Chapter 123 Cooperative Labor

"You seem to have won the hearts of the people."

Gandalf said with a smile.

"A lot of times I don't know how I can get such respect."

Levi said pointedly: "Maybe it's luck, or something else?"

"If it were someone else, would it have the same ending?"

"No, Levi."

Gandalf quite simply and decisively denied Livy's statement and said:

"The same thing can play different roles in the hands of different people, and the endings are also different."

"It's like a magical ring that can make people invisible. If it is placed in the hands of a person with bad conduct, it may only create another thief, thief, or assassin in the world, who can become a weapon to harm others."

"But in the hands of a hobbit, it can become a tool to help others and bring warmth to others."

"Some things can make its user very strong... very strong, so powerful that it exceeds what this world can contain..."

"But destroying everything is not a good thing or fun, right."

Levi smiled.

"Okay, you're right, thank you."

"It's good if you can figure it out."

Gandalf lit his pipe and walked out of the city wall with Livy to the gate of Erebor embedded in the mountain.

In Middle-earth, wizards have legal and formal rights to join in the fun, and they can always be seen in robes in the king's hall.

It's the same today.

After hearing Levi's arrival, Thorin did not wait in the hall, but walked to the door to greet him.

"How have you been, Levi."

Thorin smiled slightly and said hello.

"Not bad, very smooth. What about your side?"

"Except for some shortage of supplies, everything is fine."

"The tribesmen who were forced to wander back then are returning. There are sounds from the mines again, fires are coming from the furnaces, and the cable car is also playing its due role. Everything is developing for the better."

While talking about the recent situation, Thorin took Levi and Gandalf to a small table and poured them two cups of tea that was relatively soothing to their throats.

It was clear that at this moment he was being received as a friend, not as a king.

"I heard you are having some difficulties here."

Levi was the first to speak:

"Is it a mineral problem?"

Li Wei has not forgotten that in order to defend the city, he directly dug out almost all the mineral deposits in Gushan. Nowadays, the lack of minerals is normal.

"No."

Thorin shook his head.

"Minerals are plentiful in the mountains. We have the manpower, the tools, and the wealth to operate them. It's not difficult to increase the stock."

"What troubles us most right now is food."

food?

Levi raised his eyebrows.

Shouldn't this thing be the most popular?

Apparently seeing what Li Wei was thinking, Thorin said with a little embarrassment:

"You may not know it, but our food production is actually quite small."

"After all, we live in the mountains. There is no sunlight in the mountains. Most of our food sources are imported from other places."

"There are very few ways to get food on our own."

"A small farm deep underground that uses luminous gems to provide light, a few mushrooms in the tunnels, fish in the underground river, and some plant roots..."

"But these are not enough to feed all the dwarves. They can be used as an emergency food source, but not forever."

"Isn't there River Valley City?"

Levi pointed outside and said: "River Valley City's current food production is so abundant that even if the population increases ten times, you will not be short of food."

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

Thorin said: "In fact, it is only because of the food trade with River Valley City that we can survive this winter well."

"I want to establish a long-term cooperation with Riverdale City."

Thorin finally revealed the underlying purpose of his conversation. Levi's expression was a little confused.

"Of course you can do this, and just go to Bard directly. I have handed over the management of this place to him."

"We had a conversation."

Thorin replied: "But he said that the final decision must be made by asking the lord first, which is you."

"He has full authority. I thought you had already negotiated it...forget it, I agree."

Levi was too lazy to continue talking. He could see that Bard had not yet adapted to his status as the 'top manager of the region'.

"That's great."

Thorin breathed a sigh of relief and said: "We don't dare to ask for that kind of magic seed. As long as we can carry out stable food trade, I believe our friendship can last forever..."

"Why not?"

Levi shook his head and replied: "What can't you ask for? It's just some crop seeds. If something can make everyone's life better, then why should you be afraid?"

"Just take it and plant it if necessary, but those seeds can only be planted in my territory by people other than me."

"You can send people over to work together."

"ah?"

Listening to what Levi said, Thorin's mind was buzzing.

To produce such a powerful magic seed just give it to you?

What's the cost?

Thorin asked instinctively: "Then, what do we need to do?"

"Work, didn't I say that?"

Levi knocked on the table and said: "Even if it is a magic seed, it still needs to be planted. You don't think that if you put it on the table, it will turn into food by itself."

"Unless you have arable land on your table."

"No, of course I understand that seeds need to be planted. What I mean is, just give me the seeds, don't we need to do anything extra?"

"We have treasures, tools, equipment, we have them all here, if we don't have them, we can call on craftsmen to do it, or we can pay some fees every year..."

"No need." Levi waved his hand.

These things are meaningless.

But in a flash, Levi also thought of something.

Erebor and Dale City, due to their geographical proximity, have been inseparable since hundreds of years ago.

The dwarves' forging skills are unparalleled, and many people spend thousands of gold to find a masterpiece.

And Dale City has a sufficient population, a rich life, and a fairly developed agricultural and animal husbandry industry.

The dwarves have good craftsmanship, but they hardly produce food. The human side has average craftsmanship, respects the dwarves' skills, and happens to have a lot of surplus food.

Both sides have what they need, and they also happen to have what the other side needs, so a good cooperation model is formed. The human side provides food, while the dwarves act as blacksmiths, craftsmen and other roles to provide various weapons, tools and crafts. With this exchange, the living standards of both sides have been significantly improved.

This cooperation model can continue today.

After all, if the residents want to get a job, they still need to learn the corresponding skills, and many technologies in the lonely mountain are also worth learning. If the two sides can reach a deeper level of cooperation, many things in the future will be much more convenient.

"Just like before."

Levi said what he thought in his heart and put forward his own views.

Thorin thought for a while and nodded: "It makes sense. We will regularly send craftsmen to teach skills without reservation and help people in the valley city to find jobs in exchange for the right to use magic seeds."

"That's it."

The cooperation that affects the long-term was achieved in a few words, without any disputes, no bargaining, and no unhappiness.

It's just a simple "you said it, I think it's good, so let's do it."

This was a transaction without any twists and turns, and neither side even cared much about how much benefit they had.

Or rather than a transaction, it was a "cooperative labor".

Labor for labor, value for value, mutual integration, common progress.

There was no money involved, and at this time, this kind of value transfer was redundant.

Some settings are supplemented, so they will not take up the length of the formal chapter.

From Thorin's memories of his youth (about 200 years ago):

"When my grandfather became the king under the mountain again, the humans from the south respected him very much. They slowly migrated up along the rushing river and came to the valley near the mountain, where they built a happy little city called 'River Valley City'."

"Kings of all generations have come to us to hire craftsmen, and even those with poor craftsmanship will receive generous rewards."

"Many fathers would beg us to take their sons as apprentices, and give us many things for this, especially food, so we never need to plant or collect them ourselves."