Chapter 217 - Items to be Purchased
"Hmmm, there's not much I want. ......"
As Carlos had told me, I was checking to see if there was anything I could buy from the knightly territories in Fontana.
But it may be more difficult than I thought.
For example, if I decided to buy something like the product of a craft that I didn't understand, I wouldn't need it, so I wouldn't buy it in large quantities, nor would I continue to buy it.
However, as Carlos said, in order for the money to circulate within the Fontana territory, a certain amount of money needs to be exchanged every year.
What should I do?
Should I consult with Lilina and Clarisse and think about purchasing more furnishings?
Certainly, it would be nice to have a few more furnishings to match the new mansion we've built in Fontana City.
However, there is a limit to the number of such items.
I seriously don't know what to do.
"What's the matter, Ars? Why are you looking so glum?"
"Baito-nii! I've been pondering a few things. Will you listen to me?"
"Yeah, sure. What's the matter? Are you wondering which battlefield we should fight on next?"
"Don't get your hopes up, Baito-nii. That's not what I meant. Carlos-sama told me to do something. He told me to buy more stuff from other knights' territories. But I can't think of what to buy."
"Oh, that's what you meant? It's quite simple."
"... You came up with something? Seriously, you, Baito-nii?"
"What, you have a problem with me figuring something out?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but it was a little unexpected. So I ask you, what should this younger brother buy? The product has to be something that I could continue to buy in large quantities for a long time."
"
it was easy after all. Food, Ars. Buy things that you can eat."
"...... You know, we, Barca, go to other territories to improve the farmland. I'm sure we ourselves can make enough wheat to feed ourselves. I could buy some of it from other knights to brew alcohol, but I am looking for other commodities."
"Eh? Why are you just talking about wheat? I've gone and heard about a lot of other knights' territories, and a lot of them have their own specialty foods, so why don't you buy them?"
"Specialities? Are there enough of those to sell to us in bulk?"
"I don't know, but if Barca uses [Soil Improvement], they'll be able to harvest more than they used to. If others can produce more, they can at least get enough to sell, right? And this doesn't just apply to wheat. There isn't only wheat being grown in the fields, after all. Trust me. I used to work there."
...... I see.
Baito-nii has a point.
I don't know why I didn't think of that.
Maybe it was because I had been thinking of various products to sell, and I thought that any food would be enough to live on.
Basically, all of the knights in Fontana ask for wheat as the main tax from farmers.
So the standard for food quantity is the amount of wheat harvested.
But in the actual fields, I myself was growing something other than wheat.
But it was to feed my family's hunger, not to pay taxes or as a commodity.
And even with the development of the road networks, the basic principle is local production for local consumption, so we don't get much of an idea about what people eat elsewhere.
But maybe there are more variations of crops than I thought.
If that's the case, as my brother said, we might be able to find and buy food that is only eaten in specific regions.
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If it is something that can be harvested from fields, there is a possibility that it can be produced in large quantities on lands where Barca cast [Soil Improvement].
That's a good idea. Listening to Baito-nii's idea, I'm starting to get inspired.
That's right.
People don't have to grow only wheat in other places.
On the contrary, it would be better to let them grow a variety of crops so that they can cope with bad weather and other crop failures.
And it's not just wheat and vegetables that can be harvested from the fields.
We can also grow flowers.
Until now, in Barca, we have only grown wheat and other short-lived crops such as hatsuka for the purpose of filling our stomachs.
However, in other knightly domains, it might be possible to have them grow flowers.
Some of the flowers have nectar.
And if there is nectar, there are also insects that collect it.
That's right, honey.
It could be a way to secure a sweet taste that we haven't had much chance to taste before.
And the use of flowers is not limited to collecting nectar.
Oil.
If it's a flower like a Brassica1, you can squeeze it to get the oil.
In fact, oil is a valuable commodity in its own right.
The amount that can be squeezed out is not very large, so it is always in short supply and expensive.
However, oil can be used.
It can be used not only for cooking but also for a siege.
It can also be used to intercept attackers by dropping hot oil from the top of the wall.
Oil is recognized as a strategic material.
I think we should mainly buy these things from the other knight territories.
If needed, we could actively encourage oil production.
'If you promise to produce oil in the farmland you develop, the interest rate on the money you lend will be lower than usual,' I'm sure there will be some who will do it.
It is not necessary to produce oil in all of the knights' lands.
They can set aside a section of the territory as a space for oil production and grow Brassica there.
The oil produced in this way can be purchased by Barca.
It would be a win-win situation for both parties.
"Okay, Brother Baito, tell me all about where you've been and what you've eaten. If there is any food that can only be obtained there, I will consult with the knight to see if they can increase production and sell it to us."
In this way, each knight's territory in Fontana began to increase the production of crops that were difficult to obtain elsewhere for sale.
In particular, instead of the valuable items that were offered to nobles such as Carlos, the common people began to uncover things that they had been eating in secret, and the repertoire of dishes on the dinner table began to increase.
CadmarLegend
Uh, so, um, I kind of fell asleep in the last fifth of translating the chapter, so the same terms may not have been used. Oh, and I'm debating if I should translate the crop as "hatsuka" or "honeysuckle". Both are the same, but I am wondering if I should start converting many of the names of crops to English entirely, or keep the Japanese names where applicable... since that was what happened since the first few chapters of the novel. Let's vote.