Spring arrived earlier in the Lampari Kingdom, situated southwest of the center of the Sains Continent, than in most other countries on the continent.
By mid-March, the south wind had swept away the snow on the ground. A few tender shoots had even sprouted here and there from the fresh soil, adding touches of lovely green to the barren, monotonous landscape.
Xu Yi glanced at the striking hint of green outside his office window. After a brief moment of distraction, he turned his gaze to the map of the kingdom hanging on the wall.
West of Bunta City, beyond the patch of red marking the Xinfei Merchant Guild's current factory grounds, a much larger area farther west had been shaded a slightly lighter red. It represented the land that would soon come under the guild's name.
Of course, Servini did not bring only bad news. After the Xinfei Merchant Guild spent a little over two months completing its first order of farmland magic machinery, she immediately brought Xu Yi some good news: after careful consideration, His Majesty the King had agreed to his request to lease royal land.
And, to Xu Yi's surprise, His Majesty the King had been even more generous than he had expected.
Xu Yi had only tentatively asked to lease one square kilometer of land, but His Majesty the King had increased that tenfold in one go! He had agreed to lease the Xinfei Merchant Guild an enormous tract of land covering ten whole square kilometers!
What was more, the rent His Majesty the King requested was far lower than Xu Yi had imagined.
Xu Yi had originally planned to lease one square kilometer and pay at least five thousand gold coins a year for it. Yet after agreeing to lease him ten square kilometers, His