I'm not a lord

Chapter 74: What’s so cruel about it?
When Lin En returned from a bloody battle with fifty new recruits, he learned that the delegation of barbarians had visited Manor No. 6.

He knew little Albert's abilities and character.

As the second generation of a "manager", Xiao Ai is cunning, decisive, and ruthless, and shows no mercy to the lowly serfs.

He could even beat a serf until he was covered in blood without batting an eyelid.

Lynn believed that little Albert was capable of contacting the deserters.

After stuffing fifty new recruits into the barracks, Lin En immediately rushed to the road construction front.

Time has quietly come to mid-June, and the construction of the 55-kilometer gravel road is finally nearing completion.

"Master, we only need to lay the last two kilometers of stone. The road from White Bear Territory to the salt mine will be completely completed."

Old Albert worked as a supervisor in the forest for two months. Instead of losing weight, he became a little fatter.

The main reason was that these serfs were much easier to manage than before. Not only did they not require him to whip them, they would even rush to work.

There is no way, the lord gave too much.

After two months, not only did Lin En provide adequate food, he also distributed sufficient land to a total of forty serfs.

In fact, he didn't make any real contribution.

These serfs still had to pay high taxes of more than 50 percent and still had to perform labor service for their lords.

What they get is only relative freedom in their identity.

No longer having to work four days a week for the lord meant they had the power to choose their 'career'.

In addition to farming, they can help the managers and village heads who have surplus land to cultivate the land in exchange for extra pay.

They can also try to become apprentices in White Bear Town, learn a craft, and become noble craftsmen.

And that's exactly what Lynn expected.

With the leap in farmland yields, the future White Bear Territory will no longer need such a high proportion of farmers.

He needed more soldiers, free laborers, and artisans.

The higher the proportion of non-farmers in the territory, the more prosperous the territory will be and the stronger its overall strength will be.

Lin En has planned to reduce the land allotment of each serf household and the amount of public land that needs to be cultivated next year, freeing the young children of these serf families and giving them more life choices.

One hundred and twenty acres of land was indeed a bit too much for intensive farming, and the serfs could not afford it over time.

As for now, Lin En still needs the corvée labor of the serfs.

"Albert, after you finish these two kilometers, you will take all the serfs back. We have several new projects that need to begin immediately. As for the five kilometers of gravel road leading to the riverbank and the construction of the small dock, they will be temporarily suspended."

Lynn has no plans to build this pier.

For the time being, the entire White Bear Territory only needs the main dock next to the castle to facilitate his control of commodity circulation and commercial exchanges within the territory.

Adding another dock would actually increase uncertainty and require him to assign additional staff to manage it.

Lin En had no intention of letting Lao Ai and the serfs stop.

The river embankment, brick factory and blacksmith shop projects need to be started immediately. The rainy season in July is approaching, and we must stick to the construction schedule.

"As you wish, sir."

Old Albert would no longer raise any objections.

If the serfs knew there was a project going on, they would happily pick up their hoes and shovels and go to work.

Anyway, the lord will not miss out on three free meals a day and a reward quota for one group every week.

After the final two kilometers of gravel road were completed, Lin En had all the serfs dig up a sack of salt ore as a reward for completion. White Bear Territory was relatively isolated, and all external commercial channels were controlled by Lin En.

The salt these serfs took away could only be eaten and could not be sold, which would affect the market price.

During the road construction, old Thorward brought dozens of young refugee boys to live in the camp and learned from Lynn how to dig and refine salt.

The rough processing of salt ore is very simple.

Crush large pieces of salt ore into small pieces and heat them in water to dissolve.

Filter out the impurities in the solution, and finally heat the solution again to precipitate crude salt crystals.

Lynn would provide the wastelanders with mattocks for mining, linen for filtering, and wheelbarrows for transporting salt.

Of course, the villagers had to provide the clay pots and fuel needed for heating themselves.

Given the current conditions in White Bear Territory, it is impossible for Lin En to provide them with expensive iron pots.

The salt processed in this way is relatively primitive coarse salt, with rough particles and some small impurities.

Most people in the North can only eat this kind of coarse salt. It won’t kill people anyway. At most, they will eat some mud or gravel.

Lynn set up a trading post near the barracks, which was managed by two managers, Little Albert and Finn, and several young "second-generation managers".

The barbarians only need to transport the coarse salt to the trading station to exchange it for food, cloth and a small amount of iron tools.

Lynn's tentative transaction price is five kilograms of salt in exchange for one kilogram of rye.

As for the wholesale price he sold to Leon, it was one silver coin for twenty kilograms of salt, and five kilograms of salt was approximately equal to ten kilograms of rye.

It seems that Lin En made a profit of ten or even nine times the price of the wastelanders, which is extremely unscrupulous.

But the salt mine originally belonged to Lin En, and the road for transporting salt was built by his serfs. He even provided tools and technology to the wastelanders for free.

The barbarians only need to mine and refine salt, but Lin En has a lot to worry about.

He deserves this little profit.

What's so cruel about it?
After learning about the exchange rate, the elder of the Wilderness Tribe, Thorward, was filled with gratitude:
"Your Excellency, Baron, please allow me to express my gratitude to you once again! It was you who saved the Lowland Tribe! The Lowland Tribe will never forget your kindness!"

Old Thorward currently only intends to mine salt.

The asphalt mine was too close to the White Bear Territory, and he was afraid that his people would be attracted by the better life in the White Bear Territory and start operating the mine.

After all, those 400 women and children were able to settle down in the White Bear Territory. The role model effect was too terrifying.

The salt mine is far enough away from the White Bear Territory to make it convenient for old Soward to continue to maintain the little remaining dignity of the patriarch.

There are currently more than 3,500 members of the lowland tribe, including about 800 young and middle-aged men.

As long as 5,000 kilograms of salt can be extracted every day, it can be exchanged for a full 1,000 kilograms of rye.

The more you practice, the more you get. Your Excellency the Baron is really generous.

Combined with the gains from hunting and gathering, the lowland tribes will at least not starve to death this winter like in previous years.

"Sorvald, you should lead your people to refine salt here. If you need anything, you can go to the trading station and tell Little Albert. He will convey it to you. I will bring your daughter and son here every once in a while. Don't worry, they are living well in the castle."

Lin En used work-for-relief to solve the labor problem of the salt mine and comfort the more than 3,000 refugees.

Old Thorward is still a little alert at the moment and wants to keep a distance from the White Bear Territory to ensure the relative independence of the lowland tribes.

But after a long time, how can you still have the final say?

A small tribe that cannot even be self-sufficient in food will only be eaten up.

(End of this chapter)