Chapter 72

Chapter 72: An Unexpected Gift

“Uria Chamber of Commerce has sent ten cubic meters of Flowing Light Olive Quartz.”

As the maid’s voice sounded beside her, several guards opened ten large wooden crates that were tightly wrapped. Ten perfectly cut giant stones appeared before everyone. The semi-transparent stones, under the sunlight, displayed a clear light green hue, with faint glimmers of radiance swirling on their surfaces. This was a naturally extraordinary object, which could be used to make extraordinary artifacts or serve as top-tier decorative construction material. And such large and intact ones were extremely rare on the continent.

The staff of Callites Chamber of Commerce looked at these beautiful square giant stones with expressions of joy and envy. However, Lolan Hill felt a slight headache. But it wasn’t over yet; the maid continued reading from her list.

“Aonni Chamber of Commerce has sent the deluxe full set of ‘The Poem of the Kingfisher.'”

After saying this, another crate was opened, revealing seven thick books bound in luxurious covers. The book covers were wrapped in gray Moon Rhinoceros leather, while the pages inside were light green, with faint leaf vein patterns visible, making them very beautiful. This was the unique Leaf Vein Paper of Aonni Chamber of Commerce. The black text in the book was elegant and clear, and each page was adorned with exquisite illustrations. Books made using extraordinary craftsmanship were not afraid of oil stains, water immersion, and ordinary flames could not ignite them. They would not deform or fade even if stored casually for decades, often serving as family heirlooms in great noble households.

Some maids began to whisper about ‘The Poem of the Kingfisher,’ some even wanting to flip through it. ‘The Poem of the Kingfisher’ was a book compiled by seven renowned wandering poets nearly a hundred years ago, documenting the customs, stories, and legends of various places on the continent. It was quite famous.

Lolan Hill also liked these books, but this made her feel troubled.

“Lamia Chamber of Commerce has sent a miraculous Snow Fur Winter Dress.”

The maids opened a luxurious wooden box, inside which was an icy blue winter dress set. Lolan Hill blinked, and the information about the dress appeared in her mind.

【Snow Fur Winter Dress】(Evaluation: Rare Golden Grade): Made from the fur of a Golden Grade Arctic White Bear combined with cloud-patterned fabric. It has five layers of enchantments: [‘Heat Insulation’], [‘Deflection Field’], [‘Wind Stabilization’], [‘Cold Current’], and [‘Reinforced Fiber’]. It can isolate both cold and heat to maintain a constant temperature, deflect projectiles and weaker attacks, stabilize the air currents around, reduce wind speed, and give the wearer a certain degree of refrigeration ability to freeze objects. The reinforced fiber greatly enhances the defensive power of the clothing.

Looking at the dazzling array of effects, the young lady thought, this must be the most precious gift she had received today.

The new owner of Callites Chamber of Commerce appeared in public, causing a huge sensation at the Nisos Family Banquet. Guests present all praised her beauty, and with the civil war in the West Wind increasing, the demand for ships surged. Other chambers in Vergha started sending people to befriend Callites, hoping to gain the friendship of this new owner.

Lolan Hill sat in her seat, letting her subordinates collect these gifts into the warehouse of the manor and record them properly.

It was not uncommon for chamber leaders to exchange gifts, but they were usually not so valuable. They were seeking favors from Callites, hoping to secure a larger share in the next batch of new ships. Even if they didn’t get it, they could still entrust the Callites Chamber of Commerce fleet to transport their goods.

The young lady listened to the head maid Chelsea’s introductions.

“The Uria Chamber of Commerce mainly deals with stone materials and architecture. Many castles, temples, and famous buildings in the Seven Snow Kingdoms were built by them.”

“The Aonni Chamber of Commerce focused on books and papermaking in its early years, now it also ventures into opera and concerts.”

“The Lamia Chamber of Commerce primarily deals with livestock. Smoked meat, wool, leather, and fur are all well-known products.”

“Many of these chambers’ raw materials come from the West Wind. Now many roads there have been blocked, and they urgently need ships to transport goods by sea.”

“But our ship numbers are limited,” the young lady said with some distress, looking at the data collected from shipyards across the region over the past two days. Even with full production, they could only produce 25-30 ships in two months, barely meeting the needs of 3-4 chambers. After all, building ships wasn’t like making dumplings; it still required a considerable amount of time.

Before today, representatives from seven other chambers had already visited. Adding the representatives from Motele and Rea Chambers arriving tomorrow, a total of twelve major chambers had made requests. These major chambers were not weak, and offending any one of them was not advisable.

Not long ago, Lolan Hill had been thinking about making significant improvements in the cotton textile industry, producing new weaving machines to increase production and earn more money. Who knew that fate had other plans. Perhaps the gods felt it was too slow, and immediately threw a cake at her, almost choking her. Each large ship could sell for thousands of extraordinary gold coins, and the premium offered by these chambers was nearly double or triple the previous prices.

“Chelsea, apart from us, does Vergha have no other shipbuilding chambers?”

The head maid added some hot tea to the young lady’s cup. The weather had turned cooler recently, and after pondering for a moment, she replied.

“There are some. The Dais Family also has many shipyards. They are an old-established chamber in Vergha, originally dealing with tung oil, which they later applied to shipbuilding, providing excellent waterproof sealing. Thus, their shipbuilding industry once enjoyed fame throughout the Southern Continent.”

“Huh? How did we rise then?” The young lady held the teacup in her hands, feeling its warmth, and asked curiously.

“Hehe, this is where Angus’s good fortune comes in,” the head maid chuckled.

“Mr. Angus once saved a drowning Easterner. He was a refugee from the House of Plantagenet, reportedly a minor noble who fled due to political struggles and feared being exterminated, thus leaving the country with his family.”

“After saving him, he later helped him reunite with his separated family. Out of gratitude, he passed down his family’s shipbuilding techniques to our chamber. By integrating advanced shipbuilding technology from the Eastern Continent, our Callites level surpassed Dais, and from then on, we focused heavily on shipbuilding.”

“Is that Easterner still around?”

“Yes, he is currently in hiding in Seashore Port. His nephew is currently the leader of the ‘Trade Wind’ fleet. You’ll meet him shortly.”

“Alright.” Lolan Hill had met three fleet leaders when she first arrived at Hope Lane, but unfortunately, there were too many people at the time, and she only briefly noted their appearances. After the three leaders left with their tasks, she didn’t get to know them better.

After receiving congratulations from representatives of smaller chambers, Lolan Hill finished her lunch. It was now afternoon, and the senior members of Callites Chamber of Commerce were about to gather again. The spacious conference hall already had three hundred seats prepared, with a large round table in the center and rows of fan-shaped seats and tables below.

The dome of the hall was quite high, about five to six stories tall, with luxurious chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. On the side walls, sixteen massive load-bearing columns were arranged, and between the columns were large windows over six meters high, with transparent glass.

Sunlight poured in, illuminating the temporarily quiet hall. Behind the large round table, a giant mural of a Nightshade flower was displayed. The black petals were in full bloom, with a seductive deep purple stamen at the center. Half of the Nightshade flower was in shadow, half in sunlight, exuding a strange charm.

End of Chapter 72