I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 175 Recruiting Craftsmen
"Do you need so much stone and wood?"

In St. Vincent's Church, Pierre frowned slightly as he looked at the number of stones and wood recorded on the parchment.

"Your Excellency, a watermill is different from an ordinary mill. It's normal to have more stone and wood. Furthermore, you only need to spend a small amount of stone and wood in exchange for halving the grain loss. This is a cost-effective exchange."

Luc stood below and explained softly.

"Okay, I believe you." Pierre looked at it for a while and finally nodded in agreement.

"But as we agreed before, if the mill is built but doesn't produce enough grain for the church, you will have to pay for the cost of the mill."

"No problem at all."

Looking at Luc who agreed to the rules, Pierre pinched the emerald between his fingers, his eyes gradually becoming deep.

Because of the existence of the white paper, he still had some trust in this water mill which also claimed to be the secret method of the Luke family.

It was Luc as a person that he didn't trust.

In other words, he didn't think the other party would be so kind as to take the initiative to help the church build a mill.

After all, when he was still a wandering knight, he could think of donating paper for free and eventually making a profit to become a Knight of Burgundy. So now he has volunteered to be a contractor, so he probably has other purposes.
What is it? Is it related to the caravan? Or is it just an opportunity to make a few more pfennigs?
Pierre was not sure at the moment, but it did not prevent him from agreeing to Luc's request.

After all, no matter what, just like the blank paper at the beginning, at least it is beneficial to me now.

As for Luc's salary. Yes, Luc does not work for free. Contractors need to pay wages to everyone they subcontract to, and Luc is not an exception.

You always need to give some benefits to people who work for you, and jackals need to be fed with meat.

Pierre, who thought he had seen through Luc, smiled and stood up and said:

"Well, I am going to see the Count of Mâcon to get permission for you to choose a site for your mill on the Saône, to set up your tents, and to hire workers."

"Also, don't forget that thing," Pierre said meaningfully.

"do not worry!"

Luc accompanied the bishop out of the church, watched him leave, and then hurried back to the tavern in the hot sun.

Walking up the creaking wooden steps, Ryan, who had been waiting for a long time on the second floor of the tavern, took two steps forward and said in a low voice, "Master, I bought the vinegar, a whole barrel!"

While Luke was going to the church, he arranged for Ryan to go to the county town to collect vinegar early in the morning.

Ryan didn't know why he did this, but he still did it.

Looking at the jealous Luc who was disguised as a wine barrel, he was about to praise him, but he heard Ryan's slightly low voice.
"Also, I went to the grain merchant's shop as you instructed." Ryan's expression turned somewhat angry, and he said bitterly, "You guessed right, it was really Ezra's bastards in the grain merchant's shop!"

“It’s really them.”

Luc stroked his beard, no wonder those mules looked familiar.

"These damn vultures must have come here because they saw that Macon City was short of food, sir. Should we take them?"

Ryan made a throat-slitting gesture viciously.

Luc thought for a while and shook his head, saying, "Don't act rashly. This is Macon County after all, and we have a lot of things to do. Try not to cause trouble." Luc did have a lot of things to do. After lunch, they waited for the monks from the church to inform them that the count had agreed, and then they rushed to the banks of the Saône River in the afternoon and selected the address for the mill.

Then he began to recruit craftsmen.

The craftsmen were not professional artisans, they just did some hard work, and priority was given to those who were diligent and hardworking. Ryan and the other two held up the stag emblem and cooked the grain brought from the church into porridge. When the aroma of porridge mixed with the unpleasant smell of feces filled this poorest area of ​​Macon County, Ryan stepped on a raised mound of earth and shouted at the crowd that gradually gathered around:

"Everyone, be quiet! St. Vincent Church has entrusted our knight to build a new mill on the banks of the Saône River. We'll provide food and wages. We're only looking for fifteen people in total. If you want to sign up, get in line quickly!"

When they heard the name of St. Vincent's Church, the bankrupt citizens around looked a little panicked, which surprised Ryan a little. But after knowing that food and wages were provided, they hesitated for a while. Some people wanted to come forward to ask, but they just took a step and then retracted it, as if they were afraid of something.

Luc stood at the back, frowning slightly at the scene.

Isn't there a famine? What are these people afraid of?
His eyes wandered among the crowd, finally fixed on a few familiar faces, and Luc suddenly realized.

"Brotherhood"

The familiar faces were none other than Ponytail and the others we met yesterday!

The girl with ponytail hiding in the crowd seemed to notice Luc's gaze, hesitated slightly, nodded at Luc, and then slowly left.

As Ponytail and the three men surrounding him left, one could clearly feel the entire crowd heaving a sigh of relief. Then, as if they had received some kind of guarantee, the crowd immediately came alive, chattering and surrounding Ryan, scrambling to sign up.

There were even some people who were dishonest and wanted to sneak a sip of oatmeal because they were not admitted. As a result, they were caught on the spot by the sharp-eyed Miller. Naturally, they ended up being ruthlessly thrown out by the strong Hans.

"I wonder if it's because of my knighthood or my church background?"

Seeing that Ryan had maintained order and had started selecting craftsmen, Luc sat down with peace of mind.

If the lords and monks are the surface rulers of a city, then the brotherhoods that control beggars, prostitutes and thieves are the underground kings of the slums.

However, the brotherhoods in other cities generally only have the final say among the above groups. How can the brotherhoods in Macon County have such a strong deterrent power?

It seems that if Ponytail hadn't tacitly agreed, no one would dare to come and sign up.

"It's probably because of the church."

Luc remembered Pierre's kind look. This bishop who was hidden under the holy light had a close relationship with the underground rats like the Brotherhood.

Since agreeing to assassinate the ascetic monk, Luc did not do it immediately. The first reason was that the monk who could come thousands of miles to incite the serfs must not be a fool. He would stay in the open and wait for the local bishop to retaliate, so it would take time to find him.

The second is that even if you find it, you can't act rashly. You have to know that no matter how poor an ascetic monk is, he is still a believer in God!
Assassinating someone in public would probably not end well.

Looking at the direction where Ponytail left, Pierre asked the Brotherhood to act with him. I'm afraid he didn't trust him. Or maybe both of them didn't trust each other very much, and hoped that both sides would supervise each other.

Sure enough, after spending half a day recruiting fifteen craftsmen, Luc took them back to the camp set out by Count Macon on the Saône River.

Instruct them to set up the tents and start working once the stones and wood arrive.

At this moment, a short, stocky man with a bald head and a ruddy nose suddenly blocked Luc's path. Before Miller could draw his dagger, he heard him utter a word in a voice as hoarse as a millstone: "Sir, I am from the Brotherhood of the Saône River. Our leader, Owl Varger, would like to invite you to the tavern to discuss matters concerning the Bishop."

The short and stocky man lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "We've found the ascetic monk."

(End of this chapter)