Chaotic, chaotic and full of all sorts of noisy noises—the bazaars of The Hague Harbour were indistinguishable from all those found in the South, the sweet smell of pear wine mingled with the shouts of the peddlers.

Perhaps in the eyes of the aristocracy of Turin, such a dirty bazaar would be stained even by looking at it, and it is almost indistinguishable from the many dilapidated streets of the eastern city, but in this southern countryside, where pastoral songs echo everywhere manors and farms, the port of The Hague, with its marketplace all year round, is still the envy of many poor people.

Where there are merchants, there must be wealth flowing - this important quayside bazaar has always been an important source of tax revenue for The Hague, and for this reason a three-storey brick house was built near the pier to supervise and count all cargo ships and caravans entering The Hague.

Perhaps many nobles looked down on these merchants very much, but I have to admit that the wealth of these people is really terrifying, even the lords who own one or two rich farms often have no wealth in their hands, let alone the real big merchants - in the Kingdom of Turin, there is no one who does not know what the Mineste family made their fortune from.

When little Goodwin walked into the hall of the house, the long, old-looking table was already full of people, looking nervously at him, or whispering to the people around him.

All of the people who were able to sit here were decent people with heads and faces in The Hague Harbour, many of whom even had their own shops and caravans, or who had been financed by some of the southern lords. Specializing in the trade in grain - even the wealth of Fort Hague was far less than that of these men combined.

In fact, he knew almost all of them—on the occasion of his trip to The Hague Harbor to collect supplies for Fort Clarion. Little Goodwin had dealings with these Southern merchants. Although he was not very familiar with it, he still remembered a lot of things very clearly.

Seeing the pair of vigilant and thoughtful eyes looking at him, little Goodwin, who had finally mustered up the courage to walk in, was a little nervous, but he still pretended to be calm and walked to the long table and sat down, and spread his hands with a smile as Lord Edward pretended to be relaxed.

"Thank you, gentlemen, for being here in your busy schedules, and I am sure you all already know you—in Lower Pierre Goodwin, Lord Edward Witwood's attendant. I came to negotiate with you at the behest of my master. Little Goodwin raised the corners of his mouth slightly: "And my father is the president of the Goodwin Chamber of Commerce, and I am a businessman like everyone else, so I hope we can talk openly and honestly!"

"I know that the reason why you have come is because you are forced to do so—who can refuse the invitation of the nobles, especially since all of you here live on Fort Hague, and it is impossible for you to disobey the will of your lord. But it is precisely because of this that Master Edward has ordered me to dispel your concerns, and any questions you may have are free to ask. ”

Little Goodwin's "open and honest" words made the businessmen who had just been a little apprehensive a little stunned - they had seen the arrogant and unreasonable, the shrewd and greedy, or the seemingly generous but in fact stingy and tyrannical, but it was the first time they had seen a gentleman like this.

I heard about the aristocratic lord who was about to marry Miss Allen. When Edward Witwood, who had sent people to the port of The Hague to collect supplies, many of the merchants were terrified—they were really sad about little Goodwin, who had come to take charge of the matter. If it weren't for Allen, little Goodwin might have gone home empty-handed!

Therefore, when these merchants first came, they had already calculated in their hearts how much they would have to pay in order to make this noble lord who had suffered a loss satisfied. Although all of them are worth a lot of money, they are still very afraid of the greedy appetite of the nobles.

But when they really understood what they meant, they were even more unbelievable - although they were uneasy about Edward Witwood's almost confrontation with the Minester family, at least they avoided the possibility of being blackmailed, and even had the opportunity to make a fortune from it, what could be more wonderful than this?

"Mr. Goodwin, I would like to forgive me if there is any misunderstanding. A merchant with a goatee took a sip of pear wine from his glass and emboldened himself: "But in the past, the food voice in the south has always been run by the Mineste family, and many farms have contracts with their merchants, even if we are really willing to pay a lot of money to buy it, there may not be anyone willing to sell it!"

"It's very simple - isn't the Minestrians' gold worth more than ours?" said little Goodwin, mimicking Edward's tone and shrugging his shoulders, "As I mentioned before, we can make far more profits than the Minnest family, as long as it makes them feel profitable—no merchant can refuse profits!"

"But what if their lord doesn't agree?" Another merchant couldn't help but stand up, as if he was pushed out by a group of people behind him, and said with a struggling expression: "This kind of thing has happened before, but the voice that was negotiated early in the morning ended up going wrong, and the tax increase is considered lucky!"

"Lord Edward has made an agreement with the Millar family that the farms around Hantu City will trade with us, and there is no need to worry about rejection. Little Goodwin waved his hand: "As for the most important shipping - the Goodwin Chamber of Commerce has a sufficient number of cargo ships and old captains who travel to and from Dominica all year round, so there is no need to worry at all!"

Little Goodwin, who breathed a sigh of relief, slowly stood up and looked at the faces around him—although many businessmen showed very excited expressions, and even began to discuss with the people around them, there were still a few faces full of vigilance, very hesitant whether they should put down their business and wade into the troubled waters.

Looks like we still need to put a little pressure on that...... Sighing, little Goodwin shook his head helplessly, if it was just his own chamber of commerce to expand business, he would be able to make these people think about the stakes and choose the best candidates to work with, but Edward would not give him so much time, he had to complete this task as soon as possible.

"If any of you are reluctant, please also think about your future at Fort Hague - Lord Edward Witwood, already the heir designated by Viscount Otto, will be the lord of two realms in the future. Your Excellency can forgive you for some of your actions before that, but you can also punish those who have put him in trouble and have not reached out to help. ”

Little Goodwin's voice was cold, "Lord Edward is very generous and kind, but it depends on your actions that you can accept it—I really hope that you can all become friends." After all, no amount of gold can buy a precious friendship, especially when this friendship also involves a nobleman. ”

With that, little Goodwin turned and opened the door, and before he could take a step, he came to his senses again, leaving a trace of a frightened look on his immature face: "Finally, although I am very willing to believe that all of you here are faithful friends who know how to keep secrets, I ask you to remember this matter—in any case, please do not say what we are discussing today, for for those who do not know what honesty and trustworthiness are, Lord Edward Witwood will judge in the most just way possible!"

Looking at the back of little Goodwin's departure, all the merchants in the silent hall were quietly thinking, looking at each other as if they were on guard and afraid of something, the meaning of little Goodwin's words full of warnings was simply self-evident in the eyes of these shrewd fellows. (To be continued......)

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