Chapter 154 Are the Merchants Making Trouble?
In the study at Eldoria Castle, Ellie sat at the desk, a pen in her hand, her other hand fiddling with her fox ears anxiously.
"Ellie, what's wrong?" Willow, nearby, put down her notebook and asked with concern, "Are the merchants bothering you again?"
"Yes," Ellie nodded helplessly. "Those merchants are absolutely crazy! They keep pestering me about lifting the purchase restrictions."
"But isn't that a good thing? It means we have income," Willow said, puzzled. "Weren't you worried about the declining sales in the market?"
Ellie frowned, pouting, "I used to think the same way, but then I realized something was wrong."
"What happened?" Willow was a bit worried, nothing could go wrong when Henry was not around.
"On the second day after Henry left Eldoria, those merchants cleared out all the goods in the big market." Ellie flipped opened her notebook, pointing to her records, saying seriously, "They were hoarding goods, buying up all the goods in the big market."
"What's the problem?"
Willow was still a bit confused. Wasn't it good that all the goods were sold out? Many shops also paid taxes, and the Lord's Manor had a large income these days.
Ellie sighed, her fox ears drooping, sounding exasperated. "Of course, there's a big problem, a very big problem."
She explained, "Our market's goods are already very cheap. If the merchants keep hoarding without restrictions, and then organize caravans to transport and sell the goods elsewhere, the importance of the big market will be greatly weakened. Moreover, Eldoria will become the kind of sweatshop that Henry warned about."
Willow understood. The merchants would profit the most, while the Lord's Manor would only receive a small portion of the labor income.
"What should we do then? Raise the prices?" Willow suggested, but then shook her head. What about the commoners in Eldoria if prices were raised?
"I'm thinking of imposing taxes on the merchants as well. It would create additional income for the Lord's Manor and, more importantly, limit their hoarding," Ellie proposed.
Ellie knew that the market must not run out of goods, or it would be difficult to attract future merchants.
"But will they comply?" Willow asked, concerned. "It might be difficult to get the merchants to pay taxes, considering they are the buyers."
"Yes," Ellie sighed, feeling defeated. "If I had to pay taxes while shopping, I might have Mila beat him up!"
Willow rolled her eyes and asked softly, "Is there really no other way?"
"I haven't thought of one yet. Now we can only limit the amount the merchants can purchase," Ellie said, slumping over the table, realizing the challenges faced by Henry.
No, it was not easy being a noble in Eldoria. Unlike nobles in other territories, they were not just indulging in pleasure or sleeping all day.
"Don't worry! Today Henry will return, and he will surely have a solution," Willow reassured, knowing that Ellie had been under a lot of pressure lately.
Ellie's pressure had been so great that she had even eaten one of the lollipops Henry had given her, something she usually treasured.
"Yes! Henry is coming back today," Ellie said, perking up. She closed her notebook, kicked off her shoes, and leaned back in her chair, letting out a long sigh.
Ellie said happily, "Uncle Wyatt has already arranged for someone to pick up Henry, so let's leave this matter for him to worry about!"
Willow chuckled and shook her head, her gray eyes filled with longing.
With the owner of the castle absent, both of them had been a little on edge, as they were responsible for managing such a large family estate, fearing that something might go wrong.
"Since Henry has been away for five days, he must be very tired. I'll prepare something to eat," Willow said, her steps light and brisk. Recently, she had been studying a new pastry that Henry mentioned, one that was just a step away from completion.
Ellie sat there for a while, picked up her notebook, and flipped to the notes Henry had given her. She frowned as she read, encountering many unfamiliar terms, such as dumping and anti-dumping.
"How can we change the fact that the market is devouring the supply of goods?" Ellie bit her wooden stick, feeling as if her once clever mind had turned incredibly dull.
"Never mind, I'll wait for Henry to come back and ask him," Ellie said, tossing the notebook aside and standing up from her chair, gazing at the scenery outside the window.
The main street of Eldoria was bathed in golden sunlight, as each household had been allocated an area to dry the wheat, preparing it for storage.
Ellie, imitating Henry's tone, said with an air of wisdom, "When people see so much wheat, they will settle down, knowing that their homes have enough food."
Ellie chuckled to herself, her hands resting on the windowsill, gazing at the neatly planned houses in the city. She felt that there was only one city like this in the whole world.
The wheat in the territory had been harvested for five days, and the first batch that had been dried was already in the warehouse. The commoners were also happily paying their thirty percent wheat tax.
"Henry is still too kind," Ellie said softly. She thought of the other noble territories, where the nobles would levy an eighty percent wheat tax during a bountiful harvest, leaving only twenty percent for the commoners.
The more benevolent nobles would collect sixty to seventy percent of the wheat tax, leaving only enough to prevent the commoners from starving. Surplus food at home? Non-existent. All the commoners could do was work for the noble lords.
In contrast, Henry only collected a thirty percent wheat tax. If the commoners had nowhere to store their wheat, they could also sell it to the Lord's Manor, exchanging it for coins to be used when needed.
Ellie remembered Henry telling her that in order to make the commoners prosperous and ensure that every family had enough food, Eldoria needed to develop, and the market needed to circulate, creating more wealth.
Well, Ellie still didn't quite understand. She just thought that Henry was too kind and was making excuses to prevent the commoners from going hungry.
"I don't know when Henry will be home. I haven't slept well these past few days," Ellie said, touching the pimple on her cheek, feeling annoyed. "I can't have a breakout at a time like this. I have to take care of it, or Henry will find me ugly."
"But how can I do that?" Ellie fretted, her fingers pressing on the pimple on her cheek. At her age, she was in the stage of loving beauty, especially with Henry's return imminent.
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