Chapter 42: 42 Satisfaction

When negotiating prices, one must be patient.

Luoning had plenty of patience; after all, he held the bargaining chips now, and the advantage was his.

However, he also knew that asking for one thousand gold coins was indeed too high a price, and the other party would likely be unwilling to pay it even if they had them.

Therefore, he would lower it gradually.

After some back-and-forth and the consumption of two glasses of cold water, both sides finally reached an agreement—

608 gold coins, plus three male Black Water Buffalo and ten female Black Water Buffalo.

Luoning picked up a pen, signed his name on the parchment, and wore an irrepressible smile on his face.

"Please go back and tell Baron Leisen that I guarantee no one else will know about this matter!"

Feilidun took the signed parchment and simultaneously pulled a bag containing gold coins from his bosom and handed it to Luoning: "My Lord, there are six hundred gold coins in here."

Clearly, six hundred gold coins was the most Baron Leisen had provided.

As he spoke, Feilidun took out another eight gold coins from his pocket and added them in; this was his own private money, paid in advance.

The moment the money bag was in his hand, long-awaited text appeared before Luoning's eyes:

【"Wealthy" achievement reached, Attribute Point +20, Energy Essence +40】

"My Lord, please count them."

Luoning chuckled and set the money bag aside, "No need to count; I have never doubted your reputation, Sir!"

Feilidun could not smile at all.

Not only had he given away all six hundred gold coins Baron Leisen had prepared, but he had also shelled out eight gold coins of his own!

"Regarding those few cattle you just negotiated, I will send two Attendants to deliver them tomorrow."

Feilidun cursed inwardly, but his body maintained its decorum as he bowed and said: "Then, Feilidun will bid you farewell, My Lord!"

"Don't go yet~"

Luoning grinned, "I'll have someone prepare a luncheon right away; you must stay, Sir."

"Lord Leisen is about to set off for Heimang City to celebrate the birthday of Earl Aosen Haide, so I must return to report; I hope Lord Luoning will not take offense."

In fact, Leisen had already left in the morning; he was just finding a reasonable excuse to depart.

However, this excuse made Luoning vigilant.

This Baron Leisen still had connections with the Border Count Haide Family?

Then he would have to be even more vigilant in the future.

Luoning no longer insisted on him staying, "Since that is the case, I will not force you to stay; please give my regards to Baron Leisen!"

Under his enthusiastic farewell, Feilidun and his Attendant Knight left the castle, mounted their horses, and galloped away.

Luoning also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Having gone through this matter, at least it could be guaranteed that Sain Territory would not come to cause him trouble for a period of time.

Moreover, Baron Leisen had gone to Heimang City to offer birthday greetings, so he likely wouldn't return for ten days or half a month.

Even if they wanted to deal with him, they would have to wait until Leisen returned; Feilidun was ultimately just a Conferred Knight and could not make the decision to attack a noble.

"Congratulations, My Lord, on obtaining such a large sum of gold coins!" Maiken congratulated him with a smile.

"Haha, this is all thanks to us having a good neighbor!"

Luoning was very happy, "Have someone notify Baobo and Masai that they don't need to deliver the letter. By the way, remember to burn that letter."

"Very well, My Lord, I will go notify them now."

"Wait a moment."

Luoning called out, summoned Maiken's attribute interface, consumed all 40 points of Energy Essence he had obtained, and raised the other party's Knight Rank progress to 135/200.

The feeling of becoming stronger made Maiken feel completely comfortable; he hadn't expected that after a surge of power in the morning, he would improve again only a few hours later.

"Many thanks for your gift, My Lord!"

Luoning patted the other party on the shoulder, "Go on, and cultivate a few more Professional Knights like Dawei for me."

He could add points for Maiken and Aierlong, but he could not add points for Dawei and his group.

These people needed to rely on their own efforts to become extraordinary professionals, and the same applied to improving their strength levels.

Therefore, Dawei and the others needed training, sparring, and combat to become stronger and stronger.

Maiken could fulfill this role very well.

"Maiken will certainly give his all!"

The Guard Officer performed a solemn Knight Salute and then left with a burst of energy.

Luoning then summoned his Attribute Panel and walked toward the study while adding points to himself.

After the pleasure brought by a surge of Mental Power, Luoning's Magician progress reached 126/150.

"I only need to obtain 24 more Attribute Points to break through and become an Intermediate Professional!"

After obtaining the gold coins from Sain Territory, Luoning now had three channels to obtain Attribute Points:

Monthly Sign-in, First Recharge Gift, and Achievement Master.

Over the next six days, through the Monthly Sign-in, he could only obtain 6 Attribute Points;

Completing the First Recharge Gift, in addition to allowing him to summon a Professional Knight with Blazing Sun Aptitude, also included a Luxury Gift Pack; Luoning estimated that it would contain Attribute Points.

Besides these two, the last one was the Achievement Master interface.

Luoning looked over.

At this time, the "Wealthy" achievement, like the previously completed "Shalu Daran" achievement, had advanced to a new stage after completing the first stage.

【Wealthy: Obtain 1000 gold coins at once, Reward: Attribute Point +50, Energy Essence +100】

Compared to the first stage, this time it required Luoning to obtain 1000 gold coins at once.

Although Luoning's current savings already exceeded one thousand gold coins, this did not mean that making money was that easy.

Of his gold coins, over nine hundred were sent from Wushan Castle, Lake Town, and Sain Territory, while the rest were all seized from killing people, such as the Magician Pedro, or Pulinsite, and so on.

As for what he actually earned himself...

I am sorry, not a single cent.

"No matter which world I go to, I have to make money; this is truly a headache-inducing matter!"

The only source of wealth for Shanlin Town that Luoning currently knows of is selling grain.

According to Feilidun, the amount of grain sent to Sain Territory over these years has not been small.

Luoning does not need to "pay tribute" to Sain Territory now, so he can naturally haul the surplus grain produced each year out to sell.

But grain is not nearly as profitable as the horses from Muma City or the Black Water Buffalo from Sain Territory.

Selling ten thousand jin of barley only earns about 30 gold coins.

If he wants to earn 1000 gold at once by selling barley, he would need to prepare 330,000 jin of barley.

How could Shanlin Town possibly have that much barley for sale?

Clearly, this path is not very viable.

"I wonder if Shanlin Town has any local specialties!"

Arriving at the study, Luoning sat in a chair and rummaged through the books on the desk (though there were not many), but regrettably, Pulinsite did not leave behind any written descriptions regarding the products of Shanlin Town.

"I need to conduct an inspection of the territory."

Luoning had already made up his mind to tour the territory within these two days, and at the same time, he prepared to recruit an Administrator for Shanlin Town.

At this stage, he could lower his requirements for an Administrator; he did not need the person to have any governing ability, only the ability to convey his intentions and complete the tasks he assigned with seriousness and responsibility.

"Whether they are a Serf or a Free Citizen, as long as they can read and have a bit of logic, they can apply."

Luoning prepared to let Chahar issue the recruitment notice for the Administrator once he had finished recruiting the castle Servants.

Besides these two matters, he also needed to make a trip to Muma City to buy the Magic Crystal before Baron Leisen returned from celebrating the birthday.

(End of chapter)