Chapter 26 Salt Merchants

Chapter 26 Salt Merchants

While the serfs in Idar were busy building the hanging garden, a dusty convoy was slowly moving along the path towards the city of Idar.

"Oh my God! Such a bad road... Can't these nobles in the eastern part of the empire spend a little time and money to repair it a little bit?" Kalio, a merchant from the western part of the empire, couldn't help but complain.

As a powerless salt merchant, the salt business in the western part of the empire was monopolized by the local nobles and was not something he could get involved in. Therefore, every year Kalio could only come to the remote eastern border of the empire to purchase salt and then sell it to the northern part of the empire.

But... the remoteness of the eastern part of the empire and the rough road were really too much for him to bear.

First, you have to cross the Almis Mountains, then pass through the Stranglethorn Vale and enter the Idar Territory, then go all the way north, pass through the Soran Territory and dozens of large and small noble territories, and finally reach the slightly richer Vals Plain.

"This must be my last trip to do such a bad business..." Kalio said to his followers, "The profits from this business plus the money I have accumulated over the years should be enough for me to buy a lowest-level title from those greedy vampires in the Regency Council... Then I can exchange some land and buy some serfs, and you will be my butler..."

The attendant beside him nodded excitedly: "I will do my best to serve you..."

"We should be there soon... that's the city of Idar in the distance, right?" Kallio said.

The follower took the map in his hand, took a look at it, and said, "That should be it."

"After entering the city, we will go directly to visit the Lord of Idar. After all... the poverty of the eastern part of the empire is well known. The sooner we reach the Vals Plain, the sooner we can drink a glass of newly brewed beer..."

"As you wish, sir." The attendant responded quickly.

The convoy stopped at the roadside outside the city, and Kallio and his followers drove a carriage into the city, but...

The cleanliness of Idar City was beyond their imagination.

This was not the first time that Kalio came to Idar City, but the Idar City he saw this time was very different from before, as if it had completely changed its appearance.

"It's strange... Why is there no smell of feces in this city..." Kallio tried to smell it, and then muttered to himself.

"Look, sir..." The attendant pointed to the corner of the road. That was where Shabi collected feces.

"Three baskets of excrement... can be exchanged for one copper coin? Is the Lord of Idar a fool? Although clean streets are indeed much more pleasing to the eye... but you can't spend money like this..."

Seeing the clean streets in front of him, and then recalling the dirty sewers and strange smells in the inland cities of the empire, Kalio, who had always been proud of the West, felt his cheeks getting hot.

The wealth of the western part of the empire was indisputable, but the so-called wealth only referred to the wealth of the aristocracy. As for the common people and serfs, they still lived on the brink of starvation and lived in overcrowded cities filled with feces and urine.

…

Bruno met Calio, the salt merchant who came from afar, in his study.

"Respected Earl Idar, Lord Bruno of the Stuart family..." Even though there were many prejudices against the eastern part of the empire before, the other party was a noble after all, so the proper etiquette was inevitably indispensable.

What's more, what he saw and heard in the city of Idar made him a little curious about the young earl in front of him, and he dared not look at him with a casual eye.

"You must be the businessman from the western part of the empire. Old Ford mentioned you to me. He was the one who had been doing business with you before." Bruno said.

"Yes, we have been doing business with old Ford before."

Kalio suddenly felt a little nervous. Before this, he had heard of Count Bruno of Idar.

This Earl, who possessed almost all the shortcomings of aristocrats, had never cared about the affairs of the territory. This time he suddenly condescended to discuss business with him in person. Who knows what he had in mind.

"Are you trying to raise the price?" Kalio thought to himself.

However, Bruno spoke up at this time: "The business is still based on the price we agreed on originally, but this time, the salt I want to sell you is a little more."

Bruno's words made Kallio feel relieved. As long as the price was not raised suddenly, everything would be fine.

"How many?"

“It’s about 20% more than before.”

After all, the method of making salt from seawater has only been used for a short time, so due to the time constraints, the output has not increased too much all at once.

"Sure." Kalio said, "The price of each purchase in the past was 300 gold coins. Since this time it's 20% more, let's calculate it as 360 gold coins."

Bruno nodded in agreement.

"In that case, can I take the convoy to weigh and load the trucks now?" Kallio said, standing up.

"No hurry..." Bruno smiled and said, "Mr. Cario, please sit down for a while before leaving. We have other things to discuss..."

really!

Kalio was shocked. This young noble was indeed planning something! But since Bruno said so, Kalio couldn't just walk away. After all, the nobles were the nobles, and he couldn't resist them.

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Even if Bruno wanted to force the sale, Kallio would have to give in temporarily.

At this moment, Kallio was ready to bleed heavily. After all, Bruno's reputation had not been very good before. I hope it's not something too excessive...

"Besides salt...are you interested in sugar?"

"What?" Kalio was a little unresponsive for a moment.

"Sugar," Bruno emphasized.

"White sugar? You mean... you can sell me white sugar?" Kallio asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I can sell you sugar." Bruno added: "As long as the price is right, I can provide you with sugar stably for a long time."

Hearing Bruno say this, Kallio's thoughts suddenly became active.

It was almost common knowledge that the Norman Empire did not produce sugar, but this young earl claimed that he could provide a stable supply of sugar...

Kallio's brain was working rapidly at this time. Idar County was not far from the Kingdom of Basel, which produced sugar. Could it be...

smuggling!

Suddenly, these two words popped into Kallio's mind.

He mustered up his courage, raised his head and looked at the young nobleman in front of him again. He was mature and steady, and he knew when to act. He was totally different from the image of a prodigal son that was widely spread in the outside world. Perhaps... he just spread it on purpose? After all, smuggling was not something that ordinary people could afford. Not only did they need a huge network of relationships, but they also needed a lot of money, manpower, and... military deterrence...

For a moment, Kallio felt more and more that the young noble in front of him was actually a hidden guy, a big shot hiding behind the scenes.

So... there has always been such a powerful family in the eastern part of the empire?

The Stuart family of Idar is so terrifying! 　Today is the first update. Let me sort out the following plot. I will try to push it next week...

(End of this chapter)