Chapter 190 Winemaking and Sugarcane
Jiang You herself also clearly felt that the attitudes of the witches, especially the head witch, towards her were constantly improving, but she did not think there was anything wrong with it.
As the status of the counterparty continues to improve, it is normal for the partner's attitude to change. Moreover, in her impression, entrepreneurs who go to poor mountain valleys to open factories to alleviate poverty, as long as they can get things done and lead their fellow villagers to prosperity, will be respected and thanked by the locals. This is also a natural thing.
This change will increase her voice and make it easier for her to do things in the Witch Forest.
The Witch's Forest is a lawless area independent of Wilshire County. Although it is geographically close to the West City of Easton, it is not under the jurisdiction of Andre's territory.
This place was completely governed and autonomous by the witches in charge. Whether it was the former Baron Neumann or the current Viscount Andre, the witches treated him with the same attitude: respectful but not servile, and usually offering him some face and discounts to maintain a good relationship. Since there were no real law enforcement agencies here, they allowed the kingdom's knights to help maintain public order and apprehend fugitives according to the laws of the Duchy of Huntington...
But if any noble wanted to extend his hand further, he would be met with desperate resistance from the witches.
But, Jiang You is different.
She is not here to fight for power and profit, but to do business. For her, the increased voice will make it easier and more flexible for her to acquire land, build factories and recruit people.
The cooperation is indeed going very smoothly.
It took Jiangyou only three days to complete all the preliminary preparations. The brewery was located in the old factory where the witches used to brew beer. After the trolls came over to do some simple repairs and upgrades and install distillation equipment, it could be used.
In the early stages, we don't need too many employees; a dozen or twenty people are more than enough. If we want to expand production later, we can always recruit new employees later.
The new winery currently produces several products, including low-alcohol liquor for drinking, high-concentration alcohol specially supplied to generals and soldiers on the battlefield for medical disinfection, and cooking wine which is mainly used for cooking and is fine to drink.
As for wine and other drinks that were very popular in Takumi's era, Takumi also planned to brew them, but not in the Witch's Forest.
Wheat liked the mild and humid climate of the Witch Forest, but to grow grapes, she had to go to the Dresden family's territory, which had a Mediterranean-like climate, and the lava valley. Besides olives, the Dresden family also cultivated a large amount of grapes year-round, producing a very high-quality wine vinegar.
If you can make vinegar, you can also make wine. Jiang You had tasted the Dresden family's red wine in the capital, and although the taste was already very good, she was confident that she could improve the process and make an even more delicious wine.
Brewing several types of liquor near their places of origin can not only save transportation costs but also create a liquor market with healthy competition.
On the surface, it might seem like the Dresden family and the Witch Forest are two powerful rivals, but in reality, Takumi Yuu is behind both. With her mediating, there's no vicious competition to disrupt the industry. All the alcoholics' small fortunes ultimately end up in the pockets of this lich.
Thinking about the beautiful future, Jiangyou couldn't help humming a song.
After finishing things here, she and Holly would go to the Dresden family's territory to stay for a while. Of course, Annina and Andre would also go with them.
A few days passed, and the turmoil surrounding the case in the capital gradually subsided. Aside from those who witnessed the incident, everyone else seemed to have gradually forgotten the sensational event and returned to their daily lives.
Annina had played a significant role in the Huntington's disease incident. She used her magic to repel Mi Funa, who was advancing deeper into the capital, and she also took over the treatment of the injured. Now that the injured had recovered enough to return to their daily lives, Annina planned to take a break and return to her territory to rest.
This wasn't some unusual move, nor was it because of any health issues with Annina. Rather, it was the final days of the late summer months, with early autumn just around the corner. It was time for the nobles to return to their own territories.
Just as spring is the time for sowing and the rebirth of all things, autumn is recognized as the harvest season. Even nobles who were absent from their territories for seven or eight months of the year would most likely return in the autumn to count the harvests on their farms, send their tax collectors to collect taxes from the people, and fulfill their obligations to the royal family.
Of course, every royal family has its own style and rules. The German royal family was very wealthy, so they did not collect taxes from their nobles. They only required them to fulfill military obligations: such as defending the territory for His Majesty the King, contributing men, horses, and equipment, and sending troops to capture bandits and robbers, and even quell rebellions...
Autumn is the harvest season and also the most comfortable time before the bitter cold and long winter in Huntington.
Just as brown bears work hard to find food and store fat for hibernation in the autumn, all the unproductive bandits in the Principality of Huntington are accustomed to going out in the autumn to plunder enough food, clothes and money to survive the winter.
Therefore, every autumn is the time when nobles are most likely to be summoned by His Majesty the King and frequently send troops to fight and quell rebellions.
However, not all nobles were skilled in military affairs. Therefore, if some nobles were unable to provide sufficient soldiers, swords, and food, they could pay money directly to the royal family to offset these obligations.
This money was also jokingly called the "peace tax" by the nobles. Spending money to buy the safety of their own people was very cost-effective for the nobles who were rich but weak in military power.
As for whether His Majesty the King would pay other nobles to send troops to quell the rebellion after receiving the money, or take on the task himself, or directly pay part of the money to the bandits to "buy peace"... that was not something these nobles should consider.
——In fact, in the history from the Kingdom of Derman to the Principality of Huntington, the above options have all been put into practice.
Annina wanted to take advantage of this time to return to her own territory and take charge of the situation. However, there was an even more important reason for them to return to Dresden's territory this time.
Holly had already cultivated a large area of land in the Lava Valley and transplanted a large amount of sugarcane. He even employed some of the unique planting magic of the Hafu tribe to make up for the lost time. According to his estimate, this batch of sugarcane would reach maturity in early autumn, ready for the first large-scale harvest.
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