In Teyvat, it all begins with rescuing the grass god.

If it were another merchant here...

Rhodes is definitely going to get beaten up after saying that.

They don't care about their reputation.

But Dolly was different.

Dolly is someone who values ​​her reputation extremely.

In her view, a good reputation is very helpful for her business expansion. Only in this way will buyers trust her and Mora will come rolling in.

Therefore, no matter how bad one's other reputation may be.

Dolly is always extremely demanding when it comes to things like punctuality, quality assurance, and after-sales service—things that desert merchants generally don't always follow to some extent.

same.

She cares a lot about all her negative reputations except for the label of "unscrupulous businesswoman."

What Rhodes meant was...

If you don't lend him money for free, he'll accuse you of "making a contract but deliberately affecting your partner, preventing them from fulfilling the contract."

This is a very bad thing for Dolly's reputation.

Once the news spread.

That will affect Dolly's future business.

Business being affected means Mora is earning less.

Mora is earning less.

It would be better to just kill Dolly.

Seeing Dolly's lips trembling with anger, Rod smiled, completely unconcerned about the potential retaliation he might face.

This is a problem of information asymmetry.

Dolly was unaware of Rhodes's behavior and shamelessness.

But Rod knew Dolly very well.

simply put.

This is a cunning businessman who has not completely lost his conscience and has a strong sense of principle and morality.

Last time, Rhodes was able to exchange an activated, completely worthless Eye of God for a loan.

It's because Dolly still had a conscience.

What other merchants would consider worthless in terms of future and prospects, Dolly valued in Mora.

The same is true now.

This is what Rhodes used.

One is Dolly's personality trait: she would never refuse a business that is guaranteed to make a profit.

Another point is Dolly's very principled requirements regarding her reputation.

She would absolutely not allow herself to bear a burden that would affect her reputation as a Mora.

Despite being labeled a shrewd businesswoman, the enormous market demand in Sumeru did not prevent her from easily selling those high-priced items.

But if she were accused of deliberately breaking the contract, that would be a matter of principle. If the other party were to hesitate to do business with Dolly because of this, that would be very bad.

Dolly, on the other hand, is a person with a very strong moral compass.

This also ensures that, under the protection of this contract, Rhodes will not suffer her retaliation for angering her.

Such information discrepancies.

This was enough to allow Rhodes to hold his own in negotiations with Dolly, and even to get her to lend him money again, even though he was a complete stranger, without requiring any collateral.

as predicted.

After hesitating, struggling, and feeling indignant for a while, Dolly reluctantly said, "Master Sangmahabai can only lend you money this once more. You'll have to figure out the rest of the expenses yourself. I won't give you a single Mora."

Say it.

Her cheek twitched slightly, and she said with a terrible expression, "It's still one million Mora, no more. The term is five years as stated in the contract. Your loan has already accumulated to two million Mora. If you don't repay it by then, hmph—"

Dolly didn't say anything more after that.

Anyway, in the desert, those who borrow money from her and don't pay it back never end up well, and Rod knows that in his heart.

"Thank you so much, Lord Sanggomahabai."

Rod didn't have the habit of acting innocent after getting a good deal; he sincerely thanked Dolly for her generosity.

He didn't want things to get too tense with Dolly.

There will be many more places where we'll need Dolly in the future.

And that's why we're doing it this time.

It's because he's short of money again.

When he first received the one million Mora he borrowed from Dolly, he thought that the amount would be more than enough given the cost of living in the desert region.

But in actual operation...

He then realized that he had underestimated how expensive research could be.

After ordering seeds and saplings from Dolly, Rhodes still had over 700,000 Mora in his hands.

But after he had obtained everything he needed...

Half of those 700,000 Mora were gone.

Rhodes has roughly calculated over the past few days that if the experimental fields are destroyed again due to natural disasters such as sandstorms or monster attacks, a large amount of Mora will have to be spent to replant them.

Not to mention that he also has irrigation canals and other infrastructure that require routine maintenance.

After careful calculation.

Rhodes came to the conclusion that the money he had was definitely not enough.

At that time, he had already considered asking Dolly for another sum of money.

But I don't have anything of value left.

He couldn't possibly mortgage the Fire Elemental Eye he already had.

Other things.

The only thing he could be considered valuable was the technical skills he possessed, but before they were put into practice, they wouldn't fetch a good price.

Besides, he and Dolly weren't even acquaintances.

Unlike Kavi, who had the title of 'the most outstanding young architect in Sumeru' and could borrow money based on his reputation alone, Rod did not.

So after much thought, the only way to get another unsecured loan from Dolly was to take advantage of the information gap.

In general.

The results are good.

He's got Mora, and this bet can also become his protective shield.

Dolly wouldn't allow any accidents to happen to the products she invested in before the contract was finalized.

This transaction.

Rhodes was satisfied.

But Dolly wasn't happy.

Originally, she was simply curious about how a desert dweller could grow food in the desert without using the Fertile Lands.

That's why she came to Aru Village with her caravan, ready to find out what was going on.

In Dolly's original plan.

Her main purpose in coming to Aru Village was to observe Rod's experimental field.

If, after on-site investigation, it is confirmed that the plan Rod showed her does indeed have practical significance and value.

She wouldn't mind changing the previous loan agreement into an investment agreement.

Even said.

After Rod's trial planting yields results, she will spare no expense to buy out the technology, making it her exclusive technology, and then vigorously sell it in the desert region, making a fortune from it.

But now, after signing this bet and the new loan agreement,

Dolly's mood had plummeted, and she had no desire to see what the Rhodes test field was like.

But she wasn't in the mood.

That doesn't mean Rod wasn't in the mood.

“Lord Sangge Mahabayi, would you like to visit my experimental field?”

Rod's smug face loomed close to the dejected Dolly once more: "All the goods I ordered have arrived. In just a couple of days, you'll be able to see the brand new look of this experimental field."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 52 Dolly, a woman of great principle

No matter how angry I am.

Dolly followed Rod to his experimental field and watched as he directed people to plant the date palm trees he had purchased.

This also piqued Dolly's interest, who was still angry.

Planting date palms is indeed very popular in the desert.

Any tribe or village that has the ability to find a settlement will plant date palms.

But no one has ever planted date palms in such a neat arrangement at certain intervals, forming a structure similar to a tree wall, as Rod has.

"It's a bit interesting."

This was something that wasn't written in Rhodes's plan. Dolly blinked, finally feeling a little that the trip had been worthwhile.