Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 246 Sugar
In April, the fleet transported three hundred exiles to the eastern port of Sunshine Island.

The port was shockingly rudimentary, with dozens of thick logs stuck into the beach, barely supporting a crooked wooden boardwalk. Piles of freshly felled timber lay along the shore, the bark still damp, the marks of axes and chisels clearly visible.

"A year has passed, what exactly have they been doing?"

Hosa lay on the ship's side, complaining about the current development progress.

The ship slowly approached the dock. The salty sea breeze carried the smell of fish and wood tar. Several sailors swung ropes to secure the wooden stakes of the pier, their movements as swift as if they had practiced countless times.

Once the ship was anchored, Hosa walked across the pier to the shore. A temporary wooden fence had been erected around the port, and inside were only a little over a hundred houses, mainly shacks hastily built with logs and branches.

Where is Hergi?

Following the residents' directions, Hosa headed to the north side of the port, where a hillside sloped upwards. The slope was covered with low, dense shrubs and felled tree stumps, and a stone fortress was being built at the top.

The stone comes from gray rocks quarried inland. A group of workers are mixing mortar to act as a binder between the rocks. Hosa's eyes scan the area and find Helgi, who is wearing a coarse linen shirt.

"Your Excellency, there is a shortage of labor on the island. Why are you in such a hurry to build a fortress?"

Helgi threw down his axe and chisel, pulled off his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face, and said, “Three months ago, a Moorish merchant ship came to trade, and three more merchant ships came afterward. I was worried about being attacked at sea, so I allocated manpower to build a fortress, and then installed catapults and torsion ballistae.”

Hosa looked down at the harbor below. The sea was azure, and white seagulls circled back and forth in the air. Occasionally, they would swoop down to the dock, snatch up the fish entrails scattered on the ground, and then quickly flap their wings and fly away.

After thinking for a while, he still did not agree with the count's point of view. "The Canary Islands have no rare minerals. We have gone to great lengths to develop this barren land in order to grow sugarcane and grapes. Those Moors occupy North Africa and Iberia, with large tracts of land waiting to be developed. There is no benefit to seizing the Canary Islands."

Hergi gazed indifferently at the short, fair-skinned Anglo-Saxon.

"Hosa, you're a businessman, used to looking at things from a profit-driven perspective. It's true that the Moors gain nothing from attacking us; in fact, they suffer losses. But many things in this world don't follow reason, and you can't expect everyone to be rational. Suppose a nearby lord simply dislikes us and is willing to attack us even if it's unprofitable, how would you deal with that?"

Unable to convince each other, the two could only reach a compromise: of the three hundred exiles brought in, one hundred would be used to build a fortress, and the remaining two hundred would be sent to the sugar company.

Each year, the fleet could make three round trips between Rendoniam and the Canary Islands, transporting 300 laborers each time, resulting in an increase of only 900 people in the population, after accounting for those lost due to injury, illness, or desertion. Every person drawn from the fleet to build a fortress meant one less laborer for the plantation.

With this in mind, Hosa lost interest in chatting with the Earl and was eager to head to the inland plantation. Most of his capital had been invested in the sugar business, and if he couldn't recoup his investment, he would have to spend the rest of his life in his rural hometown in Tyne County.

He rode his horse inland and saw a large sugarcane field cultivated on the north side of the river. The reflection of the river water was so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes, and many hired workers were digging irrigation ditches under the scorching sun.

The irrigation canals were meticulously planned, first using waterwheels to divert river water to higher-lying reservoirs, and then distributing it to lower-lying fields. This was an agricultural experience accumulated by Tyneburg School over many years, which not only irrigated crops but also diverted excess water during rainy days, preventing waterlogging from rotting the sugarcane roots.

After inspecting the irrigation ditches, Hosa visited the sugar mill in the plantation to observe the sugar-making process.

Due to a shortage of manpower, there wasn't enough time to build a water-powered sugar mill, so temporarily, horse-drawn pulleys powered the stone mill. Hired workers fed sugarcane stalks, with the outer skin removed, into the mill, and after repeated pressing, obtained a cloudy green liquid rich in impurities. Out of a merchant's instinct, Hosa asked, "What happens to the sugarcane residue?"

One of the workers replied listlessly, "As animal feed, or as fuel."

Workers added lime to the liquid in the large pot, let it stand for a period of time, and the impurities gradually sank to the bottom. They then collected the liquid from the top and boiled it.

During the boiling process, the foam and impurities on the surface needed to be constantly skimmed off. The rolling heat hit Hosa's face, making it hard for him to breathe. But driven by profit, he forced himself to stand inside the workshop and watch the entire sugar-making process.

Subsequently, the thick syrup produced by boiling was poured into a conical ceramic jar, and after cooling, reddish-brown sugar blocks and residual liquid molasses were obtained.

Hosa broke off a small piece of brown sugar and put it in his mouth. The rich sweetness lingered on his lips and teeth, and he couldn't help but eat another piece.

"Not bad, similar to the Moors' products, finally we can make money."

To date, the sugar company has invested a total of £2,500, and apart from some bay leaves, it has generated almost no income, barely managing to stay afloat thanks to the efforts of the initial investors.

Last year, Hosa considered attracting more investment, but the nobles were generally worried about the risks. Only the Queen invested 500 pounds to alleviate the company's financial pressure, which is expected to last until the end of this year.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of the remaining molasses out of the corner of his eye. "What should we do with this stuff?"

"Make sweet bread, or mix it into the horse feed." Sweet bread made from molasses was one of the few employee benefits for the workers, who could not enjoy cane sugar and had to use cheap molasses as a substitute.

Hosa tasted the molasses with his finger and thought it was a waste to make it this way; it would be better to ship it back to his country for sale.

Upon hearing that the merchant intended to take away everyone's molasses, the workers' mood instantly soured. One of them replied with a hint of sarcasm, "Sir, molasses doesn't keep well. If it's not used up quickly, it will easily turn sour and spoil. You'd better think about it differently."

When it comes to personal interests, Hosa will not give up easily. "This year, the planting area has increased sixfold. After the sugarcane matures, the amount of sugar and molasses produced will increase dramatically. How much of that can you eat?"

The workers looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, a voice emerged from the crowd: "As long as you don't cut off everyone's sweet bread, the rest is none of our business."

The bell rang in the dining hall, and the crowd dispersed, leaving only Hosa and his two sword-wielding attendants. He looked at the thick, dark brown molasses and felt it would be a real shame to give it up.

In a daze, a bold idea sprouted in his mind: barley, apples, grapes, pears, and other crops can be used to make wine, and sugarcane is also a crop, so it should be able to make wine as well.

He didn't even have time for dinner. He found a wooden bucket, put in yeast and diluted molasses. If this worked, he would inevitably make a fortune later.

(End of this chapter)