Chapter 124: Winterfell's Surging Wealth

In the study at Winterfell, an incense candle was burning.

The financial advisor Klar wore a red agate and sapphire ring on his finger, and he exaggeratedly sniffed the fragrance of the incense candle.

"Lord Eddard, under your technical guidance, our candle workshop has added plant essences during the production of honey candles. The profit from these incense candles has increased tenfold in an instant!"

Many poor people cannot afford candles; incense candles are for nobles and the wealthy. To make money, one must target the rich.

Klar looked across the candlelight with a face full of admiration and said, "Lord Eddard, when I first came to Winterfell, I was very worried. After all, our Winterfell is relatively poor, and unlike White Harbor or Braavos, it is not near the sea. I once doubted that I could lead Winterfell onto a path of prosperity."

"But now I am no longer worried, because you, Lord Eddard, are simply a genius inventor! You refined coarse salt into fine salt, made soap and perfume, and even extracted delicious maple syrup. You have opened up various sources of wealth for Winterfell; these trickling streams will eventually form a surging wealth."

Eddard smiled, "I am not as optimistic as you. After all, Winter is Coming! Klar, you are from Braavos and have never seen the winter of the North."

Klar stroked his cat's eye ring, "The winter is harsh, but under the wise leadership of our Lord Eddard, the glass farm and the food storage plan for the Wall are progressing smoothly. Now, Green Guard, Westbridge, and Nightfort have all completed restoration work, and the cold storage in these castles has already begun food stockpiling."

The North had passed seven years of summer, and the Seven Kingdoms had once again completed a bountiful harvest. Winterfell directly funded the purchase of large quantities of grain from the Riverlands, the Reach, and the Vale, storing it directly in the granaries of Winterfell.

Eddard also used the military colonies at Queenscrown to purchase grain directly from the Umber family near the Wall and the Karstark family of Karhold, transporting it to the granaries at Queenscrown. Once a large-scale attack by Wildlings occurs, the grain at Queenscrown can be directly transported to the Night's Watch and the fortresses Winterfell holds on the Wall.

Klar continued, "Captain Haihua of Green Guard wrote to say that Winterfell's longships at Eastwatch can catch many salmon, saury, sardines, herring, cod, shrimp, and crabs from Seal Bay every day. The Black Brothers and the personal guards of the Night's Watch can eat seafood at every meal."

"Captain Harwin of Nightfort replied that after the restoration of Nightfort was completed, Winterfell soldiers cleared many manors to the south of Nightfort. The nearby wild blueberries and wild boars are their delicacies. Captain Alyn of Westbridge said in his reply that the seafood from the Bay of Ice brought by fishing boats from Bear Island has already been sent to the ice storage at Westbridge. Lady Maege Mormont is building more fishing boats to fish in the Bay of Ice."

"Nowadays, Green Guard has five hundred soldiers, Nightfort has six hundred, and Westbridge has five hundred. The strength of Winterfell on the Wall has already exceeded that of the Night's Watch. Lord Eddard, I heard from Maester Luwin that the ancestors of the Stark family once tried to take back the Gift, but all failed, yet you have quietly reclaimed the Gift."

Eddard frowned, "It is enough that you understand this in your heart; do not go around boasting about it. The Gift still nominally belongs to the Night's Watch."

With Eddard's Salt Ban and the military colonies on the Wall, Winterfell's control over the North has significantly strengthened. The armaments and food of the Night's Watch rely heavily on Winterfell, and the Gift has been firmly held in Winterfell's hands.

Klar waved the financial bills, "Lord Eddard, our high-proof blueberry wine, Blue Noble, has amazing sales in White Harbor. Sailors and captains from all over the world love it, and merchant ships compete to buy it."

"Fine wine, perfume, fine salt, maple syrup, incense candles, glass, wood carving—Lord Eddard, Winterfell has so many profitable projects. At the current rate, in a few years, we will be able to pay off our debts. By then, will you consider starting the first bank in Westeros?"

The most famous bank is the Iron Bank of Braavos. In addition, Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr all have merchant houses to varying degrees, but Westeros is pitifully without a single one.

Klar said excitedly, "The most profitable business is banking! Lord Eddard, you must seize the opportunity! In Braavos or Lys, starting a bank is not difficult."

Eddard smiled bitterly, "Klar, this is not the Free Cities. In the North, there is the royal family above us; banks cannot be opened just like that."

Klar made a face, "Lord Eddard and King Robert Baratheon are as close as brothers, and you were the foster son of the Hand of the King, Jon Arryn. You and Jon Arryn are even brothers-in-law; Lady Lysa Arryn and Catelyn Stark are own sisters. The royal family would be happy to see the North open a bank, as long as the North pays its taxes in full."

"Things are not as simple as you imagine," Eddard told Klar. "The royal family controls the mint, but the royal family is heavily in debt. The Lannister family is the largest creditor, and there is also the Church. The Church has powerful influence south of the Neck, and the Lannisters sit on mountains of gold. How could they sit by and watch the North open a bank?"

"Compared to coins, I actually trust turnips and cattle and sheep more. When the cold winter descends and the world is covered in ice and snow, gold and silver coins cannot be eaten, but bread, turnips, and mutton can keep you alive, helping you survive the winter to welcome the next spring and Dawn."

Klar sighed, "Perhaps Lord Eddard is right. After all, the Starks have ruled the North for thousands of years and understand winter and this land better."

Klar got up and left. Before long, Maester Farmer and Maester Norman walked in.

Maester Norman had silver-white hair, and the children all called him "White-headed Old Man." He was skilled in medicine, and under Eddard's guidance, Maester Norman had recently been developing a pill to treat colds called "Cold Spirit."

Maester Farmer was chubby, always slovenly and unkempt. He liked to stay in the manors studying crops, or go to the mountains to collect minerals. If it weren't for the chain around his neck, he would likely be mistaken for a farmer.

Maester Norman carefully handed over a wooden bowl with a pill inside.

"Lord Eddard, according to the herbal formula you provided, using ephedra, divaricate saposhnikovia, cassia twig, chrysanthemum, platycodon, loquat leaf, forsythia, etc., after repeated experiments, the Cold Spirit pills have now achieved very good results. I have used this pill to cure several patients with colds."

Eddard praised, "This is a great achievement. How is the effect of the medical alcohol?"

After inventing the distiller, the Winterfell winery could produce high-proof spirits, and making high-concentration medical alcohol was a matter of course.

Maester Norman smiled, "The medical alcohol works very well. I used medical alcohol to disinfect a hunter bitten by a wild boar, and the effect achieved was even better than Myr Fire."

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(End of chapter)