Because these businessmen had long seen how popular paper and pen, soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste were in the Western Border—and had personally tried the solar energy and lighting equipment of the carriage—such magical commodities naturally attracted their interest.
Fortunately, Jason Liu had stationed 50 soldiers at the store, helping to manage it and maintain order. Although busy, it remained orderly.
In the end, the group of big businessmen who came from the west bought a large number of goods:
250,000 gel pens and 1.2 million refills, totaling 8,500 gold dragons.
300,000 bars of soap and 1.5 million soap refills, totaling 10,500 gold dragons.
2 million sheets of A4 paper and 500,000 sheets of aluminum paper, totaling 3,500 gold dragons.
200,000 toothbrushes and 400,000 tubes of toothpaste, totaling 6,000 gold dragons.
250 sets of lighting equipment (model "183"), totaling 25,000 gold dragons.
68 large carriages and 71 small carriages, totaling 1,157,700 gold dragons.
These big merchants from the Western Region spent a total of 171,200 gold dragons at the Easter store.
Damn, worthy of being from the gold-rich Western Border—these big businessmen were truly wealthy.
With such a large volume of business, Jason Liu had now accumulated 650,000 gold dragons.
It had to be spent quickly. Money held in hand, without being turned into power, was an unsettling thing.
After giving it some thought, Jason Liu took a carriage and was escorted by more than a dozen cavalrymen to the logging camp that evening.
"Kent, Chris, go notify Jon, Bud, McCann, Marbu, and the Scientist to meet me in the conference room at the barracks!" Jason Liu ordered the guards just after stepping out of the carriage.
Kent and Chris immediately trotted through the crowd to gather everyone.
At that time, the day's work at the logging camp had just ended, and the men and women were returning from the Wolf Forest.
As they passed the logging square and saw Mr. Jason standing by the carriage, the workers in blue labor uniforms bowed to him from a distance.
Because Jason Liu was surrounded by soldiers, the workers didn't dare approach and only saluted respectfully from afar.
Having once been poor villagers, farmers, and peasants' wives, these people had been recruited by Lord Jason to work at the lumber camp. In less than three months, they were all visibly healthier and better fed.
Their faces, hands, and bodies were clean. Their clothes had no patches thanks to the free blue labor suits issued by the lumber camp, which were much stronger and better-looking than their previous earth-grey linen clothing.
But what made them respect Lord Jason even more was that their children were allowed to learn to read and write like noble children—a blessing they had never even dreamed of.
This gesture made the workers feel deeply grateful for Lord Easter's kindness and generosity.
It could be said that these lumber workers, no longer starving and now living decently, had come to fully support the East family. When talking among themselves, they even referred to themselves as residents of the East family lands.
Of course, technically, these workers still belonged under the Stark family's domain, and Jason Liu had no legal authority to rule them.
But in spirit, their loyalty now leaned toward the East family—and that was exactly what Jason Liu wanted.
This was his future development base!
If there was one resource in this backward feudal era more valuable than gold, it was undoubtedly population.
Only with enough people could one build and expand.
And Jason Liu had the advantage of resources from two worlds—enough to feed thousands, even millions.
No other lord in Westeros had the capacity to support such a large population. Even King's Landing, with its population of over 500,000, was already a heavy burden on the crown.
Every year, it cost a fortune just to buy grain from the Riverlands and Reach.
The king still owed the Iron Bank of Braavos millions of gold dragons—and Duke Tywin was also millions in debt!
Soon, Jon and the others arrived, saluted, and sat down at both sides of the long table.
Maester Cobain, ever smiling gently, sat among them. Not long ago, he had personally dissected a robber who died from an overdose.
The body—used for medical experimentation—was purchased for two gold dragons from the dungeon at Torun Square.
It was said the robber and his gang had sacked a small village, killing three villagers. Most of the gang had been killed in pursuit, with only one survivor captured alive.
Maester Cobain had then been contacted by the dungeon steward and secretly arranged the purchase.
Jason Liu had known about it, and allowed it to proceed.
Once everyone was seated, Jason Liu explained the agreement he had reached earlier that day with Boris: to lease wasteland around Lake Saylor from the Stark family.
McCann unrolled a map of the North, and the group leaned in. With Jason Liu's guidance, they located the marked area—at the border between Winterfell's and White Harbor's territories.
Maester Cobain pointed at Lake Saylor, then followed the White Knife River eastward to White Harbor City. "It's exactly as you said, my lord. If we can build a port by Lake Saylor and dredge this part of the river, a prosperous port city will certainly arise here one day!"
"Have you spoken to Winterfell about leasing Lake Saylor and the surrounding land?" Bud asked.
Jason Liu shook his head. "Not yet. I just picked the site with Boris today. I plan to speak with Lady Catelyn and Robb—who will be taking over as lord—tomorrow. Hopefully, they'll agree."
Jon opened his mouth but stayed silent.
With Lord Eddard in the south, he had no claim to Winterfell. He doubted Lady Catelyn had any interest in involving his illegitimate son.
"Next," Jason Liu continued, "Bud, McCann—you two must take some of your men and travel across the North, and even into the Riverlands, recruiting large numbers of people in the name of the logging camp."
"Make sure you talk about the good treatment we give our workers—it'll make recruiting easier. Once I lease the land by Lake Saylor, we'll head there and begin port construction immediately!"
He turned to the others around the table. "Jon, Marbu, and Maester Cobain—you'll stay in charge of managing the logging camp."
"If the new recruits don't want to go to the lakeside, I'll need you to mobilize the existing workers to join the construction team at Lake Saylor."
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