System: Build My Own Territory

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Fine Salt

The Wheel Plow is related to the planting area for the summer crops, and Lynn is particularly attentive.

In the Blacksmith Shop.

Lynn picked up the bright white plowshare in his hand and examined it carefully.

The shape is sharp and slightly curved, forged through quenching, full of metallic texture...

With the Forging Water Wheel, the forging efficiency of the Blacksmith Shop has significantly improved.

In half a day, a piece of plowshare has already been forged, and the iron blocks used for forging plowshares and plow walls are continuously taking shape under the forging of the Water Wheel Hammer!

Following this progress, it will take about ten days to half a month to forge ten Wheel Plows.

Even after forging, removing some slag from the high-quality iron, the remaining nine hundred pounds of high-quality iron is enough to forge ten Wheel Plows.

Lynn is not idle either; he takes the remaining hundred pounds of iron to forge Iron Hoes and Iron Cross Pickaxes in the Blacksmith Shop.

Both for subsequent farming and for future mining of salt mines or rock excavation, these will be needed.

Better prepared than sorry!

Lynn glanced at the Heavenly Artifacts panel.

[Forging: Level 0 (54/100)]

Still a bit away from upgrading.

Lynn swung the Iron Hammer again, forging the Iron Pickaxe in front of him.

[Forging Experience +1]

[Forging Experience +1]

...

At this moment.

Kuisi jogged into the Blacksmith Shop.

Her eyes searched around and finally landed on Lynn.

Kuisi took a deep breath to calm her words, ”Master Lynn, Mr. George has returned!”

Lynn’s eyebrows raised.

He stepped outside the wooden house, and his gaze scanned the distance.

In the distance.

One after another, double-horse carriages were coming, carrying loads of goods!

Behind the carriages, draft horses and oxen were being led by ropes, following behind.

On the backs of the draft horses and oxen, there were also bags of goods.

Ten carts stopped in the village’s open space.

In a snort from the draft horses, George leaped down from the foremost cart.

He strode up to Lynn, slowly and solemnly bent his right knee, and knelt down, ”Master Lynn, I’m sorry, I still couldn’t bring back any slaves for you...”

Lynn said, ”Stand up first.”

George stood up, and without Lynn asking, he began to explain.

”Master Lynn, I encountered bandits on the road, but fortunately, it was a close call. There were only five or six bandits; three were killed by the Guards I hired, and the rest fled...”

Lynn’s brows furrowed.

Bandits?

He looked at the five Guards not far away, and sure enough, two of them showed signs of injury.

As he walked, George continued his report.

”Master Lynn, the three thousand pounds of beer was completely sold out even before reaching Kakasong City, fetching Six Gold Pounds after taxes.”

”Ten thousand pounds of rock salt, priced at two pence per pound, was resold to three or four salt merchants at Fisherman’s Wharf in Kakasong City, fetching eighty Gold Pounds after deducting one percent city tax and three percent sales tax!”

Lynn nodded.

Even in the fiefdom cities of Marquis Duca, sales incur corresponding city and sales taxes, and sometimes stall taxes too.

However, compared to luxury goods with tax rates as high as fifteen to thirty percent, the tax rate for daily goods like beer and salt is already very low.

George’s voice turned somewhat apologetic, ”Master Lynn, besides slaves... I brought back one thousand pounds of high-quality iron, three thousand pounds of wheat, twenty-seven thousand pounds of barley, three thousand pounds of meat, and three hundred pounds of vegetables.”

”Fifteen adult oxen and fifteen draft horses!”

Listening to the list George reported, Lynn’s mind quickly calculated.

A few seconds later.

Lynn’s eyes widened.

It’s all spent!

Ten thousand pounds of rock salt and three thousand pounds of beer valued at eighty-six Gold Pounds.

George didn’t leave a single pence for him.

He purchased all these goods.

However, these are exactly what Lynn needs.

George continued, ”Master Lynn, while selling rock salt, I met a merchant; to put it simply, a Slave Merchant.”

”On his longship, there are nearly a hundred slaves... but they’re all from the nomadic tribes of the Shar Khanate...”

”So I wanted to seek your instructions, Master Lynn, before making a decision...”

Hearing George’s words, Lynn’s eyebrows raised.

In the Eastern Region, the Tetlan Empire, known for its oasis grasslands, and the Shar Khanate, known for its Golden Desert, have been at war for over a hundred years!

The source of the conflict, of course, ties back to survival.

The excessive consumption of natural resources by the Shar Khanate led the once oasis grasslands to become a desert, making living conditions extremely harsh.

In order to survive, the Shar Khanate began their invasion of the Tetlan Empire.

It’s always been rumored that the Shar Khanate was on the rise, yet unexpectedly, in reality, they are at a disadvantage?

The Shar Khanate is known for its hardy culture because the entire Khanate enjoys eating raw meat, drinking fresh milk, having fierce personalities, and being burly.

Both men and women are brave warriors.

Especially skilled at horse combat.

Particularly the women of the Shar Khanate, their powerful long legs can crush a person to death!

The physical prowess of nomadic tribe slaves is stronger, so they can perform more tasks, hence why they are favored by many Manor Lords.

Therefore, their price is higher than ordinary slaves.

Nevertheless.

Lynn still needs these slaves!

Without slaves, he cannot carry out large-scale wasteland reclamation.

Without slaves, he cannot expand the open-pit salt mine excavation, nor can he enlarge the Salt Factory’s scale.

Without slaves, he cannot even pull from the current villagers to let Red form a Guard Team!

Which means no ability to protect oneself!

...

Lynn spoke, ”You can have him send all the slaves over, the price is not an issue!”

George hurriedly bowed in response, ”Understood, Master.”

Just as he was about to leave, the corner of his eye caught a sight of a clay bowl on Lynn’s wooden desk.

In the clay bowl, there was a small pinch of crystal-clear fine grains.

George instantly guessed what it was, but he still asked in surprise, ”Master Lynn, is this... fine salt?”

Lynn glanced along George’s gaze, his words calm, ”Yes, fine salt.”

George’s face showed increasing surprise.

Now, he had only one question in his heart!

Who exactly is the Master Lynn before him?

Finding the open-pit salt mine in the forest could be attributed to a stroke of luck.

But after finding the salt mine and excavating it, Master Lynn managed to refine such clean and delicate edible salt?

Lynn said, ”From next time onwards, unless absolutely necessary, no more rock salt shipments for external sale, sell fine salt directly!”

George nodded repeatedly, ”Understood, Master Lynn.”

As a merchant responsible for externally selling rock salt, George is more than aware of fine salt’s value.

...

After dismissing George and letting him reunite with his family at home.

Lynn called for Kuisi.

He instructed her to arrange for villagers to immediately unload all goods.

All high-quality iron to be sent to the Blacksmith Shop, allowing Ehrelo to continue forging the Wheel Plow with full effort.

Adding the previous oxen and draft horses, Lynn now has twenty-eight oxen and twenty-one draft horses!

Though draft horses’ endurance in reclaiming wasteland isn’t as good as oxen, they’re still usable for reclamation.