Starting With A City As A Transmigrator - Chapter 4
Wang Lun was determined and didn’t want to dwell on this topic any longer.
“What a crazy fella!” Robinson smiled and shook his head. Then, with a big wave of his hand, he instructed his men to unload all the grains.
“My lord, we may be friends but business is still business. The grains are worth a total of 10 gold coins, so how do you intend to make the payment?” Robinson looked at Wang Lun with narrowed eyes and said with a smile.
Wang Lun wasn’t surprised by the directness of this Westerner at all. He had gotten used to their straightforward way of speaking over this past month.
“Still the same old way; I’ll use something to trade with you!” Wang Lun plainly smiled.
The corners of Robinson’s mouth lifted into a satisfied smile. This was what he hoped for the most.
The last time he exchanged the rare items he had gotten from Wang Lun, he resold them to nobles and earned several gold coins.
Without any delay, Wang Lun took out a round, football-sized mirror and pretended to hold it carefully in his hands. Then, he said to Robinson: “This is a treasure that I found in my hometown. It is called a mirror. If you sell this to those noblewomen or royal ladies, you will definitely earn a bag of gold coins.”
Robinson immediately became thrilled after hearing Wang Lun’s words. The former carefully took the mirror over to take a closer look.
After some observation, he was stunned.
In this mirror, he could clearly see every part of his face, including tiny hairs!
“God! This is incredible!”
Robinson couldn’t help but gasp in awe.
He had been a merchant for so many years and had gone to many places, but all the brass mirrors he saw were only capable of revealing the outline of faces.
This was the first time he encountered a mirror that reflected one’s face so clearly.
As Wang Lun said, if this mirror were sold to noblewomen or royal ladies, it would definitely fetch a good price!
“My lord, I know that this treasure is worth a lot of money. Although I am a merchant who puts profit before everything else, I do understand the win-win principle of cooperation. I’m well aware that my grains are far from being worth the value of this treasure. Quote me a price and I will make up the gold coins for you,” Robinson said sincerely, and his tone became even more respectful.
As a matter of fact, Wang Lun had kind of anticipated this response from Robinson.
He understood Robinson’s honesty and frankness well enough. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have approached him with this deal.
However, Wang Lun didn’t make an offer on the spot. “I don’t need gold coins at the moment, and I’m only lacking grains right now. How about this? From now on, you send me a batch of grains every three days until you think it is worth the value of this mirror.”
“That’s not a problem. My lord, I know this is a kind offer to help me earn some extra gold coins, so I’ll keep this favor in mind. But I’m a little curious though. Why do you need so much grain? You are not thinking of giving them to those lowly refugees, are you?” Robinson asked, puzzled.
Wang Lun chuckled without saying a word, patted Robinson’s shoulder heavily, and said, “You just need to do your part well. I won’t mistreat you!”
Robinson shook his head with a bitter smile and replied, “My lord, you have truly changed my opinion on merchants and nobles. However, I still have to advise you that there are a huge number of refugees here. If you really want to help them, you may end up losing a fortune.”
“That’s not something for you to worry about,” Wang Lun said with a plain smile.
Robinson didn’t continue speaking and changed the subject instead. He asked with a flattering smile: “My Lord, I wonder if you have any other treasures? Don’t worry, I will definitely give you goods of a matching value.”
“For the time being, no. Don’t worry, when I have something good in the future, I will definitely keep it for you,” Wang Lun said in a light-hearted manner.
Even though Robinson felt a little disappointed, he didn’t continue pursuing the matter. He knew that this mysterious easterner definitely had more of those treasures. However, he didn’t dare to press too closely for fear of angering the man, which would be equivalent to cutting his own fortune.
He had once thought of secretly robbing Wang Lun, but after seeing with his own eyes how the latter killed several bandits with a double-barreled shotgun, he gave up the idea completely.
The double-barreled shotgun, to him, was a weapon of mass destruction. It was also one that he had never seen before.
After Robinson led the convoy away, Wang Lun swept a glance at Hallmark and said, “Notify all the refugees to come and collect their grains.”
Hallmark wanted to speak his mind, but eventually shook his head. He had never met such a crazy person like Wang Lun.
Refugees were like a bottomless pit. Even the Duke wouldn’t dare to provide relief like this.
In fact, the refugees had been coveting the grains for a long time, patiently waiting outside the city hall.
As soon as Hallmark told them to collect their grains, they swarmed and surrounded the city hall.
Upon seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Hallmark could only retrieve his double-barreled shotgun and fire two shots into the sky.
This was the only way to deter these people and make them queue up neatly.
Soon after, the mountain of grains were completely distributed, and even the scattered bits and scraps left on the ground were carefully picked up by them.
Wang Lun felt touched as he observed the situation. In this era, grains were indeed the most precious thing.
Then, he announced: “Everyone, head back to cook your meals and come back to the city hall after you’ve eaten your fill. I have something to announce later.”
All the refugees who had received the grains were very grateful to Wang Lun. When they heard that he would allow them to return to the city hall later, they nodded without hesitation.
Right now, there was only one thought in their heads.
This city lord may really be capable of leading us into a better life.
Shortly after, the refugees scattered, started a fire, and cooked their meals over it.
Wang Lun and Hallmark also consumed their meals in the city hall, and when the time was almost up, they stepped out of the entrance.
At that moment, the refugees who had just eaten and drank their fill stood in front of the city hall with emotional faces.
For the first time in a very long while, they experienced the taste of a full meal. They were really grateful to Wang Lun, and their gazes were filled with awe.
Wang Lun scanned the crowd and loudly announced: “Since I have spent a fortune to buy this city, I will certainly manage it well. I will build a civilized city, ensure that everyone has a house to live in, land to grow crops on, and clothes to wear, as well as stores owned and operated with integrity. I’m sure you’re all tired of living in limbo, so as long as you do as I say, you’ll all have a good life ahead of you.”
As soon as his words echoed, the whole world fell silent for a brief moment, followed by a deafening cheer from the crowd.
“City Lord.”
“God bless my lord”
The refugees cheered, and their voices resounded throughout the sky.
Wang Lun scanned the sea of people as their voices struck his eardrums. He felt as if something had been ignited in his heart and he got goosebumps all over his skin!
He waved his hand to signal everyone to calm down and said, “I’ll say the bad things up front: if you want to turn Yale City into a civilized home, you must abide by my rules. Anyone who dares to defy my rules will be severely punished.”