Fair Trade, If You Can Call It That (2)
“Pots, kettles, pans! We’ve got it all! Come on over and pick something up!”
“Do you happen to have any unbleached cotton cloth?”
“Why wouldn’t we? It’s a bit pricey, but we got a good shipment in this time. Here you go.”
“Oh my, it’s so soft.”
A woman touched the corner of the undyed cotton fabric, a shy smile spreading across her face.
“Can I buy just this much?”
“Of course. I’ll cut it for you. What are you planning to use it for?”
“My youngest is due soon, and I wanted to make at least one set of undergarments out of something nice.”
As she spoke, she gently rubbed her belly, which had been hidden beneath her thick coat.
Finding such soft cotton in the North was no easy feat.
She already had three children, but the fact that she had never been able to provide even one set of undergarments made of clean, snow-white, soft fabric had become a hidden sorrow she hadn’t even realized she carried.
“Congratulations. Look, I can’t give you much more, but take this bit for free. Make a diaper or two when the baby arrives.”
“Oh my, how can I ever thank you?”
“We’ll keep getting shipments of cotton from now on. So don’t rush to buy a mountain of it—just buy what you need, Mom.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Since the onset of winter, the Northern market, which had entered a period of stagnation, began to pulse with life once again.
The fact that scarce supplies were suddenly abundant and varied was, naturally, thanks to the civil servants’ side hustle.
The officials who had transported the timber returned and immediately sold the goods they had bought in bulk to the trading post, and those goods were then released into the market for the residents to see.
“How much did you bring back? Did you clean them out entirely?”
Aiden, having taken a tour of the market, let out a dry laugh at the sight of the goods piled high on every merchant’s table.
This was even more than he had anticipated.
“Everyone was determined and prepared, sir. Hehe.”
The officials and workers who had gone to sell the wood had, with Aiden’s tacit approval, emptied their pockets to scrape up every bit of merchandise they could find in the Lontes territory.
Since everything they touched was something the North lacked, they didn’t even need to calculate which items would yield the highest profit.
Among the territories in the North, the Lontes territory was the most commercially developed—enough to consider maritime logistics—so it seemed they had more than enough capacity to satisfy the Northern residents’ consumption needs.
“The furs and leathers the officials brought back personally were all top-grade. We specifically prepared only the ones caught with bows, without even touching them with blades.”
“Looks like everyone had a bit of fun.”
“There’s already a line of people wanting to participate in the next transport.”
“Manage them properly so no unnecessary disputes arise. Make it clear that if they step out of line, they’re all heading to the mines.”
“They secure the necessary supplies first before doing any side business, so there’s no need to worry too much. I saw a few guys trying to act on their own just in case, so I made an example of them early on, and it’s been quiet since.”
“...If that’s the case, then that’s a relief.”
Aiden didn’t bother asking exactly how he had “made an example” of them.
There were things in this world that were better left unknown.
Regardless, Aiden had no intention of stopping the officials from earning some extra pocket money.
‘It’s not like they’d stop even if I tried to block it.’
If that was the case, it was better to guarantee them some freedom once their duties were fulfilled.
In exchange, their assigned tasks had to be the absolute priority.
“What about the medicinal herbs?”
“We met the planned quota. While some of the rarer ones were hard to find even in the Lontes territory, we secured everything you deemed essential. We gathered as much cotton fabric as possible, too.”
“Did it fit the budget?”
“We handled everything within the budget you provided.”
Jamie pulled out the list he had handed over to the trading post.
“Hmm.”
Aiden thought to himself.
This should be enough to put out the immediate fires.
The North was always short on fabric.
While there was an abundance of wool and leather, the climate made it difficult to grow cotton—the material for cotton fabric—so the residents would use even a palm-sized piece of cloth until it was worn to threads.
The same went for medicinal herbs.
“It is not only rare and expensive herbs that save human lives. Herbs that cost only a few copper coins can, depending on the situation, save hundreds or thousands of lives. However, in the North, even those cheap herbs are difficult to obtain, so I sincerely hope the Administrative Officer will consider this a matter of great importance.”
— A letter from Lapisha’s clinic.
Aiden had actively utilized this trip to Lontes after realizing the urgency of public health, an issue he had previously pushed aside due to a lack of resources.
“Over half of the herbs released at the trading post were bought by Lapisha’s clinic, and a significant portion of the remaining herbs were released into the market.”
“How is the response?”
“It seems the villages are pooling their money together to buy the herbs. The stock is depleting rapidly, especially for herbs effective for fever reduction, pain relief, and stopping bleeding.”
Kalisa, who had been monitoring the trading post’s inventory, answered immediately.
“...I should have paid attention to this sooner.”
“You’ve had more urgent matters to attend to until now, so there is no need to blame yourself, Administrative Officer.”
It wasn’t as if the Northerners didn’t feel the need for medicinal herbs.
They had simply given up on them because they didn’t have the means.
Just as someone living paycheck to paycheck cannot save up for a lavish summer vacation, or someone struggling to afford next month’s bus fare cannot sign up for installments on their dream car, disease prevention and medical preparation had been a luxury for the Northerners.
‘I’ve been leaving work too early lately.’
He had inadvertently let his guard down, thinking he was working hard enough.
There was still so much to do in the North, yet he had popped the champagne too early.
‘I’ll have to redraw the schedule.’
Unlike 21st-century Korea, life in this world was dictated by the rising and setting of the sun. Aiden, perhaps having adapted too well to life here, had been starting his days later and leaving earlier as winter set in.
Aiden bit his lower lip in shame.
‘No wonder my skin has been looking so good lately.’
He had been sleeping well, so his skin had improved. And as his skin improved, the work he could have finished faster had been delayed.
It seemed he needed to return to a sixteen-hour workday.
“We should continue to procure medicinal herbs. You can use the timber proceeds if needed, so find a way to source them consistently.”
“What if we keep buying them like that and end up taking a loss because there’s no more demand?”
“What are you talking about? Are you planning to sell them to the residents for profit?”
“Yes? Ah...!”
At Aiden’s stern reprimand, Jamie immediately understood the purpose of the order and bowed his head.
“I apologize, Administrative Officer.”
“As an adjutant managing the territory’s finances, it is important to turn a profit. But sometimes, taking a loss is the better deal. We aren’t merchants, are we?”
“I will keep that in mind!”
Jamie, who had loosened up a bit due to the success of the smuggling, snapped back into focus.
Judging by how his posture straightened instantly, it seemed the next trip to Lontes could be trusted to him.
“I will make contact with the herb merchants who have branches in Lontes.”
Jamie expressed confidence, relaying that several herb merchants he met in Lontes had welcomed the idea of a new trading partner with open arms, and that if handled well, he could open a path for them to visit the North regularly.
Until now, the North had been ignored by the commercial world, save for merchants dealing in furs, due to its small population, lack of a real commercial district, and, above all, the residents’ rock-bottom economic power.
But now that they had subtly signaled that the situation had changed, the merchants—who could smell money faster than anyone—wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by.
“Still, move discreetly so the nobles of Lontes don’t catch on. It’s better to keep a low profile for now.”
“Of course. Hehe.”
He didn’t want to attract unnecessary scrutiny, so a cover was necessary.
“Um... Administrative Officer. Then, how about we establish a merchant guild?”
“A merchant guild.”
Roland cautiously brought up the idea of a state-sponsored guild.
“Most lords create and operate merchant guilds under the names of their retainers.”
“No.”
“Yes?”
“The moment you operate a state-sponsored guild, greed takes root. After all, blood is thicker than water.”
Aiden rejected the proposal flatly.
While the initial purpose might be to hide their information and operate secretly beneath the surface, as long as humans are involved, it’s hard to prevent the purpose from being corrupted when money is involved.
“So, forget the state-sponsored guild. Instead, let’s grow a real one.”
Aiden grinned at his adjutants.
“It’s about time the North had its own native merchant guild, isn’t it? How long are we going to rely on external merchants?”
So, time to get to work, right?
A few days later.
The servants of the Lord’s Castle were walking on eggshells around the head chef and the head maid, looking anxious.
Since there was no butler, the two who were doubling as the butler were extremely on edge lately.
There was only one reason.
“The Administrative Officer and the adjutants haven’t come out today either, have they?”
“Shh. The head chef’s brow hasn’t smoothed out because they won’t even let us bring in meals, saying it’s a distraction. If you get caught by them in a mood like this...”
Click.
The kitchen assistant made a sound with his tongue and mimicked slitting his throat with the side of his hand, sighing deeply to his friend.
“If they don’t even let you bring in meals, are they starving?”
“They seem to be getting by on things like beef jerky. But they’re still drinking tea, so it’s certain—a colleague who was running errands told me. The head chef is even more worried because of that.”
“Ugh, they’re working their eyes out, and a few pieces of jerky won’t suffice as a meal...”
“That’s what I’m saying. How are things on your end?”
“Same here. It’s brutal. They say all four of them haven’t been to their bedrooms in days. The head maid is so sensitive right now because they only go up at dawn to use the bathroom before heading straight back to the office.”
“Is that so?”
“It seems that a brief rest in the bathroom is the extent of their relaxation, so that’s where all her attention is focused.”
The two shared their respective grievances and patted each other on the shoulder.
“But what on earth are they working on?”
“I know, right? They aren’t even getting help from the other officials; the four of them are handling everything themselves. It must be something incredibly important.”
“Important, huh...”
Even putting their heads together, they couldn’t get a clue.
Still, both believed.
That when the Administrative Officer finally opened the office door, ate a meal in the kitchen, and slept comfortably in a bed, the North would take another leap forward.
To the Northerners, Aiden sitting at his desk was, in itself, a religion.
Three more days passed, and it was the late afternoon of the day that marked a full week.
The sun was already beginning to set.
Creeeeeak—
The office door opened.
“A-Administrative Officer!”
Aiden, looking a bit disheveled, accepted the greeting of a passing worker with a relieved expression.
“Sorry to bother you, but is it possible to prepare a meal right now?”
Hunger seemed to be washing over him.
Behind Aiden, the three adjutants, who had practically become half-undead, were clutching their starving bellies and shouting out the foods they wanted to eat.
On the office desk, hundreds of pages were neatly bound together.
A document with the long title: ‘Comprehensive Report on the Establishment of a Chamber of Commerce and Credit Union for the Creation of a Northern Commercial Foundation.’
It was a business plan that, in the future, countless scholars would unanimously praise for laying the foundation for the endless wealth of the North.