Chapter 24: The Golden Belt and the Treasure Bowl

“Hey! Craig, do you feel any better?” Before the words were out, George and Hiren lifted the tent flap and crawled into Craig’s tent. “Oh! You’re playing divination by yourself?”

Craig tossed the Tarot cards in his hand and complained to George and Hiren, “Great! You finally came. I’ve been stuck in this tent alone since I woke up this morning; I’m about to go crazy.”

“I did come to check on you early this morning, but you were as quiet as a little cat at the time,” Hiren said, bending over and making a cat pose.

“That’s not true at all!” Craig tried to stand up and argue, waving his fists. But because of his leg injury, he couldn’t get up, so he just turned his head away, puffed out his cheeks, and protested silently.

George walked over and ruffled Craig’s hair until it was a complete mess. Craig seemed to enjoy this action.

“So that’s just a cat look!” Hiren said, reaching out to try it too.

Craig sensed Hiren’s intention and pressed down on George’s left hand with both hands to stop him. He turned his head toward Hiren, baring his teeth in an attempt to stop him.

Seeing Craig’s resistance, Hiren spread his hands out to show he had no intention of continuing.

Craig looked at George and opened his mouth: “George, stop it. I’m grown up now; don’t always treat me like a child.”

But in George and Hiren’s eyes, Craig’s tone of voice and facial expression showed absolutely no persuasiveness.

Seeing Craig like this, George laughed, pulled his hand away from Craig’s head, and rubbed his nose: “What’s wrong! What do you want to play?”

Craig pointed to a small drawstring leather bag sitting in the corner of the tent.

“Tap! Tap! Tap!” As George lifted the bag, the sound of clear glass marbles clinking inside could be heard.

Oh! It’s actually this stuff. To be honest, it brings back some nostalgia. In the world before I transmigrated, glass marbles often made up a big part of boys’ childhoods! Unfortunately, the place where George lived back then didn’t have a court for playing marbles. Thinking of this, George shook the bag again, and the sound of the marbles clinking inside seemed to convey a unique sense of familiarity. However, Sir Bart was a bit too spoiling of Craig; these glass marbles cost at least two to three Gold Coins each! Spending so much money on a toy with basically no collectible value for a child, George really didn’t know what to say.

Wait, that doesn’t seem right. Craig can’t play marbles in his current state. Also, George hadn’t heard of any marble games in this world yet. Looking closely, there was a wooden board under where the bag had been pressing. George picked it up and tested its weight; it felt quite heavy and seemed to be made of oak. The board was carved with circular grooves and painted with black and white checkered patterns. If viewed from a distance, it looked just like an old-fashioned chessboard.

Something seemed to click in George’s mind. Marbles and a board with grooves! Isn’t that Checkers? I never thought I’d get to play this stuff after transmigrating!

George handed the leather bag to Craig and placed the board on the ground in front of him. Craig counted out eighteen marbles from the bag and placed them in the three corners of the board. He waved his hand, inviting George and Hiren to sit down and play together.

“How do you play this?” Hiren scratched his head, admitting he didn’t know either.

Craig showed great excitement and said, “Come on, let me teach you.” He then began to explain the rules of Checkers to Hiren.

Hiren picked up two pieces and looked at them; the colorless marbles were crystal clear, while the dark green ones felt like they had the look of cat’s eyes. He couldn’t help but say, “Craig! These are glass, right? You really are a rich little kid.”

“Hee hee hee! My dad bought these for me.” Craig wiped his nose with his right index finger. Hiren, on the other hand, looked completely dejected.

To ease the atmosphere, George spoke up: “Speaking of money! Craig almost forgot to tell you that we made a huge profit this time.”

“Made a profit?” Craig immediately thought, “Are you talking about last night’s Loot?”

“Of course. Although there aren’t many items suitable for us to use, if we sell everything, it will be a lot of money.” Hiren danced with excitement.

“The total value of this batch of supplies is probably between 8,000 and 9,000, but if we want to get a good price, we’re in for a long wait.” George counted it up and was shocked by the result. The actual value of this Loot was equivalent to the quarterly fiscal surplus of the Bolerum Territory. It really is true that killing and arson lead to a golden belt. But what really stinks is that just one Totem accounted for more than half of the total value of the Loot. Magic Items are truly valuable. To be honest, George now regretted his decision to give up becoming a Mage and choose to inherit the Territory instead.

Craig pouted and asked, “Do we really have to wait that long? Can’t we just find an Adventurer Shop to sell them to? Or maybe go to an Auction House?”

Hearing Craig’s question, Hiren sat down heavily on the ground, holding his head with his right hand and shaking his head in silence. George also showed an expression of being completely defeated.

“Craig, you shouldn’t go to the Taverns in the city or the Trading Square on market days to listen to those traveling Bards talk nonsense anymore.” As he spoke, George pinched Craig’s nose: “Do you know how much 9,000 Gold Coins actually is?”

“Is that a lot? In those stories, the protagonists always get tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins.” Craig answered with a pretend innocent look.

George was really at a loss for words: “I told you not to listen to those Bards talking nonsense. Do you know how much your father normally earns in a year? And how much your pocket money is?”

Craig said a bit shyly, “My pocket money is about thirty Silver Coins a month, but I don’t know what my father’s income is.”

“Craig, your pocket money is actually more than mine.” Hiren cried out, unwilling to accept it.

Hearing this, George even thought that Sir Val might be too harsh on Hiren. However, to avoid causing conflict between father and son, George decided to try to distract him again: “Hiren, as an Apprentice Knight, you must be getting paid now, right? Although your pocket money was less in the past, it shouldn’t affect you much now.”

Hiren smiled: “That’s true.”

Hiren seemed quite open-minded about this; as long as he was doing well now, he didn’t worry too much about the past. But if he inherited the family estate like this, there might not be many extra ways to make money in the future. Hopefully, Sir Val would find him a wife who could manage the household and run a business.

George turned his head to Craig: “Your family’s Fief Manor provides for your daily expenses, and it also provides your father with less than 200 Gold Coins in extra income each year. Then there is the annual salary. Apart from the ninety days of mandatory service to the Liege Lord, Mr. Bart can earn about 600 Gold Coins. This is stable income. Then there is income from various bandit suppression missions and battlefield earnings. This part is uncertain and mainly depends on the Loot. By the way, according to the rules, ten percent of the Loot in a party must be turned over to the direct Lord. We should have to pay this part this time too. As for other sources of income, every Knight is different; these are family secrets, so I’m not very clear about them.”

A Knight’s annual salary does not come from the Territory’s public funds but from the Lord’s personal estate income and the treasury of seized Loot.

“So, roughly how much can we get this time?” Hiren was still concerned about his direct earnings.

George thought for a moment: “If we’re lucky, we might get between 2,500 and 2,700. As I said before, the main problem is finding a buyer. First, if we sell in large quantities, the price will definitely be driven down. Second, even if we remove that one Totem, it’s unlikely that any shop can afford to buy all our goods at once with a single payment. After all, they need capital turnover in their shops, and there’s also the risk of the goods getting stuck in their inventory. Plus, many of the valuable items we have are low-demand goods. In short, if we want to sell them for a good price, it’s going to take a lot of effort.”

Hiren sighed and said, “I hope it can be done soon!”

Craig couldn’t help but complain, “Hiren, how much do you really need money? I’ve heard you say things like this so many times these past two days.”

George sensed that besides really needing money, Hiren also felt a sense of uncertainty and lack of security about future income sources. Perhaps giving him a relatively stable source of income early on would be a good idea.

Having made up his mind, George immediately proposed: “If you’re not in a hurry for the money, let’s invest this money together in a business! At least it will be a long-term income in the future.”

“Oh! What should we invest in? George, tell us your plan quickly.” Hearing this, Hiren’s face changed immediately; it looked like he was very interested. This made George feel that his guess was probably correct.

“If the soybean yield can increase next year, I also plan to expand our current condiment workshop.” George stated his plan.

Hiren first nodded, then stuttered, “Are you sure you want me to invest in the condiment workshop?”

You have to know that in this era, any condiment was a synonym for luxury goods. The most famous were undoubtedly those rich-flavored spices from The East. The most expensive precious condiment, Saffron, cost up to sixty-five Gold Coins per ounce. Of course, the climate of the Bolerum Territory was not suitable for growing these crops. Not to mention that there were no seeds available for planting among the imported spices. The Bay Leaves and Rosemary produced in the Territory were evaluated by the world as having a faint taste and could only be used as substitutes for Cinnamon and Pepper. The main users were lower-level Nobles and ordinary wealthy merchants, so the price was not high; even as finished products, they could only sell for four to six Gold Coins per ounce.

However, seven years ago, by a chance encounter, George, who was picking out gifts in a Karada import shop, discovered soybeans. Yes, the Chinese soybeans he had seen before transmigrating. They were probably sold as some kind of novel grain in the import shop, priced at four Gold Coins per pound. George suddenly had a wild idea and bought all the soybeans in the shop. Then he hired a more gentle sect of Druids to research and guide the farmers in the Territory on how to plant them. After two years of development, there was finally a certain yield.

Next came the research and trials for soy sauce. After more than three years of various experiments, they finally produced a product: the white soy sauce commonly used in Western cuisine before I transmigrated. As soon as this product was launched, it received great praise from the Noble class. The current price has even surpassed Brandy. It is truly a Treasure Bowl. That is why Hiren was so surprised when George proposed that he invest in it.