Chapter 37: The Fortune in the Castle
Shanlin Castle was as bustling as usual, but in just half a day, the owner of the castle changed.
Roning had dinner with the guards from Shanlin Town. This was a temporary victory for them.
Although the broth, side dishes and bread made by the chef were much worse than those in Wushanbao, Luo Ning, who had been eating dried meat and dry bread these days, still happily ate several bowls of them.
This was especially true for the guards below.
The food on the road was already very good for them, not to mention the soups and dishes at the dinner.
The dinner lasted for about an hour. When it was completely dark, Luo Ning took a nice bath and moved into the tidied small building.
This small building is made entirely of wood and has three floors: upper, middle and lower.
The top floor is the attic, where unused clothes or tools are usually stored. The middle floor is the luxurious bedroom, and the bottom floor is the living room and the place for servants to take a nap.
Luo Ning lived in the largest room on the second floor, which was relatively clean after the servants cleaned it up.
At this moment, he was sitting in the study outside the bedroom, and the lit candles illuminated the entire room.
Although the light was not as soft as the incandescent lamps on Earth, it was enough for him to see every word in the book clearly.
There were two books in front of him, or more accurately, fighting manuals - Flame Slash and Fire Fist Bombing.
Roning took a quick look and found that they were all fighting skills suitable for intermediate knights to practice.
Among them, Flame Slash should be the flame attack used by Princet;
Flame Bombing is a little more difficult to learn, so Princet should not have mastered it; of course, it is also possible that he mastered it but had no chance to use it.
These two secret books on fighting skills are very useful to Roning. After all, one of his attributes is fire.
"Knock knock knock~" There was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Chahar, the butler, came in. "Good evening, sir."
He came to the table and respectfully reported his work: "I have completed the tasks you asked me to do."
As he spoke, he pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it over.
"It's very fast!"
The parchment paper feels delicate and smooth, but there is also a faint fishy smell.
Luo Ning frowned slightly. Although the smell was not pleasant, he had read a lot of books these days and had gotten used to it.
Ronin did not seem to have any difficulty reading the text from another world. It read:
[Money: 58 gold coins, 349 silver coins, 8466 copper coins]
[Food: 18,856 catties of barley, 16,230 catties of wheat, 1,000 catties of flour, 500 catties of dried meat, 30 catties of fine salt, 136 catties of coarse salt, 320 catties of ash, 280 catties of butter]
[Beer: 26 bottles of premium beer, 138 bottles of medium beer, 5 barrels of sour beer]
[Horses: 1 fine warhorse, three ordinary warhorses, 19 ordinary horses, three ponies, five carriages]
[Cattle and sheep: 4 dairy cows, one male dairy cow, one calf, ten female black buffaloes, one male black buffalo, three calves, 126 goats]
[Weapons]: Full set of armor * 3, iron spear * 23, knight sword * 6, inferior long sword * 12, longbow * 8, arrows * 356
[Fur: sheepskin 56 pieces, cowhide 13 pieces,]
[Fabric: 87 rolls of linen, 54 rolls of woollen cloth]
Roning carefully read the items listed on the parchment, and the smile on his face grew wider the more he read.
No wonder many people dream of conquering a castle. The rewards are so tempting!
"Prince pledged allegiance to Rayson of Thane Lord, and many things must have been handed over to Thane Lord. I didn't expect that there were so many in Shanlin Castle!"
"Yes, sir, this food is enough for us to eat for a year!"
Chahar was so excited when he counted his belongings that he felt like he had made a fortune.
"And September is coming soon. I heard that Shanlin Town still has a batch of barley to be harvested. Then we will have a large amount of fresh barley."
Although Luo Ning usually eats more wheat flour, barley is also an important food.
It can not only be used as food but also as an important material for brewing beer and making maltose and barley tea. In addition, black bread made from its bran is also a guarantee of survival for many people.
"There's no need to worry about food in the castle."
Luo Ning was originally planning to go out to buy food, but now it seems to be more than enough.
As for money.
Including the money seized from the castle, Ronin already had 589 gold on him. Even if he used it to buy five magic crystals, he would still have more than 80 gold coins in savings.
Now, he can consider the first recharge gift, but magic crystals cannot be bought in Shanlin Town.
If he wants to buy it, he may have to go to the nearest horse ranch city.
"Shanlin Town hasn't established itself yet, so it's not suitable to go out."
It had been less than five hours since Roning entered the castle, and there were many things he hadn't done, so he was completely unable to spare the time.
As for asking someone else to do it, that is even more impossible.
The only warrior, McKen, must stay by his side. If the others are not strong enough and get robbed if they go out rashly, Roning will not know who to cry to.
In addition to money, he was more concerned about three things: horses, cattle, sheep and weapons, which were much more valuable than food.
"These three war horses were ridden by Princet, Sean and others. They were counted together after being captured."
Chahar introduced: "Full body armour is basically the same."
Roning nodded. He had a basic understanding of the wealth of Shanlin Castle.
At this time, he also understood how attractive so much wealth was to a civil servant, and it was no wonder that the other party was reluctant to let it go.
"You have done a very good job in statistics."
Luo Ning placed the parchment in his hand on the table and gave Chahar an appreciative smile, "Thank you for your hard work!"
Chahar waved his hands quickly and said modestly: "Master, please don't be like this. It's my honour to serve you!"
"Well, there should be warehouses and cellars in the castle. You will be in charge of keeping all these supplies."
Luo Ning began to make the first step of personnel arrangements: "Work hard, Chahar. From now on, you will be the steward of Shanlin Castle."
When Chahar heard this, he was stunned for a moment. His dream was to become a butler like Hallwart.
Now, he finally took the first step in his life - from a male servant to a butler!
Although he was only a butler in a remote mountain forest castle, he had discovered during this period that he would definitely have a bright future following this Master!
Chahar immediately knelt on one knee on the ground, "Seven Gods bear witness, Chahar will definitely not let you down, sir!"
"Haha, get up."
Roning raised his hand and handed over a piece of parchment on the table.
"Prince's servants are no longer available. I'll leave the matter of recruiting new servants to you. This is the salary range table I set. Please follow this standard."
"Yes, sir!"
Chahar took the parchment and read it carefully.
The above classifies servants into categories, such as apprentice servants, menial servants, kitchen chefs, kitchen helpers, personal maids, personal valet, butlers, housekeepers, etc., and gives a brief description while also dividing the salary range.
The highest paid is the butler, who is responsible for all administrative affairs in the castle, but must keep a clear distinction between the maids' living area and life, and his salary is eight copper coins per day.
The salary of the housekeeper and the chef is in the second tier, six copper coins per day.
The lowest rank is the apprentice servant, who only gets one copper coin per day.
"Our castle is not big right now, and we don't have many people. We are just starting out. I will offer you eight copper coins per day."
Luo Ning smiled and said, "When our castle expands, and we have more people and things to do, I will give you a raise."
A steward in a baron's castle gets a daily salary of 8 copper coins, which means an annual income of only two gold and six silver coins. It is not high, but it is also normal.
But Chahar obviously did not expect to be treated like this.
"You are so generous, sir. I thank you on behalf of the servants who will join the castle and myself!"
"Work hard, Chahar, and improve your management skills in all aspects. You will become my chief steward in the future!"
Luo Ning didn't mind making big promises at all, as everyone felt comfortable listening to them.
"You are in charge of the number and quality of servants, but I have a few other requests."
"Speak, sir!"
Luo Ning said, "First, you have to find out their family background. If they have followed Princet, especially if they participated in today's betrayal, then it will definitely not work!"
"Secondly, after they are elected, you need to observe their words and deeds. Those who are irresponsible, lazy, and restless at work should not be accepted."
"Finally, and most importantly, be loyal to me."
Chahar kept these three points in mind, "Sir, I remember them!"
Luo Ning waved his hand. "Okay, go down. You can recruit servants tomorrow after I meet my subjects."
Watching Chahar leave his study, Luo Ning stretched.
After a busy day, he can finally have some quiet time alone to rest.
However, some people are destined not to have a rest.
Take David, for example. He should be raiding the homes of the three professional knights led by Sean in Shanlin Town with Tom.
I don't know how much property these people can leave for Roning.