Chapter 54: Confidence (Please keep reading)

“Forgive me for making a fool of myself before you, Uncle Bede. This kind of wild meat is just too difficult to domesticate,” Gavin said with a helpless smile toward Bede.

“Impressive, truly impressive. It is already quite extraordinary,” Bede said, giving a thumbs up. “I have never seen such an obedient and intelligent half-ogre. Brother Gavin, where on earth did you pick up such a treasure?”

Although Bede was speaking to Gavin, his eyes kept following the half-ogre; even a fool could see the look of greed in his gaze.

This was a natural-born caravan guard. Traveling with such an individual would not only significantly increase their safety margin but, at critical moments, they could also assist with the wagons and the hauling of goods.

“Just good luck. He delivered himself to my doorstep,” Gavin said nonchalantly, acting as if he hadn't noticed Bede's expression at all.

Unable to contain his itch, Bede couldn't help but say, “For the sake of our deep friendship, Uncle Bede has one small request...”

“Not for sale,” Gavin interrupted him directly.

“How did you know what I was going to say?” Bede asked in surprise.

“It’s written all over your face,” Gavin said with utmost seriousness. “Any other business is fine, but as for my people—forget kobolds, even if it were a goblin, I wouldn't sell. If Uncle Bede wishes to do business with me in the future, do not touch this bottom line.”

His experiences as a slave in his past life had made Gavin loathe the slave trade with every fiber of his being.

Not only would he never touch that business, but if he encountered a slave trader, he would kill them without hesitation or negotiation.

“Haha, just a joke, just a joke! How could Uncle Bede possibly try to take something dear to Brother Gavin? No, I should say, a talent. After all, if Brother Gavin wants to take root in a dangerous place like the Crags, he will desperately need such a powerful guard. Haha...”

Bede once again displayed his smooth, diplomatic side, laughing off the awkward atmosphere. He took Gavin by the arm and led him inward. “Come, I didn't come alone this time. Besides a few who are heading to Sambia to deliver goods, the rest of the brothers have returned. It seems you are quite popular among us old hands, Brother Gavin; they all think very highly of you.

In fact, it has proven that you are even more capable than we thought. We brought quite a lot of good things this time, but we underestimated the speed of your development, so we didn't prepare enough certain types of cargo.”

“Uncle Bede, you're being too formal. Your arrival is the greatest sign of trust you could show me, and that is enough to satisfy me,” Gavin said with a smile. “Besides, we aren't doing a one-off deal; this is a long-term partnership. If what you brought is insufficient this time, you can simply bring more next time.”

“Brother Gavin has the foresight. It was my lack of understanding. My fault, my fault, my fault,” Bede praised sincerely.

Gavin possessed a unique charm. Once one engaged in conversation with him, they would unconsciously overlook his somewhat youthful face.

Those like Bede, who did business with him, felt this most deeply.

When you think you are facing a naive, green newcomer, you eventually realize that *you* are the fool; the man can effortlessly pull a "white wolf from an empty hand"—extracting massive value from veteran merchants like yourself with ease.

When you think the opponent is a tender little fox, you turn around to find they have already built an empire that many spend their entire lives failing to achieve. They don't care about petty, trivial profits; they are looking at the far-off future.

When you treat him like an old fox who has cultivated his craft for years, he acts as generously as a novice, constantly handing you benefits until you almost feel embarrassed. By the time your mind clears and you look back, he has already extracted more than enough profit from you.

Yet, he leaves you with no room for anger, because in his calculations, your share of the profit has already been accounted for clearly and fairly.

For such a person, there is nothing left to feel but admiration.

It was precisely because they had realized this that those cunning, old merchants were willing to risk a wasted trip to gather at Black Well.

They still wanted to place a bet.

And they won.

In just two short twenty-day periods, Gavin had broken ground here. Not only did he possess a sizable kobold tribe, but he had also captured a powerful half-ogre barbarian.

Based on this alone, how much profit they made from this trip was no longer the important part. What mattered was that they had struck a new vein—a new mine worth their additional investment.

Bede and his group stayed in the Black Well tribe for a full three days.

For two of those days, under Gavin's guidance, they walked around the mountains surrounding the Black Well tribe to observe.

They were certainly not there for sightseeing. The Crags were not exactly a wasteland, but they were certainly not picturesque.

They were observing the terrain around the Black Well tribe, assessing its value and determining how much effort they should invest here.

As for the result, their smiles, which bloomed like chrysanthemums, spoke volumes.

Just as they had assessed Gavin before—limitless potential.

On the final day, they sat together to listen to Gavin's visions and ideas.

As before, Gavin made no excessive promises and did not reveal his entire plan. He merely gave a rough introduction to the future direction of the Black Well tribe's expansion, leaving the rest for the merchants to imagine for themselves.

When Bede and his group arrived, they were a grand procession of nearly thirty large wagons. When they left, they were empty; the wagons were only one-third full. Half of that load consisted of iron ore from the Black Well mines, and the other half was scrap metal scavenged from the half-ogres and surrounding tribes.

However, every merchant wore a look of satisfied anticipation, giving the impression that they had struck it rich.

The goods they took back were barely enough to cover their costs for this trip, but they had opened a brand-new trade route. To make real money, they would have to wait until Gavin's kobold tribe developed to a certain level.

Until then, this was the "additional investment" phase—the price one must pay to strike it big. These veteran merchants understood this perfectly.

An investment that doesn't lose money is the most welcome thing to any merchant.

These merchants were both companions and competitors. They all clutched their own small abacuses, calculating what to bring and how much to bring next time, how many promises to extract from Gavin, and which cities and people they should sign supply and sales contracts with.

The arrival of Bede's group gave Gavin immense confidence.

This confidence was multi-faceted.

On one hand, it was the opening of sales channels.

The promises made by Bede's group of merchants were one thing, but their actual physical presence was another.

If he mined a massive amount of ore only to find that not a single merchant showed up, would he have to carry the ore around the world looking for buyers?

It wasn't impossible, but it would consume too much energy and time, severely slowing his expansion in the Crags.

On the other hand, there was the matter of food.

Of the thirty large wagons, twenty-five were loaded with grain. Although much of it was old, hairy, and moldy, it was more than enough for the Black Well kobolds, who had only recently moved past the brink of starvation. They didn't care if the grain was new or old.

Besides, Gavin wasn't going to steam bread or buns to stew with meat; there wasn't much difference in taste between new and old grain in a stew.

With this food as a backbone, Gavin's relatively conservative expansion speed could be appropriately accelerated.

More accurately, with this food in place, Gavin didn't even need to do anything. He just needed to pile it there, and the kobolds would come knocking on his door themselves.