British hegemon

Chapter 73 Small Businessmen

These past few days, the manor owner has been in a good mood. This year's harvest at the manor has been bountiful, with both barns overflowing with grain. Now, his young master has brought back over a hundred pounds of money, so the manor is finally well-fed and clothed.

Even though this is a loan with compound interest.

The dinner was quite lavish. Knowing that the group had endured hardships on their journey south, the grumpy-faced butler had meticulously prepared this feast after obtaining Mrs. Mary's consent.

Bread is plentiful, apple stew is plentiful, and barley beer is plentiful.

Roger wasn't strongly influenced by feudal hierarchy, but he still believed in following basic rules.

He took the head seat in the main hall, with his adoptive mother, Madame Marie, and his brother, Louis, on either side. The three of them were the owners of the Milk House Estate.

On either side of the long table in the hall, the man with the bitter face, Marne, Olaf, the bald man, the man with the ponytail, the black dog, the alchemist, and the sailor Tolan took their seats in order.

The young stable boy could have been seated at the table, but his cook mother felt that he was just a child and a servant, and therefore not qualified to sit there.

The young stable boy didn't feel wronged at all; on the contrary, he hid in the kitchen and led his henchmen to eat even more heartily.

After this trip south, the two young men, who were about the same age, became friends. The henchman was amazed that the stable boy could write and calculate, and the stable boy admired the henchman's courage and boldness.

The banquets at Milk House Manor were always simple and straightforward. Roger didn't give any long speeches; after a simple "eat and drink well," he wolfed down his food.

Because of the high yield of fine salt from the sea salt beach this year, the banquet at Milk House Manor also used fine salt, which naturally improved the taste by several levels, and everyone enjoyed the meal very much.

At the banquet, the man with the bitter face gave Roger a brief report on the daily affairs of the Milk House Manor over the past two weeks, such as land plowing, winter wheat sowing arrangements, pasture harvesting quantities, and the trade volume of coarse salt from the sea salt flats.

Roger praised the old man and encouraged him to keep up the good work.

During the gathering, everyone toasted each other, and Olaf, with slightly red eyes, stood up alone and went to Roger's side to offer him a toast.

When Olaf returned to his mill barn on the estate in the afternoon, he found that the holes in the small barn had been repaired, the barn had been cleaned and tidy, and a brand new wooden bed had been placed there, covered with hay and blankets, and furnished with tables, chairs, candlesticks, wine jugs, wooden cups and other utensils.

They even dug a small hearth in the middle of the barn, lined the edge with stones, and piled up a bunch of firewood.

Such living conditions surpassed those of more than 80% of ordinary people in that era, and were far more comfortable than the thatched huts and straw beds where bald people and those with ponytails lived. It was an absolute privilege.

The weather on Arran Island was getting colder, but the barn would get warmer. Olaf knew this was Roger's arrangement, and all his emotions were expressed in his wine.

After the banquet, Roger announced that his men would have a day off, and that those with wives could go home and sleep with their wives, while those without wives could sleep with other men's wives...

............

The blinding rays of the rising sun slanted through the square window of the attic bedroom, illuminating the wall where Roger was staring blankly. On the wall hung a wool tapestry embroidered with the family crest of the Red Eagle and Black Ships.

This tapestry was originally placed in the lord's bedroom of "Sir Colin, the father" on the second floor. Now that Roger has become the lord of Milk House Manor, since he can't bear to "drive out" his "cheap mother" who has lost her husband in middle age from that master bedroom, he can only move this tapestry, which symbolizes bloodline and the succession of power, into Roger's attic bedroom.

This badge isn't very impressive, but it's quite fitting for a family that started out by the sea.

"Should we change it to an eagle, a lion, or even a wolf or a bear?" Luo Jie pondered, lost in thought, even though he knew that the emblem, as a family symbol, could not be altered at will.

"Perhaps we could add some patterns, like crossed scythes and battle axes? That would be the most familiar and comforting emblem." A smile crept onto Roger's lips, a feeling that could only be understood but not explained.

This feeling comes from a dream I had last night. In the dream, Roger had become the supreme commander of the island, and the entire island was covered with bright red flags of scythes and hammers. The whole island was filled with scenes of the Great Leap Forward, and it was quite a lively place.

Knock, knock, knock. The oak door to the bedroom was gently knocked a few times.

"The door isn't closed." Roger lifted the blanket draped over his legs and got up to get dressed.

The young stable boy pushed open the oak door and poked half his body in: "Sir, the old butler has already loaded the goods onto the cart, and the kitchen has prepared your breakfast. Could you please set off earlier? Baron John sent someone to inquire about it yesterday afternoon."

Roger washed his face and brushed his teeth, put on the farmer's style round-necked, wide-sleeved, tight-fitting robe, fastened his belt, hung his money bag and tomahawk hunting knife, and quickly went down from the attic.

After having a quick breakfast in the lobby on the first floor, he walked out of the mansion.

Bald, with a ponytail, went to Holly Island to visit his grandmother and sister before dawn. Black Dog had just finished the banquet last night and went to Gildonan in the south in the dark with his tattered bag. Marne also has a wife and children.

So Roger could only call Olaf, who was drinking alone in the barn, and the young stable boy in charge of the South Trade goods invoices.

Roger rode a black chestnut horse, while Olaf, dressed in casual clothes and carrying a knight's sword, followed closely behind with a young stableman leading a carriage.

The wagons were neatly stacked with the goods brought back from this southward trade. Apart from iron products, the rest were to be transported to Brodick Castle and resold to Baron John for distribution throughout the north.

This is a traditional practice; the various lords who transport goods back to the South can earn a certain price difference from Baron John, but the highest end-user profits have always been controlled by the Baron of Arron.

On the one hand, he was the supreme ruler of Arran Island and enjoyed this right; on the other hand, only the identity and connections of the Baron of Arran Island could allow him to evade heavy tariffs and trade barriers in the trade of goods from the south in the north.

After all, not everyone is eligible for exemption from inspection and taxation when entering Glasgow.

Aran Island is actually a tiny place, an isolated island with limited access to information from the outside world, yet it has an astonishing speed in the flow of internal information.

The Seawolf docked at noon, and the news spread in the evening.

Two weeks ago, when Roger sailed south alone, everyone thought that this former devilish young master was bound to cause another catastrophe.

Ireland is not Campbell family territory, and the evil young master will definitely pay the price for his evil deeds.

But those with such malicious speculation were disappointed; the Seawolf returned safely, along with a Noor ship's stern and six captured pirates.

This made those who were used to making malicious speculations even more puzzled about this former playboy. Was it really God who saved him?

"Am I going to eat people or what? If you want to see, come closer." Roger, who was riding through the town of Brodick, could no longer stand the strange looks he had received from everyone along the way.

There was a hint of awe in those gazes, but more of a scrutiny as if they were looking at a wild animal, a feeling that displeased Roger.

The islanders who had been scolded shrank back half a step, and then another person approached, a well-dressed local gentry.

"Good day, Sir Roger." The country gentleman stood in front of the horse, took off his felt hat, and bowed deeply to Roger.

Roger gently pulled on the reins, not wanting to offend a smiling face, and said, "Good day."

The squire quickly stepped slightly to the side, closer to Roger's horse, and said respectfully, "Sir Roger, could you sell me some of the goods on the carriage? I need the resin, beeswax, and linen."

Roger finally remembered this guy; he was a small landowner in Mahri village and owned a general store on the edge of the town.

Roger remembered him because the country gentleman had given him three sheep as a gift during his knighting ceremony.

At that time, all the lords and gentry were very stingy, so this guy's three sheep were already considered a generous gift.

As for how he knew there was resin, beeswax, and linen on the carriage, it must have been because the temporary captain returned and revealed the goods Roger Nanmao had brought back.

This guy knew that the price of southern goods from Arun Island would definitely rise this year, so he wanted to buy some daily necessities from Roger to hoard and speculate.

If these goods were to enter Brodick Castle and then leave, their prices would certainly skyrocket.

"No, these goods must be handed over to Baron John." Roger had no reason to break established practices and rules for such a small amount of money.

"However, my ship may sail south again this autumn. You can contact me in advance and give me the purchase list and payment before I sail south. I would be willing to help you transport some good quality and inexpensive goods back from Ireland," Roger offered as a compromise.

It's not good to snatch things directly from Baron John, but it's possible to bypass Baron John and use his private equity funds to go south for group purchases.

For Roger, whether this kind of thing made money or not was secondary; his main goal was to win over some of the island's gentry and wealthy farmers through these small favors.

The cold reception at the last knighthood ceremony showed that Roger's network of connections on this isolated island was far too shallow.

Although the gentry and wealthy farmers were not lords or nobles, they were the backbone of this era and worth Roger's effort to win over.

This local gentry was a small businessman, and naturally he had the shrewdness of a small businessman. After a moment's thought, he understood Roger's meaning, nodded his thanks repeatedly, and made way for Roger to pass.