The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

"Black pearls can now be mass-produced, so you mean they can continuously produce white pearls like the ones from the Sapphire Family's pearl oysters?"

Liszt asked, astonished.

Sitting beside him, Loria was playfully examining several black pearls smaller than table tennis balls that Liszt had taken out: "Liszt, the black pearl pendant you once gave me for protection, it was made from these kinds of black pearls, wasn't it? And that huge black pearl as well, is it the same variety?"

Liszt nodded: "That's right, Loria."

Liszt carried a faint smile on his face: "The wedding gift I gave you, that black pearl which can strongly disperse the wind attribute magic power in a two to three hundred meter radius, and the one Liszt gave you before, as well as these black pearls, are all the same variety, produced by the Sea Monster Chequed Venus Clam."

Liszt couldn't help but complain: "But when you sold me the black pearls originally, you said they couldn't be mass-produced, that they were a rare commodity!"

"At that time, they indeed were a rare commodity. However, after my continuous exploration of the sea, I finally discovered a habitat thriving with Hei Chequ, hence black pearls have become the specialty of my territory."

"Now, if you try to sell black pearls to me again, you're not planning to use the original price, are you?"

"Brother, it's true that the high price of the two original black pearls was based on rarity, but you can't deny that their inherent value is extremely high. Moreover, even if the Hei Chequ become a territorial specialty, the production is still very limited; they are still scarce commodities."

"What's your proposed price?"

"Actually, I am not planning to sell them to you. Of course, if you are willing to buy, as long as the price is right, I can certainly offer a discount." Liszt casually courted business and continued, "In fact, I am planning to delegate the sales of black pearls to Loria. Are you interested by any chance?"

"Sales agency?" Loria's eyes lit up.

Nobles, despite despising merchants, were not ashamed to do business.

"Yes, according to the different sizes of the black pearls, we will set different prices, and I can give Loria a certain commission. For example, this black pearl in your hand, I price at fifty Gold Coins. If you can sell it on Golden Island, I will give you a direct commission of ten percent, that is, five Gold Coins."

Loria was tempted.

However, she glanced at Liszt.

Liszt stroked his chin: "Black pearls are indeed nice, more valuable than white pearls; we can do this business. But a ten percent commission is too little, at least twenty percent."

"Twenty percent? You might as well rob me!" Liszt exclaimed in shock, "Brother, sister-in-law, the black pearls are produced by the Sea Monster Chequed Venus Clam. Hunting them costs me a lot, even the lives of fishermen. They look like black pearls, but really they are blood-stained pearls!"

When it came to storytelling, Liszt was never lacking.

He vividly depicted the difficulties of hunting for the Hei Chequ, portraying himself as driven mad with poverty, risking life-threatening battles with sea monsters to dredge up black pearls in exchange for some Gold Coins.

Perhaps.

Since his performance was too exaggerated, Liszt remained unmoved, "Black pearls obviously aren't something minor Nobles can afford; they are luxury items for the great Nobles, who need channels for purchase. Liszt, if you want us to use our channels to do business, we can't settle for less than twenty percent commission."

Liszt was also feeling the pinch, realising that he might have to bleed a little to make a deal.

But he quickly thought of a new way to cut his losses: "My pricing for the size and quality of black pearls is fixed, and the commission stays at ten percent, but... if you can sell them at a higher price, then any excess over the listed price is all your profit!"

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Agreed!" Levis and Loria looked at each other and immediately made their decision, "We'll take as many black pearls as you have. Though this deal is troublesome and requires Loria to use quite a few connections. But we should be able to earn a considerable amount of hard-earned money in a short time, enough to offset what I spent on my wedding."

"I don't have many black pearls collected, so I need to carefully check each one to agree on a satisfactory price. Plus, you'll need to pay me a deposit in advance as I am in dire need of funds for territorial development."

"There's not much liquid capital left in the castle. I could probably scrape together up to three thousand gold coins," said Levis.

Suddenly, Loria interjected, "Levis, I have some personal dowry left, which could amount to about five thousand gold coins."

"Three thousand plus five thousand, that's a total of eight thousand gold coins, fair enough to make the deposit!"

...

The black pearls that were put up for sale were not exceptionally large, the largest being only slightly bigger than a sea bowl, with all others being small black pearls.

The large black pearls that could be used to make Calming Wind Pearls were all retained for Liszt's future personal use.

The Levis couple were bold.

They were convinced that the black pearls could definitely be sold at a high price, so they took all the black pearl stock Liszt had in hand.

The pricing of these black pearls ranged from a high of 1,500 gold coins each to a low of 50 gold coins each, adding up to a total price of 24,550 gold coins. An initial deposit of eight thousand gold coins was paid, and the subsequent payment of 17,550 gold coins would be settled after the black pearls were sold out.

"Pleased to do business with you, Liszt."

"Pleased to do business with you, Levis and Loria."

After the inventory check was complete, all three were satisfied—Liszt was happy that he finally had enough funds on hand and wasn't so strapped for cash that he needed to borrow money.

As for how much profit the Levis couple could make by flipping these black pearls, that was their own skill. He had sold them for the price he wanted, and how much others could earn thanks to their channels was none of his concern, nor was there any reason for him to feel jealous or regretful. His mindset in this regard was quite positive.

After all, black pearls were not a one-time business.

If necessary, when the next batch had accumulated, the price could just be increased.

Sea Sprite Ake often went around Pearl Lake, collecting some black pearls. Her magic had become very skilled, allowing her to pry out the black pearls while the Chequed Venus clams were opening their shells. There was no need for killing, practically achieving sustainable development, and continuously harvesting black pearls.

Of course.

Currently, only small black pearls could be collected, as the large Chequed Venus clams didn't live in Pearl Lake.

With the smallest black pearls available, Liszt strung together a black pearl necklace as a gift for his sister Li Vera in advance. He also paid off his debt of eight hundred gold coins to Li Vera and the two thousand gold coins he owed Lady Penelope—He didn't like the feeling of owing money to others.

The rest of the money was mostly invested in the purchase of grain and production materials.

With the help of the Tulip Family's merchant fleet and the Beer Island's traders, they acquired a large quantity of wheat, barley, sorghum, beans, and other cereals, which were then stored in the warehouses on Black Horse Island.

Time passed in this manner.

Soon, it was October of the year 152 by the Sapphire Calendar, and the Earl finally returned from Blue Dragon Island, bringing this year's Pioneer Mandate—The Steel Ridge Kingdom and the Eagle Kingdom, these eternal rivals, inevitably continued their tradition of waging war against each other after the end of autumn each year, each trying to seize the accumulated resources of the other.