You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 48 Maltose

Roman inserted two snow-white wooden sticks, carved from oak branches, into the maltose and gently stirred them with both hands. Soon, a large clump of golden-yellow maltose was wrapped around the end of the thin wooden sticks.

He handed the item to Gweil.

The latter smelled the sweet aroma and couldn't wait to open its mouth and take a bite.

Roman righteously and sternly stopped this wasteful act.

"You're eating it the wrong way. You need to keep stirring it, using both hands to make it turn white..."

Under Roman's guidance, Gweil began to stir. Although her movements were a little clumsy at first, she quickly mastered the technique.

During the stretching process, the maltose gradually turned white.

Roman nodded with satisfaction, then turned to look and saw Aaron and Green gathered around the wooden barrel containing maltose...

Snapped!
Roman managed to knock Green's ghost hand away in time.

Green's expression turned serious, and he glared at Roman as if he were about to draw his sword and fight to the death.

Roman, with a calm expression, said to Aaron, "Aaron, why don't you try some?"

Aaron nodded, took the wooden chopsticks Roman handed him, wrapped some golden maltose around them, and put them in his mouth. His taste buds were quickly overwhelmed by the rich, sweet flavor.

Aaron's somewhat engrossed expression made Green even more curious about the taste of maltose, and he couldn't help but swallow.

“I’ll give it a try too,” Green said in a gruff voice, like a rough-and-tumble pirate from the Arctic.

Then Roman knocked his outstretched hand away.

Roman scoffed, "Even if I die in the swamp, I'd rather die than eat something even a pig wouldn't eat!"

Green's body stiffened, and he turned to Aaron angrily, saying, "Aaron, how could you speak to Master Roman like that? Kneel down and apologize right now!"

Aaron glanced at him, and he finally understood why Roman was targeting Green.

When will this foul mouth of yours finally stop?

He ignored Green's pleading look and continued eating some maltose.

Knights rarely get to eat such sweet food; they usually just eat more fruit in the summer.

Although wild honey exists, honeycomb is relatively rare in nature.

Moreover, the honeycomb of the Grand Duchy would not end up in his mouth.

Most incredibly, he witnessed the entire maltose-making process from start to finish.

"Brother Aaron, you're eating the candy the wrong way. You need to keep stirring it..." Gerber corrected him.

"Gerva, this is how children eat it. Go play." Roman patted Gerva's head. Gerva nodded obediently and stood behind Roman, continuing to stir the maltose in her hand.

As your cooking level increases, you unlock many recipes, including the method for making maltose.

Green clasped his hands to his chest and said in a soft, charming voice, "Master Roman, Aaron knows he was wrong. Please have mercy and let him go."

Seeing this, Roman said with a half-smile, "A knight in arms must have backbone!"

Green said in great pain, "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Ah!"

Hearing this cold and merciless mockery, he became dejected and said with his head hanging low, "Master Roman, Green is dead. His greatest wish was to eat a bite of sweet molasses before he died. Can you grant his wish?"

"Now you know how amazing my cooking is, right?"

you fart!
This isn't cooking at all!

Green cursed inwardly, but the situation was beyond his control, so he had no choice but to put on a pitiful look to gain sympathy.

"Cough cough..."

Just then, Seth coughed from the side; he was used to this kind of farce.

But Roman has something to do now.

"Sir, Morey's caravan has arrived."

Roman nodded and directed the servants to move the twenty wooden barrels onto the oxcart.

...Bro River Wharf.

Roman met Morey.

The young businessman was somewhat agitated.

He first bowed and then said excitedly, "Honorable Lord Roman, I have brought you 18 oxen and 28 draft horses."

Roman was quite satisfied with the figure, as it meant the road construction progress could be significantly accelerated.

The fact that Morey was able to acquire so many large animals within a month shows that he is very capable.

Roman said, "But I don't have that much cash to pay you right now."

Morey remained calm upon hearing this, simply waiting for Roman to continue.

Sure enough, he saw Roman point to the wooden barrels on the oxcart behind him: "Why don't you take a look at how much these things are worth?"

Morey followed Roman to the wooden cart, opened one of the barrels, lifted the lid, and pulled out a long thread.

Roman used a thin wooden stick to wrap the long strands of maltose that had been pulled out and handed them to Morey.

When the latter first saw maltose, he thought it was honey, but he soon discovered that its texture was different from honey.

If honey is like a flower, exuding a naturally sweet fragrance.

This honey, however, has the aroma of green barley.

Morey frowned, finding it difficult to assess the value of this maltose.

Then, Morey looked at the number of barrels on the truck, his brow furrowing even deeper.

How much money can you offer?

Morey hesitated before saying, "Please forgive my bluntness, but your honey isn't as sweet as real honey, and its texture isn't as good either..."

Its nutritional value is also not as good as honey.

Roman silently spoke up for Moredo in his mind.

He said frankly, "I know, all you need to do is tell me the price."

Morey hesitated for a moment, then said, "For a bucket of honey, I can only give one gold coin."

Roman frowned as well; the value of maltose, such a luxury item, was lower than he had expected.

Only the nobility could afford it. He had expected to sell it for 2 gold coins, but Morey cut the price in half.

“This is the first time I’ve seen this kind of product, so I can only estimate the price…” Morey said.

With his keen business sense, Morey set this price while leaving himself room for maneuver.

This means he is confident that he can buy at the original price and sell at the original price.

It's just that we didn't make any money, but we definitely can't do business that loses money.

Of course, Morey thought it was impossible for this product not to sell.

Sugar sources were extremely limited in this era, with only certain fruits and honey providing sugar.

Even if maltose isn't as good as honey, it can still be a meal replacement for honey.

The potential customer base for this land is the entire upper class.

"Its shelf life is only one year," Roman explained the concept.

Morey wasn't too surprised; honey also has a shelf life, only slightly longer than maltose due to improper storage.

Luxury goods have been in a slump during this era.

Compared to strategic resources, maltose does not have a clear advantage.

This was a rather barbaric and turbulent era, and trade development was not very prosperous.

No nobleman has ever become wealthy through honey, and professional beekeepers have yet to emerge. Nobles typically find wild beehives and then send people to collect the honey regularly; there is no large-scale beekeeping.

(End of this chapter)