Old John and several of his followers followed William back to the earthen house.
As soon as he entered the earthen house, Old John couldn't help but ask William, "Baron, I don't understand. This kind of weed is not a precious thing, so why are you willing to pay such a high purchase price? According to Old John, you
The price can be lowered by more than double! We don’t have much money, and every copper coin must be used where it must be used.”
"Lord Baron, as I say, we don't have to pay you. It's just an honor for these untouchables to do something!"
"If it's inconvenient for you to come forward, Old John will be happy to help."
Several other followers seemed to feel the same way.
William shook his head, smiled calmly, and said, "Old John, I don't want you to throw my credibility into the river and wash it away without a trace!"
"But, Lord Baron, if what those untouchables said is true, then we need to prepare in advance for winter." Old John still wanted to dissuade him.
"What are you preparing for?" William was surprised that old John actually knew his own calculations? This is impossible.
"Lord Baron, the consumption in the city of Patras is not low, and in order to maintain the dignity that a noble should have, the consumption is even higher...and..." Old John broke it open and said.
"Wait!" William made a "stop" gesture, "Who told you that we would go back to Patras City in the winter, old John?"
"Lord Baron, if the lizard people are real, we have nowhere to go but the city of Patras!" Old John said to William seriously, "Your life is more important than anything else!"
"Yes, Old John, life is the most important. There is nothing more important than life." William nodded in agreement. Old John's face suddenly showed joy, but the next second, Old John's face froze.
"But, except here, I won't go anywhere throughout the winter!" William said decisively.
"Lord Baron, the small village of Nisei is like a straw house. If a gust of wind blows, it will fall down. How can we provide you with enough protection here?" Old John still said earnestly.
"That's why we have to build it!" William said matter-of-factly.
"Construction?" Old John was stunned.
"Yes, Old John, my best elder and guide in the direction of progress, I need you, and you, to work with me to build the small village of Nisei. One day, it will grow into a town and a city.
, stands in this area. And your names will be passed down forever along with the history of this city! Help me, okay? In this world, the only person I can trust is you!"
William looked at all the entourage.
Several of the attendants were filled with enthusiasm and worship, but only Old John was still worried and opened his mouth to speak.
At this time, a man's cautious voice came from outside the earthen house.
"Lord Baron, Lord Baron, Lord Baron, we have gathered enough grass."
"So fast?" William had good hearing and could hear clearly.
"These untouchables can't do anything as long as they have money." Old John cursed lightly with disgust in his eyes.
"Haha, this is exactly what I want." William smiled. He looked at Old John and said, "Old John, go and count the weeds that man sent over. Just call it golden grass. If
If there is no problem with the quantity, I will give him the due reward."
William casually named this grass golden grass.
"Yes, Lord Baron, I must check it carefully!" Seeing that he could not change William's mind, Old John had no choice but to say.
Old John was about to walk out when William suddenly felt uneasy and stopped him again. He said sincerely, "Old John, credibility is as important to me as life. I gave my credibility to you. I hope
You protect it well, just like you protect my life. If the villagers outside use all kinds of weeds to deceive you, naturally you should not give them a copper coin. But if he really does it, then a copper coin will be given to him.
Don't give him less. Is that okay, old John?"
"My Lord Baron, I will not disappoint you." Seeing William's sincere look, Old John felt moved in his heart.
"You have never let me down! Go ahead." William said lightly.
Old John called his son Little John and walked out.
After one-fifth of the candle's burning time.
Outside the earthen house, Old John asked Little John, who was squatting in front of a pile of golden grass, "Has the number been determined?"
"I'm sure. There are nine hundred and twenty-three golden grasses in total. I've counted them three times." Little John said with great certainty.
"What the hell, how long has it been? Mark, you did this?" Old John frowned and looked at the large family in front of him.
The leader was a middle-aged man with a slight bow and a smile on his face. Because he often worked hard in the hot sun, his skin was dark and red, which were traces of sunburn.
In fact, the entire village is mostly made up of people with this kind of skin.
It’s rare to have fair skin!
Behind the villager named Mark, stood a nervous and uneasy woman, whose face was also wrinkled from suffering.
Next to the woman, there were five children standing, all of them looking malnourished.
Old John had a little impression of this family. In his memory, it seemed that this family had very little land and many children, so their life was harder than that of ordinary villagers.
Originally, the life of the villagers was hard enough.
"Master John, actually our family used this grass for the floor. When the Baron asked for it, I brought it over, okay?" Mark looked at Old John with hope, and his wife and children had the same look.
Just because they need these copper coins so much.
With these few copper coins, they can have a meal of black bread, instead of eating the batter that is worse than black bread every day, the kind made of flour and water, and it makes them hungry easily!
He needs it, and so does his child!
"On the ground? That's it." Old John had a look of disgust in his eyes.
The weather in this era was cold, and the entire floor would be extremely cold at night. Nobles or rich people could burn fireplaces or put carpets on them to keep warm, but poor people could only pile some thatch on the ground in exchange for a little warmth.
"Mr. John, don't worry, our grass has been carefully selected, and there is no problem at all. Why don't we take three Poole copper coins? Two, uh, no, one Poole copper coin will do. Please
Come on, Master John, for the sake of my poor child." Mark panicked and said without hesitation.
"Okay, a Poole copper coin..." After hearing what Mark said, the diligent and thrifty old John blurted out without thinking.
Mark's family all had joy in their eyes. No matter how much it was, it was an unexpected gain for them.
At this time, Old John thought of William's instructions, his heart moved, and he subconsciously said, "No! One copper coin won't do it."
The light in Mark's family's eyes dimmed suddenly. Is it true that the nobles are all liars?
Then he heard Old John say in a rough voice, "Luckily for you, these grasses, um, these golden thread grasses are all fine. According to what the Baron said, I will give you three Poole copper coins."
"Ah..." Happiness came so suddenly that Mark was stunned and his mouth couldn't help but open.
"You idiot, do you still want it?" Old John waited for a while, but Mark still didn't come to his senses, so he kicked him impatiently.
Mark finally woke up from the shock and nodded desperately. The extent of his nod made others afraid that their head would fall off if they saw it.
"Untouchables are untouchables!" Old John said disdainfully, but he carefully counted out three Poole copper coins from a money bag and handed them to Mark.
This purse contains William's net worth! Of course, it only contains copper coins of Poole and silver francs.
The gold coins were kept by William himself.
Mark's family expressed their gratitude to Old John with great gratitude, "Thank you, Master John, thank you, Master John!"
"Untouchable, you should also thank the Baron for his kindness and generosity." Old John pointed out Mark's mistake and said.
"Of course, thank you Lord Baron, thank you Master John." Mark immediately changed his lines and said.
"Yes." Old John nodded reservedly. Mark's feeling made him feel a little happy. He thought for a while and then said, "You still have twenty-three golden grasses. I will help you remember it. If you still have
If you bring the golden grass here, I will help you add it. Do you still have the golden grass?"
"Yes, yes, yes, Master John, I still have it at home, I'll go and get it now!" Mark ran away happily with his family.
Old John and his son Little John each carried a bunch of golden grass and entered the earthen house.
"Lord Baron, there are nine hundred and twenty-three golden grasses in total. I gave him three Poole copper coins." Old John reported to William.
"Well done, old John." William praised casually.
He squatted down, carefully inspected the smelly golden grass, and personally tested its toughness.
The result satisfied William very much, and William nodded secretly.
Old John was puzzled and asked, "Baron, I don't understand, why do you buy these useless things? Please forgive me, Old John, for being stupid and unable to understand what you mean!"
Several other followers also had the same question. This golden grass can be found everywhere. Why did William buy it in large quantities from the villagers?
William smiled mysteriously and said, "I will tell you the answer now."
With that said, William looked at the only carpenter among his entourage, Charles!
Charles is a short, fat old man. He is no older than Old John, but he looks older than Old John. He has a gray beard and a red nose.
He is a very silent person, a person who is easily ignored.
As a carpenter, his right hand is always shaking uncontrollably.
The shaking is not big, but for the carpenter, it is a fatal blow.
How can a carpenter who has lost his stability gain the trust of others?
That's why he was recruited by Old John and became William's entourage.
Every month, you can get 500 Puer copper coins as a reward.
"Lord Baron, I'm here." When William called him, a trace of surprise flashed in Charles's eyes, then turned calm, and he answered William.
"Charles, do you know how to make a broom?" William asked.
"Broom?" Charles didn't know what kind of medicine was in William's gourd. Not only him, but also Old John and the others.
"Yes, Charles, it's the broom those women use to sweep away garbage. Of course, they occasionally use it to do other things." William showed a strange smile.
"Lord Baron, of course I can make it! Even children can make it!" Charles said a little arrogantly. Although he had lost his stability, he had not lost the pride of a carpenter.
"Lord Baron, you don't want to use this golden grass to make a broom, do you? If it is only used to clean this room, maybe the amount of golden grass you bought is a bit too much. Those farmers in the village, they are not
They need something like a broom! There is no difference to them whether it is dirty or clean." Old John interjected. He felt that as William's housekeeper, he had to stand up and stop William at certain critical moments.
certain behaviors.
Although, it has never been successful!
But Old John felt that this was his mission.
"They will be needed soon!" William said with certainty.
Hearing this, Old John felt that he was getting old and he could no longer understand William's intentions.
Why do those untouchables need brooms?
William didn't notice what was going on in Old John's mind. He looked at Charles and asked, "What can I provide you?"
Charles was already playing with the golden grass. When he heard this, he said without raising his head, "Hemp rope, of course, if you don't have it, that's fine."
"Can I wear clothes?" The rope was used for binding, and William did have two sets of unwanted clothes in his hand.
"Clothes?" Charles raised his head in surprise. Has his lord become so luxurious?
William quickly asked Old John to take out the black clothes of the two killers last time and said, "Just use them."
"Okay!" Charles understood. He took the two black clothes, then tore the two black clothes into strips of cloth and began to make a broom.