Jason Liu nodded without much surprise and then asked about the price.
"The warhorses are still priced the same as last time—five golden dragons each," said Director Henry quickly. "If you want regular horses for riding, they will cost three golden dragons each. What do you think?"
Jason Liu thought the price was reasonable and nodded in agreement.
"Master Henry, could you arrange for someone to drive all these horses to the lumberyard south of Winterfell?" Jason asked with a smile. "This place is too small, and the winter market town stable can only hold about fifty horses. There's no room for more."
Director Henry immediately nodded. "No problem, Mr. Jason! I will personally lead the horses to the lumberyard in the south."
Satisfied, Jason Liu happily paid for the purchase.
The transaction included 500 riding horses for 1,500 golden dragons and 200 warhorses for 1,000 golden dragons, totaling 2,500 golden dragons. Since a single golden dragon weighs about 359 grams, the total weight of the coins was approximately 87.5 kilograms. The coins, packed in wooden boxes, were quite heavy.
Jason Liu instructed Kent to take several store employees and personally escort the money and Henry back to Winterfell.
The horses would be directly handed over to Jon, McCann, Bud, and Marb at the lumberyard. The next step was to construct proper stables for the new horses.
Recruiting Soldiers
With the horse transaction settled, Jason Liu turned his attention to recruiting soldiers. Finding 200 able-bodied men wouldn't be difficult, as many candidates from the last recruitment were still available. He decided to take a carriage to the lumberyard to oversee the new arrivals and take the opportunity to finalize the recruitment.
Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by Bert Bancroft, a merchant from a City in the west, who had arrived with a convoy of carriages.
"Lord Jason, it's a pleasure to see you again! May the Seven bless you, my lord!" Bert exclaimed excitedly as he entered the store. His round face was filled with joy as he hurried over, bowing deeply in greeting.
Jason Liu recognized him immediately. Bert was the merchant who had brought him the "bullion gold" that had fetched a sky-high price. Seeing Bert's eager expression and enthusiastic greeting, Jason Liu responded with a warm smile.
"Bert, I'm glad to see you too. I hope the goods you bought last time earned you a good profit!" Jason said as he invited the merchant to sit.
Bert Bancroft took a seat respectfully, his face beaming. "Thanks to you, Lord Jason, the goods you provided were excellent! That's why I'm here again—I want to purchase another large batch to sell in the west."
The previous shipment of goods had been snatched up by nobles and merchants before even leaving the region. If not for his promise to acquire natural gold nuggets for Lord Jason, Bert would have returned to Winterfell much sooner for another purchase.
The Natural Gold Nugget Shortage
Since natural gold nuggets were incredibly profitable, Jason Liu was naturally interested. He immediately asked Bert how much bullion he had brought this time.
However, upon hearing the question, Bert's smile faded into a wry expression. "Lord Jason, I was only able to find three pieces of natural gold nuggets this time."
Jason frowned slightly. "Only three?"
Bert nodded apologetically. "I've already contacted nearly everyone I know and scoured most of the gold mines in the west, but natural gold nuggets are extremely rare. In the past, miners would smelt any gold they found along with regular gold ore, so very few raw nuggets were preserved. It took me half a month just to find these three pieces."
He sighed and spread his hands. "I'm afraid that aside from these three, I won't be able to bring many more in the future."
It was a shame. Selling natural gold nuggets—gold ore with about 70% purity—at the same price as pure gold was a lucrative deal. It was not only profitable but also beneficial for maintaining a good relationship with Lord Jason.
If possible, Bert would have loved to supply Jason with natural gold nuggets regularly. Unfortunately, they were simply too rare, and most had already been smelted.
Hearing this, Jason Liu felt a little disappointed. After all, bullion gold was easy to sell, and in modern times, it was a hard currency. Making money from it had been effortless and enjoyable.
However, he reminded himself that natural gold nuggets had always been rare. He had already acquired a good amount from these western merchants, and it wouldn't do to be too greedy.
Besides, his lumberyard project would soon start generating massive profits from cutting and selling timber. If he couldn't get more gold nuggets, it wasn't a huge loss.
Jason glanced at the three pieces Bert had brought. Together, they weighed less than five kilograms. Shrugging, he set them aside and reassured Bert.
"That's alright. Keep an eye out for more in the future. If you find any, I'll still buy them."
"Of course, Lord Jason!" Bert said quickly, relieved that Jason wasn't upset. He didn't want to strain his relationship with such an influential lord, especially since Jason controlled the supply of many highly profitable goods.
Another Big Purchase
After chatting for a while, Bert got to the main reason for his visit—purchasing goods. He was eager to bring back another shipment to sell in the Western Border.
This time, Bert ordered:
50,000 gel pens and 500,000 refills, worth 3,000 golden dragons. 500,000 sheets of A4 paper and 50,000 sheets of A1 paper, worth 500 golden dragons. 100,000 bars of soap, 500,000 soap flakes, worth 3,500 golden dragons. 40,000 toothbrushes and 40,000 tubes of toothpaste, worth 800 golden dragons.
In total, Bert purchased goods worth 7,800 golden dragons, showing his confidence in this booming business.
Jason then leaned forward with a smile. "Bert, I have two new items for sale. As I promised before, you'll be one of the first merchants in the west to purchase them."
Curious, Bert followed Jason to the castle, where Jason called for Barlow and his men to bring out the latest products. Soon, two all-steel carriages were brought forth for Bert to examine.
After listening to Jason's introduction and experiencing a test ride, Bert was thrilled. This was another fantastic business opportunity!
"Thank you, Lord Jason! If you allow me to be the first to purchase these carriages in the west, I swear by the Seven that I will do my utmost to find natural gold nuggets for you!"
Jason nodded, satisfied with Bert's enthusiasm. As long as there were opportunities for profit, both sides would continue benefiting from this partnership.
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