"This batch of winter barley transported here amounts to a total of 214,000 pounds."

"Which is equivalent to 178 gold pounds and seven shillings."

This price had not only been calculated by him, but also by the dozens of merchants several times over.

There would be no mistake at all.

Upon hearing this price, Lynn's favorability towards Boer unintentionally increased a bit.

The winter barley was specifically instructed by Lynn for Boer to procure from outside.

He could have easily raised the price of this batch of winter barley due to the difficulty of acquisition, high transportation costs, or other reasons.

However, Boer did not.

Lynn spoke up, "I can exchange 7,100 pounds of fine salt with you!"

Boer couldn't help but smile once again, and gratefully said, "I thank you on behalf of the merchants like me, Master Lynn."

Boer naturally knew that the Master Lynn before him was exchanging their winter barley at six pence per pound of fine salt!

Having settled on the price, Lynn was just about to have George arrange for the townsmen to unload the goods.

When squads of villagers returning from their labors abroad happened to arrive back in the town.

Lynn promptly gathered 500 villagers.

With only a dozen townsmen unloading twenty-some pounds of barley, they wouldn't finish even by nightfall!

It was not until the moon was high above the treetops that the winter barley in the 92 wagons was finally completely unloaded.

Before Lynn could speak, Boer preemptively said.

"Master Lynn, I'll take my leave first. It will take several more trips to transport all the winter barley over!"

In such circumstances, clearly, they wouldn't be at ease unless the winter barley was transported over and the transaction completed promptly.

Lynn said, "Load the 7,200 pounds of fine salt onto the wagon first, then return."

Boer smiled and said, "Master Lynn, there's no need for that."

"We've traded so many times; I trust your character!"

Not to mention these hundreds of thousands of pounds of winter barley.

The gold pounds earned from trading with Master Lynn at the price of six pence have long surpassed the worth of these hundreds of thousands of pounds of winter barley.

Barley really isn't that valuable.

Lynn spoke calmly and continued, "You may trust me, but do they trust me?"

Boer's expression froze, and after a moment of hesitation, he eventually nodded.

Boer mounted his horse, leading the caravan to gradually fade into the distance.

Despite it being deep into the night, the torches they held illuminated the surrounding wilderness.

The flickering flames were like a long fiery dragon.

It wasn't until the wagon caravan disappeared into the darkness that Lynn finally withdrew his gaze.

Tonight, the small town was destined for an anticipated night.

With these 500,000 pounds of winter barley, nearly 20,000 acres of arable land could be planted.

Lynn dispatched all the villagers to return home and rest.

They would need to continue opening up more land tomorrow.

As for Boer, traveling from the territory to Morgan Town and back would take three to four days on foot.

Even in a wagon, it would take at least over a day.

Setting aside the rest, just sorting and soaking these hundreds of thousands of pounds of winter barley, as well as the 50,000 pounds brought back by Grayson,

would require several days.

There was no urgency right now.

...

Outside the stone walls of the mountain forest pass.

Dozens of figures were sitting and standing around a bonfire.

The dancing flames continuously cast shadows on their faces.

Their eyes would occasionally glance at the imposing iron gate not far away.

Soft whispers could be heard coming from their mouths.

"Everyone, have you ever heard that there's such a wall at the entrance to this mountain forest?"

"I've never heard of it, I only know it was once a wasteland!"

"Yes, yes, because it's close to the Acadia River and sometimes floods, no lord has ever developed here."

"But why is there a wall here now? Did it appear out of thin air?"

"What do you mean out of thin air? Didn't you see those soldiers guarding the city? And look at the marks on the wall; it's clearly newly built!"

"That makes sense."

"..."

Perhaps as the night grew colder,

the chatter among these merchants gradually lessened.

Eventually, they fell into silence.

The only sound left was the crackling of the bonfire and the sparks flying.

A mountain wind swept through, making their bodies shiver uncontrollably.

Accompanied by the occasional howling of wild wolves...

After an unknown period, an untimely voice suddenly rose among the crowd.

"Aren't you all curious?"

"Curious about what?"

An elderly merchant glanced around at everyone.

"We've gone through so much trouble to acquire this much winter barley, so why won't Boer let us in?"

Another merchant remarked nonchalantly, "What's so curious about that? Didn't Boer say that the lord of this castle doesn't like to meet strangers?"

"Yeah, he can't possibly transact with so many of us individually, can he?"

"If I were the Lord, I wouldn't meet them either!"

The elderly merchant rolled his eyes and dismissively said, "With this kind of thinking, you can only be a wandering merchant your whole life."

Though spoken quietly, other merchants still heard it.

"Koni, what do you mean?"

"We can only be traveling merchants for life? And you? You're already fifty, aren't you?"

"Ridiculous! Who are you to say such things?"

"..."

Glaring at the eyes staring daggers at him, Koni's lips moved slightly, ultimately suppressing the anger within.

Outnumbered and outmatched.

Koni took a deep breath and attempted to explain, "Everyone, please keep calm..."

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