Farming in the Magical World

Anthony didn't think Ford's sudden high profile was related to the Dark Pattern Sword.

To be honest, he wasn't optimistic about Ford's planned trade route to Bauhinia.

Not only is the journey long, but the risks are also high and the costs are significant. Most importantly, the investment is enormous. If it fails, Ford may drag down the entire Northern Chapter.

But since Ford insisted, he did some favors, conveyed some messages, and provided some assistance within his capabilities.

This was the first time he had seen Ford so persistent about something, and he hoped that Ford's matter would have a good outcome.

He could understand it if it were just because of this incident. But Ford's subsequent actions were somewhat incomprehensible to him.

For example, when delivering goods to that minor nobleman this time, he not only gave him a price far exceeding the actual level of the nobleman, but also went to great lengths to transfer the goods from both Berleman and Elfen, instead of directly from the nearest Elfen, which seemed very strange.

It should be noted that this method of mobilization is usually a measure taken by merchant guilds against nobles who are about to engage in battle, and only in special circumstances such as when they are fighting with neighboring nobles.

After all, this approach emphasizes secrecy. Is such a high level of secrecy necessary for waging war abroad?

If these could be explained with some difficulty, then a rumor he heard was something he simply couldn't understand.

On the same day that Ford left with the goods, Lorenzo approached him privately and said that he had heard Ford's men whispering that the minor nobleman couldn't even afford to pay for the goods, and that Ford was even prepared to pay for them out of his own pocket, which seemed very strange.

Of course, Lorenzo quickly stated that he was only worried that such irregularities might cause irreparable damage to the Northern Chapter, and did not suspect that Ford intended to profit at the expense of the organization.

Lorenzo's attempt to distance himself was not clever; he could tell at a glance that the other man's eyes were clearly filled with suspicion, and he sighed inwardly.

This is why he disliked Lorenzo becoming the guild master of the North; he lacked vision, was short-sighted, and relied on petty tricks, focusing far more on internal affairs than external ones.

He knew very well that if such a person were appointed as the president, the Northern Branch would likely decline very quickly.

He didn't say much at the time, and waved the other party away amidst their disappointed gaze. However, he was not as calm as he appeared on the surface; his original worries became even more apparent.

Could it be that Ford has really been brainwashed by that minor nobleman?

"President, President..."

Just as Anthony was pondering Ford's situation, Ford unexpectedly pushed open the door and walked in.

Has the delivery arrived?

"You're back, cough cough! Is there something you need?" Anthony's voice was low and listless, accompanied by a persistent cough.

"Are you alright?" Ford didn't say anything after coming in, but looked at the chairman with a worried expression.

He had only been away for a few days, but he felt that the president's condition had become much more serious, which made him somewhat worried about Anthony's health.

"Son, don't worry about me, it's just an old ailment," Anthony waved his hand to indicate he was fine, forced a smile, and took a few deep breaths. "Tell me about your business first, and we'll have a good chat later!"

It was then that he noticed Ford was holding a box, and wondered if Ford had also started doing this with others.

Looking at the rather plain box, he frowned slightly, feeling a little displeased.

As a businessman, he didn't mind becoming more shrewd and flexible, but Ford, who had always been down-to-earth and honest, had also learned this tactic because of the chairman's successor, which made him somewhat disappointed and helpless.

He could roughly understand Ford's predicament. His master was not powerful enough to help Ford much. It would be difficult for him to develop his business simply by relying on his status as a free man.

Based on Ford's demonstrated talent and ability, his performance should not be mediocre at the moment; he should have had a real chance to compete for the position of branch president. Yet now he has to resort to this method to keep his deacon position. How can one not sigh?

Ford noticed Anthony's displeasure but assumed the man was unwell and didn't think much of it. He carefully placed the box on the table before looking at the old man.

"President, I'd like to arrange something for the auction at the end of the month," Ford said solemnly, revealing his plans.

He had already considered this issue on the way here; it was not appropriate for these four sets of glasses to wait for the Dark Pattern Sword to be sent along with the Bauhinia Flower.

Firstly, Lanny still owes some money for the goods, although not as much as expected. He intends to make up the debt himself, but as a steward of the Chamber of Commerce, doing so is not in accordance with the rules and could easily cause some problems.

However, if he arranges for the auction of these four sets of glasses at the end of last month, Lanny's position as the supplier of the goods will be completely different. He might even be able to apply to the chairman to have the Chamber of Commerce take over the debt.

"Oh?" Anthony pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Sure, should I arrange for you to be the grand finale?"

He agreed without even asking for a reason or looking at the item. From this perspective, Lorenzo's assessment that he was somewhat biased towards Anthony isn't entirely unfounded.

The Locke Merchant Guild holds an auction at the end of each month, selling some less common items, which attracts the attention of some nobles and magicians. The Locke Merchant Guild's month-end auction is quite well-known in Berleman.

However, not every month will have very rare items. The store will also send targeted notifications based on the auction items and the customer's needs and intentions, so as not to make customers feel annoyed if they do not see something they are interested in repeatedly.

"By the way, is this the item you want to auction? Do we need to notify specific clients?"

He had some guesses about what Ford wanted to auction, probably the Dark Pattern Sword from before, but he didn't think it was suitable for an auction at the end of last month. Now, seeing the size of the box on the table, he knew it couldn't be the Dark Pattern Sword, and he became a little doubtful.

Could it be that this little box is going to be auctioned off?

Andrew's knights were already poor, and with Borleman located in the North, the knights had even less money.

With a purchase price already as high as 50 gold, how high a price would it need to be to make a profit? Even if there is a profit, how many knights can afford it?

Otherwise, why did Ford go to such lengths to open up trade routes for Bauhinia? It's because at that price, it wouldn't sell in the North; only the wealthy nobles and knights of the Bauhinia Kingdom would be interested.

Ford did not tell Anthony about his agreement with Lanny, so he did not know that the reason for not selling the Dark-Patterned Sword in the North was not only due to the price, and Ford had never considered selling it in the North.

"Are they all nobles?" Ford pondered for a moment and then shook his head. "There's no need to notify other clients. The clients for what I'm adding this time are nobles, and I believe they will like it."

Ford spoke with a confident expression.

Hmm, there's no need to notify any knights. It seems it's not the Dark Pattern Sword I suspected. What is it then? Could it be some new gadget that minor nobleman came up with again?

Considering Ford's consistently reliable nature and unlikely to speak without reason, Anthony finally became interested. "Alright, alright, kid, stop with the riddles, what is it?"

Ford first glanced around warily, then turned and closed the study door before pushing the box he had brought in earlier toward Anthony and slowly opening it.

Ford's performance made Anthony somewhat expectant, wondering what kind of treasure was inside that little box.

"This is... this is?" As the box slowly opened, a burst of green light reflected into his eyes. He involuntarily stood up abruptly, pointing a trembling finger at the box. "Cough cough cough..." He was so excited that Anthony let out a series of heart-wrenching coughs.

Seeing this, Ford quickly stepped forward, patted the other person on the back, and poured half a cup of hot water for him.

Anthony waved the water glass aside, pointed tremblingly at the box, and asked incredulously, "Is this... an emerald?"

No wonder he was so agitated. If this thing was carved from an emerald, how big must the original gemstone have been? Such a huge gemstone, even if it was an emerald instead of a red or purple one, would be enough to alarm the royal family. How could it suddenly appear in the North? And in Ford's hands?

Moreover, he had never heard of such a huge emerald ever being discovered, not even one half this size.

Thinking of this, he was still not entirely at ease, so he reached out and took the thing in his hand, examining it carefully.

After holding it in his hand and examining it, although the color and feel told him that it was indeed an emerald, he was, after all, a knowledgeable old man, and he still noticed a clue.

First of all, this thing seems to have some impurities inside, very tiny bubbles. Even if a real emerald has impurities inside, they are not the same as these tiny bubbles.

Secondly, apart from these bubbles, this thing is too perfect. It doesn't have a single crack, which is what is commonly called a broken ridge, which seems very unreasonable.

Shouldn't the absence of a break in the ridgeline be a good thing?

This is certainly true for small gemstones, but in his experience, any gemstone that reaches a certain size, regardless of its color or quality, will inevitably show signs of breakage. If there is not a single breakage, it is easy to arouse suspicion.

“No, this isn’t a gem!” Anthony slowly put the item back into the box, sat down in his chair, and concluded decisively, “What is this then?”

"Haha, as expected of you!" Ford gave a thumbs up, looking at the old man with admiration. "You saw through it at a glance. When I first got this thing, I didn't recognize it at all!"

"Stop flattering me!" Anthony waved his hand dismissively. "Tell me, what exactly is this thing?"

Although he had determined that this thing could not be an emerald, it did not affect its precious value. With its texture and appearance, it could be sold as a gemstone without any problem. If it had a certain degree of scarcity, it might even sell for a higher price.

"I can't believe it either, this thing called glass was actually made by Lanny..." Ford pointed to the contents of the box and exclaimed.

Then he began to recount his experiences, and also gave Anthony a detailed introduction to Lanny and the Wells family, who lived in a remote rural area.

Previously, Anthony hadn't paid much attention to Lanny, only knowing that the Dark Pattern Sword was made by this minor nobleman. At the time, he thought he was just a lucky guy who had mastered a forging secret technique or some special forging magic powder. But now, as Ford explained, he became more and more interested and felt that this minor nobleman was not so simple.

Whether it was the dark-patterned sword from before, the strange tea that Ford had been handling recently, or the glass that was now lying quietly in the box, he found it hard to believe that these things were actually made by a small country nobleman.

As Ford explained, Anthony's excitement gradually subsided, and he began to feel somewhat powerless, his aging body starting to protest.

Reaching out of the box again, he picked up the glass, stroking its gem-like texture as he pondered, and slowly asked, "You said this thing was manufactured? That means there's more than one?"

For an elderly person like him, most things are actually traceable. Since it's said to be manufactured, he can naturally associate it with the issue of quantity.

"Hmm," Ford nodded slightly in confirmation. "Yes, I have three more over there!"

Upon hearing that three more were with Ford, Anthony fell into deep thought again, seemingly troubled. After a long while, he looked at Ford with a troubled expression.

"Child, this thing... is not suitable for an auction!"

"Child, this thing... is not suitable for an auction!"

Ford had finally found such a rare item, but he was now trying to prevent it from going up for auction. Anthony felt somewhat embarrassed and guilty, but he genuinely felt that the item was not suitable for auction. This was for the sake of the Chamber of Commerce and also for Ford's sake.

But he was worried that Ford wouldn't understand his good intentions. After saying this, he was about to try to persuade the other party, but he found that Ford didn't seem surprised at all. Instead, he calmly nodded.

“I understand your concerns. This kind of thing is too easy to cause misunderstandings. If it fetches an extremely high price and more of these things appear later, it could have a huge impact on the Chamber of Commerce.”

Huh, this little guy actually understands my thoughts, which saves me the trouble of persuading him.

"Yes, you're right. I'm glad you figured this out yourself!" Anthony looked at him with a regretful expression. "Ford, I'm really sorry to have put you through this!"

Looking at the sincere and reliable Ford before him, Anthony's regret grew stronger. If only his master had been more capable, Ford would have been the most suitable candidate for chairman. What a pity!

Ford understood what Anthony was lamenting, but he didn't think much of it. If his master hadn't recommended him to join the Chamber of Commerce, wouldn't he just be an ordinary servant? He considered himself a grateful person and didn't harbor any resentment towards his master. However, if he really couldn't stay in the Chamber of Commerce, he couldn't help but feel some regret and fear.

On the contrary, he didn't take credit for Anthony's points, shaking his head and saying, "Actually, I didn't understand at first, but Lenny enlightened me!"

"Oh? He actually has such insight?" Anthony couldn't help but feel curious about this minor nobleman's views!

"What did he say?"