At the tail end of autumn twilight, Neverwinter welcomes a guest who has not been seen for a long time. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Businesswoman Margaery.

For this friend who was the first to come to the door and brought a handsome reward to the struggling frontier town, Roland gave a very high level of courtesy, not only did the First Army fire a cannon to welcome her, but he also personally went to the shallows and took her into the castle.

"You are so gracious, Your Majesty," Margaery laughed, "I am just an ordinary merchant. ”

"Without your help, the Westside would not have been where it is today," Roland replied lightly, "Neverwinter never fails friendship. ”

Whether it was the initial purchase of large quantities of food, or the subsequent chartering of numerous ships to transport refugees, it was all done with the great assistance of the Margary Chamber of Commerce. Even Tassa's ability to gain a foothold in the old king is inseparable from Margaery's connections and support. Although none of this is provided for free, Roland is well aware that many things cannot be done with money alone.

"It's my pleasure to be called a friend to you," Margaery said, bowing slightly, "and this time I've brought you new business opportunities in addition to fulfilling the perfume contract I've signed earlier," she pointed behind her, "they're all the most prominent merchants in the fjord, and they're all interested in your steam sailing plans." ”

"Really?" Roland smiled, "I'll give me a good introduction later." ”

According to his convention, when dealing with merchants, he always talked while eating. Upon entering the parlor, the long table was already filled with all sorts of delicious food, and the overseas visitors seemed to be very satisfied with not having to eat fish, and since aristocratic etiquette was not in vogue in the fjord, they tried to control themselves and behave as gracefully as possible at first. After a few glasses of wine, the atmosphere became more and more high, and all the imitation etiquette was forgotten.

Roland didn't mind any of this, preferring a lively dining environment to the cumbersome table rules of the court.

During the chat, he also had a general understanding of the visiting business group. In addition to Gamor and Marlan, the two merchants of Moonmoon Bay who first visited the border town, there were also chambers of commerce from Sunset Island and Repulse City. The two islands, one to the south and one to the north, are next to the Moonmoon Bay, forming a close-knit business circle.

As the original inhabitation of the fjord people, the three islands are small in size, but their population and strength are among the best in the fjords, and the competition between them is quite fierce, which can be seen from the size of the other two fleets. Each of the ships docked in the shoal harbor was a three-masted sea-going ship, each capable of carrying nearly three hundred men and an equal weight of cargo—the price of such a sailing ship was close to five thousand gold dragons, not including the sailors. Obviously, in terms of competing for face and showing strength, these two chambers of commerce do not want to lag behind Xianyue Bay at all.

When the dessert is served, it means that the meeting has officially begun.

"Listen to Margaery, you all want to buy a steam engine?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Nibelon, the head of the Repulse City Chamber of Commerce, spoke first, "but it's not just the steam engine, the kind of steamship you sold to Moonmoon Bay, we really want to have. ”

"I heard that the renovation cost you offered before was 1,800 gold dragons, and Sunset Island is willing to add another two hundred, and renovate five ships at the price of 2,000 gold dragons," Sunset Island merchant Etiye was not far behind, "The Chamber of Commerce can pay half of the deposit first." ”

Apparently they were referring to the steam paddle steamer that String Moon Bay had purchased a year earlier, and for Roland, this was a technology that was about to be phased out, and it was a very good deal to be able to use this batch of orders to train workers and earn a lot of money by the way.

"It will take two to three months to renovate one paddle steamer, and about a year to renovate five, and if you can accept it, Barov, the head of the town hall, will sign this contract with you. ”

"No problem at all, but Sunset Island has a small request. Etiye cleared his throat, "We hope you'll be able to use the craftsmen of the fjord to complete the ship's transformation." ”

"What do you mean?" Roland raised an eyebrow.

"Just like the steam engine factory in Moonmoon Bay, we offer you a group of craftsmen who will give priority to the ships they have rebuilt to Sunset Island, and then let them stay as they choose when the ten years are over. ”

"Repulse City would like to sign contracts in this way," Nibelon echoed, "Five sailboats are the first orders, and if you can accede to our request, at least five ships will be converted each year." ”

I see, Roland thought to himself, so this is a big order that lasts for ten years, with an annual transaction price of up to 10,000 golden dragons, and they will get a detailed transformation method after ten years, so that they will not be controlled by others all the time.

But the truth is that he didn't care at all about spreading this method, and compared to the steam turbines that were being developed and the triple-rise steam engines that were already in production, the paddle steamers were clearly behind the times.

His original ten-year covenant with Moonmoon Bay was intended to allow the artisans to adapt to life in the West, to make them reluctant to return to the fjord, and eventually to become a part of Neverwinter, not to prevent technology leaks.

Technology that is detached from the industrial base is nothing more than a seemingly beautiful castle in the sky.

Thinking of this, Roland knocked on the table, "In principle, there is no problem, but we may be able to make some changes in the details, such as changing the ten-year period to five years......"

Speaking of this, the faces of the two big businessmen showed obvious joy, for them, it was naturally a better choice to master the steamship transformation technology earlier.

"As long as Repulse City and Sunset Island are willing to keep the artisans in the West, I can also give you a 20% reduction in the price, how about it?"

"This ......"

The two of them immediately hesitated, after all, craftsmen are not so easy to cultivate, hundreds of people shorten the time by five years, plus save two thousand gold dragons a year, they can't say whether this deal is cost-effective for a while.

"Your Majesty, can I consult with the rest of the Chamber of Commerce before giving you an answer?" said Nibelon.

"Of course," Roland made a gesture of pity.

"Let me retire for the time being," Etiah followed as she left the drawing room.

"So......" he looked at Gamor and Marlan, "it seems that the purpose of your trip is not steamship?"

When the two chambers of commerce were vying to talk about business, the expressions of the representatives of Xianyue Bay were always very calm, and the occasional speech was also to talk about the past transactions with border towns, feeling that they were not here to talk about business, but to do homely things...... This kind of sentimental style naturally aroused Roland's curiosity.

"No, Your Majesty, we're here for steamships," Garmor said, taking a sip of liquor, "but not paddleships made of wood. Crescent Bay wants an indestructible steel ship that can cleave the wind and waves—the one you've built for Lord Thunder. ”

As soon as these words came out, Margaery's face suddenly changed.