Chapter 51 - 50: The City Lords Embrace
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Monte was at a loss for words and simply stood there stupefied.
However, Rocky did not press him and soon looked around before walking over to the service counter in the hall to purchase a task receiver.
The Mercenary Guild’s task receiver was indeed a very convenient gadget, not only could it check task information anytime and anywhere, but it also allowed for constant contact with the Guild to complete the handover of tasks. The only issue was that it was not cheap; a palm-sized receiver cost a whopping five hundred gold coins, which really made Rocky wince.
But despite the pain, Rocky still bought one, believing that the investment of five hundred gold coins would definitely bring him a return several times over.
After that, he left with Liliya and Monte and finally made their way to the Technician Guild.
There was not much to say about the journey to the Technician Guild. Once there, Rocky easily found two technicians willing to accompany him to Thunderhawk City. After negotiating the commission and signing a contract under the Guild’s notarization, the matter was settled.
But that wasn’t all. After leaving the Technician Guild, he hurriedly went to the largest trade market in Eternal City and ordered five hundred pieces of leather there.
These leathers were mainly for the residents to use in learning skills, the demand was not very high, and the cost was not too steep, so Rocky directly negotiated a deal with the seller and didn’t bother Aileen.
Only after attending to all of this did Rocky finally end his day’s itinerary and returned to the hotel.
However, when he returned to the hotel, Aileen had already come back earlier and brought back some good news: the trade for Greyrock Stone was complete!
"It’s already done? So soon?"
Rocky looked at Aileen in surprise, hardly believing it; he had thought that such things would take several days to finalize.
"We were quite lucky this time."
Seeing the skeptical expression on Rocky’s face, Aileen went on to explain, "I didn’t expect it to be concluded so quickly either, but it turns out that a newly established small Chamber of Commerce was in urgent need of a batch of Greyrock Stone, so the deal was made."
"Then… What price did they offer?"
More than which Chamber of Commerce had bought the Greyrock Stone, Rocky cared about how much money it was sold for, as this sum was too important to him.
"Nineteen gold coins per kilogram, nine hundred kilograms of Greyrock Stone, the total transaction price is seventeen thousand gold coins, and they also promised to gift a piece of Blue Rat Demon Skin, we can complete the handover tomorrow."
With a slight smile towards Rocky, Aileen couldn’t hide her pride as she announced the outcome.
And when Rocky and the others heard this result, they were all stunned.
Because this outcome was far beyond their expectations, unexpectedly good!
Before coming here, Rocky and Aileen had already made an estimate of the Greyrock Stone trade. Based on the market information that Aileen had at the time, they believed that the Greyrock Stone could be sold for at least ten thousand Gold Coins. As long as they hit this target, the money from selling grain in Thunderhawk City would be sufficient, and there might even be some surplus.
So when Rocky found out that Aileen had actually sold the Greyrock Stone for seventeen thousand Gold Coins, and also got a piece of Demon Skin thrown into the deal, he was so delighted he nearly jumped for joy!
This price was way beyond his previous expectations!
It was definitely an occasion for everyone to celebrate. Perhaps for other cities in the sky, the extra seven thousand Gold Coins might not seem like much, but for Thunderhawk City, not only was this amount not insignificant, it was also of paramount importance!
With this money, Rocky could do so many, many things that he didn’t even know how best to praise Aileen. So, he simply gave her a hug from the City Lord, which was the best way he could think of to express his gratitude.
The hug from the City Lord caught Aileen off guard. When Rocky embraced her, she froze like ice, and even after Rocky let go, she hadn’t thawed out.
"Fantastic, with this money, I can replace all the equipment for the Guard Corps!"
Rocky didn’t notice Aileen’s reaction and began to excitedly pace around the room, muttering something under his breath.
It wasn’t until then that Aileen barely snapped back to reality and stared blankly at Rocky for a while before speaking.
"My lord, it’s best to save and be sparing with this extra money..."
Seeing that Rocky had already started to plan how to use the money, Aileen felt the need to remind him.
Although the Greyrock Stone trade had exceeded their expectations, yielding a considerable windfall profit, Aileen had to remind Rocky that with Thunderhawk City’s current situation, it was wiser not to spend money recklessly since they simply did not have the capital to squander.
Such worries were not without merit. Rocky naturally knew this too, but in his opinion, Gold Coins stored in the warehouse would not breed smaller Gold Coins. On the contrary, sometimes spending all the money could actually lead to making even more money.
Take the Guard Corps that he just mentioned, for example. After one visit to the Mercenary Guild, Rocky was considering becoming a ’mercenary’, not meaning that he planned to abandon his role as City Lord to become a mercenary, but rather he wanted to complete the tasks assigned by the Mercenary Guild.
To Rocky, the tasks posted by the Mercenary Guild were undoubtedly a good way to earn money, and a substantial amount at that. Those tasks typically offered commissions in the tens of thousands of Gold Coins, which was not a small sum and would be of great help to Thunderhawk City.
However, the tasks from the Mercenary Guild could not be done alone; they required a squad that met the task requirements. So, once he knew that the income from Greyrock Stone far exceeded his expectations, he immediately thought of buying a batch of equipment for the Guard Corps.
With new equipment, plus proper training, Thunderhawk City’s Guard Corps would be like turning from matchlocks to cannons, ready to be truly useful!
"This is great! Truly great! I need to think about how to use this money..."
The excited Rocky paced around the room while muttering to himself, pondering in his mind about the best way to utilize the money Aileen had earned.
He looked just like a child. Liliya, who had seen his antics multiple times, was unsurprised, but Aileen and Monte, who had never seen him like this, were both dumbfounded. They had never imagined that their City Lord could act in such a way.
And so, everyone’s first day in Eternal City passed by. On this day, Rocky and others accomplished many things, but equally, there were many more tasks awaiting them, no matter if it was in Eternal City or Thunderhawk City.
Therefore, on the second day, Rocky and Aileen continued on their separate tasks. Aileen went off to find the Chamber of Commerce to negotiate a grain trade deal, and after an excited night of planning, Rocky decided to take Liliya and Monte with him to purchase a batch of new equipment!