British hegemon

Chapter 64 Maritime Trade Allies

Before he even got close, "Aunt" quickly walked up to Roger, hugged him tightly, and said in a tearful voice, "He was fine last year, how could he suddenly be gone?"

Roger knew that the woman was grieving the sudden deaths of her younger brother and nephew.

After crying in his arms for a while, the woman realized she had lost her composure and quickly let go. She then cupped Roger's face in her hands and said, "I'm sorry, Roger. I should be happy for your arrival. It's been so many years. You've grown taller and stronger."

The woman forced a smile, stepped back half a step, and turned to introduce her two daughters, "This is your cousin, Sir Roger, the lord of Milk House Manor on Arran Island."

"Roger, these are your cousins, Shiara and Niaf."

The two young girls politely and gracefully lifted their skirts with both hands and slightly bent their knees to greet Roger.

"It is my greatest honor to have two sisters who are like elven princesses," Roger teased casually.

Roger wasn't very skilled at handling the little girls, but the two girls still smiled brightly.

"Your cousin Imogen married the son of a textile merchant in Paris, France, two years ago."

"My cousin Owen works as a squire in the household of a nobleman in Dublin. Your uncle now works for that nobleman, which is why he gave your unruly cousin a chance to become a knight."

Although Uncle Jeffrey was a wealthy man with a prominent position, he was still just a rich merchant or a gentry. No matter how much money he had, without a title, he couldn't even build a decent castle.

"My cousin Owen has been intelligent since childhood and will definitely become the best knight." Roger didn't have much of an impression of this cousin, but it's always good to praise someone.

Seeing that the woman was about to start praising her son again, Jeffrey quickly stepped forward to signal that it was time to let the guest in.

The woman then smiled and waved away the servants on the steps, leading Roger and his two attendants into the house. She also nodded to Marne in greeting.

Roger had seen countless tall buildings in his previous life, yet he remained unmoved.

Marne used to come here often with Roger's father and didn't react much, but the unsophisticated black dog started looking around and sizing people up and down as soon as it entered.

There were at least three servants in this mansion who cleaned the floors, scrubbed the stairs, and tidied the rooms, and at least ten cooks, maids, and general laborers.

A wealthy merchant family is indeed a wealthy merchant family; they certainly have a grand presence.

Upon learning that the group had been adrift on the ship for several days, Ma En and the black dog were taken by the manor's steward to the servants' bedroom to rest.

Roger was led by his aunt to a private room on the second floor to rest, and then his aunt went to the kitchen to give instructions on preparing dinner.

Dinner was held in a grand atmosphere. Black Dog was not of high enough rank and was taken to the kitchen to dine with the senior servants. Ma En, a sergeant of two generations of the Colin family, was senior enough and was invited to sit at the table.

Although Marx was still ashamed of his mistress's sadness at this time.

The table, covered with a fine linen cloth, was laden with a variety of fine wines and delicacies, and the maids were still serving dishes.

Sitting on the right-hand side of the head seat, Roger dealt with the food his aunt kept handing him while giving his uncle Jeffrey a brief overview of the current situation on Arlen Island and Milk House Manor. He then focused on explaining the purpose of his trip south.

Upon learning that Roger wanted to make his fortune through salt production, Jeffrey shook his head in skepticism. However, after trying the refined salt that Roger carried with him, he immediately said that he would buy as much of this refined salt as Roger had, at a price of no less than one and a half pence per pound.

But the prerequisite is that Roger must sign a contract promising that he can sell this refined salt exclusively, at least in the Irish market.

This was an attempt to monopolize the high-end salt market, and Roger agreed after a moment's consideration.

We enjoyed a sumptuous dinner at my uncle's house and slept soundly in a clean and tidy guest room for the night.

Normally, Roger's father would have completed the transaction as quickly as possible to avoid any complications, exchanging the goods for silver pennies and scarce supplies from Arun Island before leaving in a hurry.

But Roger was not the conservative Sir Colin; his trip south was no easy feat, and he wouldn't turn back so hastily.

Not only to broaden his horizons and gain knowledge, but more importantly, he had to personally alleviate the debt crisis of Milk House Manor.

So, after getting his uncle's permission, he decided to stay for two more days.

Roger brought back fine salt from his trip south and sold it for 650 pence, while refined salt sold for 900 pence, which is equivalent to 6 pounds 9 shillings and 4 pence.

But what actually fetched the highest price was the wool. Each bag of wool was worth three pounds and twelve shillings, and it sold for fourteen pounds and eight shillings.

However, sheep in the North can only be sheared for two or three pounds of wool at a time, and it takes hundreds of sheep to collect a bag of wool. Moreover, the North is cold, and sheep can only be sheared a maximum of twice a year.

Compared to fine salt and wool, the price of goods like sheepskins, ale, cheese, and salted fish was negligible, amounting to a mere nineteen shillings and eight pence.

Roger sold his cargo for 21 pounds and 16 shillings, but after deducting costs, he only made a profit of 16 pounds, and that was only because two of the bags of wool were spoils belonging to Baron John.

This money was not paid in cash; more than half of it was converted into cargo that traveled back with the ship.

These are all relatively scarce resources in Scotland—raw materials such as iron, dyes, and alum; edible spices such as ginger, cinnamon, and fennel; daily necessities such as resin, beeswax, and linen; and very small quantities of luxury goods such as Rhineland sweet wine, Venetian glass bowls, and French icons.

The thirteen pounds payment turned into a pile of goods on the deck and in the hold. These goods, once returned to the Isle of Arun, would be traded again, generating considerable profits.

The merchants were very efficient. The next morning, Jeffrey's butler returned to the manor with the young stable boy. They had completed the delivery of the goods, and the return cargo had been loaded onto the Seawolf.

Roger glanced at the transaction records and return cargo list handed to him by the young stable boy, then said to his uncle Jeffrey, who had just finished listening to the steward's report, "Uncle Jeffrey, I would like to buy another batch of iron belts to take back."

"I've already sent three hundred pounds of iron to your ship, why do you still need to buy more?"

Roger just checked, and the shipment list does indeed contain three hundred pounds of iron, worth five shillings.

"As you know, I'm going back this time to expand the salt-making workshop and also to remake a batch of high-quality farm tools, which of course requires more high-quality iron."

There are no iron mines on the Isle of Aran, and the blacksmiths on the island purchase their iron from outside. The bloomery iron produced in Scotland is of low quality wrought iron, and the blacksmiths on the island are not very skilled at carburizing wrought iron, so the iron products they make are not very useful.

Therefore, every time the Isle of Arran went south to trade, it would purchase some slightly better quality iron from Ireland. This iron was usually subjected to simple reprocessing, had a slightly higher carbon content, and could be used to forge weapons and armor after further processing.

However, iron, even the most basic bloomery iron, was a restricted war resource in Ireland, and fine iron, which could be used to forge weapons and armor, was strictly prohibited from free trade.

Selling to Scots would be a serious crime if caught, and only wealthy merchants with connections like Jeffrey could possibly have access to such a business.

Jeffrey wasn't new to doing business with Arran Island, so he certainly knew the true uses of this iron. "The iron I've sent you is good enough to forge ordinary swords. If you need better quality iron, it won't be cheap."

He then added, "This summer, the English executed three merchants in Dublin who were smuggling iron ore northwards. The English are tightening their grip on the iron trade, and I have to take a lot of risk."

Roger knew that there were no fathers or sons in business, so he readily said, "Name your price."

After a moment's thought, Jeffrey said, "I never sell more than three hundred pounds of fine iron to other lords in the north at a time, at one penny per pound."

This price is indeed expensive. The price of the slightly better quality iron on board far exceeds the price of iron smelting in the North Block. The price of this refined iron is actually five times that of ordinary iron.

Jeffrey knew that this kind of refined iron was too expensive, so he explained, "This refined iron is made by repeatedly burning and hammering ordinary iron. Once you buy it, you don't need to process it anymore; you can directly forge the best weapons and armor."

"Of course, it wouldn't be worth this price in England or on the mainland further south, but this is Ireland, and it's being sold to the Scots. Not only is the supply extremely scarce, but I also have to bribe the officials who control the iron ore and the English lords. In the end, I won't make much money."

"Uncle."

Roger had barely opened his mouth when Jeffrey quickly raised his hand to interrupt, "Sir Roger, it would be more appropriate for you to call me Jeffrey at a time like this."

Roger choked for a moment, then said seriously, "Mr. Jeffrey, you are close friends with the Campbell family, and now that I have given you the exclusive right to sell refined salt, we are allies."

"Only when your allies become stronger will your profits increase. You must understand this principle better than anyone else, otherwise you wouldn't have risked supplying prohibited goods to Arun Island."

"From now on, my refined salt and spoils will be continuously shipped to your private port. The profits from those things are much greater than those refined iron."

Jeffrey stared blankly at Roger for a long time, then a smile suddenly appeared on his serious face. "Roger, it seems I need to re-evaluate you, you devilish young master."

"Three-quarters of a pound, and I'll give you a maximum of five hundred pounds at a time. That's the limit I can manage right now. The first shipment will be loaded tomorrow at noon."

Roger clapped his hands lightly. "Deal."