What I Want Isn't Just This

Raven spoke in an organized manner, "First, don't stop acquiring Magic Cores. Tell Fili that if he can't get Second-tier Magic Cores in a short period, there's no need to force it. But he must guarantee the supply of First-tier Magic Cores to me; the monthly quota cannot be less than 20."

"Second, have Fili hire or requisition, in my name, five skilled leatherworkers within ten days. The requirement is that they can independently craft leather armor. The hiring price can be 30% higher than the market rate, but the contract must be for at least five years."

"Third, continue importing live pigs; not less than 100 head per month."

Old Gordon meticulously took notes, then looked up and reported the accounts, "My Lord Baron, according to your requests, five skilled leatherworkers, each with three apprentices, makes it 20 people. The annual labor cost is about 4.8 gold coins, which isn't a lot."

"100 live pigs will cost about 18-23 gold coins per month, which is also within our means."

"But on average each month, Fili will deliver about 24-30 Magic Cores. At an average price of 3.72 gold coins each, that's at least 93 gold coins."

"In addition, we still need to pay 179.6 gold coins for the loan each month."

"Adding military pay and personnel salaries, we have an average monthly expenditure of 311.52 gold coins. Meanwhile, the monthly revenue from Angel's Tear is between 270-300 gold coins. We're spending more than we earn."

Raven nodded. He had a general idea of these numbers, but he wasn't as clear as Old Gordon. "The taxes from Shining Gold Town, and the autumn harvest from Eagle Town, should be coming in soon, right?"

"Yes, my Lord," Old Gordon replied. "The tax collection from Shining Gold Town has been mostly tallied. It should yield about 617.65 gold coins. With the autumn grain stored, we expect to have 80,000 kilograms of wheat, which can produce about 70,000 kilograms of coarse flour."

"Hmm..." Raven tapped the table. "So, we'll also have a shortfall in terms of grain?"

"Yes, my Lord," Old Gordon said. "However, we currently have 21,000 kilograms of coarse flour in the warehouse. Including the autumn harvest, that brings us to about 100,000 kilograms, enough to sustain consumption for seven months."

"Not enough, far from enough," Raven shook his head. "Regarding the grain, Denise is perfect for the job. You go discuss it with her. I need 200,000 kilograms of coarse flour, and the more the better. If she can procure it, I'll take even 1,000,000 kilograms."

Old Gordon's breathing hitched. "My Lord, isn't that too much? Even though grain prices aren't high, we simply can't consume that much. It's like throwing money away; and we don't have that much warehouse space."

"Don't worry, we won't be unable to consume it," Raven said meaningfully. "We'll organize people to build warehouses. The autumn harvest is almost over anyway, so it's a good way to give them something to do."

"Also, organize those women who are at home and clean up the abandoned empty houses in Eagle Town. That way, when the allocated residents arrive, they'll have a place to stay."

After noting down Raven's instructions one by one, Old Gordon was about to speak when he heard Raven say jokingly, "Are you perhaps thinking again that I'm 'making the best use of everyone'?"

"My Lord, you have discerning eyes," Old Gordon chuckled and nodded. "However, in terms of 'making the best use of things,' there are still some issues."

"Our finances are still too tight. Even with the Angel's Tear revenue and the Shining Gold Town autumn taxes collected, the gold coins in our treasury will only be between 500 and 600. This amount, this amount makes it difficult to handle... uh, unexpected events."

As he said this, Old Gordon glanced up at Raven.

"I think we need at least 2,000 gold coins to be on the safe side."

"Yes, we really don't have enough money on hand," Raven sighed.

As a magician, he needed to purchase new spells and spices to improve meditation efficiency. First-tier spells cost about 120-500 gold coins, and Second-tier spells cost 800-3,000 gold coins. Spices were also not cheap; even First-tier ones cost 80-200 gold coins, and Second-tier ones were outrageously expensive, starting at 500 gold coins, and it wasn't impossible for them to reach 1,000 gold coins.

Now that Raven had become a First-tier extraordinary, improving the strength of his subordinates also needed to be put on the agenda. He needed to invest in at least three more First-tier extraordinaries. Calculating with First-tier God-Given Potions at 300 gold coins per bottle, even with a 50% success rate, it would take at least five bottles, which is 1,500 gold coins. Then there was also helping Eric improve his rank.

This was money that had to be spent.

Not to mention the 7,800 gold coins that had to be paid to Judra.

"2,000 gold coins is too little," Raven tapped the table. "In my opinion, we need at least 10,000 gold coins to be considered safe."

Although they had enjoyed a few months of prosperity, Old Gordon had not forgotten the previous hardship. Thinking about Raven sending Simon to the Bloody Highlands to scout for intelligence, he suddenly had a bad premonition.

He swallowed and advised, "My Lord, your achievements in the past few months are already quite significant. It's best to move forward steadily, step by step. There's no need to take risks."

"Heh heh, don't worry, I value my own life more than anyone else," Raven chuckled.

Old Gordon was still somewhat uneasy. "Then... My Lord, how do you plan to make money?"

"This humble person has a plan!" Raven said, shaking his head in a way that Old Gordon didn't understand.

The clever plan arrived the next morning with the first batch of flowers delivered to Eagle Town.

After washing up, Raven briefly discussed the grain procurement with Denise and then, with his men, plunged into the riverside workshop.

At the entrance of a workshop in the northernmost area, Raven stopped. "Bolo, you need to think carefully. If you go in with me this time, you won't be able to leave this workshop for months, or even a year or two."

Bolo took a deep breath and nodded fiercely. "Understood, My Lord!"

"Very good." With that, Raven pushed open the workshop door, and a rich floral fragrance wafted out.

In the corner, large baskets of roses were piled up.

Bolo stepped in right behind him and was immediately stunned.

He finally understood why Raven had such high requirements for secrecy.

A rumor had already begun to circulate in town: Baron Raven was indulging in "magical experiments," squandering his family fortune.

In just two months, he had broken four large alchemy equipment, bought two more, and proactively custom-ordered four more.

Raven had even earned a new nickname because of this: "Second-Generation Prodigal Baron."

The first generation was, of course, the deceased Donald.

But now, those four pieces of equipment that were supposed to be "broken" lay obediently in this workshop.

Raven didn't intend to explain. While putting on gloves, he said, "Don't just stand there, help me out—put on the gloves next to you and pick the flowers from those baskets of roses."

"Got it, My Lord!" Bolo snapped back to reality and quickly got busy with Raven.

After picking and washing all the flower buds, there were a total of 247 roses, weighing 10.12 kilograms.

"Watch carefully what I do next, and you must remember every word I say," Raven said, carrying a basin of watered-down fresh flowers to an alchemy device.

This type of device had a main body that was a table three meters long and one and a half meters wide. It was entirely constructed from steel mixed with [Mica], possessing quite good corrosion and heat resistance. It was supported by two cabinets, each one meter and two inches high. The left cabinet contained a designed furnace, and the right contained a wooden barrel for storing waste liquid.

On the left side of the table, above the stove, sat a spherical flask the size of a bucket, with a long neck and a round bottom. A side branch protruded from the top of the bottle's mouth, connecting to a straight glass tube. A leather hose was wrapped around the glass tube, which could be used for cooling by injecting water. The glass tube was inclined to the right, bent downwards at the end, and connected to a detachable narrow-mouthed flask to hold the final liquid.

The most valuable part of this equipment wasn't the stand below, but the glass apparatus above. At least 60 of the 83 gold coins had been spent on it.

And its cost was merely a pile of sand.

"What a swindler!" Raven sighed, vowing to himself.

Someday, when he found a good source of sand, he would definitely find a way to produce glass.

Raven carefully used a spoon to spread some small ceramic shards on the bottom of the flask as he said, "Don't get distracted, Bolo. This step is crucial, never forget it. It's better to add too much than too little."

This was to prevent bumping.

If this phenomenon occurred, the sudden increase in internal pressure could potentially cause the flask to explode.

Then, he picked up the cleaned fresh flowers and threw them into the flask one by one. "Don't be lazy with this step. Put them in one by one, try not to bring too much water in, and pay attention to the position of the flowers. Don't let them stick to the side branch. If they do, use a straw to poke them. Never use anything else."

Soon, the bright red rose petals filled more than half of the flask. Raven walked over, lifted the lid of a water vat, and said, "This contains water that has been boiled and then settled. Someone will continuously replenish it for you. Remember, it must be left to settle for at least one night, and the last fifth of the water should be directly discarded. Do not use it."

This was the method Raven had to resort to in order to balance efficiency and effect. Ideally, distilled water should be used for distillation work to prevent scale from depositing inside the bottle and causing unnecessary trouble. However, he lacked the alchemy equipment and manpower to distill pure water. Boiling the water was to minimize the impurities it contained; letting it settle was to allow the precipitated impurities to settle; and taking only the upper portion of the water was to minimize interference from impurities.

He scooped water to fill the flask three-quarters full and then sealed the mouth with an oak stopper. "Remember, the water level cannot be too high, otherwise it might flow into the cooling tube and affect the final result. Don't seal the stopper too tightly; it's better to have a slight gap than to seal it completely, as this could cause the bottle mouth to crack..."

As Raven operated, he continuously explained, occasionally pausing to answer Bolo's questions.

Once all the procedures were ready, Raven placed the prepared charcoal into the stove, chanted a few syllables, and a flame appeared at his fingertips, soon igniting the charcoal.

Bolo hesitated and said, "Sir... this... I don't know how to do this."

Raven chuckled, "I didn't ask you to learn this. There's a flint and steel next to you. Besides, you're a chef, surely you know how to keep a flame going without me having to teach you?"

The flames rose, scorching the tabletop. After more than ten minutes, the water in the flask finally began to boil. Steam entered the side branch, condensed into water droplets under the cooling of the leather hose, and flowed along the slight incline into the flask on the other side.

Bolo had never seen anything like it before and his eyes widened in amazement.

"Don't just stand there gawking. You'll have your turn soon," Raven said, clapping his hands. "I'll hand over that alchemy equipment to you. You'll operate it this time."

Upon hearing this, Bolo immediately became nervous. He knew how precious this equipment was, and if he broke it, he wouldn't be able to afford it even if he sold himself.

Sensing his nervousness, Raven reassured him, "Don't worry, I'm not some unscrupulous lord. As long as you follow my operating procedures, even if the equipment is damaged, it will be my own loss."

Bolo gulped again, nodded, and stepped forward to begin operating. After every two steps, he would flip open his notebook to cross-reference. It had to be said that due to his experience extracting glycerin, Bolo got the hang of it quite quickly. Raven only corrected a few minor issues, and this alchemy equipment was soon running.

"Alright, there's one more task, and then you can have some rest," Raven said, pointing to the charcoal by the wall. "Boil a pot of lard. The ingredients are on the shelf over there, in the bottom compartment."

But Bolo obediently followed instructions.

After the lard was boiled, Bolo habitually asked, "Sir, where did you put the caustic soda?" The sodium hydroxide solution, when air-dried, would leave behind caustic soda, which could be diluted with water when needed. Bolo had already made and stored quite a bit of it.

"No rush, leave it there for now," Raven said, taking out a few pieces of charcoal from a bag and throwing them into the lard.

Bolo asked in surprise, "Sir, what is this?"

Raven was too lazy to explain. "Just remember it. Don't ask. After this charcoal is used up, treat it as fuel. Next time, put in new charcoal." The porous activated charcoal could absorb the unpleasant odors in the lard. Although Raven didn't have activated charcoal, ordinary charcoal could still be used as a substitute.

As time passed, the rose petals gradually lost their color, changing from bright red to deep purple. The water in the flask also became increasingly shallow.

When only a trace of water remained in the flask, Raven immediately removed it from the heat, saying, "Stop the other one too. Let it dry with residual heat. It's better to leave a little more than a little less."

Bolo quickly complied.

When the water in the condensation tube had almost completely drained, Raven removed the flask on the right, and a rich rose fragrance immediately filled the air. This liquid could be called "Rose Hydrosol," also known as "Water Essential Oil." It had a strong fragrance and was an important ingredient in many cosmetics.

Bolo rubbed his nose, then sniffed disbelievingly. The rich aroma made him question, "Sir, is this the treasure you wanted?"

"It's just rose hydrosol, still a long way off," Raven said, opening a clay pot on the shelf, grabbing a handful of salt, and stirring it with an iron spoon.

After the salt had completely dissolved, Raven took a deep breath and took out a thin, long glass funnel. He plugged the outlet of the funnel with cork and covered the top with a glass plate, waiting with some nervousness. The experimental process had gone smoothly, but Raven didn't know if the final result would be satisfactory.

After a few minutes, a faint layer of oil finally floated on the surface of the hydrosol in the funnel.

"It's done!" Raven exclaimed, clenching his fist excitedly. He grabbed an iron bucket, opened the cork at the bottom of the funnel, let out more than half of the liquid, then re-plugged the funnel's opening and began to repeat the process. This process was monotonous and tedious, but neither Raven nor Bolo showed any signs of slackening. If one person showed fatigue, the other would take over.

After a full four hours, all the rose hydrosol from the two large flasks had been poured out. On the surface of the hydrosol in the funnel, a layer of clear oil had finally condensed. Raven carefully pried open the cork at the bottom of the funnel, draining the hydrosol. After each draining, he would wait a moment, afraid of losing even a tiny bit of the oil on top. In the end, only a tiny amount of hydrosol remained in the funnel, and the oil on top looked less than the size of a soybean.

He placed the funnel on the iron rack and moved his wrist. "Hand me that small glass bottle from under the shelf over there."

Bolo quickly ran over, removed the stopper, and placed it in Raven's hand.

Setting the small bottle on the workbench, Raven leaned down, pursed his lips, held his breath, and picked up the funnel. He aimed its tip at the mouth of the glass bottle, applied slight pressure with his fingers, and tilted the funnel upwards. Finally, the oil dripped into the glass bottle, spreading a thin film at the bottom.

"Hoo..." Raven let out a long breath, quickly put the stopper back on, and held the bottle high towards the sun, as if gazing at a lover. "Finally got you!"

This was rose essential oil, its fragrance far more lingering and enduring than the hydrosol. Even in his previous life, it was incredibly valuable, hailed as liquid gold.

A total of 247 roses, weighing 10 kilograms, had cost a hefty 24.7 silver coins, yet only yielded this tiny drop, less than a gram.

"My lord, what about this... uh, rose hydrosol? Should we throw it away?" Bolo's voice chimed in.

Raven smiled and said, "We can't throw this away. You think I worked this hard just for a drop of essential oil?"

"Add the caustic soda powder, and then the lard!"

This step didn't require Raven's command. After months, Bolo had become quite skilled at it.

He prepared the solution, heated the lard, and then poured the solution into it.

As the caustic soda solution, based on the hydrosol, was poured into the lard, Bolo stirred skillfully. Tiny flakes condensed within the mixture, then settled down, forming layer upon layer of soap.

After filtering out the glycerin, Bolo habitually reached to discard the soap, but Raven stopped him, pointing to it. "Don't be so hasty. Smell it."

Bolo brought his nose closer. "It seems... nothing special, huh? Ouch! Cough cough!"

It turned out Raven had brought a piece of charcoal soaked in lard close to his nose. Bolo immediately smelled a potent, nauseating hog odor.

Raven tilted his chin up. "Smell it again now."

Bolo hesitantly leaned forward again. With a gentle sniff, his eyes lit up. "My lord... this, this is simply incredible! Did you use magic!?"

The soap was still the familiar soap to Bolo, but the smell was completely different. Not only was there no hint of the usual hog odor, but it was also filled with the alluring fragrance of roses.

Raven remained silent, a smile playing on his lips.

He had known for a long time that using charcoal to remove odors could solve the problem of the soap's impurities, but it wasn't necessary.

A bar of soap only cost 50 copper coins. Selling it rashly wouldn't yield much profit and would instead cause people to connect it with the suddenly appearing Angel's Tear.

There weren't that many fools in this world, especially merchants.

This was also one of the reasons Raven had claimed that many of his alchemy equipment was broken, not even minding the reputation of being "the second prodigal Baron."

He didn't want anyone to associate his alchemy equipment with new products.

"This kind of thing can be called scented soap," Raven said.

Bolo nodded slowly, genuinely admiring, "Scented soap... a truly fitting name, my lord. This product will surely sell like hotcakes among wealthy merchants and nobles!"

He was no longer just Raven's cook, but his chief artisan. The more money Raven earned, the more benefits he received, as Raven was always generous to his subordinates.

"Then you're celebrating a bit too early," Raven said with a mysterious smile. "This is just the beginning. What I'm going to do next is the main event."

After all, what he wanted couldn't be achieved with just rose essential oil.

"Bolo, go tell the storeroom.

You can bring the alcohol over."