Victor sat in a private room of a tavern in Neverwinter, reading through the latest trade bills.

Unlike the noisy hall downstairs, this was undoubtedly a room of superior quality. With a woolen carpet on the floor and a heated brick bed underneath the soft couch, he would not feel a bit of coldness on his feet.

At his request, the tavern also installed a movable wooden table next to the soft couch, which could serve as a low table when needed. Especially in the winter with chilling wind and snow, leaning on the couch to work could be considered a kind of enjoyment.

At the moment, a plate of roasted chicken breast slices was placed next to his left hand, and a cup of dark purple Chaos Drinks on the right side. This meal was worth 10 gold royals, not to mention its taste.

As a jewelry trader on the surface, he was, in fact, the fourth son of the Lothar family. These expenses, which were a huge amount of money in the eyes of common people, were nothing to him. It has been his unconscious habit to spend gold royals on physical comforts. Whether it was worthwhile or not, it was not within his consideration.

After watching the debut of the giant machinery named "train" two months ago, he bought a room on the third floor of the tavern to serve as his business residence.

Of course, with his wealth, it was not difficult for him to buy one or two houses. Nevertheless, Victor preferred this sense of detachment—he could stay in a quiet state while feeling the noise and excitement downstairs at the same time. Compared with the huge mansions favored by traditional n.o.bles, he has always been full of longing for places like taverns.

It was convenient for him to negotiate with various caravans in the tavern. However, there was another reason.

Nothing else could reflect the vigor and prosperity of a city more directly than a downtown tavern.

After reading the last page, Victor closed the sheepskin notebook in his hand and lifted the crystal clear drink. In the candlelight, the purple-red liquid was like a beautiful gemstone.

There was some trouble with the recent bills.

He has failed to purchase any gemstones in the Western Region for a long time.

The battle for the throne had caused great changes in Graycastle. The cities were destroyed in the war and the n.o.bles no longer owned domains. These changes caused the price of luxury goods to keep falling. To maintain the original profit, he had to increase sales. Be that as it may, without gemstones, his jewelry craftsmen could not make any jewelry.

The Longsong Stronghold was originally one of his main gemstone sources. However, since Roland Wimbledon announced to build Neverwinter, the gemstones became increasingly scarce. Victor had gone to Longsong Area several times but found that all mining areas had been occupied by the young king. It was not strange, as the occupation of wealth was the common nature of lords. Nevertheless, all gemstones disappeared since they were transported out of the Border Area.

That is right. He has failed to find any jewelry shop in Neverwinter so far.

The king could either directly sell the gemstones or invest money to sell jewelry. If the king chose the former way, Victor could make profits by reselling the gemstones at a higher price. If it was the latter, he could cooperate with the king. Whether it was the selling channel or jewelry craftsmans.h.i.+p, he had the strength which the king would not refuse.

Yet, the king has not given him any chance to be involved.

It is as if Roland Wimbledon did not plan to make money by selling gemstones.

This made Victor a bit distressed.

He also tried to sell the jewelry in Neverwinter and the result was equally terrible. The jewelry, which commonly cost dozens of gold royals, were not affordable for civilians. It was always sold to wealthy n.o.ble families so that they could show off and compare them at the banquets. However, there are not any n.o.bles in Neverwinter!

That is right; in such a huge new city, he could not find anyone who was interested in jewelry, which was something completely unforeseen by him.

He had come to Neverwinter several times, but he only purchased goods instead of selling. So the bills on the sheepskin notebook showed a huge trade deficit.

This was undoubtedly an unhealthy signal.

The emergence of the train made Victor realize that the future arrived but not everywhere. To better expand his business, he naturally had to go to the place which was nearest to the future. The s.h.i.+ft of business focus from the old king's city to the new one was an inevitable choice for him.

The question was what he should do if there was no such industry in the future.

He was not short of money. Even if he did nothing, he could enjoy a prosperous life. However, he must prove his ability in trade so that those businessmen who coveted his family and "Black Money" would have nothing to say.

He can not let his father down.

When Victor was thinking about how to solve this problem, the noise downstairs suddenly exploded, and even the floor shook slightly.

It is still early, so there should not be a crowd of people drinking downstairs. What happened?

He pulled the string of the bra.s.s bell to summon a maid.

"Excuse me," a pretty woman quickly opened the door and walked in. "Can I help you, Sir?"

At the moment the door was open, the noise became louder. There appeared to be someone reading aloud.

Victor pointed outside and asked, "What're they doing downstairs?"

"I'm sorry, Sir. Have they bothered you?" The maid smiled apologetically. "Please forgive them. After all, it's the release day of the newspaper. They're jostling to buy it."

"News... paper?" he repeated awkwardly.

"Yes, His Majesty made the announcement a week ago. The newspaper is used to replace the bulletin board on the square. Everyone has been looking forward to it for a long time. We're eager to see what the newspaper is."

"Oh, a new product? No wonder it's the new king's city." It immediately aroused Victor's interest. He asked, "How much is it?"

"I heard that it costs ten bronze royals for each."

"Buy one... no, 10 for me!" he said immediately.

"Yes." The maid trod downstairs and returned quickly, panting. "Sir, sir... The newspapers delivered have all been sold out."

"So fast?" Victor blinked in surprise. If it were a commodity, it would be too popular. However, this was also alright for him, as he could get it as long as he paid with more money. "Then buy it from people who have bought it. No matter how expensive!"

He threw a gold royal to the maid and said, "As long as you can get it, all that's left is yours!"

"Yes, Sir!" The girl replied with a huge grin.

About seven minutes later, six piles of newspaper in gray color were handed to him.

"The price has risen to 20 silver royals. I have done my best..." the maid said hesitatively.

So they raised the price as they found out that he was eager to buy it. The maid's expression clearly exposed her thoughts. Though she failed the task, she was unwilling to return the remaining money. Victor did not care about it and asked, "What's your name?"

"Tinkle, Sir."

"Keep the change," he said, waving the newspaper in his hand. "By the way, would you like to read this with me?"

Since he already had delicious food and wine, what was missing was naturally self-evident. Her heaving b.r.e.a.s.t.s and beads of sweat on her nose tip all gave off a breath of youthful vitality. Having met too many n.o.ble ladies, he felt this slightly clumsy girl had a certain, different flavor, not to mention that she was a resident of Neverwinter and could answer his questions when needed.

"Sir..." The maid lowered her head and a pale blush appeared on her cheeks. After a while, she bit her lip and nodded before she whispered, "I'd like to."

"Hahaha," he laughed and patted the soft couch. "Then thank you very much for your company."