15: Chapter 15 The Money That Comes to Your Door

Perhaps it was from being exhausted all night, or perhaps because his body was very weak.

So Loren slept until the sky was completely bright, and he only slowly woke up when the door was knocked upon.

But when he opened his eyes, he was immediately startled, because there was actually someone by the bed. When he saw who it was, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

But he didn't give her a good look either.

"Fiana, don't you know that men and women should not touch?"

"If I liked sleeping naked, wouldn't I have been taken advantage of by you?"

"Also, I had locked the door from the inside. How did you get in?"

Hearing these shameless words, Fiana's eyelids twitched. Her good mood for the morning was instantly ruined. Suppressing the urge to step forward and kick this bastard twice, she said coldly.

"The people from the chambers of commerce are already waiting for you in the hall."

"Chambers of commerce? What chambers of commerce..."

"You!!!" Fiana was half-dead with anger.

Loren only then came to his senses. Money delivered to his door?

Thinking about immediately completing the system mission and awakening the Demon Grand Duke Bloodline, he was suddenly in a great mood.

He gave a light cough and said with a half-smile.

"You go out first. I need to get dressed. Of course, if you don't mind, you can stay here..."

Fiana gave him a cold look and turned to leave.

This guy had become increasingly infuriating after being scolded by her yesterday.

Bang~

When the ceiling shook off another cloud of dust, Loren laughed. He really didn't like having people around him who kept a cold face all day.

Getting up and dressing, a dashing, elegant, and handsome youth who didn't seem like a mortal appeared in the room. In that instant, the air seemed to brighten a little.

Clomp, clomp, clomp~

When Loren went down to the first-floor hall, Arnold was standing guard at the door with a dozen or so guards, while several merchants wearing luxurious clothing were sitting in the hall.

The first time Loren saw Arnold, he felt something was wrong. There was a bloody aura permeating from this guy, and his aura had also undergone a transformation; it seemed like he had suddenly become stronger overnight.

However, before he could observe carefully, the few merchants saw Loren and immediately greeted him with brilliant smiles on their faces.

"Good day, respected Master Loren."

Loren withdrew his puzzled gaze, looked at them saluting, and nodded slightly.

There wasn't much expression on his face. He looked down at these chamber heads from a high position, perfectly capturing the posture of a high-ranking noble.

Seeing his attitude, the group became even more cautious, their obsequious smiles brighter than chrysanthemums.

One, two, three, four. Hmm? Why is there one more person?

"I remember, I only contacted your four chambers of commerce. Who is this?"

Sitting slowly by the wooden table, Loren looked indifferently at the strange merchant with the big belly.

Robert, the head of the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce, hurriedly began to introduce him.

"Master Loren, this is the head of the Black Stone Chamber of Commerce — Kari. Hearing that you wanted to form a trade alliance, he was very eager, so he begged me to bring him along to admire your glory.

"Also, he heard that you gave up your family's favorable conditions to come here for adventure, which really makes him admire and worship you..."

This flattery was just too shameless. Fiana, who was watching coldly from inside the room, couldn't help but want to complain.

What glory? He couldn't even hold onto his own territory... If it were anyone else, that would be one thing, but for a descendant of the Bauhinia Family to be unable to hold onto their territory, that is a truly shameful matter.

Loren nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, I like honest people."

Fiana suddenly had the thought of covering her face and fleeing...

After speaking nonsense, Loren didn't bother chatting with these guys anymore and said with a solemn expression.

"I thought about it all last night. The Bauhinia Family has such honor. Collaborating with a group of small chambers of commerce might affect the family's reputation.

"Although my territory was breached and I am in urgent need of funds, I cannot gamble with the family's honor..."

Hiss. Everyone in the room sucked in a breath of cold air upon hearing this.

Could it be that this guy is going to go back on his word??

The heads of the several chambers of commerce looked at each other, their faces immediately filled with anxiety.

Before they came, they had already discussed it for a long time and sent people to investigate what Loren had done in Green City these past few days, confirming Loren's identity again and again.

However, 5 million in funds just for the annual membership fee really made their hearts ache.

Although the tax exemptions obtained might make them earn more, that was future revenue, and they couldn't see the money in the short term. They had already made up their minds to talk to Loren about the price, preferably reducing it by one or two million.

But now, Loren had used his trump card of wanting to go back on his word, instantly stifling the little calculations in their hearts.

The other party already looked down on their chambers of commerce for being small and didn't intend to cooperate. Talking about price at this time? Wasn't that just asking for their lives?

The tacit understanding they had reached after much consultation was directly dismantled by Loren in an instant.

Robert, the head of the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce, hurriedly said.

"Lord Loren, we all understand your concerns, but our chambers of commerce are all sincerely wanting to cooperate with you.

"And we have been able to develop in Decker City for so long, having already established sufficient commercial channels. As long as you let us join the trade alliance, we can quickly grow, and by then, we can provide you with more useful value.

"Didn't you say that your elders also hope to see you start from zero? We will absolutely support you in developing your territory!!"

This trump card of advancing by retreating allowed Loren to instantly seize the initiative. Hearing this, he found it funny in his heart, but on his face, he wore the appearance of being persuaded.

"Is that so?"

Seeing this expression of his, Robert immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said.

"Of course that's the case. With our 5 chambers of commerce as your subordinate chambers, you only need to give an order, and we can purchase sufficient supplies for you at low prices.

"You are unfamiliar with the place and also need some chambers of commerce to serve you."

Loren nodded and said with a bit of hesitation.

"Then shouldn't the membership fee go up a bit?"

The few heads heard this and their hearts were dripping blood. They had originally been thinking of lowering the price.

They hurriedly signaled Robert with their eyes. Robert gave a bitter smile and hurriedly tried to persuade Loren.

"Lord Loren, 5 million is already the fairest price.

"Think about it, this is our first time cooperating, and we haven't received any benefits yet. Whether we earn or lose in the future is uncertain.

"If simply reducing taxes could make a business successful, then there wouldn't be so many bankrupt nobles every year.

"If the price is too high, we won't be able to afford it. I believe you wouldn't want to see us go bankrupt after paying the membership fee, as that would inevitably affect your family elders' view of you..."

Loren seemed to finally be persuaded. After pondering for a long time, he nodded slowly.

"Since you are so sincere in cooperating with me, then I will accept it. At most, it's only a year. If the cooperation is unpleasant, we can talk about it then.

"In addition, I temporarily don't have the manpower to do the preliminary work for forming the Bauhinia Trade Alliance..."

"We will solve it. How can such a trivial matter let you worry? Rest assured, the personnel for the trade alliance are all bought from the slave market, and the contracts will all be handed over to you..."

"Then the membership fee..."

"Rest assured, as soon as the trade alliance is registered in Decker City, we will give it to you immediately..."

"..."

Fiana, with her cold temperament, watched from the side as Loren was coaxed by several chamber heads into discussing the agreement, her expression very strange.

She didn't believe for a second that Loren was considering abandoning the formation of the trade alliance. He didn't even have a single currency in his pocket, and his territory was waiting for him to bring back a large amount of resources. If he gave it up, what would he use to develop?

But after he said that one light sentence, the progress of this morning's negotiation went more smoothly than she could have imagined.

This left her both surprised and incredulous.

Ever since Loren was scolded by her yesterday, his changes were truly too great.

"Could it be that my scolding can have this kind of effect?"

Fiana secretly pondered whether she should find someone to scold tonight to test the effect, her peripheral vision involuntarily looking towards Arnold, who was standing guard at the inn entrance.

Arnold suddenly sneezed, the hairs on his back standing up. He hurriedly turned his head to look around. After not discovering any danger, he then gathered his spirit to continue observing the surroundings.