Chapter 288 Getting what you want
"My friend is fine now, but I need your Majesty to do me a favor. This is also the main purpose of my coming here this time."
Vic said something to Dalton and then looked at the king and said that thanks were meaningless to him. If he hadn't wanted to make sure of what he was thinking, he would have left the country directly.
"Oh! I don't know what you want me to do for you, but I will help you in any way I can!"
The old king did not say everything. He knew the current situation of the Drum Kingdom. Even such a strong man needed help, and he really didn't know if he could help.
"I would like to borrow some of the medical equipment on this list. Do you think the royal family has any?"
Vic went straight to the point and handed the list Dr. Yuejian had written to him to the old king.
"Yes! It's about borrowing medical equipment! It's your companion who needs these, right? Let me take a look first."
When the old king heard Vic say that he wanted to borrow medical equipment, he felt relieved. He was afraid that Vic would say something he couldn't do. He was the king of a country, representing an entire country. If he couldn't do it, he would lose face.
Fortunately, although the Drum Kingdom may not have other things, its medical equipment is definitely not bad. However, the old king couldn't understand what the items on the list were for, and there seemed to be quite a lot of them.
"Someone come here!" The old king didn't understand and didn't look at it for long. He planned to ask a professional to come and take a look.
"Your Majesty!" A soldier came in and saluted, waiting for the king's orders.
"Go and get the head of the medical team. I have something to discuss with him."
After the old king finished speaking, the soldiers took the order and went out.
"Vic! Wait a moment. The medical equipment is developed and managed by the medical team. When someone comes, let him take a look and we'll know if it's available."
There were quite a lot of things on the list, and the old king wasn't sure if he could get them all.
"Well, thank you, Your Majesty!" Vic was truly grateful and had no intention of repaying the favor.
While waiting for the head of the medical team, the old king chatted with Vic about some things in the Magnetic Drum Kingdom. Vic learned that the Magnetic Drum Kingdom basically had to rely on purchasing food from outside to ensure that its citizens did not go hungry.
The only food available on the island were some wild animals and nuts, or fish caught from the sea. Other high-yield crops simply could not be grown on the island.
However, purchasing food from outside requires a lot of money. Although there are only five people in the entire country of the Drum Kingdom, it will still cost a lot of money to buy food for all of them.
Fortunately, there is always a way out. Some medicinal herbs with high medical value can be grown on Magnetic Drum Island, which are the legacy left by our predecessors.
Doctors on the island would make the purchased herbs into finished medicines, and then have the island’s caravans take them to other islands with developed trade to sell. They would then purchase food back for the people on the island to buy, forming a complete closed loop.
In the past, every household would have some savings from growing and selling medicinal herbs, but with the advent of the Great Pirate Era, the seas became even more chaotic. Drum Island was also located in the Grand Line, so caravans were not always lucky enough to return intact.
So there will be a period of time every year when people on the island will go hungry. Food cannot be bought with money, so they have to find other ways to fill their stomachs.
Vic couldn't help but sigh. It was really true that those who were suffering from drought would die of drought, and those who were suffering from floods would die of floods. In the past, crops could be grown on Flower Island all year round. There was no picky time at all. Just throw a few seeds and they would grow. There was no need to take care of them at all. There was so much food that it could not be eaten up.
Also because of the Grand Route and the times, their food was difficult to sell, and the people on the island had nothing but enough to eat.
There are many such islands in the sea. If these islands were integrated, their lives would be very good, but the chaotic sea has isolated them from development.
This is why the old king valued Vic's powerful fighting ability. If there is such a strong man in the caravan, then there will be no problem in selling medicines and buying food.
Magnetic Drum Island will gradually become prosperous, and its population will experience an explosion. After all, there is nothing to do in the ice and snow and people can only stay at home and create people. But now there is not enough food to feed so many people. Who has the mood to think about those things!
The old king was still a very good king, and he always wanted to make the Drum Kingdom stronger, much stronger than Wapol, but he was ultimately just an ordinary man, and it was difficult for him to change the current situation of the country.
Wapol, who was knocked away by Luffy, accidentally synthesized Wapol Metal with the power of the Swallow-Swallow Fruit. It only took him two years, but he easily became a rich man and the new king. It is really ironic.
"Your Majesty, you are looking for me!"
While several people were talking about this heavy topic, an old man wearing glasses and a white coat walked into the study. He was the head of the royal medical team, and his temperament of an old scholar could not be concealed at all.
"Look at this list. Do we have these equipment?"
The old king handed the list in his hand to the old doctor. He attached great importance to the items on the list. Although there was no way to recruit Vic now, it was necessary to help Vic build a good relationship with him.
With Vic's strong ability, if he develops in the navy, he will be able to reach a high position sooner or later, and his relationships will be valuable at that time.
Not to mention anything else, just say that at the world conference held every four years, Drum Island has a seat to attend, and at that time we can also apply for Vic to come for protection, so there will be no problem with security.
This is just the most basic benefit. If Vic holds a high position and has more say, it would be possible to arrange a naval base for the Drum Kingdom. Of course, that requires frequent visits and building good relationships.
"This is for testing bloodline factors, right? These devices are available, they are not very scarce, and we have already developed several types of equipment that are simpler and easier to operate. Your Majesty, whose bloodline factors are you asking about?"
As expected of the chief royal physician of a major medical country, he was able to see through Vick's purpose based on just a list. Moreover, these doctors also have the ability to develop equipment, which is totally incomparable to those who rely solely on equipment to judge the condition of the patient.
"Oh! That's great. Can you put together a set? I want to give it to this little hero!"
Vic was talking about borrowing, but the old king wanted to deepen their friendship and directly gave him a set, and this set of equipment would most likely fall into the hands of a highly skilled doctor in this country.
The doctor who was able to cure the Black Death, which the chief physician was unable to cure, was also an indirect way of thanking the doctor for helping Vic and facilitating their acquaintance.
"Okay, Your Majesty!"
The old doctor looked at Vic twice, bowed to him, and left the study.
He also knew about the doctor being robbed a few days ago, and knew that there was a person who appeared and saved everyone. Now after listening to the king's words, he already knew in his heart that the imposing young man in front of him was that person.
Vic did not refuse the old doctor's bow and returned it.
He knew what the old doctor meant. He wanted to thank Vic for saving his life on behalf of those doctors, and Vic could still accept this.
Moreover, he had some respect for the old doctor. Perhaps this was his sense of mission in the profession. Vic saved not only the doctor, but also a future in medicine that was unknown whether it existed!