Chapter 253 Hot Air Balloon Trade

"Your Highness, I wanted to ask you when I entered the door." Hogg showed a look of relief, and he drank up the pot of ice water in the wooden bucket, "The painting in the hall... ...I'm afraid it's not something that ordinary people can draw? Whether it's the degree of realism or the perspective of overlooking the earth from the sky. ???????????????????????" The voice asked, "Is this... the work of a witch?"

Roland looked at Margaery, who nodded, "Your Highness, please rest assured, Hogg is an old friend I have known for many years, and he also has no malice towards witches."

"You guessed right, it was indeed drawn by a witch." After Roland took a hot air balloon for sightseeing near the beach two days ago, he wanted to preserve this magnificent scene. In addition, the decoration of the castle's living room was simple, and he looked There were no paintings, so he simply asked Soraya to turn the stone wall behind the main seat into a huge mural. With the artistic background wall, the style of the hall has been improved several grades in an instant.

"I knew it," Hogg sighed, "although they are advertised as the minions of the devil, their strange abilities are really enviable. Ordinary people can't fly into the air like them, and draw a picture like this Absolutely beautiful murals."

"You're only right about the first half of the sentence," Roland said, shaking his head. "Ordinary people can fly even if they don't rely on magic power. They can even fly higher than eagles and faster than swifts."

"You're so funny," Hogg laughed, "unless we get an extra pair of wings and become lighter than birds."

Margaery was startled, "Really?"

"Of course," the prince smiled, "I can prove it to you."

Letting businessmen see their various inventions is also an effective way to enhance relationships and expand trade channels—from mugs to liquor, and whether they can be sold is another matter. Anyway, the caravan will stay in the town for a few days, and the normal business negotiation process should be to eat, drink and have fun before signing. And Anna is also very interested in traveling in a hot air balloon, which just allows her to take a break from her busy work, which can be said to serve multiple purposes.

The Lookout was quickly inflated, and this time Roland simply called the witch who failed to take the hot air balloon last time. Lucia timidly asked if she could take her sister up to have a look, and he readily agreed.

When the balloon carried everyone up slowly, Margaery covered her mouth in surprise, while Hogg held onto the edge of the hanging basket tightly, not knowing whether it was excitement or fear. Bell was too short to see the scenery outside the hanging basket at all, so Lucia had no choice but to hug her, ride her on her shoulders, approach the basket carefully, and told her not to move around. Lightning, the navigator and rescuer, has been circling the hot air balloon, grimacing at Bell from time to time.

In this way, the hot air balloon swayed along the southern coastline again, completing the aerial sightseeing tour.

...

After returning to the castle, Hogg's legs were still trembling. He stammered, "I never thought that looking down in the sky would be so terrifying. I feel like I'm about to fall at any moment."

"It would be nice to fly a few more times," Roland said with a smile. "People who leave their feet off the ground for the first time will have this illusion, just like people who have never been out at sea will vomit on a bumpy sea boat."

"You're right," Margaery exclaimed. "The scenery I saw today is really incredible. Looking from the air to the edge of the sea, it looks like a blue arc."

"But Your Highness, I don't seem to be wrong." Hogg took a sip of iced liquor, "Ordinary people did fly into the sky, but it's still thanks to the witches. Without them, this big guy probably wouldn't be able to fly of."

"No, my old friend." Before Roland could speak, Margaery said first, "Didn't you realize that Miss Anna was just releasing flames. I also specifically asked Lightning, and she told me that as long as I put it in the airbag Fill it with heat, and the Voyager will rise to the sky by itself. Fire is not the prerogative of witches, my lord, am I right?"

As expected of a fjord maritime merchant who has gained a firm foothold in the capital, both observation and thinking skills are outstanding, Roland smiled and nodded, "The hot air rises, and the cold air sinks, which is why it is called a hot air balloon. "

"Is it really enough to just light a brazier?" Hogg asked doubtfully.

"That's not possible, because if you want it to float in the air, you must continue to heat it, and the wood itself is very heavy and can't carry too much. You must use a special method to solve this problem."

"Can you do it?" Margaret asked impatiently.

"Well...it should be fine," Roland thought for a moment, "it's just a little troublesome."

"That would be great," she continued immediately, "I wish I could buy four or five hot air balloons from you, not too big, and only need to carry one person."

"You want to use it on a boat?" Hogg asked.

"Well, the mast can't be stretched infinitely, but a hot air balloon can, as long as a rope is tied under the gondola to keep it from blowing away with the wind. With hot air balloons, watchmen can spot nearby pirate ships earlier. For merchants, apart from unpredictable storms and tsunamis, the greatest danger is hordes of pirates."

"But its cost may not be too low," Roland estimated in his heart, "I estimate that it will need more than a thousand golden dragons."

If you don't use witches to heat, the hot air balloon must use gas fuel, and the easiest thing to get is undoubtedly gas. It's a pity that Graycastle's coal mine is located in the area of ​​Cold Wind Ridge, which is too far away from Border Town. According to the current traffic conditions, it is almost impossible to transport it here. It is easier to replace it with a hydrogen balloon, but it also needs to solve the problem of the gas storage tank - if it cannot be filled and discharged freely, it will have no practical value.

"How about a thousand golden dragons for each balloon?" Margaery countered, "If you really make this kind of thing, I can guarantee that all the caravans traveling to and from the fjords will want to buy one or two."

"This time the Crescent Bay caravan is not here, otherwise they will definitely place a large order," Hogg drank the white wine in his hand, "I don't need it, although the hot air balloon looks amazing, but It's of no use to the mines in Silver City. I just hope I can get my steam engine soon."

The price offered by the other party made Roland overjoyed. The thousand golden dragons was a premium after he increased the estimated price by five times. He did not expect that the other party would happily accept the price twice that of the steam engine. But if you think about it carefully, the cargo carried by a sea ship is likely to be more than this price, not to mention the entire merchant fleet and sailors on board. Saying it's still a bargain.

In addition, thousands of golden dragons are not a one-off sale. Both hydrogen and gas are consumables. When they are used up, they must be brought back to the town to refill them. This is another extra income... Of course, if you buy a large number of gas tanks at once, you can Consider discounted or complimentary inflations. At this point, the 4S store and the two barrels of oil are examples for him to learn and imitate.

Roland hesitated for a while, and finally nodded, "Then the deal." (To be continued.)