Chapter 23: Ideas for Winemaking
Back at the manor, Donald met Sir Jesse, who had come from Stone City, in the farm room where he was staying. Sir Jesse skillfully showed kindness and familiarity without offending his host, and after completing his task, he left promptly without lingering. Donald greatly appreciated this man’s ability to handle affairs—although he accepted bribes, he knew when to stop and ensured nothing was overlooked in his work. If he had his own territory, he would surely hire this sir as its financial officer. A financial official in a territory was akin to a kingdom’s chancellor, and if they performed well and achieved merits, the lord would not hesitate to grant them an hereditary title. Thus, exiled noble youths like Jesse usually refused invitations from noble lords—even though they could earn much by working secretly for the kingdom. Sir Jesse also admired Donald greatly, a noble among nobles who had become a full-fledged mage at a young age. The previous two manor owners encountered incidents of magical beasts harming people shortly after taking over. But this mage had been in charge for nearly a month now, and the manor was almost fully built, with herds of livestock and construction workers coming and going—yet not a single incident had occurred! It was undeniable that magic was a mysterious and powerful profession. Donald didn’t realize that his ability to manage the manor smoothly was attributed by Sir Jesse to the magic of being a mage. In truth, the reason no problems had arisen was not because he had taken any special measures, but because the manor had been vacant for most of that time; even if magical beasts came, there was nothing to hunt. Now that the Tree of Life had taken root, its natural barrier calmed the surrounding wild beasts and magical creatures, causing even the most aggressive ones to stay away from the manor’s territory. After seeing Sir Jesse off, Donald knew that as long as the Tree of Life remained, he needn’t worry about magical beast invasions—unless someone deliberately destroyed it or the beasts rebelled for other reasons. So, he left in peace, planning to visit Stone City to learn about the world’s business conditions and gather ideas for future products for his manor.
The planning of the manor is largely complete. Farms covering a total of 40 mu have been established on all four sides, and the currently empty area in the center already has a foundation laid for the construction of a villa. Behind it lies the Tree of Life near the forest. The entire manor is almost entirely covered by the barrier of the Tree of Life, extending even beyond its borders. The natural energy within the barrier is at least five times stronger than outside, providing an excellent environment for farming.
There are houses for the farmers to live in, produced by the Book of Truth, with quality better than that of ordinary small merchants’ dwellings. There is also plenty of space left, so there’s no need to build anything else for now. As a noble, he should at least build a villa to match his status. Once completed, the villa will have enough guest rooms for visitors, and the servants will also have their own rooms.
As for the farmland, thanks to the barrier of the Tree of Life, all plants within a two-kilometer radius are nourished by natural energy. Seeing the weeds growing wildly, Donald felt great hope for the development of the manor.
“If weeds can grow like this, then anything planted will thrive. We’ll become wealthy soon!”
Apart from the planned fields, Donald didn’t bother sending people to clear the weeds in other areas, especially in the grazing zones. These rapidly growing weeds would make excellent fodder for livestock once harvested! For herbivorous animals, whether grazed freely or kept in enclosed areas, it would save a significant amount of money!
What his manor lacks now is a unique economic product that can bring substantial profits.
Without such a unique product, relying solely on ordinary crops and livestock would only barely cover living expenses, let alone afford the luxuries expected of a noble. Moreover, he still needed to cultivate his magic skills, and the Book of Truth consumed a lot of crystal cores and energy crystals. He couldn’t keep relying on hunting for income.
This time, with ample time, Donald traveled to Stone City by carriage rather than using teleportation. After all, teleportation has a cooldown period, and it’s better to reserve it for critical moments. Otherwise, if an emergency arises and the skill is still cooling down, it could lead to serious consequences.
Darknight Manor is located roughly due north of Stone City, about eighty to ninety kilometers away, separated by Maple Town. The area in between is either uninhabited forests or hills.
Although Northshire is nominally under the rule of Viscount Macbeth, who serves as its governor, it is not entirely under his control. Only Castle Rock and the nearby stronghold of Far Mountain in the southeast, along with Lord Grie’s fiefdom acquired over a decade ago, are directly under the viscount’s jurisdiction along with those of his vassals. Other places such as Redmaple Town under Baron Redmaple, Greenwood Town managed by the military at Bloodstone Fortress in the west, and Sparkgold Town at the southernmost edge of Northshire, bordering both Marquis Ansel’s domain and the central provinces of the kingdom, are not under the viscount’s control. Viscount Macbeth, as governor of Northshire, only has limited supervisory powers.
Especially Sparkgold Town, located at the junction of the three provinces, serves as a trade hub controlling the flow of goods between the west, north, and center. Not only does Viscount Macbeth covet its annual wealth, but many nobles in the capital are also eager for it. When Northshire was first established, even the royal family could not stop greedy nobles from competing for control of Sparkgold Town. In the end, they adopted the system of the commercial kingdoms in the southern continent, making Sparkgold Town a self-governing territory of the kingdom. It is never granted to any noble nor directly administered by the royal family; instead, an official is elected every ten years to serve as mayor, paying large taxes to the kingdom each year. As long as one pays the taxes and abides by the kingdom’s laws, anyone can do business in Sparkgold Town.
These were the details Donald learned as soon as he decided to establish himself in this world and gained some strength. Coming from a world filled with information on Earth, Donald naturally understood that knowledge equals wealth and information equals money. That’s why he chose the wise and learned profession of mage as his main career. Otherwise, with the many ability-enhancing items in the Book of Truth, he could have spent the same effort to boost his physique or strength, and becoming a brave knight would also have been a good option. But in this world, although knights are powerful, they are not invincible. In the eyes of the local people, spellcasters are likely the strongest profession after the gods. Of course, this is not absolute; there are also some genius warrior professionals whose strength far exceeds that of their peers.
As a symbol of mystery and power, and the representative of spellcasters, a mage inherently exudes an air of nobility and unapproachability, which fits well with their noble status. If he had chosen to become a knight instead, even if he had reached the level of a high-ranking knight equivalent to a fifth-level professional, his reputation and deterrence would likely be less than one-tenth of what they are now, making him an easy target for combined attacks from enemies.
From the beginning, Donald relied on his own magical prowess and the influence of the only mage guild in the North County, allowing him and the foundation he had built to remain untroubled for so long.
As the carriage traveled on the road to Giantstone City, passing through villages under the jurisdiction of Baron Redmaple, Donald became interested upon seeing the rows of green, purple, and red grapevines in the vineyards on either side of the village.
Baron Redmaple’s wines were famous, a fact well-known throughout the North County. The baron owned his own private estate dedicated to winemaking, producing high-quality wines. Though not among the finest, some of them were sold each year throughout the kingdom to nobles, generating profits of at least a thousand gold sols. This industry had always been one of Baron Redmaple’s most valuable sources of income.
As a result, the two villages within Baron Redmaple’s territory, along with nearby lands, also planted large amounts of wine grapes. The high-quality grapes were purchased directly by the baron’s officials every year when they ripened. As for the rest, mostly of average quality, the villagers would make their own wine. Aside from using it themselves, most of this average or even inferior-quality wine was sold to inns and taverns in nearby villages and towns.
Compared to high-quality red wine costing a gold sol per glass, barley wine, which could be enjoyed in large quantities for just a few copper coins, was more popular among travelers and adventurers. Ordinary wine, which required a silver moon to afford two or three glasses, seemed rather impractical, and only wealthy merchants or middle-ranking officials could afford it as an accompaniment to meals. True nobles would use at least medium-quality or better wine when entertaining guests to maintain their status.
Donald ordered the coachman to stop by the roadside and got out to speak with several older villagers in charge of the vineyards, before locating the village chief.
His purpose was simply to purchase some of the wine stored in the village from the previous year.
In his past life, he had also enjoyed making wine himself. Though it was a hobby, he had learned the details and found it easy to produce a few barrels of red wine using the simplest methods.
Under Donald’s relentless pressure, the village chief quickly resold all five barrels of wine originally intended for merchants and inns to the noble young lord Donald. With his own plans in mind, Donald bought the wine and, with the help of a few villagers, secured it on top of the carriage. He then stopped further travel and ordered the driver, “We’re not going to Stone City. Let’s head back to the manor.” After traveling a distance away from the village, eager to test his idea, Donald simply stored the wine barrels in a spatial imprint. The driver, accustomed to such actions, drove back to the manor on his own, while Donald disappeared into a deserted forest by the road and used teleportation to return to his room in the manor. “Young master, you’re back!” The butler, Kord, was puzzled by the sudden return of his master, who had originally planned to go to Stone City, but said nothing further. Donald ordered, “Kord, go and get some wine glasses from the house. I need them!” Kord went to fetch the glasses, and Donald then took out a two-foot-tall wooden wine barrel from the spatial imprint. Soon, the butler returned, and Donald opened the barrel, filling a glass for himself and one for Kord. Although this locally brewed red wine had been stored for a year, it still tasted somewhat sour and astringent. Compared to the smooth and clear wines from his past life, the crude filtering method used here left many impurities, affecting the taste. “The quality of this wine is terrible. It’s really hard to swallow after getting used to the wine you brought back, Uncle Kord!” Donald frowned as he swallowed the wine. Kord, after drinking his wine, said, “Of course, this homemade wine from rural farmers can’t compare to the high-quality wines from Red Maple Region, which cost fifteen silver moons per bottle. If you want to study winemaking, it’s better to plant excellent grape varieties in the manor and study them carefully once they’re ripe to produce good wine!” But Donald had other plans. He shook his head, took out two small crystal bottles, and poured the blue-glowing liquids from them into their glasses respectively.