King
Chapter 74 - 74 73 First Store Grain_1

74: Chapter 73, First Store Grain_1 74: Chapter 73, First Store Grain_1 “Quick, clear out the junk here!”

“Move faster, all of you, as if you haven’t eaten!”

…

Construction began, and the formerly desolate mine finally had a hint of livelihood.

The once-sullen refugees had rare smiles on their faces.

People are not afraid of hardship; they’re afraid of losing hope.

The lord is their backbone.

These people accustomed to relying on the nobility from childhood, it was indeed difficult for them to live independently.

Of course, the main thing was that the Rebel Army had robbed them first, and then the anti-rebel army.

They had suffered brutal social hits, leading to a severe lack of security.

Including those who had moved south with Hudson, eating every day without working, everyone was still insecure.

But now it was different.

With new jobs came a sense of worth.

There was no need to worry that their lord would suddenly abandon them.

Hudson knew nothing of the serfs’ thoughts.

The bustling construction site was essentially only doing one thing: repairing infrastructure damaged by the war.

“My lord, a group of refugees have arrived.

They claim to be from the mining area, miners and their families who want to join you!”

Hearing this good news, Hudson initially felt his domineering spirit erupt.

He didn’t have to send any troops, but people voluntarily came to him.

Only after seeing those joining, did this feeling fade.

They weren’t miners at all, but clearly a group of beggars.

Thin and ragged, walking weakly, they were clearly starving.

Although a noble, Hudson was still close to his ordinary people, never distant and unapproachable.

A migratory group of nearly a thousand, including many women and children that could survive in the jungle was a miracle.

It was impossible for them to survive well.

Despite the abundance of the domain, with many beasts in the jungle that could supplement food through hunting, this was still just a drop in the bucket.

From hunting, you might be able to gather a thousand pounds of meat in one hunt, but to hunt several hundred or a thousand pounds of meat every day would be purely dreaming.

If hunting could not guarantee a steady supply of meat, Hudson would not set the quota for his subordinates so low.

Starving to the point of despair, it’s no wonder they came to seek protection from the new lord.

If Hudson had arrived just half a month later, there would probably have been tragic cases of cannibalism.

By that point, these miners would effectively be ruined.

The moral bottom line of people is always very low.

Once it’s broken for the first time, it will be broken countless times afterward.

After glancing at the crowd, Hudson made no unnecessary chatter, and directly announced the result to everyone:

“Viscount Alphonse has unfortunately passed away.

I am your new lord, Hudson-Koslow the Baron.

Now, I announce that I accept your allegiance!”

After accepting everyone’s salutation, the relationship between the lord and his people was established.

In the years to come, everyone will fulfill their obligations and enjoy their rights.

After the simple ceremony, everyone considered each other as their own.

Without ceremony, Hudson arranged for his men to take this new group to the river to wash up.

The rules of the game were such.

With the old lord gone and the new lord just announcing the acceptance of the people, the matter was over.

The serfs had no objections.

They were part of the noble’s property, who would care about their opinions?

Everything was as it should be, there was no adaptation necessary.

To artificially “add drama” to win over people’s hearts only made things worse.

This was no joke.

In history, there were lords who were so close to the common folk that the serfs suspected them of being impostors, because nobles in their memory were always high and mighty.

With more people, the repair of infrastructure in the domain sped up, and correspondingly, food consumption also increased day by day.

With no other choice, Hudson had to dispatch troops to transport the remaining food from Dardiel City whilst writing letters relentlessly to the nearby nobles to purchase grains.

The Wharton and Layton Counties were nearly devoid of crops, and food prices in the Southeastern Province were likely to rise.

Even if the province was not in shortage, due to political needs, food prices would go up.

In the Southeastern Province, in the name of the grain traders who decide the grain prices, the actual holder of the power behind the scenes was the Dalton Family.

Knowing Earl Piers as he did, this strong figure in politics would not miss any chance to take advantages and benefit, otherwise he would live under the nickname of “Flaming Lion”.

He didn’t raise the grain price now, not because Earl Piers had a conscience.

Mainly, local nobles all had some grain reserves, correct?

According to the usual course of development, with the family’s support, they would be able to survive the initial period of grain shortage.

Even if food prices rose to the sky, it wouldn’t matter if they had the food in their hands.

Hudson was the exception.

Adding the miners before him, the population of the manor directly exceeded 4,000, and this was not over yet.

The trusted followers who were sent out to woo people were still working hard.

How many people they could persuade to come over, he was not sure, so he could only store more.

In his approach, Hudson was very clear.

As long as he could buy food now, he would buy more.

As for the aid promised by his father, he could just leave it there and send someone to get it when needed.

Nobles within two hundred miles who hadn’t participated in the development of the estate all received purchase letters from Hudson.

Eighty-thousands pounds purchased from the eastern family, a hundred-thousands pounds ordered from the western family.

As long as someone was willing to sell, whether it’s rye, oatmeal, barley, or potatoes, broad beans, peas, carrots, pumpkins…

he accepted all comers.

As for the more high-end food such as magical beast meat, beef and mutton, wheat, and spices, they were not within the purchase range.

All because of prices.

The same category of food, wheat price was 1.5 times that of rye, and almost twice that of oats, beans.

Like many lords, low cost and large quantity are the first factors considered.

The cheapest potatoes only needed 1.5 copper coins per pound; rye only needed three copper coins per pound…

(1 gold coin = 15 silver coins = 1500 copper coins)

The only large purchase of valuable food was salt, as high as thirty copper coins/pound.

This was still inferior salt for serfs to consume.

For the nobles, the price of refined salt soared to two hundred copper coins/pound.

Knowing that this was extortion, Hudson could only grit his teeth and accept it.

Who can help it when the production of salt was held in the hands of the major nobles?

Buy, buy, buy.

For a while, money was flowing like water.

Although due to time and distance, these transactions were still on paper, he still needed to make reservations for the money.

He can’t have people deliver the goods but then not have the money to pay them, that would be tragic.

For nobles, not repaying a debt is a disgrace.

He ordered more than three million pounds of goods from his neighbors all at once.

If all the deals could be closed, the budget of seven thousand gold coins would be gone.

Living off capital was not Hudson’s style.

Thinking of his nearly depleted wallet, reality told him that he had to find a way to make money.