Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 40 The Power of Power

"Cheer up, everyone! We're building a mine tunnel that can last for decades. Don't blame me for being ruthless if anyone cuts corners!"

With the completion of the comprehensive exploration of the mining area, Valentine immediately began directing the craftsmen to carry out the work of reinforcing the mine tunnels.

Black birch wood was cut into standard sizes, and workers carried the heavy wooden beams into the mine shaft.

A beam is firmly fixed in place at every point in the mine shaft to ensure the stability of the entire mine tunnel.

The carpenters reinforced the joints with large wooden wedges and applied resin to the joints to ensure the long-term stability of the frame.

Valentine gently tapped each black birch beam with his mining hammer to personally verify its sturdiness.

Meanwhile, the first batch of miners, composed of slaves, were already ready to go.

They put on basic protective gear and waited for instructions.

Valentine nodded: "Start with the most stable area, mine on a small scale, and see the specific situation of the magic marrow."

Upon receiving the order, the miners carefully wielded their picks, striking the rock face to separate pieces of ore.

Each time the pickaxe falls, the purple vein glows faintly, as if the magic sleeping deep within the earth is awakened.

Immediately afterwards, this first batch of ore was delivered to Hilko, the only alchemy apprentice in the Crimson Tide Territory.

"Test the purity," Louis gave a brief order.

Hilko nodded and dropped a small piece of magic marrow ore into the test solution.

The liquid faintly glowed with a purple light, followed by magical fluctuations that swirled in the air.

The solution's color rapidly deepened, turning into a profound dark purple—a symbol of high-purity magic marrow!

"Sir, the purity of the ore is even higher than expected!" Hilko said, his voice trembling with excitement.

Louis's lips curled up slightly, and a weight was finally lifted from his heart.

…………

The night was deep, and the candlelight flickered in the study.

Louis sat behind his desk, his gaze fixed on Bradley across from him.

"I hope that the mining and processing of the ore will remain in Red Tide Territory, while the sales will be handled by the Calvin family," he said bluntly.

Bradley paused for a moment, then gave a meaningful smile: "I understand."

Louis had his own ulterior motives for doing this.

He needs his family's support now and cannot show any signs of independence too early. He must offer them sufficient benefits to keep their investment.

Only when the family's interests are satisfied will they provide more resources and protection, allowing him to establish a firm foothold in the northern wilderness.

Moreover, they had far less control over the sales channels than the Calvin family.

The Calvin family's trade routes spanned the empire and even extended to other countries.

However, it is almost impossible for them to develop a sales channel of the same scale, or even a worse one, in the short term.

In that case, instead of wasting energy on things you're not good at, it's better to stabilize the situation and make money first.

However, the processing technology must be in our own hands.

If unforeseen circumstances arise in the future, such as the death of the Duke of Calvin or changes within the family, I may lose this sales channel.

However, as long as the Crimson Tide Territory firmly grasps the technology for refining and processing the magic marrow, even if it is kicked out of the market.

We can still rebuild the market ourselves, instead of being at the mercy of others.

Bradley glanced at him, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He understood Louis's ulterior motives, of course, but didn't point it out. "I will draft the letter as you wish and deliver it to Duke Calvin," Bradley said, his tone still respectful.

Everything was left to the Duke to decide; he only needed to do his job and didn't need to interfere too much.

Then Louis opened a heavy wooden box, revealing a box full of gold coins.

There are approximately 1,500 gold coins.

The resources provided by the Calvin family this time also included three thousand gold coins, which made Louis suddenly rich.

But no matter how many gold coins you have, if you can't exchange them for real resources to develop your strength, they're just inanimate objects.

The resource that the Red Tide Territory needs most right now is population.

Louis closed the wooden box, glanced at Bradley, and said solemnly, "I want to exchange these gold coins for slaves."

A hint of approval flashed in Bradley's eyes: "It seems you already have a clear plan."

Louis nodded: "Based on current grain production and reserves, 1,500 people is the limit I can afford."

He was not greedy; too many slaves would become a burden and weaken the stability of the Red Tide Territory.

Bradley: "Leave this to me."

This was certainly not a difficult task for the old butler of the Calvin family.

Bradley simply wrote a letter.

Just a few days later, slave owners from thousands of miles away traveled all the way to Red Tide Territory to personally send over a group of carefully selected slaves.

And he was extremely respectful, even when discussing prices, he was very careful, for fear of offending Bradley.

These slaves were clearly of much higher quality than the batch of ragtag slaves that Louis had personally purchased from the black market last time.

The majority of the workforce consisted of strong, muscular men whose skin bore the marks of time, but whose spirits were still quite good.

Among them were a group of female slaves of marriageable age, who would play a crucial role in the future population growth of the Red Tide Territory.

But what surprised Louis the most was the price of the deal.

After exchanging for 1,500 slaves, they still had a full 700 gold coins left!

“It’s much cheaper than I expected,” Louis remarked, looking at the batches of high-quality slaves.

Bradley smiled slightly: "Market prices are not static; they depend on who the buyer is."

The implication is that if someone else were to buy slaves, even with 1,500 gold coins, the quality and quantity they could acquire would be far inferior to what they have now.

But Bradley only wrote a letter, and the slave traders traveled thousands of miles to personally deliver the best goods to his door.

They were extremely respectful and even proactively lowered prices, all in an effort to maintain a long-term partnership with the Calvin family.

Is this the power of the Calvin family's old butler?
So terrifying.

This is not just a matter of negotiation skills, but a "rule" that is deeply rooted in the social fabric.

Louis secretly rejoiced that he was also a member of the Calvin family.

Of course, only by proving one's strength within the family can one truly be qualified to wield this powerful weapon.

If it were me two months ago, I probably wouldn't even have had the chance to touch this power.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Louis's mind.

How wonderful it would be if one day he could completely control this influence and make the power of the entire Calvin family work for him?
Louis suppressed the fleeting ambition in his heart and looked at Bradley: "Thank you for your hard work this time."

Bradley nodded slightly, his face still showing his calm and composed expression: "Serving you is what I should do."

(End of this chapter)