BXBX NOVEL Chapter 102 - 0102 The Fatty of the Lycra Family
The Earl and Lady Marie had already left Coral Island, heading to Blue Dragon Island.
Lady Penelope sent her blessings, but she did not come to Tulip Castle herself.
Therefore, without the constraints of the landlord and the old lady, the atmosphere at Tulip Castle’s luncheon was quite lively, especially among the young nobles, who were busy socializing and bonding joyfully.
Liszt inevitably had to participate.
Many nobles knew that the Earl did not place much importance on this third son with less impressive talents, but regardless, Liszt’s lineage was undeniably noble—his paternal bloodline was that of an Earl, and his maternal bloodline was that of a Marquis, with no deviation for three generations, belonging to the direct line of descent.
“Liszt, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you. Now that the road to Thorn Ridge has been cleared, why not visit my Mudbrick Town?”
“Brooke, I’ll make time to visit Mudbrick Town. It only takes two hours from Fresh Flower Town to Mudbrick Town. And you are also welcome to visit Fresh Flower Town. I’ll treat you to the finest seafood.”
“I will definitely go. I love seafood, especially oysters.”
“Of course, everyone loves oysters.”
“Haha.”
After the sumptuous main course of the luncheon came the dessert.
Liszt saw the ice cream, and compared to the four flavors available in the small town, Tulip Castle had as many as eight flavors.
Ice cream had not yet become widespread.
So this time, the dessert astonished all the nobles, but there weren’t many who inquired about the ice cream recipe, as ice was not something that minor nobles could afford. The only exceptions were the sons of two Viscounts, who approached Liszt with the request to buy the recipe, as their families could afford ice.
Liszt was not polite about it.
For the son of Viscount Shattered Stone City, Brandon Brokenstone, he quoted a trade price: “Three hundred pounds of pig iron, and the recipe is yours.” This price was double what he had offered his sister Li Vera; outsiders should not expect to get his favorable price.
Brandon gritted his teeth: “Deal!”
Then Liszt gave a price to the son of Viscount Beer Island, Aubrey Lycra: “One hundred and fifty barrels of hop-flavored beer.”
The heir of the wealthy Lycra Family did not hesitate in the slightest: “No problem, as soon as I return, I’ll have the fleet carry an extra fifty barrels of beer. Have your merchant caravan wait for the trade in Coral City.”
“Refreshing.”
Liszt was very pleased; an ornate but impractical recipe had been successfully traded for quite a lot of goods.
But the next moment, he almost changed color.
Because Aubrey suddenly said: “By the way, Liszt, I’m planning to catch seafood around the beaches of Beer Island to sell to others. What do you think?”
His face still wore a smile.
Internally, he wanted nothing more than to kill Aubrey, but Liszt just casually asked, “Seafood? Why has the Lycra Family taken an interest in seafood? Haven’t the hop fields already brought enough wealth to the Lycra Family?”
“Who would complain about earning too many Gold Coins, right?” Aubrey, very portly with a bulging belly akin to someone in their tenth month of pregnancy, clearly had been well-fed from childhood, “Seafood is a great thing, especially oysters, endlessly delightful. The seafood business of Fresh Flower Town has made me envious.”
Currently, only Fresh Flower Town on Coral Island was engaging in large-scale fishing and selling the seafood externally.
The profits were substantial, bringing in nearly a Gold Coin a day. Just a few days ago, Liszt had boldly purchased three more wagons, adding to the previous six, for a total of nine wagons continuously trading seafood.
Now, they had been divided into three merchant teams; Old Geronte personally led one back and forth between Coral City and Tulip Castle; Abagon led one toward Birch City; and Sherlock led another toward Serpent Spear City. Given the current sales momentum, two to three Gold Coins a day in the future was not an issue.
He had been preparing to dominate the seafood market on Coral Island, but unexpectedly, someone new came out of the blue.
Aubrey actually wanted to get involved in the seafood business.
If it had been some minor noble like an ordinary baron wanting to get into the seafood business, Liszt wouldn’t have minded complaining to the earl, letting the other party understand that you can’t afford to offend the noblest bloodline on Coral Island. However, the Lycra Family was different—the Viscount Beer Island was one of the earliest followers of the earl, with notable meritorious services, making it difficult to pressure someone with power alone.
If he were the heir to the earl, the Lycra Family certainly wouldn’t dare to overreach, but the key point was that he was only the Baron of Fresh Flower Town.
He squinted slightly.
Liszt instantly contemplated various countermeasures in his mind, but outwardly he remained as calm as the wind, “Is that so? It seems that the seafood market on Coral Island will be much livelier in the future.”
With a laugh, Aubrey said, “Liszt, sorry for the misunderstanding, I have no plans to sell seafood on Coral Island. That’s your business, and for the sake of our friendship, I wouldn’t want to ruin it.”
His words caught Liszt a bit off guard.
The two of them hardly had any friendship; Aubrey was probably in his late twenties, a bosom friend of Levis. Surprisingly, Aubrey did not intend to get involved in the seafood market of Coral Island at all.
“Not selling seafood on Coral Island, then what do you mean?”
“Our family has a few decent channels that can sell to other islands. The seafood market was your first discovery; Coral Island naturally belongs to you. I don’t want to compete maliciously with a friend,” Aubrey spoke with a tone of sincere candor. If Liszt were a bit less experienced, he might have been genuinely moved.
No wonder the Lycra Family could monopolize the hop trade, knowing the times and when to advance or retreat; it’s hard not to be successful.
He picked up his wine glass and raised it as a signal, “To our friendship, cheers.”
“Of course, cheers to our friendship.”
The seafood business, a false alarm.
But Liszt wasn’t going to assume that the seafood market was now secure; today’s friendly approach from Aubrey made it clear to him—wealth stirs people’s hearts.
If at first the seafood was merely a novelty item for the nobility to taste,
Now, he feared that the profit from the seafood business had been thoroughly researched by the nobility, at least one Gold Coin a day, and possibly even more in the future. Just think, one Gold Coin a day, over three hundred Gold Coins a year—if one could earn three coins a day, wouldn’t it amount to over a thousand coins a year?
How is that any different from robbing people!
It’s almost equivalent to half a year’s tax revenue from a small city.
If minor nobles still respect Liszt’s bloodline and dare not act recklessly. Then his sister, Li Vera, was probably already calculating how to snatch this business away—Liszt was very clear about his sister, she wasn’t the kind to dote on her younger brother; taking Liszt’s toys had been her favorite pastime when they were children.
Besides, Lidun and Lady Marie could be eyeing the opportunity as well.
Catching seafood was not challenging at all.
“No, I can’t be careless!” As the luncheon ended, Liszt was still pondering, “Perhaps, I should bring Levis over and partner with him.”
Levis, Li Vera, Lidun, and Lady Marie were all far from being kind and faithful people.
But Levis after all was the heir to the earl, the future landlord of Liszt; by winning over Levis, this business would be secure.
“I should offer shares to Levis, and collaborate with him privately, not with Tulip Castle. He would likely agree. With Tulip Castle now having to share half its resources with Lidun, Levis must be anxious. If there’s a chance to do business without Lidun, he won’t miss it.”