President Peterson was very angry. This was his Chamber of Commerce's private dock, and Loriste was a guest of the Chamber of Commerce. If his ship was forcibly taken away from the Chamber of Commerce's private dock, it would be a slap in the face to the Peterson Chamber of Commerce. Once the news got out, would anyone still believe in the Peterson Chamber of Commerce's reputation? This was digging up the Peterson Chamber of Commerce's roots. What was going on? Could it be that the Chikede Chamber of Commerce wanted to start a war with the Peterson Chamber of Commerce?
Loriste was also baffled. He didn't know this third young master of the Chikede Chamber of Commerce, and he couldn't think of how he had offended him. He hadn't even come into contact with the Chikede Chamber of Commerce, so why did this third young master want to take away his ship?
When the two of them arrived at the dock, they found that they were facing a drunkard.
There were two groups of people at the dock. One group was the person in charge of the Peterson Chamber of Commerce's private dock, and Loriste's sailors, Captain Wilson, and the others. Opposite them was a drunkard who was as drunk as mud. He was cursing loudly. It seemed that the owner of the ship did not put the Chickett Clan in his eyes. He wanted to take the ship away to teach the owner a lesson.
Although there were more people standing behind this drunk third young master, they knew their limits. They didn't do anything other than persuade the third young master to go back. They all stood at the back obediently and didn't listen to the third young master's nonsense. They wanted to take the ship away by force.
"What's going on?" President Peterson asked in a deep voice.
"Master …" The person in charge of the dock came forward and bowed. "I don't know either. An hour ago, this merchant ship of the Chikede Chamber of Commerce docked near the dock. I thought they were just borrowing our dock and didn't care. This was a common thing in the past, and we were just giving them convenience. I didn't expect this third young master to barge into Lord Norton's ship as soon as he got off. After he was stopped, he ordered someone to take action. I went up to stop him, and this was the result … "
There was a red handprint on the left side of the person in charge of the dock.
"Who did it?" President Peterson's face was dark.
The person in charge of the dock looked at the drunk third young master.
The third young master was still hooting. "How dare you offend the Chikede Chamber of Commerce … Are you tired of living … Taking away your ship is giving you face … How dare you … stop me … stop me … I-I'm going to destroy you … your entire family …"
Laurist was enraged. This young master of the Chamber of Commerce was so arrogant. Did he really think that the heavens were his number two?
He took a few steps forward and looked at the group of people standing behind the drunkard. "I am Earl Norton, the owner of this ship. I am not acquainted with the Chikede Merchant Group and have never had any dealings with you. When did the Norton Family offend the Chamber of Commerce? Why did your young master take away my ship? "
An old man dressed as a steward finally walked out of the crowd. "I'm sorry, Count. Yesterday morning, when your vessel overtook ours, my young master signalled that you should stop and meet him, and sounded his horn to invite you on board. But all of you ignored his invitation and left on your own. "That's why my young master is very angry. He thinks that you're looking down on him and the Chikede Merchant Association … When he came back and saw your ship docked here, coupled with the fact that he was in a bad mood after drinking too much, he flared up …"
Laurist looked at the old man like he was looking at an idiot. "So you're the large merchant fleet that we overtook yesterday? Is there something wrong with your young master's head? We left you behind and were more than 100 meters away from you. Can we see you and hear you blowing your horn? With such a huge storm, do you think it's possible for us to stop and turn back to accept your invitation? You want to take away my ship for such a small matter? The Chikede Merchant Group is really tyrannical! "
Laurist laughed coldly. "Haha, you want to take away my ship? Sure, but I wonder what kind of price you're prepared to pay? "
The old man misheard and thought that Laurist was afraid of the Chikede Merchant Group. "Count, your ship is very fast and is very useful to the Chikede Merchant Group. If you hand your ship over to us, you'll gain the friendship of the Chikede Merchant Group …"
Laurist spat. "Fuck off with your friendship. If you want my ship, it's simple. Just defeat the Norton Family. Step over my dead body, and you'll get my ship … "
President Peterson blocked in front of Laurist. He already understood what had happened. "Since your third young master is drunk, then as the owner of this dock, we'll bring him back to sober up. You can leave now. Tell your president not to forget to come and pick up his son. "
These words meant that they were prepared to detain this drunk and troublesome third young master. When the president of the Chikede Merchant Group came to apologize, they could take him away. That way, the relationship between both parties would not be damaged. If these people from the Chikede Merchant Group wanted to take their third young master back, they would have to snatch him from President Peterson's hands. No one could bear the consequences.
President Peterson waved his hand, and two guards came out from behind him. They picked up the drunk and cursing third young master and walked him to the carriage at the back. There was a commotion among the people from the Chikede Merchant Group, but no one dashed out.
The old steward who came out bowed to President Peterson. "Then I'll have to trouble you to take care of our third young master. We're really sorry for what happened tonight. We'll explain everything clearly to our master. We'll take our leave first. "
In the blink of an eye, the crowd opposite them retreated completely. Laurist couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded. That shouldn't be the case. According to the description in the book, these people from the Chikede Merchant Group would support their third young master and ignore President Peterson's face to rush up to snatch him away. Then, he would beat them down one by one and show off his skills. In the end, when the young ones were beaten, the old ones came out. The conflict would escalate, and the Peterson Merchant Group would defeat them with his help. From then on, they would be bound to the Norton family …
Why were these people from the Chikede Merchant Group so rational? They retreated so decisively to keep the peace. Th-th-this was too unreasonable. Where was the arrogance of one of the seven giants of the Ford Commercial Alliance? They should at least say a few harsh words for the sake of their reputation …
"Locke, it's fine now. Let's go back and continue drinking …" President Peterson said.
"Still drinking?" Laurist couldn't figure out what President Peterson was trying to do. He could only put away the random thoughts in his head and order Captain Wilson and the others to guard the ship. Then, he and President Peterson got on the carriage and left.
"Although the Chikede Merchant Group has the most trade routes on the sea, they still have to rely on the Peterson Merchant Group's long-distance transport fleet on land. Otherwise, it'll be difficult for them to gather enough supplies and goods. Tomorrow, that President Chikede will come and give you an explanation. After all, this matter was caused by his drunk third young master. As long as he doesn't want to clash with the Peterson Merchant Group, he'll have to apologize to us obediently, "President Peterson said conceitedly.
"Then we'll have to rely on the president. I just didn't expect that the third young master of the Chikede Merchant Group would be so brainless and reckless. He doesn't look young anymore, but why does he still act like a spoiled brat? Could it be that he's purposely trying to provoke a conflict with the Peterson Merchant Group? After all, I think he used the excuse of my ship surpassing their fleet and not accepting his invitation to make things difficult. It's hard to believe, "Laurist said.
President Peterson laughed heartily. "Don't worry, Brother Locke. It's that simple. I know why the third young master got so drunk and acted like a drunkard. Everyone in the large merchant groups in Morent City knows what President Chikede's biggest headache is. His three sons all have good business acumen and talent, which is many times better than my stinky brat. But because of this, the Chikede Merchant Group has been unable to decide on a successor. The three young masters each formed their own cliques, and none of them were convinced by the others.
In the first half of this year, President Chikede finally made up his mind and gave his three sons three difficult problems. Each of them would take one, and whoever completed it well would take over his position. He would focus on training them to inherit the merchant group. That's the reason why the third young master got drunk. The deadline for the mission was yesterday, and he only came back today because of the storm. It's obvious that he's lost the right to inherit the merchant group. That's why he got drunk at my family's private dock, and none of the people he brought with him dared to listen to him. "
President Peterson thought for a moment and said, "You can stay at my house tonight. Don't worry, President Chikede will come to apologize tomorrow morning. We can also discuss where you're going to deliver your stockpiled magical beast furs. "
That's right, I almost forgot about the delivery. "I'm here to buy a merchant ship to deliver these magical beast furs," Laurist replied. "Why don't we do the trade on Silovas Island? That's also the Norton family's territory."
"Silovas Island?" President Peterson muttered to himself. "I think I've heard of it before …"
"Silovas Island belongs to the Andinac Kingdom," Laurist said. "It's two hundred miles away from Port Qilin. It was the largest island of the former Crisen Empire …"
"Wait, Brother Locke. Isn't your family's territory in the north? How did Silovas Island become your territory? "President Peterson asked.
And so, Laurist briefly recounted his experience …
President Peterson's expression was grave. "So the Norton family belongs to the Andinac Kingdom, and you're a count of the Andinac Kingdom?"
"Yes, what's wrong, President? Is there a problem?" Laurist asked.
President Peterson let out a long sigh. "There's a big problem. I believe you've heard of the Trade Union's trade blockade against the Andinac Kingdom, right? It's true. After all, the Andinac Kingdom had inherited the royal heritage of the former Christen Empire. For nearly two hundred years, the Ford Commercial Alliance and the former Christen Empire had been mortal enemies. Although the empire was gone, its heritage was still there. That was why the Andinac Kingdom was facing a trade blockade and hostility. This is a tacit agreement between the trade unions and the people of the Trade Union. "
Laurist was tongue-tied. "No way, I-I didn't expect hatred to be so powerful. Twenty to thirty years of peace, and the former Crisen Empire is gone, yet the Trade Union still holds a grudge. Isn't this too unbelievable? Isn't it said that there are no eternal enemies, only eternal profits? Isn't it the nature of merchants to pursue profits? "
"Unbelievable?" President Peterson sneered. "You're right. There are no eternal enemies, only eternal profits. Pursuing profits is the nature of merchants. In fact, the trade blockade against the Andinac Kingdom was instigated and instigated by humans. However, the Twin Dragon Trade Union, Mayflower Trade Union, and Visia Trade Union are the ones leading the fight against the Andinac Kingdom. The Peterson Trade Union only cooperated with them in dealing with the former Crisen Empire and fulfilled the obligations of the Trade Union.
However, regarding the trade blockade against the Andinac Kingdom, we also promised to cooperate with them. Brother Locke, you're a noble of the Andinac Kingdom. The trade of magical beast pelts is not very safe. If someone finds out, the Peterson Trade Union will be isolated by the other major trade unions and be jointly attacked … "
Laurist laughed. "How about this, President. The Norton Family won't use the Andinac Kingdom's flag. We'll only use the Northern Norton Family's Furious Bear Flag. No one will know that we're nobles of the Andinac Kingdom. Even if someone finds out that you're trading magical beast pelts with us, they can just reject it. Everyone knows that there are no magical beasts in the Andinac Kingdom. As for the location of the transaction, we'll arrange for Viscount Teberly's territory. We'll transport the goods there, and you'll send a ship to pick them up. This way, we'll have an excuse to say that it's Mr. Tim's business, and it has nothing to do with us … "
"Alright, that's a good idea. It's settled then." President Peterson made the final decision.
Laurist heaved a sigh of relief after finally settling the deal for the magical beast pelts. These 500,000 pieces of magical beast pelts were worth close to 2,000,000 gold coins. To the Norton Family, this was the capital and reserves needed to develop the territory for the next few years. It was also related to the stability and prosperity of the Norton Family's territory …
However, although he had discussed the trade of magical beast fur with President Peterson, it would not be good to trouble the Peterson Chamber of Commerce with the magical beast smoked meat, pickled whale meat, and snow salt. Firstly, they did not deal in these miscellaneous items. Secondly, the value of these items was not too high. It was better to find another way. Even if they could not sell them, they could still be digested in the family territory …
He sent a guard to inform Joske, who was at the Red Raven Tavern, that they would be staying the night at the Peterson Chamber of Commerce.
It was an uneventful night.
At around ten o 'clock the next morning, people from the Chikder Chamber of Commerce arrived. President Chikder personally visited and chatted happily with President Peterson. The two old men got along very well. Third Young Master Chikder, who had already sobered up, was brought over. He stood beside his father with a submissive expression. President Chikder expressed his gratitude to President Peterson again and again, thanking him for taking in the drunk and troublesome third young master, preventing him from creating an even more unmanageable and awkward situation.
President Peterson was also very polite, emphasizing that the seven major chambers of commerce in the Trade Alliance should be as close as a family, and helping each other was a must. However, Third Young Master Chikder had to learn this lesson. He could not be discouraged because of a momentary setback. Not only did he cause trouble by drinking, but he also vented his anger on others. This was very uncultured behavior. Not being arrogant in victory or discouraged in defeat was the bearing that the heir of a major chamber of commerce should have …
After lecturing Third Young Master Chikder, President Peterson then introduced Lollister to President Chikder. He was the head of the Furious Bear Family from the north, Earl Norton.
President Chikder had clearly not heard of the Norton Family. A noble from the edge of the human settlement was not worthy of his attention. What he was interested in was Lollister's strange ship. He was very surprised to hear that it could reach fourteen knots in strong winds and waves. It had to be known that the fastest warships in the current era could only reach eleven knots.
Lollister shrugged his shoulders and told President Chikder without a care in the world that his ship had no use other than being fast. Due to the reputation of the Cursed Coast in the north, he had no choice but to make the ship so narrow so that it could pass through the reefs of various sizes in the shallow sea. It was also because the ship was so narrow that it could not carry much cargo and could only be used as his own ship.
As for the ship's ability to sail smoothly in strong winds and waves, it was very simple. He had added a three-meter-deep wing plate to the bottom of the ship to prevent it from capsizing. Any experienced shipwright would be able to understand this with a glance. The main purpose of the wing plate was to prevent the bottom of the ship from being damaged by the underwater reefs when sailing in the shallow sea and causing water to leak. That way, even if the wing plate touched something, it would be easy to retreat from the reef area.
Hearing Lollister's words, President Chikede lost interest. What he wanted was a fast merchant ship with a large cargo capacity. Just like what Lollister had said, his ship's speed was its only specialty, and it had no use. He was not worried that Lollister would lie to him. He had many shipyards under him, and any master would be able to tell if the strange ship was like what Lollister said.
To express his apology for his son's harassment of Lollister last night, President Chikder gave Lollister a gift. It was an exquisitely wrapped sandalwood box that was about a foot and a half long. Lollister could not refuse it and could only accept it. He then opened the box under President Peterson's signal.
When the box was opened, Lollister was dumbfounded.
This was because inside the box was a flaming gun that shone with golden light …
…
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