Now he only had this idea, and he was not in a hurry at the moment.
Even with just cold weapons, Jason Liu had the confidence to defeat an equal number of Westerosi—or even twice as many—and thus the flintlock gun was not urgently needed.
Ethan moved very quickly, and within two days, he had packaged and purchased a small prop factory he knew could make pulley bows.
It didn't cost much, mainly because he let the other party buy shares in IronForge Props.
In this regard, Jason Liu didn't care. He invested in IronForge Props not to make money, but just to have a safe and stable weapons supplier.
To ensure his shares weren't diluted, Jason Liu invested more money in IronForge Props proportionally, keeping his 30% stake unchanged.
When Ethan saw that Mr. Liu was investing more money, he gritted his teeth, asked his parents for a sum, and reinvested in the company as well, keeping his shares undiluted.
In other words, Ethan was optimistic about IronForge Props' development—and believed in Jason Liu even more.
To produce the steel swords and compound pulley bows Jason Liu needed as soon as possible, Ethan and the others doubled their workforce from 10. Now, the number of employees at IronForge Props had reached nearly 50.
They also purchased several pieces of new small processing equipment. With the expanded staff, the entire IronForge Props factory was now in a running-in stage.
Meanwhile, Jason Liu finally received a reply from the Stark family in Winterfell.
Lady Catelyn and Robb received him in the council hall and informed him that the Stark family had agreed to lease the land around the lake to him.
The rent was 5% of the Easter Store's commercial income each year, to be paid to Winterfell as a commercial tax.
"No problem, I totally agree!" Jason Liu had a faint smile on his face, but his heart was already full of joy.
So far, he had succeeded in this step—and from now on, Lake Saylor would be his.
The two parties agreed that Jason Liu could use the wasteland within 10 kilometers of Saylor Lake as he pleased.
The area of this land was over 300 square kilometers, not including the tens of thousands of mu that made up Saylor Lake itself.
Compared to a modern metropolis, 300 square kilometers is about one-twentieth the size of a major city.
Put another way, it was about the size of a fifth-tier city.
For Jason Liu, it was completely sufficient.
To be honest, the 300+ square kilometers of wasteland leased to Jason Liu around Lake Saylor was negligible compared to the over 200,000 square kilometers directly under the Stark family's control.
So Eddard Stark, Lady Catelyn, and Robb didn't care much about leasing this small area to Jason Liu.
What's more, it would bring in tens of thousands of golden dragons each year for the Stark family. Wasn't renting it to Lord Jason far better than letting the wasteland sit idle?
After both parties agreed, the contract was signed immediately.
When Jason Liu walked out of Winterfell with the signed agreement in hand, it proved that the 10-kilometer radius of wasteland around Lake Saylor was now his!
Having secured the land, Jason Liu breathed a sigh of relief. He could now finally stay away from House Stark and develop his power freely.
Back at the small castle in the winter market town, Jason Liu sent someone to call Tollant the mason and other workers.
To build the port, he would need Tollant and the others—the masons, builders, designers, foremen, and other professionals.
All Jason Liu needed to do was ensure support in terms of manpower, materials, money, and logistics.
When they heard that Lord Jason was planning to build a port by Lake Saylor and also construct the Starfire Castle of House East, Old Tollant and the other masons were excited. Nothing was more satisfying than putting their skills to good use!
"My lord, if you can provide more of that construction bonding material called cement, I promise we can increase our progress by at least one-third!" After Old Tollant finished speaking, he looked at him expectantly.
To tell the truth, since they had seen how effective cement was at the lumberyard, they had started to look down on traditional adhesives like mud and lime mortar.
"No problem. I'll provide enough cement for you to use. Just design the port and my Starfire Castle with confidence!"
Cement could be purchased directly from the modern world—as much as they wanted.
Then Jason Liu outlined his requirements. The port should include hundreds of berths to ensure smooth trade and docking for merchant ships.
Hundreds of berths?
Tollant's masons widened their eyes in shock.
Mr. Jason's vision was too grand!
"Don't worry," Jason Liu casually explained. "These hundred berths aren't many at all. With merchant ships coming to Port from all over, even a hundred berths might not be enough!"
Tollant and the others nodded silently. Anyway, if their lord was happy, they would just do as he said.
Before they could fully process the scale of the project, Jason Liu dropped another bombshell. "I plan to recruit at least 10,000 strong laborers to begin construction at the lakeshore. You'll need to coordinate with them."
Some masons were stunned.
"To manage so many people, your current team of dozens just isn't enough."
Tollant's old face twitched slightly. He hadn't expected Lord Jason to throw out such large numbers so casually. He didn't even know how to react.
One word—overwhelming!
Watching the masons walk away, still in a daze, Jason Liu smiled to himself. If you'd seen the spectacular sight of hundreds of thousands of workers building a reservoir in the Heavenly Dynasty, you wouldn't be so shocked!
He asked Lena to call Boris from next door. Since someone had been sent from the capital, Boris had passed Bachelor Adrian's assessment and obtained his bachelor's degree.
Lately, Boris and Bachelor Adrian had been studying the medical theories Jason Liu brought from the modern world.
Even if they'd only scratched the surface, it was already enough to leave these medically primitive Westerosi stunned!
Jason Liu hadn't seen Boris for many days. If Lena hadn't called for him, this guy would probably spend all day at the hospital, learning alongside the people from the Citadel.
Boris, who looked tired but spirited, walked in and saluted with a smile. "My lord, you asked for me?"
Seeing the dark circles under Boris's eyes, Jason Liu couldn't help but chuckle. "Boris, you'd better rest properly. If you collapse from exhaustion, I don't want to waste time finding someone new to manage the Easter Hospital!"
Boris scratched his increasingly prominent forehead and chuckled dryly. "Yes, my lord. I'll take care of myself. I promise I won't trouble you with replacing me as the hospital's dean."
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