Sometimes you habitually care about certain things, care about others’ opinions, for reasons that even you can’t articulate. And when you have to put down this concern, you feel as if a heavy burden has been lifted, and life suddenly shines with a ray of sunshine. It’s as if you’re not losing something, but gaining something.
Jones is probably in this situation.
After falling out with his father, not only did he not worry, but he actually felt as if his life had taken on a new color, and even the land beneath his feet felt more solid. He carefully planned and meticulously kept accounts. Because the sky won’t drop pies, everything must be borne by himself, which in turn gave him more motivation to strive. His entire spirit was different.
The next day, after another busy day, as night fell, Jones set off for Hilde and came before Adelle.
"Oh, my dear brother Jones, let’s head to the trade guild right now!"
"Wasn’t it supposed to be a brotherhood gathering?"
"I’ve canceled it for today. There’s nothing urgent anyway, and after returning yesterday, I already informed them about canceling today’s gathering. So, I can quietly accompany you for the whole day."
"Thank you," Jones replied with a smile.
Riding in Adelle’s carriage, Jones traveled down the long road from the mountain, all the way to the streets of Hilde.
The night in Hilde was as lively as ever, with people everywhere on the streets. All sorts of races, each busy with their own affairs. Frequent commercial transactions are the foundation of Hilde’s prosperity.
If it were before, Jones probably wouldn’t have been interested in these things, but now, he’s interested in everything he sees. He looks twice at everything, even the road beneath his feet.
After all, Giant Snake City currently has nothing.
"As we all know, the most lucrative business in Hilde is undoubtedly the slave trade. Our Blood Clan has a huge demand for slaves, and we require many kinds. We assign smelting and mining to dwarfs, alchemy to elves, heavy labor to zombies, and anything involving some brains to goblins. Besides these, there are many other types of slaves. Since slaves are consumables—they age and die, while we are immortal—we have to buy them repeatedly. There are countless slave traders in Hilde."
"What is the cheapest slave?"
"The cheapest..." Adelle thought in silence, stroking his chin, just as he saw through the carriage window a half-human-tall goblin yelling from a wooden box at a street corner, with goblin slaves chained nearby: "Goblins? Goblins are the cheapest slaves. A normal goblin only costs a single gold coin, very cheap. No agreements to protect them, they even participate in the slave trade themselves. As long as you can pay, the Goblin King can sell you an entire goblin army. Although such an army is weak and useless. Why? Are you thinking about the slave trade?"
"No." Jones shook his head and said, "I’m not thinking about the slave trade; I just need manpower. Right now, Giant Snake City is too sparsely populated, and I want to build roads. Building roads requires a lot of manpower."
"Can goblins be used for road construction?" Adelle thought for a while and then said, "I suppose they can. But I advise you not to use them. I’ve heard that the only thing they’re good at on the battlefield is running away. That’s an exception; typically, if you buy them, you won’t need to buy more. Their reproduction rate is especially high and they can quickly fill your entire castle. Unless it’s necessary, I’d advise against buying them."
"Hmm..." Jones furrowed his brows in deep thought.
"The second most profitable business is banking." Adelle pointed to a passing bank outside the carriage window and said, "The reason is simple: money can buy almost anything, and banks primarily deal with money. So, banks can participate in profit-sharing across all industries, and they always choose the most profitable investments. That’s what I do. Hahaha. To my knowledge, most slave traders cooperate with banks. If they’re selling the most popular slaves, they might even need some connections to get loans. Strange, isn’t it? I want to lend them money, yet I need to cozy up to them. But that’s just how it is. After all, some slaves, like elves, aren’t something just anyone can obtain."
"And then?" Jones asked.
"And then there’s land."
"Isn’t land a business for banks?"
"Only partly." Adelle spread his hands and said, "More often, it’s through consultants."
"Consultants like Patia?"
"Um... not exactly. Patia is our exclusive consultant, whereas in Hilde, there are many consultants who accept various business information. They often hold information on many clients, and they use this information to facilitate deals." Adelle sighed and gently said, "If it’s through a bank, usually the bank buys it directly and then sells it. If it’s a castle like Giant Snake City, it’s possible. Because it doesn’t have any developed industries or any slaves attached to the castle yet. There wouldn’t be an issue holding onto it. But if it’s a fully developed castle, that’s not the case. Buying a castle means you also need to manage it. If a castle lingers in your possession for too long, you’d need to send many people to manage the castle, and maintaining operations would require expenses. And banks often don’t have enough manpower, and those they send may not be familiar with the castle, or even know how long it’ll take to manage it. This would add a lot of costs, which wouldn’t be worth it."