Motivations Of A Genius Lady - 24 Rewarded with Wealth... and then More Wealth 2

“Jade!”

Shock was an understatement to Feng Jin’s expression. Chalice chuckled. She had anticipated for him to know about jade. He was wearing one, after all. But Chalice did not expect him to be this surprised. His flabbergasted face amused her. She was also glad that the Keyne tribe knew about jade. It solved the problem of her looking for people to craft it.

“Yes. It is jade.” She confirmed.

“H-How? How come you have such a big piece of Jade, my Lady? And it’s even Imperial Jade at that? We have stayed here in Amaranth for decades. But I have never encountered any jade vein.”

Feng Jin asked. Excitement dripped from his voice.

“I stumbled upon it coincidentally.”

Chalice curtly replied. Having figured that she did not want to explain, Feng Jin returned to admiring the piece of treasure in his hands. Then after a while, he realized something.

“My lady, jade is relatively unknown in this continent. How come you know about it?”

He asked curiously. Chalice smiled mysteriously at him and indicated that she do not want to answer this as well. This cemented Feng Jin’s belief that this descendant of Duke Amaranth is not how people make her out to be.

“How I came to know about it doesn’t matter, Chief Jin. What concerns me is whether you want to cooperate with me on this endeavor? I am aware of the superb craftmanship of your tribe. Your jade pendant is evidence of that.”

Feng Jin sat up straight. His face carried a serious hint. If his guess was right, Chalice’s offer for cooperation involved the trade for Jade ornaments and jewelries. This was a lucrative offer for him, indeed.

“And what are the conditions of this cooperation, my lady?”

He asked carefully. If Chalice’s conditions are acceptable then he would agree to it in a heartbeat. Chalice smiled brightly at him, her countenance dazed Feng Jin for a moment.

“Well, it’s simple actually. I would be the one to mine and supply you the jade. You will be in-charge of refining it into ornaments or jewelries. For the most part, you will be given the freedom with the designs. However, I want you to make some allowances for my own designs. I plan to auction those as limited edition pieces. Also, I will be paying appropriate wages to your craftsmen and allocate 15% of the profit from the auctioned pieces in the future. What do you say, Chief Jin?”

After a short pause of contemplation, Feng Jin arrived at a decision.

“Consider it a deal, my lady. Sigh. However, are you sure about this. I feel like we are taking advantage of your generosity. Your investment is greater than our effort into crafting the jade.”

Chalice shook her head. The truth was, her main goal was to foster the tribe’s reliance and trust in her. She knows that they are worthy allies and a great factor in the fief’s development. Compared to that, forsaking some monetary profit is not a bit of a sacrifice.

“The prosperity of your tribe is the fortune of the Amaranthian territory. Though Chief Jin and the Keyne tribe comes from the Eashen continent, you are living in Amaranth. As the proxy Fief Lord, you are my people regardless.”

Feng Jin shuddered at the lady’s words. A light seems to radiate from her as she uttered them. That light sparked hope and belonging in him. Feng Jin cursed the people at the capital. What wayward? What brash? What man-chaser? The woman in front of him now exudes the essence of a ruler. Even the Duke of Amaranth has not acknowledged them this way.

“Then, I must thank you again my lady. It is my tribe’s fortune to be in your grace. As a gesture of goodwill, there is something that I want to gift to you Lady Chalice.”

Chalice raised her brow. It can also be done this way, it seems. The law of reciprocity is applicable to these people. Chalice was glad, either way.

“Oh, what is it Chief Jin?”

Feng Jin took out a badge bearing a dragon circling a sun, as well as a piece of parchment paper.

“This badge gives you the authority to call upon my tribes forces for three times. No matter what it is, the Sun Dragon Camp will aid you. And this paper is a land title. We have acquired a piece of land north from our stronghold, in the borders of the outer and middle areas of the Cloud forest. This land, I believe, will flourish more in your hands, my lady. It may be a vast barren land, but it’s true worth lies beneath.”

Chalice was elated. Having the Sun Dragon badge thoroughly accomplished her purpose. Now she even got a land out of it. She frowned for a while as she thought of Feng Jin’s meaning. Then gasp as she had realized it.

“Could it be another gemstone mine?”

She asked excitedly. Feng Jin shook his head, indicating she was wrong. Chalice furrowed her brows at the grim look on his face. Strange. What treasure could this barren land have to elicit such an expression from the Chief?

“No, my lady. It is not a gemstone mine. It is an iron mine.”

Chalice was astonished. An iron mine! Though the times have been peaceful the past years, an iron mine was still a coveted possession. Especially by the imperial family.

She could now understand the grim look of Feng Jin. The iron mine really was a treasure. However, whoever possessed it would be pushed under the empire’s suspicious eyes. Her discovery of the jade vein was nothing compared to how this iron mine would push her family even more under the sword of Damocles.

Somehow, she felt cheated. Feng Jin acted all too glad to pass on this hot potato to her. But then again, this was fine by Chalice. She had a lot of ways to deal with it and whatever setback it will give. Besides, the benefits outweighs the risk by a margin. She only needs to bide her time in dealing with it.

“Heh. You’ve given me such a generous reward there, Chief Jin. Nonetheless, many thanks. I will deal with it carefully.”

Chalice assured him as a devious smile colored her vermillion lips. She reaped a lot on her excursion at the Cloud Forest.