Chapter 238: Extravagant Performance

The banquet was not grand; it was merely the Earl calling over officials from Coral Island and Levis summoning some of his subordinates to gather and chat.

After the banquet, Liszt found an opportunity to enter Levis's study with him.

"Brother, how is your ability to appraise spirits?" Liszt took a bottle of primitive flower brew from the butler, unscrewed the cap, poured a glass, and pushed it in front of Levis. "Taste this spirit and give me an evaluation."

"I am quite skilled at appraising spirits. Hmm, what kind of spirit is this, and where did you get it?" He picked up the glass and sniffed it. "It smells terrible, like cheap spirit. The watered-down spirit I drank during the wars in Eagle Kingdom tasted better than this!"

After speaking, he brought the glass to his lips and tasted a bit: "It's sour and lacks strength. This spirit is truly of poor quality."

He put down the glass without saying more, the meaning clear.

Liszt's expression remained unchanged as he continued to ask: "Brother, how much do you think this spirit could sell for per bottle?"

"How much per bottle?" Levis narrowed his eyes. "Liszt, don't tell me this spirit is brewed in Flower Town?"

"As you say, this is precisely the homemade spirit I am researching, called flower brew. It hasn't been successfully brewed yet, so the quality is low, but regardless, I have already figured out the brewing technique, haven't I?"

Hearing this, Levis's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to speak: "What? You've already researched the brewing technique? Oh, Liszt, please don't joke with me. Do you know how valuable the spirit brewing technique is? In the Grand Duchy, there are only five types of spirits, three of which are in the hands of Marquises, and two in the hands of the Grand Duke."

The Earl had noted that Levis had matured after the battlefield.

But at this moment, Levis was still the same Levis, his eyes red with agitation: "Even Grandfather doesn't have the spirit brewing technique!"

"Don't be too surprised, brother. It's just a spirit business. Compared to magic potions, the spirit business is nothing."

"Nothing!" Levis breathed heavily. "Magic potions are indeed precious, but they barely suffice for our own use. The magic potions from Tulip Castle, Father needs them, I need them, and perhaps Lytton will also take a share in the future, as well as Lvera, who will surely insist on taking some!"

With the power of the Great Elf of Tulips, black tulips can produce a large amount of magic potions, but many people depend on these potions.

Although the black tulip business was signed by the three siblings,

Once the power of the Great Elf is utilized, the share due to the Earl cannot be reduced, and Levis can only keep the increased profits.

He said, not without envy, "I don't have your good luck, with high-level magical beasts, black tulips, fire mushrooms, and potion thorns all for your exclusive use!"

"It seems you can't make much money from the magic potion side, brother."

"Of course not, not a single coin. All the money from my other businesses goes into magic potions. Do you know how painful it is for me to take a bottle of magic potion each time... You're not an Elite Earth Knight, so you can't understand the pain and joy of being one." His expression was almost distorted.

"In that case, brother, you're quite short of money."

"You're asking a known fact."

"What if I'm willing to share the spirit business with you?" Liszt threw out the bait he had prepared, tired of continuing the act.

Levis's exaggerated expressions and tone were clearly a performance, lacking sincerity. He probably guessed something when Liszt asked him to taste the spirit. Levis was never a fool; he had advanced to Earth Knight in his youth and was known as a prodigy.

If it were someone else, Liszt might have played along.

Since it was his brother, he decided to be straightforward.

Sure enough, upon hearing Liszt's words, Levis immediately dropped his exaggerated act and showed genuine enthusiasm: "What, Liszt, you mean to share the spirit brewing technique with me?"

"The value of the spirit brewing technique, brother, has already been told to me. Before I branch out, it doesn't matter who holds it. If I ever decide to branch out, I will hand over the spirit brewing technique to you first. My idea is that I will brew the spirits, and you will handle sales, splitting the profits equally..."

After some haggling,

The brothers basically agreed on the cooperation method.

Levis would provide protection, raw materials for brewing, and handle external sales, taking 60% of the profit; Liszt would be responsible for brewing the spirits, taking 40% of the profit. A 60-40 split satisfied Liszt; it was normal for the distributor to take the larger share, especially since they provided protection.

If one day the brothers really branched out,

The cooperation would end, but the technology would be shared.

"The spirit brewing technique is still under improvement. It will take some time to brew qualified spirits. Most importantly, we urgently need a batch of iron tools, but Flower Town is severely short of iron. I hope you can help me solve this problem."

"Have you seen the spoils of war this time?" Levis rubbed his chin, knowing that a bribe was necessary to secure the spirit business. "Iron has always been the most sought-after spoil of war. This time, we didn't bring back much iron ore, and I don't have much control over it... Three thousand pounds of iron ingots, no more than that."

"Three thousand pounds, that should be enough."

"Don't complain. These three thousand pounds are enough to make Viscount Tric and Viscount Yonas envious. By the way, I forgot to ask, why did the magic potion fire mushrooms from Flower Town stop?"

Liszt pondered for a moment and replied: "I want to stockpile magic potions."

"Huh?"

"Don't be surprised, brother. Although my talent isn't as great as yours, with Jie La, I also wish to advance further. Even if I fail, I must try to be content." Liszt said half-truthfully, no one knowing that he was already an Elite Earth Knight.

"What about the black tulips and potion thorns?"

"The black tulips will continue to supply you, and I plan to stockpile the potion thorns."

"That's too bad... I find it hard to persuade you not to try, like Lvera, whose whims I can't stop. But I still hope you'll consider it more carefully. If you change your mind, come back to me for cooperation. As your brother, believe that I can take advantage of anyone, but not you."

"Of course, I firmly believe that."

Then, the two discussed the sale of serfs. With the spirit business as a foundation, neither was overly concerned, quickly agreeing to purchase 2,500 serfs for 500 gold coins.

"I'll give you the gold later."

"As long as you deliver it before the fleet sets sail, it's fine." Levis didn't ask where Liszt got so much gold, finding his younger brother increasingly incomprehensible.

Naivety and timidity were gone, replaced by shrewdness and generosity.

After Liszt left, he couldn't help but think: "Liszt has grown up, and Flower Town is gradually unable to contain his ambitions. From his tone, he even has thoughts of branching out... Does he believe he can reach Father's level?"

/bk