Chapter 641: Tea Seeds, Middleman

After a long silence, Niya suddenly moved her shoulders and said to Xia Duo, "I actually came to find you today for another matter."

"Oh?" Seeing that Niya seemed ready to discuss serious business, Xia Duo stepped away from behind her, sat back down opposite her, and asked, "What matter?"

"A lot of merchants have come from Konnifila City recently, and with more and more Elves entering Savile Town, they want us to send ships to take them to the north."

When Niya said this, she looked at Xia Duo cautiously. The Territory could not hoard ships indefinitely; every vessel had its own purpose. Currently, the only idle ship near Savile Territory was Xia Duo's "Lucky Owen".

Xia Duo understood what Niya meant. Sending that group of unstable factors away was a good thing, but the "Lucky Owen" had to transport grain to Linshui Village frequently for the foreseeable future. Xia Duo could not let this ship be gone for several months.

After pondering for a moment, Xia Duo did not refuse, but instead said, "Remember the fleet I asked Beilaila to contact for transporting new settlers after the Snow Melting Competition? Calculating the days, it should be soon. Those fellows can't be unable to wait just these few days, right?"

Hearing Xia Duo say this, Niya's eyes suddenly lit up. "Another ship is coming?! Daxia Territory should have over two thousand settlers now, right?"

"Just about. I don't know if the Dragon Disaster will affect the transport of new settlers. If everything goes smoothly, then Daxia Territory should have nearly ten thousand settlers this year."

"That's wonderful. When our ancestors first came to Nan Jing to pioneer, they only brought a few thousand people." Niya was quite moved by this.

"That is because the current policies are good. Her Highness the Princess has provided a lot of support for the Pioneers."

Speaking of this, Xia Duo was also very moved. Although there was the reason of overpopulation in the Inner Land over these years, whether they gave it or not was not up to him to decide. From this aspect alone, the Princess was indeed a firm Pioneer.

Feeling that the topic had drifted, Xia Duo returned to the subject of the ships. "The ship from the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce that delivers Magic materials to the Tower of Time this quarter should also be arriving soon! I don't believe that in just these few days, the Drow can fight their way to Konnifila City, break through five Mage Towers, and then reach us."

"That is indeed unlikely."

Niya fully agreed with Xia Duo's words, but the thought of those messy Inner Land merchants and Elf refugees gave her a headache. "Forget it, let Patriarch Aoruipusi worry about it. It's not that Savile Territory won't provide ships, it's just that they have to wait a few more days."

"That's right. Whether it's those Inner Land merchants or the Elf refugees, Patriarch Aoruipusi is very useful."

Xia Duo smiled and took out that jar of "Bonu Original Leaf", preparing to show off to Niya—and of course, to share it. To his surprise, Niya recognized it at a glance. "It's 'Bonu Original Leaf', from that Patriarch Aoruipusi?"

"Yes."

"It seems that Patriarch Aoruipusi is truly sincere about wanting to stay in the human world!" Niya suddenly said with a hidden meaning.

"How so?"

"Elves have always strictly forbidden 'Bonu Original Leaf' from flowing into the human world. It is said that long-term consumption is beneficial for increasing affinity with the Magic Net. This is very precious even in the Elf Kingdom. Any Elf who dares to openly sell 'Bonu Original Leaf' to humans will be punished."

Niya looked at the hollowed-out Mithril jar in Xia Duo's hand, her mood somewhat low. "Back then, Father spent a great price to buy some from the black market in Konnifila City, and it wasn't even a quarter of what's in your jar."

As if she suddenly thought of something, Niya leaned her body toward Xia Duo, and her voice lowered significantly. "Perhaps we should ask Patriarch Aoruipusi to see if we can find tea tree seeds. With so many Elf refugees, perhaps some Elves are carrying seeds with them!"

After hearing Niya's words, Xia Duo was stunned. He hadn't even tasted the tea yet, and she was already eyeing the tea tree seeds. However, Niya's words also reminded him that it wasn't just tea tree seeds; most Elves were wealthy (at least relative to humans), so perhaps they could really find some treasures!

It certainly wouldn't work for humans to come forward; after all, no matter how destitute they were, most Elves still held a condescending attitude toward humans. But having one of their "own" Elves come forward would be just right.

The only problem now was whether that Patriarch Aoruipusi was willing to be this "Elf-traitor middleman"!

Xia Duo had never seen an Elf like Patriarch Aoruipusi, who acted almost no differently from a human merchant. Presumably, as long as the conditions were right, he should be willing!

However, an Elf is an Elf after all. It wasn't easy to ask about such things directly; otherwise, if he were rejected, the currently relatively harmonious relationship might revert to its original state.

Looking at Niya's expectant expression, Xia Duo didn't have the heart to pour cold water on her, only saying, "I will find an opportunity to talk to him."

"Then you must hurry! Once the ships arrive and they leave, it will be too late!"

"Too late for what? With the supply points in the east and Konnifila City, there are so many Elf refugees; surely it's not just the Elves coming to Savile Territory who might have tea tree seeds!"

Although he said that, Xia Duo still wanted to talk to Patriarch Aoruipusi as soon as possible. After all, the Elves who could come to Savile Territory at least had High Mages in their families, only they had been temporarily conscripted away.

In terms of probability, it was indeed the Elves coming to Savile Territory who were most likely to possess tea tree seeds.

……

After finishing the discussion about the Elf refugees, Xia Duo and Niya did not chat about any other topics. Instead, they watched the pioneering scene of the Daxia Territory settlers outside the window while drinking tea quietly, enjoying this rare moment of leisure.

In the afternoon, Xia Duo prepared to return to Linshui Village, but this time he was not returning alone; he had invited an Elf friend to go along.

Linshui Village, Altar Square.

Two figures standing side by side appeared abruptly in a corner of the square. It was Xia Duo, who had just teleported back, and the Elf Aoruipusi. Looking at the familiar scene around them, Xia Duo introduced it to Aoruipusi:

"Patriarch Aoruipusi, this is Linshui Village. Welcome to Daxia Territory!"

"What a fine territory!" Aoruipusi looked around and offered a small compliment.

But this was not entirely commercial flattery. When he had just teleported here, Aoruipusi was first attracted by the neat, uniform, and almost identical group of wooden houses on the north side of the square.

The paths between the wooden houses, as well as the square underfoot, were all paved with bricks of the same specification. Although these buildings and road surfaces still seemed rough and not very exquisite to an Elf, they also possessed another kind of strange, orderly beauty.

When he let go of his prejudices and lowered his posture, Aoruipusi discovered that many advantages of humans and the human world were worth learning by the Elves. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but say: "Lord Xia Duo, may I tour Daxia Territory?"

"Of course you may. I will have Priest Laidun take you around to see!"

Just as he was speaking, Laidun arrived. Although he was a bit puzzled as to why the Lord had brought an Elf to the Territory, he did not show any discourtesy in front of the Elf. Besides bowing to the Lord, he also gave a slight nod to Aoruipusi.

Seeing Laidun come over, Xia Duo immediately instructed: "Laidun, take this Elf friend to walk around the Territory!"

After finishing, he said to Aoruipusi, "Patriarch Aoruipusi, if you have any questions, you can ask Laidun. If he cannot answer them, I will answer them for you later."

"Many thanks, Lord Xia Duo."

……

Watching the two leave, Xia Duo sent a message to Laidun, giving him careful instructions, and then went to the Canteen. He prepared to prepare some food for his Elf friend.