After lunch, His Blackstone leaned back in the study chair and started planning how to make money.
After buying the intelligence, he had just over a thousand gold coins left on hand.
Though he knew a few strategic resources would spike in price over the next few weeks, with the capital he had now, even if he went all in, he’d only earn a few thousand gold at most.
Considering that his need for money was growing, and the next opportunity to earn like this could be far off, His Blackstone decided he had to leverage as much as possible and make a big haul.
With that thought, he pulled out paper and pen from the drawer and began calculating.
If he negotiated with the town’s suppliers, only putting down 20% of the payment as a deposit, taking the goods first, and signing a long-term contract with them, then selling the goods when prices rose to pay the balance, would it work?
That way, selling just a portion of the goods would cover the remaining balance, and the rest would be pure profit.
In other words, futures trading!
His Blackstone stopped writing and fell into deep thought.
For this plan to go smoothly, the key point was “credit.”
Why would the town’s suppliers believe he could pay the balance later?
He rubbed his head.
Actually, there was a simple and crude method: using the “Blackstone” name as a guarantee.
As long as he put the Duke’s Mansion’s name out there, even if the suppliers had doubts, they’d give him face on the surface.
The only concern was that if the system’s intelligence was wrong and he couldn’t pay up, it would bring shame to the whole family.
His Blackstone took a deep breath.
‘I’ll bet on it!’
‘After all, the system’s intelligence has never been wrong so far.’
***
In the afternoon, His Blackstone took Li Nuo Er to the town again.
Molis really knew how to handle things. As soon as His Blackstone briefly explained his idea, Molis quickly contacted several of the largest resource trading companies in town.
“Young Master means to order fifty tons of iron ore?”
Even a supplier who had been in business for years widened his eyes upon hearing His Blackstone’s request.
“Yes. I’ll pay you a 20% deposit first, and settle the balance in two weeks.”
His Blackstone handed over the contract he had drawn up in advance.
“This…”
The supplier’s face showed hesitation.
“Young Master His Blackstone, this is quite a large quantity…”
“Are you worried that my Blackstone Family would owe you money?”
“No, no, no! I absolutely didn’t mean that!”
Seeing Li Nuo Er standing behind His Blackstone, the supplier quickly waved his hands.
“I’ll sign, I’ll sign right now…”
With that, the supplier picked up the pen and signed the contract.
The negotiations with the next two companies went similarly. Though they hesitated at His Blackstone’s deposit-and-deferred-payment format, with Molis’s introduction and the Blackstone Family’s reputation, they all signed contracts with him in the end.
***
On the carriage ride back to the mansion, His Blackstone let out a long sigh.
This round of purchases had drained all his cash, and he’d even had Molis front him a few dozen gold coins.
‘System, you better not screw me over!’
“Young Master His Blackstone.”
Li Nuo Er’s voice sounded in his ear.
“What’s wrong?”
“That woman you bought back yesterday… I keep feeling a dangerous aura around her.”
“A dangerous aura?”
Hearing Li Nuo Er’s words, His Blackstone couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
“Can you sense any magic in her?”
“No. In fact, there is no magic in her body at all.”
“That’s what the seller said too. Is she following a martial arts path?”
“Based on her physical condition, that’s not the case either.”
“Then what threat could she pose?”
“I can’t put it into words. It’s just my intuition.”
Li Nuo Er looked out the carriage window.
“Anyway, Young Master, please be careful when interacting with her.”
Seeing Li Nuo Er’s worried yet hesitant expression, His Blackstone smiled and nodded.
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”
***
At the corner of the Duke’s Mansion’s corridor, Lila was quietly wiping the windows.
When His Blackstone appeared at the main gate with a convoy, her gaze was unconsciously drawn to him.
He seemed to be in a good mood.
But when she saw the convoy workers moving supplies from the carriages into the mansion’s warehouse, Lila’s eyes sharpened.
Iron ore, medicine, leather…
Each item alone seemed unremarkable, but with all of them appearing together, His Blackstone’s intention was very clear.
He was stockpiling military supplies in advance!
Considering that his father was the Duke of the Kingdom, did he already have inside information?
‘No… I need to find a way to get back quickly.’
‘But in my current state…’
Lila bit her lip and lowered her head to continue wiping the window.
She was just an ordinary maid now.
Even if she wanted to leave, she’d have to wait until her magic recovered.
“Oh? Already working on your first day? Hard at work, huh.”
Unbeknownst to her, His Blackstone had already come up to the second floor.
“Mm.”
Lila didn’t say much, only replying softly.
“Not bad. You’re way more diligent than that other little maid.”
His Blackstone patted Lila’s shoulder and turned toward the study.
As luck would have it, the “other little maid” he’d just mentioned, Ni Wei, was in the study right now.
But she wasn’t working. She was sitting on the floor leaning against a bookshelf, holding a book, reading with great interest.
His Blackstone leaned in to look—it seemed to be a romance novel.
‘I didn’t expect my little maid to like this kind of thing…’
Ni Wei was so engrossed in reading that she didn’t notice His Blackstone quietly approaching her.
“Ahem!”
“Ahh!”
Startled by the sudden cough, Ni Wei nearly threw the book out of her hands.
“You! What are you doing here?”
“Hey, hey, this is my study, isn’t it? It’s perfectly normal for me to be here.
On the other hand, sneaking off to read a novel during work hours—don’t you think that’s a bit much?”
“I…”
Ni Wei hung her head, her face quickly turning red.
“I did say before that since you’re not in good health, you only need to handle the study work.”
His Blackstone placed his hand on Ni Wei’s little head, putting on a serious expression.
“Look at your sister—how busy she is every day.
I’ve treated you a few times too. Though it’s not completely cured, you shouldn’t be feeling any discomfort now, right?”
“Yes…”
“So, if you’ve finished your work, go help your sister out.”
His Blackstone rubbed Ni Wei’s head.
“Oh… okay…”