Chapter 258 Before departure
"Food, dried fruits, cloth, wool, fruit knives..."
Dolly tapped the pack animals on the street with her chubby little hand, and reported to Harold the list of goods carried on the backs of these giant animals.
After talking about these ordinary goods, she whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "The last trip brought the side effects of fertilizers to almost all desert tribes.
Desert people will no longer spend a lot of money to buy the "Benefit of Fertility", and the sales of seeds and farm tools will also plummet. My friend, your good deed has caused me a lot of losses. "
After saying this, she lowered her head and uttered a sigh.
"Originally, these were not your main products. 'Fertility' is also a desert special product (mixed with sawdust) with a lower price. I know that the kind-hearted Sangge Mahabayi cannot bear to see the only oasis for the desert people degenerate into a desert bit by bit." Harold said with a chuckle.
Dolly rolled her eyes, feeling quite flustered as if she had been seen through. She did do some charity work, but she didn't like people to know about it. Otherwise, there would be a large number of people who wanted to get something for nothing begging her for alms, and those who were really struggling to survive in poverty would not get any help.
So she quickly pretended to be pleased, crossed her arms, raised her head and said jokingly: "Hey, my friend, you are really good at talking. If you were to promote a product, those eloquent businessmen would be ashamed!"
Harold held his chin with one hand and laughed, then the two of them looked at each other and laughed, and the serious atmosphere was completely broken.
Haroldt stepped on the stones at his feet boredly and whispered, "How many books did you bring this time?"
Dolly glanced at the member of the thirty-man group closest to them and saw that he was talking happily with his companions, so she lowered her voice and replied, "I brought this amount."
She held up three fingers and shook them.
"Isn't that too much?" Harold said, estimating the distance from here to the flower bed, and then kicked the pebble in.
Duo Li's mouth corners raised exaggeratedly: "Not much, not much, I have already understood the shift situation here. The people guarding the gate these days are all mercenaries hired by the Church Order Institute. I have arranged everything, and they are happy to let us pass.
You don't have to worry about not being able to sell the books. According to the information my caravan brought back, the tribal leaders treasure the books we sell. They have tasted the sweetness of using books to control their subordinates. As long as we sell them, they will buy them.
They would use this to show their emphasis on knowledge and imply that they would promote education in the tribe, even if most of those books would rot and stink in their coffers and turn into a pool of mud, they would still buy them.
This is not just a superficial project, but also to reduce the number of books circulating among tribes, so that the books they have are the most valuable.
Moreover, as the first group of desert people who are lucky enough to get textbooks and learn the Xumi common language appear, the value of these books will continue to rise.
Hehe, knowledge, learning, these things that make people jealous, just like status, have become commodities with a clear price tag, but in the desert, those who are thirsty will die of drought, and those who are flooded will die of floods. The poor, jealous people at the bottom will wait until the string is stretched to the utmost, and then there will be a "bang!"
Dolly waved her hands, making a movement similar to an expansion explosion, then she narrowed her eyes and looked at Haroldt with a playful expression:
"Isn't this what you want to see? Let me make a bold assumption. This time, when our caravan returns, it will bring back the good news you expect."
"I hope so, but it probably won't happen that quickly. In my estimation, it will take at least three years... no, two years... considering that most desert people have hotter personalities than rainforest people, and their military strength is also stronger than here."
Hmm... Is this a bit of a stereotype? Harold said as his thoughts raced.
"Are you interested in coming with us? With the experience from last time, our caravan leader will choose a safer route and a more reliable method of communication. As long as we don't encounter a sandstorm, the danger of this journey will be almost zero." Dolly encouraged, with her hands on her hips.
If you follow him, with your eloquence, you will definitely be able to sell all the goods for several times the price. Hehe, Mora, golden Mora! Dolly looked at Haroldt as if she was looking at a pure gold statue.
"No." Harold refused decisively.
"Really? That's really too much - ah? You don't want to? Why?!" Dolly widened her eyes with a look of complete disbelief.
She didn't expect Harold to refuse. She thought that as long as she invited him, Harold would definitely accept it. After all, this was a good job that no one could ask for.
Last time, the leader of the caravan wanted to ask her for this position, but she was unwilling to give up the power because she was worried that the man was too eager for quick success and would not be able to grasp the limits and make extreme moves, thus offending the desert people.
Therefore, handing this matter over to Harold itself represents trust in his ability and character, and the proper completion of the matter will further strengthen the bond between the two.
When traveling to the desert with a caravan, you can also take the opportunity to bargain and make some extra money, have friendly exchanges with tribal leaders, develop potential customers, collect some local specialties, and sell them in the rain forest... What an interesting thing!
Or is she inviting Harold to the desert to look at the sand? What's important is what's behind it.
Dolly muttered to herself: With my good friend's intelligence, he must know that this journey is not just a journey. If I didn't have to take into account the business in the rainforest and explore more potential business opportunities here, I myself would not be able to resist this temptation and I would definitely go to the desert in person.
"My friend, you really don't need to think about it anymore. You are going to grow rice in the desert in the future. Tens of millions of acres of rice. What an amazing ideal!
If you show yourself to the desert people now and establish a majestic image, it will definitely be of great benefit to your future development!" Dolly rubbed her hands and smiled flatteringly.
"I know, but not this time." Harold still refused bluntly.
"Ah?! This this this..."
Dolly was frightened again. After being surprised, she whispered in her heart: It is not like you, my friend, to give up such huge benefits.
Harold smiled and explained, "I know that this is a critical period of turmoil in the desert. Many desert residents are in a stage of uncertainty. At this time, appropriate guidance and investment can win their trust."
He put forward the biggest benefit that Dolly had not clearly stated to prove that he had indeed thought it through clearly.
Of course, he did not point out Dolly's hidden investment, which was that after he raised the desert's reputation to the highest level, all tribes would become supply stations for Dolly's caravan, and her caravan would be able to move freely in the desert.
Then the cost of transporting the raw materials from the rainforest into the desert and letting the desert people make exquisite handicrafts and then purchasing them will be greatly reduced.
In the past, desert people would not easily reveal the locations of sandworm nests and rare plant origins, but as long as they become the uncrowned kings of the desert, they will not refuse to become guides and share part of their profits in exchange for the friendship of the rain forest.
And so on and so forth.
After hearing what Harold said, Dolly stopped pretending to be shy and pleading, and instead crossed her arms and looked at Harold seriously, wanting to hear his opinion.
"I have to stay here to take care of the pregnant woman until the babies are born, so not this time," Harold said with a smile.
"Ah?!" Dolly's mouth opened into an O shape. She didn't know how many times she had been scared today.
After her surprise, she looked Harold up and down. She really couldn't imagine that her friend was such a person.
"I have a feeling that my hybridization experiment with the cheat flower will soon be successful. The ovaries of nearly ten female plants are about to mature. Hmm... I am really looking forward to what kind of flowers will grow from the seeds."
Harold raised his head and looked into the distance calmly.
Dolly opened her mouth silently. She had been frightened too much today. This time she finally did not scream out loud. She just coughed lightly, adjusted her thoughts, raised her eyebrows and said:
"Oh my, this is a little different from what I imagined. If it's just an experiment, why not give it to the students?
Many instructors in the Magisterium are doing this, and you have a communication device in your hand. In my opinion, there is no need for you to do it yourself."