The 187th chapter “panning for gold in the sand”
Rolynn was a bit astonished by the guy brought in by Du Wei.
Her first impression was: is this guy born from a monkey? Or rather, he is the legendary beast men of the Monkey tribe?
That’s right; this person is just like a humanoid monkey without the hair.
“This is Mr. Zack.” Du Wei’s tone in his introduction was very polite, so she immediately retracted her eyes because she knew her expression is very rude.
“Hello, beautiful female Knight.” Zack is dressed in a very orderly fashion, but his head was donning the typical small cap uniquely found on those of a merchant. Taking it off, he bent down and politely made a bowing motion: “I am very pleased to meet you, please call me Zack, or if you like, you can call me Zack junior like my friends do. Oh yes, this is to distinguish me from my late father.”
“Zack is a genius I met today. I believe he will be very talented in managing a business.” Du Wei winked at Rolynn before coming up to the female knight. In a lowered voice, he said: “Roylnn, I know you don’t like your job, right? Well then, from today onward, Zack will be under your command. In the shortest amount of time possible, you will teach him the in’s and out of the business. Once I feel he is suitable to take over your position, you can then go back to managing the fleet.”
Rolynn’s eyes lit up immediately as she looked at the friendly monkey in front of her. Unlike her previous image of Zack, Rolynn suddenly found herself feeling this person to be quite lovable.
“So then, is he coming with me now?” Rolynn glanced at Du Wei.
Zack replied himself, “That’s right…… Oh heavens, today is such a magical day. When his lordship came into my store, I never expected to encounter the famed Duke Tulip. Instead of selling my Golden package deal, his lordship actually bought out my store and even brought me back here.”
Very soon, Rolynn guided Zack around the store and showcased everything inside. Immediately after the tour ended, Zack began coming up with ideas like he was a natural in this field. As long as the topic is related to running a business, his eyes would light up.
“How is it, Zack?” Du Wei is eagerly looking forward to what the guy has to say. In his mind, Du Wei believes his sight isn’t wrong because in this world, even if Zack isn’t a genius, he will still be a mega geek.
“Forgive me for my bluntness, I think……. There is a big problem.” Zack explained his words in a melancholy voice: “When I skimmed my eyes through the store, I only noticed weapons….. Weapons here….. Weapons there…… My god, is there nothing else besides weapons in our life?”
Rolynn is somewhat discontent with his words because she is after all the person in charge of this place: “Mr. Zack, we also have some armor pieces like the knight’s tabard, and…..”
“This can still be considered within the range of the weapons category.” Zack curled his lips.
Then this guy actually turned around and freely sat down on a chair. When a passing slave girl walked by with a tray full of wine, this monkey bluntly grabbed a cup and gulped it down. After finishing the cup, he comfortably sighed and said: “GOOD WINE! God be my witness, I have never tasted such a fine wine before, perhaps a silver coin per cup?”
“It’s gold coin…… A gold coin per cup.” Rolynn corrected him in a light voice.
Widening his eyes in shock, he stared at the cup in his hand before quickly putting it down. Without waiting for anyone to say another word, Zack continued: “Well then, where did I left off? Oh, that’s right, weapons…… My lord, although I am a lowly merchant, but I can see that this place caters only to the wealthy and noble lords. Well then, may I ask, what reason do those lords have to bring a weapon home?”
His one question was already enough to stump Rolynn.
And the words that came out of Zack afterward left Du Wei feeling very satisfied.
“Those nobles are people of status, so they wouldn’t really go adventuring like those real warriors and adventurers. From my view, these people would spend more time showing off their possession than to actually take it into combat….. Just like a peacock when it spread their tail feathers.”
“You’re right, we also thought of this point.” Rolynn replied: “That’s why; the products you see here are all focused on being extravagant and beautiful.”
“I can see that.” Zack nodded: “from my point of view, your decision is not wrong.”
Rolynn immediately followed up: “These ideas are all from his lordship, I’m only carrying it out.”
“But!” Zack bluntly interrupted Rolynn’s words: “Your method is correct, but your direction is wrong.”
“Keep going!” Du We immediately cried out when he noticed Rolynn wanted to interrupt again: “Zack, please continue.”
Zack laughed as he sheepishly rubbed his hand together. Then licking his lips, he then shyly smiled as he asked: “That….. Glass of wine, can I get another cup?”
“Call someone over and give our Mr. Zack here a bottle.” Du Wei immediately commanded.
Subsequently, Zack received a bottle of wine from a beautiful slave. Pouring a cup for himself, he then continued to explain his words after taking a sip: “ Well then, your lordship, please don’t take it to heart on what I’m about to say.”
“Of course, I like your ideas.” This sentence sent the confidence meter in Zack’s mind through the roof: “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought you back here.”
“I believe the business is operating correctly, but the problem lies in the direction you are taking.” Zack puts down the wine bottle: “Those wealthy lords do indeed spend a lot of time trying to court a pretty girl….. However, this is only a small part of their life. After all, a perverted devil only makes up the minority of the noble class. In their lives, there are many more things they like to do… And that is enjoyment and entertainment.”
Enjoyment and entertainment?
Zack laughed: “In my opinion, the saying that human are pigs is a very interesting comparison….. Hmm, what is a pig’s life? Eat, sleep and eat. What about a person? Eat, sleep, work and enjoying life.”
After a pause, Zack made a concise summary: “If so then, if a person doesn’t know how to enjoy life, then they are no different from a working pig.”
“The majority of the nobility certainly knows how to indulge themselves in pleasure. In fact, their life is far more exciting than that of a pig, yet, we never tapped into their biggest needs and that is their basic necessities! See the things here? Weapons….. Weapons are only a small part of their life.”
“From what I can see, all of your products here are made out of precious materials that are not easily obtained through normal means-….. If so, then why can’t we use it on something else?”
Du Wei eyes lit up with excitement when he made eye contact with Rolynn.
“An ordinary sword can only be sold for a few silver coins in the market while a small necklace can be sold for more than 20 silver pieces to a noble lady. That’s not all. A knights armor can only be sold for 5 silver coins in the market while a finely tailored dress can fork us more than I can even predict. Either way, it’s still more than an armor piece.”
“Just now, I noticed an armor here, my god, I have to say it is too beautiful! The glowing light wrapping around the suit is just like the time went into temple for prayer! Too beautiful, just too beautiful…. I say, what if we use all of those materials in the jewelry made for the ladies? In addition, I also noticed something else. Hmm, it should be a mage staff, right? This is the first time I’ve ever seen a mage staff in my life. From what Knight Rolynn said, that thing is specially designed for water mages and can control….. What’s that thing called again?”
“The water element.” Rolynn answers.
“Oh, that’s right, water element!” Zack sly smiles: “Let’s say we put these things into a lady’s accessory. Think about it. What does a lady always complain about? They will say ‘my god, the weather is too dry. My skin will get damaged at this rate.’ At that time, we can tell them that if they wear our products, the moisture around their body will always be maintained…. Can you imagine how attractive this would be? I already saw the sapphire crystal on that large piece over there. If you cut it up, you can make several accessories out of it!”
“Also…… Oh, this is my own thinking. If I am wrong, please don’t mind me.”
Zack continues: “Every winter, I would hear those rich merchants complain about how heavy their leather clothing’s are and how inconvenient it is to walk outside. Aside from that, every person would dress like a giant meat beat with thick scarfs, leather boots, and fur coats wrapped around their bodies….. My god, can you imagine how heavy that is? If we…… Oh, please forgive me, I’m not a mage, but I believe we can do this if we utilize the amazing powers of magic. If we can come up with a light material capable of warding off the cold, we can have those ladies walk around like how they would in the summer during the winter seasons. This way around, they don’t have to carry around those heavy coats and still showcase their graceful body lines and beautiful leg! Hmm, what you think? I’m certain those nobilities would spent enormous sums just to get their hands on a piece.”
Du Wei sighed: “You’re right…… And these can all be done…… Oh god and it’s very simple. As long as we take a cheap fire ruby and cut it into multiple pieces, we can then make them into multiple clothing’s…..”
Zack seems to be still full of ideas in his stomach! However, Du Wei already called him out: “Enough Zack!
My dear Zack! I find your ideas all very interesting. Later on, you can talk it over with Rolynn.”
Rolynn is also starting to become convinced by this monkey….. Although his appearance is a bit ugly and rude.
But it can’t be denied, this guy really is talented.
In her mind, Rolynn can already see the vast oceans in her sight and the waving hands of her fleet!
Zack’s small little inn was already bought out on the spot by Du Wei before. Then calling in two members of Rolynn’s pirate crew, they quickly kicked all the guests out and announced the shop is no longer in business.
Not long after Du Wei did this, Hussein and Nicole arrived and is now living in the back of this little inn.
There isn’t much to talk about regarding the first meeting of Rolynn, Nicole, and Hussein. Like usual, this Saint Knight is as cold as ever, but Du Wei did catch wind of the care in Hussein’s words.
“Your skills slipped a lot recently. Did you not practice the martial exercise I left you?”
This is true; Du Wei did in fact slack off quite a bit regarding his physical training. The reason is because he spent most of his time on his magic research.
Thanks to that Magic Society of Learning. Du Wei – this “unworthy” super magician – is the one that benefited the most after countless mages contributed their research results.
Never in their wildest dreams would the other members of the society expect this disciple of the great and mighty Gandalf to secretly steal their spells!
Of course, after having meeting up with Hussein and Nicole, Du Wei did not forget to ask Medusa for a strand of hair because he still needs to teach his students the method of dealing with a golden eye python tomorrow.
As for Nicole…… Du Wei had to determine this demoness did not accidently petrify anyone by mistake before coming here. Only by making sure there wasn’t anything he needs to be worried about did Du Wei finally leave in peace.
Hussein and Nicole are both boring mutes to begin with, so he might as well leave this depressing pair alone to bore themselves out. After all, the distance between the capital and this small little town is simply too close. If he is not careful, trouble might arise before he can make it to the Northwest. Once he’s gone from this dark place, he can fly as high as he like the birds in the sky.
The only thing worth mentioning from this encounter is that Vivian did not go back with Du Wei.
This is Queen Medusa’s request. When she was facing him with her eyes closed, Du Wei felt a sudden chill running through his body….
“Did Nicole’s power grow again?” This thought was the first thing that came up in Du Wei’s head.
“This female disciple of Gandalf will stay with me.” Though Nicole said this in a very light voice, but her tone was unwavering: “You promised to teach me the nature of humanity and their lifestyle, yet I’ve been stuck inside a room this entire time, unable to take a single step outside…..”
Du Wei immediately became speechless because he can clearly feel the discontent in Medusa’s voice. Right now, he did not have the strength to force his will on her and let’s not forget, this terrifying Queen Medusa can even force the Dragon Patriarch into a corner. If not for the life saving skill ‘Dragon God’s Blessing’, she might have really petrified the old dragon.”
No room to argue, Du Wei can only leave behind the small little Vivian with the snake beauty.
“Honey, be careful to not look her in the eye at any time….. Hmm, other than her boring nature, she is still easy to get along with.”
But Du Wei made a mistake.
A big, big mistake.
His preconceived notions regarding Medusa is that she is an apex predator that stands at the peak of this world….. But the truth is, other than her iconic petrifying skill, Nicole didn’t have any other offensive ability in her reservoir.
Sure enough, within five seconds of being left alone with little Vivian, Nicole made this request……
“Can you teach me magic?”
Would the pure and innocent little Vivian reject this request?
Only heaven would know…..
Like this, Du Wei made his way home in satisfaction because he never expected his harvest to be so huge today. In his mind, he can already see the piles of gold coins flying into his pocket because of that monkey fella’s appearance.
As he came up to his temporary residence, Du Wei can already see the enormously fat General 250 awaiting his return atop of a mount….. Poor horse. Unlike Du Wei’s lively white horse, the steed under this General 250 looked like it was about to fall apart soon from the weight looming over its back!
And next to him, the clever little boy Sandia was also riding a brown mare. Clearly, the duo was planning to head out at this moment.
It looks like this is the first time little Sandia rode a horse. Though his expression was very excited, this clever boy did not forget to jump down to greet Du Wei upon seeing him.
“Are you two going out?” Seeing General 250’s face, Du Wei suddenly recalled the guy had a very ‘lewd’ personality….. Ah, he couldn’t be going out to fool around, right? But that’s the type of place to be bringing a kid along.
“That’s right, my boss.” General Longbottom cocked his hat, his expression full of discontent: “Your dukeship, I find that your home is simply too lacking in man power…. My god, you don’t even have a decent guard around. Therefore, I decided to go out and recruit a few Knights for us.”
Du Wei nods in understanding.
Indeed, after the dissolution of the Rowling household, most of the guards went back to the Rowling Plains with the old Earl. As for Du Wei, he seems to have been ignorant of his lordship title because of his magician status. Whenever he goes out, he never had any guards escorting him. And at home, there is only the couple of servants brought along by Marde.
The only thing that seems to be in order is this General 250 and Captain Alpha that had stayed behind with him under his father’s request. However, due to his injury and the fact that captain Alpha was a leading figure in the battle back then, this person did not go out very often in order to avoid gossip.
“That’s why I’m bringing little Sandia with me to the slave market today. If our luck is good, the two of us might be able to find some gold within the sand pile.” General Longbottom sighed as he glanced at Du Wei, “Do you want to come along, boss?”
“…… All right.” Du Wei had some doubts.
Go to the slave market?
He then came to the street where the slave market is located. From a corner, there stood lines of warriors trying to seek a job….. But all of these people are only a low lever knight, so can they really be useful?