They had leather?
Oh, now that was good stuff.
Chris immediately perked up. He realized he had overlooked something: the Barbarians lived by fishing and hunting, so of course they would have hides. Yet he had completely forgotten about that.
Chris was neither a god nor a robot. He often forgot things, made oversights, and missed matters he should have paid close attention to.
Like the players causing trouble, or the Mountain Savages' hides.
Back in the Bohemian Empire, Chris had wanted to buy raw materials or simply processed goods that still had value in the twenty-first century, to recoup some of his expenses.
Leather had been his first choice. His plan had sounded great: send Isaac's Caravan out to buy leather, take it to the twenty-first century and sell it for yuan, then use that money to buy basic industrial goods to sell in Bohemia.
But Chris's business plan had hit a wall at the very first step... he couldn't buy enough leather of sufficient quality.
Every city in the Bohemian Empire had its own trade guilds. Wanted to buy leather in bulk?
Sure, but first, were you a member of the local merchants' guild?
No.
Then were you a member of the local Leather and Manufacturing Guild?
Not that either?
Then did you have a letter of introduction from another city's merchants' guild?
What, all you had were trading papers issued by the empire?!
Where had this country bumpkin crawled out from? Stop getting in the way and get lost!
That exchange summed up Isaac and Chris's experience.
Without connections, Isaac's Caravan couldn't buy any leather, not even one or two cowhides.
If the big cities were out, could they try the towns and villages known for producing leather goods?
No, they couldn't.
Those settlements also fell under the jurisdiction of the trade guilds in nearby cities. Guild rules allowed their products to be sold to third parties, but buyers first had to obtain permission from the guild.
Buy under the table?
They could try, but that counted as smuggling in the guilds' eyes. Besides the local lord potentially putting out a warrant over unpaid taxes, the merchants' and leather guilds whose interests they had infringed upon would absolutely send men to hunt down Isaac's Caravan.
Yes, hunt them down. These monopolistic guilds had private armed forces of their own. Caravan guards, hired escorts, mounted militia, and citizen militia were all the merchants' thugs and lackeys.
Once Isaac's Caravan got far enough away, the local lord might not bother with them anymore. The bounty hunters hired by the merchants' guilds would. Even if the caravan fled the country, the guilds could pay their counterparts abroad to do the job.
To preserve their monopolies, those merchants really would pursue a feud to the death.
So Chris genuinely hadn't managed to buy any decent leather in the Bohemian Empire. He had given up and unconsciously forgotten his plan.
Only when the Barbarian chief mentioned it now did Chris remember, and his spirits lifted.
"Have them bring the hides over. Let's check the quality and quantity."
Chris figured the Mountain Savages would have cowhide, goatskin, or perhaps horsehide and wolf pelts.
The more valuable horsehides and wolf pelts could sell for several hundred to several thousand yuan. Even cheap sheepskins could fetch a few dozen yuan, and all of that would help him recoup his expenses.
What happened next went beyond anything he had expected or imagined.
Chris froze when he saw the delighted Barbarians emerge from the small grove nearby, carrying a huge bundle of thick, snow-white pelts tied together with rope.
It took him quite a while to snap out of it. Then he hurried over, grabbed the soft, snow-white fur, and gave it several good tugs.
"Th-this... what kind of fur is this?"
Chris's voice trembled slightly. Mia, who had stayed beside him the whole time, looked up at him in puzzlement, then faithfully translated his question for the Barbarian chief.
After a stream of chatter, Mia interpreted.
"White bear fur."
"White bears from where? Where did you hunt them?"
"In summer, our tribe enters the Kaslo Mountains and keeps heading north. Once we reach the frozen sea, we can find white bears."
Holy shit, mystery solved! These weren't just white bears. These were goddamn polar bear pelts!
Chris quickly took out his phone and looked up their value. Ordinary ones went for twenty to thirty thousand yuan, while high-quality pelts could fetch two hundred thousand... the profits were incredible!
It was just that the tax rate... was pretty frightening too. Apparently, they were taxed as luxury goods.
If he could have those pelts made into fur garments, they would be worth even more. Never mind buyers in the twenty-first century-people would probably still want them in the twenty-fifth.
Chris had someone untie the rope around the pelts and counted them. There were fifteen, all reasonably well preserved, with no obvious damage on the surface.
Judging with his amateur eye, Chris estimated that those fifteen pelts could bring him anywhere from two hundred thousand to a million yuan.
"How much food can we trade them for?"
Mia asked on the Barbarian chief's behalf.
"A lot of food... come with me."
Chris decided to give the Mountain Savages fifty kilograms of mixed grain for each bear pelt, handing over all the food the caravan currently carried... he could just buy more later, after all. It only took a few taps on his phone.
Besides that, there were fifty spears, five crates of iron arrowheads, and ten large iron pots.
Chris also wanted to give them ten matchlock muskets and a thousand rounds of ammunition, to make hunting in the Arctic at the far end of the Kaslo Mountains easier for them.
Originally, Chris had considered recruiting some of these Mountain Savages to form mountain troops. Now, though, enlisting them seemed like such a waste.
He would be better off having them hunt and sell him the polar bear pelts they brought back.
Still, Chris retained some sense. Before handing over the matchlocks, he asked Isaac's opinion.
"Is it all right to sell firearms to the Mountain Savages?"
"It's fine. Although these Mountain Savages operate within Bohemia and Bagnia, their main enemy and the target of most of their raids is actually the Retalia Empire.
"Their original homeland was within the Retalia Empire. They only fled into the Kaslo Mountains after it was occupied."
Isaac shrugged.
"Once these people have weapons, they'll just go after the Raitelians. They rarely clash with the people of Bohemia or Bagnia.
"That's because these Mountain Savages can't beat Bohemia's regular army. As for the Bagnians... well, I hear they're about as poor as the Mountain Savages. In fact, it's the Bagnians who often raid the Barbarians."
After hearing Isaac's explanation, Chris felt reassured and handed the ten matchlocks over to the Barbarians.
The Barbarians were delighted to receive the food. They were pleased with the blades, spears, and iron pots too, and could hardly put them down.
But when Chris had the muskets brought out and handed over, the Barbarians raised them high and cheered. They even began dancing on the spot, howling at Aisha as she came running over.
Amid the dancing, the Barbarian chief, whose name Chris didn't know, ran over and shouted excitedly.
"We have more white bear pelts! Can we trade them for more muskets?"
Mia translated.
"You don't want food?"
"We have enough food for now. We want weapons so we can protect ourselves."
"Where are the pelts?"
"In the mountains across the river."
Before you continue