Chapter 98: The Merchant’s Visit
The workers cooperated with Machop and Darumaka to transport the fired red bricks and wood to this location.
Then, other workers used the mixed mortar to stack these building materials into brick walls.
Lei Wen looked around, and according to the blueprint given by Elena, about one-fifth of this town had been completed.
Lei Wen was very satisfied with this.
It was now April, and at this pace, the entire town would be completed around October.
Looking at the two busy Machop, Lei Wen couldn’t help but think, “If only there were a few more Machop.”
This would speed up the town’s construction progress significantly.
It was a pity that no trace of Pokémon like Machop had been found near the territory.
Just as Lei Wen was deep in thought.
Elif suddenly rushed over to report:
“Prince Lei Wen, a traveling merchant has arrived!”
“A traveling merchant?” Lei Wen was slightly stunned, then quickly reacted and said, “Take me to see them!”
“Yes!”
Led by Elif, Lei Wen soon met the group of traveling merchants who had set up camp in the open space within the territory.
No, rather than traveling merchants, it was a caravan.
Lei Wen glanced over; the caravan consisted of about ten people, and they used Pokémon like Explosion Head Water Buffalo to pull their carts, on which various kinds of goods were piled.
At this moment, some residents also gathered around, taking out unused money from their bags to purchase daily necessities from these traveling merchants.
Lei Wen took a general look and quickly spotted goods like salt, handkerchiefs, seeds, and berries among the cargo.
Some residents who had been slaves did not have much money and could only watch this scene with longing.
Just then, Lei Wen noticed Megan’s brother, Chris, approaching with a jar of sweet honey.
He said something to the merchants, and then Lei Wen saw the merchants take the jar of honey from him and give him a few silver coins.
Chris, holding the silver coins, then selected two sets of tableware from the goods.
The commoners around, seeing this, looked envious, but soon someone thought of a good idea.
Could they also raise monsters like Chris and Megan, and use the products they produced for trade?
If so, they would have money, and with money, they could buy more things they wanted!
However, the power of those monsters was immense; with their strength alone, they couldn’t even get close…
Lei Wen, unaware of what the commoners were thinking, glanced at Elif and said to him:
“Let’s go purchase some necessities as well, and have the caravan’s master come to the Lord’s Hall.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Not long after Lei Wen returned to the Lord’s Hall, Elif brought a middle-aged man with a beard there.
The middle-aged man first bowed and then said, “Greetings, master of this territory.”
Lei Wen nodded slightly, “Hello, I am Lei Wen. Welcome to my territory, but may I know where you are all from?”
“We are from Sanyao Town in the southern part of the Kingdom and are currently traveling throughout the Kingdom, selling goods from other places to everyone,” the man replied.
The man’s name was Zack.
Initially, they didn’t know there was a territory here.
Until recently, when they passed by a small village, they happened to overhear some villagers saying that there was a hidden territory upstream of this river, and the people there seemed to be important figures from the Royal City.
So, Zack and his group decided to come and take a look.
Zack briefly explained the reason.
After listening, Lei Wen nodded and said, “I see.”
“May I ask why you summoned me, Lord?” Zack inquired.
Lei Wen was a little surprised; he hadn’t expected this man to immediately grasp his intention.
“Of course, I want to buy something,” Lei Wen said with a smile. “Judging by your appearance, you must have traveled to many places, right?”
“Naturally!” Mentioning this, Zack beamed with pride. “We’ve been to Feiyun Territory, Li Yong Territory, and Seven Treasures Territory, and we’ve even been to the most prosperous Royal City many times!”
Speaking of this, Zack looked regretful. “It’s a pity I heard something seems to have happened in the Royal City…”
Lei Wen was stunned for a moment. “What?”
“I heard some important figures say that the First Prince and the Second Prince have left the Royal City recently and have each occupied the north and south parts of the Kingdom. Recruitment for soldiers is underway everywhere, and it feels like war is about to break out,” Zack said with a worried expression. “I just don’t know if the war will affect our caravan…”
Hearing this, Lei Wen froze on the spot.
Were his two brothers going to start a north-south war in the Unova Region?
“Alas, I hope they don’t block the border when the time comes! Otherwise, we won’t be able to go south,” Zack sighed.
Lei Wen hadn’t expected that war would break out so soon…
They weren’t prepared at all.
However, the only thing to be grateful for was that this place seemed to be located on the Kingdom Border, and its geographical position was very remote. He figured the war wouldn’t reach here immediately.
They still had time to develop.
Lei Wen turned his gaze to the man in front of him and asked, “Zack, are you interested in making a trade?”
“A trade?”
“That’s right. We need a large quantity of poultry and livestock, and in addition, there are monsters called Garbodor and Machop. If you can bring them here, then all of this will be yours.”
Saying that, Lei Wen gestured for Elif to open the treasure chest beside him.
The next second, it revealed a pile of glittering gold coins and gems.
Zack’s eyes widened; he had never seen so many gold coins in his life!
“What do you say? Are you willing to accept this trade?” Lei Wen asked.
As a merchant, Zack was best at weighing pros and cons.
Poultry and livestock referred to nothing more than ordinary chickens, cows, and sheep.
As for the monsters Garbodor and Machop, he had seen them over the years while traveling extensively.
These two monsters were very strong and usually worked as slaves in towns.
As long as the money was right, buying a few wouldn’t be a problem.
“That’s simple,” Zack said with a smile.
Lei Wen handed this matter over to Elif to handle, but before Zack left, Lei Wen casually asked.
“By the way, have you heard of the name Kagome?”
“Kagome?” Zack was stunned, then replied, “I haven’t heard of it, but we did visit a small village called Kagome Village.”
Kagome Village? Lei Wen’s heart stirred, and he quickly asked, “Where is it?”
“That place isn’t far from here; just keep going northeast for about a week’s walk,” Zack replied.
Note: The red arrow indicates the location of the protagonist’s territory.
