Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Power Control
George quickly bowed, "Master Lynn, you’re flattering me. Without Master Lynn’s trust, I wouldn’t be where I am now."
Lynn had no words.
Is seven thousand pounds of rock salt a lot for him?
Not much!
Compared to the possible millions of tons of reserves in the open-pit salt mine, it’s a drop in the ocean!
George could betray his trust.
Short-sightedly disappearing with seven thousand pounds of rock salt worth less than sixty gold pounds.
Without this George, Lynn could still find the next one.
But what George loses is a chance to rise as a wealthy merchant!
George’s gaze turned to the rear of the carriage, as three figures knowingly stepped down from it and came to his side.
An elderly woman in a plain robe, a young female villager, and a toddler of three or four years.
George quickly explained, "Master Lynn, these three are my mother, wife, and son... Just as I mentioned earlier, the Dalton Family has already disowned me."
Amidst his words.
George bent his right knee, letting it touch the ground while maintaining his left leg bent, placing the weight on it, and extended his right hand forward...
"I, George, vow to offer my loyalty, all my strength, and everything I possess in this world, without reservation, to you!"
"Whether in times of peace or in the face of the perils of war, I shall unwaveringly stand by your side, heed your commands, and fight for your glory and benefits!"
"I pledge upon my honor and my family name that I shall never in this life or the next betray you; may the deity’s severest punishment befall me if I do."
"Master Lynn, please accept my allegiance!"
There was no surprise on Lynn’s face.
When George introduced his family, Lynn had anticipated all of this.
With the current reliability and credit that George has shown Lynn, even if he did not bring family, Lynn would continue entrusting him with selling the salt mine and beer.
Lynn understood that George brought over his family just to reassure him!
No matter how much goods George took, or how much money he earned, he would return to this village.
Here, he has his entire family!
This distinctive action drew the attention of the passing villagers.
They couldn’t help but stop and watch everything from afar.
Lynn’s expression was solemn, reaching out his right hand, slowly sliding it through the palm of George’s right hand.
"I, Lynn, accept Jon’s allegiance! You shall become my first vassal, under my authority, to protect you people of service!"
Lynn’s voice rang clearly in everyone’s ears.
The loyalty ceremony was complete.
George slowly stood up.
Lynn looked at Kuisi behind him, who understood and guided George’s family to settle in the new wooden house.
Lynn spoke, "I will have your mother and children taken care of. Whatever I eat, they will eat."
George gratefully responded, "Okay, Master Lynn."
As Lynn began walking, he continued, "Let me take you for a walk!"
Walking on the gravel path, George’s gaze occasionally swept over the surroundings.
He had been to Master Lynn’s village several times.
But this was the first time observing the village so meticulously.
In the not-so-wide plots of cultivated land were rows of lush green wheat.
Neat and orderly.
George’s face was full of astonishment.
To think that wheat could be planted this way!
And with such a high germination rate!
Even as someone who was once a crop merchant, he had never seen it before.
It was just the tillering stage now, and George could clearly see that each wheat plant had five or six leaves!
This was the best tillering-stage wheat planting he had ever seen.
They walked past the cultivated land and through the forest.
Lynn and George stood at the edge of a snow-white, crystalline open space.
Staring at the busy figures on the snow-white ground, George’s face froze.
An open-pit salt mine!
What a large open-pit salt mine!
George knew Master Lynn had an open-pit salt mine, but he never imagined it would be an entire open-pit salt mine.
How much rock salt must be under here?
George dared not imagine.
Lynn took George around the village before they returned.
George, along with the coachman and guards, left the village carrying ten thousand pounds of rock salt and three thousand pounds of beer.
Lynn told George that aside from salt, he needed any other commodities!
Quality iron, food, cattle, draft horses, free people, slaves, etc.
...
Watching George leave, Lynn retracted his gaze.
Not far away, Lex stood hesitantly.
Lynn asked, "Lex, is there something you want to say?"
Upon hearing Master Lynn’s call, he finally dared to approach him.
Lex hesitantly said, "Master Lynn, I think the scale of the brewing workshop can be expanded further!"
Lynn, without any hesitation, asked, "What kind of help do you need?"
Finding the open-pit salt mine did not stop Lynn from considering closing the brewing workshop.
The existence of the brewing workshop could create a second income stream for the village.
Also, the labor input was not much.
Only a dozen people were needed to produce several hundred tons or even thousands of tons of beer each year!
Which can be sold or distributed to villagers as rewards, adjusting their lives.
Lex’s face instantly turned excited.
"Master Lynn, I still need... six large pots and six apprentices!"
Lynn nodded and responded, "Alright, when George returns next time, I’ll ask him to bring back the iron pots and allocate apprentices."
Lex joyfully said, "Thank you, my Master Lynn!"
Lex left.
...
Now Lynn has one thousand pounds of quality iron!
Whether for making heavy plows or creating iron tools for mining salt or crafting iron agricultural implements.
He must have a blacksmith and a blacksmith shop!
Lynn had already found a blacksmith.
Moreover, a sturdy Level 3 [Forging] blacksmith!
Lynn summoned the curly-haired burly man from earlier, a series of words appeared before him.
[Name]: Erello Pier
[Age]: 32 years
[Ability]: Level 3 Forging, Level 2 Production, Level 2 Collection
[Attributes]: Attack F, Defense E+, Speed F+, Constitution E, Energy F-
[Talent]: Power Control—When using an iron hammer for forging, can precisely control the power under the iron hammer, reducing impurities in iron products
[Skills]: None
...
Lynn stared straight at Erello, "I need you to forge a batch of heavy plows. Unlike light plows, heavy plows have broader and sharper plowshares that can penetrate deeper into the soil, effectively breaking the plow layer, loosening deep soil, and directly cutting tree roots in wilderness areas!"
Feeling Master Lynn’s serious gaze, Erello was filled with doubt.
How did Master Lynn know he was a blacksmith?
Did someone secretly tell Master Lynn?
Various thoughts were forming in Erello’s mind, "Master Lynn... It’s true I am a blacksmith, but I don’t know how to forge the heavy plow you’re talking about..."
This world has light plows; blacksmiths capable of making light plows don’t know what heavy plows are?
No matter, [Heavenly Artifacts] knows how to forge them.
Lynn raised an eyebrow and said, "I can teach you!"
Erello: "?"
Lynn also lacked a blacksmith shop!
But, with Lynn’s current labor force, building a blacksmith shop wouldn’t be difficult.
Lynn called Kuisi, asking her to take five people off the open-pit salt mine and start building a Blacksmith Shop!
Under their amazed gaze, Lynn picked up an axe and began chopping the logs.
[Construction Experience +1]
[Construction Experience +1]
...
The knowledge of constructing a Blacksmith Shop gradually emerged and began to integrate in Lynn’s mind.
Compared to a simple wooden house, constructing a Blacksmith Shop was much more complex.
It not only required setting up a wooden house for easy water access.
Also needed to create a forging area, storage area, and resting area, along with a furnace capable of withstanding high-temperature combustion!
Fortunately, Erello himself was a blacksmith and had his own anvil.
Otherwise, one anvil alone would cost Lynn two to three hundred pounds of quality iron!