Farming in the Magical World

Castel Ridge, in front of the Lord's Castle.

"Hey young man, are you from this castle?"

On this day, as usual, Lanny left the castle to go to the guard camp when he was stopped by a middle-aged man who suddenly appeared by the roadside.

"Ok?"

He didn't recognize the man; he was well-dressed, had fair skin, and clear eyes, and was definitely not one of the ordinary people around.

The red-tasseled spears had been distributed for several days, and he hadn't personally checked on the training progress yet. He was thinking of going to see them today, but unexpectedly, he was stopped halfway there.

Although the square where the guards were stationed was very close to the castle gate, it was still a bit of a distance away, and there was no one in sight in the square at the moment.

"Yes you are?"

Looking around, Lanny suddenly panicked and took a half-step back imperceptibly, trying to figure out the other person's identity while quietly stalling for time.

The middle-aged man seemed oblivious to Lanny's nervousness. Upon hearing the affirmative answer, he eagerly leaned forward and asked again, "Young man, is your master here? I'm here to discuss business with him. Please take me to see him."

Oh, so he's treating himself like a servant! Lanny suddenly realized, feeling a little relieved.

Clearly, this person didn't recognize him and probably hadn't inquired much about his family. He likely rushed over after hearing some news.

As for the big business the other party mentioned, I have no idea what they mean. Is there still "big business" in Castel Ridge?

"Big business? How big? I wouldn't dare take you to the castle if it's a small business."

He scrutinized the other person again, feigning disdain, trying to elicit more information. He dared not bring someone into the castle who knew nothing; the castle was almost entirely populated by maids and the like, offering little resistance.

He glanced at the camp and found it still quiet, with no one around, which made him somewhat dissatisfied.

I've been standing here for so long and no team member has noticed yet. Is there some oversight in the safety procedures?

It seems we need to get the castle defenses in order quickly; the guards haven't reacted at all even though the person is already at the castle gate.

The middle-aged man was taken aback. He looked at Lanny's overly youthful face and his eyes darted around. He was probably thinking to himself whether it was appropriate to tell the servants about this.

Seeing the other party's reaction, Lanny didn't say anything and immediately made a move to leave, not believing that the other party wouldn't talk.

The other party immediately panicked and grabbed him, saying, "Don't go, don't go, young man, wait!"

Once Lanny had stopped, he grinned and pulled out a few coins to hand over. He wasn't embarrassed by Lanny's unhesitating refusal and kept introducing the coins to Lanny.

"I am Ford, the Northern Deacon of the Locke Merchant Guild. I am here mainly to discuss the purchase of the Dark Pattern Sword with your master. I hope you can take me to meet your master. I will certainly not treat you badly."

Dark-patterned sword?

Upon hearing that the other party had come to buy the Dark Pattern Sword, Lanny immediately became interested. After all, the only thing that could make money in the castle right now was the Dark Pattern Sword; papermaking, glassmaking, and soapmaking were still just a pipe dream.

Tim had previously gone to Elfen City, but was interfered with and his goal was not fully achieved. During this time, almost no one came looking for him, and he had given up hope. If it weren't for Gino buying all the Dark Pattern Swords and ordering ten more, he would have wanted Tim to make another trip.

"Then come with me." He pushed away the copper coin that was handed to him, looked Ford up and down again, and thought that since it was a merchant guild, it should have a certain strength, before turning around and walking towards the castle.

After all, the Dark Pattern Sword is not cheap, and small merchants probably don't have the resources to sell it.

"Young man, do you know what your master likes? Do you know about the Dark Pattern Sword? Was it really forged by your master...?"

Ford had been trying to get on Lanny's good side the whole way, but he stopped talking as Lanny walked unimpeded into the castle and up to the second floor, his surprise growing.

It wasn't until Lanny walked into the study and sat down that he realized what was happening, staring at Lanny in disbelief. "You're Baron Wells? So young?"

Nodding, Lanny gestured for the other person to sit down, then casually pulled the summoning bell before slowly looking at Ford, who looked astonished.

"Yes, Mr. Ford, could you please explain your purpose for coming in detail?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were so... young, Baron! I'm so sorry!" After saying that, he stood up, bowed, and apologized again before sitting down again, organizing his thoughts.

“As I said before, I am Ford Jones, the Northern Deacon of the Locke Merchant Guild, mainly responsible for some of the guild’s transactions in the North…” At this moment, Frank’s voice entering the room interrupted Ford’s words.

"Frank, bring in two cups of the tea that Madam recently made," Lanny instructed the butler, then gestured to Ford, "You may continue."

Ford felt somewhat relieved when he heard that the Baron was serving him a drink specially prepared by his wife, which suggested that the Baron valued his visit.

"The main reason I'm here is to discuss the sale of the Dark Pattern Sword with Baron Wells, ah, that is you."

Lenny frowned. "I'm a little curious, Mr. Ford, does such a small matter really require such an important person like yourself to make a private visit? Is it...?"

Ford, being a seasoned businessman, naturally understood the implication. He smiled slightly and calmly explained, "Baron, you may not know this, but there are three deacons in our merchant guild in the North, not just me..."

The Locke Merchant Guild is a medium-sized merchant guild whose business covers the entire Kingdom of Andro. It is not a top-tier merchant guild, but it is one of the few merchant guilds that can cover the entire kingdom.

This is mainly because his members are composed of minor and medium-sized nobles scattered throughout the kingdom. Unable to use noble privileges to conduct high-value-added businesses, they pay more attention to operating within the rules of commerce, which has earned them a good reputation in the industry.

Ford is one of the three deacons of the North. He learned about the dark-patterned swords produced by Wells Castle by chance and keenly spotted the business opportunity, so he came here specifically to discuss the matter.

However, he didn't really reveal everything without reservation. It's true that he is one of the three deacons, but he didn't say that he is the least valued of the three deacons.

Ford entered the Chamber of Commerce on behalf of an earl, who was relatively weak and had a low profile in the complex Locke Chamber of Commerce.

It is customary in chambers of commerce to assign three deacons to the position, which serves to supervise and motivate each other.

Every year at the end of the year, the Chamber of Commerce conducts a performance evaluation. If a certain deacon is ranked last for three consecutive years, even if the Chamber of Commerce does not take any action, the deacon's owner will be forced to recall the staff out of face. This has almost become an unspoken rule of the Chamber of Commerce.

This year marks his third year in business. Due to various reasons such as his boss not being assertive enough and his network of contacts not being extensive enough, his business has not developed well and his performance has not improved, which has made him very anxious.

If the matters under his charge do not improve, the Earl, for the sake of his reputation, will surely recall him, and the consequences of being recalled... are something he is unwilling and unable to bear.

Therefore, this dark-patterned sword was practically his lifeline. He arrived in a hurry and didn't even have time to inquire about the specifics of the Wells family, which led to the embarrassing situation of not recognizing the Baron in person.

"Baron, I wonder what the Wells family's current thoughts are on the Dark Pattern Sword business? Could it be entrusted to our Locke Merchant Guild as their agent?" Ford introduced himself and then stated his purpose.

"Young master, sir, please..." At this moment, Candy walked in, gently placed the two cups of tea she was carrying on the table, and then quietly withdrew.

Looking at Candy's actions, Lanny nodded inwardly. Although this little maid was a bit mischievous at times, she was quite sensible when there were guests.

Despite his anxiety, Ford immediately sniffed and looked curiously at the cup in front of him. "What's this?"

Lenny chuckled. "This is a special tea made by my wife. It's a bit different from traditional afternoon tea. You can savor it carefully."

Ford picked up his teacup and looked at the tea. It was whitish in color, but lighter than the tea that ordinary nobles drank. It was obviously not all milk. There were some crumbs and leaf-like things floating on top. It smelled of cinnamon, rose, and an unknown fragrance.

However, the leaves, which seemed to have been picked from some plant, were wilted and curled up as if they had been left out for too long.

Ford had already given up hope on the tea, thinking to himself that these were just country bumpkins who had never seen anything good before, and that this was a treasure.

However, as a courtesy, he still took a small sip.

I had already mentally prepared myself, keeping my lips tightly closed and waiting for the strange taste sensation that might occur, but I was taken aback by the strange taste that followed!

Hmm? What a strange texture!

The first taste is full of milky aroma, which gradually turns into a faint bitterness, and then turns into a faint fragrance, which is very strange.

Although his master was only an earl, Ford had attended many parties with his master and had never tasted anything so strange. It was as if this cup of tea contained magic, constantly changing its taste and flavor.

"Oh, what is this, Mr. Baron? The taste is very, very peculiar." Ford suppressed his impatience and asked curiously.

He was quite knowledgeable and was certain that this was no drink he had ever had before.

"Haha, this is a drink specially prepared by my wife. It's different from traditional tea and should be called a tea bar. It's good for beauty and health, invigorates the spirit, and effectively removes the greasiness in the mouth. It's a wonderful afternoon tea and a great drink for entertaining guests."

After boasting for a while, Lanny looked at Ford with interest. "Mr. Ford, do you think you're interested in this?"

what!

Lanny's novel idea immediately piqued Ford's interest. He had previously thought it was just a novel drink, but if it had beauty and skin-nourishing effects, it would be a good product.

However, he was currently focused on a large deal like the Dark Pattern Sword, which could fetch hundreds of gold coins at a time, and found it difficult to be interested in this small business. But he was worried that a direct refusal would anger Lanny, so he hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"Yes, there should be a market for this. If you're interested, we can discuss it in more detail later."

Seeing that the other party didn't seem to think much of the tea business, Lanny didn't press the matter further and stopped mentioning tea.

However, before discussing the Dark Pattern Sword, he needed to clarify one issue first.

How did the other party find out about the Dark Pattern Sword?

This is important!