Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1646 I Thorin

"These design drawings are beneficial to the development of our Great Zhou. You have contributed the drawings, so what reward do you want?"

Karl's current situation is rather special. After all, he had already arranged this position so that Karl could learn and improve in Blackmoon City. It's definitely impossible for him to be promoted in the short term.

As for material rewards, Zhou Xu did have some ideas.

However, he first posed the question to Karl, wanting to see Karl's reaction.

In response, Karl quickly stated...

"Now that I have joined the Great Zhou, I will naturally do my best for the Great Zhou. This is my duty and I do not need any reward."

Hearing this, Zhou Xu smiled.

“Our Great Zhou Dynasty values ​​clear rewards and punishments. Merits are rewarded and mistakes are punished. Your approach is putting me in a difficult position.”

At this point, Zhou Xu paused for a moment to think.

"Alright then, Karl Bronze Furnace has rendered meritorious service by providing the map, so he shall be rewarded with 100,000 taels of silver!"

"Although the dwarves are settled in by specialists and there are basically no financial problems, it will be much easier for you to have some money in your pocket since you are new here."

Thanks to Zhou Xu's conscious efforts, prices in their Great Zhou have remained stable over the years. Ten thousand silver coins is still an astronomical figure, an amount that an ordinary family could not earn in several lifetimes.

Now that Zhou Xu had put it this way, Karl naturally had no reason to refuse.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward!"

Zhou Xu nodded, his gaze returning to the box of design drawings.

They had previously conducted a transaction with Bronzeforest over these blueprints. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the entire Bronzeforest would be incorporated into their Great Zhou territory?

I glanced through the design drawings in the box, and wow, there were quite a few of them.

Zhou Xu thought for a moment, then gave the order...

"Pass on my order: summon Zhuang Mengdie and Qin Fen to the palace for an audience."

At this point, Zhou Xu's voice suddenly paused.

"Has Sorin reported to the Ordnance Research Department? If so, call him over as well."

"Yes!"

Having received the order, a personal guard quickly went to relay it.

After the guards left, Zhou Xu's gaze fell on Karl again.

"You've just arrived in Blackmoon City, and I imagine you still have a lot of trivial matters to handle. I'll give you a week's leave, and I'll arrange for someone to show you around Blackmoon City and help you get everything you need. After a week, you can just report to the secretary's office."

"Your Majesty, I thank you!"

Meanwhile, on the grasslands...

Although he had heard of it before, this was his first time riding a steam train. Faced with such a revolutionary steel monster, even this dwarf who was already several hundred years old couldn't help but marvel and exclaim in amazement, wishing he could crawl into the engine room to find out more.

However, it is clear that the driver's cab and engine room of a steam locomotive are places where unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering.

Dwarves may be a bit straightforward at times, but that doesn't mean they're stupid. In this situation, Thorin stayed quietly in his carriage and didn't cause any trouble for himself.

"Your Excellency Sorin, the steppe train station is just ahead. We'll get off there."

"it is good."

Their interactions with Xiao Li, who accompanied them, could only be described as uneventful.

It's not that Xiao Li is bad; in fact, Xiao Li is very enthusiastic and considerate. He didn't have to worry about anything along the way; he just had to follow along.

The relationship was uneventful because of his personality.

Thorin wasn't exactly known for his enthusiasm. Back in Bronzeforest, he rarely interacted with his people, preferring to bury himself in research or simply daydream. In modern terms, he'd be a typical "I" type, and this was already his limit.

As the train whistle sounded, Thorin, who had been traveling all the way, knew they were almost at their stop.

Basically, I had just gotten off the train when a voice rang out from not far away...

"Is this Lord Thorin?"

Hearing someone call his name, Thorin instinctively looked in the direction of the sound.

A young man dressed in navy blue overalls walked over quickly.

Thorin, a dwarf, stands out in a crowd; he's practically instantly recognizable.

During this time, the young man quickly stepped forward, shook hands with Thorin and Xiao Li respectively, and gave a brief self-introduction.

"I was sent by the department to pick you up. You can just call me Xiao Wang."

Clearly, Xiao Wang knew very well that this was a top talent transferred from the dwarves, not a newcomer to their department.

After checking the documents and confirming that there were no problems, Xiao Li's work was considered finished.

After leaving the station, Solin followed Xiao Wang and transferred to a horse-drawn carriage, and soon arrived at the Grassland Military Region.

The carriage had a military sign on it, and after a simple verification of their identities, their journey thereafter was largely unimpeded.

Unlike Li, who was a shrewd and resourceful member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang was in the Ordnance Research Department. Although he was a warm-hearted young man in the department, he clearly did not have the business acumen of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The atmosphere inside the carriage became somewhat awkward as Thorin remained silent throughout the journey.

Feeling that things couldn't continue like this, Xiao Wang coughed twice and began to explain their situation to Sorin, which was one of his main tasks this time.

"Our Ordnance Research Department is one of the most confidential departments. To ensure the safety of the department and its members, our department is directly located within the military region."

As Xiao Wang spoke, he opened the car window and pointed to the buildings in the distance.

"See that building? That's our department's dormitory. We usually live in the dormitory and can't easily leave the military region."

"Of course, you can go out during holidays. Grassland City isn't far from here, and there's a steam train, so it's actually quite convenient to go to Black Moon City."

When asked about his next accommodation, Sorin, who had been silent the whole time, finally showed some interest and glanced at the buildings in the distance through the car window.

Looking at the dormitory building, Thorin's first impression was that it was simple and elegant.

The dormitory buildings have a very simple design, and there is more than one building. Each building is six stories high, and they are somewhat similar to some modern old-fashioned apartment buildings.

Buildings like this are absolutely impossible to find in Bronzeforest.

"Next, I'll take you to your dormitory so you can put your things down."

Before they could finish speaking, the carriage had already stopped in front of the dormitory building.

"Your dormitory is on the sixth floor."

There were no elevators in the dormitory building at that time, even though the higher-ups kept asking the researchers to pay attention to physical exercise and do some fitness exercises every day, which was a simplified version of body-strengthening boxing.

However, this still cannot change the fact that due to a lack of exercise, long hours spent in the lab, and constant day and night research, the physical condition of most researchers remains worrisome.

It's already a blessing that Zhou Xu gave them the health benefits they weren't sickly; those few shouts of "Praise the Emperor" on weekdays weren't for nothing.

Given this premise, the researchers, who are self-aware enough, naturally prefer lower floors, with the first floor being perfect because there's no need to climb stairs and it's convenient to go out. The higher up they go, the more tiring it becomes, and at this point, only the rooms on the sixth floor are left.

"This is the one."

Once outside, the moment the door opened, quite coincidentally, a gentle spring breeze carrying a faint scent of flowers and grass greeted Thorin's eyes, revealing a dry, comfortable, and well-lit room.

(End of this chapter)