Chapter 160: How about a discount?

  In the room, sitting in front of Shaya was none other than Yulia with a big belly.

  Now Xia Ya and his gang, from him down to the likes of Kato Salba or Avrekhat, whether they were born in the military, mountain hunters, or warriors by trade – all are considered butchers.

  After Xia Ya arrived in the imperial capital, he made a lot of unexpected wealth, big and small, and gradually had a considerable family business. However, when it came to managing household expenses, accounts, and other daily chores... several big men could only stand by and watch.

  Fortunately, there was Julia, Kevin's widow, at home. These days, Julia's mood has been gradually improving. Seeing several big men staring blankly every day because of household chores, she stepped forward.

  Although Julia didn't have much talent, she came from a middle-class family and had some knowledge. With Kevin constantly fighting abroad, she was the one who took care of everything at home. Although she may not be particularly talented, she was far stronger than several big men. She refused to be supported by Xiaoya for nothing and volunteered to contribute her efforts. Xiaoya also felt that letting Julia do some things could help alleviate his inner frustration. Moreover, managing the daily household chores for such a large family was really giving him a headache, so having someone like Julia whom he could trust to take care of things was exactly what he needed, and he agreed.

  。

  As a result, Julia became a person like a housekeeper in the Xia family.

  "Xia Ya." Julia sighed, her face somewhat worried: "Don't rush for now, I'll calculate it slowly and tell you."

  Xia Ya was extremely respectful to Kevin's widow, and although he would occasionally play pranks on others, in front of Julia, he was always stern and courteous - even when living with the old man back then, he had never been so honest and respectful.

  The tortoise took a deep breath and said seriously, "Yes, I was in a hurry just now. You can speak slowly... actually, it's all about money, isn't it? At worst, I'll just sell this house."

  "Selling the house is not necessary." Yulia smiled faintly, stroking her belly as she spoke slowly: "I calculated it, this big house has a total of forty-nine rooms - not counting the inner courtyard, outer yard and the stables and carriage houses in the back. Many places are too dilapidated, if we want to renovate them again, even if we don't do it luxuriously, just simplify and save, let it recover its original appearance... with the prices of building materials in the Imperial City, this will cost at least two thousand gold coins!"

  Xia Ya widened her eyes: "So expensive?"

  Two thousand gold coins! With the prices in Imperial Osgilia, about two silver coins are enough for a commoner's family of three to live for over a month, and their annual expenses would be no more than two gold coins. Two thousand gold coins, enough for an ordinary household to live for a thousand years!

  Julia couldn't help but laugh and cry: "This is an unavoidable thing, the floor was originally high-quality granite, and the wall tiles were not ordinary goods. The trees and plants in the courtyard had to be transplanted, and the lamps were damaged... Some places were damaged, even if we didn't replace everything, just the damaged parts, but we still had to buy things that were exactly the same as the originals... This mansion may look dilapidated, but I took a closer look, and all the original things in every place are top-notch! The construction cost of this mansion back then is really astonishing. After repairing all the big and small places, 2,000 gold coins was already being very frugal."

  She paused for a moment before continuing, "And then there's the enormous mansion. Once it's renovated, the daily expenses will be substantial as well. You'll need to hire gardeners to take care of the gardens, cooks and maids for the household, grooms and coachmen for the horses and carriages, not to mention various other servants. As a noble and high-ranking official, you can't just pick people off the street and expect them to be able to do the job. The kind of highly trained servants that large households employ don't come cheap. And then there are the daily expenses - with this many people, it's a significant outlay every day. I've done some calculations, and based on your current scale, plus the additional staff you plan to hire, our monthly expenses will be at least 100 gold coins! And that's not even counting the invisible costs. A mansion like this isn't something you can just fix up once and forget about - the annual maintenance costs are substantial. I've made some discreet inquiries, and it seems that other noble families with similar estates spend nearly a thousand gold coins per year on upkeep and repairs - and that's the bare minimum."

  Julia hesitated for a moment, glanced at Xia Ya, and sighed: "Xia Ya, now that it's just the two of us, I have a few words to remind you. I'm just a woman, so don't mind if what I say isn't right."

  "Hmm, just say it." Xia Ya said calmly: "In my heart, I regard you as a family member!"

  "These people around you, Sharba and Kato are your sworn brothers in the army, they will naturally follow you to take office in the border town of Mole County, with national salary and military pay. But... Mr. Afureka, and the dozens of wolf-toothed warriors he brought, all count as having defected to your side. Although these people are loyal to you, however... they have been here for so many days, you... can't just let them stay by your side for nothing, right?"

  。”

  "Huh?" Xia Ya was taken aback.

  Julia looked at Xia Yan with a smile and said, "You were originally the leader of your own mercenary group, although you didn't earn much, but every year you had some income. Now that you're following him, although Mr. Afreca is very loyal to you and you have a great relationship with him... but favors can't be eaten as food for a lifetime, right? Think about it carefully, originally you were the leader of your own mercenary group, earning tens of thousands of gold coins every month. Now that you've been following him for so many days... Mr. Afreca may not need your money, but those subordinates he brought with him, they're not necessarily as loyal to you. You'll have to pay them a salary, won't you? Otherwise, why would they follow you for nothing?"

  Xia Ya suddenly realized. After all, he was clueless about such things, and in these days, he had actually forgotten about this matter!

  To put it bluntly: if someone follows you, they are your subordinate, and naturally, you should be responsible for their food, drink, and expenses... apart from that, shouldn't you also pay them a salary?

  Otherwise, why would others follow you?

  Xia Ya had never been a leader before, and although he had led troops in the army previously, all of his subordinates received military pay issued by the state, so why would he need to worry about this? Yet he really did completely forget about this matter!

  These days, everyone followed him, he just thought that as long as they had wine to drink and meat to eat, everything would be fine, but never thought of giving them a salary...

  Fortunately, Afreca never complained, but he didn't say anything, and the warriors below might have had some thoughts in their minds.

  Xia Ya stood up and bowed sincerely to Yulia: "It's my fault! If it weren't for your reminder, sister, I'd still be acting foolishly!"

  Julia smiled slightly: "You're a noble and an official, these small things will naturally be taken care of by others, it's not your fault if you can't think of them. Hmm, I've actually secretly calculated that the warriors brought by Mr. Afreca, some of whom you can choose to join the army, will have military pay in the future, and those who are not suitable for being soldiers can stay at home as guards, this expense is yours. As for salary, I've asked about their previous income in the warrior group, it can't be lower than before. Calculating all these, you'll need to spend dozens of gold coins more each month... a person's salary isn't that much, but the cost of weapons, armor, and horses isn't small either. As they say, 'poor scholars, rich warriors', supporting so many warriors isn't just about food, those weapons, swords, and armor all cost money."

  Xia Ya furrowed her brow and looked gloomy: "Alright, according to what you said, if I spend all the money in my hand, how much will be left?"

  "1,000 gold coins."

  "Oh?" Xia Ya was overjoyed, in his opinion, a thousand gold coins were already a lot, "Great! There's still so much! Enough for me to hold on until I get to Mor County!"

  "It's not... I mean, you're still short of a thousand gold coins! The money in your hand is not enough now. Although you've recently gained a lot of unexpected wealth, your expenses have also been quite high lately, with the envoys from the palace coming and going, giving rewards... and there are also household expenses, all of which cost money. I calculated it carefully, if we want to repair this mansion now, the money in your hand is really not enough, so you'll have to go out and borrow some. Unless you put off repairing the mansion for now and first use the money to recruit those warriors brought by Mr. Afreca, let everyone's hearts settle down, and only then can this household be considered stable."

  。”

  Xia Ya was a carefree person and laughed loudly: "Then so be it, the house won't be repaired if it can't be, we're not without a place to live."

  "It's not that simple." Yulia sighed and glanced at Xia Ya: "Your careless personality, sigh... I calculated it myself, this mansion, if we don't repair it today or tomorrow, we'll have to repair it eventually! After calculating the costs, our household expenses will be at least a few hundred gold coins every month. In a year, there are also some extra expenses, you're a noble now, and socializing, entertaining guests, all require spending money... in total, every year, we need at least three to four thousand gold coins - if something unexpected happens, I'm afraid even five thousand gold coins won't be enough." Yulia paused and looked at Xia Ya: "Although you've been granted a barony, you'll have your own fiefdom in the future, which will generate income, plus your salary as an official... but I also asked around, within the empire, a common baron's fiefdom is at most a small town, and the annual tax revenue is only two to three thousand gold coins... this is already quite good! In other words... with the income from your title and fiefdom, you can't even support such a large family."

  Xia Ya was stunned, completely stunned!!

  Can't afford to raise a family?

  Are you kidding me!!

  Xia Ya was so angry that she grasped her hair with both hands.

  He used to be a rustic villager, with one mouthful of food, and the whole family would not worry if he was full. Occasionally, he caught a prey and sold it, and apart from eating and drinking, he could still leave some savings, and there might be a few more clinking copper coins in his pocket to exchange for wine.

  Now that I've become a noble, with fine clothes and delicious food, having people attend to me from all sides, holding official positions and fiefs, and even having a large number of subjects on my fief... yet I'm actually unable to even support my own family?!

  Julia smiled wryly and looked at Xia Ya's stunned expression, patiently explaining to the kid:

  Generally speaking, a baron is only considered a mid-to-low ranking title in the nobility. As for their fiefdoms, a typical baron's territory is usually just about the size of a small town - and that's already quite good. If it's some remote rural noble, a baron's fiefdom might be nothing more than three to five villages. Someone like Shaya, who is deeply favored by the Emperor, being able to obtain a relatively prosperous city as their fiefdom is already quite impressive.

  How many people can a small town have? It's just tens of thousands. Taxes, agricultural taxes and business taxes all need to be handed over to the imperial central government, and only the remaining ones can belong to the nobles themselves. In a year, a small town with a population of tens of thousands can have a surplus of two or three thousand gold coins - this is already considered a very rich area.

  Of course, as the lord of the fiefdom, Xia Ya has the power to levy taxes and come up with other excuses to extort wealth - but given Xia Ya's character, even if he wanted to be cruel and evil enough to squeeze every last penny out of his people, leaving them destitute and on the brink of collapse... he wouldn't be able to bring himself to do it. (In Tuo Niu's opinion, the life of a wicked landlord was nothing more than strolling down the main street with a few lackeys, flirting with young women.)

  So the question is: with so much income on paper, it's clearly not enough to support such a large family.

  Xia Ya started pulling her hair.

  "I really don't get it, I see those noble lords, one by one dressed in luxury, entering and exiting grand mansions, with beautiful servants attending to them, lovely wives and concubines, wearing silk and eating delicacies... how do they live so comfortably? And yet, I haven't seen any of them worrying about money?" Xia Ya furrowed her brow.

  。

  "Poverty in literature, wealth in arms." Julia sighed: "You've enlisted Mr. Afreca and his men, actually... I shouldn't say this, it seems somewhat out of place."

  "Huh?"

  Julia smiled and said, "Although I'm not from a noble family, my family is still a middle-class household, and we've also seen how those minor nobles live. Shaya, the wealthy nobles you mentioned do exist, but they're truly high-ranking aristocrats. In reality, within the empire, barons are considered low-ranking nobility, and most of their lives aren't as glamorous as you described. In fact, in my hometown, a baron's family is just a slightly better-off household with a larger mansion, three to five elderly servants, a carriage for transportation, and clothing that's only slightly better than that of ordinary wealthy families. As for... private soldiers? Typically, a small baron would only need a few soldiers to maintain order in their territory, which is usually just one town. But you've gone and recruited an entire warrior team! Mr. Afreca's martial skills are exceptional, and his warriors are all skilled fighters. However, such elite private soldiers are rare even across the entire empire, and no baron could afford to recruit them. And yet, you've not only recruited these warriors but also equipped them with armor and top-notch weapons, as well as two fine horses each... That's essentially a crack cavalry unit! Have you ever seen a small town host such an elite cavalry?"

  Xia Ya was speechless.

  "The ways for nobles to make money are nothing more than these: Firstly, taxation. I'll veto this method on your behalf. After all, the empire's fixed tax rates are already not low, and ordinary families can't afford higher taxes. One-sidedly exploiting and extorting, such things, let alone you doing them, even if you wanted to do them, I wouldn't agree to it. Secondly, there are underhanded methods that can't be seen in public: engaging in commerce, setting up industries within one's territory, doing business in food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, opening taverns and inns, buying and selling goods. Some nobles even lend at usurious rates, and I've heard that in the empire's remote areas, some nobles are even involved in human trafficking."

  Xia Ya shook his head: "Business can be done, but I won't do business. As for usury, I don't even have money in my hands now, where would I get the money to lend to others? Slave trading? Who am I going to sell? Can't sell myself, right?"

  Julia smiled and continued: "So there are other ways: to accumulate wealth! You are an imperial official, a military equipment officer in charge of a province, and you can be considered a prominent general. So in the army... hum, there are many ways to accumulate wealth, no need for me to teach you. Embezzlement of military supplies, and drinking the blood of soldiers... you won't know these things if you're in the army. But if you do these things, I absolutely cannot agree! If you're that kind of person, even if we starve to death, I won't stay with you."

  Xia Ya hastily said seriously: "Yulia, rest assured, I am from the Rodoria army, other things I can do, but this eating empty salary and drinking soldier's blood thing, I won't be able to do it."

  "Alas... it's not like we can't do anything." Yulia hesitated for a moment, speaking in a low voice: "We won't do anything that would weigh heavily on our conscience, but some small things are also reasonable. Since you've taken on the role of military equipment officer for the entire province, you can have your own personal guards. These guards are part of the imperial army's roster, which means... those warriors brought by Mr. Afreca, can be supported with imperial military rations... This method may not be ideal, but everyone is doing it, and I won't be unreasonable to not allow you to do so..."

  Xia Ya nodded, it's just using the country's money to raise his own guards. People eat and horses chew, weapons armor horses, all have public funds to reimburse - although this is also taking advantage of the situation, but looking at the whole country, even if it's Rouru and Adelick generals who can't help but do so, Xia Ya will do it without any psychological barriers

  。

  "Moreover, your territory has not been fixed yet. If it can be placed in Mò ěr County, on the border, there will also be income from trade routes and collection of commercial taxes, which is another source of wealth..."

  Julia said to this point, rubbed a bit sore and swollen eyes: "These are all afterwords, now have to think of ways to find money. At present, the most pressing thing is that you received such a large mansion, it's really...it's really not quite matching your current status."

  She sighed: "You are now just a small baron, but such a luxurious mansion, in the imperial capital, I'm afraid only those dukes and earls can afford to live in such a house. Such a large mansion is not a good thing for you, but rather a great burden."

  Damn it! Xia Ya is furious!

  He was originally delighted, recently promoted and wealthy, himself unaware of his poverty, today was pointed out by Julia her own situation, couldn't help but anger in her heart, and blamed it on Kavishir: This old guy gave me a house, probably intentionally wanting to harm Lao Tzu!

  "Then sell this house!" Xia Ya gritted her teeth and stamped her foot.

  What's with the secrecy of the Tulip family... Screw the Tulip family! The life ideal of a local tyrant is to get promoted and rich, now he's inexplicably tied to this Tulip family boat, and he wants to break free! Sold it? Fine! What Tulip family heirloom, I don't want it! Happily going to the border to be a local tyrant, how delightful!

  Julia shook her head: "Sell it, I agree, but it's hard to do."

  "What? Can't even sell it?"

  "It's not that it can't be sold." Yulia said with a bitter smile: "Xiaya, don't you understand?"

  "What's unclear?" Xia Ya widened his eyes: "I heard that there is a trading guild in the south of Osgilia City, and merchants come and go to trade there. We can put this house on the trading guild and hang up a sign. As for the price... let's mark it low, as long as we don't lose money, it's fine - after all, I got it for free, selling it cheaply is still a profit."

  "It's not that simple." Julia smiled wryly: "You're now a noble, and the sale of houses and estates in noble families is different from ordinary people. If it were an ordinary family, selling a house or estate would naturally involve putting up a sign at the trading guild. But you're a noble! If you put up a sign today, tomorrow the news that Lord Xia of Summer sells his house will spread throughout the entire imperial capital's noble circle, and everyone will think you've fallen on hard times, are destitute and selling your house. This would immediately make you a laughingstock in the imperial capital. Moreover, as a noble, even if you put up a sign, ordinary people may not dare to buy it, and even those wealthy merchants with money at home may not dare spend money buying your house."

  "And why is that?"

  "You're a baron, heaven knows you're short of money today, sold the house, and in a few days you'll have money again. What if you go back to them wanting to buy it back... They are ordinary merchants, you are nobility, what if there's a dispute? How can they compete with you, a baron with real power? It's better to have fewer troubles, the big mansions on the market aren't just yours alone, others would rather buy from someone else and won't buy from you."

  Julia patiently explained: "So, generally speaking, in noble families, if there are assets to be sold, they will not go through a trading guild, but instead privately trade with other friendly noble families. Everyone is nobility, so the transaction can be trusted. Moreover, they will try their best to keep it confidential and seal off the news, lest the party selling the asset loses face."

  。”

  Xia Ya's face turned white: "Damn it, there are still so many rules..."

  He slammed his hand on the table: "Damn it! I'm not selling anymore! The house won't be repaired either! Just leave it there! Let it rot there, that's all! When it collapses one day, it'll be peaceful!"

  Julia told Xia Ya these things, not intentionally forcing him, but just calculating the household accounts for him to listen, so that Xia Ya wouldn't really think he was rich now and spend money lavishly.

  It's reasonable and clear, let this turtle spend his own money carefully from now on, and that will achieve the goal.

  As for repairing the big house, it was also Yulia's intention to let Xia Ya dispel this idea: first put it there, and then wait until there is money to repair it. If there really isn't any money, it can only rot there. Although it's unbearable in her heart, going bankrupt for a house is too foolish.

  Xia Ya was in a bad mood for three days because of this money issue, with a fire burning in his heart. Fortunately, he understood the situation at home and knew that he was just an empty shell now, but still followed Yulia's suggestion to pay a salary to the warriors brought by Avfreca first. As expected, these guys took the money and were greatly relieved, and their hidden resentment also dissipated.

  It's all the same, Xia Ya understands this point very well. If it were him, he would also have complaints: I used to be a warrior and had an income, but now that I've joined you, Baron, I don't even have any money. Who would still want to do this job?

  However, the two words "bankruptcy" had been weighing on Xia Ya's mind, making it hard for him to relax. For the past two days, he had been having nightmares about himself wearing tattered clothes, leading a group of brothers wielding broken swords and wearing worn-out armor to beg for food on the streets...

  Damn it! Money! I never thought that after becoming a noble and an official, I would end up worrying about money instead.

  These past few days, some young nobles from the Royal Hunting Grounds, who had been entrusted by their elders, came to befriend and win over Xia Ya. Xia Ya couldn't help but be invited out for a few rounds of drinks - but now he's become stingy. If it were usual, with his personality that likes to act like a big shot everywhere, if someone treated him to a drink, he would definitely treat others to three rounds in return.

  Now... Hmph, if someone invites him out for a meal, he'd rather starve for a whole day before going.

  With the experience in the hunting ground, now the entire imperial capital's noble circle understands that this young baron is a person cultivated by His Majesty the Emperor. The noble council's audit process for Xia Ya's title also sped up considerably. Originally, it was feared that even waiting half a month might not be enough to get things done, but everything was settled within three days.

  When the nobility's reward procedures were delivered to Xia Ya, the tribal emblem, tribal flag, seal and other things arrived in Xia Ya's hands. From this moment on, Xia Ya Leiyin was considered a formal member of the Byzantine Empire's noble class.

  As for the fief, it was not beyond his expectations. The Emperor of the Riding Gun directly drew a place in Mor County, which is a small town near Danzel City. A civil administration booklet was also issued, stating that the small town's land was not as large as Wildfire Town, and the population was only around 8,000. Although Xia Ya was still somewhat dissatisfied, he also understood that with his identity as a baron and being a newly promoted noble, having such a fief was already quite good.

  If it were someone else, without a foundation, without the emperor's favor, even if you were given a baronial title, it could be said that you would be assigned to some remote and barbarous eastern region.

  Morel County is still a grain-producing area after all

  。

  After the formalities of the title were completed, it is said that the Emperor originally intended to confer the title on him in person, but was later stopped by his ministers: Your Majesty, giving a small baron a title, if this example is set, will all these small noble titles be conferred by Your Majesty in the future?

  So the emperor did not show up in person, but instead sent an envoy to meet Xia Ya, bringing a few words of encouragement, which meant something like "do well and achieve results, I won't let you down."

  It was Xia Ya who, upon hearing the emperor's words brought by the imperial envoy, almost burst into tears. The imperial envoy, seeing the baron so agitated, couldn't help but comfort him: "Baron, His Majesty values you so much, and you must achieve some results to repay His Majesty..."

  But he didn't know that Xia Ya was crying not because of the emperor's worthless words of encouragement, but because of the money in his own pocket!

  This faction sent a court envoy back and forth once, and he couldn't help but secretly stuff another piece of gold on himself!!

  The title was settled, and soon the formal appointment documents from the military department also came down.

  After these things were settled, Xia Ya had no reason to continue staying in the Imperial Capital. According to the Empire's military law, he must set out and leave the Imperial Capital within six days of receiving his appointment letter; otherwise, if he overstayed, it would be considered a serious crime of dereliction of duty.

  Before leaving, Xia Ya's family was busy with the farewell ceremony when someone suddenly came to the door. The person who came to the door was a servant dressed in a hemp robe, and when he bowed at the gate, he didn't say who sent him, but only left one sentence to inform Xia Ya:

  "Come and pay respects before leaving."

  Xia Ya was busy at home and heard Soyet's report. He immediately got angry!

  Apprentice? Go apprentice a ghost! Giving me this kind of house, it's clear you're trying to harm me!

  "Refuse to see him!!" Xia Ya was furious, saying to Soite: "I won't see him! Let him go back and say so! I won't kowtow - if you want me to kowtow, send 30,000 gold coins over, and I'll do it!"

  Suoyi saw that Lao Ye was getting angry and didn't dare ask more questions, so he went out to tell the visitor what Xiaya had said and sent him away.

  After a while, Xia Ya calmed down and regretted it!

  "My god, I'm courting death! Who else could I have offended, other than that terrifying Kavihir, the calamity from the heavens?! He wants to toy with me to death, and it's all up to his whim?!"

  Thinking of this, Xia Ya suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and became anxious at heart.

  That day, Xia Ya was somewhat absent-minded, afraid of provoking Kavi's wrath and inviting that guy's revenge.

  It wasn't until evening that someone from the Kavishir household came again. This time, Shaya didn't dare not see them, and after meeting with them, it was just a wooden-faced servant who saw Shaya, bowed respectfully, and then reported back. One sentence was enough to almost shock Shaya off his chair.

  "Our old master said, 30,000 is too expensive, how about a 20% discount?"

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