From Londoner To Lord

Chapter 389 383. Favors

It was the next morning, and Kivamus was sitting in the manor hall while Trevalo had been negotiating the prices with Duvas. Hudan was outside, taking a visit to the defensive trenches outside the walls, to make sure they were being built properly. Tesyb and another guard were standing nearby in the corner of the manor hall.

Soon, Trevalo looked up. "I think we can make a deal at this rate."

"Great," Duvas said, before he looked at Kivamus. "We have finalized the prices, milord."

"How much is it?" Kivamus asked, already dreading the answer.

Duvas glanced at the small ledger in front of him. "We already owed him 348 gold before this visit, and everything he has brought today adds up to another 332 gold coins, at a rate of five gold and eight silvers per sack of wheat."

"That's nearly 6 gold per sack!" Kivamus exclaimed. "It's hard to imagine that wheat was being sold for less than 4 gold per sack just two years ago. How many sacks of wheat is that total for?"

"He has brought 51 sacks of wheat," Duvas answered, "as well as 9 sacks of vegetables, including a lot of potato to use as seeds. Although he isn't buying any coal this time for some reason."

"It still sounds like too high a price," Kivamus sighed.

Trevalo shrugged. "I can't help it, milord. Last time I had sold you wheat for five gold and six silvers per sack, but this time I was buying such a big quantity in a hurry, and no merchant was even willing to sell me that much unless I paid even higher. I had to leverage all my contacts for this, but at least I was able to fill all my wagons with foodstuff."

"I guess there was no other way," Kivamus replied. "So that's a total of 680 gold we owe you, right?"

Trevalo nodded. "It is, and unless you came into a lot of money suddenly, I know you can't pay it. But that's fine. I know you will be able to more than make up for it once the new trading route starts. Although this is the last credit I am extending you, since I am also out of my savings now. Still, you don't have to worry about paying any interest on it, as a favor to our continuous trading relationship."

"Thank you for that," Kivamus said with a small smile. "So you're leaving for Ulriga tomorrow?"

"It's still morning," Trevalo said, "and if I hurry, I can make it to the first stop at Helga's inn before it gets dark, since the days are getting longer now. So I'll leave within the hour."

"What do you mean within the hour?" Kivamus frowned. "There is no way we can empty all your wagons and load them with coal so fast! Wait, you aren't even buying coal this time. Still, if you had told us about this yesterday, I would have put servants to finish the task overnight, but it's really not possible right now. Besides, I don't think you can reach Helga's Inn even if you leave within the hour."

Trevalo grinned. "Don't worry, I know it's not possible to reach the former inn with a slow-moving caravan, but I can easily ride there on a horse. I'm meeting with a few sailboat captains in Cinran, then after I've made a deal, I'll take that boat from there to Ulriga. So I won't be able to use my wagons until I return back in, say, three to four weeks. I will also have to pay some other merchant to keep my wagons safe in a warehouse in Cinran until I return, which will cost me precious coin. So I've decided that I'll just ride back to Cinran on a horse, with two of my drivers serving as protection on their own horses. I don't need any of your guards this time, since I don't want to attract attention in Ulriga by taking a big group. So I am entrusting all my wagons and the remaining four of my drivers to you until I return. That's fine with ya?"

Kivamus glanced at the majordomo. Even if it was temporary, getting six extra wagons in the village would help them out a lot. He looked back at the young merchant. "It's not a problem at all, Trevalo!"

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"Great!" The merchant smiled. "In return for feeding and housing my drivers, you can use the wagons as you see fit. Just make sure they don't break or something. My men are trustworthy, and I've known them for years, so you don't have to worry about anything with them."

Kivamus grinned. "Don't worry, we will take care of housing and feeding your drivers. But is three weeks enough? Even on a horse, it will take you around three days, including today, to reach Cinran. Another day or two to find a good sailboat captain and lease his sailboat, then a two-week round-trip journey, as well as another few days in Ulriga to make a deal to sell coal and buy wheat there. Then three more days to ride back here from Cinran. Hmm... I guess a four week timeline will work better. Just make sure to let the Ulrigan merchant know that it will take us time to start producing enough coal. That means our sales will be lower in the initial months, and will increase slowly in the coming months."

"Of course," Trevalo replied. "I know it's not possible to double your coal output overnight. So do you want me to rent extra wagons when I am returning from Cinran? I have 6 wagons of my own, but we had planned to transport 10 wagon-loads of coal to Ulriga, along with three more to Cinran, every week."

Kivamus thought about it for a moment. "I think your 6 wagons will be enough in the beginning. So instead of renting all those wagons immediately, you can just rent an extra wagon whenever we need it, as our coal production increases. You will be traveling to Cinran every week anyway."

"That makes sense," Trevalo said as he stood up. "Well, I'll just go have something to eat at the village alehouse, then we will depart. I do have to say, after finally removing all those burned huts and shacks, the village looks very empty, but still better. I also saw the moats and some construction in the north when I was coming yesterday."

"Oh, that's the third longhouse block we're building," Kivamus explained. "It will be two stories this time. It should be completed by the time you return, so you can see it then."

Trevalo smiled. "I can't wait for it." Then he gave a short bow and took his leave.

Kivamus looked at Duvas with a grin. "Six more wagons, huh?"

Duvas smiled back. "I'll put them to work right after we remove the sacks. It will allow us to transport more coal from the mines, and more construction material back from the sawmill. With the help of these wagons, I think the construction of the new block will speed up by a few days."

"Perfect!" Kivamus said. "We've already made the announcement for three meals a day from today. So make sure to distribute the required amount of grain to the longhouse blocks."

"I've already made the arrangements," the majordomo replied. "I will tell Madam Nerida that she can use more maids and even some village workers, if needed, to plant the new potatoes we got today in the vegetable fields in the south of the village. Are you sure you don't want to use the first crop immediately?"

Kivamus nodded. "It will take 3 to 4 months for them to mature, but I think we won't have any real shortage of food at the time, assuming all goes well with the Ulrigan trading route. This way, we will also be harvesting a new potato crop which will be at least five times more than the potatoes we plant. So we will replant them again after that in new expanded fields outside the village walls, since there would be a lot more forest cleared by then. The wheat harvest should get ready while the second crop of potatoes is maturing, so we won't have any shortage of food during that time either. And the second potato crop will mature at the end of winter, giving us at least another five times of what we planted, and likely even more. That's right when we will need all the calories we can get. By then, our population will be even higher, so that crop will help us a lot. We will keep the best ones of that winter potato as seeds for the next round of sowing, because the cold, hard winter will kill any pests. Then we will replant it in early spring along with the next season's crop of wheat."

"Hmm..." Duvas muttered. "So it will be two crops in quick succession for this year, but then two proper crops of summer and winter potatoes from next year, giving a couple of fallow months in between. I guess this will work better."

Kivamus nodded. "We will also rotate the fields from next year—planting potatoes in a new area, then sowing wheat where we will plant potatoes in the winter, planting liwabeans where we have planted wheat right now, and leaving another quarter of the fields empty. Anyway, Pinoto is an experienced farmer. He will take care of the details. But from next year we should be able to move onto four-field crop rotation. It is going to be very important for the village in the long run."

Duvas stood up. "Well, I should go and take care of sending the wagons where they are needed."

"Go on," Kivamus said. "I've told Hudan, Tesyb, and Kerel to come here around noon so we can talk about that revenge raid. Be on time."