Chapter 36 Thirty-six Money Rolling in
Olivia lowered her eyes and followed everyone back to the grand banquet hall on the second floor of the main house.
They waited here for a while, and the neighboring barons and ladies, as well as the baroness's relatives, had almost all arrived and were led into the banquet hall by servants.
These people seemed to have a very good relationship with the Baron. After seeing the Baron and his wife, they greeted each other enthusiastically and called their friends.
In the banquet hall, the gifts brought by the guests were displayed and shown off one by one.
One guest even gave the Baroness a trained ferret that could understand commands and had the servants demonstrate it by making the ferret go through a ring.
Olivia and Theresa's seats were at the very back, so they could only see the guests' clothes from a distance and couldn't see their faces clearly.
She opened the map and turned over the role cards of the people present.
There weren't many talented people, but there were still two or three in a room. One was the Baroness's cousin, Lord Marcus, who had a two-star talent in "Military" and was the heir to a barony in the southern part of the county.
There was another person who actually had a two-star talent in "Military".
Olivia took a closer look and her jaw almost dropped to the ground. The owner of this talent was a ten-year-old girl, Miss Tedwin, the youngest daughter of Baron Tedwin.
With this, she gave up the bad habit of flipping through character cards all over the field. After seeing it so many times, she always felt that she was just here to make up the numbers in this game and was nothing but a cheat code, but her cheat code was just stronger.
After briefly receiving the guests in the banquet hall, the baron took the guests and knights to the arena to watch the beast fighting performance.
At this time, Catherine called several young and easy-going knight ladies, including Olivia, and asked them to help register the gifts.
So Olivia followed everyone to a remote hall near the barracks.
When I entered the gate on the first day of the New Year, I saw that it was crowded with civilians who wanted to offer gifts. Most of them were men and women dressed very decently, some of them came with boxes in their hands, and some came with servants. A small number of them were dressed more casually, without even a felt coat.
Olivia and Catherine came to a long table. Catherine taught her a few words and arranged a seat for her with parchment and a quill.
Catherine and her friends were going to take the servants to register the gifts sent by the distinguished guests.
As soon as Olivia sat down, several people holding gifts surrounded her.
"Come one by one."
Olivia picked up the quill on the table and dipped it in ink. This was the first time she had used parchment to write since her time travel.
A bearded businessman wearing a light blue woolen robe and a gold ring on his finger stood in front.
He pushed a palm-sized leather box in front of Olivia, carefully opened the cloth bag, unlocked the brass lock of the box, and slowly lifted the lid.
"Madam, the gift I have prepared for the Baroness is a box of pearls."
Olivia looked up at the news, took a look, and counted the number of them.
"May I have your name?"
The businessman said his name was Polo Pongo.
Olivia wrote his name on the parchment, along with the name of the gift, the quantity, and the size.
There are twenty pearls in this box, each one is the size of a fingertip, very smooth and round, and each one can be sold for a gold coin.
It's a very important gift.
Polo watched Olivia write his name, then said:
"I must let the Baroness know of my kindness. I want to meet her.
One of my men went to Périgueux a month ago to deliver cloth, but was detained because he was unfamiliar with the local customs. To this day, he and his goods are still imprisoned in a cell in the capital of Périgueux. I heard that the Baroness has trade with that country..."
Olivia acted like a window clerk and answered as Katherine had just taught her.
"After you finish lunch in the long hall, stay there for a while. A servant will come to find you and take you inside. You will then meet the Baroness's maids. If you have anything to say, you can talk to them then."
She placed the box of pearls next to the table.
Polo listened, nodded and walked away. He thought that these twenty pearls were just an appetizer. However, if he went to ask the Countess for help, he might not be able to see her even if he gave her a hundred pearls.
Olivia began to record another gift, this time a box of cinnamon, estimated to be worth ten gold coins.
The old man who gave the gift said that his brother accidentally killed a civilian in the city because of buying slaves.
The sheriff and the knights of the city defense discussed it together and sentenced the execution to be carried out on the appointed trial day in the spring of three months.
The old man said that his brother was still a child, and asked if the Baroness could help to intercede and have his sentence reduced to imprisonment.
Olivia shook her head and said to the old man whose younger brother was still a child:
"Your gift is a little small. Go save some more. Is your brother's life not worth twenty gold coins?"
The old man was quickly pushed away by the people behind him.
The sheriff has already made a ruling on such a matter, which means that his brother is the one at fault and deserves to die.
And if this old man really succeeds in changing the death penalty to imprisonment, he will probably find a way to bribe the imprisonment into corvee labor.
If he was sentenced to corvée labor, he could manipulate it and secretly find someone else to take the blame for his brother, so that his brother could get away with it.
Catherine said to let her do as the situation dictates.
Olivia was busy for a while, accepting some insignificant gifts whose purpose was not too excessive.
For example, there was a businessman who wanted to meet the Baroness and buy a piece of land from her, and there was also a jeweler who came to give the Baroness new jewelry and wanted the Baroness to introduce his name to the Countess.
There were actually some commoners who came after her. Because they thought the Baroness was kind and beautiful, they presented her with gifts made by themselves without asking for anything in return and without any other purpose.
After they were done and the gift givers had left, they sorted out all the gifts and counted them again according to the booklet.
Afterwards, all the gifts and receipts were handed over to the servants arranged by Catherine to take away.
Olivia also went to the arena in the center of the fortress with other ladies to watch the beast fighting performance.
This is actually a courtyard surrounded by fortress buildings on all sides, but it is very wide.
The surrounding buildings all have balconies on the third floor. You can sit on the balcony, warm yourself by the fire, drink good wine, and watch the beast fighting competition comfortably.
Olivia was taken to a seat that was not too central. Just then, two fighting bulls with skin much darker than that of cows were led to the center of the arena.
Sitting next to her was Mrs. Real, who had a talent for "business". Mrs. Real also brought a little niece to see the world.
Theresa and her two sisters sat on her right.
As for the knights, they all stood behind the Baron as decorations to demonstrate their military strength. They were only able to take off their armor and breathe a sigh of relief during lunch.
Olivia was entirely interested in the beast fight, and when the servants brought the two bulls together, the sheriff began to let the barons and ladies place their bets.
Suddenly, Mrs. Real turned around and asked Olivia if she knew what they were going to do with the betting money.
"I'm not sure about that yet," she said truthfully.
Olivia put on a confused look, hoping that Mrs. Real could give her some advice.
As expected, Madame Reale turned her words around and said, "In order to sponsor the Duke of Valleau's granddaughter to build a monastery here, the Duke of Valleau is the king's most trusted uncle. The Countess attaches great importance to this matter."
Mrs. Real further explained to Olivia the relationship between the current king and the earl.
In addition to the king's direct territory, the Kingdom of Alta has two duchies, two marquises, seven earls, and ten viscounties.
These people's territories include countless baronies.
It is considered a country in the northern part of the mainland with medium strength and population in all aspects.
Olivia sorted out the relationship between the king and these nobles.
In fact, this means that the current king is not the skinny old man she thought, but a young man.
These viscounts, earls, marquises, and dukes are all relatives and elders of the king. Some are cousins, some are uncles, some are cousins, some are cousins, and a countess is her aunt.
As for Count Everk, he was already in his fifties or sixties and was the king's cousin.
These lords, together with the archbishop and a large number of minor nobles, formed the Senate loyal to the king.
During the annual session of the Diet, the Senate would meet for business, and such members as were convenient would attend.
The king had always been dissatisfied with the earl's property, and he imposed additional taxes every year to find fault, which made the earl so angry that he often wanted to rebel.
Their Count had not attended the meeting for a year, claiming illness.
The Countess saw it all, but had no choice but to accept the king's various temptations and smooth the relationship.
For example, he helped the granddaughter of the Duke of Valois to build a monastery in the country.
The Countess believed that at least now was not the time to break off relations with the king. Even if she wanted to expand her influence to the north, she had to do so with legitimacy. It would be best to wait until the neighboring government collapsed before entering the market.
Once it becomes powerful enough in the north and conditions permit, it will naturally be able to establish its own principality.
Count Everk reluctantly accepted the Countess's opinion.
Olivia finally understood.
In fact, Baron Bergru, to whom she and Caesar were loyal, was not strictly speaking Count Everk's man, but rather the Countess's power.
The situation in Count Everk's family is more complicated.
Mrs. Real also told Olivia that Count Everk was in his fifties or sixties, and the Countess was only in her forties. They were not the original couple, and the current Countess was a concubine.
The Earl's eldest son and second son are half-brothers.
The countess was originally the daughter of a marquis, but she died a few years after giving birth to the count's eldest son.
So Earl Everk married the current Countess, who came from the wealthy Kanta family in the county.
She also has a son, and the eldest and second son are no more than three years apart in age.
The eldest and second sons each gave Earl Everk a grandson, both of whom were about fifteen or sixteen years old.
These two earl's grandsons are both candidates for future marriage partners for the Countess Constant's heiress.
If the Countess's grandson could be engaged to the heiress, the position of the Countess and her son would be more secure.
The eldest son of the Earl, Deloy, who believed that he had absolute right of inheritance, had a rebellious character and his political views and positions were opposite to those of his stepmother.
He had been urging the earl to become independent, send troops to the north to expand his power, and stop serving the suspicious young king.
He was very resistant to the existence of his stepmother, younger brother and nephew, and he couldn't stand his stepmother's smooth and procrastinating behavior.
It also seemed that he was the one who advocated a tough attitude and wanted to force the orphan and widow to accept the marriage and get engaged to his son regardless of their wishes.
But the more he did this, the more the Countess wanted to be a good person and comfort the orphan and widow.
The lady not only had to win over the king's forces, but also had to place her own people on the border. She also had to use such gentle methods to snatch a marriage with the heiress, obtain the legal rights to occupy the territory, and build momentum for her son and grandson.
Over the years, the Countess had gradually married off many of the Konta family's cousins and cousins from far away to several barons in Roslingey County.
Looking around, the border is full of the Countess's influence.
Back to the present, Mrs. Held came from afar to run a trip for the Countess, just to arrange for Baroness Bergru to serve this nun well, and called on the surrounding barons to respond, so as to reassure the king and make him think that the north is still under his control.
Right now, the bullfight was going on. In just a short moment, the barons had raised hundreds of gold coins in bets of fifty or one hundred.
The money gained from gambling will not fall into anyone's pocket, but will be used to invest in the construction of the monastery.
The mysterious nun of noble birth who never showed up was the real protagonist of today's birthday party.
Olivia, who was sitting on the balcony watching the bullfight, was in a mess after hearing these words.
She spent a long time sorting out the complicated relationship between the king, the earl, the countess, the earl's son, the grandson, and the baroness.
However, the widow of Count Constant from the neighboring country was captured by Caesar and his men when they went out on patrol that day.
Olivia suddenly felt that this was different from what she had imagined. As a manor owner and a grassroots leader of the smallest power unit, how could she seem so close to these struggles?
The city is full of tricks, and Olivia said she just wanted to go back to the manor and farm well.
However, the monastery project is indeed very meaningful.
This isn't a building; it's clearly the Countess's stance and desire to survive.
In essence, the Countess and the stepson are the same kind of people, seeking power for survival and profit.
But the Countess's stepson obviously does not have the scheming brains of his stepmother, and is not as smart. He will definitely not be able to defeat others in the future.
Olivia thought that if she were a vassal, she would probably also be loyal to a more intelligent monarch.
In the arena, the primitive animal fighting performances included not only bullfighting but also wolf fighting, where the mastiffs raised by the baron's family would fight against the wolves.
When it was time for lunch, Olivia and her group were taken to the south side of the fortress, to eat in a side hall next to the main dining room.
This large restaurant is an independent building with a main hall in the middle that can accommodate a hundred people, and side halls on both sides that can accommodate dozens of people.
The female members of the family sat on the left, the knights and the guests' subordinates sat on the right, and the middle hall was very luxuriously decorated and was used for the host, guests and bishop to sit.
There were also some musicians holding musical instruments, playing music for the distinguished guests in the hall. Olivia took notice.
The instruments these people are holding are somewhat similar to harps, cellos and violins. In short, the style is very light.
At lunch, she was still flanked by Mrs. Real and Theresa, and opposite her was her neighbor, Mrs. Stewart.
The servants brought the dishes one by one, and Olivia carefully learned the rituals and etiquette here.
Unlike the later practice of everyone eating their own meals and serving dishes one by one, it is still customary to pile all the food out for display at formal banquets today.
There was a long table with two rows of about twenty people sitting in each, and five dishes, two soups, one staple food, one dessert and one fruit were placed between every four people.
There was a candlestick with three candles, and two servants were arranged to serve every four guests, helping to serve food, pour wine, and bring water for hand washing.
Lunch is very different from breakfast, mainly consisting of large dishes with good ingredients.
Olivia discovered that the meat was mainly poultry, and the most eye-catching was a roast goose with spice stuffing wrapped in its belly.
She looked towards the main hall and found that the main roast poultry enjoyed by the barons in the main hall was roasted peacock, which looked a bit like a dark dish, with peacock feathers placed on the edge of the plate for decoration.
This peacock must have been contributed by a shipping merchant.
Her other four dishes include grilled lamb chops, roasted ox tongue, stewed donkey meatballs, and grilled trout roe pie.
The main hall version is more refined, and the ingredients used are believed to be steak, venison, bear meat, and sturgeon roe.
The soups are ham and onion soup and milk pudding, the desserts are biscuits, the fruits are pears, and the drinks are wine.
While Olivia was eating, she also took special note of the tableware, which was mainly made of silver, copper, and glass.
Even the knife for cutting meat and the fork and spoon for eating are made of metal, without a trace of wood.
The entire meal was very long, and Olivia tried to socialize as much as possible and eat less dark food.
In her previous life, she worked as an accountant, cashier and purchasing agent.
You can tell at a glance that although the dishes are just average in taste, it will cost at least hundreds of gold coins to prepare each meal, and this is just the visible food and drink.
Even though he received so many gifts for his birthday, he still spent money like water. It seemed that the Baron's money was spent just like that.
Fortunately, she is not a baroness, otherwise she would be worried to death.
During the banquet, Olivia noticed that Mrs. Real, who was next to her, was called away by Catherine.
When Mrs. Real came back, she whispered to Olivia that Catherine wanted to see her about something and asked her to go to the dressing room next door.
So, Olivia said something to Theresa, then got up and went to the dressing room with the servant.
The changing room is at the back door of the side hall and is a place for changing clothes and going to the toilet.
Catherine was waiting for her here. When she saw Olivia, she took her to a deserted place outside the corridor.
"What exactly is it that I need to do?"
Catherine's expression was very calm. "This time, the construction of the monastery outside the city will be arranged by the Baroness. She is short of helpers and wants you to share the burden."
"Oh? What does the Baroness want me to do?"
Olivia seemed to smell a hint of opportunity.
Catherine told her not to worry and continued, "The monastery is planned to be built outside the city gate, one mile away from the moat. Construction has been agreed to begin in early February. The Baroness discussed the details with the architect yesterday and also asked for Sister Mo Farah's opinion."
Olivia learned from Catherine that the project was divided into many steps, including surveying, laying foundations, mining construction materials, transportation, grinding and cutting materials, building walls and tiles, soft furnishings, garden construction, and furniture making.
The Baroness also assigned purchasing, logistics, accounting, project supervision and cashier work to different people.
"The Baroness asked you to help recruit craftsmen to polish the raw stone and process the wood."
Catherine said the exact number of people needed still needed to be agreed upon between the architect and the sheriff, whose wife, Doris, was the person in charge of the finances for the project.
The construction period is tight, so more craftsmen are needed. The nuns don’t have any requirements for the construction period, so fewer craftsmen are needed. This is still to be determined.
"At most, we need at least 30 to 40 stonemasons and carpenters. It's definitely needed, and it will be more, not less.
As for the construction period, it must be completed within two to three months, and the monastery must hold a ceremony for the Nirvana Festival in early May."
Catherine gave Olivia a rough figure.
"The Baroness wants to give you the job. I'll pay you 200 gold coins upfront. If there's money left after the job is done, I'll give you more."
Olivia thought about it and nodded in agreement.
Judging from Catherine's tone, the money from this job was just enough for her to spend, but it was not enough for her to earn. As for the idea of dividing the money if there was any left in the account, that was just wishful thinking.
However, Olivia also knew that there were only a handful of people in the city who knew this information.
There are even fewer people who know the specific start time and scale like she does. With first-hand information, she doesn't have to worry about no one paying her to find out more, and it's not completely a thankless task.
If she were a heartless person, she could pocket a quarter of the two hundred gold coins, which was equivalent to a year's fiefdom income.
"Wait until the end of January, and you can prepare the manpower and send the craftsmen to me in advance."
Catherine's husband is responsible for coordinating with architects and dispatching personnel.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your guidance."
"I'm just working for the Baroness, so it can't be called giving her any advice." Catherine smiled.
Olivia thought about it and decided to give some gifts to Catherine, Doris and others later, so that if she couldn't do things well, there would be someone to help her make up for it.
When she returned to her seat, she quietly told Theresa about the errand.
After hearing this, she pondered for a moment and said, "Since the Baroness trusts you, then go ahead and do it. If there is anything that cannot be solved, come to me."
Olivia nodded and thought about it. If this matter fell into her hands, she would have to find a few trustworthy people to outsource the work.
The salaries, tools, and meals for these seventy or eighty workers all had to be paid for from these two hundred gold coins. With a budget of less than three gold coins per person, it would take two or three months.
If you want to make money, you have to do the accounting properly, and this is something that can only be done by her, a senior accountant.
Also, we need to find people with extensive connections and gather enough workers within a month.
After thinking about it, I figured that there were probably only a few carpenters and stonemasons in the surrounding manors, and for more, I could only look for them in the city and other baronies.
She plans to find two people with extensive connections to help.
After much thought, she realized that only her aunt and Letilen met her requirements. She would talk to them after returning.
After lunch, everyone returned to the arena to watch the barons and knights compete.
In this era, martial arts competitions were still a very honorable activity, and the competitions involved comparing riding, archery, horseback riding, and swordsmanship.
Usually, there is a prize in a competition, either gold coins, or valuable swords or accessories.
Even the king would hold a tournament every year and give a title to the winner, thus creating some knights or barons with or without fiefs.
If someone has a private conflict, the outcome of the duel can serve as a legal basis for the sheriff's judgment.
There was even a king of Arta who loved jousting and was legally killed while doing so.
Olivia sat with a group of ladies, watching the barons and knights compete in archery. Whoever hit the bull's eye with more arrows would get the prize of the competition.
The prize was a metal medal prepared by the Baron.
Olivia held her chin in her hand, watched the competition without any suspense, and then accepted the congratulations of several ladies around her.
The next event is a horse race, still a competition of speed.
Caesar got another emerald ring.
Finally, there is the most difficult sword fighting competition ring battle, but because the Baron does not want to see blood, the rule is that you lose if you leave the ring.
The winner has to continue accepting challenges from everyone until no one challenges him/her anymore, and then he/she will get the jackpot.
It's a test of fighting skills, endurance, and reaction.
The ladies around them all watched intently, amazed as the swords chopped and slashed, but Olivia only had to flip through her character card to know the outcome of the match.
This made things much less fun for her. Facing five-star talents, only Lord Marcus with a two-star talent in "Military" could hold on for a while.
However, Caesar's fighting skills are indeed very entertaining. There is not a single unnecessary movement. They are neat and powerful.
The smooth-running robot does not require thinking or reaction time and is able to perform calculations and make predictions.
The harder any challenger tries, the more embarrassed he becomes, which is heartbreaking to watch.
The first prize was a pure white Alta Pomeranian with shiny fur, pure bloodline, and a large frame. It was a top-notch horse bred in the Baron's stable and had a very nice name, Lily.
Olivia knew it the moment she saw the servant lead out the BMW!
This little darling definitely wants to go home with her!
…
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