The raw materials needed to make sugar were quite hard to get. At present, “Drondheim” could only mix honey and date palm to make original mixed sugar cubes. There was no technology to make higher-level sugar.
For example, maltose, which could be produced from wheat, but no one knew how to make this kind of sugar.
As for other sugar such as white sugar and brown sugar, they needed to be extracted from the beets, sugar cane and other plants that were rich in sugar. Of course, according to the research of the Sarradian, if date palm was refined, perhaps rough sugar such as brown sugar could be obtained. However, it had not been thoroughly studied, so brown sugar did not appear.
Compared to salt, which was a rich natural resource in the desert, sugar was obviously a little more troublesome to obtain. However, everything was developing at a high speed. Perhaps before long, date palm, which was rich in sugar, would be successfully studied. Then, Kant would able to produce new kinds of goods for the commercial exchanges with the world.
Sugar-rich cash crops such as sugar cane, sugar beet, figs and date palm could even be used to make dried fruits and produce fructose. These crops could be grown in the desert. Due to the temperature difference, the sugar content inside the fruits could be increased.
Kant had already made up his mind.
When the “Aaron” Village in the Senwaya Range was developed, the basic wheat fields and flax fields could be transferred over there, leaving “Drondheim” with only the cash crops that produced sugar.
At that time, the Oasis Lookout would not only be a military castle.
It would also be a workshop center that could supply the entire human countries with salt and sugar.
With these two condiments, which were comparable to luxury goods, a large amount of great silver coins would flow into Kant’s pockets. The profiteering was no less than the spice trade.
This was because all these resources were ready-made for Kant.
Salt and alkali soil in the depths of the desert, date palm and honey of the Sarrandian people.
All of these did not cost too much!
If possible, Kant would even increase the investment in the breeding industry. For example, artificial beehives were all placed in the “Aaron” Village. With the rich plant resources in the Senwaya Range and the flowers that bloomed all over the mountains, it would become a place that could produce a large amount of honey. Together with date palm, batches of date palm sugar would be produced in sugar workshops.
And even if it was a spice trade, there might be a chance to try to get into this industry.
After all, the Senwaya Range was close to the Nahrin Desert, hence the natural environment tended to be humid and hot. From time to time, there would be cold and gloomy currents blowing over, caused a very strange climate, but it also created a climate similar to the subtropical mountains.
This was precisely the environment where spices such as pepper, cloves, nutmeg kernels, nutmeg, and ginger were easy to cultivate.
It was a pity that Kant did not have spices seeds.
According to what he knew in the academy, these spices were all purchased from the outer seas.
There were no spices in all the human kingdoms and the distant dwarf kingdoms, so these things were extremely precious. That was why spices were equivalent to the great silver coins. Several sacks of silver coins could be exchanged for a small sack of spices.
These spices were the luxury items that were only afforded by the nobles. In terms of luxury, spices were far surpassed fine white salt!
After patrolling the entire fortress.
Kant had a faint smile on his face.
He was very satisfied.
Especially after observing his own fortress, his plans for the future were much clearer and more intuitive.
Kant was in an extremely good mood.
He had finally gotten rid of his status as a weak and exhausted little lord. In the next level up, he would even have a brand new and sturdy castle. It was like the most thorough nail, firmly rooted in the Oasis Lookout, allowed him to become the indestructible true king of this land!
“Firentis.”, Kant nodded in praise. “During the time I was away, you did very well.”
“Thank you for your praise.”, Firentis lowered his head, and there was a smile on his face after being praised.
“This is the praise you deserve.”, Kant said with a smile.
Although Firentis’s internal affairs ability could not be compared to the military command level, the education from the descendants of the great noble families, as well as the knowledge brought by traveling the continent, were not something that ordinary people could compare to.
For example, Manid and James were slightly worse than Firentis.
This was the difference brought about by education.
According to the original version of the game, the difference was not large because of the existence of the players.
But in reality, it was exposed without a doubt.
Among these hero-level NPCs, the one who could be compared to Firentis was probably Alayen, who came from the same noble family in the Kingdom of Vaegirs.
However, there was a difference between the two.
Due to the problem of education, Alayen was more like a general who led his troops to charge at the front.
He personally went to the battlefield and bathed in blood to boost the morale of his troops.
Firentis was different.
He was the commander-in-chef who led his troops in battle.
Although he could also charge at the front, the position of commander-in-chief reflected his military attainment. He played his role in tactics and strategy, not charging at the front as a general.
Kant had a very deep understanding of the original version.
When he came to this world, he also held the same principle.
There was no one who was the strongest or weakest, no one was useless. The things that mattered were whether they were put in a suitable position or not, or were they doing the right job, and were they fully unleash their potential or not!
Back at the council hall.
The peasant women immediately served warm food.
It was much more sumptuous than what they had eaten in the “Aaron” Village. There were even the freshest roasted lamb chops.
This was the best tonic after a long journey.
“Oh right, I suddenly discovered a strange phenomenon.”
Kant looked at the golden and crispy roasted lamb chop and seemed to recall something.
He put down the knife and fork in his hand, he turned his head and asked Firentis, “It’s the end of the month now, but why don’t I see groups of sand gazelles starting to migrate? If I remember correctly, these sand gazelle sin the Senwaya Range will migrate in large numbers towards the depths of the Nahrin Desert at the end of the month. They will only return after they have eaten enough salt when they reach the salt and alkali soil.”
“Yes, that is indeed the case.”, Firentis nodded slightly and replied, “I have also discovered this recently. The number of sand gazelles is becoming fewer and fewer compared to before.”
“The number of sand gazelle is becoming fewer now?”, Kant frowned and asked, “This is not normal.”
“Did you find anything unusual in the Senwaya Range?”, Firentis asked.
“No.”, Kant frowned.
Firentis said hesitantly, “Actually, since the end of last month, the number of sand gazelles has been decreasing. If it isn’t a problem in the depths of the Nahrin Desert, then there must be a problem in the Senwaya Range.”
“Is that so?”, Kant nodded. His analysis was very reasonable.
Firentis also shrugged slightly and said in a relaxed tone, “Lord Kant, maybe the last time the expedition army came, they scared the sand gazelle, so they don’t dare to come here for a while.”
“Maybe.”, Kant nodded.
He always felt that it was not so simple.
However, the current “Drondheim” did not need to rely on the sand gazelle as its main food.
It was just a source to provide dried meat.
And when Kant established “Aaron” in the Senwaya Range, he hunted a large number of rich wild animals and made them into dried meat. He did not need to rely on the sand gazelle as a source of meat.
The current herds of gazelles only served as a source of red meat for “Drondheim”, allowing people to eat fresh meat.
So it didn’t matter much.
All the prepared food was served.
Because it was early in the morning, Firentis accompanied Kant to dine.
But the two talked more.
After being away for so long, Kant needed to listen carefully to Firentis’s report, especially since the construction work and changes of “Drondheim” after his departure. These were all things to consider when he decided to level up next.
The conversation ended at the end of the meal.
Kant nodded slightly. “Very good.”
Firentis reported all kinds of situations and current situations in detail.
Thanks to its self-enclosed development, the fortress did not communicate with the outside world. Therefore, the changes of “Drondheim” were not big, and the changes were all within the scope of control. It did not have much effect on the next level up.
“Continue to be on alert.”
Kant wiped the corner of his mouth with a linen towel and wiped the grease off.
Then, he stood up and walked to the second floor. At the same time, he continued to instruct Firentis, “I will go back to my room to rest for a while. You will continue to manage the fortress. If there are any abnormalities, tell everyone not to panic.”
“Understood.”, Firentis also stood up and nodded respectfully.
Kant was talking about the abnormalities caused by the level up.
The construction of the “Drondheim” Fortress had been completed. The soldiers were neat and elite. There was no problem for it to be leveled up to castle.
He returned to his room.
The window was open, the air was dry, and there was no strange smell.
He had not been back for a while, and the room was very clean.
Obviously, his room was cleaned every day. Looking at the smooth surface of the table, there wasn’t even a layer of dust on it , let alone sand. One could see how dutiful were the peasant women who were responsible for cleaning the fortress.
He closed the door.
Kant lay on the bed that was changed every day.
Dialog box instantly popped up in his eyes.
His mind had already contacted the system, and he said in his mind, “System, level up.”
[ Ding… system prompt ]
[ You have the option to level up once. Please confirm the target of level up. ]
[“Drondheim” Fortress/”Aaron” Village. ]
The system quickly gave a prompt.
Kant said in a deep voice, “Level up “Drondheim” Fortress!”
There was no need to hesitate.
“Drondheim” was his main reliance now. If he could open up a trade route to the Mannheim Coast, then this “Drondheim” would be even more useful!
As Kant affirmed, the data flow instantly surged out.
The upgrade card that was already in his mind had already turned into pieces.
However, on the council hall of “Drondheim”, the data flow had already completely engulfed the building and was expanding, beginning to produce irreversible changes.
The data flow quickly dissipated.
The entire council hall, which was built entirely from stone, no longer had the shape of a military tower.
Instead, it was the real main body of the castle!