Jack was originally just a small seed merchant in the South, barely making a living by selling grain and fruit seeds.
Although life wasn't wealthy, at least there was enough to eat and drink.
Until a few months ago, he overheard fellow merchants boasting at the tavern:
Since the "Northern Territory Pioneer Order" was issued, many nobles have flocked to the Northern Territory to open up land, creating a huge demand for seeds, far exceeding supply!
This piece of gossip set his heart racing.
In the South, seed merchants were as plentiful as horse manure on the roadside, with hundreds scrambling for a piece of the pie, making it almost impossible to make a fortune.
But the North was different, he'd heard it was barren and seeds were hard to come by; once supplies arrived, they were sure to sell!
"This is an opportunity for wealth!"
Excited, Jack converted all the savings he'd accumulated over the years into seeds.
He filled his small cart and rushed to the North, dreaming of getting rich overnight.
However, when he stepped into Frost Halberd City, he was dumbfounded.
"Isn't this the largest city in the Northern Territory?"
The city was rundown, the streets muddy, the passersby in tattered clothes all looking weary, with not a sign of prosperous business opportunity.
Jack's heart skipped a beat, a premonition of doom washed over him.
"I'm doomed, I won't lose everything, will I?"
But since he was already there, he couldn't just leave empty-handed.
So, with determination, he set up his small stall on an empty lot on the east side of the market.
"Are you the seed seller, Jack?"
He hadn't even set up his goods, when three knights rode over, bringing with them the dust of travel, their armor splattered with mud, their expressions somewhat anxious.
Jack was stunned for a moment, his heart pounding.
How did they know his name?
Could it be that the fame of the little seed king had spread from the Central Province to the Northern Province?
But, a visitor is a guest, so he quickly straightened his back, cleared his throat, and was just about to introduce his products.
"What would you gentlemen like? We have potatoes, rye, oats, wheat..."
The lead knight interrupted him directly: "We'll take everything."
"Wh- what?" Jack looked shocked, wondering if he'd misheard.
"We want everything, how much?"
Jack was truly dumbfounded this time.
Are all Northern Territory people this extravagant?!
Jack's mind raced, calculating how much he could sell this batch of goods for...
Finally, he pretended to hesitate, then held out five fingers: "Since you want it all, I'll give you a discount, five gold coins."
Five gold coins!
In the South, a bag of potato seeds only cost two iron coins; the cost of all his seeds didn't even add up to one gold coin!
Jack was ready to be haggled down, even considering lowering the price if they didn't agree.
"Alright."
To his surprise, the lead knight didn't even listen, just pulled out five gold coins from his purse and tossed them to him.
Then, he and the other two knights quickly packed up all his seeds and blazed off in a hurry.
Leaving Jack standing there, clutching five heavy gold coins, dumbstruck.
As the cold wind blew, he only then realized his stall had been swept clean.
He hastily checked the gold coins, inspecting them one by one to confirm they were all real.
They were real... all real!
The next moment, a surge of ecstatic emotion overwhelmed him, Jack nearly jumped up.
"I'm rich!"
The cost of his seeds plus the travel expenses to the Northern Territory was less than one gold coin; now he'd made a clear profit of four gold coins!
And practically did nothing!
Was business in the Northern Territory really this easy?!
Jack clutched the gold coins, his mind already racing to map out his next steps.
This was just the beginning.
If he went back and wholesaled a few hundred more bags of seeds, wouldn't he earn hundreds of gold coins?!
Thinking of this, Jack's smile stretched to ninety degrees.
The Northern Territory was simply a gold mine!
He wanted to go back and take a loan, to become the number one seed merchant in the Northern Territory!
Of course, what he didn't know was that the seeds he had just sold included those of Frost Blood Redberry, which could be sold for thousands of gold coins.
Otherwise, he would have regretted it bitterly.
As for the story of him losing everything later, that's a tale for another time.
...
Just as Lambert was hastily returning to Red Tide Territory with the seeds, Louis was riding his horse, inspecting the condition of the seed sowing in the fields.
In the fields, farmers were busily sowing seeds, the sound of hoes turning the earth echoing constantly.
Wherever Louis went, the farmers would stop their work and respectfully salute.
But unlike in other noble territories, the eyes of the farmers here didn't show servile fear but rather a kind of genuine respect.
Especially those workers of slave origin, their eyes held a fiery glow when they looked at Louis.
They longed for their efforts to be noticed by the Lord, and thus gain a chance at freedom!
Louis saw all of this, but didn't show much emotion.
After all, in his view, there was no difference between slaves and freemen; both were cattle and horses of the Red Tide Territory.
Furthermore, the current system allowed these people to work harder, and he wasn't in a hurry to change it.
When the time was ripe, perhaps he would consider more stable measures to release the slaves, but for now, they needed to prove their worth.
At this moment, Mike walked over, leaning on a hoe, his face beaming with unconcealed joy.
"My Lord!" Mike wiped the sweat off his forehead, his smile squeezing into wrinkles, "These fertilizers are working wonders! This year is sure to yield a good harvest!"
Louis glanced over the tilled fields, noticing that the soil was indeed moist and soft, a deep color indicating it had fully absorbed nutrients.
He nodded slightly: "What's the first crop?"
"Rye, turnips, potatoes." Mike answered immediately, "These crops are hardy and mature quickly; if all goes well, we can expect the first harvest in three months!"
Louis agreed with a nod.
Rye could be ground into coarse grain, turnips served both as vegetables and livestock feed.
Meanwhile, potatoes were easy to plant and harvest, with long storage life, making them the most suitable for emergency food.
Although some parts of Red Tide Territory were enhanced by geothermal heat, making it better than other Northern lands, not all land was suited to intensive agriculture.
To play it safe, prioritizing the planting of these hardy crops was the most sensible choice.
But it was far from enough to satisfy Louis's ambitions.
Once greenhouse planting technology was perfected, he planned to grow a wider variety of crops to completely resolve the food issues in Red Tide Territory.
Louis stood silently on the ridge, his gaze sweeping over the land before him.
The fertile black soil shimmered faintly under the sunlight, the busy figures of farmers intertwined, sowing the seeds of Red Tide Territory's future hope.
This land, originally a barren permafrost, was being revitalized little by little under his plan.
Louis felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment in his heart.