Xu Yi looked up at the small hill that seemed a bit out of place on the Black Rice Wasteland. Then he pointed at a place not far from the hill that seemed like a small village made of wooden houses and asked chairman Renersa, "That should be the Voller Tribe, right?"
Chairman Renersa looked at Xu Yi in astonishment, "Chairman Xu, how do you know?
Could it be that you've been to the Black Rice Wasteland before? "
"I haven't been here before.
But I know that there are good things near the Voller Tribe. "
Xu Yi faintly smiled and pointed at the small hill as he said to chairman Cruz, "Didn't you say that you didn't know what benefits there would be in building a road to the beastmen tribe?
Let me tell you, as long as we dig out a bit of the things under the small hill, we'll be able to earn back the money needed to build a road. "
Chairman Cruz and chairman Renersa looked at the small hill in the distance. Chairman Renersa shook his head, "I've been here so many times, but I never knew what treasures were buried under the small hill."
"That's right. If there were really good things, then wouldn't the beastmen tribe have already dug it out and sold it? Why would they wait for you to dig it out?" Chairman Cruz also had a face of disbelief.
"First, they don't have the strength to dig out the treasures.
Second, they don't know what treasures are down there. Even if they had the ability, they wouldn't dig it out. "Xu Yi said.
"Now that I have the ability to dig out the treasures and also know what they can be used for, if they don't wait for me to dig it out, then who would?"
Seeing that Xu Yi didn't seem to be joking, chairman Cruz knit his brows and asked, "Chairman Xu, what treasures are down there?
Is it worth you making a trip to the beastmen tribe? "
Xu Yi looked at chairman Renersa, "Chairman Renersa, are you also interested?"
Chairman Renersa thought for a bit and nodded, "Of course I'm interested.
I've done business with the beastmen of the Black Rice Wasteland for so many years, but this is the first time I've heard of a treasure in this broken place.
Chairman Xu, let's hear it. If it's something good, we can work together to dig it out and earn some money. "
"Okay." Xu Yi deliberately said it in front of him. Of course, he intended to pull him into the group.
It would be difficult to do something under the noses of the beastmen tribes on the Black Rice Plateau without someone familiar with this place.
Chairman Renersa was the most suitable candidate that Xu Yi had chosen.
"According to the information I have now, if I'm not mistaken, there is actually a very rich non-ferrous metal vein hidden under that hill.
The main minerals should be aluminum and copper ores, as well as some tungsten ores and a small amount of lead ores. If they were all mined, it would be very beneficial for industrial development.
Even if we don't use it on magic machines, we can still use it in other places … "
"Stop!" President Cruz raised his hand and interrupted Xu Yi.
"I say, Chairman Xu, you've been talking for so long, but I don't understand a single word.
I know about copper because it's needed to make copper coins, but what are non-ferrous metals?
What are aluminum, tungsten, and lead ores?
What are you talking about? "
Chairman Renersa on the side was also confused, "That's right, I also know about copper ores, but what are the non-ferrous metals you're talking about?
What are they like? "
Xu Yi was surprised, but then he remembered that there were very few non-ferrous metals in the Sines. Apart from the copper ores that were mined to make copper coins, because the mechanical industry wasn't developed, there wasn't much use of iron.
Not to mention the non-ferrous metals that hadn't been processed and didn't look as good as iron.
"Eh ….. I'm afraid I won't be able to explain the use of non-ferrous metals in a short time.
Let's put it this way, the Falcao Chamber of Commerce is selling a ton of iron ore for seven gold coins. Then do you know how much I'm willing to spend if they sell me a ton of copper ore? "
Chairman Cruz knit his brows, "Copper ore is mainly used to make copper coins, so the kingdom's government is very strict. Even if you want to buy it, the Falcao Chamber of Commerce wouldn't sell it to you."
"Un?
Alright, I'll change the example.
Eh ….. The aluminum ore price is too different, so let's talk about lead ore.
For the same ton of lead ore, I'm willing to buy it for twenty gold coins! "
Chairman Cruz and chairman Renersa raised their brows at the same time, "Is what you said true?"
"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you." Xu Yi gave a soft snort.
"Let me tell you, the non-ferrous metals have more uses than iron and there is a large need for them in magic machines.
Chairman Cruz, didn't you always want me to help you develop some large scale construction magic machines? Our company couldn't develop them before because other than the bottleneck of the Magic Array research, it was also because of the lack of materials. "
"Because we need these non-ferrous metals?" Chairman Cruz asked.
"Un, it's just like that.
Just relying on iron and steel alloys, we can't meet the requirements of large scale construction magic machines. "
In fact, this sentence was very nonsensical. Ordinary steel was absolutely capable of making large road construction machines.
But Xu Yi wanted to pull the two of them into his group. He was bullying them since they didn't understand, so he could talk nonsense.
As expected, hearing Xu Yi's response, chairman Cruz nodded, "Un, I understand now.
But it doesn't matter what it's used for, it's fine as long as we know that these non-ferrous metals are valuable.
Since there are valuable things ….. "
Chairman Cruz looked at chairman Renersa and chairman Renersa gave a cold snort, "It's a waste to leave these good things in the beastmen's territory. Anyway, those simple minded beastmen won't understand the value of these things at all, so we might as well help them dig them out."
Xu Yi laughed. He didn't know if this chairman Renersa's personality was like this or if it was because he had been in contact with beastmen for too long, so he was infected with their arrogant personality.
But it was good that he agreed to join, it didn't matter what his personality was.
Of course, if they wanted to mine non-ferrous metals under the eyes of the beastmen, they needed to properly discuss this.
The three of them discussed this for a while before coming up with a preliminary plan. First chairman Renersa would bring the two of them into the Voller Tribe and then they would see the situation.
After deciding on the preliminary plan, Xu Yi came to Stiel's side who was wandering around the wasteland not far away.
"What's the situation?" Xu Yi asked.
Stiel's expression was serious as he shook his head, "It's not good.
Look … … "
Stiel forcefully stepped on the ground and there was a small hole in the ground.
There was no water in the hole, only yellow sand.
"The wasteland has become like this, no wonder there is so much sand in the Sandy River." Stiel said in a deep voice.
"But I just asked Agnes and the others. They said that although the Black Rice Wasteland was barren before, the ground was always covered in weeds. It wasn't as barren as it is now like a desert."
"It should be because the beastmen overgrazed, causing the vegetation on the wasteland to dry up, causing soil erosion."
Xu Yi squatted down and grabbed the ground, grabbing a handful of fine sand.
His fingers loosened slightly, and the fine sand poured down from the gaps of his fingers like flowing water.
Feeling the sand flowing through his fingers, Xu Yi's heart filled with emotions.
This situation was very similar to the situation in the northwest on Earth.
When he was on Earth, he had visited a province in the northwest because of a mechanical problem. When he saw the wasteland and the yellow sand everywhere, he was very shocked.
He was very clear that if this situation wasn't taken care of, the entire land would turn into a desert and no one would be able to live in it.
The Black Rice Wasteland in front of him was already showing signs of becoming a desert. If he didn't take care of it, it wouldn't take long before this wasteland turned into a desert.
At that time, not to mention the beastmen not being able to live here, even the Lampari Kingdom that was closest to the Black Rice Wasteland would be seriously affected.
Compared to Earth, the Sines had a large advantage in this aspect, which was the existence of the elves.
The elves were known as the forest race. Even before the race wars, when they ruled the Sines, the elves lived in cities made of large amounts of trees.
At that time, the entire Sines could be said to be covered in greenery. Not to mention a desert, there were very few places that weren't covered in forests.
After a long period of time, the elves had a special inheritance and ability to cultivate plants.
The current situation of the Black Rice Wasteland was very troublesome on Earth, but in the eyes of the elves, it wasn't a problem at all.
Xu Yi looked around and didn't see any beastmen, so he softly called out, "Agnes."
Agnes' figure quietly appeared beside Xu Yi. Xu Yi pointed at the area covered in sand and asked her, "How is it?
Can you improve the environment? "
"It's very simple." Agnes' confident reply made Xu Yi feel relieved.
"Actually, the elder sent people to talk to the beastmen several decades ago, hoping that they could plant a forest on the Black Rice Wasteland to improve the environment.
But they were rejected by the beastmen. "
Xu Yi looked at Agnes and thought that in the Sines, the word forest could be used as a synonym for the elves.
If the Elves went to the Beastmen and told them that they wanted to plant a forest in their territory, it would be no different from saying that they wanted to take over their territory. It would be strange if the Beastmen agreed to it.
But this time, the one who said that they wanted to plant trees wasn't an elf, but rather a human like Xu Yi. He wondered how the beastmen would feel about this.