Chapter 343: Big Fish Eats Little Fish

Early morning, the Bai Lu District of the Shengcheng was shrouded in mist, the air was chilly, and several carriages surrounded by riders stopped at the gate of Old Sain's farm.

Baron Ralph Devoir, who was in the lead, dismounted gracefully, handed the reins in his hand to the servant, and then, surrounded by the lawyer, regional priest, and local judge who got off the carriage together, crossed the threshold of the farm.

This was once a prosperous land, but a series of extreme weather at the end of the year left the granary empty, and the staggered ridges were full of withered crop stubble.

However, it was precisely this withered yellow that made Ralph feel confident and full of confidence in taking down this piece of land.

"It seems that even Holy Saint Xisi is on our side." The lawyer's eyebrows lifted slightly, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed.

Ralph was about to talk to him, when a vigorous figure crossed the ridge and stepped on the withered crops.

"Father! Can I walk around here?"

Riding on a tall warhorse, Frey, holding the reins, was full of excitement.

His face was flushed, half from excitement and half from being blown by the cold wind.

After his pestering, his old man finally agreed to buy him the warhorse he was riding.

Riding on that tall warhorse, Frey felt as if he had become a real knight, holding his beloved horse wherever he went, wishing he could hold it even when going to the toilet.

Looking at Frey riding on the horse, a soft smile appeared on Ralph's face, as if he saw himself when he was young.

"Go ahead, child, this will all be yours in the future."

Frey was waiting for this sentence, excitedly shouted "Drive," and leaped toward the wilderness, leaving a young and vigorous back for the group of gentlemen.

"Your son is still so active." The priest smiled lightly, his eyes kind.

Hearing the priest's words, Ralph grinned, narrowed his eagle-like eyes, and said.

"Young people are like this, unlike me, I'm already old."

The judge joked.

"Baron, you are joking. If you are considered old, wouldn't Casit the priest and I be going to see Holy Saint Xisi?"

"Hahaha."

The three chatted, just like old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years, the atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious.

The lawyer who followed closely next to Ralph also wanted to insert himself into the topic, especially wanting to have a good relationship with that local judge, but unfortunately, although the latter was very polite to him, he didn't pay attention to him.

The group arrived at the door of the dilapidated granary.

Farm owner Sain stood at that door early, his coarse linen clothes covered in mud, his face haggard with anxiety.

In the eyes of those farmers, he, who owned more than a hundred acres of land, could already be called an old master.

However, he knew clearly in his heart that he was no old master at all, but a fat sheep in front of the real old masters.

When it came to a bad year, they were the first to be slaughtered.

The lawyer who hit a wall with the judge was in a bad mood, looking at Sain as if he were looking at a vent for his anger.

In order to show his importance, he walked up with a cold face, took out the draft of the deed from the parchment roll he carried, and pressured this honest farmer with the sound of flipping through documents.

And the regional priest and local judge stood aside, waiting with a bit of reserve.

"Good morning, Mr. Sain." Baron Devoir's face carried a kind smile, but his upturned nostrils exposed the condescension hidden behind the smile, "It seems the harvest this year is not very good, you have really worked hard."

"Thank you for your concern, Baron, the harvest this year... is indeed not very beautiful, mainly because of that storm on the Vast Ocean, no one expected it to blow winter ahead of time."

Sain rubbed his hands, his expression uneasy, his face showing a hint of fawning smile, hoping to win the other party's sympathy.

"That's why I appeared here, I think this is also the meaning of Holy Saint Xisi, that merciful adult sent me to save you from fire and water..."

Ralph's mouth curled slightly, his heart not only had no sympathy, but instead hid a hint of mockery behind that polite expression.

Looking at Sain, whose eyes revealed hope, he continued with a gentlemanly voice.

"You know, I am a magnanimous person. 1000 gold coins are enough to help you pay off the bank's debt, and also allow you to leave easily, completely getting rid of this heavy burden."

The moment he heard this sentence, Sain's face turned pale, and the light of hope gradually disappeared from his eyes.

He didn't know how this old master knew about his debt, and the exposure of his trump card undoubtedly made his back, which had just straightened, fold another inch.

"Big, Master, 1200 gold coins are barely enough to pay off the debt and my daughter's dowry... Our ancestors have been farming on this land for generations, the money invested is not three thousand gold coins but two thousand gold coins, please be kind, at least give me this number!"

Ralph's expression was still smiling, but that smile gradually turned cold.

200 gold coins.

This guy really dared to open his mouth!

Also because it was near the Shengcheng, otherwise this piece of muddy land, I'm afraid it wouldn't be worth 1200 silver coins!

The lawyer, eager to perform, coughed at the right time, stopped flipping through the documents, and said with a stern expression.

"Mr. Sain, we learned that your loan is not the first time it has been extended. If you don't pay it back this month, not only will your interest rise by another point, but the land will also have the risk of being auctioned. I can tell you the auction process, we will hang a sign at the gate of your farm, and then publicly bid... but at that time, what price it can sell for is not something you can decide."

The priest also coughed lightly, seemingly smoothing things over, but actually favoring one side.

"Mr. Sain, I have to say a word to you, you can't count the money for buying seeds every year as the cost of the land, right? If you count it like this, what is the contribution of the Devoir family to this land? I'm afraid it's more than tens of thousands of gold coins, maybe hundreds of thousands."

Sain looked at those majestic and solemn visitors in panic, wanting to fight for something more for himself, but couldn't open his mouth, only able to argue in vain: "But Master, even if this land is not good, it is not worth this price... 1000 gold coins are really too little, selling it to you at this price, let alone I have worked in vain for so many years, even my father—"

Ralph took off his leather gloves, raised his hand to stroke the horse's neck, and said casually: "Sain, what I am buying is not just land, but the mercy of helping you repay your debt. If you are not willing to accept it, I think things will soon become not so beautiful."

Sain's face was even more ashen when he heard this, he knew he had no other choice, his voice gradually lowered: "Please, for the sake of my grandfather who once reclaimed this land, please be lenient..."

"Mercy also has a bottom line, Sain." Devoir's smile was gloomy, his gaze sharp as a falcon staring at the farm owner, "The price cannot exceed 1000 gold coins."

Sain was at a loss, looking at the priest and judge for help, but the two had indifferent expressions, seemingly having nothing to do with this matter.

This matter was indeed irrelevant to them, they were only acting as witnesses to this transaction.

Just as Devoir had just opened his toolbox, there were too many means that hadn't been used yet.

Just as Sain was almost falling into despair, Devoir's wife, Mira, walked slowly from the carriage with a gentle smile.

She held a cup of hot tea in her hand and handed it to Sain elegantly: "Mr. Sain, don't be nervous. My husband is just thinking for you, it's just that he is not good at expressing himself."

"How about this, why don't we each take a step back, 1100 gold coins, how about that? To show our sincerity, we will donate an additional 5 gold coins to the church, just as a prayer for your family and your daughter who is about to get married."

Mira's words were gentle and full of good intentions, Sain knew in his heart that this was just false kindness, but he still grabbed it like a straw.

1100 gold coins... not bad.

It's just that the house the young couple liked might have to move to a remote urban area.

He lowered his head helplessly, trying to suppress the trembling of his hand holding the teacup.

"Thank... thank you, Madam... let's do as you say."

Ralph's eyes revealed a triumphant smile, gave his wife an appreciative look, and then signaled to the lawyer: "Draft the deed, we will sign it right here, the regional priest and judge are both here, I don't want to trouble the two distinguished gentlemen to run again for this matter."

The lawyer nodded hurriedly.

"No problem, sir! The style I have already written, just missing a number, please wait a moment!"

At the door of the granary, a thick wooden board was placed on the overturned plow, temporarily pieced together into a desk.

The lawyer took out the formal deed from the parchment roll he carried, spread it out, laid it flat on the table, and read every detail on it seriously and clearly:

"... The agreed area of the land here is a total of 102.7 acres, the four boundary markers are south to the river bend, north to the main road of the Bai Lu District, east to the oak forest, and west to the edge of Sain's farm. The buyer, Baron Ralph Devoir, promises to pay the seller, Mr. Sain, a total of one thousand one hundred gold coins, and the buyer will donate an additional five gold coins to the Bai Lu District Church, while also bearing the taxes for the land transfer..."

Sain's expression was desolate and bewildered, nodding silently.

The regional priest meticulously recorded the location and scope of the land on the paper, and the local judge looked solemn, took out his private seal, and stamped it solemnly at the bottom of the deed.

After finishing, the lawyer took out a small and exquisite silver box from his sleeve, took out the blue strip of stamp duty, and carefully pasted it on the contract.

Then he respectfully rolled up the contract, tied it with a ribbon, and carefully handed it to Baron Devoir.

Ralph took the contract, just weighed its weight, and then threw it to his butler.

Actually, generally speaking, buying land doesn't need to be so troublesome, as long as one of the Church, local court, or local noble witnesses it... and he himself was one of the parties.

However, his next "opponent" was after all a behemoth like Kelin's family. He had to be careful and cautious, doing things without any flaws, so that the other party couldn't pick out any problems.

Court, Church, and Lord... and the stamped tax, all details were seamless.

After confirming there were no omissions, the group turned and left, only Sain, standing at the door of the granary, looked like his soul had been drawn out, looking lost at the land that no longer belonged to him.

The only thing he could count on now was his daughter.

Hoping that for the sake of a generous dowry, the young man who promised to make his daughter happy could love the house and its crow, and leave him a place to stay in the city.

Otherwise, he could only go back to his hometown to try his luck...

The only thing to be glad about was that the debt and interest he owed were paid off together, and he felt the whole person was relaxed.

On the other side, Ralph shook hands and said goodbye to the judge and priests, and then walked to the field like a general who had won a battle, shouting at Frey in the distance.

"Frey! What are you doing there? Come back, we are going home!"

Hearing his father's call, Frey turned his horse and galloped over, excitement and expectation shining in his eyes.

"Father, have you finished talking? This farm... really belongs to us?"

Another hundred acres of land!

In the past few days, the Devoir family's land had expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye!

As the future master of the Devoir family, he was very satisfied with his father's performance.

This old man, although usually quiet, was quite capable at critical moments!

Ralph laughed, no longer able to hide the pride in his eyes, and boasted in front of his son.

"Of course, this will be our winery in the future! I plan to plant this place full of grapes!"

Baroness Mira, standing aside, looked at him with a smile and joked.

"Are you willing to plant grapes here?"

Ralph said with a beaming face.

"Not necessarily grapes, it depends on what Prince Kelin likes."

Being able to sell directly to Prince Kelin was of course the best policy, but even if that gentleman didn't fancy this piece of land, it didn't matter.

He was very happy to be a neighbor with that distinguished gentleman, anyway, once an investment of millions of gold coins came in, the price of this land would rise no matter what.

At worst, he could sell it to the citizens who were driven away by him earlier, it was clearly not just himself who wanted to be a neighbor with Prince Kelin.

Frey couldn't help but cheer when he heard this.

"How about changing it to grassland! I can practice equestrianism here!"

"Hahaha, you stinky brat! You want to plant grass on such good land, a prodigal thing!" Ralph scolded with a laugh.

Just as the father and son were excitedly imagining future wealth and glory, a commotion suddenly came from outside the farm again.

Dust rolled in the distance, and a team of carriages decorated with silver emblems galloped over.

The man in the lead was dressed elegantly, his expression anxious and gloomy.

That was their old neighbor, Baron Wilson Lud... This guy was also a vulture who didn't spit out bones, and even more stingy than the Devoir family.

He realized something was wrong as soon as he arrived at the farm gate, especially when he saw the contract in the butler's hand, his face darkened instantly.

"Ralph, you are quite fast," Wilson squeezed out a smile, but the coldness in his tone was undisguised, "I heard this farm was for sale, and today it has already been taken by you?"

Ralph shook the contract in the butler's hand unhurriedly, threw it back into the butler's hand, and a hypocritical and arrogant smile appeared on his face.

"Mr. Lud, opportunities always belong to people with precise vision and quick action. Unfortunately, you always seem to be a beat slow."

Wilson looked at him deeply, didn't flare up, didn't argue, just said coldly.

"Very good, Ralph, it seems you have won another round. I hope this business is worth your investment."

Having said this, Wilson waved his hand and left with a group of servants, leaving only rolling dust on the road.

Sain looked at this short but needle-pointed confrontation in a daze, speechless for a while.

Three waves of buyers came in one day, and the first two almost fought... his farm had never been so lively!

It's a pity he didn't have his own butler, who could transport the latest newspapers from the city to the remote suburbs fifty kilometers away at the time of breakfast and dinner every day, and carefully cut out useful news and place it on his dining table or desk.

He hadn't read a newspaper for the last time until last month—the issue where Prince Kelin returned to the Shengcheng to hold a funeral for his father.

He hadn't heard of the things that happened in the Bai Lu District recently at all, even though he lived here.

At this moment, he finally realized that he had lost a lot.

It's just a pity that the land under his feet had nothing to do with him anymore...

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 344 =====

The only person he could count on now was his daughter.

He hoped that, for the sake of a generous dowry, the young man who promised to make his daughter happy would love her enough to extend that kindness to him, and leave him a place to stay in the city.

Otherwise, he would have no choice but to return to his hometown and try his luck there...

The only thing to be thankful for was that his debts and interest had been paid off in full, and he felt his entire being had become lighter.

On the other side, Ralph shook hands and bid farewell to the judge and the clerics, then walked into the field like a general who had won a battle, shouting toward Freya, who was frolicking in the distance.

"Freya! What are you still doing over there? Come back, we are going home!"

Hearing his father's call, Freya excitedly turned his horse around and galloped over, his eyes flashing with excitement and anticipation.

"Father, have you finished talking? Does this farm... really belong to us now?"

Another one hundred acres of land!

In just these few days, the Devoir family's land had been expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye!

As the future master of the Devoir family, he was very satisfied with his father's performance.

Although this old man usually didn't make a sound, he was still quite capable when it mattered!

Ralph laughed heartily, no longer able to hide the pride in his eyes, and began to boast in front of his son.

"Of course, from now on this will be our winery! I plan to plant this whole place with grapes!"

Standing to the side, the baroness gave him a smiling look and teased him.

"Are you really willing to plant grapes here?"

Ralph said, beaming with joy.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be grapes; it depends on what Prince Kelin likes."

Being able to sell directly to Prince Kelin was, of course, the best strategy, but if that Prince didn't take a fancy to this land, it wouldn't matter.

He would be very happy to be neighbors with that noble gentleman; in any case, once the investment of millions of gold coins came in, the price of this land would rise regardless.

At the very worst, he could still sell it to the few citizens he had driven away earlier; clearly, he wasn't the only one who wanted to be neighbors with Prince Kelin.

Upon hearing this, Freya was overjoyed and couldn't help but cheer.

"Why not turn it into a meadow instead! I could practice my horsemanship here!"

"Haha, you brat! You'd take such good land and use it to grow grass—what a spendthrift!" Ralph scolded with a laugh.

Just as the father and son were excitedly imagining their future wealth and glory, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the farm.

In the distance, dust billowed as a team of carriages adorned with silver emblems galloped toward them.

The man in the lead was dressed exquisitely, his expression anxious and gloomy.

That was their old neighbor, Baron Wilson Lu De... This guy was also a vulture who would eat people without spitting out the bones, and he was even more stingy than the Devoir family.

He sensed something was wrong the moment he arrived at the farm entrance, and especially upon seeing the contract in Steward Ralph's hand, his face immediately turned grim.

"Ralph, you certainly move fast," Wilson managed to squeeze out a smile, but the coldness in his tone was undisguised. "I heard yesterday that this farm was for sale, yet today it has already been snatched up by you?"

Ralph took the contract from the steward's hand, shook it unhurriedly, then tossed it back, a hypocritical and arrogant smile appearing on his face.

"Mr. Lu De, opportunities always belong to those with precise vision and swift action. Unfortunately, you always seem to be a step behind."

Wilson gave him a deep look, but didn't lash out or argue, simply saying coldly.

"Very well, Ralph, it seems you've won another round. I hope this business is worth your investment."

With that, Wilson waved his hand and left with his retinue of servants, leaving only rolling dust on the road.

Sain stared dumbfounded at the brief but confrontational contest before him, speechless for a moment.

Three waves of buyers had come in one day, and the first two had almost come to blows... His farm had never been this lively!

It was a pity he didn't have his own steward who could bring the latest newspapers from the city to the distant suburbs fifty kilometers away every morning and evening, and carefully clip out useful news to place on his dining table or desk.

The last time he had read a newspaper was last month—the issue about Prince Kelin returning to the Shengcheng to hold his father's funeral.

He hadn't heard a thing about what had happened in the Bai Lu District recently, even though he lived right there.

At this moment, he finally realized he had lost out big time.

It was just a pity that the land beneath his feet no longer had anything to do with him...

(End of chapter)