Chapter 191 - 163: New Order
"This is all the Red Bull we can provide for now." Mary placed an order form on the counter.
Musa picked up the form and glanced at the quantity and price. "Hmm, could you possibly provide a bit more?"
"I’m very sorry, Mr. Salumu," Mary said, shaking her head with a smile. "This is a plant cultivated by my boss himself. It’s not widely grown on the continent, and my boss only discovered its effects by chance. This is all we can offer for sale."
She watched the elderly merchant across from her, carefully observing his every expression and movement. When Shire had given her this order form, he had made it clear that Red Bull would be a flagship product for the Drink Undying Alchemy Workshop. While it couldn’t shake the position of coffee and Archipelago flower tea, it could still generate substantial profits. Shire had even told Mary that one day, the entire underground Fortress would be planted with Red Bull Mushrooms.
The amount offered for sale this time was only ten times the previous batch, and the price was not low. This was partly to build the product’s image and prevent it from seeming too cheap, and partly to gauge market demand, gradually identifying a suitable customer base and a general pricing strategy.
"Alright," Musa nodded. "I’ll take all of this Red Bull. You can tell your boss to increase cultivation. If his Red Bull production ever surges in the future, you must let me know. I’ll take all of it."
"I will pass the message along," Mary said with a nod. "At the same time, we’d also like to place an order for another shipload of honey, and some salt."
The demand for honey within the Goblin Race was gradually increasing. Not only did the little goblins need it for their daily consumption, but the ants were also eating a considerable amount. Furthermore, the Centaurs and goblins had all grown fond of drinking sweet, hot honey water. The shipload of honey that Uncle Musa had just delivered a few days ago had already been completely distributed by Shire. He now urgently needed another shipload to be delivered as soon as possible.
"Another shipload of honey so soon?" Musa was taken aback. The request was a little unexpected. For a whole shipload of honey to be consumed so quickly... their distribution speed was a bit too fast.
"Yes, our demand for honey is quite high," Mary replied with a smiling nod.
"Alright, I’ll go back and arrange for another batch of honey to be shipped over as soon as possible," Uncle Musa agreed calmly. He secretly glanced inside the workshop but didn’t notice anything unusual. He knew that a whole shipload of honey would take even the major commerce associations in Black Lion City a long time to sell. Yet this small, unknown "White Shell" merchant group had gone through it all in a flash. This forced him to re-evaluate their strength.
"Then at the same price as last time, would that be acceptable?" Hearing him agree to quickly ship another load of honey, Mary hurriedly pulled a half-filled contract form from under the counter. Shire had originally told her to find another honey seller as soon as possible. She had only tentatively asked "Mr. Salumu" across from her, not expecting him to agree so readily.
"Also, we need it rather urgently. If you have to ship it from the Archipelago this time, it could take quite a while." She subtly reminded him not to forget the transit time.
Uncle Musa chuckled. "It’s no problem. I have my own warehouse in Torch City with plenty of honey stored. I just need to ship it directly from there. As for this Red Bull, I hope you’ll be able to supply more of it soon."
He flicked the contract in his hand with a finger. According to Vivian, Red Bull was more valuable than Healing Potions. Besides, he acquired all that honey by trading at the Commerce Alliance’s post in Torch City before transshipping it.
Not many Island Merchants were willing to ship goods all the way to a place as remote as Yangjiao Town to sell. If he weren’t here searching for Shire Merlot, an Island Merchant likely wouldn’t be appearing at Yangjiao Town’s docks at all.
"By the way," Uncle Musa said, his tone casual as he watched Mary fill out the contract, "I heard from some Adventurers in Yangjiao Town that members of the Storm Brotherhood are wanted now, is that right?"
"Yes, I’ve heard the Adventurers who come to buy potions mention it," Mary replied without looking up.
"I heard their selection process was quite a grand affair. To think they’d be wanted so soon." Musa sighed wistfully. "The charges are disrespecting the Count and deceiving a noble. What on earth did those guys do to get a bounty on their heads?"
"That, I wouldn’t know." Mary quickly finished filling out the form and pushed it toward him. "Mr. Salumu, please take a look."
"Alright." Musa picked up the contract and began to inspect it. "I hear the bounties on them aren’t low. Catching even one of them would set a person up for a good while."
"When I was an Adventurer, I used to dream of being a Bounty Hunter and living off rewards," he said, his eyes still on the contract. "Unfortunately, I never caught a single criminal. Thinking back on it now, if I wanted to live up to that old dream—catching one wanted man and being set for life—I think there’s only one person to catch."
"Oh? And who might that be?" Mary asked with a smile.
"Who else but Shire Merlot?" Musa laughed heartily, glancing up at Miss Mary across the counter. "Everyone knows his bounty is the highest."
"A pity it’s just a fool’s dream. I’m long past my Adventurer days anyway." After speaking, he signed his name and filled in the other details on the contract before handing it back to Mary.
Mary smiled, taking the contract impassively. "A few months ago, people were indeed talking about that bounty on Shire Merlot. Many were shocked by the high reward at the time. But no one really brings it up anymore."
"The Adventurers who come for potions talk more about goblins. It’s as if this Shire fellow has vanished without a trace," Mary said with a shrug, affecting a casual tone.
"You’re right," Musa said, nodding with a smile. "For an Adventurer, killing goblins is much simpler and more stable than chasing bounties."
"Then it’s settled. I’ll get another shipload of honey over here as soon as I can." He pointed to the Healing Potions on the shelves behind the counter. "I hope you’ll have enough potions ready as well."
"No problem, Mr. Salumu." Mary put away the contract and gave a slight bow.
...
"He agreed to ship another load of honey over this quickly?" Shire looked at the intelligence report in his hand. Mary had sent it to him immediately after signing the contract with the Island Merchant.
’To be able to rent a warehouse in Torch City... this man is quite resourceful.’ He looked at the report’s contents, tapping a finger lightly on his desk.
In his memory, after Baron Merlot had finished constructing the Deepwater Port, the prices for cargo warehouses around Torch City had skyrocketed. Many commerce associations had paid hefty sums for long-term leases on those warehouses, which was a source of revenue for Torch City. Yet this Island Merchant named Salumu, despite having only one merchant ship, could actually afford to rent a cargo warehouse. ’It seems there’s more to him than meets the eye.’
"I need to be more careful about how I roll out the Red Bull," Shire muttered to himself. ’Working with an old fox who’s been navigating the seas of commerce for years requires extreme caution.’ "And he even brought up my bounty."
’Was that a test, or was it just a careless remark?’ He tapped the desk slowly, his gaze fixed on the Little Tin Soldier on it. ’I haven’t revealed anything. Why would he bring it up? Was it just to reminisce about his adventuring days? It’s true that middle-aged men often talk about their youth.’
He was reminded of the middle-aged men he had known, especially the nearly fifty-year-old department manager from his previous life. The man had been losing his hair but would constantly talk about his glory days in college. The line he used most often was, "Right after I graduated, the Vice President hired me directly. I made a sale in my very first month, so you all need to work a little harder."
"Heh," Shire scoffed. ’In his mouth, "work a little harder" was just a substitute for "work more overtime". I’ll just observe him for now. He can’t pose any real threat to me anyway. Besides, a stable supplier is hard to find, and our honey consumption is huge right now. I’ll have to keep dealing with him and see what happens.’
"This piece of intelligence is interesting, though. Adventurers are complaining that there are fewer goblins now?" He continued reading down the list. ’If the goblins in the Southern Forest were all driven out by the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, and the Earth Goblins are now constantly gathering them up, it would indeed lead to fewer goblins.’
"I’ll wait a few more days. If no one goes to patrol the Ant Nest, I’ll start the herb gathering operation." Shire rubbed his face. ’Once I have more manpower, I can form a territorial Ant Cavalry patrol. They can round up any stray goblins they find along their routes, bring them back to the Fortress, and incorporate them into our ranks.’
’That way, the Adventurers won’t be able to find any goblins.’ A smile touched the corner of his mouth as he put down the intelligence report.
...
「Plantagenet City, in the basement of Benier Palace」
"Teacher, it might be a group of goblins behind this," an Intermediate Mage said, bowing respectfully.
"What did you see?" the hunchbacked High Tier Great Mage Cunningham asked coldly.
"A goblin leading a small squad. Its members included other goblins, a Centaur, and Skeleton Soldiers," the Intermediate Mage reported immediately.
"Goblins teaming up with Skeleton Soldiers and a Centaur," Cunningham chuckled, his voice like a hoarse crow. "This Nightmare Forest is getting more and more interesting."
"Go and see. I need you to capture all of those goblins and bring them back. Their souls will surely have great research value," Cunningham said, looking at the experiment table in front of him.
On the table, a Green-skinned Goblin had had its four limbs amputated, but crude wooden limbs had been strapped on in their place.