Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Paving the Way
George swallowed, "Seven thousand pounds!"
His mind quickly performed calculations.
Seven thousand pounds of rock salt, each pound priced at two pence...
Thirty Gold Pounds!
Enough, more than enough!
If Master Lynn is willing to entrust him with selling the rock salt.
Not only will it help Master Lynn make a huge profit!
He will also be able to return the reservation fees to those rich people, and even add a few more carriages and a few more guards to his carriage team!
George looked at Lynn, at this moment Lynn was radiating brilliance in his eyes.
George was extremely grateful now.
Grateful for his decision to go to Kent Village to purchase grain.
Grateful that he sold two iron pots to Master Lynn at a discount.
Grateful for purchasing Master Lynn’s beer.
Even more grateful for meeting Master Lynn...
George took a deep breath and asked, "Master Lynn, to whom are you planning to entrust the management and sale of your rock salt?"
Lynn looked directly at George, "Of course, it’s you, George!"
Feeling Lynn’s gaze and the words filled with trust, George’s expression showed difficulty.
"But... Master Lynn, I don’t have that many Gold Pounds right now to buy your rock salt..."
Even excluding the Five Gold Pounds for the two iron pots, he still needs Twenty-Five Gold Pounds!
Even if he mortgaged his two carriages and sold himself, they wouldn’t be worth that much money!
Could it be... that he’ll miss this opportunity to turn his fortunes around?
Lynn’s words were full of certainty: "Just like how you spend Five Gold Pounds without counting the cost and invest in my Brewing workshop."
"I can also use these seven thousand pounds of rock salt to trust in George’s character."
Listening to Lynn’s words, George’s entire body began to tremble.
Has he been trusted by Master Lynn?
George forced himself to steady his body, bent his body, "Thank you for your trust, Master Lynn!"
He stood up straight, continuing, "Master Lynn, as per your instructions, I brought you the grain, five thousand pounds of barley, three hundred pounds of wheat, and over a hundred pounds of vegetables, along with over two hundred pounds of pork and mutton."
Lynn nodded, "However, George, starting next time, I’ll also need quality iron and labor."
He needs quality iron to build the Heavy Plow, to create more farm tools, and even weapons!
The labor can be cattle or horses, can be Free People, or could be... slaves!
There are many sources for slaves.
Conflicts between Empires or tribes, prisoners of war taken as spoils of war, sold as slaves.
The fiercest battles naturally come from the Eastern Region’s oasis grasslands of the Tetlan Empire and the Golden Desert Shar Khanate.
Comprising numerous nomadic tribes, forming their own nations!
Brave warriors, known as those who live on horseback!
Debt slaves, some Free People unable to repay the Manor Lord’s debts, become slaves with their families.
As well as... criminals or those stripped of their civil rights!
Slavery is inherently part of this world.
George immediately responded, "Alright, Master Lynn."
Watching the baskets of rock salt poured into bags, George’s mood became inexplicably joyous.
He knew he had gambled right!
The profit that can be gained by Master Lynn entrusting him with the sale of beer and rock salt... George couldn’t imagine!
Relying solely on trading the crops near Kasong City for the Dalton Family.
What can that count for?
George’s gaze turned toward Master Lynn’s village.
It was only then that he noticed that the muddy open spaces in the village were all covered with gravel.
More wooden houses for people to live in appeared.
The two wooden houses of the Brewing workshop had now become six, including a dedicated fermentation room and a warehouse for storing beer.
In the center of the village, there was even a well for drawing drinking water.
In the distance, the farmland opened up was even more expansive than before.
It seems that every visit to Master Lynn’s village shows noticeable changes!
...
A few hours later.
After saying goodbye respectfully to Lynn, George left.
Still on the roads between the mountains and forests.
Compared to the last time when two draft horse carriages barely carried three barrels of beer.
This time, six carriages were struggling to carry the goods!
Resulting in George and several drivers and guards, walking alongside the carriages!
Seven thousand pounds of rock salt, plus three thousand pounds of beer!
Ten thousand pounds of cargo!
George’s close servant Barry, seeing the excitement on George’s face, felt joy along with him.
...
The work to pave the road to the Open-pit Salt Mine was still continuing.
A mine with reserves likely reaching a thousand million tons, relying on dozens of people using baskets to carry.
How long will it take to carry all that?
There must be a path that allows horse carts or ox carts to provide efficiency!
Moreover, after learning the price of rock salt from George, Lynn already had a decision in mind.
He wanted to build his own Salt Factory!
To process the extracted rock salt in a Salt Factory, turning it into fine salt that can be consumed directly.
Two pence directly triples in value, becoming seven pence.
The reason the price gap between rock salt and fine salt is so vast is due to the backward technique of refining rock salt in this world!
Usually adopting the dissolution and crystallization method, toss in ten pounds of rock salt, and at most gain three pounds of consumable salt.
However.
As Lynn turned around and looked at the figures busy behind him...
Because of his rock salt incentive method, nearly every villager was laboring to the fullest without needing any urging.
But that’s not enough...
There’s too little labor force!
Whether for excavating or building the Salt Factory, lots of labor is needed.
With the salt mine, he now doesn’t lack money!
What he lacks is a large labor force!
The Salt Factory must be temporarily postponed.
...
Bang bang bang!
In the kitchen.
Lynn was holding a knife, chopping pieces of carrots, and tossing them into the Pottery Pot.
[Cooking Experience +1]
Several pounds of pork were also placed in the Pottery Pot.
Preparing to stew a pot of pork and carrot soup.
Adding a few thick pieces of firewood, the flame quickly grew larger, and the temperature rose rapidly.
[Cooking Experience +1]
Half an hour later.
Lynn removed the Pottery Pot lid, a rich meat aroma spread with the steam, enveloping the entire wooden house.
Seeing the fresh pork and carrots inside the pot stewed thoroughly, Lynn picked up a small bowl nearby and used a wooden spoon to add a few scoops of fine salt.
He mixed it with a stirring rod to let the salt infuse completely, Lynn picked out a rib, placed it in his mouth.
The tender pork meat, carrying the sweet aroma of the carrots, combined with the seasoning of fine salt...
Previously merely surviving, just being able to eat to fullness, totally ignored if the food was tasty.
But now...
This is real food!
Beside him, Red looked at the steaming Pottery Pot, expression unchanged, yet his slightly moving throat betrayed him.
Lynn casually said, "Eat."
Red remained unobtrusive, "Master Lynn, Red is not hungry."
Outside the kitchen.
A series of footsteps approached from far away.
When Kuisi saw Lynn in the kitchen, she said, slightly out of breath.
"Master Lynn, the gravel road leading to the salt mine is already paved."
Lynn raised an eyebrow, walked out of the kitchen.
The forest trunks were forcibly sawn apart.
Four days, and finally the gravel road from the village to the open-pit salt mine was finished!
Although not mixed with lime and sand for adhesion.
Yet it was far better than pure dirt roads.
Except for the four people at the Brewing workshop, Lynn invested all future labor into the open-pit salt mine.
He wants to quickly extract the rock salt, sell or trade for needed items.