"You bastard! Looks like I was right to kill you!" Nalant was so furious he could have spat blood. He had never issued such an order; Anthony had clearly imposed the grain levy behind his back.
If he hadn't already killed Anthony with his own hands, Nalant would have tracked him down and killed him all over again just to vent his anger.
"Vivian, give him something to eat. Not too much—just enough to fill his stomach for now." Nalant looked at the village chief, who was barely clinging to life, and gave the order.
The guards helped the village chief drink some water and eat a little food.
After resting for a while, the chief's face finally regained some color. He immediately dropped to his knees and said repeatedly, "Thank you for your generosity, my lord! I was wrong. Please spare me!"
"Get up. What's your name?" Nalant waved a hand.
"Reporting to my lord, my name is Pete Leatherboot!"
"Cough, cough! That surname... is certainly something...!"
Caught off guard, Nalant nearly choked. But in this world, the surnames of serfs were all like that.
Elegant surnames belonged to nobles. Serfs and commoners wouldn't dare use them.
For example, normal names like Tulip or Berick were reserved for nobles. As for serfs, they either had no surname at all or were stuck with something like Stick, Stone, or even Cow Dung.
Next, Nalant asked for more details about Anthony's grain levy.
He had hoped to recover the grain, but according to Pete Leatherboot, it had already been taken to the neighboring Barony of Quinte.
The Barony of Quinte was Nalant's closest noble neighbor, but it belonged to Earl Blackiron's territory. It was also the only place where the people of Storm Territory could usually buy everyday necessities.
Anthony had taken the grain there, clearly intending to exchange it for money and goods.
"Bastard!" Nalant couldn't help cursing.
From Pete, he learned that Anthony had stripped the village bare. Wheat Leaf Village had about a thousand people, and all that remained of their food would last them only a month.
The problem was that the next harvest was at least three or four months away.
"A thousand people, and only enough food for a month!" Nalant drew a deep breath. This was bad news.
"Ding! Side quest: The serfs of Storm Territory are your private property. As their lord, you cannot stand by and watch them starve to death. Find a way to keep them alive for the next four months, until the next harvest!"
"Quest reward: The appearance of a second Daughter of Luck!"
Just as Nalant was worrying, the system's voice rang out in his mind.
"Hm? A second Daughter of Luck?" Nalant was taken aback. The quest's appearance eased his anger somewhat.
He had already seen what Vivian could do, and he was eagerly looking forward to the arrival of a second Daughter of Luck. So he was more than happy to see this quest appear.
"Where did Anthony live?" Nalant set his thoughts aside and got down to business.
He hadn't yet sent anyone to clear out Anthony's belongings. Now it seemed that he needed to search the man's house.
"Reporting to my lord, it's that one!" Pete Leatherboot pointed to the only two-story building beside the square.
Only then did Nalant notice that it was the only stone house in Wheat Leaf Village. Its exterior was covered in moss, but it was still the sturdiest and finest building in the village.
Two hundred pounds of coarse wheat flour, ten pounds of fine wheat flour, fifty pounds of smoked meat, a barrel of wheat beer, two pounds of monster meat...
A set of silver tableware, five gold coins, thirty silver coins, and a handful of copper coins...
As Nalant watched the guards carry one item after another out of the stone house, his expression darkened.
That bastard Anthony had lived even better than he did. Monster meat alone cost one gold coin per pound.
According to the original owner's memories, he had only eaten monster meat once, at his sixteenth birthday celebration. His baron father had bought it especially for the occasion.
"My lord, we've finished moving everything out of the stone house, except for a carriage in the backyard," Quick reported to Nalant alongside Vivian.
"Good. Send five men to take everything back to the castle and hand it over to Thomas." Nalant nodded and set down the silver spoon he had been holding.
He had confirmed that the silver tableware was genuine. It was worlds apart from the silver-plated imitation in his castle, and this set was worth at least five gold coins.
All the items they had just found in the stone house were worth at least fifteen gold coins in total.
The currency in this world was based on precious metals: one gold coin equaled one hundred silver coins, and one silver coin equaled one hundred copper coins. A gold coin had the purchasing power of ten thousand yuan in his previous life.
Anthony had lied to his superiors and concealed the truth, but in the end, his spoils had fallen into Nalant's hands. The discovery had also triggered a system quest. It was a case of every cloud having a silver lining; after all, Nalant's nature made him incapable of such ruthless extortion.
Before long, Quick had arranged for five guards to load all the belongings onto a carriage and take them back to the castle.
"Vivian, give Pete a silver coin so he can buy some food." Nalant had a general understanding of Wheat Leaf Village's situation, and still needed to continue his inspection.
"Thank you for your generosity, my lord!" Moved, Pete Leatherboot dropped to his knees again and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Vivian, do you know how much wheat costs per pound?" Once they had set off again, Nalant began thinking about how to complete the system's quest.
The only way he could keep the serfs from starving was to buy grain.
The castle didn't have much food in storage either. He had brought only one carriage's worth, enough to feed him and the guards for just over a month.
"Reporting to my lord, if you buy it in the Barony of Quinte, it costs thirty copper coins per pound!"
"Hm, that expensive?" Nalant was taken aback. Thirty copper coins was equivalent to thirty yuan. Even though he didn't know much about prices in this world, it seemed outrageously high.
Seeing his confusion, Vivian continued, "My lord, Baron Quinte taxes the goods our serfs buy and sell in Storm Territory. There's a threefold price difference on everything, whether we're buying or selling. Otherwise, he won't let us trade in the Barony of Quinte!"
"If you bought it in another territory within the Tulip Earldom, it should cost ten copper coins per pound!"