At the grand feast, laughter filled the air as guests raised their glasses in celebration. One by one, they toasted to Khal Drogo, who sat in his high seat, ever serious. Despite his stern demeanor, he accepted the drinks offered to him and downed them all in honor of his guests.
The contests had come to an end, and with them, the bloodshed. Now, the gifts and blessings continued to flow. Traders from Braavos presented a pearl the size of a man's thumb, glistening under the torchlight. A merchant from Norvos brought fine satin, woven with intricate designs.
Then, Illyrio Mopatis, the wealthy Magister of Pentos, stepped forward. He carried a beautifully crafted wooden box and placed it gently before Daenerys Targaryen. Smiling, he spoke in his deep, honeyed voice.
"Your Highness, I have spent a great fortune to find you a gift truly worthy of you. I hope you will like it."
Daenerys, curious, looked at the wooden box before her. As Illyrio opened it, the light from the nearby lanterns flickered over its contents. Inside lay three oval-shaped stones, each with a unique color—one black as night, one shimmering silver, and the last with a deep, rusted green hue. The moment she laid eyes on them, she felt an unexplainable pull toward them.
Her heart quickened. She reached out hesitantly, picking up the black stone. It was smooth under her fingertips, cool to the touch. She turned to Illyrio with wide, violet eyes.
"This is…?" she murmured.
Illyrio's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Dragon eggs, Your Highness. These are the eggs of the mighty dragons once ridden by House Targaryen."
Daenerys sucked in a sharp breath as Illyrio continued. "It has been over a century since the last Targaryen dragon perished in King's Landing. Since then, no living dragon has been seen in this world. The eggs have become nothing more than beautiful stones, relics of a bygone era."
As Illyrio spoke, Daenerys traced her slender fingers over the surface of the black egg, feeling its ridges and textures. The sensation was oddly soothing. But then—
She stopped. Had she imagined it?
The egg was no longer as cold as she first thought. Beneath her touch, it seemed to hold a faint warmth, almost as if it were alive.
She frowned slightly, shaking her head. It must be my imagination, she thought, still staring at the egg in her hands.
After Illyrio presented his gift and exchanged further pleasantries in Dothraki, he returned to his seat. The wedding feast continued, filled with music, dancing, and endless feasting, but Daenerys had lost interest in it all. Her mind remained fixated on the eggs before her, a strange sense of familiarity drawing her in.
Meanwhile, in a different time and place, Jason Liu held his phone to his ear, speaking to Oliver, his purchasing manager.
"I need another order placed," Jason said firmly. "This time, I want 200 large carriages and 200 small ones. That's in addition to the 200 I ordered before."
Oliver almost dropped his pen. "That's… that's a total of 600 carriages! Do you realize how much that will cost?" he exclaimed. "Three hundred large carriages alone will cost 27 million yuan, and the smaller ones will be 18 million yuan. That's 45 million yuan in total!"
Jason remained calm. "Yes, I know. But don't worry. We'll have the funds."
Oliver sighed heavily. "Boss, I have to be honest. This company is spending money faster than it's making it. We need a stable source of income if we're going to keep up."
Jason chuckled. "Relax, I already have that covered. Do you think I bought all that lumber for nothing? Soon, large shipments of wood will arrive. Once processed, we'll sell them through the trade routes, and the money will start flowing back in."
There was silence on the other end before Oliver finally muttered, "I really hope you're right. Otherwise, I don't know how long we can keep this up."
"Trust me," Jason assured him. "In fact, to ease your worries, I'll transfer 50 million yuan to the company account right now. That should give us some breathing room."
Logging into his banking app, Jason checked his balance. He still had around 80 million yuan. With a few quick taps, he arranged the transfer.
Soon after, his phone buzzed. It was Lin Xiaohan, his accountant. "Jason, what are you doing? You just transferred 10 million last week, and now you're sending 50 million more? What's going on?"
Jason cleared his throat. "Cough, uh, Xiaohan, listen… We landed a big order, and we need to stock up on goods. Don't worry, this is just temporary. The company will start generating its own profits soon."
Lin Xiaohan sighed but relented. "Fine. You're the boss. I'll take care of the accounting."
"Thanks, Xiaohan. You're the best!" Jason said cheerfully before ending the call.
With that settled, he turned his attention to the latest shipments arriving at the warehouse. The numbers were staggering:
600,000 gel pens 3 million pen refills 2 million sheets of A4 paper 300,000 sheets of AL paper 600,000 bars of soap 3.5 million smaller soap bars
Jason felt a sense of satisfaction. With this stockpile, he wouldn't have to worry about shortages anytime soon.
Just then, he sent a message to Oliver on WeChat. "Order 500 sets of solar energy equipment from Solar Panel Co., Ltd. Deliver them to the warehouse."
"Got it," came the swift reply.
Jason did the math. Each solar energy set cost 1,300 yuan. That meant 500 sets would amount to 650,000 yuan—a drop in the ocean compared to the tens of millions spent on the carriages. Funny how my perception of money has changed, he thought wryly.
Oliver's next message came quickly. "I've also contacted a supplier for gasoline saws. They'll deliver 200 in two days. Each one costs 500 yuan. We went with a high-quality domestic brand."
Jason read through the specifications:
89 cm total length 49 cm saw blade length Single-cylinder air-cooled two-stroke engine 2.5 kW power output 550 ml fuel tank Can cut through a 30 cm diameter tree in seconds
"Looks good," Jason replied. "Make the purchase."
As the messages ended, Jason leaned back. Things were falling into place. If all went according to plan, the business would boom—and soon, he would have far greater ambitions to chase.
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