Chapter 62: Chapter 61: Spending a Fortune

Before long, Gallon and Tom, having bought the wrought iron, arrived at the tavern to meet as agreed.

According to their report, they had visited several iron merchants. After some comparison and price negotiation, they purchased two thousand catties of wrought iron at a price of 40 Copper Coins per catty, spending a total of 80 Gold Coins.

The quality of these two thousand catties of wrought iron was on the lower end of average—not exactly top-grade material. However, it was more than sufficient for forging some everyday tools, such as plowshares.

Ronin looked at the few pieces of wrought iron Tom had brought over. Forgive his untrained eye, but he couldn’t tell the difference between good quality and bad.

“A job well done!”

Ronin took the remaining 20 Gold Coins from Gallon and praised them both.

Carrying and spending so many Gold Coins was a first for both of them. The fact that they handled the task properly showed they had some capability.

Unlike some useless fellows who wouldn’t even dare to buy things with money in their hands.

Having settled so many matters in a single morning, Ronin was in a good mood.

He called for a waiter to start serving the food and, at the same time, had Gallon arrange lunch for the guards watching the carriage.

During the meal, Ronin casually introduced Ridder, explaining that he was a Wandering Knight he had met by chance, who had now joined Mountain Forest Town and sworn fealty to him.

Gallon didn’t have a clear concept of what an Advanced Peak Knight was, but Tom was different.

As a Basic Level Knight, he was well aware of the power of an Advanced Peak Knight.

But that wasn’t the crucial part. Previously, the Lord had relied on a bluff to deceive Knight Philton of the Sain Territory, preventing him from acting rashly.

But now, with a genuine Advanced Peak Knight by Lord Ronin’s side, he figured they wouldn’t have to worry so much about the Sain Territory in the future.

Lately, he had personally witnessed how different Ronin was and felt more and more certain that he had chosen the right master. ’Perhaps in the future, I can truly make a name for myself and restore my ancestors’ glory!’

After lunch, Ronin led the trade caravan and began making the rounds to various shops and stalls selling daily necessities.

He needed to buy axes, iron saws, and wood-chopping knives for his planned Ironwood Workshop;

He also had to continue clearing the wasteland, which meant hoes and shovels were essential. It pained him to see the Peasant Slaves using tools made of stone.

Ronin spent the entire afternoon comparing several shops and finally bought all the tools he needed.

This included 20 each of axes, iron saws, and wood-chopping knives, as well as 400 each of hoes and shovels. Even after several rounds of haggling, the total still came to 172 Gold Coins, 7 silver, and 60 Copper Coins.

The axes, iron saws, and wood-chopping knives were for the Ironwood Workshop. Considering tool wear and tear, 20 of each was not a large number;

As for the 800 total hoes and shovels, he planned to distribute them evenly among the villages.

It was clear that this was far from enough for every Peasant Slave to have their own tool, but for Ronin to invest so much money at once was already a massive effort.

At this point, he had already spent over 900 Gold Coins on this trip to Pasture City!

If word got out that a Baron of the Forest from some poor, remote backwater could spend a thousand gold pieces so lavishly, probably no one would believe it.

Ronin now had only 281 Gold Coins left. After setting aside a year’s worth of salaries for everyone, he would still have a surplus of several dozen Gold Coins.

He remembered how, right after transmigrating, he had been dirt-poor with nothing to his name. To even reach Mountain Forest Town safely, he had to scrounge a little here and bluff a little there.

But things were different now. Ronin had channels and plans for making money. Like a farmer with grain in his granary, he no longer felt panicked.

After purchasing all the supplies, most of Ronin’s plans in Pasture City were complete. Only one last task remained: to visit the Slave House and inquire about the sale of slaves.

The sale and trade of slaves were permitted in this world. Basically, every city and even some Knights’ manors had a Slave Exchange.

Here, as long as you were one of the Free People and could afford the price, you could legally own slaves that were entirely yours, able to exercise all a master’s rights over them.

In a way, the status of a slave was even lower than that of the Peasant Slaves in his domain.

As a Transmigrator, Ronin’s understanding of slavery was limited to books. He had never personally witnessed the real lives and experiences of slaves, so he couldn’t truly empathize.

Perhaps civilization had taught him that slavery was wrong, but it was the same old story: right now, there was nothing he could do to change it.

Since he couldn’t change it, he would do as the Romans do and use this system to his advantage.

The total population of Mountain Forest Town had just barely surpassed two thousand, a far cry from a typical Baron’s Domain, which usually numbered in the tens of thousands.

Relying on attracting Free People to join or on natural population growth within the territory was a bit too slow.

If he wanted the territory’s population to grow quickly in a short amount of time, he could only use money to buy people.

Moreover, for Ronin, if he could buy a thousand people at once, he could also complete a population achievement and strengthen himself.

It was a good deed that killed multiple birds with one stone.

While it was still light out, Ronin inquired about the location of the Slave Exchange, and early the next morning, he led his group over.

To control and domesticate the slaves, most exchanges were located on the outskirts of the city. Some were even set up within a Knight’s manor.

Ronin sat on his horse, staring somewhat absently at the Slave House before him.

He had originally imagined the exchange would be a large courtyard with some prison cells to keep the slaves in.

But the small, castle-like exchange before him was clearly beyond his expectations.

The high walls, built from stone and mud, were studded with sharp spikes. Although they weren’t as sturdy as the walls of a nobleman’s castle, they were enough to deter anyone inside from trying to climb over and escape.

In addition, tall watchtowers made of wood were built at the four corners of the high walls. Each tower was staffed with lookouts tasked with surveillance, who would immediately report any incidents.

Furthermore, a patrol team circled the high walls, and four guards were stationed at the exchange’s main gate to ensure nothing went wrong.

When the guards saw a group on horseback approaching the exchange, they immediately became vigilant.

However, a group approaching so openly was most likely a client, so they showed no hostility.

Just as Ronin’s group arrived outside the exchange, a middle-aged man rushed out from the main gate. With a fawning smile, he trotted up to Ronin’s horse, offering a bow and a greeting.

“Good day, my lords! I am the steward for the Poisonous Snake Exchange here in Pasture City. You may call me Anthony!”

Anthony needed only a single glance to tell that the group was led by the young man before him. And when he saw the young man’s iconic silver hair, he immediately thought of a certain person.

As a steward who dealt with outsiders year-round, Anthony’s eye for people was in no way inferior to Hook’s from the Silva Magic Energy Chamber of Commerce.

But this wasn’t a trading district, and the Slave House wasn’t an ordinary chamber of commerce. So, even if he guessed Ronin’s identity, he wouldn’t be the one to state it unless Ronin brought it up first.

“Hello, Anthony. I’d like to see the slaves you have here.”

Ronin, still on his horse, stated the purpose of his visit. “If I find any that are suitable, I’ll be taking a batch.”

Anthony’s ears twitched. He noted that Ronin had said not “one,” but “a batch.”

’This is a big client!’

And so, every inch of the steward’s face seemed to radiate a sycophantic smile. “Rest assured, my lord! Whatever kind of ’goods’ you require, we at the Poisonous Snake Slave Exchange will provide it for you!”

Ronin dismounted, handing his horse to Gallon. “Let’s go. Take me on a tour of your Slave House.”

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