Chapter 70: Dwarf Economics

Having figured out the trick to it, Sinuoli decided to continue following his previous "nouveau riche" path; since he was not short on money, using it to trade for the time he lacked was a very reasonable choice.

Opening his safe and looking at the small, glittering mountain of gold inside, Sinuoli grinned until the corners of his mouth split.

For a fleeting moment, Sinuoli even felt reluctant to lose these sparkling little darlings before his eyes, even if a temporary loss would mean recovering more in the future.

Sinuoli realized that this was the Kezhinzheng hidden in the deepest parts of his bloodline acting up.

Dwarfs have an almost pathological obsession with gold; "Kezhinzheng" and "Gilding Fever" are considered common physiological or psychological ailments for them.

These conditions are especially common among Dwarf Miners, as they spend years underground digging for metal. The symptoms vary: loss of reason, drooling, pathological paranoia, persecutory delusions, and so on.

Spending all day with gold and becoming violent are things documented in detail within the Dwarf Miner Association.

Dwarfs love gold so much that counting gold has become a form of entertainment widely favored by the Dwarf upper echelons.

Depending on the amount of wealth, this activity can take hours or even days. But in the process of counting, Dwarfs derive pleasure from a near-paranoid level of precision and composure.

Dwarfs also have many lexical descriptions for "gold," which reflect its value, weight, color, luster, and even the history of the gold.

For instance, ancient gold—that is, gold passed down through generations and stored in Clan treasuries—and newly mined gold have different names, and Dwarfs also have unique designations for gold of different purities.

Sinuoli was in a good mood; he leisurely counted his own gold coins as well, and his total net worth now came to just over four thousand.

The main sources of these gold coins fall into three categories: the latest batch was the spoils of war seized after he and Balunding wiped out the Liezhua Clan of Skaven, totaling about one thousand or so.

The more legitimate source was the monthly allowance provided by his father, Thorgrim, when he was a minor, and the earnings he made working at the Rune Smith Guild. Since Sinuoli had the backing of the Clan and lacked for nothing in food or clothing, and because he was not a person who craved Vanity, he had saved most of it.

The final portion came from information fees obtained by selling the hobbies of his second sister, Princess Nina. Over the last decade, as both his second sister and he himself reached adulthood, almost every year someone would come to him to scout for information.

Every time such passive socializing occurred, a grand feast and a batch of local specialties were always a given, and many generous young Dwarfs would even slip Sinuoli a red envelope, begging him to put in a good word with his sister.

Logically speaking, these four thousand gold coins in savings count as a huge sum; in Human society, a common farmer's annual income is around ten gold coins.

Like almost all worlds, a farmer's annual income, aside from maintaining their livelihood, is basically unable to purchase anything that could be called "luxury"—unless they rely on years of savings.

For warriors or mercenaries, depending on their branch of service and strength, their annual income is roughly between twenty and fifty gold coins.

Many minor nobles, such as Knights or baronets, rely on their manors and their own martial prowess for an annual income of no more than five hundred gold coins.

Great nobles have an annual income exceeding one thousand gold coins, though this is, of course, the net income after paying the wages of the armies and servants under their command.

However, according to Sinuoli's own observations and analysis, combined with his knowledge of economics from his past life, he believes that Dwarf society is somewhat inflationary compared to the Empire.

Inflation is the devaluation of a country's currency that causes a rise in prices.

It is distinct from general price increases: a general price increase refers to a temporary, local, and reversible rise in the price of one or some commodities due to supply and demand imbalances, which does not cause currency devaluation;

Inflation, however, is a continuous, widespread, and irreversible rise in the prices of major domestic commodities that can cause the devaluation of a country's currency.

The direct cause of inflation in the Mountain Kingdom is that the amount of currency in circulation here is greater than the Dwarfs' total effective economic volume.

The underlying reasons Sinuoli can see for this situation mainly include the following two.

First is the currency; the entire Warhammer World uses precious metals like gold and silver as currency, and as a race that makes its living through mining, the growth rate of the Dwarf money supply is consistently higher than the growth rate of their total effective economic volume.

Another reason is the trade surplus—a massive trade surplus. The goods Dwarfs sell are mostly high-value-added categories like armor, weapons, jewelry, and handicrafts, while what they buy from the Humans is mostly low-value products like agricultural goods, food, and cotton and linen textiles.

Because the Dwarf population is small—the entire Everpeak has only three hundred and fifty thousand permanent residents—their demand is relatively low compared to the vast Human population. A massive amount of gold coins flows into the Mountain Kingdom along with trade.

This phenomenon of inflation causes the purchasing power of gold coins in the Mountain Kingdom to decline, and the introduction of Oath Gold is the most direct proof of this.

To avoid certain Miner Clans easily trading away priceless treasures for simple, easily obtained gold, the Dwarfs chose to use Oath Gold, which contains Rune Magic, for high-end transactions.

Thinking about this, Sinuoli carried the money bag on his shoulder and walked into the materials shop located in the central square of the fortress.

When he walked out, his money bag was half as light, and in his hand was a small leather bag of Dragon Blood; this was even at a discounted price the boss gave for the sake of the Ancestor Goddess!

Sinuoli's heart was bleeding, but facing inflation—a problem that was difficult to solve even in his past life—he, knowing only the concept, was completely at a loss.

"In the future, I still have to earn money in the Qunshan and spend it in the Empire; I should push for more policies to encourage Empire merchants, let them drive the price of Dragon Blood down for me; hiring more mercenaries from the Human side is also a good method, the maintenance costs are much cheaper than the clansmen..." Sinuoli muttered non-stop as he walked back.

"Right, maintenance costs!" He suddenly felt a headache; it was fortunate that his Anvil Guard was still paid for by the Clan, otherwise, whether the little money he had left would be enough to pay wages was an unknown.

But then he thought, for now, he was still considered a key officer in his father Thorgrim's faction, mainly responsible for leading men to carry out missions, and logistics and military supplies were not within his scope of consideration.

But once he set up his own household, wages, provisions, and even the replenishment of weapons, equipment, and ammunition would all have to be handled by himself.

"Where can I get money?" Sinuoli muttered to himself; he hadn't expected that the first two difficulties he faced after transmigrating would both be related to money—first, he had no Oath Gold, and now he was even short on ordinary gold coins!

"Since I have to protect the caravan, why not engage in a little trade myself?" Sinuoli had a flash of inspiration.

Thanks to the book friend for the tip, Chaos's Black Apostle, I need two characters to call it a chapter, monthly tickets.

Asking for tickets, collections, and tips at the beginning of the month, ha.