Chapter 49: Witch Village Lanchalo
After delivering the Nightbloom to the doctors and witches and collecting payment, Holly said goodbye to Auntie Wolf and Takuya and left. The two witches carefully stored the Nightbloom in their space necklaces and led Takuya, Auntie Wolf, and Jericho, who was leading the mule, into the lush forest.
"Our village, Ranchalo, is right up ahead," Matilda introduced. "Ranchalo means the land of freedom in the ancient Elvish language. We liked it so much that we named it that!"
The two witches were enthusiastic and cheerful. Because of the introduction by their acquaintance Holly, they were not very shy towards Jiangyou and the others, and they kept introducing the customs and culture of Lanqialo Village along the way.
The Witch Forest Commune is actually not very big. There are only 376 members who actually live in the Witch Village Lancharo, and 70 to 80 honorary members. They are all well-known organizations or powerful suppliers in nearby towns and villages, and there are even some noble lords with considerable status.
It can be said that it is precisely because of these powerful and distinguished honorary members that the Witch Forest Commune, a utopia full of wanderers, has been able to survive in this forest to this day.
The reason why these powerful people are willing to cooperate with the witches, become honorary members, and provide them with shelter is also very simple: the potions made by the witches are of good and stable quality, and the delicious beer is an indispensable cooling delicacy in the hot summer. Their presence also reduces the number of refugees in nearby towns, alleviating a lot of burdens on the surrounding noble lords.
Of course, there are also many honorary members who, like Jiangyou, joined with the intention of learning technology.
"You teach magic to honorary members and sell them hops cheaply. Aren't you afraid of losing your business?" Jericho asked curiously.
"Don't be afraid~" Lolisa skipped and played on the crunchy dry leaves. "There are only about 300 of us in total. No matter how much we cultivate the farmland and increase the yield, the wheat we can grow is limited. We can only brew so much alcohol each year, and we have to sell it all over the country. Each place can only get a few barrels of beer.
"Every time the dealers come to pick up the goods, the situation becomes tense and they almost come to blows!"
Jiangyou understood it immediately. This was a good thing and there was no problem selling it. Their production was limited and could not fill the demand gap in the market, so they were naturally not afraid of competition from others.
To put it bluntly, the main reason is the low productivity in the Middle Ages. There are not many villages like the Witch Commune that are self-sufficient and where all members can work together to produce beer, and which vaguely show the prototype of modern industry.
Even the beer produced by industry leaders like the witches is a drop in the bucket compared to the huge demand of the people.
In this way, even if other small brewing households can learn the essence of the witches' craftsmanship, their output will only be enough for themselves and their neighbors to drink a few pots, which is not enough to affect the witches' business.
The market is far from saturated, so the witches naturally encourage the industry's development. The more people enjoy drinking, the more influence the witches, as industry leaders, will have. Potions and alcohol are merely the means by which witches gain social status, their leverage. Appropriate investment will only increase their leverage.
'Hey, that's interesting.' Takumi thought, 'Under the surface of this world's joy, everyone actually has a pretty good business sense.'
It’s not surprising when you think about it. No matter how sophisticated the economic theories are, they are all summarized from the successes and failures in history. And aren’t those industry leaders who have created those successes in history by relying on their own strength?
"We're here." Matilda said suddenly. She led everyone around a corner and across the dense forest. Suddenly, the view in front of everyone opened up.
The world-experienced Takuyu and Jericho from the city both exclaimed "Wow!", and the witches and Aunt Wolf couldn't help laughing.
A fairytale-like forest village lies quietly surrounded by dense forests. It is located in a river valley between several small hills. A winding river flows from east to west through the middle of the village, dividing it into north and south.
Green hops grew everywhere, along the edge of the forest and near the river. Not far away, on the sunny side of the hillside, vast tracts of farmland were cultivated and planted with wheat. At this time of year, the wheat was turning from green to yellow, and the hillside was covered in lush green, with the wind blowing the wheat waves, a truly beautiful sight.
The air was filled with the faint aroma of malt and hops. Aunt Wolf took a deep breath and said, "Ah, this smell is so refreshing."
Jiangyou couldn't smell anything, so she could only scratch the pear-shaped hole at the nose position of her skull in confusion. It would be great if the small problems with her sense of smell and taste could be solved, but she really didn't want to become a test subject of the crazy elf doctor... Oh, it's so worrying. I wonder if these witches who look very capable will have any good solutions?
"Come, come," the two witches led them into the village. Lorisa pointed to the stable at the entrance and said to Jericho, "Just tie the mule over there. This is a public stable, reserved for travelers passing through and our business partners. The old man over there is Marcos. He sells livestock feed and also recycles their excrement."
Jericho thanked him and took the mule to find Uncle Marcos.
"Aunt Wolf, you can wander around the village freely," Matilda took off her dark purple witch hat, revealing her flaxen brown hair. "We have to take Jiang You to see the head sister first. Once the head sister makes a decision, we can arrange a room for you to stay."
Lolisa also took off her pointed hat. She had long mint green hair and looked very fresh. "Honorary members and tourists live in different places. The former have better treatment and conditions, and the fees are more favorable. A team only needs one honorary member, and all members can enjoy the benefits.
"Since Jiangyou is willing to join, let's go find the sister in charge and take care of this matter first, so that we don't have to go through the trouble of moving things around."
There are seven witches in charge, and they usually stay in the witches' gathering house in the center of the village.
The witches' meeting house is a two-story wooden building with a stone foundation, half-standing above the river that flows through the village. The river flows under the house, creating a very romantic scene.
The first floor of the building is where members are received and daily matters are handled, while the second floor is where the witches in charge work.
Matilda just said hello to the sisters in pink witch dresses on the first floor, then took Jiangyou up the stairs at the back of the house to the second floor, walked through the viewing corridor outside the house, and knocked on the door in the middle of the corridor.
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