Mystery: But the Witch's Path

Chapter 10 Assets and Grains Act

After breakfast on the third day, old Clayton led the tour of the land belonging to 'Sheffield'. The territory was centered on the castle and began to spread outwards, consisting of farmland, woodland, pastures, orchards, and so on.

Through old Clayton's explanation, Altair also learned how these lands operated and what crops they produced.

由于这些人大部分都是跟随过『谢菲尔德』或是他们的后代所以这里的农民想要租土地的话一年仅需4～8苏勒之间，但就算是最便宜的贫瘠土地也能净产出3～5镑，肥沃土地则是8～12镑。

Of course, you can use it first and pay later, or use grain to offset the rent.

The barren land is mainly used for growing rye, a crop that is inexpensive but is still a food source.

The fertile land was used to grow spelt wheat, a type of wheat that produces refined flour. It is highly nutritious and is a staple food for most of the middle class.

Other products include barley, oats, and others, some of which are used to brew alcohol.

Of course, soybeans, peas, lentils, cabbage, onions, and other legumes and common vegetables have always been grown.

There are also higher-value cash crops, such as flax, tobacco, hops, etc.

The ranch raises cattle, sheep and other animals on a large scale.

Old Clayton's explanation also made me realize that nearly 9 acres of land near this fief belonged to 'Sheffield'.

If sold and converted to gold pounds, it would be worth approximately £2.6 million, and this is only for one territory. The Sheffield family owns three other land properties in the Kingdom of Loen.

However, no nobleman would sell his land, because if he cultivated it himself, the value of the goods he could produce each year would exceed the value of the land itself.

Even if you rent it out, you can get close to a quarter of the gold pounds, but of course no one can rent out all of these lands at once.

Of course, this is only land investment. There are other investments, such as real estate investment, which are now also large projects. For example, in the recent city of Tingen, there are two streets, several manors and townhouses in Sheffield.

Who knows, maybe in the future we really can smash down the door of a 'cooking' room and collect rent.

Of course, in addition to these investments, Sheffield also has mineral resources, such as currently valuable coal mines and iron ore mines.

Because the territory is located next to the Tasok River, it also has its own shipyard, mainly building steam and wind-powered vessels. It has also invested in supporting industries such as steel manufacturing and large steam engine manufacturing.

Of course, the ships of today are not the large ironclad ships made entirely of steel that we know today. Although steel is used, the problem of power has never been solved, even with steam engines.

It also involves firearms manufacturing and weapon forging in the military field.

With investments spanning the entire country, covering both civilian and military applications, Altair thought he had only inherited a long-standing family baronship, never imagining that the family's assets would amount to so much.

All things considered, that's close to 2300 million gold pounds, which is almost 230 billion in modern terms!

This is only the net assets within ordinary assets, excluding inventory of extraordinary materials.

I remember that Count Hall, the father of "Miss Justice," earned her family's wealth through several astute investments. Based on the assets her family gave her after she came of age, her family's assets should be around 1500 million gold pounds.

In summary, I am richer than her family, although I do not have as much political influence as she does.

Altair, still pondering how to live after receiving this joyful news, heard...

"Count Altair, I've heard that some of the new nobles in Backlund have proposed abolishing the Grain Act."

Upon hearing this news, Altair was somewhat unsettled, because it was indeed true; people had discussed it at the memorial service a couple of days prior, although it was only recently that someone had started talking about it.

The essence of the Grain Act was to restrict the import of cheap foreign grains and stabilize domestic grain prices. It is true that the act protected nobles and large landowners, but he knew very well who would truly suffer after it was abolished.

Altair sighed helplessly, "Old Clayton, it seems that even after you left Backlund, news from there has never stopped."

Old Clayton smiled faintly and said, "Count Altair is joking."

Altair, combining the events in the book with reality, gave the answer that old Clayton needed: "This is indeed true, and the law will inevitably be repealed, but not now. It will take at least two more years, and it cannot be reversed."

"Those minor nobles are merely pawns thrown out by those behind the scenes; the repeal of the Grain Act is inevitable."

Altair asked curiously, referring to the old housekeeper who had worked for nearly 40 years, after all, as the old saying goes, "An elder in the family is a treasure."

Do you have any good solutions?

After hearing Altair's words, old Clayton thought for a moment and said truthfully, "I don't think of any good solution right now, if the Grain Act is destined to be repealed."

"The best approach is to sell when land prices are at their highest. This allows you to recoup most of your cash and then buy back the land when prices are low. However, this process requires time to plan the specific operational procedures."

"If a large number of civilians buy the land we sell during this period, and the repeal of the Grain Act leads to a drop in food prices, a large number of civilians will go bankrupt and become unemployed, and will have to work in factories. This will also lead to a sharp drop in workers' wages, which is not conducive to regional security."

"And the only benefit these people receive is a decrease in food prices."

"Count Altair, if I may be so bold, I simply cannot understand why His Majesty George III and the House of Lords would agree to this proposal."

Of course you can't understand it, because your king is not as human as you are. I now suspect that he has gone mad in his pursuit of becoming a 'god'.

Altair, of course, wouldn't tell old Clayton everything. He simply said, "I don't know the reason for this either. My uncle didn't tell me either. You shouldn't tell anyone. You should know how serious this matter is."

Seeing Altair's serious expression, old Clayton said, "I understand, Your Excellency."

Considering the impending war, Altair said, "Although the Grain Act has been repealed and the King's cheap grain will enter the country and affect grain prices, it won't last long. Don't even think about selling all your grain now; if I go hungry later, I'll make trouble for you!"

Old Clayton was speechless at Altair's joke. "Under what circumstances could a nobleman be unable to afford food!"

Is this a questioning of one's own abilities or is there another purpose?

Finally, they went to the manor's underground vault, opened the sealed door, and introduced the collection of special materials over the past six months.

Although the Sheffield family doesn't have many potion recipes on record, the ingredients themselves possess a spiritual quality, and due to the control of the Church of the Seven, they can only collect them secretly.

Once purchased, it is sealed in a special treasure vault, and its spiritual essence is generally not lost.

As for what to do with so many materials, since the value of extraordinary materials doesn't fluctuate significantly, they are excellent collectibles.

After discussing business, they turned to personal matters. Old Clayton also expressed his heartfelt gratitude for sending Rex to the army...