Chapter 7 The First Pot of Gold

Just as Alexander finished speaking, the system's voice rang out once again.

[Congratulations, Chosen One, triggered side quest: Merchant's Path]

[Merchant's Path 1 (Petty bourgeoisie life)]: Task objective earn 1000 dinars

[Reward]: System coin +1000

Alexander's eyes lit up. Good lord, with 1000 system coins, he could buy himself some awesome equipment. Now the problem was how to earn 1000 dinars.

The simplest way was to become a middleman. The same commodity could have different values in different hands. For example, a comb would have vastly different values for a girl with long hair and a monk. This was one of the fundamental aspects of business — the difference in value.

Currently, Alexander and his group had a starting capital of 60 dinars. They would definitely use this 60 dinars to buy goods, and then sell them to make money.

Alexander, accompanied by Odo and Victor, arrived at a nearby village. After asking around, he learned about the local specialty — flax. The flax produced in this village was of high quality and cheap, costing only 3 dinars per bundle. So, Alexander directly purchased 20 bundles of flax.

"But boss, we can't leave the vicinity of the castle for too long. How are we going to sell these goods inside the city?" Victor asked, puzzled.

Alexander replied, "Who said we have to sell them in the city?"

He smirked and called Victor and Odo aside, whispering his plan to them quietly. They were astonished to hear such a brilliant plan from Alexander.

Outside the village where Alexander had bought flax, a caravan was slowly approaching under the protection of guards.

"Sir, after buying flax from the village ahead, we can go to the city to sell the goods," a servant reported to the leader of the caravan. The leader, dressed in luxurious clothes, stroked his small beard and nodded in satisfaction.

"The price of flax has risen sharply recently, and it's now selling for 8 dinars per bundle. This trip alone could earn us quite a few dinars."

As the caravan was about to enter the village, they noticed someone selling flax by the roadside.

"Sir, you've finally arrived. The people in our village are really looking forward to seeing you."

The person selling flax by the roadside was none other than Alexander himself, who was currently pretending to be a villager selling flax.

"Oh? Have we met before?" The leader of the caravan looked at Alexander, feeling somewhat unfamiliar; it seemed like they hadn't met.

"Sir, you're quite humorous. We did business with my father last time, but he's not feeling well today and couldn't come out. He asked me to wait for you by the roadside," Alexander babbled, starting his grand hoax.

"Oh, I see. That's right," the leader of the caravan nodded as if remembering something, though he hadn't recalled anything in particular. After all, as a merchant, he met many people every day and couldn't possibly remember them all.

"How much is the flax this time?" The leader quickly changed the subject, inquiring about the price of the flax.

Without changing his expression, Alexander replied, "Sir, it's 5 dinars per bundle."

The leader of the caravan was surprised, "5 dinars? Wasn't it always 3 dinars?"

Alexander continued to fabricate, "The price of flax has gone up, sir. Our flax is already very cheap."

Just then, another villager passed by, carrying a large bundle of flax.

The caravan leader quickly stopped the person and asked, "Excuse me, how much are you selling your flax for?"

Without hesitation, the villager replied, "6 dinars. Are you interested in buying?"

"So expensive?" The caravan leader was taken aback.

"If you think it's expensive, I think it's expensive too," the villager said, "This year, the price of flax has been going up. We can't keep selling at the same price forever."

As the caravan leader frowned and pondered, another villager passed by with a bundle of flax.

"Excuse me, how much are you selling your flax for?" The caravan leader asked again.

"Oh, 6 dinars," the tall villager said innocently.

Alexander quickly changed his tune, "That's right, my flax is also selling for 6 dinars."

The caravan leader glared, "Didn't you just say it was 5 dinars?"

Alexander smirked, "Take it or leave it. If you don't buy, I might have to raise the price again."

The caravan leader was annoyed by Alexander's attitude. But thinking that he could sell it for 8 dinars in the city, he was making a profit no matter what. With a mosquito in hand, no matter how small, it was still meat. So, he bought all of Alexander's and the two villagers' flax.

In total, he spent 120 dinars.

When the leader of the caravan led the caravan into the village to continue purchasing flax, Alexander and the two villagers quickly made their escape. Those two villagers were none other than Odo and Victor in disguise. At this point, they had successfully swindled 120 dinars, which was their first bucket of gold. Although it came somewhat unjustly, that's just how business goes – only through deceit can one make money. Otherwise, how could they be called cunning merchants?

After getting the 120 dinars, the three of them hurried back to Lord Harley's castle to hide for a while. The caravan leader who had probably discovered the truth was likely wielding his sword and searching for them.

The camp now seemed somewhat deserted. Last time, facing deserters, most of the servant soldiers were killed, so the once crowded camp immediately cleared out a large area. In a few days, new servant soldiers would likely arrive, filling up the camp once again. After all, there was never a shortage of slaves and prisoners. They were just expendable.

"Boss, how do we split this money?" Victor asked eagerly, eyeing Alexander's money pouch.

"We won't split it for now. Let's save it for you and Odo to buy your freedom," Alexander said casually.

"Me and Odo?" Victor's cunning eyes looked at Alexander, sensing something different in his words. "Then, boss, what about you?"

"Me?" Alexander chuckled. "Don't worry about me. I have my own way out."

His way out certainly wasn't running away, because even if he did, he wouldn't be able to survive well in this world. What Alexander needed to do was to gain a socially accepted identity and then use it to settle down. Otherwise, with his current slave status, he couldn't blend in anywhere. So, taking advantage of the recent decrease in battles, Alexander began his grand plan. He used his free time to get close to Talya by any means necessary. And since Talya already had some favorable feelings towards Alexander for saving her, perhaps from hearing too many stories about knights rescuing princesses, she had always felt that Alexander was her own knight. Plus, Alexander was at least an educated man, having received higher education. Reciting a few lines of poetry on occasion was something he could manage: "Gently I leave, just as I gently came; I wave my sleeves, not taking a single cloud away."

Thalia quickly fell under Alexander's spell.

But the castle was full of Lord Harry's men, how could he not know what was going on?