Chapter 652: Small Developments in c.u.mberland
After the little girl spoke, the dwarf craftsmen were quiet for a while.
Then, they began to clamor again until they got into the carriage, which also made the whole carriage very noisy.
Kant glanced at the girl sitting in the front row and continued to talk to her. “What’s your name? Are you their leader?”
“Yes, my name is Vivian,” the girl said timidly.
“Don’t always talk to little Vivian,” the dwarf sitting in the back interrupted.
“Why?” the dwarf sitting next to him asked.
“Because she will be angry.”
“I think she will only be angry with you.”
“Wrong, you are wrong. She is a stubborn and strange fellow.”
“That’s because you’ve provoked her temper…”
The two dwarfs began to argue. The red hair on their heads seemed to have turned redder. It was like the maple leaves of autumn.
Kant shook his head and looked at Vivian. He found that her face was very red. He did not know if it was because she was nervous or something else.
Thinking that this leader was quite special, he did not take the initiative to say anything more.
When they arrived in c.u.mberland, the dwarf craftsmen crowded out of the carriage, startling the peasants who were resting in the field.
It was also the first time they had seen a race other than Drondheim on such an occasion.
Kant took the group to the arranged residence and wanted them to rest for a night. They would start work tomorrow.
But after hearing his plan, all the dwarf craftsmen, on behalf of the leader, raised their objections.
“We want to start work immediately,” said Vivian, who stood at the front of the team.
“Why? You have just arrived here. You should leave some time to familiarize yourself with the water and soil here,” Kant said his considerations.
“Our country is going to move soon. We need to go back quickly,” Vivian explained.
“Move? Are you going to move the entire Dwarf Kingdom?” Kant asked in surprise.
“Yes, we move every half a century.”
“Why? Is there a reason?” Kant was puzzled.
“No, we just don’t want to stay in the same place for too long.”
Kant recalled that he had heard of dwarfs having such a habit. He was shocked when he found out. After thinking for a while, Kant asked, “So you still need to hurry back to help?”
Vivian and the dwarf craftsmen behind her nodded in unison.
“Alright, I’ll go and get the blueprints. You guys go to the construction site first,” Kant said to everyone. He turned around and left.
His subordinates led everyone to the site of the initial survey.
When Kant reached the sh.o.r.e, he heard the sound of steel colliding from afar.
Then he saw a group of dwarf craftsmen using various tools to cut the basic materials piled under the rain cloth into a whole line.
“You’re starting work now?” Kant asked loudly.
“These are the basic preparatory work. All of our projects started from here.” All the dwarf craftsmen were working hard. Only Vivian, who was standing idly by the side, answered Kant’s question.
Kant walked forward, handed the blueprint to her, and asked, “Miss Vivian, are you the commander in charge?”
“I don’t partic.i.p.ate because my hands have been injured. The hands of the dwarfs are a gift from G.o.d. Without these hands, it would be impossible to complete the perfect work. How could I destroy everyone’s hard work?” Vivian explained with a smile.
“I see,” Kant replied apologetically. “I believe that Vivian will be excellent as a commander. I’ll have to trouble you with this project.”
“Thank you. Leave it to us and don’t worry,” Vivian took the blueprint.
Kant hesitated for a moment, then said goodbye and left.
He had heard the Foreign Affairs Minister’s advice that when the dwarfs were building a project, they must not interfere on the way.
Now it seemed that they did have such a habit.
He did not have to worry about it anymore.
He hoped that he could finally see the finished product in good condition.
Two months had pa.s.sed, and the agriculture and livestock industry that c.u.mberland advocated had begun to bear fruit. After being processed into a variety of finished products, the first batch of c.u.mberland’s exports had been cataloged and stored.
The construction speed of the North Sh.o.r.e Port had also reached its peak, and it was estimated that it would be officially completed by August.
These days, although the dwarf craftsmen always start work early and end work late on the construction site, they were also much more familiar with the people who took care of their daily life and food.
After understanding them, Kant knew that the dwarfs were not only good at construction but also good at singing and dancing. In particular, their self-made dance was simply interesting and beautiful. It surprised Kant and the others.
But Kant had only seen it once because he had been traveling between the Elf Kingdom and c.u.mberland recently because of the business at North Market. He spent more time in the carriage than lying in bed.
But under such hard work, the market did not make any progress.
Because the refugees in the mountains did not listen to the official persuasion, it seemed that the elves’ lazy nature was deeply rooted in their bones.
Not only that, the key was that the Elf King had said at the beginning that he would fully support the project, but now when Kant proposed to use real power to make the refugee bow down to him. The att.i.tude of the royal palace had always been unclear.
Vague but not giving a final explanation, this really put Kant’s mind to work.
On the third trip to the main city of the Elf Kingdom, Kant finally met the Elf King.
“Long time no see, General Kant,” the Elf King greeted him.
“I’ve always wanted to see you about the matter, but I just haven’t seen you yet,” Kant said.
“I heard from the attendant that you came here for the refugees in the mountains?” the Elf King avoided Kant’s eyes and asked.
“Yes, I want to request Your Highness to help me. Let the refugees in the mountains agree to the plan of this market,” Kant said straightforwardly.
“Of course I will do what I said. But General Kant, don’t tell me you can’t think of any other way?” the Elf King said hesitantly.
“Your Highness, you must know more about the character of the elves than I do. For me, a person of other races, I really can’t think of any other way,” Kant said word by word.
The frustration of not being able to make any progress had been bottled up in his heart, and now his tone was even more straightforward.
“It’s just that, since I came to power, I have never made any decision that affected the lives of the people. I wonder how the effect will be this time… ?”
“If Your Highness doesn’t try, of course, the result will be unexpected. I’m just worried that Your Highness will let down the Foreign Affairs Minister’s hot-bloodedness and good intentions,” Kant explained from another angle.