I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 21 Slave
With the guarantee of Ward Village Chief, Luc decided to follow the tavern owner to meet the old soldier.

Along the way, Luc observed the surrounding situation. Just as he remembered, even the baron's direct territory was still in ruins. The only thing that attracted Luc's attention was the mill in the distance.

Luc's cabin also needed a mill.

Without a mill, even if the wheat was ripe, it could not be made into flour, let alone bread. Besides, Luc also observed the blacksmith shop with billowing smoke.

If I were to ask what I most want to have in my mind every time I work, it would definitely be iron tools!

Whether it is a wooden shovel or a plow, to put it bluntly, it is just a transitional tool. If you really want to build a comfortable home in the mountains, you must have a shovel, hoe, saw, etc.!
Luc was thinking about how to sell the leather for a higher price.

As he was thinking this, the tavern owner had already brought Luc to the veteran.

They are called veterans, but in fact they are just free people like himself who have nothing to do but farm the land. Only knights are real professional warriors.

"Deaf John, open the door! I've got a big deal for you!"

The tavern owner banged on the wooden door of the thatched house, making Luc worry that he would smash the door. After a long time, a disheveled man walked out of the house. The moment he opened the door, a foul stench quickly came out, almost making Luc faint.

Luc looked around and instantly understood the reason.

Like the original Luc, this deaf John keeps livestock at home!

This is the norm for most free people today. They will divide their houses into two halves, spread straw on the ground in one half as beds, and use wooden fences to separate the other half to raise livestock. Their feces are naturally also disposed of in the house, and they fall asleep every day smelling the smell of feces.

"Big business?"

Deaf John had an ugly upturned nose and spoke in a loud voice, which even made Luc's ears hurt.

The tavern owner glanced at Luc, who nodded and took out three wolf skins and spread them on the ground. The tavern owner pointed and said:
"Now, this is what I call big business!"

John, who was originally careless, widened his eyes the moment he saw the wolf skin appear, and seemed to be really interested in the leather.

The tavern owner turned around and smiled at Luc. His reward for this trip was a free rabbit skin, which was nothing to Luc, but it was enough to satisfy him.

Even in his opinion, Luc's leather skills surpassed those of the leatherworkers in the barony.

As for the man named John, the tavern owner was very confident that he would buy the wolf skin. As the only tavern in the barony, he was well aware of all the intelligence in Cooper Castle. In fact, they also worked part-time as intelligence dealers.

How could a free farmer like John be qualified to wear leather? This cunning man simply wanted to give the leather to the Baron's retainers so that he could take over the castle's only mill.

Everyone knows how much money there is in the mill. The previous miller made a lot of money by taking bribes. Of course, the final outcome was that he was slaughtered like a pig by the baron.
The tavern owner silently watched John greedily stroking the wolfskin, and sneered inwardly. Only a fool would become a miller. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the miller was the bait set by the Baron, waiting for the fat fish to take the bait.

Luc quietly looked at John, nicknamed the Deaf. His eyes were indeed full of surprise at first, but it gradually cooled down and disappeared as he caressed and observed him.

"With only three wolf skins, Lord Fuman may not be satisfied."

The deaf John muttered something, raised his head to look at Luc, and then frowned.

How come this troubadour looks more like a soldier than I do?
"how much is it?"

John was concise and to the point.

"Sixty pfennigs a piece!"

"What? Please speak louder. I injured my ears on the battlefield and can't hear."

Luke suddenly understood after hearing this, and then raised two fingers and said loudly:

"Sixty pfennigs per ticket! Of course, if you want to buy three, I'll only charge one hundred and fifty pfennigs." Most timber wolves are gray wolves with smooth fur, which is very valuable. Fifty pfennigs is a relatively cheap price.

John nodded. He had captured a lot of spoils on the battlefield. The money was not too expensive for him, otherwise he would not have wanted to seek the position of miller.

"Lian! Ryan! You damned fellow, come out and put away the wolf skin! And take out my Finney at the same time!"

John watched for a while, then turned around and yelled at a guy named Ryan in the room.
"Damn it! If I find out you dare to embezzle my Finney, I'll skin you alive!"

Following John's shouting, a boy about fifteen or sixteen walked out of the house. The boy had golden curly hair and light blue eyes that showed no emotion. He just quickly picked up a jar of pottery and ran out.

The tavern owner seemed to know the boy and shrugged when he saw him walk out.

"John, you're really lucky. The other people's slaves were taken away by the Baron and sold to the quarry. But you're lucky. Thanks to Lord Fuman's help, you were able to keep a slave."

"Bah, what's the point of staying here? You eat a lot but don't do much work, and you can't even help me relieve my sexual desire!"

John's vulgar remarks made the tavern owner curl his lips. These guys who dared to grab a goat's butt were actually looking down on a handsome boy?
Don't think he didn't know. It was just because the boy almost bit off his ear when he tried to rape him. Although he almost beat Ryan to death because of this, he never dared to touch him again.

It’s just that the usual beatings, scolding and reprimands are increasing day by day.

When Luc heard this, his focus was completely different - had the slaves here been sold?

Then wouldn't I be a step too late?
Do we have to exchange Finneys and then go to more distant counties to buy slaves?

Luc's mind raced. In this world, traveling long distances was not a safe thing, especially when carrying a large amount of Finney.
Luc was thinking about countermeasures, and his eyes suddenly focused on Ryan who was helping John clean up the wolf skin.

Although Ryan was only in his teens and looked pale and thin due to malnutrition, Luc could see that he had a large skeleton and was not weak.

"Where are you from?"

Luc suddenly asked Ryan.

Ryan, who was picking up the wolf skin, was a little surprised when he heard the question, but then he said politely:
"I am from Provence."

"Oh? Provence?"

The Burgundy region is a general concept. Today, the Burgundy region has been divided into the Duchy of Burgundy, the County of Burgundy, and the Kingdom of Burgundy.

The Kingdom of Burgundy is actually Provence.

"Then how did you end up being captured by John in the County of Burgundy? Where are your family?"

"My dear sir, my family has all passed away. I fled to the County of Burgundy, was drafted, and then captured by Master John."

Ryan didn't understand why Luc asked these questions, but he answered truthfully and bowed slightly.

But Luc felt a little different when he heard the reply. The other party did not behave like a serf's son.

"Excuse me, what did your father do when he was alive?"

"He is a carpenter, sir."

"John, three wolf skins are yours for just one hundred pfennigs, but you need to transfer your slave to me!"

As soon as the word "carpenter" came out, Luc turned his head decisively and spoke loudly to John, who was deaf and didn't understand what the two people were saying.

(End of this chapter)