Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 310: Sur City (2)

When they arrived at Sur City, it began to rain. The rain was not heavy, thin and dense, and rain powder fell one after another, blurring the outline of things. Thus, in Alan's eyes, Sur City had turned into mottled pieces of ash. From afar, he could see the city's defensive wall. From Allen's perspective, this defensive wall was severely inadequate in height. Even an ordinary soldier could reach the wall with a single leap, let alone a warrior like Allen who could jump up to six or seven meters with all his strength.

Thinking about it, Sur City was rarely attacked. Otherwise, Baron York would have raised the defensive wall a long time ago.

There were a few defensive tools on the wall, which looked like heavy crossbows. It was very primitive, and its power was limited. The effect of the decoration was far greater than its actual use.

There were a few sentry towers in Sur City. They were made of stones, but no soldiers could be seen in them. Alan was surprised by the slackness of the city's defenses. The buildings in the city were low. Apart from the bell towers, churches, and a few buildings in the City Lord's Mansion, the houses, workshops, and shops were mostly bungalows. In the smoke and rain, one could only vaguely see the sharp silhouettes of a few towers.

After paying a silver coin, Allen and the others were able to enter the city.

Walking into the city gate, there was a plaza. The plaza was covered with mud and sand, and it was turned into mud by the rain. In the mud-covered plaza, a hundred-strong army had just been disbanded. Judging from the weapons in their hands, there were about twenty gunmen in this army, and the rest were infantry. The officer scolded them loudly and looked at Alan inadvertently.

Alan responded with a bright smile.

The officer was stunned and regained his senses. Alan and the others had already entered the city.

It was more appropriate to call it the downtown area than the messy alleyways. The narrow winding alleyway was lined with tattered dark bungalows, and as evening approached, ash smoke was rising from the chimneys of every household, and the choking smell of charcoal floated in the air as the smoke rose.

On the corridor outside some houses, two or three children in sackclothed knickers looked at Ellen and the others curiously. There were even a few bold children who ran forward and spread out their hands to shout "Tang Tang". Jim would use his only hand to drive the children away like a fly and even ignite a ball of flame at the tip of his finger.

The sudden flames made the children scream and run away, but they looked at them more curiously.

The rain seems to be on the rise.

'"Let's rest here and have some food, and then I'll get that fat pig Shawn. Oh, he's the biggest cotton merchant in Sur. Five or six of the ten workshops in the city are his."

Jim bowed as he pushed open the wooden door of a bar. There weren't many people in the bar. After all, it wasn't the time to drink and have fun. Jim was very familiar with the food provided during the meal time. "Old Roark, bring us five dinners," he shouted at the bar.

"Young Master, do you drink? Their ale is not bad."

"Try it." Alan said succinctly.

They sat down in a corner with Wilick and the others. There were five of them, and all of them had unfamiliar faces except Jim. Some of the guests in the bar cast meaningful gazes, but they tactfully withdrew their gazes when they came into contact with Wilick's fierce-looking Furious Beast Armor and the short blade Belmore was playing with.

As long as they were normal people, they would know that provoking adventurers was not a good thing. These people weren't gentlemen. They could fight for women, or they could kill for an unkind gaze. Even though they didn't know that Allen and the others weren't adventurers.

Alan scanned the bar.

The bar is a typical civil structure, the walls are made of stone bricks, but the supporting frame of the building is made of wood. The lampstand hanging from above was lit up with candles. They were the main lights of the bar, but there were two electric lights near the bar. It was clear that the planet had already started to use electricity. It was just that everything was in its initial stages.

At this time, the guests gradually talked about last night's attack. From their words, Alan could tell that it was Baku and the others. Alan winked at Jim, and the magician left knowingly and generously invited the most talked about men to a bottle of ale.

Before dinner was delivered, a few women dressed as yao zhi and dressed in revealing clothes, but with an ordinary appearance, walked into the bar. They seemed to be frequent guests here, so they chose a table close to Ellen and the others to sit at. Two of them took out a thin and long pipe from their cheap handbags, stuffed some tobacco into it, and began to smoke. A woman in a black dress looked at Allen and the others and made a hint.

When Jim came back, he said, "Those people are in prison. I heard they're going to be sent to the mine for a few days to work as coolies. They probably won't be able to come back."

He glanced at the women again and swallowed his saliva. "These are the prostitutes/women of Sur City. They can provide you with satisfactory service for only one silver coin."

But Ellen and the others were not interested. Jim only shrugged his shoulders and remained silent.

Very quickly, the food arrived. Looking at the bread, the soup, and the steak that was so small that it could be swallowed in one bite, Welik complained, "Isn't there anything better?"

"Yes, but you have to go to the City Lord's Mansion." The waiter said humorously.

"People in the city have had a hard time these past two years," Jim said. "Baron York raised taxes and ordinary people tightened their belts to barely make it through the day."

"Looks like this baron has a bad habit of making money." Edward smiled.

"I heard that the baron's warehouse is filled with gold coins." Jim whispered.

Alan coughed softly and said, "Eat."

After dinner, Jim left the bar. Half an hour later, he returned with a fat man wearing a gold chain the size of a pinky finger around his neck. The necklace was roughly made, but it was full of weight. If the chain was made of pure gold, it was worth enough to make the people in the bar jealous.

The fatty sat across from Allen and the others and slapped his palm on the table. "Who is the boss? If it weren't for this damn thing, I wouldn't have come out of my house in the rain. Since I want to talk about business, let's talk about it now. I don't like to talk too much."

Jim smiled and introduced, "This is Mr. Shawn. If Young Master wants to do business, just cooperate with him."

Shawn took out a piece of cloth from his pocket. It was a sample of cloth that Jim had brought with him. Actually, it was the corner cut from Ellen and the others' clothes, but it was this thing that attracted Shawn's interest. "Tell me," said the fatty, gripping the cloth, "how did you produce this density of textiles."

Allen leaned forward and smiled, "This is a worsted technology developed by our family. Does Mr. Shawn think there is a market for it?"

"If it's not profitable, do you think I'll sit here? Then, are you the boss this guy is talking about?"

"My name is Alan."

"You're so young."

Alan nodded and said, "Yes, it was because I was young that I dared to take risks. Otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting here."

"Very good, I want this kind of technique. May I know how Young Master Allen is going to cooperate with me?" Xiao En said straightforwardly.

"It's very simple. I provide the technology and make the necessary machines. Of course, because we came from afar, it's impossible to bring the machines with us. We only have technicians, so the textile machines need to be purchased, or even assembled with parts made by ourselves."

"That's not a problem," said Shawn. "There are no smelters in Sur, but I know some good craftsmen. As long as you have the drawings, they can do it."

"Then the workers and the venue will naturally be provided by Mr. Shawn. After that, we will earn 50-50 points." Ellen spread out his palm and shook it.

Xiao En laughed, "That won't do, Young Master. Look, I'm in charge of the workplace, and the parts you need for your machines have fallen on my head, but I only made 50% of the final profit. That's a bit too little."

"Alright, you're six and I'm four."

"No, I can only give you 30%!"

Alan laughed and said to Jim, "There should be other workshops in Sur willing to cooperate, right?"

Jim nodded and said, "Of course, young master."

"But none of them is bigger than me," Xiao En said in a deep voice.

"Then let them unite." Alan said indifferently, "We have a sentence." No merchant would refuse such a deal as long as there was double the profit. If there were three times the profit, all the merchants were willing to risk their lives for it. The technology I have provided is enough to bring the textiles you produce into the upper class. The noble ladies admire me endlessly, and the profits are more than three times that. I think there are plenty of people who are willing to cooperate with me. "

Xiao En narrowed his eyes and looked at Alan. Edward lowered his head and didn't know what to think, while William moved his armor. The dagger in Belmond's hand would disappear in an instant and then reappear like a magic trick. Sean looked at this and laughed, "Deal, Young Master Allen, I've made a friend of yours. However, I still need more samples of cloth and even ready-to-wear for the collaboration to proceed smoothly. For the integration of the workshop and the requisition of the site, I need the approval of the Baron, and I need to show him something that will impress him enough."

"There's no problem with that. Next time we come, we'll bring a ready-made garment."

"I'm really looking forward to that."

Sean called for ale and filled it up for Ellen and the others. "Good luck with the collaboration."

After a few drinks with him, Ellen said without a trace, "Mr. Shawn, there's one more small thing I need to trouble you with."

"What is it?"

'"We had a few slave laborers when we came, but they ran away two days ago. They might have come to Sur City, and I wonder if you can keep an eye on them. As master, I need to punish them fiercely before I can give any warning to the other slaves." Saying that, Alan described Baku's appearance.

Baku's body was covered in scars. Sean said, "So it's them."

Ellen looked surprised. "Mr. Sean has seen them."

Xiao En nodded, "Those slaves of yours broke into the city last night and taught the city guards a lesson. After that, they were thrown into prison. I heard they're going to bring them to the mine to work as laborers."

"This won't do." Alan said.

I 'm sorry I missed it when I was dragging out the manuscript