Chapter 1048: Currency Unification Trends, Resource Reserve Plans

Xia Duo did not refuse President Zhenna's request; it was merely currency, and its essence was gold, silver, and copper—it didn't matter what was used.

Currently, Netheril does not have a unified currency; territories with the means basically mint their own coins, and even some wealthy chambers of commerce mint their own to highlight their prestige or facilitate calculations.

Aside from gold coins, which are relatively standardized—with about 50 gold coins minted from one pound of gold—the minting of silver and copper coins is quite arbitrary and often varies by region, with their exchange rates against gold coins merely set artificially by local lords.

However, because there is frequent interaction between various places in the Inner Land, clever merchants will take advantage of the different currency exchange rates between territories to make money, which to a certain extent has also caused the specifications of silver and copper coins in various places to trend toward unification.

As for the Savile Territory, although there is a silver mine within the territory, the output is not high.

Coupled with the high cost of smelting and minting, the past few generations of lords did not choose to mint their own coins, but instead used the local produce to exchange for finished coins minted by others.

Xia Duo speculated that President Zhenna doing this might be related to the Ascension Ritual; as for the specifics, he would know once he returned and looked at the information on the Ascension Ritual he had just obtained.

"I understand! As long as the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce is ready, I can promote the new coins in the Nan Jing at any time."

In fact, the Nan Jing itself currently has many different types of metal coins in circulation, and there are even quite a few different specifications.

All Xia Duo has to do is collect the old coins and then exchange them for new coins at the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce to put them into circulation; it won't take much effort at all.

After finishing the matter of promoting the new coins, Zhenna's mood seemed very good, and she actually took the initiative to bring up the boring little business she hadn't been willing to mention before:

"Lord Xia Duo, I heard from Poluokan that the Tower of Time intends to increase the procurement quantity of magic materials in the future?"

"Yes, the communication magic tools that the Tower of Time has entrusted to the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce for sale are selling very well, and I am preparing to expand production!"

Xia Duo spoke of his future plans quite generously, but his words were actually only half the truth.

The Tower of Time does indeed need to expand the production of communication magic tools; since this still requires the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce to sell them on their behalf, it couldn't be hidden, and at the same time, the production capacity of other magic items will also be increased simultaneously.

The half he didn't say was the key.

If one considers a Mage Tower organization as a company or a country, then how could this company or country not have cash flow and resource reserves!

In any case, the Savile Territory itself, and even the entire Nan Jing, does not produce many magic materials (including gold, silver, gemstones, Mithril, etc.); once someone gets a stranglehold on them, I'm afraid even the maintenance of the Tower of Time will become a problem.

The Tower of Time had experienced this once before, when the Rodney Territory interfered and intercepted the raw materials reserved by the Tower of Time.

Later, Niya went to seek the Princess's help, and the Princess recommended the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce, which was how the situation improved.

But Xia Duo has kept such an experience in his heart; he really does not want to be strangled by others again. In the long run, he must definitely possess his own source of resource production.

And in the short term, possessing a certain amount of reserves is also a wise move.

However, Xia Duo was unwilling to tell President Zhenna these words; after all, the two sides are in different positions—one is in business, the other manages a territory and a Mage Tower—and they may have different views on the same matter.

Moreover, there is no need to go around shouting about things like resource reserves; it is enough to know one's own situation.

Even if they are allies, they are not yet close enough to fully disclose their bottom line. Xia Duo believes that President Zhenna definitely didn't just come to him to promote the new coins; she must have also approached others.

Zhenna did not doubt Xia Duo's statement about expanding the production of communication magic tools, because the Tower of Time's communication magic tools really sell very well.

Although she is not clear about the specific profit the Tower of Time makes on each communication magic tool, the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce takes a fixed one-tenth of the pricing as remuneration for selling them on their behalf; the more the Tower of Time produces, the more the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce earns.

In any case, if they don't sell, they can be returned to the Tower of Time, so the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce does not need to bear the risk in this regard.

But out of care for a future ally, she still reminded Xia Duo, "Not every spellcaster can afford 1,000 Gold Coins, and not everyone who can afford 1,000 Gold Coins will go to buy a communication magic tool."

"And not everyone who buys a communication magic tool will go to buy one manufactured by the Tower of Time."

Xia Duo added this sentence; he understood what Zhenna meant, which was nothing more than that producing too much would lead to them not selling, but in reality, the cost for the Tower of Time to produce one communication magic tool is less than 300 Gold Coins.

In Netheril, as long as an ordinary person can learn a trade, their annual income can basically exceed 300 Gold Coins.

For a spellcaster, as long as they are willing to work, a low-level Mage can earn this money in two or three months at the slowest.

Even though the current selling price of the Tower of Time's communication magic tool is 1,000 Gold Coins, such a price is still in short supply, which shows that the market still has great potential to be tapped.

Of course, Xia Duo also has his own plans for the specific output of communication magic tools, but as the saying goes, there is no need to explain these considerations too clearly to Zhenna.

As for the other party's well-intentioned reminder, Xia Duo also expressed his gratitude very sincerely; after all, a reminder from a Great Arcanist, even if it is wrong, should be listened to first, and whether to act on it is another matter.

"Regarding the matter of the Tower of Time increasing the procurement quantity of magic materials, in principle, I do not object, but business is business, and the specific details still need to be discussed in further detail. I hope you can understand."

"I understand."

How could he not understand? Didn't President Zhenna just say that this kind of small business was boring? Could it be that two Arcanists who are already considering the problem of Ascension to Godhood still have to stiffen their necks and haggle bit by bit?

Of course, these professional matters should be handled by professional people.

……

After finishing the matters regarding the cooperation, the meeting between the two finally drew to a close. According to the normal meeting process, the two should exchange a few more pleasantries, say some encouraging or complimentary words, and finally end the meeting happily.

Of course, it is also possible to part on bad terms.

But this time, some unexpected situations occurred. Zhenna, who was explaining the relationships between the various Mage Tower organizations to Xia Duo, suddenly changed her expression and stood up from her chair.

Xia Duo did not know what had happened, but since a Great Arcanist was standing, he couldn't very well remain seated, so he also stood up.

At the same time, Saide, who had already left, appeared at the door of the Reception Room at some unknown time.

Zhenna beckoned, and Saide walked in. He first gave a slight bow to Zhenna, then squeezed out an apologetic smile at Xia Duo, before continuing to look at Zhenna, who could no longer hide her anxious expression, waiting for her next indication.