Chapter 1615 - 96: Fox and Mouse Game (6)_2

Chapter 1615: Chapter 96: Fox and Mouse Game (6)_2

Winters deliberately kept his distance from Matteo Konar and Fernando Leo’s entourage, even when hosting a banquet, only reminiscing or discussing fresh overseas experiences, without ever asking about the former’s purpose in coming to Paratu.

So he was completely unaware of Matteo Konar’s outrageous request, nor did he know anything about the latter’s schemes.

Faced with Gessa’s teasing, Winters could only endure it helplessly.

Turning his head, Winters found Skur Meklen’s sharp eyes fixed tightly on him.

Annoyed, Winters stared back at Skur Meklen and said in a deep voice, "Regardless of Mr. Matteo Konar’s plans, I have never colluded with him privately."

Yet Skur’s needle-like gaze lingered on Winters’ face for a long time, unable to find any signs of deceit, before reluctantly moving away.

On the other side, Gessa’s expression shifted after laughing enough, and he suddenly slammed the table with a fist.

"[Expletive]!" Gessa cursed angrily, "What nonsense ’Wealthiest of Sea Blue,’ having a few gold lumps in the bag, that’s looking down on people too much! Does he know how big a business coining money for the Paratu government is? What does being the Wealthiest of Sea Blue matter? Can he manage it? Can he afford it?"

Upon hearing this, Skur Meklen was silent for a while, and then his face showed a wry smile.

"He can manage it," Skur said bitterly, "and he can afford it."

This time, Gessa was stunned.

"Uh, this, that, I..." Gessa hesitated for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence, "How much are they offering?"

"I don’t want to say." Skur was very resistant.

"Why?" Gessa was puzzled.

Skur said quietly, "I’m afraid after you hear it, you’ll agree without hesitation."

Gessa gasped in shock, turning to look at Winters.

This time Winters was furious: "Why are you doubting me too? I’ve said it a thousand times, I know no more than you do, equally little."

Gessa turned back to Skur, licking his lips, suspiciously asking, "This—what’s his name, Matteo Konar, does he have that much money? Does he really have that much money? Does the Konar family really have that much money?"

"Matteo Konar doesn’t have that much money," Skur answered calmly, "The Konar family doesn’t have that much money either, it’s impossible."

"Then..."

"But the Sea Blue People do have that much money," Skur looked deeply at Winters, speaking rapidly but clearly to Gessa, "Mr. Matteo Konar presented me with a list, a very long list of authorizations, most of the influential Sea Blue Families—no, indeed almost all influential Sea Blue Families are on the list. Each family has promised an astonishing amount.

"Moreover, Mr. Matteo Konar has assured me that this authorization is forcibly binding, any family breaking their promise will be ’severely punished’ by the others on the list. They also guarantee that the total pledged amount will not change under any circumstances, how it will be realized is not our concern.

"Mr. Konar particularly emphasized to me that without ’His Excellency Winters Montaigne,’ not even the Saint Heir descending could obtain this authorization."

Gessa looked up, staring blankly at Winters, his expression became quite complex, a mix of shock, anger, and rediscovering there is a sun in the sky.

"Hogwash, don’t believe it," Winters ignored a certain bald old veteran, straightforwardly telling Skur, "They’re counting on us to refuse, deliberately using a large ship to pressure us, this is called making the first move."

"I think so too," Skur said calmly.

"Right," Gessa wiped his mouth, saying furiously, "These [some kind of crustacean amphibian] eggs, all deceit."

"What they truly want to deal in should be secondary," Winters said.

"Indeed." Skur said.

Their conversation was rapid.

"Did he mention it?"

"He did."

"What was it?"

"Wool."

"Exactly! Wool!" Gessa slapped the table, "Going back and forth, it’s still wool. They want to buy, we want to sell, why can’t these [mentioned crustacean amphibian] eggs speak directly?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gessa looked concerned again, pursing his lips and saying, "But now the Ashen Stream River is full of United Province ships, the waterways are blocked. As for overland routes, it can only be through the Northern Foothills Province, huh, now that’s a bit troublesome."

"Mr. Fernando Leo wants to discuss a wool deal," Skur slightly slowed his speech, "but not the usual wool deal."

"We sell, they buy," Gessa looked puzzled, "What other kind of wool deal is there?"

Winters was also somewhat perplexed.

"They," Skur’s tone also carried doubt, "They aren’t planning to directly ship the wool this time, they’re—they’re planning to spin and weave in Paratu."

The pavilion fell silent for a moment.

Not from shock or ecstasy, but confusion.

"Spin and weave in Paratu?" Gessa was baffled, "What’s it, Vineta can’t weave anymore?"

Winters vaguely grasped something, but it still felt like it was behind a thick layer of linen, unclear.

At this moment, he really wanted to go home and ask the person who actually read the accounting books.

He felt his brain itch, "Maybe it’s to save on transport costs? Shipping fabric back is much cheaper than shipping wool back."

"I don’t know much about spinning," Gessa frowned, "Where do we have so many looms here? And where are there so many weavers?"