“Little brother, I miss you so much.”
Jefferson immediately gave Lind a big hug when they met, and Lind gladly accepted.
“It’s really been a long time, Mr. Jefferson. You still look as energetic as ever.”
“You’re not lagging behind either, little brother. I heard you struck a magic stone vein. Congratulations! Don’t forget to help your big brother out in the future.”
Although both were very enthusiastic, they were also very tacit and got straight to the point.
“Of course! I’ve recently crafted a new batch of goods. Mr. Jefferson, you can take a look first.”
After introducing each other to everyone present, Lind took out a few bottles of restorative potions.
After ensuring that there were enough restorative potions for the soldiers and reserve troops in the territory, Lind finally put this batch of potions up for sale.
“This is!”
Jefferson’s eyes lit up.
The merchants who followed Jefferson to Graywhite Territory also expressed their admiration.
This batch of potions was of extremely perfect quality, and the colors were almost identical, which indicated that the efficacy of these restorative potions was very stable.
For those daring adventurers who live on the edge, stable potions are akin to a second life.
Although this type of restorative potion was just the most basic kind, ordinary adventurers could often only afford the cheapest restorative potions, making the market for them very large.
And one could imagine how much impact it would have if Graywhite Territory could produce these alchemical potions as easily as producing white sugar.
“Ten thousand gold shields! I want the exclusive purchasing rights for this type of potion.”
Immediately, a clever merchant proposed a monopoly. The medical industry is highly profitable, and with a monopoly, although ten thousand gold shields seemed painful, it was a drop in the bucket compared to the subsequent profits.
Jefferson immediately cursed inwardly, starting to regret bringing these merchants to Graywhite Territory, and quickly interjected, “Little brother, name your price! As long as it’s not too outrageous, I won’t argue!”
Unknowingly, Jefferson started to get close to Lind again, and soon other merchants also began to raise their bids, one more insane than the next.
Although Lind hadn’t said anything yet, hadn’t mentioned the retail price or production capacity, thanks to his long-standing good reputation in the sugar trade, many wanted to replace Jefferson as Lind’s partner. After all, relying solely on sugar, Jefferson’s standing among the Champagne Nobility had already risen considerably.
In reality, let alone monopolizing the restorative potions, as long as they could avoid losing money, there would be plenty of merchants willing to throw money at Lind.
Among the merchants and nobles who came this time was the son of the head of the Champagne Nobility, who came just to see if there was a way to establish a relationship with Lind.
Lind raised his hand slightly, and the ambassador merchants immediately quieted down.
“Everyone, while I understand your excitement, I must first clarify one point: I will not provide restorative potions exclusively to any one party. In fact, I have already contacted the Shining Gold Merchant Alliance, and they have become one of the distributors for the restorative potions.”
Everyone nodded. This low-cost restorative potion was already no secret among the Champagne Nobility and merchants, as Lind had previously sold a batch through the Shining Gold Merchant Alliance.
Knowing how high the sales of this batch of potions were would lead everyone to react so crazily.
“I believe everyone knows that our Northern Border has suffered from years of war, so I’ve brought out a family recipe and improved the production process of the restorative potions. I will sell this batch of potions to you at below market price, hoping to save more of the people in the Northern Border.”
Regardless of whether it would actually help, Lind first established a patriotic persona for himself, with the merchants promptly starting to praise Lind’s sense of justice. Although they had never heard of the term distributor, the composition of the words gave them a rough idea of its meaning.
“Yes! What our Northern Border needs is precisely a noble like Lord Lind!”
A young noble applauded for Lind’s statement, and looking over, Lind realized it was Jim Evans, the representative sent by the head of the Champagne Nobility, Wisk Evans.
This young man was the younger son of Wisk Evans, the head of the Champagne Nobility. He kept praising Lind’s sense of patriotism, claiming this was the true nobility’s demeanor, and Lind followed along with his conversation.
Jim was pure and did not fit with the group of old foxes around him. Lind’s biggest feeling was that Jim was a passionate youth, but honestly, Lind didn’t dislike such a hot-blooded young person; perhaps he could be of use in the future. But for now, Lind still wanted to negotiate the restorative potion business first.
After several rounds of banter, Lind finally got Jim’s attention back to the matters at hand.
“To become a distributor of this batch of restorative potions, you must agree to a few of my requirements.”
“First, the bottle caps and the Northern Wind Bear mark on the bottles must not be altered or erased by any of you.”
“Second, the price of the restorative potions cannot be changed arbitrarily; you may only sell at the price I specify. Of course, I will ensure that you all have a sufficient profit. If there are special circumstances, you may write to me for consideration.”
“Third, the places where these restorative potions are sold must indicate that they are produced in our Graythorn Territory, and these potions must be called Graythorn Potions.”
Lind’s requirements were quite bold, almost as if he was afraid others wouldn’t know these potions were his own production.
If someone truly wanted to investigate, despite Lind’s concealments, they could easily find out. So, he straightforwardly proclaimed that these potions were his production; this way, he could at least gain some prestige. Jim, as a hot-blooded youth, was the perfect example.
Initially, some merchants had objections, but once Lind revealed the specifics, these merchants quickly changed their attitudes. Although no one was allowed to have a monopoly, the procurement price of the potions was shockingly low; combined with the fact that restorative potions had no trouble selling, all the merchants happily reached an agreement with Graythorn Territory.
Of course, Jefferson also signed the contract. Looking at these crystal-clear potions, Jefferson could feel that he was not far from becoming the head of the Champagne Nobility. However, Jefferson also keenly noticed that the current head of the Champagne Nobility, Jim’s father Wisk, was not very invested in this matter.
This time, he had even sent his younger son, who was only responsible for discussing the trivial details, which left Jefferson somewhat puzzled. Everyone present were old foxes, and something unusual always indicates that something is amiss. Thus, Jefferson currently did not realize where the problem lay, proceeding with caution.
In fact, Jefferson had other worries in his heart. Graythorn Territory was growing larger, and they had even discovered a magic stone vein, attracting a lot of attention.
Rumors had even circulated that Graythorn Territory was actually under the control of the Lars Family, and that Lena Lars was utilizing Graythorn to enter the heir war.
This rumor was not unfounded; after witnessing the soldiers in the territory, Jefferson was even more convinced that the rumor was true. After all, once Lind obtained funds, he immediately began to enhance military strength, which was clearly planned.
Thinking of this, Jefferson approached Lind during the subsequent banquet and asked, “Little brother Lind, I heard you currently have a de facto marriage arrangement with Lady Lena. Isn’t that a bit problematic? In the end, will Graythorn Territory belong to the Lars Family or to you? When do you plan to officially marry?”
After the marriage, Lena would no longer have any ties to the Lars Family. Even if they maintained some connection, at least in name, Graythorn Territory would belong to Lind.
However, Lind replied, “No rush, Jefferson, don’t worry. Is it really that important whether or not we get married?”
After speaking, he narrowed his eyes and raised a cup of tea to Jefferson.
Lind simply didn’t want to marry Lena for now and wanted to see if there was any room for maneuvering. To be honest, he felt Lena was more suited to being a brother than a wife.
But Jefferson had already begun a mental whirlwind, speculating that Lind truly intended to involve himself in the heir war.
Currently, Lind’s identity was somewhat ambiguous. If he married Lena, she would completely separate from the Lars Family, and Lind’s identity as the Lars Family’s son-in-law would become relatively unimportant since Lena would no longer be a member of the Lars Family once married.
However, if they had not married and were just in a de facto marriage, Lind would still be the Lars Family’s son-in-law, while Lena would not have formally detached from the Lars Family.
Lind and Lena’s identities were currently in a kind of Schrödinger state; unless Duke Lars opened this box, Lind and Lena would always be in a state of overlapping identities. They were both part of the Lars Family while being able to sever ties at any time.
The identity of son-in-law, when isolated, was not particularly significant, but in Jefferson’s mental whirlwind, he recalled another important piece of information: the current first king of the Cape Kingdom, Augustine, had also ascended to the throne through his identity as a son-in-law!
Instantly, cold sweat began to pour from Jefferson, as if he had discovered some earth-shattering secret.
Although Lind did indeed have some thoughts of getting involved in the heir war, his motives were more defensive, and he had no knowledge of how previous kings had gained power. But Jefferson did not know this. In Jefferson’s eyes, Lind, who was sipping tea with narrowed eyes, had become a terrifying schemer.
However, once he calmed down, Jefferson felt relieved. What did this have to do with him? He had already placed his bets on all the candidate heirs of the Lars Family; now it was simply adding another chip.
Lind looked on in confusion as Jefferson’s expression changed from enthusiastic to terrified, then back to calm, before shifting once again to enthusiasm, even more fervent than before.
Completely unaware of what had occurred, Lind could only awkwardly smile in response to Jefferson.
After the feast was over and the merchants were treated, Jefferson began to talk to Lind about the recent developments in the Northern Border.
“By the way, brother, did you know that a group of demon soldiers has entered the Northern Border?”
