Assets and the Grain Act

After breakfast on the third day, Old Clayton led the way to begin inspecting the lands belonging to "Sheffield." The territory centered on the castle and spread outward, comprising farmland, woodlands, pastures, orchards, and more.

Through Old Clayton's introduction, Altair learned how these lands operated and what crops they produced.

Since most of these people had either followed "Sheffield" themselves or were their descendants, the farmers here only needed to pay between 4 and 8 Sule per year to rent land. But even the cheapest barren land could yield a net output of 3 to 5 pounds, while fertile land produced 8 to 12 pounds.

Of course, they could use the land first and pay later, or offset the rent with grain.

Barren land was mainly planted with "Rye." Though this crop was cheap, it still served as food.

Fertile land was planted with "Spelt Wheat," a type of wheat that produced fine flour, rich in nutrients, and was the staple food for most of the Middle Class.

There were also Barley, Oats, and other crops, some of which were used for brewing alcohol.

Of course, Soybeans, Peas, Lentils, Cabbage, Onions, and other legumes and common vegetables were always grown as well.

There were also higher-value cash crops, such as Flax, Tobacco, Hops, and so on.

The pastures raised large numbers of cattle, sheep, and other animals.

Old Clayton's introduction made it clear that just the land near this Fief alone, nearly 90,000 acres, all belonged to "Sheffield."

If sold and converted into Gold Pounds, it would be worth about 2.6 million pounds—and this was just one territory. The Sheffield family had three more such landholdings in the Kingdom of Ruun.

But no noble would sell their land, because if all of it were cultivated, the annual value of the goods produced would exceed the land's own value.

Even if rented out, they could collect nearly a quarter of that in Gold Pounds. Of course, no one could rent out all this land at once either.

But this was just land investment. There were other investments too, such as Real Estate, which was now a major project. For example, in the recent Tingen City, "Sheffield" owned two streets, several Manors, and Terraced Houses.

Maybe one day they really could knock on Room Doors and collect rent.

Besides these investments, "Sheffield" also had mineral resources, such as the currently high-value Coal Mines, Iron Mines, and so on.

Since the territory bordered the Tassok River, they also had their own Shipyard, mainly building dual-power ships using "Steam and Sail." And supporting industries like Steel Manufacturing, Large Steam Engine Manufacturing, and so on were all invested in.

Of course, the "ships" nowadays were mostly not yet the kind made entirely of steel—the large-scale Ironclads. Though steel was used, the problem of "power" had never been solved, even with steam engines.

The military sector also had involvement in Firearms Manufacturing, Weapon Forging, and so on.

Investments were spread across the entire country, from civilian to military use. Altair had thought he was inheriting just a Baron with a long Family Inheritance, but no matter how hard he racked his brain, he never imagined this family had so many assets.

All told, it was close to 23 million Gold Pounds in assets. Converted to modern money, it was nearly 23 billion!

And this was just the net assets among ordinary assets, not including the stock of Extraordinary Materials.

I remember Miss Justice's father, Count Hall, only amassed his family's wealth after several shrewd investments. Based on the assets Audrey Hall's family gave her after she came of age, her family's assets should be around 15 million Gold Pounds.

In summary, I'm richer than her family, even if my political influence isn't as strong.

With this joyful news, Altair was still thinking about how to live his life from now on when he heard—

"Count Altair, I hear that in Bexland now, some upstart nobles among the new elite have proposed abolishing the Grain Act."

Hearing this news, Altair couldn't stay calm, because it was indeed true. At the Memorial Service two days ago, people had already discussed it, though it had only just been brought up.

The essence of the Grain Act was to restrict the import of cheap foreign grain and stabilize domestic grain prices. This law did protect nobles and large landowners, but he knew full well who would truly suffer after it was abolished.

Altair let out a helpless sigh. "Old Clayton, it seems that even after you left Bexland, the news from there has never stopped coming."

Old Clayton smiled faintly. "Count Altair flatters me."

Combining events from the book with reality, Altair gave Old Clayton the answer he needed. "This matter is indeed correct, and the act will inevitably be abolished. But not now—it should take at least another two years. It can't be reversed."

"Those minor nobles are nothing but pawns thrown out by the people behind the scenes. The abolition of the Grain Act is inevitable."

Altair asked curiously, addressing the old steward who had worked for nearly forty years. After all, as the old saying goes, "An elder in the house is a treasure."

"Do you have any good solutions?"

Hearing Altair's words, Old Clayton thought for a moment and answered honestly. "I haven't thought of any good solution right now, if the Grain Act is destined to be abolished."

"Then the best course is to sell the land when its price is at its highest. That can recover most of the cash. Then, when land prices drop, buy it back. But this requires time to plan the specific operation."

"If a large number of commoners buy the land we sell during this period, and then the abolition of the Grain Act causes grain prices to fall, many commoners will go bankrupt, becoming unemployed drifters who can only enter factories to work. But that will also cause workers' wages to plummet, which is bad for regional security."

"The only benefit these people get is lower grain prices."

"Count Altair, forgive my bluntness, but I truly cannot understand why His Majesty George III and the House of Lords agreed to this proposal."

Of course you can't understand, because your King isn't nearly as humane as you think. I suspect he's already gone mad trying to become a "god."

Altair certainly wouldn't tell Old Clayton everything. He only said, "I don't know the reason for this either. Uncle Master didn't tell me. Don't you go spreading it either—you should know how serious this matter is."

Seeing Altair's stern gaze, Old Clayton said, "I understand, Count."

Considering the great war that would break out later, Altair added, "Even though the Grain Act will be abolished and the King's cheap grain will flood the country and affect grain prices, it won't last long. Don't go thinking about selling off all the grain now. If I go hungry later, I'll be coming after you!"

Hearing this joking remark from Altair, Old Clayton was inwardly speechless. "Under what circumstances could a noble ever be unable to afford food?!"

Was this a challenge to his ability, or did it mean something else?

Finally, they went to the underground vault beneath the Manor, opened the sealed door, and Old Clayton reported on the collection of special materials over the past six months.

Although the Sheffield family didn't have many Potion Recipes recorded, the materials themselves had spirituality. Due to the control of the Church of the Seven Gods, they could only be collected in secret.

Once purchased and sealed in a special vault, there was basically no loss of spirituality.

As for why so many materials were collected—Extraordinary Materials themselves didn't fluctuate much in value, making them excellent collectibles.

After business came personal matters. Old Clayton also expressed his heartfelt gratitude for sending Rex to the military...