Chapter 52: More Money, Less Trouble
In late March, the earth changed color. Except for the snow on the top of the mountain, the entire river bank returned to a bare brown color. The evergreen coniferous forest also completely emerged from its silvery white.
And in Frankfurt, a town on the southernmost border of the Kingdom of Alta, it was the same morning, the same sun.
A vast expanse of white fog spread across the plains, which was gradually dispelled by the sunlight. The quiet Anne River flowed slowly, marking the dividing point of the southern border.
The caravans from the royal capital moved along the banks of the Anne River, forming long queues into the port town of Frankfurt.
However, it is only slightly warmer here than in the north of the kingdom, and is still much colder than in the southern part of the actual continent.
No matter how dangerous and difficult the journey was, at this moment, looking at the nearby city gate, the merchants felt happy in their hearts.
Letilen was surprised to find that he seemed to be luckier now than before.
Nothing bad happened along the way, except that my face was chapped by the wind and frost, and the felt tent I used for sleeping in had several holes gnawed by rats.
Apart from that, there were no accidents at all, and there was even zero damage to the goods. It was really God's blessing that not a single jar of their cider was broken!
The various bacon, honey, and butter brought from the north were sold at double the price, but they were still popular in the capital market.
Linden flower honey that costs three silver coins in Lavosen sells for six silver coins in the royal capital. In the north, a pound of smoked deer legs is worth one silver coin, but in the royal capital it is two silver coins.
As for good things like deer tendons and antlers, they are sold at several times the price.
The northern goods worth fifty gold coins were sold out in the most prosperous market in the capital, exchanging for more than ninety gold coins, which was not much different from the expected profit.
In fact, as long as you can reach your destination smoothly and there are no disputes between partners, long-distance business trips are basically a sure win.
And Letilen is now carrying gold coins, manpower and empty carriages, preparing to exchange the gold coins for goods circulated here from the southern part of the continent.
Before he set off, he confirmed the purchase list of southern goods with his financial backer, Olivia.
Procurement can be roughly divided into two parts: food and daily necessities.
In the food category, procurement budget accounts for two-thirds.
The list is divided into many categories, the first of which is a part of mainstream products to ensure profits.
For example, various nuts and seeds, olive oil, wine, as well as mountain products, seafood, and edible spices from the southern part of the mainland.
The price of each pound of sugar, dried scallops, and dried shrimp in Frankfurt is about a few koris to one silver coin, but if the quality is good, most of them can be sold for more than one silver coin after being transported back to the north and repackaged, which means the profit is very high.
These things are small in size, easy to transport, and can be sold at a high price.
In addition, Olivia also specifically described some rare and non-mainstream goods to Letilen, asking him to help find them and bring them back to the north if he could find them.
For example, coffee beans or tea leaves, ginger cotton and other things.
As for daily necessities, soap, laurel oil, various powders and dyes, which are special products of the southern part of the mainland, are also indispensable.
After entering Frankfurt, it took Letilen several days to buy all the items.
At the same time, outside the city of Lavossen, a light drizzle fell last night.
Not far from the city, in an area that was originally a wasteland a few months ago, a large stone wall was suddenly built on the built foundation.
Hundreds of workers worked in shifts day and night under strict supervision, and the prototype of the monastery gradually emerged.
The trees ordered by Mrs. Baudelaire were dug out from the mountains one by one. After pruning them, dozens of workers transported them to the vicinity of the monastery for transplantation.
On this day, Olivia seemed to be personally supervising the work on the nearby col to prevent anything from happening on her territory.
But in fact, her mind had already drifted away.
Today, after Letilen's caravan purchased southern goods in Frankfurt, the task of accumulating transactions was successfully completed.
She unlocked the character card drawing function and gained fifty experience points. The experience point progress bar was already more than halfway to five hundred.
The copy task refreshed a simple small task.
"Favorability:
Mission description: Accumulate favorability with 100NPC*35.
Mission Progress: 15/35
Mission Reward: +20 Experience Points
"
She closed the copy and calmly began to direct the workers to carefully move the trees, and continued to check the notes on the character card drawing function.
The function notes explain the probability of drawing cards of various star levels. The method of use is to consume blank character cards. The drop rate of one-star characters is 100%.
In other words, a one-star character is guaranteed and no one comes for nothing.
The drop rate for a two-star character is fifty percent, which means you will definitely get one out of every two times.
The drop rate of three-star characters is thirty percent, and they may drop once by consuming three blank cards.
The drop rate of a four-star character is ten percent, which means it will definitely appear ten times in a row.
There is no explanation for the drop rate of five-star items, maybe it's just a matter of luck.
Olivia knew that the original star-level buff had a higher bonus than the buff that was upgraded later with props.
If a character already has a three-star farming talent, the output can be increased by 20% purely through buffs.
However, the level of characters upgraded with props is usually not so stable. The output buff of characters upgraded to three stars with props will fluctuate between 5% and 10%, depending entirely on the performance of the props.
The effect of turning an original three-star item into a five-star item is not as good as the original five-star item, but it is definitely more stable than turning it into five-star items sporadically.
Therefore, this function of drawing out star-level characters is still very important.
The notes also say that a star-level character drawn with a blank character will not replace the existing residents in the territory, but will be refreshed within ten kilometers of her coordinate point.
The secular class of these characters is uniformly set as self-employed farmers by the system, and players can hire them and cooperate with them.
It wouldn't happen that she drew a five-star result but the opponent was a Celestial Dragon.
This is different from the star-level characters that appear in the map.
The star-level characters that appear in the map may appear in various classes, they may be serfs or they may be princes.
To some extent, Olivia regards the star characters that come with these maps as monsters that need to be fought in the future.
The trees that Mrs. Bordall ordered would take more than a month to dig and transport. For the first two days, Olivia only came to take a symbolic look.
There is a lot going on in the manor.
Spring plowing is in full swing, and the cattle and sheep on the manor are about to give birth.
Lucy went to bed every night in fear that one of the animals would suffocate to death during childbirth.
Compared to Lucy, Olivia seemed very calm because she knew that Lucy had talent and would definitely be able to take good care of the animals.
In just two or three days, on the first day of April, all the cattle and sheep gave birth to lambs one after another.
Cows usually give birth to single lambs, but sheep that give birth to multiple lambs also give birth to multiple lambs, usually three or four. Both mother and lamb are healthy and alive, and the birth goes smoothly without any need for human intervention.
Lucy finally felt relieved, and she counted the number of livestock currently on the farm.
At the very least, it's a donkey.
There were three horses and three wild boars in total, one adult sow and two medium-sized piglets.
Then there are four ducks.
Two cows each gave birth to a calf, and there are now four cows.
The largest number of animals were sheep. The two ewes that Olivia brought into the manor initially gave birth to seven lambs in total.
In order to complete the transaction task some time ago, I bought five lambs, so now the flock has a certain number, a total of fourteen.
The largest number of animals are probably chickens. There are six adult hens and one rooster. From December to January, fifty chicks were semi-artificially raised, and another fifty chicks were raised in the previous month.
There are now more than a hundred chickens in the flock.
Oh, there is also a tamed wolf cub tied up in the backyard to guard the house, and a rat catcher kept free in the main house.
In order to properly feed these animals, Lucy established a strict schedule.
Every night, the horses must be fed until they are full, and then they must be taken out for patrol at dawn.
The next morning, just after dawn, she asked her two helpers to take the cattle, sheep and donkeys to graze near the silo on the hillside.
Then they would feed the piglets and drive the sow outside the fence, tying her feet with ropes to slow her down so she could find other wild boars to mate with and mate with, and also so she wouldn't run away.
By noon, they drove the cattle and sheep back to the pen.
He also drove all the chickens and ducks out to the other side of the hillside to eat insects.
In the afternoon, the chickens and ducks dare not run around anymore, so you can chase them into the pen and catch them easily.
Normally, when they go out to eat, they will occasionally lay a few eggs, which also have to be picked up.
The places where cattle, sheep and poultry are kept are changed every day to prevent chickens and ducks from eating all the grass roots, and also to allow them to eat the insects attracted by cow and sheep dung.
If it rains, you can only feed throughout the day.
However, these chickens will not be free-range for long. In another month, when the first batch of chickens mature, most of the roosters will be slaughtered, leaving the hens in captivity.
As for the cattle and sheep that had eaten grass for a long time and were driven back to the pen, they had to be milked and the two ewes had to be sheared.
At night, they had to go outside the fence, find the sows playing nearby and drive them back to sleep to prevent them from being eaten by wild beasts that roamed around at night.
Therefore, the three people who manage the livestock are the busiest people in the manor every day. They are either driving the livestock or on their way to shovel their manure. They are rarely seen all day long.
However, the kitchen provided the three of them with the most luxurious meals. After all the cattle and sheep were successfully delivered, Olivia rewarded each of them with three silver coins.
This little bit of money is all hard-earned from shoveling shit, and no one would envy them.
Olivia felt her ears tired just from listening to the report.
She promised Lucy that she would be allowed to find two more helpers to continue expanding the management staff for the livestock area.
After just one breeding season, the number of valuable livestock on the farm increased several times, and two or three people could hardly handle it.
One morning in early April.
Olivia rode Lily for a stroll along the estate wall, and Adam helped lead the horse.
The housekeeper followed along, checking for holes in the wall.
The grass slopes on the back mountain gradually grew a little green, covered with dew, and sparkled in the morning light.
Looking up the hillside to the west, there are calves and lambs running everywhere, which is also a beautiful scenery.
Caesar taught Olivia horse riding skills after he finished his patrol.
Not to mention, he also has some talent as a teacher, and he explains horse riding techniques very clearly.
During the teaching process, he was very patient, always at my side, carrying the child up and down.
Olivia adapted after two days of hard practice and can now walk slowly with the help of a servant.
She plans to learn to walk independently first, and then increase the difficulty little by little.
In a few months, all of Lily's strength will be brought into play.
Being able to control fast-moving vehicles is also a compulsory course for survival in this world, making it easier to escape or pursue criminals in the chaotic world of the future.
It's just a matter of gradual progress.
“Ma’am, I heard that Baskin Manor also had lambs, but fewer than ours, and a ewe died.
However, Knight Baskin bought ten more sheep and two horses.”
Adam had been watching people digging trees in the manor these past two days, and had also learned a lot of news from the surrounding area.
Olivia nodded and rode the docile Lily slowly towards the orchard.
At this time of year, the river has thawed and the water has started to flow again. It is not easy for bandits and refugees to cross the river, so the landowners have started to develop aquaculture again.
Raise a group of young rams in this season. After seven or eight months, at the end of the year, you can shear their wool and sell them without worrying about them being snatched away.
Old Renault always did this.
The housekeeper checked along the way and marked a few holes in the wall. After marking them, he jogged to catch up with Lily.
"Madam? I've marked the damaged areas of the wall. Do you want to repair them immediately?"
the butler inquired.
Olivia shook her head. "Not for now. I plan to start expanding the main house of the manor once the merchant Letilen returns and I have enough funds. Then we can repair the wall together."
This was the first time the butler heard the news, but he was not surprised.
The main houses of the neighboring manors were better built than theirs, so he expected that his wife would use the money she earned to renovate the house.
Olivia rode to the main gate and pointed to the nearby orchard and said to the housekeeper:
"I've already drawn up the rough plan and am still refining it. By the time the time comes, I think the orchard will need to be cleared to build the house."
The housekeeper assessed the area and was surprised that the lady wanted to make the house so spacious.
"It's done in one go, saving us the trouble later, right?"
Olivia told him to prepare first, as construction would not begin until May at the earliest. By then, she would look for a construction foreman in town and transfer workers from outside to do the work.
At that time, the housekeeper only needs to manage logistics and arrange materials.
Upon hearing this, the housekeeper felt relieved.
As long as you don't let him worry about everything, there is nothing to worry about not doing well.
"Craftsmen from several surrounding towns have been working for the monastery these days.
Remember to ask your aunt to help me find a few skilled carpenters and stonemasons, so that they can come and help me with the work when the monastery is completed.
As for tools, you can go to the town to purchase some now. In about half a month, the craftsmen will come down from their posts in the monastery and can start work directly.
As for furniture, such as tables, chairs, and benches, you can directly order them from the furniture store in town and have them prepare the goods."
Olivia then told the housekeeper the exact number of each type of furniture she had calculated.
The butler nodded. He was glad that his wife was very organized in her work. At least she could tell him clearly what he should do now, and he only needed to do it in a little bit.
"In a couple of days, I'll draw the detailed blueprint on parchment and calculate the amount of stone and wood needed."
She had calculated that to build such a large house, she would need to mine stones from at least half a mountain. Fortunately, the stones in the fiefdom were free.
The current kitchen, livestock pen, and old cowshed will all be converted into livestock areas.
The housekeeper thought for a moment and said, "We can start by digging a cellar and a wine cellar, and then digging a new well..."
She rode her pony around the manor a few times, made some preliminary plans for the manor expansion, and then it was lunchtime.
The two kitchen helpers, under Olivia's instructions, molded soybeans and were preparing to make bean paste. They also sprouted some lentils and cooked soup with the pickled century eggs.
Although the two kitchen helpers had never seen this way of eating, the lady rarely asked for specific orders, so they did not dare to cook in a different way.
Fry two crushed runny preserved eggs, add blanched bean sprouts and cook, then add some shredded ham and eggs to make a thin soup.
This kind of soup is fresh, fragrant, milky white and has a rich taste. Although it cannot be soaked with rice, it is equally delicious when dipped with bread and noodles.
Therefore, whenever there are duck eggs, the kitchen will pickle them, either with lime, sea salt or yellow mud.
In the spring when the temperature rises, although things like berries are not yet available, there are many more edible things in the forest than in winter.
After dinner, the sun was shining brightly and the wet soil had dried up. Olivia began to challenge herself again, riding Lily towards the hillside near the village.
There are a lot of wild grasses and shrubs on this hillside, and there are many wild animals to pick.
Caesar knew that he couldn't stop Olivia from exploring far away, so he asked Adam to follow her.
Maybe he was afraid that if she broke her leg, he would have to take care of her.
Whenever they were about to get close to a steep and dangerous area, Adam would begin to give earnest advice.
Olivia is also aware of her own horsemanship, and she will not watch Adam's life fluctuate between life and death.
Whenever this happened, he would dismount and walk for a while, and then get back on again when the road was flat.
From time to time, you can pick some newly sprouted wild vegetables next to the bushes, such as young nettles, dandelions, bear onions, and sheep horn celery.
In the center of the fiefdom, there is a large hillside made entirely of stones and covered with moss, on which many things can grow.
Examples include cloudberry, wood sorrel, reindeer moss, violets and fireweed, and stone ear.
In the humus of coniferous forests, you can also find morels, snowmelt mushrooms, birch mushrooms, and spruce boletes.
But these things would also be sought by tenant farmers and self-employed farmers who had the right to pick in the forest.
Therefore, Olivia collected them with great restraint, trying not to let people think that she also liked to eat them, otherwise these self-employed farmers and tenant farmers would not dare to pick them up.
Seeing that it was getting late, she returned to the woods close to the manor to avoid any large wild animal jumping out in front of her.
However, before they could walk back to the manor, Caesar and his group came back along the path and ran into her and Adam.
Today is the day when the Baron called the knights to a meeting. I don’t know what they talked about, but it was definitely some routine matters.
It ended relatively early.
Caesar saw her from a distance and rode briskly towards her.
After he dismounted, he moved closer to Lily, and Olivia leaned over, put her arms around Caesar's neck, and slowly slid down from the horse.
Although she could dismount herself, she was never good at refusing Caesar.
Afterwards, the two of them made way for the soldiers and horses on the side of the road and walked slowly towards the manor side by side.
Olivia was very interested in the content of each regular meeting. She wanted to know what nonsense the Baron had said or where he had focused on adjusting the defenses.
Caesar spoke frankly:
"The Baron wants to rebuild the city's defenses."
Olivia narrowed her eyes and looked at him with an unimpressed look.
"He won't let you work on the city defense, will he?"
Caesar nodded, the Baron really wanted him to go.
In fact, this is a good job, leading the city's guards and soldiers on patrol, arranging their shifts, and also intervening in the distribution of their weapons and equipment.
You just need to be on duty, have a dormitory in the barracks, and have three days off a week.
However, this job pays well, requires little work, and is far from home.
In front of the Baron, Caesar refused the transfer on the grounds that they had just gotten married and could not separate.
The Baron hesitated to speak.
However, after he refused, he recommended the job to old Renault.
Old Renault didn't mind these problems at all and gladly accepted the transfer.
…
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