Chapter 74 A Fire Sale
Aaron, a middle-aged man and the sole salt vendor in Eldoria, was named to transport a sack of reputedly the highest-quality salt, carefully selected from the salt mounds.
Aaron remarked, "It seems like the commoners' lives in Eldoria are improving. The amount of salt sold in the past few days almost matches what we used to sell in a couple of months. It's truly a positive development."
Sitting by the entrance, Aaron observed the passersby carrying wood and hauling broken stones as they walked by.
"Work hard and earn more money. Otherwise, how can you afford salt?" Aaron chuckled. The street was once desolate until a nobleman named Henry arrived, closing the main road and demolishing houses.
Now, the townsfolk used the adjacent road, passing by Aaron's shop. He had recently visited and noticed ongoing construction, with the main road's houses nearly completed, awaiting interior decoration.
The residential areas were also nearing completion, thanks to the efforts of over two thousand people. Aaron found it strange how the mud hardened every other day.
Aaron didn't have more knowledgeable about the rest. He only knew that salt was selling well and that the commoners, who worked for the lord, had some coins saved.
'A pound of salt for thirty copper coins. Should I raise the price by one more coin?' Aaron pondered.
It was normal for merchants to increase prices, unlike those foolish grain merchants who faced execution for both price hikes and attempting to murder a noble.
Aaron pondered, 'The expenses for a pound of salt, encompassing its acquisition from Seaside City, shipment to Eldoria, and additional costs, amount to ten copper coins. At current prices, I barely made twenty copper coins. When will I accumulate sufficient funds for retirement? It appears I must consider increasing the price.'
Seaside City, one of the kingdom's largest cities, was known for its abundant sea salt. Aaron, like many others, sourced his salt from there.
Aaron's gaze shifted to the bustling marketplace, where he desired to have a shop. Unfortunately, the owner refused to sell and only offered it for rent, along with taxes.
This was unacceptable to Aaron. Earning a mere twenty copper coins was already difficult, and now he had to pay taxes. However, since he was the only salt merchant in Eldoria, he knew people would still come to buy salt.
Suddenly, the sound of galloping horses interrupted Aaron's thoughts. He looked towards the main road and saw several carriages approaching.
Aaron thought, 'Isn't that Wyatt, the steward? What could have happened for him to escort something personally?' Wyatt was known to be the steward of Lord Henry, rarely leaving the Lord's Manor unless something significant occurred.
Aaron thought, 'The items in those carriages must be valuable. They even require Wyatt's escort.' He tried to catch a glimpse of the carriages, but they were covered with mats.
Wyatt noticed Aaron, a peculiar smile forming on his face. He silently shook his head, fearing that Aaron's days as a salt merchant were numbered.
Perhaps Aaron would have to sell his business and leave Eldoria to avoid bankruptcy. Aaron scratched his head, sensing that something was amiss.
Aaron thought, 'Could Lord Henry be targeting me? But that's impossible. Isn't he afraid of scaring away other merchants?'
As the carriages disappeared into the distance, Aaron noticed something fall from one of them. He quickly picked it up.
Aaron thought, 'A stone? Could it be an ore? Something that prompted Wyatt to personally escort it. Could it be a gem mine?' Aaron's eyes gleamed with excitement as he hurried back to his shop, closing it for the day.
Unaware that his salt mine had lost a piece of ore, Wyatt had the carriages driven into the military research department.
The ability to extract salt from the ore was a significant breakthrough, and the heavily guarded research department was the best place for it.
By the time Henry arrived, the salt ore had been unloaded from the carriages, forming small mountains.
"Henry, is this enough? If not, I can make more trips." Wyatt said in a deep voice, showing his high regard for the salt.
"It's enough. With the salt extracted, it will last for many days, enough to supply thousands of people. The next time we produce salt, we'll do a rough refinement on the spot, then transferred to other places for subsequent steps." Henry replied.
Henry nodded in satisfaction. There were still some things he couldn't release, or they would become tools for other nobles to make money. If he wanted to promote them, he would do it himself, and his promotion would be unimaginable, giving him a good reputation and preventing the nobles from making money.
"I'll have someone keep an eye on it." Wyatt said. He wasn't pretending to be a good person, but he knew who he was loyal to, and he didn't believe that Henry was the kind of person who would be blinded by money.
Because it was too easy for Henry to make money. A watch artifact, a crystal cup, a compound hunting bow, etc., any one of them could earn him thousands or tens of thousands of gold coins.
But Henry didn't do that, and he wanted to reward these artifacts to them. Where else could he find such a master? Perhaps only one in the world.
"Don't worry, the salt we produce won't be expensive, and everyone will be able to afford it," Henry said with a light laugh.
