Chapter 99: 100. Out of Money

When Luoning went to Muma City for supplies last time, he had visited the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce and made an appointment with their business representative, Huke, for him to come to Shanlin Town in early October to pick up and deliver goods.

Luoning did not expect Huke to be so punctual; he said early October, and he truly arrived in Shanlin Town on the first day of October.

However, because Luoning had led a campaign out, outsiders were not allowed to enter Shanlin Castle without the lord's permission, so for the past two days, Huke and his companions had been staying in a house temporarily arranged by Chahaer.

"Hahaha, my dear Baron Luoning, long time no see!"

Huke, who had been brought into the castle by Chahaer, walked up enthusiastically and opened his arms for a hug. The recent period of traveling and poor sleep had truly made him too exhausted; fortunately, the customer was finally home today, and he was very happy in his heart.

Luoning gave him a brief hug, "I am very sorry, Huke. Shanlin Town still has much construction unfinished, and I have made you and your companions suffer these past two days."

As he spoke, he glanced at the two Knights behind Huke. If his guess was correct, they should be Professional Knights belonging to the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce, and their strength should not be weak.

"To be honest, Earl Wiggins is a bit muddled to let you live in such a dilapidated small town."

Huke did not speak polite words; the environment he had lived in for the past two days was indeed not worth complimenting.

"I heard that you broke through three wild tribes in this expedition. With your strength, you should have a better town, or even a large city, instead of condescending to stay in this place."

Luoning smiled slightly, "Shanlin Town is a good place. Although it is a bit dilapidated now, it belongs to the territory of the Wushan Family, and this is also the compensation I should make for the mistakes I committed before."

"Your magnanimity makes me admire you!"

Huke bowed and returned to the main topic.

"My lord, according to your agreement with me last time, I have brought enough Spell Ink and Magic Beast Leather. I wonder how much you need this time?"

Luoning had only purchased one month's worth of materials last time, and now he and Aierlong had used up all those materials. If they wanted to produce Spell Scrolls, they could only purchase more.

"Let's not talk about this for now."

Luoning glanced at Aierlong, who was standing to the side. The latter understood and hurriedly brought out the completed Spell Scrolls, placing them on the long table beside Huke.

"These are the Spell Scrolls we produced this month, including 18 Healing Spells and 4 Wind Blade Techniques. Please count them."

In so many productions, Aierlong had failed a total of 7 times. Although Luoning had only failed once, he had only made a quantity of 5; if he had made more, there certainly would have been more failures.

Huke walked over in surprise, checked them with his people, and revealed a satisfied smile after finding no errors.

"Mr. Aierlong's ability is astonishing!"

Huke exclaimed, "To be able to produce 22 Spell Scrolls in one month, your success rate is shockingly high!"

He did not know that the Wind Blade Spell Scrolls came from Luoning's hand, thinking that Aierlong was a dual-element Mage.

Facing such praise, Aierlong felt a bit guilty.

He had produced a total of 25 times and failed 7 times; a failure rate of 28% was still quite high.

However, he had now been promoted to an Advanced Mage, so if he were to produce Healing Spell Scrolls again, the failure rate should drop significantly.

"My lord, we have counted the Spell Scrolls. According to the previously agreed price, we will take these and pay you 367 gold coins and 2 silver coins in one lump sum."

These 367 gold coins were only the gross profit, but even after deducting the 270 gold coin cost, Luoning still made a net profit of 97 gold coins.

This amount of money did not sound large, but it was enough for Luoning to pay nearly three months of wages.

"Now we can discuss what to buy from you."

Although he really wanted to put all these three hundred plus gold coins into his pocket, he still needed to purchase goods from Huke if he wanted to continue producing Spell Scrolls.

The other party coming to Shanlin Town in person was likely aiming to sell more things.

Huke wore a smile, "Coming here this time, I have brought you over a hundred bottles of Level 2 Spell Ink, as well as dozens of sheets of the Level 2 Magic Beast Leather you purchased last time. If you think it's not enough, I can trouble Knight Kuerte to return to Muma City to pick up more goods for you."

Luoning looked at the Knight the other party pointed to, and Kuerte gave Luoning a Knight Salute, "Always willing to serve you!"

It was clear that Huke's preparation this time was very thorough, but Luoning could not afford so many things.

Not to mention anything else, just one hundred bottles of Level 2 Spell Ink would cost 600 gold, and his savings, plus the 367 gold coins just sold, were only 530 gold coins.

"The supply you brought this time is very sufficient, far exceeding my demand."

Luoning calculated slightly before reporting his demand for this time.

"You can leave 55 bottles of Level 2 Spell Ink and 11 sheets of Level 2 Magic Beast Leather. Deducting the Spell Scrolls I sold today, it comes out to 127 gold and 8 silver that I still need to pay you."

This was the amount he had prepared for the next three months.

He spread his hands and couldn't help but laugh, "Look, this time not only did I not make money, but I also had to pay out over a hundred gold coins. Huke, the money-making ability of your Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce is truly enviable."

"Hahaha, Baron, this is for the sake of pursuing greater returns. The rewards you get in the future will be far more than this!"

Huke looked helpless and hardworking, "Our Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce is just running errands for you and people like Mage Aierlong, earning some hard-earned money. My lord, please don't joke."

After the discussion, the savings in Luoning's pocket were only 35 gold, and after paying this month's wages, there would be less than 20 gold left.

There wasn't enough money.

A faint sorrow rose in Luoning's heart; unless he took the newly produced Spell Scrolls out to sell next month, he wouldn't be able to pay next month's wages.

After all, after conquering the three tribes this time, he had nine more Transcendental under his command, and there was also an Intermediate Mage, so the monthly salary was very high.

After the business matters were discussed, the atmosphere in the living room became even more harmonious.

Huke began to boast about Luoning's achievements in conquering the wild tribes, while Luoning humbly asked about the other party's impressions of Shanlin Town over the past two days.

Through the conversation, the three of them mainly had two points of feedback—the mountain roads were difficult to travel, and Shanlin Town did not provide decent accommodation conditions for the Caravan.

Especially the latter; when they went to other towns, there were inns, and regardless of the environment, they were at least more comfortable than the low, damp wooden houses in Shanlin Town.

This also gave Luoning some inspiration. The "face project" still had to be done; at least he needed to let the Caravan have passable accommodation conditions in Shanlin Town. Perhaps he needed to build an inn for visiting guests.

Night fell, and the castle in Shanlin Town rang with long-lost liveliness.

Today's banquet was to celebrate the victory of this expedition, and incidentally, it was also to welcome the visit of Huke and his two companions; this was a good start.

However, precisely because there were outsiders visiting, the news of Luoning conquering the wild tribes would likely spread.

He had to plan early; he needed to put the trip to Wushan Castle on the agenda as soon as possible.

(End of chapter)