24 Rewarded with Wealth... and then More Wealth 2 (1/2)

”Jade!”

Shock was an understatement to Feng Jin's expression. Chalice chuckled. She had anticipated for him to know about jade. He was wearing one, after all. But Chalice did not expect him to be this surprised. His flabbergasted face amused her. She was also glad that the Keyne tribe knew about jade. It solved the problem of her looking for people to craft it.

”Yes. It is jade.” She confirmed.

”H-How? How come you have such a big piece of Jade, my Lady? And it's even Imperial Jade at that? We have stayed here in Amaranth for decades. But I have never encountered any jade vein.”

Feng Jin asked. Excitement dripped from his voice.

”I stumbled upon it coincidentally.”

Chalice curtly replied. Having figured that she did not want to explain, Feng Jin returned to admiring the piece of treasure in his hands. Then after a while, he realized something.

”My lady, jade is relatively unknown in this continent. How come you know about it?”

He asked curiously. Chalice smiled mysteriously at him and indicated that she do not want to answer this as well. This cemented Feng Jin's belief that this descendant of Duke Amaranth is not how people make her out to be.

”How I came to know about it doesn't matter, Chief Jin. What concerns me is whether you want to cooperate with me on this endeavor? I am aware of the superb craftmanship of your tribe. Your jade pendant is evidence of that.”

Feng Jin sat up straight. His face carried a serious hint. If his guess was right, Chalice's offer for cooperation involved the trade for Jade ornaments and jewelries. This was a lucrative offer for him, indeed.

”And what are the conditions of this cooperation, my lady?”

He asked carefully. If Chalice's conditions are acceptable then he would agree to it in a heartbeat. Chalice smiled brightly at him, her countenance dazed Feng Jin for a moment.

”Well, it's simple actually. I would be the one to mine and supply you the jade. You will be in-charge of refining it into ornaments or jewelries. For the most part, you will be given the freedom with the designs. However, I want you to make some allowances for my own designs. I plan to auction those as limited edition pieces. Also, I will be paying appropriate wages to your craftsmen and allocate 15% of the profit from the auctioned pieces in the future. What do you say, Chief Jin?”

After a short pause of contemplation, Feng Jin arrived at a decision.

”Consider it a deal, my lady. Sigh. However, are you sure about this. I feel like we are taking advantage of your generosity. Your investment is greater than our effort into crafting the jade.”

Chalice shook her head. The truth was, her main goal was to foster the tribe's reliance and trust in her. She knows that they are worthy allies and a great factor in the fief's development. Compared to that, forsaking some monetary profit is not a bit of a sacrifice.