Chapter 61: Purchasing a Brewery

The Veed Kingdom returned from this siege with heavy losses. War was like that, as changeable as the weather and a woman's temper. The fierce Saint Martin army, skilled in field battles, suffered a major defeat in the open field. The ferocious Veed army, adept in siege warfare, also suffered a major defeat in the siege.

This protracted war finally came to an end. Both the Veed and Saint Martin Kingdoms reached a ceasefire agreement. It wasn't that they didn't want to crush each other; they simply didn't have the strength to continue. Especially for the Veed Kingdom, if the king hadn't escaped quickly under the cover of the Royal Guards, he might have been captured on the spot by King Hadesser.

At that time, it was a perfect illustration of the phrase "losing one's armor and helmet." King Hadesser was so excited that he chased all the way to the border between the two countries before giving up.

If you had to say who truly benefited from this war, it would undoubtedly be none other than Alexander.

[Congratulations to Lord Alexander for completing the mission—helping Saint Martin Kingdom win the siege of Rorl City]

[Rewards: Experience +10000, System Coins +10000, Golden Treasure Chest +1]

Alexander glanced at his attribute panel:

[Level]: 10

[Strength]: 13

[Agility]: 11

[Intelligence]: 8

[Charisma]: 12

[Available Attribute Points]: 0

[Experience]: 30000/51200

[System Coins]: 20000

These were not the most crucial things. Alexander felt that the greatest gain from this journey was the engineer, Herzog. This guy was clearly unique. Especially, Alexander found a notebook on him, filled with various strange designs, some of which Alexander recognized.

"Huh, is this an improved version of the loom?" Alexander had seen something similar in a history textbook. Although it didn't look exactly the same, it was close enough.

Herzog paused for a moment upon hearing Alexander's words, then his expression changed from fear to pride. "Yes, indeed. That's my improved loom. It can increase efficiency by 20%. Unfortunately, those dull fools don't recognize a good thing. If they had adopted my suggestion, the productivity of all textiles could have been greatly improved."

Alexander smirked, "I don't think they don't recognize a good thing. They simply don't want your talent to shine."

Upon hearing Alexander's words, Herzog's expression turned extremely angry. He wanted to retort, but couldn't find the words. Alexander had spoken the truth, and Herzog's expression gradually became despondent.

Jealousy, indeed, can make people disregard facts and oppose everything they can oppose.

"This water wheel is quite impressive. If combined with a millstone, it could free up human and animal labor," Alexander continued, flipping to another page.

But what he considered commonplace knowledge seemed like a remarkable statement in this world. Hearing this, Herzog's eyes suddenly lit up. "Yes, yes, combining it with a millstone—oh my, I never thought it could be used like that. What a genius idea. May I ask what your name is? You must be a respected scholar," he exclaimed.

"I am Alexander of the Castile family, a lord from the village of Calyus. Unfortunately, I am not a scholar," Alexander replied.

"Our lord knows everything. Even the smartest person I've ever met doesn't have knowledge as profound as our lord's," Victor added.

"A lord?" Herzog looked Alexander up and down in shock. After all, Alexander was slightly different from the lords he understood, who only knew how to draw swords and maintain mistresses. How could he possibly understand so much about engineering?

"Yes, Mr. Herzog. Perhaps my domain needs a genius engineer like you. I will offer you an irresistible reward and provide you with all the support you need in research and design, so that you can fully display your talent," Alexander said, flipping through Herzog's notes and extending an olive branch to him.

He knew he had struck gold. Even if Herzog didn't agree, he would have to bring him back bound.

"I've heard that the nobles of Saint Martin always keep their promises. I will serve you and your domain," Herzog replied without hesitation when he heard that Alexander was willing to support his research. Years of research had taught him that without the support of funds, manpower, and materials, it would be impossible to sustain oneself. Moreover, the other barbarians of the lords did not know that they were completely different.

"It's only natural," Alexander immediately untied Herzog and returned his notebook to him. "Mr. Herzog, we can't return to the estate yet. Please wait a moment. I need to go buy something."

Victor had already sold the remaining fur. Perhaps the victory brought by the white deer skin sold by Alexander was true, so he took the opportunity to name the remaining ordinary deer skin "Roland City Victory Memorial Deer Skin".

The advertisement goes like this: "Blessed by the Goddess of Luck, this deer skin returns laden with your spoils of war, bringing you glory and victory time and time again in both life and battle (first come, first served)."

Originally valued at a maximum of 200 dinars, Alexander priced it at 500, refusing to negotiate.

With such outrageous pricing, the lords who had captured large numbers of prisoners and were laden with spoils of war were in high spirits, not hesitating to spend money to buy them. After all, buying these souvenirs to hang on the wall would allow them to boast about the battle stories of Roland City and their own heroic deeds to their descendants or to the beautiful women who visited their homes.

After selling 5,000 dinars worth of deer skin, Alexander now had 25,000 system coins (dinars) in hand. He thought for a moment and divided the money into two waves.

He spent 15,000 dinars to buy a winery, which was completely different from his original intention of just buying some wine to take back.

Then, with the remaining money, Alexander decided to dismantle the winery and hired a transport team to move the production line to Calyus Village for reconstruction. At the same time, he purchased a batch of brewing materials and recruited a group of skilled technicians who understood the art of brewing.

As for leaving some money to pay his soldiers' wages, Alexander selectively forgot about it. It's just wages; they can wait.

After returning to Calyus Village, Alexander would probably have to rely on his excellent skills of painting rosy pictures to draw big and round cakes for his soldiers once again. This is an essential skill for startup entrepreneurs.

After completing all of this, his wallet was once again empty.

[Level]: 10

[Strength]: 13

[Agility]: 11

[Intelligence]: 8

[Charisma]: 12

[Available Attribute Points]: 0

[Experience]: 30,000/51,200

[System Coins]: 0

Looking at the conspicuous zero in the system coins row on his attribute panel, Alexander felt helpless. He could only hope that his deer whip liquor business would flourish.

Before returning to Calyus Village, Alexander had one more thing to do—open the box.