Lord Harland.

Relying on his own hard work in recent years, Li Cha's breathing method has finally been promoted to the eighth level, and he has been promoted to a fifth-level warrior.

The warrior level has been raised to the fifth level, the physical fitness has been improved again, and the strength has reached points.When the warrior level is raised to the sixth level, the strength attribute will exceed points, and then a talent in physical attributes will be awakened.

When William's strength exceeded 20 points, he awakened a very excellent talent, Furious Heart. Whenever he was angry, his physical fitness would be greatly improved.

Although this talent is not as abnormal as the Hulk, it can improve physical fitness without limit.

When this talent is turned on, William's strength will be increased by about half, and his destructive power will become astonishing.

Although the heart of rage is activated for a short time, it has no side effects.

In addition to combat skills and combat experience, the warrior profession also determines the strength of a warrior by his own talent. After awakening excellent talents, you can surpass the level and defeat the enemy in battle.

I don't know what kind of talent Li Cha will awaken when his strength breaks through points?

The opening of talent has no rules at all, and it is almost impossible to inherit.

Regarding this point, Li Cha can only leave it to fate.

A few days before the goddess's birthday, Richard finally had a few days of free time to spend time with Margaret.

The father and daughter were walking on the street, looking at the street scenes everywhere.

There is already some commercial atmosphere on the streets of Fort William. Richard discovered taverns, barber shops, gold and silver jewelry stores, grocery stores, grain stores, etc.

Half of them are officially run shops, such as grain stores, grocery stores, taverns and so on.

Li Cha entered the grocery store and found that there were already a lot of products in the store. In addition to brown sugar, wool cloth, iron farm tools, and bulk liquor, the grocery store also had honey, canned fruits, high-end drinks and other slightly extravagant products. .

As soon as Li Cha entered the grocery store, he alarmed the shop assistants and customers.

Most of the residents in Fort William have seen Richard.

Those who settled here, apart from military families, were the first batch of indentured slaves.Many people have participated in the construction of Fort William and have personally contacted Richard.

He appeared on the street with Marguerite and immediately caused a sensation.

"Is it Mr. Richard?"

"Yes, I have seen Mr. Richard with my own eyes. I can't be wrong."

"Master Richard and I participated in labor together. We lived in adjacent tents. Nine years have passed. I wonder if Master Richard will remember me?"

The clerk whispered to the customer and looked at Li Cha's father and daughter with eager eyes.

They wanted to step forward and say a few words to Richard, but the clear hierarchy between nobles and ordinary people in the Dawn Plane made them very hesitant and did not dare to show their enthusiasm.

"Is it Peter? We haven't seen each other for almost ten years. The young Peter is now middle-aged."

Richard glanced around and suddenly spotted an acquaintance.

Peter was the first batch of contract slaves in the territory. He was bought by Richard because of the plague, and he followed Richard to the territory of Harland.

He was one of the earliest stonemasons in the territory. In the early days of the construction of Fort William, he commanded more than a dozen workers. At that time, the tent he lived in was very close to Richard.

Richard's role at that time was equivalent to the boss, project manager and part-time chief engineer of the Fort William construction project.

At that time, he was with the workers every day, often contacted the grassroots, and had a lot of communication every day.

Peter was in his twenties at the time, and looked very young.

Now nine years have passed, and the working people are aging much faster than the nobles. Peter has changed a lot and has become a middle-aged man with rough skin.

Because of his strong mental power, Li Cha's memory far exceeds that of ordinary people. Even if he had contact with him ten years ago, he can recognize old acquaintances at a glance.

"Yes, Master Richard. I am Peter the stonemason. I didn't expect you to still remember me after so many years."

Peter's ability is average. He is the earliest group of craftsmen in the territory. Although he became a freeman very early, his class has not achieved a leap.

To this day, Peter is still a farmer. In his spare time, he comes to Fort William to do odd jobs to support his family.

"How has your life been in recent years?"

"Life is good. Now I am the father of four children. My wife and children can have enough food and clothing. They are born as free citizens. They can only be born in Harland's territory if they are favored by the goddess of fate."

According to the statistics of the officials, the free people in Harland Territory have already solved the problem of food and clothing.

Because the per capita arable land is more, the territory also has mineral resources such as coal, and the production of woolen cloth, the first generation of free citizens who have just allocated land should not be too poor.

But after the second and third generations, there is not that much arable land in the Harland territory. As the per capita land resources decline, farmers will fall back into poverty.

With five acres of land per capita and one acres of land per capita, the living conditions are completely different.

People with five acres of land per capita can live relatively prosperously, but people with one acres of land per capita will inevitably fall into a state of poverty and hunger.

To improve this situation, the first is to expand the territory and open up farmland, and the second is to control the growth of the population.

Harland's territory is vast and sparsely populated. In the past hundred years, it should still be an environment with fewer people and more land.

As for the population in the future, what should we do?It can only be passed on to the next generation.

Li Cha came over, shook hands with Peter, and asked, "Has your child gone to school?"

"No, Master Li Cha."

"Why not let children receive education? Only when children receive education can they change their destiny."

"The tuition fee of six silver coins a year is too expensive, and it is difficult for a family like ours to afford it. When the children grow up, if they are in good health, I want them to join the army. If they are in good health, follow me as a stonemason. You can also support your family if you have a craft.”

Richard chatted with Peter for a few words, then shook hands and said, "I'm going back, Peter. Happy Birthday to the Goddess, and wish you good luck!"

Li Cha saw more and more people outside the shop.In order to avoid a stampede, Li Cha picked up Margaret, greeted the people in the store, and then returned to the mansion.

Li Cha has a high prestige in Harland's territory, and ordinary citizens want to see the lord, and they will be bragging capital after returning.

"The status has improved, and it will be troublesome to go out."

Li Cha and Sophia complained a few words, and then began to read the report sent by the territorial officials.

With the graduation of the first class of students from Riverside Elementary School, there are more than a hundred people in Harland Territory who are proficient in writing and basic mathematics.

These people have become staff officers, teachers, and grassroots bureaucrats. With their participation, the written report requested by Li Cha can finally be implemented.

Through this piece of written material, Richard can have some grasp of the basic situation of Harland's territory. However, you cannot completely trust what is on the report, and you must be on guard against irresponsible writing by bureaucrats.

There is a very high probability that bureaucrats will be irresponsible.To see the real situation from the report, Li Cha needs to strengthen supervision, constantly check, and often contact the grassroots.

Now that more people are literate, the demand for paper will increase.

The price of parchment is very expensive, and it is not suitable for the popularization of knowledge at all.

Richard asked craftsmen to study papermaking many years ago, and now the technology of papermaking using plant fibers has been successfully researched.

By using various plant fibers to make paper, craftsmen in Harland discovered that the quality of paper made from bark and tempeh is better.

Today, in Harland's territory, paper has begun to circulate on a small scale.

Not only the City Hall, the Riverbank Elementary School, and Harland's leading army distribute paper, but the government-run grocery stores in Fort William, Fort Sophia, and Fort Depot all sell paper. In order to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge, Richard did not plan to use paper to earn money profit.

Today, the paper market in Harland's territory has exceeded the size of more than one hundred gold coins.

In order to avoid irritating the nerves of nearby nobles, Richard did not sell paper on a large scale. However, the circulation of low-priced paper still promoted the spread of knowledge.

As knowledge spreads, the literacy rate will increase and the quality of the population will improve. In the long run, it will greatly promote the development of the Harland territory.

Because of Li Cha's policy of dividing land and light taxation, the free people in Harland's territory are relatively wealthy and have high spending power, almost comparable to the families of the city defense army.

The brown sugar, liquor, steel products, and woolen clothes produced in the Harland Territory have become popular among the free people because their prices in the place of origin are not very high.

According to the statistics that Richard saw, the free people consumed an average of one kilogram of brown sugar a year.

In Haaland territory, the price of brown sugar has dropped to twelve copper coins per kilogram. When brown sugar was first produced, the price was almost the same as honey, almost one silver coin per kilogram.

In just a few years, the price of brown sugar dropped by 60 percent in Harland territory.

As brown sugar production increases, Richard believes there is still room for decline.

Due to the impact of brown sugar in the Harland Territory, the price of honey in the northern region has also dropped a lot. Brown sugar is already replacing honey in the northern region.

This year, the production of brown sugar in the territory exceeded tons, and hundreds of tons of brown sugar entered the market. Such a powerful impact made brown sugar no longer a luxury.

There are three provinces and four duchies in the northern part of the Grant Kingdom, with a combined population of tens of thousands of people.

But the vast majority of the population were serfs, without any spending power.

The population with real spending power, apart from nobles, religious people, professional officers, and soldiers of the main army, plus a small number of merchants and high-level technicians, is some opera singers, monster hunters, and high-level mercenaries.

Adding up all the consumer groups, the total in the northern region does not exceed 300,000.

The average amount of brown sugar produced in Harland's territory is close to a catty per person.

Based on the annual consumption of one kilogram per freeman in the Harland Territory, when the territory produces three hundred tons of brown sugar per year, the market will be saturated.

At that time, in addition to expanding the market outside, we can only continue to lower prices and let the market sink.

To expand the market to the south, we must face competition from honey.

The southern provinces of Seldorf, Iliano, the Duke of Guise, and the Duke of Duran all have large populations raising bees.

Brown sugar, a specialty of northern Xinjiang, is difficult to sell in the southern sphere of influence through formal channels.

There is no such thing as free trade in the Grant Kingdom, and every lord hates the outflow of gold coins.Unless a war can be fought to overthrow the rule of others, brown sugar can be sold and profited in other people's sphere of influence.

Even if some brown sugar is sold by smuggling, under the brutal attack of official forces, the high cost may not be able to make much profit.

Moreover, in the production areas of honey farming, the retail price of honey is only fifteen copper coins per kilogram.

Even if the brown sugar from Harland's territory is transported to the south, it may not be able to compete with the honey from the south at the current price.

On the contrary, Nolan’s market can be competed for in the future. There are no lords who breed bees in large numbers near Nolan, and there is no self-interest involved, so the resistance is not particularly great.

But if you want to enter the Nolan market, you must have the status of a big noble, and you must also deal with some influential people in Nolan.

Otherwise, your business will soon be swallowed up by others.

The influence of the Haaland family is only somewhat useful in northern Xinjiang, and even very effective only in the province of Gedda. The deterrent effect in the provinces of Gascoigne and Lach is somewhat less. When he went to the territories of several other dukes, Richard had to keep his head down.

In Jonathan, Fox and other duchies, Richard is doing wholesale business. This year, the wholesale price of brown sugar has dropped to twelve copper coins per kilogram.

The wholesale price has been reduced, and Li Cha does not need to bear the transportation responsibility.After the brown sugar is squeezed, it is sent directly to the Heihebao market, and then sold at wholesale prices to several chambers of commerce controlled by the duke.

The only markets directly operated by the Haaland Territory are the three northern provinces.

The retail price of brown sugar in the three northern provinces and stores controlled by the Haaland family has also dropped to fifteen copper coins per kilogram, almost half of what it was a few years ago.

Because the price cut was serious this year, although they competed for the market, the income of brown sugar did not increase too much, and it only brought a profit of gold coins.

On the contrary, the price of liquor has been very stable.

The lords have already divided the market, and the market that the Harland family can control now is Heihe County.

If you want to increase the income of liquor, you can only expand the consumer group.

The selling price of steel products also fell by 60% due to the continuous increase in steel production in the Harland territory.

Now the Harland Territory controls two iron mines, and the monthly output of steel exceeds tons.

At the current rate, steel production next year may exceed 1,000 tons.

The output of one thousand tons of steel, based on a population of 200,000, is only five kilograms per person on average.

Moreover, Richard still has to sell half of the steel to external parties. The wholesale price of the steel sold by Richard is already twenty-eight gold coins per ton, which averages out to ten copper coins per kilogram.

It can be said that in the area near Harland's territory, the price of steel products has dropped by to %.The current retail price in the market, for iron materials of average quality, has dropped to twelve copper coins per kilogram.

The price of goods is constantly decreasing, the income of free people is increasing, and with the improvement of living standards, spiritual needs are also increasing.

Nowadays, there are drama and opera singers in Fort William, and there are often music performances.