Chapter 407 – Gift
The next morning, Zhao Hai was asked by Charlie to have some breakfast. After eating, the two of them went to the living room to drink come tea. At this point, Trezebo walked in and reported to Charlie, “Your Highness, the shop and the requested good are already prepared. Should we go check it out?”
Charlie turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Mister, what do you think?”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “In any case, we don’t have anything else to do. Let’s go.”
Charlie smiled, “Good, let’s go and take a look. Your s.h.i.+ps are almost repaired, they can start sailing tomorrow. The Haven has a bit of a problem so it may have to wait for a couple days more.”
Zhai Hai nodded, “This is already within my expectations. Let’s see the shop first.” Then the group went out of the living room and went to the already prepared carriage outside. The group sat in the carriage and immediately went straight to the shop under Trezebo’s guidance.
Today, they were riding inside Trezebo’s carriage. Riding his carriage was very useful when inside the city. As soon as people see it, they would immediately move out of the way, after all, this carriage belonged to the City Lord.
Before long, they stopped at a place near Jade Water City’s east gate. But there’s something strange, for a business area there were a few people here. Nevertheless, the shop is very large. Looking at its front, one could see that it has three stories, one could also see that it’s front design is beautiful. Behind the shop is a large courtyard, with a door at the side that could fit three carriages in parallel. The door looked very st.u.r.dy since it is made of thick wood.
At this time, there were two guards standing by the courtyard’s front door. When they saw Trezebo’s carriage, they immediately opened the door allowing the carriage to enter inside.
The courtyard was big, but there were no plants inside. At first sight, one could see that this place was used as a stockpile area for goods since the floor is covered with flat stone. There was also a stable and a warehouse inside. An owner’s room and servant’s quarters were present as well, all very simple in design, clearly specially designed for practical use.
After the group got down from the carriage, Zhao Hai and Charlie immediately inspected the place. After surveying the area, Zhao Hai nodded and said, “It is very good, although the living section is ordinary, it has a very huge warehouse. This is very good, I give my thanks to City Lord Trezebo.”
Trezebo smiled and replied, “Mister Zhao Hai is too polite, come with me to see the warehouse, there’s a surprise in there.” Then he led Zhao Hai and Charlie towards the warehouse.
There were also people guarding the warehouse. When they saw Trezebo, they immediately gave a salute. Trezebo waved his hand and the guards quickly opened the door to the warehouse.
Zhao Hai looked at saw that the warehouse had been filled with all the things that he requested. The ceramics were carefully packed in wooden boxes, there were also living necessities inside. What’s more important was that this warehouse had a staircase heading downwards.
Trezebo took Zhao Hai to the bas.e.m.e.nt of the warehouse. The bas.e.m.e.nt was divided into two floors also filled with the things that Zhao Hai wanted.
The stairs in this bas.e.m.e.nt are very wide, it could allow two carriages to go side by side. In fact, the stairs weren’t actually stairs, but instead an inclined surface that could allow carriages to run through, making transporting goods much more convenient. Moreover, the steepness of the stairs were very low, this made most carriages able to use it.
When Zhao Hai saw how large this bas.e.m.e.nt warehouse was, he was afraid that the entire underground of the courtyard might have been hollowed out. Fortunately, the construction of this s.p.a.ce was very st.u.r.dy. There were pillars here and there and they were made of full compact stone, a very strong material.
Zhao Hai was very satisfied with this, although he didn’t have much use of such a large warehouse, it was better than nothing, also, it might provide them with a cover-up story in the future.
Looking at Zhao Hai satisfied expression, Trezebo felt relief, he turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Mister, are you satisfied with this? His highness has ordered me to gift you this yard as well as the things inside. I hope mister will not decline.”
Zhao Hai stared for a moment, then nodded, “Them I won’t be polite. In exchange, I shall also give Your highness as well as the City lord a gift.” He turned his hand as two small bags appeared.
The two bags were naturally Spatial Bags. Charlie treated him well, so Zhao Hai couldn’t be stingy and decided to return the Third prince’s kindness, this Spatial Bag is one.
Charlie and Trezebo looked at Zhao Hai with confused expressions, they didn’t know what these two bags were. Zhao Hai handed the bags to them and said, “These two bags are Spatial Bags, inside is about ten cubic meters of s.p.a.ce where you can store some things in. With Your highness’ power, naturally this thing wouldn’t be very valuable, just take it as a toy.”
Charlie and Trezebo were stunned, although Spatial equipment weren’t popular in the continent, they were very precious; even Charlie only had one such item. But Zhao Hai was just casually giving those away like they were worthless.
Charlie, still in shock, turned to Zhao Hai, “I didn’t think that Mister has such good things in his hands. I think that I owe mister now.”
Zhao Hai laughed and said, “Your Highness is too polite, this is just an exchange of gifts. Your Highness doesn’t need to mind it too much.”
Hearing Zhao Hai, Charlie also laughed, “Very well, then we’ll receive mister’s gift. So are you satisfied with the place? When will you send people to take the goods?”
Zhao Hai smiled, “My people will come with the s.h.i.+p that I used to escort my friend. They’re heading here quickly, in about two days.”
Charlie nodded, “That is good, I’ll have Trezebo help you guard the place for two days, he’ll hand the place over when your people arrive.” Zhao Hai smiled and nodded.
The group returned to the City Lord’s Mansion, then Zhao Hai went to take a rest since he currently can’t take the goods from the warehouse yet. He plans to stock up those s.h.i.+ps he stole from the Markey Family tomorrow, then make them sail towards Ape Island where they’ll wait for Zhao Hai. After the Haven gets fully repaired, then they’ll continue on to trade with the Shrimp Tribe.
He also wants to take advantage of this downtime to receive Laura’s people and settle them down. He’ll need to a.s.sign someone to manage the shop as well, after all, it was already ready to use.
Zhao Hai planned that he would just sell some daily groceries in this shop to not be too eye-catching. When the situation at the store gets more stabilized, then he’ll think about improving the products sold there.
Laura’s subordinates were all people who were talented managers. Their addition would surely help Iron Mountain Fort. They will also make it more convenient for Zhao Hai to open more stores in the continent.
Fortunately for Zhao Hai, the time of their arrival was approaching. At that time, they will be taken to the s.p.a.ce and then delivered to Iron Mountain Fort. For those who’ll be sent to Jade Water City, Zhao Hai would place them in the Swordfish.
The next day, the five-masted s.h.i.+ps that Zhao Hai took from the Markey Family were now ready to set sail. Zhao Hai asked Charlie to help him store the goods onto the s.h.i.+ps which the latter agreed and had sent people to place the cargo on the vessels. Even if the goods inside the warehouse were numerous, they weren’t enough to fill five of those s.h.i.+ps. The s.h.i.+ps were all half full when they set sail. Zhao Hai couldn’t tell Charlie that he wanted to trade with the merfolk this time, he only told the third prince that he’ll supply it to other people.
Charlie didn’t think too much about it. After all, those goods were all common in the continent, they weren’t treasures.
After releasing the five s.h.i.+ps, Zhao Hai awaited the arrival of the Swordfish. Two days after the five s.h.i.+ps left, Laura’s subordinates were all gathered and ready. All in all, there were 400 of them of which 80 were the Managers. The other people were their family members, all of which were also loyal to Laura.
Zhao Hai and Laura immediately entered the s.p.a.ce and took those people in and sent them to Iron Mountain Fort. One group was left behind and was sent to Jade Water City,.
When the Managers saw Laura, they were very glad. All of them had received some sort of grace from her, so they were all her devout followers; there were no problems in trusting them.
Zhao Hai also believed in them, so when they arrived at Iron Mountain Fort, they were handed over to Kun who was given the task of familiarizing them with the environment.
These people all had previous contact with Kun and were once directly managed by him. Now that they saw Kun receive them, they felt excites, it was better to be with those you were acquainted with after all.
The one who was chosen to stay in Jade Water City was one of Laura’s most talented subordinate. He is called Mu’en, over 40 years old and was a small merchant before he met Laura. Later on into his past career, he suffered bankruptcy and was forced to sell himself as a slave in order to save his family. In the end, Laura saved him and eventually became a Manager under Laura’s leaders.h.i.+p. Him and his family were very grateful for Laura’s benevolence. Because of his previous experience as well as his tenacious att.i.tude, he became a valued Manager in the eyes of Laura.
Although he was 40 years old, he was still very energetic and was still quite attractive. His wife was also smart. Besides him and his wife, he had two kids who were already in their 20s, also learning how to handle business from their parents.
Having such family be in charge of Jade Water City made Zhao Hai rest a.s.sured. He was very confident in Laura’s eye for people.
After settling the family inside the Swordfish, Zhao Hai returned to the City Lord’s Mansion. The Swordfish would arrive in two days which was also the time frame where the Haven would get fully repaired. After the Haven gets repaired, Zhao Hai can continue on and trade with the Shrimp Tribesmen.
Upon returning to the Mansion, Zhao Hai didn’t have anything to do. Because of this, he only stayed inside and continued to practice his fighting techniques and his control over metal. The more he practiced the better his control became. Right now, Zhao Hai can already control two fist-sized iron b.a.l.l.s, with attacking force much stronger than before.
Zhao Hai didn’t want to meddle in Charlie’s matters. Even if he wanted to help Charlie, the Prince would still need to approach him first. After all, the two haven’t known each other for a long time. If Zhao Hai was too anxious in providing help, Charlie might misunderstand. So he didn’t inquire too much, he just lived his days leisurely, living a good life.
Zhao Hai’s actions actually brought relief to Charlie. For the Prince, Zhao Hai’s origins were too mysterious. If Zhao Hai wanted to intervene in his matters, then Charlie would’ve felt suspicion.
Two days went by fast and the Swordfish had arrived at Jade Water City. Zhao Hai already gave Charlie a heads up, so along with Laura and the others, they went to the pier to meet the vessel.
Naturally, Charlie didn’t’ go with them. Even if he fancied Zhao Hai, he couldn’t go, after all, he is a prince. For him to meet Zhao Hai’s people on the pier would be too excessive.
After receiving Mu’en’s family into the City Lord’s Mansion, the Swordfish was immediately sent to Charlie’s s.h.i.+pyard for repairs. At the same time, Zhao Hai also introduced Mu’en and Trezebo with each other. He wanted Mu’en to know Trezebo directly, so if he was given the opportunity, he could establish a close relations.h.i.+p with the Lord of the city.
One could praise Mu’en’s skills, he was truly born to be a Merchant. His way of speaking was very smooth, although it could be said that you wouldn’t instantly see him as a friend, it was impossible to dislike him.
Trezebo’s att.i.tude towards Mu’en was also very good. The city lord knew how Charlie regarded Zhao Hai. For Zhao Hai to leave Mu’en in Jade Water City showed how Zhao Hai trusted this guy. Thus, Trezebo decided to form a good relations.h.i.+p with the manager.
When it was time for the evening meal, Charlie officially met Mu’en. This made Mu’en startled, he didn’t even see a Purcell Duchy prince before, much less a Prince of an empire. From his point of view, he could see that Charlie valued Zhao Hai a lot.
Mu’en wasn’t a fool, when he saw Zhao Hai and Charlie’s merry interactions, he knew that Zhao Hai’s position in Charlie’s heart wasn’t low. This made the Manager quite glad, this meant that Laura didn’t choose the wrong person.
The next morning, Zhao Hai brought Mu’en to the shop that Charlie gifted him. After seeing the shop, Zhao Hai handed its care over to Mu’en. Zhao Hai gave the store a name just like how he wanted to brand his goods, Haven.
Besides the shop, Zhao Hai also gave Mu’en a Spatial Bag as well as 100 thousand gold coins. At the same time, he also left behind some goods and vegetables, which would later be the shop’s main products.
Zhao Hai was honest with Mu’en, he told the Manager that he didn’t expect to make some profits from the shop. He just wanted someone to stay here and stay in contact with Trezebo, so Mu’en didn’t need to work too hard. Naturally, if the shop could do well, then that would be the best.