Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 292 - 28: Medieval Features, Not to Be Missed

One jin of soybean oil to make one jin of soap, one jin of soap can be cut into five pieces.

A total of ten thousand jin of oil requires the pressing of more than one hundred thousand jin of soybeans.

The soybean meal leftover from oil pressing is a higher quality feed than soybeans, and those cattle and horses participating in heavy labor need to be fed finer feed.

Therefore, oil pressing is a lucrative trade, effectively supplementing the nutrition of those animals.

Only, Jimmy couldn’t understand Roman’s intentions.

The flood control operation was crucial for the survival of everyone in Origin City; it was their duty to undertake, so why still bestow it as a favor?

"I was actually prepared to report on the epidemic this time, sir. You’ve given them the miraculous garlic remedy, and most of them have escaped life-threatening danger, but it’s likely that work can’t be done in the coming days."

Jimmy handed his report to Roman.

Roman glanced over it; he hadn’t planned any major actions for the next few days anyway.

The military training was also suspended for two days, giving them some time to recuperate.

"Alright, I get it. You go ahead and take care of the soap business."

Upon hearing this, Jimmy bowed and left.

Roman also needed to start making further arrangements.

Those four hundred children with acceptable grades had no definite placement yet.

In this era where prenatal education was incomplete, in Origin City, being literate meant graduation.

Roman couldn’t teach them more profound knowledge; the training would take too long.

When the medium-level educational materials are printed in the future, distribute a copy to each of them and let them learn on their own.

Those with good grades could be promoted, while those with poor grades could mix at the grassroots level.

The only problem was that some of these students were over ten years old, while others were under ten years old.

Three Star Level Angel Envoy Jimmy had exceptional Talent, and with Seth constantly looking after him, a teenager was managing a department for the residents, and actually doing quite well.

Other students would not be able to do this; Seth considering taking on a single apprentice was already quite enough, how could he possibly insert dozens or hundreds more?

Let these children mingle with the various departments first.

It was impossible for them to step directly into management positions.

Having those beardless children manage others would diminish their own authority should anything go wrong.

Simply put, appointments couldn’t be made carelessly.

Start by having them do simple reading and writing tasks, like messengers or clerks.

Previously, administrative management relied solely on shouting—for instance, if Roman needed to notify Coal Iron Town to produce farming tools, he would have to send someone to rush there and then verbally instruct the blacksmith workers.

Universal illiteracy was like that.

Of course, that’s just an example; for a place as important as Coal Iron Town, it wouldn’t be difficult for Roman to arrange for a few literate people.

But what about other positions?

They’d receive an order one day and forget it the next.

Or there was the problem of misunderstanding it.

You say "castle gatehouse," and they hear "hip joint shaft."

That wouldn’t work; administrative management had to be elevated to a document-based level.

All policy directives, personnel deployments, and important commands regarding law and military affairs had to be put into writing.

Those children merely had to read the contents of the decrees and follow the procedures step by step.

Once they had work experience, they could be individually promoted to lower-level management, responsible for a specific production link.

There was also another matter, Roman had brought Seth over.

"I’m going to open a few department stores in Origin City."

Seth was taken aback, "What is this for?"

"To sell things."

"Why are you setting this up?"

Roman stated it as a matter of course, "I need to collect the money I’ve distributed out."

Seth was stunned again; it seemed to make sense.

Roman had never really collected much in taxes, and he had been quite generous in his spending.

He employed more than four thousand skilled workers alone.

Miners, blacksmiths, carpenters, stone masons, tailors, leatherworkers, dye craftsmen, textile female workers, and others.

Their wages varied, miners received five copper coins a month, carpenters and blacksmiths four copper coins, stone masons three, and tailors and textile female workers two.

In exchange, Roman stopped providing them with benefits like winter and summer uniforms, offering only a work meal at most when they were at their busiest.

Even so, the mere employment costs per month could bankrupt a minor noble.

This wealth was truly flowing into society.

Because it wasn’t just about them as individuals, it involved an entire family.

Most farmers only dreamed of becoming craftsmen, because they earned wages.

So the farmers treated the newly arrived slaves with great enthusiasm, teaching them various cultivation techniques, trying to get the work done quickly, learning some skills on the sly, so they could become craftsmen the next time Roman expanded his workforce.

Who would till the land if they could earn wages!

Roman was now wealthy, especially after receiving the ransom from the Spring Rain battle, he could practically open a bank. free𝑤ebnovel.com

But he still couldn’t pay wages to everyone, that was a bottomless pit.

He now needed a multitude of unpaid laborers to work for him.

The farmers might get paid in the future, but definitely not now.

Department stores weren’t targeting farmers; they were aiming for the craftsmen demographic.

A society that can’t consume is a society with no potential.

It’s not that they didn’t consume.

It was just that Roman had never given them the opportunity to do so.

Thus, whenever these residents saw a merchant ship, they greeted it as if it were a loved one.

But those were just bits and pieces of loose cargo, completely insufficient to meet the needs of the entire Origin City—because Roman took most of the merchant ships’ cargo, and only the less desirable items were left for others.

This place wasn’t a trading hub, and although it was developing rapidly, the number of merchants it attracted was still limited.

Having money but nowhere to spend it was a latent contradiction faced by the wealthy groups of Origin City.

Of course, given the city’s rapid development, this contradiction would be concealed.

But Roman now needed to create a channel for consumption.

Department stores were a good choice.

Seth asked, "Then what do you plan to sell?"

"Soap, beer, maltose, meat, cheese, cakes, clothing, furniture..." Roman listed so many items in one breath.

Seth realized the key point.

All these items were not accessible to ordinary people.

Take maltose and craft beer, for example.

Both were only available in unlimited quantities during celebrations.

Nobles were offered maltose at the price of one silver coin for 1.5 pounds; Roman’s price was a bit cheaper, say, 10 pounds for one silver coin.

It could be sold in smaller quantities; half a copper coin could get you a big lump, allowing you to taste the sweetness nearly indistinguishable from honey.

And the beer?

It was a medieval specialty, not to be missed.

If the residents of Origin City wanted to drink, they could only buy the merchant’s beer, but that was nowhere near enough, and the taste was far from the beer made with malt and hops by Roman.

Due to the limitations of the era, although the craft beer was called ’craft,’ its purity and concentration certainly couldn’t compare with modern brews.

One pound of wheat could produce 1.3 pounds of malt and brew 5 pounds of craft beer.

One copper coin could buy you about ten pounds of wheat or 10 pounds of beer; that’s not expensive, right?

Meat was very special.

In this era, Roman had never seen a vegetarian.

He raised a large number of livestock, with pigs and sheep being slaughtered almost every day.

But on a usual workday meal, it was good enough if each person could eat half a liang (about 50 grams) of meat, or at most drink some meat soup.

Cheese and cakes were similar; unless necessary, why would the large kitchen bother with such refined food.

Clothing included fur coats, shoes, hats, etc.

Roman had furnished each brick house with a set of basic furniture, but additional items were still necessary.

And then there was soap...

Seth had just heard that Roman was going to distribute 60,000 blocks of soap.

Five pieces per person sounded like a lot, but the soap would be gone once used up.

They couldn’t expect Roman to distribute soap a second time, nor could they hope for another flood.

If they wanted it, they had no choice but to buy.

Soap, however, was not expensive.

A quarter of a copper coin would get you two blocks, and one copper coin meant eight blocks of soap.