Under the glow of the sunset, the caravan slowly stepped into Frost Leaf Town.
Man Xiu elegantly bowed to Luo De, then raised his head with a smile,
"I did not let you down, Lord Baron. Iâve brought you slaves."
"Welcome back, my friend, the handsome Silver Dove from Oak City."
Luo De embraced Man Xiu and then walked to the side of the carriage, observing the slaves before him.
They seem to be of good quality.
The long journey made these slaves look weak, but they were all between seventeen and thirty years old, able to work after a bit of rest.
"Where did you get them?"
Luo De looked at Man Xiu with some surprise.
These seventy or eighty people were quality estate people and couldnât be easily sold, unless...
Man Xiu did not step forward, instead lowered his voice,
"The town on Razor Plain was overrun by a Beastman Tribe, they didnât want to take these people, so they sold them to me."
Luo De was a bit surprised.
Wasnât it said that the people of Razor Plain conspired with beastmen to harm Lady Avril?
How did the town get overrun?
Could it be that the traitors were backstabbed by the beastmen?
Or did their negotiations break down?
Luo De tried to ask Man Xiu, but unfortunately, he did not know the details.
Man Xiu was able to do business with the beastmen because he had resources they needed and could provide stable supplies next time.
This did not mean Man Xiu had the qualification to closely associate with the Beastman Tribe.
He only knew that the tribe was called the Black Scale, led by a lizard-headed beastman.
The so-called beastmen were also known as half-beastmen, a product of human-alien race unions.
The people of the Northern Wasteland also liked to call them mixed bloods, even mongrels.
Not only were human females trampled, but there were also humans who trampled alien races, all potentially producing beastmen.
Originally, beastmen were deemed as outcasts, not only despised by humans but also rejected by alien races.
However, many beastmen not only retained human intelligence but also possessed various talents from alien races, and quickly rose after gathering together.
Sometimes these beastmen would lean towards humans, but more often they would favor the alien races.
Even though, in the eyes of alien races, they were merely tools at the lowest level.
Of course, this was just hearsay, Luo De had never seen real alien races or mixed bloods.
Luo De pulled aside a few slaves to inquire about the situation, but only received a few headshakes and confused "I donât know"s.
This group was terrified of beastmen.
Luo De gave up, turned to Man Xiu, and asked, "Whatâs the price?"
"Please give a price."
Man Xiu was respectful, smiling.
Luo De understood well.
This was the merchantâs instinct.
In this world, there was no price bureau.
Merchants feared giving too high a price would scare off customers, while a low price might mean less profit.
So sometimes they preferred the other party to name the price.
"Then let me set it... No craftsmen, right?" Luo De asked.
"None." Man Xiu answered helplessly.
Craftsmen were highly sought after in the Northern Wilderness, no one would be willing to sell them.
Luo De nodded, walked around the slaves once, returned to Man Xiu, and said,
"Thirty-five Silver Coins each for the males, twenty-five Silver Coins for those above thirty-five, fifty Silver Coins each for the few female slaves who can bear children."
The slave price Luo De offered was only 80% of the Border City slave market.
Man Xiu looked distressed, "Lord Baron, I exchanged all my commodities for the slaves you wanted, you canât give me just this price!"
"Iâd sell them for much higher than this if I took them back to Oak City!"
"I believe what youâre saying."
Luo De pulled out a pale-lipped, listless slave, "But I also believe heâs as good as dead before you reach Oak City."
Slave owners were even more ruthless than Luo De.
When slaves were not working, they often only provided a bowl of thin porridge each day to prevent them from starving to death.
Saying this, Luo De pulled out another from the pile of slaves,
"And this one."
"This one."
...
In the blink of an eye, five or six sickly slaves were pulled out by Luo De.
"The more slaves you carry, the more of them will die the farther you travel."
Luo De smiled but spoke bluntly, "And you only cleared a carriage, this price is enough for you to make a big profit."
"So, donât tell me youâll sell them for more, I wonât pressure the price for the slaves you agreed to deliver."
"Alright, Lord Baron, youâre still as shrewd as ever."
Man Xiu yielded.
Although he felt some helplessness inside, Man Xiu knew that Luo De was speaking the truth.
Luo De did not continue the conversation, directly asking, "How many in total, do the math, and you wonât need to worry about their meals."
The territory now needed people for work.
These people were weak, but still able to do some light labor.
Man Xiu nodded and started counting carefully, "Of the fifty-seven male slaves, twelve are over thirty-five, and all nineteen female slaves can bear children, totaling two thousand eight hundred twenty-five Silver Coins."
"Two thousand five hundred Silver Coins."
Man Xiu looked incredulous: "Lord Baron, youâre pressing the price too harshly!"
"Taxes, donât forget about taxes."
Luo De put his arm around Man Xiuâs shoulder, "Let it be settled like this, come on, the dinner welcoming a friend is ready. Donât trouble yourself over these small matters."
"Well... Alright, alright, weâre friends after all."
Man Xiu shrugged helplessly, and the two returned to the manor together.
...
...
Luo De had not yet paid the Silver Coins, but the slaves had already started working.
Most of the male slaves were assigned to the fish ponds and canal project, but in the first two days, as they were regaining strength, they were only responsible for transporting soil and such work.
Four of the female slaves were chosen to join the cooking team, while the rest formed a gathering team.
In mid-May, all sorts of wild vegetables grew abundantly in the farmland and the mountains, such as bracken, mountain celery, and mountain scallions.
Luo De had the Knowledge of Fertile Soil, and could always find places rich in wild vegetables, allowing each slave to dig three or four baskets of wild vegetables per day, forty to fifty pounds.
These wild vegetables not only had a pleasant taste but also provided certain nutrition while reducing the slavesâ food consumption.
Especially in the morning, Luo De also liked to eat sauerkraut made from wild vegetables.
The slaves worked for two days.
Luo De was still pondering how to pay for the slaves.
The hunting team traveled daily, obtaining a few rabbit pelts, wolf pelts, deer skins, but all together only accounted for a few hundred Silver Coins.
Luo De originally wanted to pay part of it with food, but now there were over seventy mouths to feed, and he couldnât spare any grain.
"Actually, you can use those exceptionally sharp Great Swords for payment."
When Man Xiu saw the brand new single-handed sword in Durantâs hand, he kept enticing Luo De.
While Man Xiu constantly guaranteed that he would only sell them south of Oak City, Luo De remained unmoved.
Unless absolutely necessary, Luo De would not sell his skills.
Moreover, the territoryâs armor-piercing weapons were not yet fully equipped.
Luo De considered for a while, finally deciding to take out eighteen Gold Coins from his capital, and pay the remainder with some lean jerky and animal hides to Man Xiuâs caravan.
"Seems I should quickly produce some goods that can earn money."
Luo De couldnât help thinking, recalling everyday items from his past life.
Soap and perfume already existed in this era, making them seem to lack competitiveness unless they had some unique qualities.
But that would be too much effort.
Distilled spirits would consume too many raw materials, and their taste might not cater to nobility, but refining alcohol might hold some value.
"Papermaking might be a good choice..."
After pondering deeply, Luo De came to a decision.
The papermaking technology of this era was very backward, relying on parchment and vellum, making paper scarce and costly, with book prices also exorbitant.
The materials were quite simple, straw, bark, flax, and other plant fibers could all serve as raw materials.
Currently, the only thing missing was lime water for soaking materials, ideally building a water-powered pulping machine.
Fortunately, Luo De was now busy constructing the canal.
"Seems like I need to speed up the construction."
Luo De decided to start building the dam and canal with full force!