The halfling leader was stunned and thought seriously for a few seconds, "I should not refuse this invitation from the lord. But we have adapted to and like this kind of wandering life very much, taking shelter in Sebo Lake in the winter, living in the Yewen Pond in the summer, traveling on the Asaba River in the spring, and busying in the Lingyu Valley in the autumn. Even if we are settled as humans, our hearts cannot be settled. This is our halfling nature of wandering and changing, which is difficult to change. If this kind of invitation from the lord has no time limit, one day I will be tired of this wandering life, or I will not adapt to this kind of life, and I will prepare to settle down. I will definitely choose Weizeme Manor, the Land of Three Rivers, and the Lord. I believe that everyone else in Anbaochuan Village has the same idea as me. " Gavin was somewhat joking when he asked this question just now, because he knew very well that the wanderlust of halflings was as serious as the avoidance of the world by fey. He had never seen that kind of halfling who lived in a village permanently for a lifetime. But after what Avery said, Gavin couldn't help but become serious and said: "My invitation is not only permanently valid for you, Anbao Ship Village, but also for all good halflings. As long as they are willing to come to Weizeme Manor and the land of Three Rivers, regardless of whether they are men, women, old or young, I will ensure that they have their own land and houses, that they are safe, that they have clothes to wear and food to eat. You can spread this news throughout the Asaba River Basin and throughout the entire valley. "
Gavin has a very favorable impression of this small race. They are smooth but not annoying, optimistic in nature, hardworking and simple. Although there are legends that they have a habit of petty theft, most of them only take necessary items due to the pressure of life. Other intelligent creatures are in the same situation as them, but their hands and feet are not cleaner than theirs. "We will definitely do it." Avery responded solemnly, "I believe that when we come to Yewen Pond for summer residence again, there will definitely be halfling settlers of our own in your territory. I just hope that , we can still find a living job here.” Gavin laughed loudly and said: "Don't worry, by then I will be lacking everything here, including places for people to work. You have to believe that my development speed will exceed the growth rate of our population. Speaking of work, , I really have a new job for you.” "What job?" Upon hearing the job, Avery suddenly became energetic. "I heard that the picking of early cotton in Lingyu Valley has started now. Can you help me go to Lingyu Valley and purchase two ships of early cotton?" Gavin has not been idle in the past ten days. Most of the time, Nicole and I spent time in the manor's textile workshop. Use Nicole's analytical skills to improve textile tools. Later, with the addition of Daphne, the drow soul prisoner, the process was greatly improved. There are also textile masters among the drow. The drow silks and satins they spin from spider silk are not only famous underground, but also famous and expensive above ground. The textile tools are available, but the raw materials are not yet available. The little cotton and twine sent by the Virginia lord are of little use. They have already done all the harm through their testing process. Finding large quantities and stable sources of raw materials is the key. "This is not a difficult problem. I have many familiar farmers over there in Feather Valley. Ten ships of early cotton, not to mention two, is not a problem." Avery kindly reminded, "But the early harvest of Feather Valley is not a problem." Cotton is a coarse-staple cotton with low yield and short fiber, which is not suitable for weaving. At least the people in Lingyu Valley never use early cotton for weaving, and most of them are used for filling quilts. The real advantage of Lingyu Valley is autumn cotton, which is fine velvet cotton. It has strong adaptability, high yield, long fiber and good quality. It is an excellent choice for weaving all kinds of cloth, especially canvas, which is woven with this kind of cotton. made. It's just difficult to purchase autumn cotton in Lingyu Valley. Those large manor owners have their own textile workshops. Small farm owners or ordinary farmers usually have signed purchase agreements with them in advance and will not easily sell to outsiders. " The halfling leader's life of traveling around as a helper all year round has given him a wide range of knowledge and knowledge about many and complex things. "Thank you for the reminder, chief, but we are still in the experimental stage. The difference between coarse and fine cotton is not very big." Gavin thought about it and said, "If we can purchase part of both types of cotton, it would be even better. Well, if they don’t want to sell it, it’s because the temptation is not big enough. When the time comes, I’ll load a boatload of ghost wine for you and see if you can exchange it for cotton?” Avery's eyes suddenly lit up and he said with a smile: "If you give me a bunch of gold coins, I really can't guarantee that I can buy you autumn cotton. If you give me a unique product like ghost wine, then Easy to handle.
I actually know a few large estate owners who are addicted to wine and like to collect all kinds of wine. I believe they must be very interested in unique ghost wines. Let alone fine-staple cotton, even if it is the more precious and rare long-staple cotton, I am confident that I can exchange it for the lord for a few ships. It’s just a matter of pricing for this ghost wine…” "This is easy to handle." Gavin revealed a little bit, "A month later, I am going to hold a ghost wine auction at the Vizeme Manor. The starting price is fifty gold coins per bottle. You can exchange it for the starting price. " In Faerûn, wine has never been prepared for ordinary people. The most common wine is only ten gold coins a bottle. Even those who are relatively wealthy only drink by the glass. Ale is the drink that benefits the most people. It only costs two silver coins per gallon. Even the most ordinary farmer can go to the tavern and order a full mug. The starting price of the ghost wine, which has been advertised all over the world like crazy, is fifty gold coins per bottle, which is really not high. Now, it is already at this price on the market. At that time, it is likely to skyrocket. As for how much it can rise, it depends on Regina's influence and operational ability. "Isn't it too much of a loss to do this?" The halfling leader immediately noticed the potential deficit in this transaction and the bidding deficit. "It's not a loss." Gavin shook his head and said, "In addition to buying cotton during your trip, the most important thing is to open up relationships to ensure that in the future, we can use the wine of Vizeme Manor to exchange for more cotton from them. It’s not a loss as long as you can get this commitment.” "Okay, I'll try my best to give it a try." Avery was somewhat excited. He had been running on the Asaba River for so many years, and he did a lot of business, but it was all small and small, like the one entrusted by Gavin. He has never run into a big deal involving tens of thousands of gold coins. I couldn't help but make a mental calculation in my mind. If I really brought a boatload of ghost wine over, how much cotton could be exchanged for it, and how many boats would be appropriate to bring over. "When the leader is ready, send someone to inform me. I will transport the wine and load it for you." After finalizing the matter, Gavin changed the topic to Anbao Ship Village, "The one I sent you Can the leader use the kobolds well? How is the ship maintenance going? " After seeing the ship grave, Gavin fulfilled his promise and dispatched half of the dragon-blooded kobolds to Anbao Ship Village to help them repair the ship. It's okay not to mention this. When I mentioned this, the halfling leader became a little excited. He said repeatedly: "I haven't had time to thank the lord. It's more than just a matter of convenience? I never thought that ship maintenance could be like this." Simple. Most damage can be repaired directly from the inside, without the boat leaving the water at all. The most difficult thing now is not how to repair it, but finding the damaged part. In another ten days, the internal overhaul will be basically completed. For the rest, you need to send someone into the water to check carefully to see if there is any external damage that is difficult to find internally. " In the past, they lived in Yewen Pond for the summer, and ship maintenance was their most important and arduous task. Lifting a houseboat is not something that one or two halflings can do. Instead, it requires the cooperation of more than a dozen people to build special lifting tools, and it takes several days to do it. Every year they have to spend at least one to two months on this, and try their best to do it as a whole village. Even if they were guarding the Land of Three Rivers, such a fertile land, they did not have more energy to cultivate and plant a lot here. This year is better. It was originally an extremely arduous job. Those dragon-blooded kobolds who were similar in size to them could basically survive with one complete repair technique. There were very few who needed two complete repair techniques. If the damage is too serious, you won't be able to drive here. They were able to hold frequent banquets this year because of Gavin and these kobolds. In previous years, the ship repair work during the day would have made them as tired as dogs. How could they have the thought and energy to sing and dance.
"You think, how about I open a boat recycling and repair shop in Yewen Pond?" Gavin suddenly thought. It's not a sudden thought. He had previously thought about opening a kobold carriage recycling and repair shop on the high road. It's just that over there, the dragon-blooded kobolds were too eye-catching and they didn't take any actual action. Now it is nothing more than replacing the carriage with a boat. "If the lord does this, it will definitely be good news for all the ships on the entire Asaba River." The halfling leader said with excitement, "I can't guarantee the others, but the ships from our Anbao Ship Village will definitely come here in the future. For repairs, the premise is that the lord can allow it to be repaid with work or exchanged for goods. " "This is easy to handle. I'm almost crazy about the shortage of manpower here. There are plenty of jobs to do." Gavin is now full of money-making ideas, but he is limited by the manpower at hand and has no way to start them. "Speaking of recycling ships, I helped the Lord contact five human scrap ships on Lake Sebo. The prices are very cheap. The problem is that the damage is serious and there is no way to rush over. We can only send people there to repair them. ." Avery had not forgotten Gavin's other commission. Back and forth, at least ten clippers were dispatched to the surrounding area to inquire about various scrap and old ships, and now the first batch of information has been reported back. "Let's put this matter aside for the time being until I recruit some sailors." Regarding this matter, Gavin was somewhat anxious. As the halfling leader said, a ship without sailors is nothing. As for the sailor, he has some clues. Hope still rests on the promise made with Regina ten days later - the refugees from Tethyr. Tessel is a multi-river coastal country with well-developed water transportation and navigation industries. In particular, 80% of these refugees came by sea. Since there is a doorway in this area, it must be related to this aspect. It does not necessarily mean that many of them are sailors, even if they are fishermen. After all, the Asaba River is not too violent, and strong winds and waves are relatively rare, so the requirements for sailors are not too high. "Okay, we will follow the arrangements of the lord, lord..." Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! The howling of wolves one after another interrupted the communication between Gavin and the halfling leader. There are no idle wild wolves around the Vizeme Manor. All were taken in by the dog demons and became their guardians. Even people who don't understand wolf language can hear the urgency in it. This is a warning sound to find an enemy. Gavin didn't dare to neglect, said hello to Avery, and ran towards the direction where the howling wolves were most dense.