A few days later, Maximus looked through the ledger, examining the income flowing in and out of his territory.
In terms of profit:
Firstly, there were taxes amounting to approximately 30 thousand gold coins every month.
This revenue stemmed from the prosperity of Moonshadow City.
With Maximus' various projects, as long as you're not lazy, you can basically have a job and earn lots of money.
Due to this, Various merchants and businessmen from the Faerie Kingdom had chosen to settle within his territory.
Contributing to the booming economy, hence the tax revenue.
Secondly, there were a few thousand gold coins coming from various mines around Moonshadow City.
Although Maximus had previously claimed his territory was barren, this was relative to other territories in the Faerie Kingdom.
After all, if there was nothing, why invest in a territory and spend money on its population?
Thirdly, the farms yielded around a hundred thousand gold coins per harvest.
Harvesting twice a year translates to approximately 200 thousand gold per year.
Fourthly, there was income from the winery.
Two months ago, he had earned half a million gold in just one month.
However, after the frenzy had subsided, he was only able to earn about a hundred thousand this month.
With all these sources combined, he could earn around 150 thousand gold per month.
Of course, there were also expenses to consider.
Firstly, there were the salaries of various officials, guards, soldiers, construction workers, and farmers, costing around 20 thousand gold per month.
Secondly, resources for the training of guards and soldiers amounted to 30 thousand gold per month.
Thirdly, there was the construction and expansion of his territory, including various buildings, roads, amenities, and facilities.
Originally, he had only allocated about a thousand gold monthly for this purpose.
But with the winery's profits, he had become bolder and now used over 30 thousand gold coins.
Fourthly, there were expenses for training, nutrition, food, etc for himself and his family, totaling only 10 thousand per month.
Lastly, miscellaneous expenses amounted to a reserve of 10 thousand gold.
Taking into account all the profits and expenses.
Maximus could only save about fifty thousand gold per month, which was already a substantial amount.
However, Maximus felt it was not enough, and he needed to seek another venture.
"Sigh, money will never be enough," Maximus muttered.
...
The next day, Maximus called Doran for a meeting.
"I've met the lord."
"At ease," Doran nodded and took a seat.
"I'm here to discuss opening a new venture," Maximus began.
"A new venture?"
"Yes, the money is insufficient these days."
Upon hearing Maximus's reasoning, Doran's lips twitched.
Insufficient money?
In the past, Maximus's father had only earned about ten thousand gold per month.
Maximus had increased that income more than tenfold, was this still not enough?
"I will do my best to assist the Count," Doran said.
Although he recognized that starting a new venture was risky.
But with the winery income as a backup, Doran didn't worry much and just let go of his lord.
"How about delving into the clothing business?" Maximus suggested.
"Clothing? That should be feasible," Doran nodded.
This sector was not as risky, so his lord should not encounter significant issues.
It might even give them substantial profit if done well.
"That's it, then start hiring people."
"There are also various looms, dyeing equipment, fabrics, etc."
"You can just inquire about this."
"Anyway, I want all these things so we can just sew clothes and not worry about anything," Maximus explained.
"This," Doran paused for a moment.
He thought the count meant creating fabric when discussing clothes.
However, from the way things were going, it seemed that the count planned to make ready-made clothes to wear.
"It seems that we don't have any master seamstresses in our territory."
"Should we reconsider this, Lord?" Doran advised.
Without master seamstresses to design and guide the process, they would surely lose money.
"Don't worry about this; I have the designs. You only need to follow them,"
Maximus smiled and took out a few designs he had bought from the system.
"This," Doran was amazed looking at the ingenious designs on the paper.
They were in line with the times but also innovative.
Just by looking at them, Doran imagined that they would be comfortable to wear.
"I will do my best, Lord Count!" Doran bowed excitedly.
This was another money-making machine.
Looking at the stack of designs on the table, they should be able to earn a lot.
"Good, I'll leave everything to you."
...
Two months later,
With Doran's efforts and Maximus's unlimited financial support, it took Doran only a month to set up a clothing workshop.
As for the seamstresses, they were hired from various parts of the Faerie Kingdom.
Moonshadow City had a small population, and there weren't enough talents locally.
Fortunately, Moonshadow City had changed beyond comparison, making it prosperous.
So those Doran hired were even eager to move and live there.
With the completion of the workshop, hiring of workers, and availability of clothing designs.
They began their work, making great strides of progress.
Now, two months later, they were about to have their first trial in the market.
"Go! Arrange the clothes carefully."
"Be careful not to get them wrinkled."
"No, place that on the other side."
Doran walked back and forth, giving orders to the employees in one of the stores in Moonshadow City.
There were various stores selling clothes across Moonshadow City, but this was the largest one, so Doran was there.
Yes, the clothes were only being sold in Moonshadow City.
Doran didn't know, but Maximus had ordered them to concentrate on the territory.
Even the winery had shrunk back, and you could only buy the wine in Moonshadow City.
"That's good! Now back to your places; we are close to opening," Doran ordered.
Soon, all the employees stood in their places, wearing professional smiles.
...
Outside the shop:
"How long before the store is going to open?"
"It should be soon."
"I'm so excited. I heard from my niece that the clothes they make are very beautiful."
"I just don't know about the price. I hope it's cheap."
Various people, mostly women, chattered as they waited for the shop to open.
Although they could buy ready-made clothes from other shops, it was quite expensive.
They would rather buy their own fabric and make their own clothes.
However, according to their gossip, the clothes made by their lord were cheap and affordable for the masses.
"Look, the curtain is coming up!"
"Finally, it's open!"
"Welcome to our store!" Two workers greeted.
"Go! Maybe it won't be enough!"
The people scrambled as they entered the store.
"Relax, ladies. We have enough supplies for all of you," the worker smiled.
"Oh," they also calmed down, scrutinizing the store.
"Wow, it's really beautiful, just suitable for me."
"How much is this?" A woman said, touching the garment.
"This, madam, is only 7.9 silver coins!"
"So expensive!" She was shocked and hastily removed her hand from the cloth.
"If madam prefers a more affordable option, I recommend looking through aisles 1 to 10."
"This," the woman also hesitated.
Of course, she had seen the clothes in those aisles.
It was the first thing she saw when she came in.
But the design of this dress was incomparable to the one in front.
"May I try this one?" The woman gritted her teeth, planning to buy the dress.
After all, her husband was a soldier with a monthly salary of tens of silver.
"Sure, ma'am. Please come this way," the steward smiled and led her to the dressing room.
The others also had similar scenes, but most of them didn't have enough money to splurge on expensive clothes.
Nonetheless, they still bought some clothes from aisles 1 to 10.
After all, they only cost tens of copper coins, which were really affordable.
"Is this all your clothes?" A rich-looking, glamorous woman suddenly said, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Of course not, madam," the steward smiled, thinking that she had caught a big customer.
After all, they received a commission on everything they sold.
"Then show me," the woman said arrogantly.
"Alright, madam, to enter, you'll need to provide a deposit of 1 gold coin."
"What? Is there still such a rule?"
"Uh-"
"Anyway, it's just a gold coin. Here," the woman said and handed over a gold coin.
After giving the deposit, the woman was escorted to the second floor.
The others were curious, but as they didn't have money, they just sighed and went about their business.
As soon as the woman reached the second floor, she was dumbfounded.
"How beautiful..."
Although the clothes on the first floor are also beautiful, they are not unique.
"How is it, ma'am?"
"Every piece here has been carefully sewn by our master seamstresses."
"Furthermore, we also offer alterations so you can wear them comfortably."
"Oh..." She unconsciously stepped forward when she saw a masterpiece displayed in the middle.
"How much is this?"
"This one is 3,000 gold, ma'am. It's also a treasure of our shop."
"Uh," the woman was stunned.
Although she was rich, she couldn't afford such an extravagant price for a single piece of clothing.
With a sigh, she continued to look at the other clothes that she could afford.
After a few hours of shopping, the woman was not tired, but her money had run out.
"How much is all of this?"
"It's a total of 560 gold, ma'am."
"Uh, I don't have that much cash on me right now." The woman was embarrassed.
"It's alright, ma'am. We provide a delivery service within Moonshadow City; you can just pay upon delivery."
"That's alright, then. Just deliver them to my address."
"Very well..."
The woman nodded and reluctantly exited the shop.
She thought of inviting her friends later for a shopping trip.
...
A month later,
"Push!"
In one of the castle chambers, Erica was in labor.
"Aah!"
Erica did her best to push the baby out of her belly.
"Push!"
It seemed that the baby in her belly was a bit stubborn and didn't want to come out.
"Aaah!"
After unrelenting efforts, the baby was finally pushed out.
"The baby is out!" The Midwife said.
"Hmmm." Erica heaved a sigh of relief as she saw her bloodied son come out.
"How are you, Erica?" Maximus came in after Erica had finished giving birth.
"It's fine..."
With the potion that Maximus had prepared, giving birth wasn't really that hard.
"Look, it's a son again," Erica sighed.
Although she already knew it was a son, Erica was still disappointed.
She would like a little padded jacket like Lily for a change.
"It's quite lively," Maximus commented.
Looking at the baby waving his arms as if he couldn't wait to explore the world, he smiled.
"Then I'll name him Max, the Ultimate of everything..." Maximus smiled.
"Max sounds good," Erica smiled, thinking that it was the same as her husband's.
...
A week later, Hazel also gave birth.
"Husband, this child is so handsome," Hazel commented.
Different from Max's liveliness, this child was silent and peaceful.
"It's really cute," Maximus said, teasing the child and gently pinching his cheeks.
"I'll name him Nathan, a gift from heaven."
...
In the Castle Garden:
"It's brothers..." Lily sighed.
"Brothers are cute," Liam refuted.
Before Lily could answer, the newborn Max bit her finger.
"Bad brother!"
"Ba...ba," Max laughed.
"Brother is good," Liam said, looking at the peaceful Nathan.
"Hmph, I want a sister," Lily refuted and walked unsteadily to Luna and Livia.
"Mothers, Lily wants sisters," Lily said, with her hand on their stomachs.
"Don't worry, this time it's sisters," Livia comforted.
Although they were only one month pregnant and didn't know the gender of the child in their stomachs.
Luna and Livia also wished it was a girl.
"Little sister, big sister Lily is waiting for you," Lily muttered.
"Your big sister Lily is being bullied by brothers, so you should hurry and help me."
Seeing Lily murmuring beside their stomachs, Luna and Livia could only smile wryly.