to one hundred acres. Gergil, hurry up!"
"Yes, my lord, Gergil will arrange for everyone to cultivate the new fields immediately."
Let's start the task here.
Meanwhile, Liszt also took the time to investigate the Corn Grass of Barley Hamlet Village, constantly using his Magic Eye to try and find signs of the spawning of the Elf Bug.
As long as he finds any signs of the Elf Bug, he is confident that he can successfully spawn Elf Bug, even if the mission fails.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of Magic Power. The Corn Grass was full of ordinary Corn Grass, with no single stalk standing out.
He sighed and consoled himself, "Hopefully the Corn Grass will sprout in this weather, so I can finish my task first."
The following day, the Flower returned home.
Marcus brought him some new information about the mission rewards.
After dismissing the servants and closing the study door, he solemnly declared, "My lord, we have discovered the skeleton of an unknown animal in a valley on the island. Most of the bones are broken, but five enormous bones remain. Each one is as thick as a person and is half-buried in the Rock."