The first day of July is a festive day for the village of Hydra.

The first commercial goddess church in the village was officially inaugurated.

Since the expulsion of the old lords, the Almafi family, the only church of the noble gods in the village, has been abandoned. Although Baron Stone promoted the belief in the Lion God in his domain, the Church of the God of Courage had limited power in the Kingdom of Brittany, and there were not enough priests assigned to all the villages to establish churches.

In the lavishly furnished chapel, the ceremony is presided over by Griffith's servant Vicente, who is also the head of the church.

The church wasn't huge, half the size of the "Tavern of the Dragon and the Beauty" next door, but it was enough for the current village of Hydra - except for Vicente, Lady Fortune didn't even have a real believer here.

There were quite a few people watching the ceremony, led by Griffith, Lily, Anna, Bailey, and Hansen, as well as Locke, the captain of the Cobblestone, and the newly promoted servants of the village.

As Vicente respectfully completed the first prayer, a golden light unsurprisingly fell on Vicente.

"Congratulations, Brother Vicente, you will be a full pastor from today onwards. Barov, a guest sent by the Diocese of Thousand Sails City, a Level 5 Silver Coin Priest, congratulated loudly.

Lady Fortune has always marked the price of her followers, and the easiest way to become a full-fledged pastor is to donate 10,000 gold dragons to the church. Theoretically, as long as you have enough golden dragons, the Crystal Coin Archbishop can buy them - of course, at that price, no one in the entire Titania continent can afford to pay.

Ordinary people, if they want to win the favor of wealthy ladies, they mainly rely on merit. Building a church, for example, gave Vicente his first priesthood.

"Pastor Barov, can you go out for a walk with me?" Griffith invited.

That's exactly what I mean. Barov readily agreed. This confidant of Miss Charlotte specially went on this trip, and the viewing ceremony was only incidental, and the real purpose was to come to discuss business with Griffith.

Neither of them had taken an entourage with them, and walked north along the dock for nearly half an hour, when Griffith pointed to an open field ahead, which was divided into sparkling pools by earthen embankments, and introduced, "This is my salt drying field." ”

Drying salt is not too difficult technically. Find a suitable location on the seashore, divide into multiple salt ponds from high to low, and then introduce the seawater into the highest evaporation pond, and when the salinity reaches a certain level, it will be poured into the next pond until the final crystallization pond.

Perhaps details that affect efficiency, such as letting the brine flow, or the traditional "salt flowering", can speed up evaporation, but for Griffith, who lacks manpower, there is no need to be so meticulous for the time being. In fact, even the development of these salt pans, Griffith did not use the people of Hydra Village much, and he basically personally commanded the siege crabs to complete.

"Very clever approach. Barov exclaimed, and then asked, a little puzzled, "Why did you put the salt pond so far away?"

"Because of the Chishui River, the sea near the mouth of the sea is diluted, and the salt pans are built here, and the yield will be a little higher. Griffith gave Barov a plausible explanation.

However, there are two other reasons he did not say. First of all, the ground here is stony, so it is not easy for salt to seep into the ground, and secondly, it is located farther away so as not to hinder the future development of the port.

"Good, good, no wonder Miss Charlotte thinks so highly of you. The more Barov looked at it, the happier he became, and suddenly, his brows furrowed, "This kind of salt drying method seems to be difficult to keep secret, and you are not afraid that others will steal it?"

Griffith showed a helpless wry smile: "What if I'm afraid, can I still hide it?"

Such a large salt pan is placed under the sun, and passing ships can see it, as long as they are not too stupid, they can taste the mystery after a little thought, not to mention that there are prophecy spells in this world, Griffith has never dared to expect to be able to keep it secret.

"But in this way, we will be able to earn a lot less golden dragons. Barov's face darkened.

That's fine, if I make too much, I won't be able to sleep. Griffith thought so in his heart, but he still had to strengthen the confidence of his partner: "Actually, we still have an advantage. Hydra Village is hot and rainy in summer and autumn, and even if other places learn from our methods, the yield and cost will definitely not be as good as here. ”

"Moreover, the cost of the salt drying method is very low, and as long as we reduce the price of coarse salt to a very low level, there is not much incentive for others to enter this market. This strategy is what I call 'small profits, quick turnover'. ”

Lady Fortune isn't the most powerful of the Titanian gods, but her business network is unmatched. Griffith's idea is something that only the church of the goddess of commerce can do.

"Small profits, quick turnover—" The more Barov pondered it, the more he felt that the word was incisive, and he couldn't help muttering: "This idea will definitely get divine grace." ”

Actually, I mentioned this idea in my letter to Ms. Charlotte. "The thighs are naturally looking for thick hugs, and Griffith has any good ideas, and he will definitely not choose to sell them to the silver coin priest in front of him.

"I see. Barov was a little disappointed, but he figured out one thing. Why did Ms. Charlotte tell herself to agree to Griffith's request as much as possible when she set off, it turned out that the two had already agreed that they would go on this trip by themselves, just for others to see.

The Church of the Goddess of Commerce itself is a commercial organization, but its structure is complex, and many high-ranking priests have their own chambers of commerce, such as Ms. Charlotte's Obsidian Chamber of Commerce. As the gold bishop of the diocese of Thousand Sails, Ms. Charlotte is not able to personally intervene in the daily affairs of the Chamber of Commerce, and Barov is its agent.

"Sir Griffith, what is your plan for cooperation with Lady Charlotte?" As the real executor, Barov still has to figure out the details of the cooperation, and I believe that Lady Charlotte also hopes that she can have a good relationship with the young nobleman in front of her.

"First, the coarse salt produced in the village of Hydra is underwritten by the Obsidian Chamber of Commerce at a price of 4 copper coins a pound. Although he had been mentally prepared, Barov was still intimidated by the price.

The price of coarse salt on the Ilya Peninsula is basically maintained at about one pound of silver, and the purchase price given by Griffith is only equivalent to one-fifth of the market price, and even if freight is added, the cost of each pound will not exceed five copper slots. If the obsidian chamber dumped the coarse salt at half of the current market price, it would also have a 50% profit margin.

What excites Barov the most, though, is that this price will not even cause a backlash from the aristocracy. After all, boiling salt requires a lot of manpower and firewood, and if cheap coarse salt can be bought from merchants, it is more profitable to let the free-hand farmers clear the land or cut wood.