Pioneer Lord: A Leisurely Imperial Life

Chapter 200 Please Don't Mess With Me

No wonder Lucy lost her composure.

On the continent of Huanxing, where agricultural technology is extremely backward, food is always the hard currency.

Filling one's stomach has always been the primary concern ingrained in the bones of all living beings; even the most powerful nobles and lords cannot avoid this most basic topic.

The northern climate is harsh and the land is barren. Even with the utmost effort in cultivating the land, the average annual grain yield is only about ten million kilograms.

After deducting the seeds for the following year, as well as the daily rations for the army, serfs, and warhorses, the surplus grain that can be sold, even in cases like frost, is at most a few million kilograms.

If you do the math, that's only a few hundred or a thousand gold coins.

As for life crops, which are even rarer products, they are priced according to type and weight. Even if all the output is sold off, it can only be exchanged for one hundred to three hundred gold coins.

From this perspective, it seems that selling food for survival is not a worthwhile investment.

Even so, there are still many extravagant lords who, despite the strict orders and prohibitions of the royal family, secretly sell life crops to the Church of Light.

Ultimately, the reason is that in addition to paying in gold coins, the Holy See of Light also gives away some rare and valuable items that are hard to buy even with money.

The Church of Light's influence extends across three great empires, and in a sense, their reach extends to all of humanity.

Initially, if it weren't for the strong opposition from the lower-ranking priests that led to the abolition of the Light Merchant Guild, they could have been considered a super conglomerate.

From the borders of the Titan Empire, to the deep-sea gem sculptures of mermaid clans in the Aegean Sea, to the powerful, psychedelic concoctions secretly crafted in remote towns of the empire. .

The Papacy's offices can procure almost anything a lord can think of, except for slaves.

Lords are human too, especially those extravagant lords who are addicted to pleasure, who always have all sorts of strange and eccentric habits.

To satisfy these desires that money can hardly buy, they took the risk of trading life crops with the Papacy.

Now that the Church of Light has been completely wiped out in the North and has no place to stand, Richard is selling life crops at this critical juncture.

No wonder Lucy, Paul, and Melanie were so shocked they were speechless, and even thought he had lost his mind.

...

Richard looked at Lucy's tense face and felt a warmth in his heart. He patted the back of her hand and gave her a reassuring look.

"Have you all forgotten that it was I who improved the existing farming techniques? That's why chiffon cakes don't grow rye or oats. They mostly grow short-cycle vegetable crops, which can be harvested in about two months under my technical guidance."

He paused for a moment, then slowly began to explain his plans.

"I have been researching organic fertilizers that are compatible with my technology recently. I plan to start mass production and sell them to the public in the future. In order to make this product famous and expand its business, I want to set up my own trading company, mainly dealing in high-quality refined grains and pickled products."

"But if a newly established trading company wants to get a share of the huge grain market, it needs a sufficiently impressive signature product to stand out; otherwise, no one will buy it."

At this point, Richard picked up the Silver Star wine on the table and gently swirled it in front of the three of them.

"Since we're going to sell, we'll naturally prioritize selling to the three families who helped Qi Feng. If you're willing to take it on, please help me promote it in the future. If you don't need it, then I'll have to find Benlang to cooperate with."

These words were straightforward and to the point. Paul and Melanie exchanged a glance, instantly understanding Richard's unspoken meaning:

He's the founder of new farming techniques, so it's normal for his crops to grow a little faster than others. He also understands better than anyone how to maximize profits, requiring no intervention from others.

Now all that's needed is for the three of them to state whether or not they want the life-sustaining crops produced by chiffon cakes.

Now that things have come to this point, it would be foolish to hesitate any longer.

Melanie's surprise faded, replaced by extreme eagerness and seriousness as she stared intently at Richard.

"I, Snow Fox, am willing to purchase Chiffon's Life Crops at a price 10% higher than the market price. We can sign the contract now, and I swear on the honor of Snow Fox that I will never breach the contract!"

Lords who truly want to develop their territories will complain that the life-sustaining food produced in their territories is too scarce to support an army, especially in small territories like Snow Fox's, where the arable land area is only a few hundred thousand acres.

If there are long-term purchasing channels, it's better to spend more money to secure them. Even if you don't eat them yourself, you can resell them and there will definitely be buyers for 20-30% more.

Paul also stood up, his voice trembling with excitement.

"I want snow deer too, no matter how many, we'll take them all!"

In the past, Snow Deer could still receive some goods from extravagant lords through the Ferret Trading Company, but now that those lords have been wiped out, this channel has been completely cut off.

It is foreseeable that the price of life crops on the black market will surge as a result, which is why Melanie is buying them at such a high price.

Lucy, however, remained frowning, seemingly still wanting to persuade Richard to keep it for himself, but this involved Chiffon's territory planning, and she didn't know how to bring it up for the moment.

Richard sensed her thoughts and gestured for her not to worry. Then he smiled at the excited Melanie and Paul and said:

"No need to raise the price. I will even give you a discount. One kilogram of Silver Star crop will be settled at two silver coins. However, I have a request: when Chiffon Trading Company enters your territory in the future, you must take care of and protect it."

Upon hearing this, Melanie rushed to Richard's side, grabbed his arm, and hugged him tightly, her face beaming with joy.

"No problem! My Richard, my good friend! I'll give you the three most popular shops in my territory, all rent-free!"

Paul laughed heartily, strode forward and grabbed Richard's other hand, as if afraid Richard might change his mind at any moment.

"Snow Deer has no problem with that either! I can send soldiers to stand guard at the entrance of your trading post around the clock, and even provide armed protection for your passing caravans!"

Richard coughed lightly, first releasing Paul's large hand, then subtly pulling his arm away from Melanie's magnificent bosom.

Can you please stop messing with me?

My roses are still here!

...

The first dozen or so silver starfish sold to Oscar were worth about three silver coins per kilogram, a price equivalent to two months' salary for a lowly freeman.

However, among all living crops, rare commodities such as honey, fresh fish, and wild mushrooms, which cannot be obtained on a large scale, command higher prices.

On the other hand, the crops that can be grown will be slightly cheaper, but at two silver coins per kilogram, it is still a significant price reduction.

The reason for such a large price reduction was not out of kindness, but mainly because Richard wanted to quickly establish distribution channels, and setting up a grain trading company was never an easy task.

Using low prices to gain the full support of the three lords can save countless troubles and is an excellent win-win choice for the early development of Chiffon Trading Company.

Once the distribution channels are established, the relevant rules can be refined gradually.

For example, allowing Snow Deer to specialize in a certain type of pickled vegetable and Snow Fox to specialize in a certain type of juice, thus achieving regional exclusive distribution, can not only avoid vicious competition among several people, but also allow the chiffon specialty products to spread quickly.

Enjoy reading "The Pioneer Lord: A Leisurely Imperial Life".