CHAPTER 4 MEAT CHEAP, WHEAT EXPENSIVE
Marin looked around and realized that there was no rope to tie up the elk. In desperation, he pulled up some grass from the ground and began to weave a grass rope on the spot. Weaving grass ropes was a skill that not many young people in later rural times knew, as the commercial industry had become too advanced, offering a variety of nylon fiber ropes in stores that were not only cheap but also of better quality than grass ropes. So, most people simply bought synthetic fiber ropes instead.
Marin had learned the skill of weaving grass ropes and straw shoes from an elderly man in his village, who had nothing better to do in his spare time. As it turned out, that skill was coming in handy today.
Using the grass rope he had woven, Marin tied it around the elk's neck. He then grabbed the elk's front legs and pulled it out of the trap with great effort. Afterward, he led the elk with one hand and his warhorse with the other, struggling with the elk's attempts to escape as he dragged it toward the nearest city.
At that time, the nearest city to Marin was Bonn, under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Cologne—the same Bonn that would later become the capital of West Germany. It took Marin a lot of effort to finally drag the elk to the outskirts of Bonn, but he was stopped at the city gate.
In ancient Europe, entering a city required paying an entry tax. The entry tax wasn't high, only two imperial pennies (in theory, pennies and pfennigs were of equal value). The problem was, Marin didn't have a penny on him!
Reluctantly, Marin inquired about a market outside the city and made his way to a marketplace outside the city gates. It was common for people to set up stalls outside the city to avoid paying the entry tax, which was roughly equivalent to a day's wages for the poor.
Of course, the local officials weren't foolish. If you wanted to set up a stall outside the city, they would designate a market area for you, but you still had to pay a market stall tax, just like inside the city.
Buyers, however, didn't have to pay taxes, but there were conditions. The goods sold in these markets outside the city had to be small-scale. If your business grew too big and you still wanted to avoid paying the entry tax by staying outside the city, the tax officers would come after you.
In general, the goods sold in these markets outside the city were inexpensive necessities for rural folks, such as farming tools, coarse cloth, and sewing supplies. High-priced items like salt, which were in great demand, were not allowed to be sold in these markets because it would affect the tax revenue. However, people living far from the city could still buy such items at markets held once every five days, although tax officers kept a close eye on the merchants there.
Marin wasn't at the makeshift market to sell the elk, as there wouldn't be any big buyers outside the city. He was there to gather the entry tax.
After thinking it over, Marin decided that he couldn't sell his warhorse, weapons, or armor, but he needed to come up with something to pay the entry tax.
After much consideration, he decided that the only thing he could sell was the short knife he carried. This knife was meant for survival in the wild and could also be used as a dagger for self-defense; it was of excellent quality. But Marin was starving, having only eaten grassroots for two days, and he was drooling at the sight of the black brick-like bread that could be used as a weapon. So, he decided to quickly gather the entry tax, sell the elk, and get himself a decent meal.
In all fairness, Marin's short knife was of high quality. After all, it was made for knights, who might need to draw their short knives in desperate situations after losing their lances. Thus, such short knives were usually well-made.
But Marin couldn't worry about getting a good price for it. So, he sold the knife, worth 20 pennies, to a butcher for just 8 pennies.
With the entry fee in hand, Marin happily led his warhorse and the elk into the city. To his frustration, the entry tax was 4 pennies instead of 2 because the elk was considered "bulk goods," which required an additional tax.
In fact, if Marin hadn't been a knight with martial skills, the gate guards might have demanded 20 pennies or even an outrageous price.
Furthermore, in ancient Europe, hunting required the lord's permission. If a commoner killed a large animal on the lord's land without permission, they could be executed by the lord. However, for wandering knights like Marin, the lord would usually turn a blind eye because wandering knights were known to be dangerous individuals who would kill to survive. They were highly skilled in combat, and most lords didn't want to provoke them. Moreover, wandering knights often had friends or relatives who could retaliate if they were wronged. The guards, who were just lowly foot soldiers, wouldn't dare offend a knight.
It was said that many years ago, a baron killed a wandering knight who had been hunting on his land without permission. Two months later, a group of knights from the wandering knight's family came and killed the baron, looting his manor. The baron's family brought the case to the imperial court, but nothing was resolved. Although the baron had a higher status than the knight's father, who led the retaliation, it was seen as justifiable revenge for the death of his son. Besides, killing a knight over a mere game animal was deemed excessive. The matter was eventually settled with the return of the looted property.
Since then, most lords had learned their lesson and preferred not to provoke wandering knights. As long as they didn't overstay their welcome on the lord's land, they were usually left alone. Even if discovered, they were merely driven away and not treated as harshly as commoners. After all, these wandering knights, or their families, were often skilled and dangerous individuals themselves.
Of course, if a wandering knight like Marin were to catch a large wild animal, the local lord might send his knights to claim it. However, communication in the Middle Ages was so slow that it might take days for the lord to find out and send someone to recover the animal. By then, Marin would have moved on, and even if they found him, there wouldn't be any evidence. Unless Marin got greedy and stayed in the area to hunt more, giving the lord a chance to catch him red-handed.
Finally, Marin managed to enter the city and found a restaurant willing to buy the elk after much effort. But the price left him feeling exasperated.
Why? The restaurant owner offered only 4 pennies per pound of elk meat and calculated the price based on a 50% meat yield. This meant the owner was only willing to pay 800 pennies for the meat. Additionally, the owner offered 300 pennies for the hide, antlers, and other by-products like bones, which could be used for making soup. In total, the elk would only fetch 1,100 pennies.
According to Marin Hoffman's memories, a pound of wheat at that time was worth 5 pennies (this price would skyrocket after the "Price Revolution" of the 16th century, reaching nearly one or two shillings per pound in the 17th century, though meat prices remained relatively stable). Even less valuable rye was worth 1 penny per pound. In other words, a pound of elk meat was worth less than a pound of wheat.
Marin, who had come from a later time, was utterly shocked.
In modern times, a pound of wheat cost just over a dollar, while elk meat could fetch at least twenty dollars per pound, and that was farmed elk meat. Wild elk meat could cost even more, perhaps several times as much. In other words, in modern times, elk meat was at least ten times more expensive than wheat. But in medieval Europe, wheat was more expensive than elk meat, which astonished Marin.
In fact, Marin's surprise was due to his lack of knowledge. At that time, Germany (not including Hungary but including much of what would later become Poland, the Netherlands, and parts of France) had a population of less than 10 million across 500,000 to 600,000 square kilometers. In contrast, modern Germany, with 350,000 square kilometers of territory, had a population of 80 million.
So, at that time, Germany was still sparsely populated. There were vast forests along the Rhine and in the southern mountains, teeming with wild deer, wild sheep, wild rabbits, and even wild cattle, making hunting and eating these animals common.
It wasn't just Germany; all of Europe was sparsely populated, with plenty of wild animals. If you had a firearm or were skilled with a bow and crossbow, you could regularly hunt for food and sell the surplus (provided you had the right to hunt).
At the same time, European agriculture in the Middle Ages was so primitive that it couldn't even compare to that of the Ming Dynasty in China. Wheat yields across Europe, except in Italy where it could reach 150-200 pounds per acre, were generally around 100 pounds per acre elsewhere. The low agricultural output was partly due to the "Little Ice Age," which brought colder temperatures, but mostly because of Europe's extremely backward farming techniques. They didn't understand the importance of fertilization, and their plows were very outdated.
For example, while China had been using advanced, labor-saving curved-beam plows since the Tang Dynasty, Europe at that time only had two types of plows: the heavy Saxon plow and the ordinary light plow. The light plow had a significant drawback—it could only plow shallowly, barely breaking the surface of the soil, which was highly inefficient. The Saxon plow was effective but too cumbersome, requiring several horses to pull.
(European horses are large and strong, making them well-suited for use as draft horses. As a result, horse-drawn plowing became popular in Europe, while oxen were used less frequently, with many cattle being raised as dairy or beef cattle instead.)
However, how many ordinary families in Europe could afford multiple draft horses? Obviously, very few. So, the heavy Saxon plow was only affordable for nobles and wealthy households. Even slightly poorer small landowners couldn't afford to use the Saxon heavy plow.
The lack of manure fertilization and shallow plowing resulted in very low agricultural yields in Europe, which in turn led to high grain prices. In contrast, the abundance of wild animals and the extensive grazing practices of Europeans provided a rich supply of meat, which kept meat prices relatively low during this era.
According to Marin Hoffman's memory, at that time, beef was only 4 pfennigs per pound, while lamb and pork were just 3 pfennigs per pound. This meant that eating meat was cheaper than eating wheat bread.
Of course, rye was even cheaper than meat. So, poor families usually ate ultra-hard black bread made from a mix of rye, dirt, wood chips, stones, and wild vegetables. (Why "ultra-hard"? Because this kind of black bread could kill someone if thrown at them, and could easily be used as a brick, earning it the nickname "the Nokia of the Middle Ages.")
Even the Hoffman family, despite being a knightly family, usually ate black bread. Only on major holidays would they splurge on white bread made from wheat flour. Of course, the black bread eaten by the Hoffman family was different from that of poor families; at least their black bread wasn't as hard and didn't contain dirt, so it could be considered normal black bread.
Thinking about all this, Marin was almost in tears:
"I never thought that in the Middle Ages, wheat would be more expensive than meat! I used to read time-travel novels and thought the authors were exaggerating, but it turns out they were right!"
Before time traveling, Marin had read many novels about people traveling to ancient Europe. For example, one novel mentioned that after the 17th century in Europe, wheat became so expensive that it cost several pounds per quart (12.7 kilograms). As a result, the protagonist made a fortune by using modern agricultural techniques to grow wheat.
"Well, it looks like I'll have to find a way to make money by growing wheat!" After all, Marin was a true rural child and was no stranger to farming.
But the problem was, to farm, you first needed land! In this feudal era where the lords owned the land, even if you had money, you might not be able to buy good land. And even if you did get good land, if you made a fortune by growing wheat, the lord might get jealous and come to rob you. After all, the Middle Ages were the domain of the lords—they were the local emperors, and the land ownership was in their hands.
So, after thinking it over, Marin decided it would be better to first seek out Emperor Maximilian I. He planned to help the emperor in battle, then earn military merits and secure a fief. After that, with his own land and the title of lord, he could recruit serfs, use modern agricultural techniques, mass-produce wheat, and become a medieval tycoon...