Chapter 466 - 437: Turns Out Brother Was Helped Out of Poverty
Just as Da Fei and the mayor were chatting away over tea, a guard’s announcement came from outside the meeting room, "Mr. Comelon, the shipyard owner, has arrived."
The mayor laughed heartily, "Come in, come in!"
The door swung open, and a thin, middle-aged elf wearing a hard hat, work clothes, and a monocle stepped in, bowing respectfully, "Urgently summoned by the mayor, I didn’t have time to change, pardon me, pardon me!"
The mayor smiled, "No worries, no worries, come over and have some tea with us. Let me introduce you to someone, this is Mr. Da Fei, the president of the Dragon Cavalry Chamber of Commerce!"
Comelon nodded slightly and said in a mild tone, "So you’re the renowned and outstanding young president of this city. I’ve long heard of you!"
Da Fei chuckled, "You’re too kind, sir!"
Indeed, looking at him, he seemed like a real tech guy, which made Da Fei even more confident about investing in Elorin Shipyard. Yet, seeing Comelon’s lukewarm attitude, Da Fei couldn’t help but feel a little displeased. But compared to when he first met Jilrien from the Ranger Guild or the Storm Druid Instructor, this wasn’t so bad. After all, Da Fei was human, and gaining reputation in the always proud and exclusive Elf City was slow.
The mayor chuckled, "Mr. Comelon, how would you feel if this outstanding young president here wanted to invest 30 million Gold Coins to develop giant ships at our shipyard?"
"Develop giant ships?" Comelon was startled, staring blankly at Da Fei for a few seconds, then shook his head slightly with a sigh, "It’s not a money issue. If money could solve it, it would have been solved long ago. We’re lacking test materials, the kind that meet the standards for constructing giant ships. These materials are so precious that even large factories with mature technology can’t afford to waste them, let alone us experimenting. And then there’s the talent, our shipyard doesn’t have the talent to build giant ships. If we explore and cultivate it on our own, we’ll surely waste a lot of materials. Ultimately, it’s all about materials!"
The mayor frowned, "That is indeed a problem!"
Da Fei furrowed his brow, thinking that while reputation and approvals seemed within reach, materials and technology were still major hurdles. Speaking of materials, Da Fei immediately thought of the batch of goods left at Habbit Village.
Da Fei quickly said, "During the battle at the Pool of Radiance, I collected a lot of wood from the dead Wisdom Ancient Tree. Can those woods be used as ship materials?"
Comelon’s eyebrow twitched, "What kind of woods are they?"
Was there hope? Da Fei hurriedly said, "Seems like Ancient Iron Wood, Ancient Cold Crystal Wood, Ancient Radiant Wood, and stuff like that. Oh right, there’s also the endless Mercury Wood from the Black Forest! I refuse to believe with all these rare woods, none can be used for shipbuilding!"
Comelon hurriedly asked, "Could you bring some samples over?"
Samples? Da Fei sighed, "That’s pretty troublesome, given that the World Tree Space has collapsed, and materials are blocked off!"
"I see!" Disappointment was clearly written all over Comelon’s face.
The mayor laughed heartily, "Don’t worry, I have great confidence in President Da Fei. He found possible materials, so it’s just a matter of time to bring them out. Even if he hasn’t found them yet, he will in the future. And our shipyard should definitely start the development work, even if there’s no material yet; at least we should prepare in terms of ship design and talent cultivation."
Comelon said mildly, "The mayor’s guidance is absolutely right."
Da Fei nodded repeatedly, "Right, right, it’s just a matter of time, rest assured, Mr. Comelon."
The mayor chuckled, "Great, let’s draft the investment contract now. This time, the 30 million investment enters under the name of the Dragon Cavalry Chamber of Commerce, taking up 7.236% of Elorin Shipyard’s shares. This means each month, the Chamber will earn 7.236% of the shipyard’s profit as chamber funds. How do you two feel about that?"
Da Fei’s eyebrow twitched, pondering what the monthly profit of the shipyard was. If it were 1 million Gold Coins, his chamber could earn 70,000 in dividends? Impossible, that’s too little! Is there a 10 million profit? Then it would be 720,000 a month, which is acceptable. But one month in the game is three real-world days, and to recover his 30 million investment would take... Whoa, the real-world time is so long, I can’t bear to look at it!
While Da Fei was contemplating the investment’s yield, Comelon gave a helpless smile, "I didn’t expect Elorin’s blue-chip enterprise to be invested in by the Dragon Cavalry Chamber of Commerce. This is due to the mayor’s influence, all for the sake of scientific research and development, I have no complaints."
The mayor patted his shoulder, laughing heartily, "I understand, your shipyard is doing well, and the scale has reached a bottleneck. Investment doesn’t mean much to you because you don’t want profits diluted by outsiders. But it’s precisely because you’re at a bottleneck that you need investments from talents like the president here to help break through. Once broken through, you’ll be thanking me and the president immensely."
Comelon smiled, "Understood, full-spectrum control requires a chest move. The mayor has his challenges. As a blue-chip enterprise, we should lend a hand regardless of the outcome of the research. Besides, I know the mayor wouldn’t want a loss deal. Since the mayor has such confidence in him and he has indeed achieved remarkable things, I naturally support Mr. President!"
The mayor laughed heartily, "Thanks for understanding, thank you!"
Da Fei laughed silently, realizing his chamber had been receiving aid! He was complaining about the low yield when normally people wouldn’t accept investment! Also, his chamber was under the Sea God’s Curse, unable to conduct business, and funds could only be gained from member quests, which was too little. A shipyard’s dividend meant an additional channel for chamber funds—
Wait! Da Fei suddenly realized that the 30 million was actually his personal funds! Personal funds couldn’t directly turn into chamber funds or city funds. No matter how wealthy a tycoon guild leader or city lord was, buying billions of personal Gold Coins from gaming studios, they couldn’t convert them into chamber funds or city funds. They could only conduct honest business or city trade through tasks. But Da Fei’s 30 million personal Gold Coins, after being owed for a few days at the exchange and transferred by the mayor into the shipyard, could continuously be converted into chamber funds through dividends!
What is this? A different meaning of "money laundering!"
Whoa! Is this an exploit? Mr. Mayor, you are indeed a God-level mayor! In the entire game, the NPC I respect the most is you! At this moment, Da Fei was at a loss, regretting that he initially owed less Gold Coins to the exchange! What else could he say now except to agree!
—System Prompt: The Dragon Cavalry Chamber of Commerce invested in Elorin Shipyard and received 7.236% of Elorin Shipbuilding’s monthly profit dividends!
Da Fei excitedly exclaimed, "Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for your troubles, and thank you, Mr. Comelon, for your help!"
Comelon shook his head mildly, "We’re just helping each other out. Mr. President can visit our shipyard anytime for guidance. Well, there’s work to attend to, so if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave!"
The mayor said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work."
Da Fei quickly said, "Take care, sir."
With the shipyard owner gone, the mayor took a deep breath, "You heard my conversation with Mr. Comelon, right? Being a mayor is tough. Some industries here thrive, others barely survive or are on the brink of closure. As mayor, I constantly try to have prosperous industries give a hand to the lagging ones. This results in dissatisfaction from the thriving industries, while the lagging ones don’t even improve. Quite a few people are unhappy with me. But when you appeared from another country, I saw the spirit of explorers in you, making me think maybe someone like you could revitalize Elorin. I believe in you—so keep at it!"
Da Fei was finally enlightened, understanding why he felt Jilrien and the Storm Druid Instructor weren’t giving the mayor much respect. It likely was because the mayor held them back? But it couldn’t be that simple right? This mayor had been behind the scenes, modifying the Flying Banshee Barracks, setting up Black Brother with deep sea specialties at the exchange, probably with much more tricks, and conflicting deeply with other city officials.
But those weren’t important now. What’s crucial is that he has a high regard for Da Fei and has supported him consistently. He even revealed crucial information just now!
Da Fei asked, "Sir, does our city have many companies on the verge of closing?"
The mayor raised an eyebrow, shaking his head with a smile, "There are some. Does Mr. President intend to support them? But for now, you don’t have the capability and reputation for that. Anyway, your Fishman quarantine should be over; focus on your tasks."
So that’s how it is! There are still quite a few companies in Elorin waiting for Da Fei to save them, waiting for him to invest! Hahahaha—But never mind the rubbish companies. Better to focus on his own work first.
Da Fei then bid farewell to the mayor, ready to handle the Fishman situation.
Inspired by the subsidy, Da Fei realized he was both the City Lord of Radiant City and the president of the Dragon Cavalry Chamber of Commerce. He could totally help himself and invest in himself! That is, when Radiant City runs out of city funds, he can transfer from the Dragon Cavalry Chamber’s funds. Basically, moving money from one pocket to another, reviving countless deadlocks as a result!
However, both Radiant City and the Dragon Cavalry Chamber of Commerce are poor now, unable to help each other. Da Fei realized he still needed to find bigger and more stable development spaces. Nether Sea Paradise? Sounds good! That’s an area he’s earmarked, but that’s for later. And Fleeting Blossom’s Canal Company being formed? Da Fei didn’t trust players, especially calculating female players, so he was more cautious about that.
Overall, no point in overthinking. The key issue now is shipbuilding materials. All rare materials were blocked off by the Eight-Headed Snake at Habbit Village. If it could be taken down, it would not only aid in Radiant City’s development but also potentially solve the shipyard’s research issues—problem is, it’s all early days! Thinking too far ahead is frustrating, indeed.
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