Imperial Crown.

Chapter 187 Mist and Iron
Raven suspected that he was a bit of a jinx.

Because the next morning, just after Raven had breakfast and was still calculating the funding plan for building the academy for Anno, Poirot came to ask for a meeting.

"Baron, the gray dwarf..." Poirot coughed here.

Raven sighed helplessly: "What happened again?"

This group of funny guys would always give Raven some "surprises", and he couldn't help but turn his head to look out the window towards the workshop.

The workshop is still there and was not blown up.

"It's not the Riverside Works, it's the Gray Mountain Mine!" Poirot said hoarsely, suppressing his cough.

Raven turned his head and looked to the other side. Fortunately, it seemed that there was no explosion. "So it was a landslide?"

At this time, Poirot finally caught his breath, with a smile on his face: "It's not a problem, Baron, a new vein has been discovered in the Gray Mountain Mine! A magic vein!"

"Oh, magic..." Raven paused, blinked and asked, "Magic ore veins? What kind?"

On the continent, there are many kinds of ores containing magical elements, which are collectively called magic veins. Each of them has a wide range of uses and high value. The star iron and iron core mentioned earlier are one of them.

"You will know for yourself if you go and see it yourself!" said Poirot. "I cannot say for sure, but the scene looks...very beautiful!"

This aroused Raven's curiosity: "Okay, let's go together."

Raven had just obtained more than 150,000 gold coins, which could be withdrawn quickly, which greatly alleviated Raven's financial difficulties, but this did not mean that Raven was not short of money.

Don’t forget, in addition to the construction of its own territory, Raven also undertook the construction of Annuo’s academy, which is a gold-devouring behemoth that is not much different from Raven’s new castle!

I don’t know what this mineral vein is or how much it can produce.

Gray Mountain Mine was not too far from Eagle Town. About an hour later, Raven took Poirot in a carriage to Gray Mountain Town under the mine.

This was the first time that Raven had come to investigate personally after receiving the Gray Mountain Mine. Raven was a lord, not a mining expert, and his major in his previous life was not civil engineering.

Although productivity was not high in this era, a mine that had been operating for hundreds of years did not need guidance from outsiders.

The best example is the town of Gray Mountain where Raven is located.

Huishan Town, also known as Widow Town.

The overall scale is not large, with only about 3,000 people. Most of them are stone houses, and the building materials are locally sourced, all of which are waste ores with extremely low iron content in the mines. Over the years, the iron in them has been oxidized and corroded, turning into large areas of rust red.

From a distance, the whole town is a dark brown, just like a coral on land, and the streets paved with broken iron slag are the blood vessels of the coral.

This is a small town that relies entirely on the Gray Mountain Mine. Apart from the necessary leisure places such as the tavern, most industries revolve around the mining industry.

For example, the screening of ore.

Most of the young and strong people work in the mines. Apart from women, the elderly and the weak are also involved in this industry. The number of people who make a living from this is no less than that of the miners.

Ore screening is also an experienced job. After identification, the ore needs to be manually divided into three grades: high grade, medium grade and low grade.

The iron content of high-grade jade is about 65% to 70%; medium-grade jade is about 40% to 65%; and low-grade jade is less than 40%.

Among them, the high-grade iron ore would be transported directly to Ironfurnace Town when it was controlled by the Wharton family, which is the family to which Judra belongs. Now it is transported to Eagle Town.

Medium-grade iron ore is usually sold and can also earn a certain profit.

As for the low-grade iron ore, which is difficult to smelt and lacks commercial value, Huishan Town will handle it itself.

Due to the high impurity content, multiple steps are required to smelt barely usable pig iron. Therefore, the smelting furnace runs almost day and night, causing a layer of haze to cover the sky above the entire Huishan Town all year round.

A typical resource-based town.

Raven was received by Peng Bei, the political officer of Huishan Town, a middle-aged man in his forties.

Like this town and all the people who live here, he is honest, calm, down-to-earth, with indelible gray and black marks on his skin.

"How is it? Are you used to the new policy?" Raven asked.

Peng Bei rubbed his hands: "To be honest, I'm not used to it."

Poirot glanced at him, evidently thinking that the man was somewhat ungrateful.

Raven didn't care, but continued: "Tell me more about it."

Peng Bei walked in front, his head bowed. "It is a great thing that you are willing to pay us. Everyone in this town, from young men to old men, will be grateful for your generosity."

"But you limit working hours to ten per day, and require people to wear a cloth over their mouths when they go down into the mines. It's really..."

At this point, Peng Bei gave an unskilled flattering laugh: "After all, everyone wants to make more money."

Limiting working hours and paying miners actually have the same purpose, which is to allow them to have money in their hands and time to spend it, rather than spending all their energy in the mines. This will allow the economy to flow and become active.

Raven paused, looked at the smoke in the sky, and suddenly asked, "How old are you this year?"

"Forty-seven, my Lord," replied Pompe.

Raven continued to ask: "How many men of your age are left?"

“This…” Peng Bei was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, “Six or seven out of ten people my age are already dead.”

"In our Gray Mountain Town, men are considered long-lived if they live past fifty, so it is called 'Widow Town'."

"Ore is the lungs of the earth. Our men mine ore and are cursed by the earth. Therefore, our lungs will gradually wither and we will suffocate and die..."

pneumoconiosis.

It can cause lung fibrosis in the patient, first causing loss of ability to work and eventually death from suffocation.

A disease common in all kinds of mines. In fact, before Raven crossed over, many workers would still be infected if protective measures were not in place.

What’s more, in this era, what about the miners who have been squatting in mines for years?

Raven did not intend to correct Pembe's ideas. Without a complete scientific system, they would not understand even if he explained it to them. He chose a statement that would be more acceptable: "I already knew this. The mask I gave you is a sacred amulet that can filter out the curse in the earth."

"After all, I am a magician!"

As he spoke, two syllables came out of Raven's mouth, and flames were already dancing in his palms. If Raven said these words as a lord, Peng Bei might not agree, but it was completely different for a magician.

Since the mysterious and powerful magician said that he could fight the curse, then... maybe it really is possible?

Peng Bei clenched his fists and said, "Baron, don't worry, if anyone dares to take off the mask or throw it away secretly, I will kick his ass!"

As they were talking, Raven had already followed Peng Bei to the outside of the mine.

This mine is located halfway up the mountain. A piece of the mountain has been flattened by force, and there are several dark mine pits on the cliff.

Now all these mines are blocked and guarded. The miners gathered in the open space. When they saw Raven coming, they immediately began to salute in confusion.

This was the first time for many of them to see a noble lord come to this filthy place.

Raven had no intention of giving a speech. Paying them and letting them know who paid them would be much more useful than ten thousand speeches.

There are three mines in the Gray Mountain Mine. The gray dwarves discovered the new mineral vein in Mine No. 1, which has been excavated the longest. Under the leadership of Pembe and Poirot, Raven walked into Mine No. 1 and set an example by wearing a mask.

After hundreds of years of mining, the mine has reached a depth of nearly 100 meters. It is extremely dark inside, and the deeper you go, the colder it gets. Even with Pembe's guidance, it still took nearly half an hour to find the location of the gray dwarves.

Sohei's voice echoed in the mine: "Hey, now we're rich, I think we can at least fill our stomachs and drink beer for three years, no, five years!"

Then came Bowell's excited voice: "No, I won't spend my money on food and drink. I want to save some money and open my own jewelry store! I want the name of 'Gray Hammer' to resound throughout the continent!!"

"If it's really that valuable, I can give you endless beer, Sohei." Raven turned the corner and brushed off the ash on his head. "As for Bowell's jewelry store, I'll invest in it!"

"Lord Baron!"

"My lord the baron."

The two gray dwarves saluted. Their skin color matched the environment in the mine very well. Even with the torches shining, only the outlines could be barely seen except for the two pairs of dark red eyes.

Raven didn't intend to beat around the bush: "Where is the new mineral vein? Why can't I see it?"

"Follow us, Baron." Sohei picked up the torch and walked ahead.

"Hey, when it comes to prospecting, we dwarves are the best!" Bowell explained as he walked, "We were originally invited here to give some guidance on the construction of the mine, but we unexpectedly found a surprise! Look at this!"

As he spoke, Bowell snatched a piece of broken ore from the cave wall.

At first glance, this is no different from ordinary iron ore. It is dark red in color and looks like a brick, but it is much harder than a brick.

But if you look closely, you will find tiny iron beads inlaid in it, but if you wipe them with your hands, they will disappear immediately.

Lei Wen said: "In addition to iron elements, there seems to be abundant water elements on it."

"Yes, Lord Baron." Suohei licked his lips. "When the miners from the Gray Mountain Mine dug here, they thought there might be groundwater nearby, which would cause the underground river to backflow and destroy the mine, so they dared not continue digging. But they didn't know what kind of treasure was buried here!"

"We're here, Baron!"

After squeezing through a slightly narrow cave, Raven actually breathed in rich water vapor!

Even his eyebrows and hair were wet, and the torch in his hand was immediately extinguished.

but.

The mine did not fall into darkness. As far as the eye could see, there was a misty cloud. It did not feel like being underground, but rather like stepping into the sky.

There was a water-blue glow flickering in the clouds, as if there was blue lightning running through it, or like blue lights under the fog, like a dream.

The water element is more active than ever!
"Misty mine?!" Raven blurted out.

"The Baron is really knowledgeable!" Bowell, who was about to show off his knowledge, immediately became more honest: "Yes, this is the Mist Mine Vein that produces the second-level ore 'Mist Heavy Iron'. After our preliminary exploration, this vein extends at least three kilometers underground, enough for mining for hundreds of years!"

Misty Iron, a second-level ore with water properties, if cast into ingots, the price per pound is usually between sixty-seven and eighty-five gold coins, which means one hundred and forty-eight to one hundred and eighty-eight gold coins per kilogram.

In addition, it has a chance to be accompanied by a third-order water-attribute crystal "Lightless Crystal". A fist-sized crystal can be sold for at least three to five thousand gold coins.

"As for the output, what is the estimate?" Raven asked the question he was most concerned about.

Sohei said proudly, "If we leave it to the gray dwarves, we have a hundred good guys who can guarantee you a daily output of at least 6,000 pounds of raw ore! But after all, this thing requires technology. If you leave it to your miners, even with our training, you will need at least 300 people to achieve the same efficiency."

The output is actually not small. Mist iron itself is extremely strong, difficult to mine, and requires special professional skills.

If smelting is carried out later, about one pound of mist iron can be extracted from about one hundred pounds of raw ore.

In other words, that's about sixty pounds of misty iron per day, or twenty-seven kilograms, which can generate a value of four thousand three hundred gold coins every day!
Almost instantly, Raven made up his mind - half for his own use and the other half to be sold directly on the Deep Blue platform, which would yield a net revenue of around 60,000 gold coins every month!

In this way, Raven has a fairly stable source of gold coins, which also gives him more confidence to build the new castle quickly!
"Very good! Next, you should leave a few gray dwarves behind to instruct the miners in Gray Mountain Town on how to mine, and then withdraw when the production stabilizes."

"As for your reward..." Raven rubbed his chin and saw the expectant eyes of the gray dwarves: "I will give you two choices. One is that I will give each of you a reward of fifty gold coins now."

"Second, starting today, you will all invest in my iron smelting industry as a whole. For every set of armor you forge for me, you will receive five silver coins; for every weapon you forge, you will receive two silver coins!"

This sentence immediately caused a chaos. Some gray dwarves jumped up and down and demanded gold coins, while others clamored for dividends. As the argument went on, all kinds of dirty words began to fly around, and there were even signs of a fight.

"My Lord Baron, please wait a moment, we need to reach a consensus!" Sohei shouted.

Raven shrugged. He was used to this kind of situation. "I'll wait for you outside. Remember not to damage my Mist Sinking Iron!"

After saying that, he turned around and went out.

Ten minutes later, Sohei and Bowell, covered in footprints, appeared in front of Raven. They looked at each other, and Bowell said, "Baron, we choose the second way!"

Raven's eyes showed satisfaction: "Very good!"

Slaves may not need human rights, but they definitely need money.

Raven gave a second option, which was to tie the interests of the gray dwarves to their own. From now on, they would no longer just work for Raven, but for themselves!

"Then what are we waiting for, Baron? Time is money!" Bowell rubbed his hands.

Lei Wen said, "Let's go. I also have something to ask you guys."

……

(End of this chapter)