"Lord! Every island, large and small, that we passed along the way had many rivers, and this island is the same! This tropical archipelago must get a great deal of rain, perhaps twice as much as the coast of Portugal!..."
"Huh! Another smoking active volcano? This should be the second volcano, shouldn't it? According to the records, the land around volcanoes is very fertile, just like southern Italy... Mm, these islands are full of tropical mangroves, and there are quite a few wetlands rich with water grass. They should have tremendous potential for development, and be very suitable for planting valuable tropical crops!"
"Uh... Scholar Martin, which ones are valuable tropical crops? Please tell me in detail! Then I can write a nautical report for His Majesty King John II..."
On the deck of the flagship, Bruno was all smiles, shamelessly putting on a humble face as he sought instruction from the noble scholar Martin.
In this era, useful books and knowledge were even rarer than wealth in the marketplace, held only in the hands of a small portion of noble elites and high-ranking priests. With Bruno's background as a "fallen poor family," he had no access to much knowledge. And without that knowledge, he could not discover any wealth on these islands beyond gold, silver, and cloth, much less write a report to King John II...
"Oh! The most typical tropical crop is the Sugarcane that you Portuguese already plant in large quantities on the Madeira Islands! There are also Spices produced on the Southern Continent, the two most famous being Cinnamon and Pepper... Ah, yes! I think I once drank a wondrous beverage from the Southern Continent, the Ottomans' stimulating Coffee (kahve), extremely, extremely expensive and rare!..."
"Ah! Sugarcane that produces sugar! Cinnamon and Pepper!... Uh, Coffee? What