You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 52 Winter Retreat and the Plateau

Today marks the 52th day since Roman arrived in Sig.

Roman hadn't expected that it would take him almost half a month just to build this livestock shed.

Even after the road was repaired and with the help of the road construction team, the project was still not completed ahead of schedule.

The final work of thatching the roof was only carried out today.

But in any case, it has finally taken shape.

The farmers of Sigir witnessed the completion of this enormous building. They were too ignorant to offer any commentary, but they were certainly awestruck.

It was so big, more than ten times more spacious than Lord More's residence.

But in Roman's eyes, this was just a simple livestock shed, which he planned to expand into a large-scale breeding farm with thousands of animals.

It will only be more spectacular then.

That was on this day.

Roman received news that more merchants had arrived in Sig Town.

The Bro River has a long history and branches out due to the terrain.

One of them flows through Yinlong Canyon, passes through Sige Town, and heads north.

But most merchants wouldn't risk coming to Sig Town.

Instead, they would choose the second route, bypassing Silver Dragon Canyon and entering Pearl Harbor from above Condé Territory, where trade flourishes.

Roman has been in Sig Town for almost two months, and only the occasional small merchant passes through here.

Their trade was very small-scale, consisting of only a small merchant ship carrying goods such as linen, beer, and cheese, making it impossible for them to engage in large-scale trade.

The businessman of today is different; he is Daken, whom Roman had previously commissioned to buy slaves.

Roman didn't treat Daken the way he would have done when he met Morey at the docks; instead, he made him come directly to see him.

Soon, Roman saw Daken leading a large group of people approaching in front of the livestock shed.

Those people were disheveled, dressed in tattered clothes, and filthy. They walked with trembling hands and could barely stand, much like a scene of the Beggars' Sect going on a campaign.

Daken was a little unsure, so he went up to Roman and said:
"Honorable lord, do you remember the agreement made a month ago? I have brought the slaves you require."

Roman tilted his head and looked at the group of beggars. He asked in confusion, "Slaves? Refugees?"

"Aren't refugees just slaves...?" Daken wanted to say that.

But he knew Roman's unspoken message.

The young nobleman was somewhat dissatisfied with the quality of the slaves.

Generally, before selling slaves, slave traders would give them a bath, a full meal, and preferably some ale.

In this way, the slaves' complexions would become much rosier, at least making them look more presentable.

A slave who would normally be worth only 1 silver coin might be sold for 1.2 or 1.5 silver coins because of this small detail.

But what he's doing is wholesale population!
It's unrealistic to clean up all the slaves; we don't have the time or energy for that.

This process also depletes the slaves' physical strength; it's quite normal for several to die if they catch a cold.

So Daken tried to explain, "This is the best and most of what I could find. Although they look a bit weak, if they recover, they're no less capable than anyone else. There are plenty of strong and healthy men among them..."

Daken hoped to persuade Roman to accept the slaves.

This relates to how much money he will receive next.

Roman ignored those words.

He squinted, looking at the slaves behind Daken.

Everyone was disheveled and unkempt, and could only be roughly identified by their height and build. Adult male slaves made up about one-fifth of the total.

This group walks the fastest, so they are positioned relatively at the front.

The women and other groups behind them are more complicated; nearly half of them have white hair, giving them a distinctly exotic look.

There was a huge, sparsely populated group of people, and they were all thin and frail, making it difficult to discern their gender and age. However, they were all very short. Roman even saw a white-haired woman holding a baby. Whether she was weak or hungry, her legs were trembling, but she dared not sit down to rest, fearing that she would be considered a defective product and thrown out.

Roman frowned. How come they even have babies?
Could this guy be a slave he bought from a mercenary group or pirates?

Although they were called mercenaries, they were essentially bandits. They burned, killed, and looted, and it was common for them to burn down an entire village and sell all the living people to slave traders they had arranged in advance.

For those thugs, it's just a way to make some extra money, and the only cost is killing fewer people.

Roman looked at Daken and asked, "How did they get here?"

Seeing that Roman's words were calm but his eyes were serious, Daken had no choice but to answer, "I bought it from a slave trader."

"How many people are there in total?"

Daken recounted the details with great familiarity: "When we bought them, there were 197, but now there are only 188 left."

Nine people died during the transport.

These slaves were in poor physical condition and could not withstand violent jolting.

Daken originally intended to select only strong male slaves to earn some hard-earned money, but he was persuaded by the slave traders.

He had previously spoken with Roman and learned that the young lord seemed to be in dire need of slaves, so he bought them all on a whim.

These nearly two hundred slaves are not expensive at all, costing less than 10 gold coins.

On average, a slave received only four or five copper coins.

But he regretted it more and more on his way there. If Roman hadn't accepted these inferior products, he might not have gotten the other 10 gold coins.

In his view, less than half of these slaves were up to standard; the rest were the elderly, women, and children, and some female slaves even carried babies as if they were with their families.

Even if Roman were to chop up all the babies in a fit of rage and kick their bodies into the river, it would be perfectly normal.

However, Daken noticed that the young lord showed no emotion on his face.

Roman raised his chin and asked casually, "Where are they all from?"

"Some are from the winter-rearing people, some are from the plateau..."

Daken asked the slave trader.

The Kingdom of Wandong is located north of the Kingdom of Black Iron, and its territory covers most of the northern land, making it extremely vast.

The winter nights in that land are cold and long, the summers are warm but short, and spring and autumn pass in the blink of an eye.

The harsh, cold land has also given birth to the tenacious and resilient white-haired winter-warming people.

These people from Wandong were refugees. With nowhere else to go, they willingly became slaves, relying on slave traders to find a place to stay.

Even though they were so cheap that they could be bought for just a few copper coins, no one was interested in buying them.

The Plateau Kingdom is located on the eastern plateau.

Most of the adult men among the slaves were from the highlands. Their homeland had been invaded by barbarians, and they themselves had been sold to slave traders by the barbarians, eventually arriving in the Black Iron Kingdom.

These men from the plateau could normally be sold for the price of a silver coin.

However, the slave trader ended up selling them all to Daken.

Some good rice was mixed in with a pile of rotten rice, and it was eventually sold at a price that was barely acceptable to both parties.

(End of this chapter)