After handing over the runic weapon to Rod, Goodlands was finally in a better mood, at least, the dwarves didn't feel like they owed Rhodes anything. Then, in the next trade activities, you can do business with Blackhammer Castle normally.

Lord Sogard has handed over the trade rights of Ice Pepper to the Thunder Axe Caravan, and Goodlands is counting on a steady stream of profits from this trade route. Its value even surpassed that of the empire's cloth and ceramics trade. Goodlands thought to himself that perhaps in just two months, the profits generated by the Ice Pepper trade would be enough to craft a rune weapon.

"Remember to write to me when you return to your territory, Dulong City is ready to welcome you again. ”

Goodlands was very thoughtful.

Rod nodded his head as well. In the future, if Dulong City falls into a crisis, he will definitely rush to help. No matter how far away, no matter how difficult it is. Blackhammer will send troops. Oaths are so important and sacred to dwarves. Rhodes knew that once he said it, he couldn't go back. There is one rule that must be followed when dealing with dwarves - keeping oaths.

Although the current strength of Black Hammer Fort cannot be compared to Dulong City, who knows the future, the future......

Rhodes nodded, and they said goodbye at the gate of Dulong City. It's still as solemn as they first came, full of ancient and vicissitudes of charm. Before he knew it, Rhodes had been spending a week here.

And the butcher Bogur was not idle during this time, using the spoils of two battles with Rhodes, he exchanged a large amount of wine in Dulong City and bought himself two brand new axes. Although it is not as expensive as the thunder in Rod's hand, it can be regarded as an excellent quality. At least, with Mrs. Keighrie's craftsmanship, it can't be built. According to the current level of craftsmanship in Kislev, the thing created is almost a blank slate, with no attribute bonuses.

......

It's been another week back at Blackhammer Castle.

When Rhodes and his party arrived at Blackhammer Castle, everything here had changed again. The concrete walls surrounding the town have been completely closed, potatoes have been planted on a large scale, beacon towers have been erected outside the city, and the foundation stone has been laid for the monastery dedicated to the goddess Sarak and the bear god Ersun, which is relatively large and the monastery of Sarak is smaller.

"Your Lord, you're finally back. ”

As soon as he entered the door, Muros greeted him with a heartfelt welcome. He had a lot to report to Rhodes. A lot of things had happened during the time he had been away from the castle, and it was no longer up to him, the butler, to decide for himself.

"At your direction, the foundation of the Abbey of Sarak has been laid, and the priestesses are willing to stay, provided that they are allowed to preach here. ”

"Yes. Sarak is not an evil god, and it doesn't hurt to have the suffering populace believe in her. What else?"

"Also, there seems to be an increase in the number of civilians who believe in Ersun lately. ”

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Rod said that the attendant closed the door by the way, and consciously stood outside the door and waited. When talking about the castle, Rhodes was usually alone with Muros. As Rod's squire, this has become a habit.

"Well, that's a good thing......"

"Anything else?"

"And ...... Something is wrong with our income and expenditure. ”

Muros said, removing the heavy ledger from the shelf, and began to read—

Revenue:

Ore income 330 gold crown,

Fur yields 143 gold crowns.

Logs earn 88 gold crowns,

Finished timber yields 55 gold crowns.

Trade tax 22 gold crown

Poll tax 23 gold crown

"This is the sum of the income of Blackhammer Castle this quarter, a total of 661 gold crowns, Lord Lord. ”

Rod took the ledger, took a brief look, and found that in the second quarter of the income, ore and fur income remained almost unchanged, which is also normal, the mine has not expanded, and the mining income naturally cannot be greatly improved. Fur income should have increased, because the second quarter was a short summer, when the forest was at its most diverse and numerous, however, due to the constant fighting, the Norscans were taken out to fight, which led to a decrease in hunting operations, and the fur income naturally decreased. The two are neutralized, so that the fur income is basically unchanged.

Timber revenues have increased, as the opening of timber processing plants in towns has improved the situation that could only be relied on the export of logs, and the price of processed timber has tripled, resulting in a significant increase in timber resource income.

To Rhodes' delight, there has been a significant increase in tax revenues. Due to the completion of the city wall and the increase in jobs, the number of civilians who came to Blackhammer to make a living continued to increase. As the population increased, trade flourished, and at least, more people bought food, and the extra 33 gold crowns were taxes. Although there are not many of them, you can see the shadow of the rapid development of the town.

"Not bad. ”

After reading it, Rod casually picked up the wine glass on the table and poured himself a full bottle of wine.

"Don't worry, my lord, here's the ...... of expenses."

Muros said, turning the next page.

The papyrus-bound ledger reads clearly......

Actual expenses of Blackhammer in the second quarter:

The city wall was built with a 323 gold crown,

Road construction 125 gold crown.

Miner's salary 169 gold crown,

Imported flour 50 gold crown.

Soldier's salary 122 gold crown,

Other expenditures 23 gold crowns.

A total of 812 gold crowns.

There are still details of each expense underneath, but out of trust, Rhodes did not turn over the details. What's more, he hasn't been in Black Hammer Fort for a long time, so he may not be able to find out anything if he really investigates. Mulos knew much more about the management of the castle than he did.

"My lord, our income is not keeping up with our expenditures. This year's expenses at Blackhammer Fort are huge, and I've already taken out the reserves to advance them. If we continue like this, we will be bankrupt by the end of the year......"

Muros said worriedly.

After saying that, Rod held the ledger again, flipped it back and read it again.

It is said that although he is not good at accounting, he is more than enough to deal with the management of this medieval castle. After looking at it for a while, Rod saw that there was a problem.

"Mulos, come, look at this statement of income and expenditure. Actually, we don't need to worry about it at all. Steady growth in income will be followed by the introduction of the ice pepper trade, which will bring far more revenue than the timber and fur business. As for spending, the second quarter was a bit larger. But the main expenditure was actually on the construction of the city walls. It cost us a lot of manpower and material resources, but it was a one-time expense, and now that the walls have been built, we will not have this expenditure again in the third quarter and the long winter that follows. In other words, in the next quarter, this large share of the expenditure item will be directly deducted and will no longer exist. If there is still an expense on the city wall, then it is the cost of repairing the damage to the city wall caused by the siege of the beastmen or other forces in the future. Do you calculate, after deducting the construction of the city wall, how much do we have left?"

Muros was about to come up with the abacus (1) calculus, but Rod blurted out directly-

"489 gold crown. ”

Muros was dumbfounded, he couldn't understand how Rhodes had calculated the result in such a short period of time, and in his memory, his lord didn't seem to have any training in mathematics......

Before Muros could react, Rod continued to analyze-

"Food imports can also be reduced in the future, and we are already able to grow potatoes ourselves. It will become our main food for the winter. I also plan to export the excess to Dulong City. As a result, flour spending will also shrink next quarter. ”

"However, there are two expenditures that need to be increased. The castle has more guards, and accordingly, the total salary of the soldiers will also increase. In the next three quarters, a batch of dwarven firearms will be imported, and this part of the expenditure will also increase. ”

Rod said, frowning. Obviously, the tiny Blackhammer Fort was not enough to feed a truly large-scale force. It still needs a larger population, and more productive people.

(1) Source: An abacus is a device used to perform arithmetic calculations. It is a frame with a rod on which balls, beads, or metal discs can slide. This tool was brought to the Old World by Aurora merchants and is now used by merchants all over the world.