I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 20 Cooper Castle

Days passed by, and the wheat and rye seedlings grew well under Luc's careful care. Luc had a feeling that next spring would be a good season.
In order to facilitate irrigation, Luc dug a canal along the way. Because it was not far from the stream, the construction of the canal did not take much effort. However, how to save money troubled Luc for a long time.

That’s right, just save money.

Since the plan to purchase slaves was prepared, money has become a top priority.

Slaves were not uncommon in the Middle Ages. They were usually captives from other countries. An adult male slave was worth about 500 pfennigs, which was about 40 sous or two pounds. Beautiful female or male slaves were even more expensive.

Speaking of the currency of the entire Frankish region, Luc was overwhelmed. It was contrary to the common decimal system he remembered. One pound was 20 sous, and one sous was 12 pfennigs.
And due to the special feudal system, just as the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal, the purchasing power of currency under the jurisdiction of lords in different places is fundamentally different.

For example, a manor serf might not earn two pfennigs in a whole year, while a free farmer who owned his own small piece of land and worked part-time as a stonemason might earn four pfennigs a day.

But generally speaking, an ordinary laborer could earn about two pfennigs a day, and five hundred pfennigs was their income for eight months, and this was without food or drink. Only people with a little assets could afford to buy slaves.

Luc had no such concerns.

Because he has enough fur
In order to collect more goods, Luc peeled off the skins of three wolves. He had made deerskin coats, deerskin boots and a quilt from the red deer skins before. Only a small piece was left. He then made seven or eight rabbit skins.

Don't underestimate the value of leather. Scarcity makes leather valuable. The promulgation of the Forest Law has made leather a favorite of the middle class, especially businessmen and wealthy farmers. The fact that an ordinary carpenter can afford a rabbit fur-trimmed coat without food or drink for a month is enough to show how precious it is.
By the time everything was ready, another half a month had passed.

Burgundy was already refreshing in November. On this day, Luc opened the cabin, took all the goods, provided sufficient food and water for the pheasants, and then led little Charlie out of the mountains again.

Because the fence was completely completed and the dead wolf was a deterrent, Luc was not worried about the cabin being attacked for the time being. He had already walked through the mountain road once, and this time it took less than three days for Luc to reappear in Ward Village.

Just as I walked down the hillside, I saw the head of Ward Village and several young men loading things onto a donkey cart at the entrance of the village.

Small villages cannot afford to raise cattle and horses, but they can raise omnivorous donkeys.

Luc let go of Charlie, who was so excited to be back home, and said hello to the village chief:
"Hey, Mr. Village Chief, where are you going?"

"Oh! It's you, Bard. We're going to the nearby Cooper Castle to trade supplies today. Hey, isn't this the black dog? It's grown so big now."

The village chief turned around and saw that it was Luc. He was a little surprised. Then he saw little Charlie playing with other puppies in the village.

There is no special reason, little Charlie is just too strong!

In this era when even farmers had a hard time getting enough to eat, little Charlie was surprisingly fat and strong. Compared with other skinny dogs, he was much taller than them, like a nobleman entering the slums.

It would have been fine if he hadn't noticed, but when he did, the village chief discovered that Luke had become a little more robust than before, and it was obvious that he had been eating well recently.

"My friend, what brings you here?"

The village chief withdrew his gaze. He had tasted the sweetness of the coarse salt that the other party brought more than three months ago. His wrinkled face now looked at Luke with hope, thinking that he could get some advantage this time.

"It's nothing important, I just happen to want to go to Cooper Castle. Do you think I can go with you? Don't worry, I will pay you for it." Luke had already noticed that the village chief was going on a long journey. The full load of goods on the donkey cart beside him said it all.

Cooper Castle was the baron's direct jurisdiction over Ward Village. The village chief had mentioned this to Luc. It was about five miles away from Ward Village, and it would take three hours by donkey cart. The village chief looked Luc up and down, saw the sword and shield in his hands, thought for a moment, and nodded.

"No problem, buddy. Forget the reward. I'm not a greedy person. But I need to remind you that things have been a bit chaotic in Cooper Castle lately. The Baron just followed the Duke on an expedition to the County of Burgundy. It's said that this is because the Earl there doesn't recognize the Duke's current legal authority. Of course, I only heard these things from hearsay. I just want to tell you that Cooper Castle may have captured slaves. Be extra vigilant against them. These guys might steal your supplies."

The weathered old village chief gave earnest instructions, but Luke was calculating in his heart.

Slave? Isn't that just what I want?

I thought I would have to go to a bigger city to buy it, but this time I don’t have to go too far.

Without any hesitation, he helped the village chief to move the goods. After a while, a group of six including Luke rushed towards Cooper Castle.

……

Although he had been here for a long time, Luc had never ventured so far. The donkey cart was moving forward in the bumpy mountains, and the leaves of the trees were beginning to fall. Ward Village was also a village surrounded by mountains. He walked far to the north but did not see a single house.

Until noon, we finally arrived at Cooper Castle
Fort Cooper is a common earth and stone fortress in Burgundy, thirty feet high and twenty-five feet wide, standing on the plain.

The County of Auvergne is mountainous, while Burgundy is mostly plains. The village of Vaud is surrounded by mountains, but when you reach Château de Cooper, it is flat.

Of course, Luc and the village chief would not enter the castle. Baron Cooper did not own the manor. The baron and his followers lived there. Ordinary serfs lived around the castle. Low and dark thatched houses were located in groups, with a few better buildings occasionally, such as blacksmith shops, tailor shops, etc.

The village chief took Luc into a tavern he often visited. Taverns usually served as hotels. After paying the rent for one night, Luc took the opportunity to say goodbye to the village chief and prepared to go to the leather worker.

"Wait a minute, man!"

Suddenly, the owner of the tavern called Luc. The narrow-cheeked man rolled his eyes and pointed at the package on Luc's back and said:

"Friend, if I'm not mistaken, you're carrying leather, right?"

"Don't look at me like that. I just have a pair of sharp eyes. With all due respect, man, you won't get a good price if you carry a bag of leather like this."

Luke stopped and looked back at the middle-aged man. "Do you have a good idea?"

Scarcity makes things valuable. This person is right that taking out so much leather at once will indeed lower its value.

"If you trust me, I can take you to meet a few people. They're all guys from Cooper Castle who recently returned from battle with loot. They have quite a few good things, and they all love leather, too. Would you be willing to do that?"

(End of this chapter)