By now, Roberson had completely forgotten the taste of Roma Wine; his taste buds were entirely overwhelmed by the spicy, fragrant flavor of the Bamboo Tube Wine.
"I truly never expected this! I didn't expect this Bamboo Tube Wine to be so marvelous." Roberson drank cup after cup, completely unable to stop.
Seeing her father so happy, Daisy didn't try to stop him. Given her father's alcohol tolerance, drinking this little bit was absolutely no problem.
Besides, she still had to bring up the matter of exporting iron ore to him later. It was better to let the old man enjoy himself to the fullest first.
Before long, the Bamboo Tube Wine was empty, but looking at Roberson's expression, it seemed he still hadn't had enough.
Setting down the bottle, Roberson said, "Hmph, that old geezer Makro always thinks his Roma Wine is so great. Now, to me, it's nothing but dog shit. It's nothing at all."
Hearing this, Daisy didn't follow up on his comment, but instead asked, "Father, how is this wine? Are you satisfied?"
"Good, it's incredibly delicious." Roberson nodded in extreme satisfaction. He rubbed his hands together and asked, "Daughter, do those merchants still have more of this wine?"
"They do, they have some left," Daisy nodded, holding back a smile.
"Where is it?" Roberson urged; he hadn't had enough at all.
"It's still with the merchants, but they refuse to sell it." Daisy put on a distressed look, though a hint of slyness flashed in her eyes.
"Refuse to sell? Aren't they merchants? Why wouldn't they sell?" Roberson sat up straight and asked in a deep voice, "Is it because we don't offer enough coins?"
"No," Daisy shook her head. A sly gleam flashed in her eyes as she sighed. "Sigh, originally, they planned to use this wine to exchange for some iron ore to take back. But after arriving, they discovered that our kingdom doesn't export iron ore."
"They want iron ore? No, anything but iron ore." Roberson frowned and immediately refused.
"Father, as far as I know, our Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom's wealth has been steadily declining. It's precisely because we refuse to export iron ore." Daisy stared wide-eyed at Roberson. She hadn't expected her father to be so stubborn.
When it came to her father, Daisy wasn't afraid at all. Sometimes, when she got annoyed, she would even pull Roberson's beard, yet face zero consequences in the end.
"This..." Roberson wanted to say something, but Daisy interrupted him again.
"Father, half of our Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom's wheat and linen relies on imports. The amount of gold coins spent every year is enormous. Yet, we don't have any export businesses to offset these expenses. If this continues, what will we do in the future?"
"And Father, if this keeps going, maybe we're fine now, but what about the future? What about ten years from now?" Daisy chattered endlessly, leaving Roberson opening his mouth only to fall into deep thought.
"Daisy, I know about all the issues you mentioned. It's just that the ban on exporting iron ore was a rule established by your grandfather. Up until now, it has never been changed," Roberson said with a bitter smile.
Back in the day, the Dwarf Kingdom did export iron ore. However, other kingdoms acquired the iron, forged weapons, and used them to attack the Dwarf Kingdom. Out of anger, that generation's Dwarf King completely ceased all exports of iron ore.
"It's because of this very rule that our Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom's wealth dwindles year after year!" Daisy's eyes widened.
"Rules are made by people. Don't let a single rule drive the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom into decline, or else Father, you'll become the sinner of the Dwarf Kingdom." Daisy reasoned logically. She had spent all of last night thinking up these arguments, and now that she was saying them, she was full of confidence.
Hearing Daisy's words, Roberson was slightly taken aback, as if he had only just grasped the reality of the situation. He began to ponder deeply.
"Moreover, Father, exporting iron ore doesn't mean you have to export it to other rival kingdoms. These people are just merchants, and they are from a small city in the western part of the Siacan Kingdom. They pose no threat to us at all." Seeing her father hesitate, Daisy immediately pushed harder.
"Sigh, it's not that I don't want to export it, but our Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom is currently facing some difficulties too," Roberson sighed. Originally, he hadn't planned to tell his daughter about what happened yesterday, as it would only add to her worries.
But now, left with no choice, Roberson recounted yesterday's events to Daisy.
"After drinking this Bamboo Tube Wine, I don't want a single drop of Roma Wine anymore. It's absolute garbage. But as for the wheat and linen, if we break our cooperation, it will be very difficult to find another country willing to work with us," Roberson said, troubled.
"Wheat and linen? Father, take a look at this linen and tell me what you think." Daisy's eyes lit up. She pulled a piece of linen cloth from her box and handed it to Roberson.
"This... Did you buy this linen from those merchants too?" Roberson was extremely surprised after inspecting the cloth.
The quality and texture of this linen were far superior to the linen imported from the Maner Principality.
"Yes. And I asked them; they have massive quantities of wheat and rice, as well as plenty of linen of this quality," Daisy smiled, feeling relieved inwardly.
"If that's truly the case, as long as they sell wheat and linen to us dwarves at a low price, we can export iron ore to them." Roberson pondered for a while before making his decision.
"That's wonderful! I'll go tell them." Daisy was ecstatic and turned to leave.
"Daisy, don't be in such a rush. You said earlier they still have a lot of fine wine that doesn't lose out to Roma Wine or Fragrant Wheat Ale... is that true?" Roberson swallowed a mouthful of saliva, asking somewhat sheepishly.
"Of course! I tasted it myself." Daisy smiled and nodded affirmatively.
"Then go ask them to come see me. I want to speak with them personally." Roberson revealed a satisfied smile.
"Alright, Father. I'll have Alan invite them over right away." Daisy nodded and left happily.
"I hope it's true. This Bamboo Tube Wine is truly top-tier," Roberson muttered to himself.
...
At the Great Furnace Inn in the capital of the Deepstone Dwarf Kingdom.
Dahlia, Elisa, and Mira were waiting in their room for news from Daisy.
"I wonder how Daisy's talk with the Dwarf King went?" Mira frowned, her voice laced with worry. "It's already the second day, and we still don't know the result."
Today was the second day since they parted ways with Daisy. As time slowly slipped by, all three women had grown somewhat anxious.
"If the Dwarf King is reasonable, he should understand the benefits exporting iron ore can bring. Our arrival is an opportunity. It just depends on whether he can figure it out." Dahlia picked up the tea in front of her and took a sip, a trace of worry in her eyes as well.
If this mission failed, they would have to get Lucas to come over himself. The back-and-forth travel would drag on until winter, wasting far too much time.
"It's all up to Daisy now. If even she can't convince the King to export iron ore, then we have no chance," Elisa said softly. Waiting always makes people anxious.
Knock, knock, knock...
Suddenly, Number Seven knocked on the door from outside. "Lady Dahlia, Knight Alan requests an audience."
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