Interests

Count Colt remained noncommittal to Victor's statement, saying, "Then let's get straight to the point. As for White Sugar, tell me how much profit it can bring."

"Yes, Your Count. My territory began planting sugar beets last year, totaling over 400 acres. The planting techniques are quite good, and the yield per acre reached about two tons in the first year. It can be increased a bit next year. The sugar yield of these two tons of sugar beets is about 1/8, which means that with my optimized sugar-making process, these two tons of sugar beets can produce about 260 kilograms of White Sugar. These 400 acres of sugar beet fields have produced nearly 100 kilograms of White Sugar, or 100 tons."

Count Colt gasped upon hearing this. "100 tons, you know? That's an astonishing output. Victor, you know that Viscount Aymund's Viscount Crimson Maple Crimson Maple Territory produces Maple Syrup, right?"

"Yes, Maple Syrup from Crimson Maple Territory is very famous and sells for more money than honey. However, it does have a unique flavor and is sweeter than regular honey, with a unique aroma. It's just expensive. My family used to buy mostly the lower-grade product, which cost 2 gold coins per kilogram. During festivals, we would buy the medium-grade product, which still cost 4 gold coins per kilogram."

"Yes, Maple Syrup from Crimson Maple Territory has taken over the duchy's market. All the nobles love their Maple Syrup. Its quality is more consistent than most honey. Ordinary honey costs 3 to 5 Silver Maple per kilogram."

"As for the Maple Syrup of Crimson Maple Territory, the most expensive of the three grades is 5 gold coins per kilogram, but the production is very small and it is basically only supplied to the domestic nobility or for export. The medium grade is also highly sought after and the supply cannot meet the demand. Victor, do you know how much Maple Syrup Crimson Maple Territory can produce each year?"

Victor shook his head, indicating that he didn't know about it.

"It's normal that you don't know, very few people know about this. The Red Maple Family controls less than a thousand acres of Red Maple Forest, which is their most precious property. Only Red Maple trees over 30 years old can be used to extract sap, producing 40 to 50 liters of sap a year, which can be refined into a little over 1 kilogram of Maple Syrup. Red Maple trees are also very delicate, and can only be harvested once a year. The entire Crimson Maple Territory produces less than 1 kilogram of Maple Syrup each year. Apart from a small portion exported abroad, most of it remains in the country, and the supply still falls short of demand. The Maple Syrup from the Crimson Maple Territory is sold throughout the country, bringing the Red Maple Family a profit of gold every year. The Iron Birch Territory can receive a profit of 4,000 gold from it, and the Crimson Maple Territory itself can also receive gold. The rest is distributed to the great nobles and the Grand Duke Silver Maple in various places."

Victor understood the hidden meaning in Count Colt's words. The Maple Syrup of the Red Maple Family was already an irreplaceable treasure, yet they still couldn't enjoy the profits alone. Most of the profits earned each year were taken by other nobles, with Iron Birch Territory taking the lion's share.

In other words, if Victor wants to open up the national White Sugar market, he must share the profits; otherwise, the powerful nobles in various regions will become obstacles for him.

"I understand, Count Excellency. Please let me finish. As I said before, I do not intend to monopolize the White Sugar business. I want to hand it over to you, that is, Iron Birch Territory. As long as you give me a portion of the market share, I can also participate in this business."

"Next, Count Excellency, please allow me to explain the White Sugar business to you in detail. As you know, the cost of growing sugar beets is very low. The only problem is that the soil fertility is depleted quickly. Anyway, there is plenty of land in the Northlands, so crop rotation can be implemented. The White Sugar production process is indeed very complicated, with many steps and a high consumption of manpower and resources. But even so, its cost is negligible compared to Maple Syrup or honey. Including all costs, it is only 2 copper coins per kilogram. Even if it is sold for 1 Silver Coin per kilogram, a profit of 400% can still be guaranteed. 400 kilograms of wheat per acre can only be sold for 4 copper coins. In comparison, growing sugar beets is simply extremely profitable."

Victor continued, "A typical Freemen family, taking a professional soldier's family as an example, earns at least 15 Silver Coin a year. They usually own land, so they don't need much money for food and drink. These Silver Coin can be used for household consumption. Imagine spending 1 Silver Coin to buy a kilogram of White Sugar as New Year's goods at the end of the year—that would be a huge market. I've discovered that the nobles in the Northlands are hiding their population data, but even excluding the hidden data, the publicly available data mentions that there are 400,000 Freemen in the Three Counties of the Northern Frontier. Based on the convention of 5 people per household, that's at least 80,000 Freemen families. If each family buys one kilogram, that's 3,200 gold coins, with a profit of 2,500 gold coins. And this is just the scale of the Three Counties of the Northern Frontier. If we expand nationwide, the market size could increase six or seven times. This amount of money is by no means small. We only need one-fifth of the market share in the Two Rivers Territory."

Count Colt nodded; it was indeed a lucrative deal.

"Actually, Count Excellency, this doesn't even include the consumption of nobles. If you think about it carefully, White Sugar does lack the unique flavor of Maple Syrup, but it's sweeter. Compared to eating it on its own, it's probably more suitable for making pastries or desserts. No noble dislikes sweets, and it can also be sold to the grasslands. Most importantly, it's much cheaper than Maple Syrup. Moreover, the production of Maple Syrup simply cannot meet the needs of the nobles in the country. There are more than 200 independent nobles and more than 300 honorary nobles across the country, and their direct descendants number three or four thousand. The Maple Syrup they used to consume, if distributed to each person, would only amount to two or three kilograms, which is far from meeting the demand."

In Victor's previous life, the average person consumed 20 kilograms of White Sugar per year. The environment in the Northlands was similar to that of high-latitude regions, and the people there had a diet high in fat and calories, making them quite fond of sugar. Even if these nobles only reached half the level of his previous life, the average person would still consume 10 kilograms. Therefore, Victor estimated that the annual White Sugar consumption of noble families was between 40 and 100 tons, and the White Sugar consumption of the Freemen throughout the country could reach five or six hundred tons.

"Based on my estimates, the duchy's White Sugar market can absorb at least 600 to 800 tons of White Sugar each year, with annual profits reaching 30,000 to 40,000 gold."

Victor doesn't care whether Count Colt can take over the entire Duchy market; as long as he can get one-fifth of the market share, it will be enough to satisfy the construction and development of Two Rivers Territory.

Moreover, White Sugar is just one of his projects. He also has two other existing projects: liquor and papermaking, both of which were completed last winter. He can rely on these two projects to earn additional income.

"Count Lord, do you think this deal is worth doing? If you agree, the Two Rivers Territory can immediately send people to the Iron Birch Territory to guide beet cultivation and teach sugar-making techniques."