After breakfast on the third day, Old Clayton led Altair on an inspection of the land belonging to Sheffield. The territory spread out in every direction from the castle at its center, comprising farmland, woodland, pastures, orchards, and more.
After Old Clayton's introduction, Altair also learned how the land was managed and what crops it produced.
Since most of the people here had once followed Sheffield, or were their descendants, the farmers needed to pay only four to eight soli a year to rent the land. Even the cheapest, most barren plots could yield a net profit of three to five pounds, while fertile land brought in eight to twelve.
Of course, they could pay later, or use grain to offset the rent.
The barren land was mainly used to grow rye. Though this crop was cheap, it was still food.
The fertile land was used to grow spelt wheat, which could be milled into fine flour. It was nutritious and a staple for most of the middle class.
There were also crops like barley and oats, some of which were used to brew beer.
Of course, soybeans, peas, lentils, cabbage, onions, and other legumes and common vegetables were grown as well.
There were also more valuable cash crops, such as flax, tobacco, and hops.
The pastures were used to raise large numbers of cattle, sheep, and other animals.
From Old Clayton's introduction, Altair also learned that nearly 90,000 acres of land near the fief alone belonged to Sheffield.
If sold and converted into Gold Pounds, it would be worth about 2.6 million pounds—and that was just one estate. The Sheffield family had three more in the Loen Kingdom.
But no noble would sell their land. If they farmed it themselves, the value of what it produced each year would exceed the land's own value.
Even if they leased it out, they could earn close to a quarter of its value in Gold Pounds. Of course, nobody could rent out all the land at once.
And that was only land investment. There were other investments too, such as real estate, which was now a major enterprise. In Tingen City, for instance, Sheffield owned two streets, several estates, and a number of terraced houses.
Perhaps someday he really could pound on people's doors and demand rent.
Aside from these investments, Sheffield also owned mineral resources, such as coal mines and iron mines, which were highly valuable at present.
Since the fief bordered the Tussock River, the family also owned a shipyard, mainly for building steam-and-sail-powered vessels. They had invested in supporting industries too, such as steel manufacturing and large steam engine manufacturing.
Of course, the ships of the present day were nothing like the large ironclads made entirely of steel that he knew. They did use steel, but they still hadn't solved the problem of power, even with steam engines.
They had also invested in military industries, including firearms manufacturing and weapon forging.
Their investments spanned the country and covered everything from civilian to military industries. Altair had thought he was inheriting nothing more than a baronial family with a long history. He had never imagined that the family's assets were so vast.
Altogether, their assets were worth close to 23 million Gold Pounds. Converted into modern currency, that was nearly 2.3 billion!
And that was only the net value of their ordinary assets. It didn't include their stockpile of extraordinary materials.
I remember Miss Justice's father, Earl Hall. He'd made his family's fortune through several shrewd investments. Based on the assets Audrey Hall received from her family when she came of age, their fortune should be worth around 15 million Gold Pounds.
In short, I'm richer than her, though I don't have as much political influence.
As Altair was still thinking about what to do with this happy news, he heard someone say:
"Count Altair, I heard that some of the new nobles in Bexland are proposing to repeal the Grain Act."
The news unsettled Altair. This really was happening. People had discussed it at the memorial service two days ago, though the proposal had only just been raised.
The Grain Act was essentially meant to restrict the import of cheap foreign grain and stabilize domestic grain prices. It was true that the law protected nobles and large landowners, but Altair knew who would truly suffer once it was repealed.
Altair sighed and said helplessly, "Old Clayton, it seems the news from Bexland has never stopped reaching you, even after you left."
Old Clayton only smiled faintly. "You're too kind, Count Altair."
Drawing on the events in the book and comparing them with reality, Altair gave Old Clayton the answer he needed. "This is indeed true. The act will inevitably be repealed, but not now. It should take at least another two years. There's nothing we can do to change that."
"Those minor nobles are merely pawns put forward by the people behind them. The Grain Act's repeal is inevitable."
Altair asked curiously, "You've been working for nearly forty years. As the saying goes, an old hand is worth their weight in gold. Do you have any good solutions?"
Old Clayton thought for a moment before answering honestly. "I haven't thought of any good solutions yet, if the Grain Act is destined to be repealed."
"Then the best course would be to sell the land when its price is at its peak. We could recover most of our cash, then buy it back when land prices fall. But we'd need time to plan the details."
"If a large number of commoners buy the land we sell during that time, then the repeal of the Grain Act will cause grain prices to drop, and many of them will go bankrupt and become unemployed. They'll have no choice but to work in factories, which will also cause wages to plummet and undermine regional security."
"The only benefit those people will get is cheaper grain."
"Count Altair, forgive my bluntness, but I truly can't understand why King George III and the House of Lords would agree to this proposal."
Of course you can't understand. Your King isn't remotely as decent a person as you are. I'm starting to think he's gone mad trying to become a god.
Altair didn't tell Old Clayton any of that. He merely said, "I don't know the reason either. My uncle didn't tell me. Don't repeat this to anyone else. You should understand how serious this is."
Seeing Altair's stern gaze, Old Clayton replied, "I understand, my lord."
Considering the war that would break out later, Altair said, "Even if the Grain Act is repealed and the King's cheap grain floods the country, pushing prices down, it won't last long. Don't start thinking about selling all the grain now. If I end up going hungry, I'll hold you responsible!"
Old Clayton felt speechless at the joke. What would it take for a noble to be unable to afford food?
Was that a doubt about my abilities, or was there another meaning behind it?
At last, they went to the underground vault beneath the estate. Old Clayton opened the sealed door and explained the work they'd done collecting special materials over the past six months.
The Sheffield family didn't have many recorded potion recipes of its own, but the materials themselves were imbued with spirituality. Because of the Church of the Seven Gods' control, they could only be collected in secret.
Once purchased, the materials were sealed away in a special vault, where they would lose almost none of their spirituality.
As for why they were collecting so many materials, extraordinary materials didn't fluctuate much in value on a large scale, making them excellent collectibles.
Once they'd finished discussing business, they moved on to personal matters. Old Clayton also thanked Altair from the bottom of his heart for sending Rex to the army...
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