Yan Xing, puffing on a cigar and swirling his wine glass, blew out clouds of smoke.
His actions were not a show of boasting or self-indulgence, but a continuous hint to Eden.
Although he had been in this world for over a week, Yan Xing was still unfamiliar with the outside world.
The farmers knew limited information, and the werewolves knew even less.
Yan Xing wanted to understand the outside world, and Eden was a very good candidate. Moreover, he was a traveling merchant who had visited many places, a walking, living map.
Therefore, Yan Xing still hoped to establish a good relationship with Eden. After all, he was about to head to a human city to find a professional mentor to learn skills. If he could understand the local customs in advance, he would not make a fool of himself and offend people.
However, the agarwood business concerned the northern barrier of the Eternal Domain, and Yan Xing absolutely could not concede on this.
But Yan Xing was willing to compensate Eden for his losses in other ways.
Glass wine goblets, red wine, apples, ceramic tableware, disposable lighters, cigars, weapons—Yan Xing had demonstrated their uses to Eden one by one.
As long as Eden brought it up, these items could all be given to him to sell as goods.
But it had to be Eden who brought it up.
Because Yan Xing did not know the value of these goods he was offering in this world. And judging by Eden’s dealings with the werewolves, this man was clearly a profiteer.
Yan Xing felt that if he took the initiative to offer these items as compensation to Eden, Eden would definitely treat him like a fat sheep and drive a hard bargain.
Yan Xing sat there, puffing out smoke and giving meaningful glances. Eden, meanwhile, was sweating profusely, sincerely fearful for his current and future prospects.
This Lord had invoked his family’s creed; there was truly no room for negotiation on the agarwood matter.
But Eden, who had just started enjoying a more comfortable life, how could he be willing to return to his previous life of hardship, constantly traveling and earning little?
Eden gritted his teeth as if he had made a decision. He said to Yan Xing, "Lord Yan Xing, I know that you are acquiring agarwood at such a high price for a deeper purpose.
I am a merchant; I neither wish to nor dare to probe into your secrets.
But the agarwood business is too important to me. I earnestly implore you to resell a portion of the agarwood you have acquired to me at a grain exchange rate of 200 to 1.
Generous and merciful Lord, surely you will pity a small merchant like me."
Inside the Golden Oak Chamber of Commerce, the spice merchants acquired agarwood at a price equivalent to a 300-to-1 grain exchange rate.
Purchasing directly from the Eternal Domain allowed Eden to avoid the expenses of traversing the fringes of the Thunderous Swamp. Saving time naturally also saved the cost of hiring mercenaries for protection.
With less risk, thinner profits were acceptable to him.
What was important was having a spice channel in hand to maintain his position within the chamber of commerce, enabling continued use of the privileges and connections gained from it.
Yan Xing was still swirling his red wine and puffing on his cigar.
He hadn’t expected Eden would be willing to purchase agarwood from him at a 200-to-1 rate.
This deal, it’s truly an ingenious approach!
Yan Xing quickly weighed the gains and losses of this transaction for himself.
It’s out of the question to dump the agarwood in reality. It’s too conspicuous, and it could easily lead to its devaluation.
Auctioning off the best agarwood at a high price was both convenient and secure.
As for what to do with the remaining agarwood, Yan Xing had not yet thought of a good solution.
After all, it was all exchanged for grain at a 200-to-1 rate.
Agarwood couldn’t be used to build houses, and burning it as firewood was far too wasteful.
Eden’s willingness to take it at cost meant a solution to the Eternal Domain’s future problem of agarwood overstock.
What an unforeseen windfall!
"Mr. Eden is truly a business prodigy!" Yan Xing immediately agreed to the deal. "I greatly admire you. I permit you to purchase agarwood from me at a 200-to-1 rate.
But since I’m giving it to you at cost, I won’t be responsible for transportation."
Yan Xing didn’t add any markup to this price.
His goal was to push Eden out of the direct trading relationship with the Swamp Werewolves, making himself the sole supplier to the Werewolf Tribe. Since his goal was achieved, there was no need to haggle over small sums.
If he pressed Eden into buying agarwood directly from the werewolves at a 200-to-1 rate, it would be a loss not worth the gain.
The profit Yan Xing envisioned wasn’t measured in mere tens or dozens of kilograms of grain.
Eden hadn’t expected Yan Xing to agree so readily. With a source of agarwood, he now had some breathing room.
Whether he was planning to reopen trade channels with the Werewolf Tribe or seeking other avenues, he could now handle things with more composure.
Eden raised his glass to Yan Xing, saying, "Thank you for your generosity, my Lord. I wish Lord Yan Xing good health and prosperity for your domain."
With a glass of wine downed, Eden was officially bowing out of the commercial competition in the Thunderous Swamp.
But this verbal agreement was unstable.
After all, the huge profits from agarwood were just sitting there. One couldn’t be sure whether Eden’s retreat was actually a strategic move, planning to bide his time and stage a comeback after returning.
Therefore, he couldn’t easily let him leave.
And besides, as the Lord here trying to make a show of my charm, all these flirtatious glances shouldn’t be thrown away for nothing!
I want the market of the Swamp Tribe; I also want to open up the markets of the human race!
Making money is all business, after all.
But one should never take the initiative to offer, and hand over the advantage to someone else.
Yan Xing put down his wine glass for Gao Sipa to refill, took another puff of his cigar, and then asked Eden, "The nearest human city to the south of my territory is Nuta City, isn’t it?"
Eden respectfully answered, "It is Nuta City. The lord of Nuta City, Earl Pigou Theodore, is a vassal of Marquis Anderson..."
In those recent days, Olaf, leading the werewolves, had explored the areas surrounding the Eternal Domain and found this human city, the closest to the domain.
However, the werewolves couldn’t enter this semi-militarized city, so Yan Xing didn’t know much about it.
This was the perfect opportunity to get information about Nuta City from Eden.
Nuta City had been established with the purpose of guarding against the northern Thunderous Swamp. Although the Swamp Tribe had no intention of participating in the struggles of the Wildwind Highlands, one couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t be exploited by the Snow Elves from the north.
During war, one can never be too cautious.
However, for a long time, the Elf Race had not traversed the Thunderous Swamp to threaten the southern human-controlled areas, nor had the Swamp Tribe ventured far from their territory. Consequently, Nuta City had remained in a stable environment.
To the west and northwest of Nuta City were human cities and fortress clusters, which neither Orcs nor Elves could easily threaten.
To the southwest of the city lay Storm City.
To the east was the ocean.
Nuta City, together with Storm City, formed the major rear base for the human forces of the Wildwind Highlands.
Then, the space between the two cities was filled with vast estates and farmlands, reducing the reliance of the Wildwind Highlands’ human forces on the Duchy for grain support.
Besides agriculture, there were many industries in Nuta City, such as iron smelting, timber processing, pottery, textiles, and winemaking.
Initially, all these industries had served to provide materials for the frontier cities and fortresses, but with the increase in civilians and the rise of commerce, the military function of Nuta City had been increasingly weakened.