Chapter 751: Chapter 455: Full Moon
"What exactly does the Lord of Tilamei intend to do?"
After leaving the Palace, representatives from various guilds naturally gathered in a secret room.
Frank, leaning against his chair, spoke up first.
"It’s probably to drive up the prices," one guild representative said without a second thought.
"It doesn’t seem like it..." another countered.
"Or could it be that he’s making too much and deliberately wants to make less? Or perhaps, is it to ensure that the commoners have enough to eat?"
"This..." The guild representative paused, momentarily at a loss for words.
"No matter what the Lord of Tilamei plans to do, our objective remains to procure grain," Dougla stated gravely,
"Now that everyone is gathered here, I assume it’s not for quarreling but to swiftly get to the main point and devise a suitable strategy!"
"What Lord Dougla says makes sense."
"Right, let’s discuss what needs to be done."
"..."
Under Dougla’s lead, the secret meeting’s topic shifted to strategizing.
"In my view, as long as we firmly disagree with those terms, after some time, Tilamei will inevitably yield," suggested a short, plump middle-aged merchant with a goatee, his eyes sparkling with cunning.
"Exactly, without our help, Tilamei Plain can’t sell that much grain!" a few other guild representatives agreed.
"I’ve heard that to the south of Neustadt, near the Keg Kingdom, new farmlands were cultivated last year, and it’s expected that the wheat there will soon be ready to harvest. Even if Tilamei doesn’t yield, we are not without alternatives!" a merchant added.
"Yes, that’s the farmland developed by Councilman Johnson. Our guild has already sent people there; Tilamei isn’t our only option!"
"Exactly, even if Tilamei never yields, we are not without means to buy grain!"
Another merchant agreed. The development of new farmlands by Councilman Johnson was an open secret; many were aware of it.
Yet still, some guild representatives who hadn’t known seemed surprised and thoughtful at this revelation.
The merchants continued discussing based on the plump merchant’s suggestion.
They simply established some principles for negotiating with Atbolde and planned to find ways to directly contact Colin to see if there was any room for negotiation.
Finally, it was again the goateed plump merchant who stood up and looked around:
"We are all in the same camp, gentlemen. No one should secretly agree to the terms laid out by the Lord of Tilamei, or else you will be the ones to incur losses in the end."
"Of course!"
"We aren’t shortsighted!"
The merchants all concurred.
While this stalling strategy didn’t seem effective, it was all they could do.
After all, the grain was grown on the Tilamei Plain, and its owner was a respected councilman. Unless the Supreme Council issued a clear directive, nobody could dictate to Colin how to sell his grain.
This was a principle well understood by all.
Moreover, even though the farmland developed by Councilman Johnson offered them another option, they all knew that the main supply was still the grain from the Tilamei Plain.
Additionally, according to feedback from guild mates, that councilman was quite ambitious.
However, with some time left until the spring harvest, at least for now, they were all united.
The meeting concluded, and the merchants left, each wearing a resolute expression—at least for the moment.
***
"This is the largest wheat-harvesting machine, measuring 13 meters long, 7 meters wide, and nearly 6 meters high. It is named ’Wheat Ear One.’"
Inside the enormous factory, Shelley pointed to the massive machine next to Colin.
This steel behemoth was painted in metallic grey-black, the roller cutter in front gleaming with a silvery cold light, and at the back in the middle, the Magic Stone Power Source emitted a gentle blue glow.
Colin walked around it, running his hands over the cold exterior, and nodded in satisfaction.
"As for these smaller harvesters next to it, they are, from largest to smallest, Wheat Ear Two, Three, Four, and Five."
"These five models of harvesters can handle all the terrains across the entire Tilamei Plain," Shelley continued, thinking of their terrifying harvesting efficiency and couldn’t help but smile.
"Using the current number of harvesters, how long would it take to harvest all the wheat on the Tilamei Plain?" Colin continued to inquire.
"It won’t take more than three days," Shelley thought for a moment and said, "If things go smoothly, we could finish harvesting all the wheat within two days."
Although Colin had always known that the advent of these harvesters would greatly improve efficiency, the time Shelley mentioned still made him raise an eyebrow:
"That’s indeed a significant improvement."
"Yes, in the past, relying on serfs, it would take at least half a month back and forth to harvest the entire Tilamei Plain, and this doesn’t even account for the loss of serfs in the rush to gather the crop," Shelley spoke with a hint of emotion. She stared at the harvester before her, then turned solemnly to Colin:
"I sincerely thank you on behalf of the Truth Society, Colin."
"The serfs of the entire Tilamei should also thank you. With these harvesters, the rush to harvest wheat will become history. No more serfs will have to die for this."