Chapter 679: Rich Return

"Your Majesty, I absolutely never disclosed you and Lord Lei Ting to anyone else..." She hastily argued.

"I know," Roland waved his hand, looking at Gamol with great interest, "where did you hear the news?"

Although he did not keep this matter a secret, the bottom hull of the steel ship has just been built, and there are at least several months before it is launched into the water for outfitting, and the whole process is being built in a fully enclosed dock in the shallows. The workers are all the most skilled local residents, and it is almost impossible for outsiders to know the news.

If any of the locals were surreptitiously communicating with the fjords, it would be worth noting.

"Master Lei Ting is recruiting a new expedition team, the scale of which is larger than any previous one. This is already a major event in the fjords. Crescent Moon Bay also happens to have many outstanding captains. It is not unusual to join his team." Moore said with a smile, "The news about this magical iron ship also came from Thunder—after all, he has to show some tough skills if he wants to dispel other people's concerns about going deep into the waters west of the Shadow Islands."

"How many other people know about this?"

"Not much, Your Majesty. Sir Lei Ting's prestige is much higher than those of us merchants. If the captain hadn't received great favor from the Crescent Moon Merchant Guild, he wouldn't have revealed a word to us."

"I see," Roland nodded, "but this kind of ship is extremely difficult to manufacture, and I won't be able to build a second one for a while, so I can't satisfy your request."

"We can understand, Your Majesty," Marlan said, "We only hope that you will sell us the second steel ship after you complete the deal with Lord Lei Ting. For this reason, the Crescent Bay Chamber of Commerce is willing to pay first. 10% of the deposit, and immediately make up the remaining 40% when work starts."

Without even asking the price, they started to negotiate the deposit. Once again, Roland realized the adventurous spirit of the Fjord people, or in other words, their sensitivity to ships is much higher than that of the rulers of the Four Kingdoms. At least he hadn't seen any great aristocrat paying a lot of money for something he had never seen before.

"Neverwinter City also needs steel ships, and not just one. It may take two or three years until the shipyard is free." He replied unhurriedly, "You have never considered dispatching Craftsmen come to participate in the construction and sign a new ten-year or five-year agreement? That may speed up the construction progress a lot, and you can also get the corresponding technology afterwards."

"You're joking," Gamol said with some embarrassment, "We definitely don't mean to covet it. If the steel ship can really do what Lord Lei Ting said, you can use it to become the most popular partner in the fjord islands. How dare we speak to you about technology."

"I'm not joking." Roland took a sip of his drink and shrugged easily.

"..." This time it was the turn of the two to be stunned.

After a while, Jia Moore asked in disbelief, "You mean... you are willing to disclose the technology to the Crescent Bay Chamber of Commerce?"

"As long as you can provide enough craftsmen, not only blacksmiths and carpenters, but also apprentices," Roland replied without hesitation, "two thousand people—if it is not enough, we can use literate civilians to fill them in, and pay them within five years. So that your ship can start construction next year. Of course, the cost of building the ship will still have to be paid by you.”

"I really can't figure out what you're thinking, Your Majesty," Gamol said with a wry smile, "Isn't this your bottom-of-the-box technique?"

Roland shook his head, "The steel ship I built for Thunder is the most cutting-edge technology that Neverwinter can produce."

It's not that he is deliberately fooling around, it's definitely not exaggerating at all... As for five or six years later, who knows?

"Then why..." Jia Moore froze for a moment, then waved his hands helplessly, "No, I'd better not ask. Crescent Moon Bay is willing to reach this deal."

Why? Because technology cannot be achieved without the basics, let alone shipbuilding technology, even if they pack up all the mines, machine tools, and converters and throw them to the fjords, they still don't have enough manpower to maintain this huge industrial system. When the first steam engine came out, the manufacturing industry was no longer an industry that could be imitated by a pair of skillful hands and a hammer.

Roland couldn't help but think of what the Black Sea captain said when he asked what was needed to build the Varyag—although the current steel ship is far from meeting such high requirements, it is also the result of the joint production of the entire Neverwinter city. Except for the welding of the core power part and the hull that Anna is responsible for, the rest of the parts have been sent to the assembly plant in batches and processed by ordinary people.

It can be said that this is an inevitable trend of industrial level development.

Therefore, rather than holding on to the technology, he needs more people to turn his ideas into results—Neverwinter's population is already increasing rapidly, but he still feels that it is not fast enough. It's just that he doesn't need to explain this to a businessman. After five years, the other party will naturally understand.

"Choose wisely, the steel ship will not let you down," Roland raised his glass, "Cheers."

"What... what?"

"It's to finish the wine in one breath, which means celebrating," he explained calmly, "the new etiquette in the capital."

"Uh, is that so? Then... Cheers." Two Crescent Bay businessmen bravely poured a glass of white wine into their mouths.

It didn't take long for Nibelung and Etiye to return to the living room and agreed to sign the contract.

As a result, Neverwinter City ushered in an unprecedentedly huge order - a deposit for the transformation of 4,000 golden dragons, and an advance payment for the construction of 5,000 golden dragons. And the total price. He could already imagine Barov grinning from ear to ear. The city hall had a lot of income, and he had more confidence in arranging a job for every citizen.

Seeing that the negotiation reached an agreement, Nibelung changed the subject again, "Your Majesty, in addition to the ship, we also heard that you will have a large amount of perfume for sale here, I don't know..."

"Ms. Margaret signed a perfume agency contract with me half a year ago. After the opening of the Shoal Port, she will be responsible for all the perfumes sold to the fjord islands. So if you want to buy perfume, you should talk to her. Instead of looking for me."

Seeing the other party's regretful expression, Roland continued, "However, Neverwinter is planning to promote a brand new product, maybe you will be interested."

Having said that, he clapped his hands, and the guards on duty outside the hall quickly walked in holding three glass bottles.

The clear liquid of strange color in the bottle immediately attracted the attention of merchants.