"Wait, they're not edible yet! They're still poisonous!"
Rennes snatched the potato from Trish's hand. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
When he first met this girl, she was very shrewd.
Why did she become so silly after she came here? She was especially fascinated by food.
If someone used food to lure her, she would probably help the person count their money after they sell her.
"Oh!" Hearing that it was poisonous, Trish was in no hurry to eat the potato anymore.
She just asked curiously, "How long will it take, Lord Rennes?"
"You can eat it after it becomes completely yellow!" Rennes said looking at the potato in his hand that had a large patch of green on it.
He was now completely sure that groundnut was indeed potato, but because this was a magic world, it was very difficult for potatoes to mature.
But fortunately, the potatoes had been polluted by magic energy. Now, they could be considered a kind of magic plant, which meant that he could use the magic plant cultivation skill on them.
As long as he planted and cultivated the potatoes for a period of time, when the potatoes matured, he could cultivate some seeds and start to plant it on a large scale in the northern region.
When he thought of that, his eyes lit up. He felt as if he could already see the magnificent scene of potatoes covering the northern fields.
A loud voice interrupted Rennes' vision of the future.
"Reporting, Chief Consul! Minister Charles requests an audience!"
"Let him in!"
Rennes put down the potatoes and went to the hall.
The guard opened the door, and Charles respectfully walked in. He bowed and said, "Charles pays his respects to Lord Rennes!
"I was delayed for a while because of I was supervising the transfer of grain stock. I beg your pardon, Lord Rennes!"
"Don't worry about it!" Rennes dismissed with a wave of his hand.
Charles' hope of building the port probably rode on this batch of grain, so he could not be blamed for the delay.
"Charles, do you know why I want to see you today?" Rennes asked with a smile.
Charles thought for a moment and guessed, "Is it about the construction of the port?"
"Yes, it is!" Rennes nodded and said, "How much do you think it'll cost to build the port?"
"Well... let me do the math," Charles lowered his head and pondered.
In less than a minute, he gave his answer, "Around 150,000 gold coins!"
In truth, Charles already knew the general construction plan of this port.
In these 50 seconds, he only double-checked to make sure that there were no mistakes.
"I'll give you 180,000 gold coins!" Rennes said right after Charles gave his answer.
Hearing the figure of 180,000 gold coins, Charles was stunned. Then, extreme joy crept onto his face. "That's...thank you so much, milord. If it weren't for your full support, I'm afraid this matter will probably be delayed for a long time!"
"During the construction of the port, if you encounter any problem that you can't solve, you can come to me.
"Now, I want to hear your specific plan," Rennes said with a smile.
"Milord, do you have a map of the kingdom?" Charles looked calm and a little reserved.
"Yes!" Rennes waved his hand and shouted, "Trish, go get the map on the bookshelf for me!"
"Yes, milord. Please wait a minute!" From outside the house, a beautiful girl happily walked in.
"This is the map you asked for, Lord Rennes!"
Trish soon brought the map.
"Good. You can go back to the garden and continue with your work."
Rennes waved his hand and sent Trish away.
"Yes, milord!" Trish turned around and left.
Staring at Trish's back, there was a hint of doubt in Charles' eyes. He asked, "Milord, this girl isn't human, is she?"
"Oh, you're pretty knowledgeable!"
Rennes did not deny it. He just smiled and nodded.
Charles spread open the map on the table.
He pointed at a certain spot on the map and said, "Please take a look here, milord. This is the southern area of the kingdom. Here, you can see the Ray City, the Coldwater City, and the Golden Bull Town.
"All three settlements are close to the Barton River. Possessing an important estuary to the sea, the Barton River is connected to several river networks on the continent.
"If our fleet of ships take off from the Barton River, they can reach more than half the continent.
"Moreover, there are many ships passing through this river. As long as a port is built here, there will be an endless stream of foreign trading ships."
"Good. Pray continue!"
Rennes nodded in agreement.
"Therefore, the port must be built at one of these three settlements -- Ray City, Coldwater City, or Golden Bull Town.
"Ray City is the territory of old Duke Andre. The infrastructure in the city is rather complete. Moreover, I've had a good chat with Duke Andre last night, and he supports my idea.
"However, there is an obvious drawback of building the port here – it's quite far from the river, so long artificial waterways need to be dug to provide a place for ships to dock.
"Coldwater City is somewhat similar to Ray City, but its geographical location is actually even better!"
"But the most noteworthy is the Golden Bull Town..." When he spoke of the Golden Bull Town, the corners of Charles' mouth suddenly curled up.
"Oh? Is there anything special about the Golden Bull Town?" Rennes could hear the change in Charles' tone. He asked with anticipation.
If his guess was right, Charles' final choice would most likely be this Golden Bull Town.
"Milord, the Golden Bull Town is the territory of pirates!" Charles laughed.
"Oh, so you've taken an interest in the pirates of the Golden Bull Town?" Rennes stared at Charles and asked.
"As expected of you, milord. You're indeed smart. Although the pirates of Golden Bull Town have no discipline and won't obey orders, they're undeniably natural-born sailors.
"Their ancestors were pirates who eventually settled down there. After years of change, they're no longer as powerful as their ancestors, but they're still very familiar with the Barton River and its tributaries.
"If we can convince them to serve the Noah Kingdom, we'll have an experienced navy right away."
"Very good! It seems like you already have a plan in mind!" Rennes' eyes brightened.
"Yes, milord. According to my investigation, these people still follow a tradition. They're divided into several divisions according to their areas. The strongest person in each area is the captain of the division.
"Every division has a captain. They put a lot of trust in their captain.
"In other words, as long as we can defeat and persuade the captains, this matter is as good as done," Charles said proudly.
"Good. Since you already have a plan in mind, I won't ask further. I'll just evaluate the result when the time comes," said Rennes with a wave of his hand.
"Yes, milord. I won't disturb your rest any longer and will take my leave now," Charles saw through Rennes' meaning and replied tactfully.
Rennes' eyes followed Charles out of the door.
He was somewhat looking forward to it. How many mysterious light spots would he get from this matter with the port?