Chapter 242 Terrifying Profits! (Two in One!)
It has been several days since Isabel returned to Conte Territory.
Arnel and his friends were too far away from their families, but for Isabel, the distance of a Stranglethorn Vale was obviously not worth mentioning.
But... half a year later, when Isabel returned to the Conte Territory again, looking at the hereditary fiefdom of the Conte family in front of her, she couldn't help but feel a strange feeling in her heart.
If Isabel had always lived here, she might have gotten used to everything here.
only……
What she saw and heard in Idar Territory made Isabel frown slightly at the appearance of Conte Territory.
The Territory of Conte remains the same, but the Territory of Idar is undergoing new changes every day. Isabel, who teaches in person at the Starting Point Orphanage, has a deep understanding of this.
In the civilians of Idar County, who should have looked pale and toiled for a living, Isabel could see hope for the future, and their expectations and gratitude for the ever-improving living conditions.
However……
On the other hand, in the Conte family's hereditary fiefdom, the cold winter repeatedly ravaged the lower-class people who were half-naked. The hungry serfs gathered in the corners of the streets, huddled together tightly, relying on each other's body temperature to keep each other warm.
These people at the bottom of society can’t even solve the problem of having enough food and clothing, let alone sending their children to learn spelling and reading like the common people in Idar County...
Although there is only the Stranglethorn Vale between Idar Territory and Conte Territory, the scenery on both sides is completely different.
Although more and more people have been attracted to Idar Territory, but...
Most of the news of this era was passed on by word of mouth among neighbors. In addition, the Idar Territory had no intention of taking advantage of the Conte Territory, so to be honest, except for the villages near the Stranglethorn Vale, the population loss in the Conte Territory was not particularly serious.
After all... for these people who have rarely traveled far, they might not even know the name of the noble leader next door, let alone migrate.
Therefore, even though the nearby Idar Territory was in full swing of construction and the serfs were gradually able to get rid of their shackles and gain freedom through their own labor, the neighboring Conte Territory remained the same and was not affected at all.
The lower-class people are ignorant, but Viscount Conte naturally knows about the changes that are taking place in the Territory of Idar.
But……
Not everyone has the courage to make changes at the risk of giving up their own interests...
The severe winter cold made the smell of feces that originally lingered in the air less strong, but compared with the environment of Idar City, Conte Territory seemed a bit desolate...
Some time ago, Idar's engineering team dug a number of drainage ditches on both sides of the roads in Idar City in accordance with Bruno's request.
Those drainage ditches are covered with neatly laid cement slabs. Once there is continuous heavy rain, rainwater can flow into the drainage ditches through the gaps between the cement slabs, thus keeping the streets of Idar County clean and tidy.
However, in Conte...
The dirt roads throughout the city were mostly a mixture of feces and mud, and the small puddles that appeared in front of Isabel from time to time made Isabel feel a little embarrassed.
The coachman responsible for driving Isabel was a native Idar sent by Bruno, so... Isabel always felt that the way Lord Conte appeared in front of the Idar people made her face dim and also made the Conte family lose face.
“Please… please, my Lord…”
As he was thinking about it, he saw a thinly dressed woman stopping in front of his carriage and crying emotionally.
The woman looked skinny and pale, as if she was ill, which made Isabel's cheeks slightly moved...
Seeing this, Isabel nodded to the maid beside her.
The servant understood what she meant, and he saw her stretch out her hand and hand over a few copper coins.
Not all nobles exploited the common people blindly, especially the soft-hearted female nobles like Isabel. Whenever they saw the poor people begging along the road, they would give them some copper coins from time to time, which showed their kindness and gave favors to the common people.
Looking at this familiar scene, Isabel fell into deep thought... If this was Idar County, what would the young earl do? However...
What is surprising is that...
The woman did not receive the copper coin handed over by the coachman. She cried and said, "Miss... I hope you can allow me to work in Moor Manor. I am a commoner, but I am willing to be a serf in Moor Manor..."
Hearing this, Isabel was stunned.
This woman stopped me not to ask for money, but to ask me to let her go to Moor Manor to be a serf? They were serfs!
In fact, not only Isabel, but even the servants beside her could not help but stand there in a daze.
This was the first time they saw someone voluntarily become a serf and voluntarily put their life in the hands of others.
"Mole World..." Isabel murmured.
As the supervisor who promoted the cooperation between the Conte family and the Stuart family, Isabel was one of the nominal managers of Moore Wines.
But... to be honest, since Isabel has been busy studying advanced mathematics and teaching mathematics in Idar Territory, she has never been to Moomin Valley in person to find out what it is like.
"Take that civilian with you, and let's go take a look at Moor Manor..."
Isabel finally said.
…
Viscount Conte leaned lazily in the rocking chair in front of the fireplace. The dancing flames in the fireplace warmed the entire study.
The butler was explaining to Viscount Conte the income and expenditure of the territory over the past year, but...
After incorporating large tracts of vineyards and wine production workshops into Moore Wine Company, which was jointly established with the Stuart family, Conte's book income was obviously reduced by a large portion.
Because according to the agreement between Bruno and Viscount Conte, the profits of Moore Wine Industry need to be settled annually and are not taxable, and the time for distributing profits is around the "Day of the Coming of the God of Light" every year.
It’s just… maybe because the sudden war took up most of the Idar territory’s attention, the profits made by Moore Wine Industry have not yet been reported to the Idar people.
So much so that if the income from Moore Wine Industry is ignored, Conte is actually spending more than it earns this year.
"well……"
Viscount Conte sighed deeply, and then, as if he had made up his mind, he said with great difficulty: "No one expected that things would develop to this point. If the threat from the Odins really makes Idar's finances difficult... you can have someone tell Bruno to waive the share of Conte's profits this year. This can also be regarded as helping the Stuart family..."
"But sir... according to the merchants who came and went, the wine produced by Moore Winery is very popular in the Kingdom of Basel. This is a huge sum of money..."
"How much more can there be? After all, this is only the first year of Moore Wine Industry. If time goes on, maybe we can really get a lot of profits, but everything has to take time. I'm afraid that this is a promise that Idar will have to pay for with his own money to get a thousand gold coins. After all, Bruno is the son of old Adam..." (Chapter 153, 154) As he said,
Viscount Conte seemed to be lost in past memories, thinking back to the time when he and Adam grew up together...
"Lord Viscount! Lord Viscount!"
Just as Viscount Conte was immersed in his memories, a servant ran in rashly.
"What are you doing? Do you have any manners at all?"
The butler frowned and scolded.
The servant finally realized his own recklessness. He trembled all over, knelt on the floor, and said carefully:
"Master... Idar... The people of Idar have sent all the dividends from Moore Wine Industry! Upon hearing this, Count Conte couldn't help but reveal a solemn expression and said:
"As expected... Although Bruno seems a little unsteady in his actions, he is still a trustworthy person after all! The Stuart family always keeps their word, but I am not a guy who only cares about money. Go and tell the people who come here that Idar Territory has had an especially difficult time this year. Not only has it taken in a large number of refugees, but it has also had to do everything it can to resist the threat of the Odin people. For now, we will not pay the dividends to Conte Territory this year!"
“But…but…”
"Just say whatever you want to say! Do you want to be punished for hesitating in front of the Viscount?" The butler rolled up his sleeves.
"But the Idar people sent so much money! It fills a whole cart!" The servant couldn't help but shrink his neck and gestured in a panic.
"A whole carload?"
The housekeeper frowned and said, "Master, please let me go and take a look!"
Viscount Conte nodded.
After a while, the butler rushed in rashly.
"Lord Viscount! Lord Viscount!"
Looking at this familiar scene in front of him, Viscount Conte's mouth twitched involuntarily.
"If you have something to say, just say it..."
"My Lord Viscount," the butler calmed down his shocked mood and said, "The share sent by the Idar people is nearly three thousand gold coins!"
"But it's only three thousand... What? How much did you say?!"
Viscount Conte sat up from the rocking chair almost instantly, without even noticing that the chair under him had been knocked over.
"Nearly three thousand gold coins. To be exact, there are two thousand seven hundred and twenty-four gold coins..." the butler said with a slightly trembling voice.
"How can there be so many?" Viscount Conte asked in shock.
"I don't know either, but I heard from the Idar people that it seems that some kind of promotional activities have stimulated the consumption of the nobles, but that person doesn't know the specific measures either..."
"More than two thousand seven hundred gold coins..." Viscount Conte muttered.
Such an answer sheet would bring him three to five times more profit than he had expected! How is this possible? Suddenly, Viscount Conte thought of his youngest daughter, Isabel, who was one of the managers of Moore Wine Company.
"Where is Isabel? Find her. I need to ask her something."
Viscount Conte took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.
"But... Lord Viscount, should we return this dividend of nearly three thousand gold coins to Lord Idar..." the butler asked cautiously.
Hearing this, Viscount Conte suddenly felt his heart bleeding...
It's not that he doesn't want to give it, but the dividends from the Idar people are too much! But he had just said he didn't want it...
So tangled...
"Go ask Bruno in person and tell him... if Idar is in financial difficulty, the dividends can actually be paid later..."
Finally, Viscount Conte said.
…
The territory of Conte, located in the Moor River Valley, is divided into two parts, one in the south and one in the north, by the Moor River.
The Lord's Castle of the Conte Family and the City of Moore are both located in the plain area south of the Moore River. Most of the people of the Conte Territory gather here, and it is the most developed area in the Conte Territory.
The Moore Estate, jointly built by the Stuart and Conte families, is located on the land north of the Moore River.
The King's Road, located on the north bank of the Moor River, connects the vast lands of the east and west of the empire.
Countless merchants pass through here every day, and through the Territory of Idar, they shuttle between the Norman Empire and the Kingdom of Basel. While bringing a large amount of trade goods to the two countries, they also bring a lot of income to the Territory of Idar along the way.
Perhaps due to the general social concepts of the time, or perhaps in order to avoid the instability brought to the rule of the Conte family by the merchants and mercenaries traveling from north to south, the conservative Conte family focused its business operations on the land south of the Moore River.
But... this is a good deal for Bruno and Lord Idar.
If you want to get rich, you must first build roads. This is the principle that Bruno has always adhered to, so... Bruno was full of questions about the Conte family's decision to build the Moor City on the south bank of the Moor River, far away from the King's Road.
Black Question Mark.jpgThrough the establishment of the Moor Manor and the practice of giving up a small part of the profits, Lord Idar obtained the right to station troops on the north bank of the Moor River, and also allowed Lord Idar's power to finally step out of the Stranglethorn Vale and begin to extend inland.
In fact, during the actual construction process, the area allocated to Moore Wine Industry and Moore Manor far exceeded the original agreement, but Bruno believed that when Viscount Conte saw the high dividend, he would definitely not have any dissatisfaction!
Bruno knew the nature of the imperial nobles very well, so... as long as the money was in place, everything would be easy.
The so-called Moorish Manor is actually a grape farm covering a very large area, where the Idar people built a series of supporting facilities.
But... when Isabel finally saw the endless stretch of houses before her, she was a little dazed.
Isabel knew very well how barren the north bank of the Moore River used to be. However... under the management of the Idar people, after nearly a year of continuous development, a town of considerable size has actually been formed here!
The Idar people built towers and sentries here, and sent a number of strictly disciplined soldiers to guard the safety of the Moor Manor.
Therefore, even though there were no city walls here, Isabel still felt particularly secure.
I don’t know either…
How did Bruno do it...
Thanks to "Lu Laoye ND" for the reward of 1,500 points!
The author reflected on it. The worldview in the previous chapters has been slowly unfolding, but yesterday all of them were about introducing mages, so there were a lot of narrations, which may not give people a good feeling. I will correct it later! In addition, the map of Conte Territory will be released in the form of an Easter egg chapter today or tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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