Rurik used a word in the first person plural. Rumia didn't think much about it. She was happy for her master.
At this time, she was following Bumping Rurik and she didn't realize that her master had already made up his mind to give her a gift.
Of course, from Rumia's point of view, it was a gift, but from Rurik's point of view, it was actually a necessary reward for her.
So, how much does the hundred Roman silver coins of good quality in Rurik’s hands now weigh?
The gross profit of fifty bars of soap is exactly one hundred silver coins, which happens to be a very interesting numerical node.
Because of the silver coins minted in Rome in the late eighth century, according to the orders of the Eastern Roman emperor, one pound of pure silver should be smelted into one hundred silver coins.
What Rurik is holding is a pound of pure silver. Isn’t it heavy?
But silver, a metal, is always accompanied by lead when it is mined and smelted. The Eastern Romans could purify silver ingots to an astonishing degree, but when it was smelted into silver coins, the mint had to add a little lead to it out of greed for ink.
When the empire inspects the mint's finished products, as long as the currency inscriptions are correct and the weight is basically up to standard, it is the so-called best-quality currency.
As for the deliberate addition of lead, it is not within the scope of consideration.
So this brought about a very bad situation. The quality of Roman silver coins was gradually declining. On the one hand, the reason was the corruption of the Eastern Roman Mint. And dig out a little silver shavings from each silver coin, collect them and smelt them again, and you can make a silver ingot out of thin air.
In this time and space, and even in the next thousand years, silver can be said to be the universal currency of the world. Whether it is the East or the West, even South Asia, or even the New World in the future, silver has better liquidity than gold.
After all, silver is silver, it is a scarce metal, not as common as iron ore.
Therefore, silver coins and copper coins are the most widely circulated currencies in the European world. Among them, in the Frankish Kingdom and Britain, silver coins were the most popular currencies. However, the Frankish Kingdom had its own royal mint, and they minted their own silver coins. In order to emphasize their uniqueness, their nature and taste were different from Roman silver coins.
Silver is silver, and any blacksmith can melt it down, separate out the worthless lead, and recast the molten silver. Skilled blacksmiths imitated the stamps used by the Frankish royal family to stamp the privately minted silver coins with appropriate patterns and inscriptions.
Silver coins need to circulate freely, and they are not as hard as bronze or iron. Pure silver is relatively soft, so it will inevitably face bad wear and tear during use, and its fineness will of course decline rapidly.
If you want to maintain the fineness, that is, maintain the silver content, you must of course melt it and add silver shavings to restore the silver content. Of course, some people also thought reversely and added lead to maintain the weight. As a result, the lead content of early-issued silver coins became higher and higher, and the quality plummeted.
A good tradesman can easily estimate its silver content - the bite.
If you can bite out teeth marks, then it is a silver coin of good quality. Although the lead content in it varies, you will not suffer too much.
Europeans added lead to silver coins to make them look good, and Easterners had exactly the same routine. This led to the store clerks and store owners, who must be proficient in mathematical calculations. European balances and Eastern weighing weights are also merchants. Necessary utensils.
In the Baltic region, silver coins from Rome and Franks, as well as a variety of copper coins, were the most commonly used currencies.
The amount of currency was sufficient, and there was no money shortage in this region. As the Danes' plundering of the south and Britain intensified, more and more of the hot money they plundered flowed into this region.
The Danes happily attacked the Frankish Empire and the British areas that had been fully integrated into the Frankish monetary system. The large amount of Frankish currency they looted was squeezing the status of Roman currency around the Baltic Sea.
Why?
One of the most obvious reasons is that businessmen are not fools. Although they all use silver coins, they prefer to use whoever adds less lead to it.
The Frankish Empire issued its latest minted silver coin at the beginning of the eighth century, more than ten years before Rurik was born. Its silver content was as high as 99. Although it was much lighter than Roman silver coins, the silver content was really high.
Within only twenty years of its issuance, powerful people in the Frankish Empire and Britain, as well as the surrounding Iberia and northern Italy, as well as the Swiss mountains and some West Slavic tribes, all understood the ultra-high silver content of Frank's new silver coins.
Although merchants melted and recast old silver coins to eliminate wear and tear, they would inevitably add lead to them. Twenty years is too short a time, and silver coins are generally not long enough to need to be recast.
In Danish society, the common currency is gradually being monopolized by Frankish currency. Although the relationship between the Danes and the northern Siiya tribal alliance, later known as the Swedes, was more often conflictual, their daily transactions continued to exist.
Merchants roamed the Baltic Sea. They didn't care which faction their customers belonged to. They didn't want to betray the silver coins.
Frankish silver coins have already affected the society of the Siya tribe. Because the Ross tribe is too far to the north, their tribe mainly hoards Roman silver coins.
The Rus tribe had learned about a new silver coin a few years ago, which was lighter and of better quality than Roman silver coins.
Silver is silver, currency is made up of silver, and coins delivered in commercial activities are settled based on the weight of silver. This is the only reason why various silver coins can circulate in the European world.
As long as the Ross tribe wants to do business with their brothers in the south, the proportion of Frank silver coins in the tribe's own money boxes will quietly increase. If no major accident occurs, it will be a matter of time before Frankish silver coins replace Roman silver coins.
In the European macro-trade, a large amount of silver coins flowing out of Eastern Rome flowed into the Frankish Empire. Frank's official mint melted Roman silver coins and cast the silver into its own.
Maybe the Frank Empire did not make it clear that they were trying to establish a Frank Empire hegemony that would cover the entire Europe. Their silver coins had spread rapidly throughout Europe.
Rurik happily returned to the priest's longhouse with a bag of silver coins. He didn't waste much time coming back and forth, and he couldn't wait to announce the good news as soon as he walked in.
"I brought all the silver coins back! Come and share the money!" Rurik also deliberately showed his linen bag, and the clanking sound of metal collision attracted the intense attention of the priests.
If all the soap is sold for money, everyone will get a fortune. As long as everyone prepares the oil used for sacrifices in advance, all the excess oil can be made into soap!
The priests knew very well that boiling oil was the key to everything. As for making plant ash water, the kid Rurik still needed some guidance at this time.
They boiled oil happily, as if the pain in their arms had been relieved, and they were all in a good mood. Seeing Rurik return, they were in an even better mood.
"Rurik, you! You brought all the money back." Bona hurried over, her face cracked with very ugly wrinkles because of happiness.
"Of course...of course."
For a moment, Rurik actually felt fear. This group of priestesses all moved slowly when performing sacrificial rituals. When they heard the jingling of money, they all turned into hyenas eager to eat fresh meat, howling and rushing towards them.
"Now it's your turn to fulfill your promise." Poona said urgently.
"Okay. You just need to step back later."
To ensure fairness, Rurik arranged all the silver coins in a ten by ten matrix on a leather mat.
Even during the day, oil lamps were still lit in the longhouse of the priests, and the light shone on the silver coins, and the heads of the Roman emperors on them really shone brightly.
The expressions of the priests fully proved their emotional excitement. If reason had not restrained their inner impulses, Rurik firmly believed that these priests would have attacked each other, and for the right to own the silver coins, more than a dozen people would have been beaten to death.
At the critical moment, Vilia stood up to take charge of the situation, and she was shocked to see so many silver coins.
Why isn't she shocked?
Because in the society of the Siweiya tribe, each tribe regards animal skins as a very important value standard reference object in commodity transactions.
Scandinavia has long supplied people in the south with high-quality animal skins. As the resources of wild animals dwindle, they have to raise cattle on some small plains. There are also brave people who go to remote places to hunt wild reindeer, and even more Rare fur animals, such as ferrets, which are particularly valuable.
They cannot raise cattle very large, so the volume of the cowhide after being cut is not much different from that of an adult reindeer.
In the memory of High Priest Vilia, when she was young, the hides and deerskins of an adult body were worth one Roman silver coin. Today, the value is roughly the same, about one-fifth of a Roman ounce of silver.
The one hundred silver coins displayed by Rurik could buy one hundred cowhide or deerskin.
For example, a piece of cowhide can be made into a high-quality leather coat, as well as leather boots, gloves and hats.
Villa was here to supervise, and no matter how excited the lower-level priest was, he could only lick his face and watch the distribution of wealth as Rurik sat down.
Twenty silver coins were picked out in full view of everyone, and then placed in a pile in front of Villa.
"Grandma, please count."
"Okay, my boy."
The silver coins were so valuable that even though Rurik seemed to be able to tell the number of the priests in an instant with the naked eye, Villa still had to count them one by one.
According to the "employment contract", the remuneration that the priests deserve is this much, and how to distribute and use it is their own business.
Rurik believed that they would take care of the silver coins according to the new rules they had just formulated, but those did not have much to do with him.
The remaining eighty silver coins were his initial silver capital.
It can be dangerous for a child to have so much money.
Isn't it dangerous? Youdao is a common man who is innocent and harbors a jade. A person who lacks the ability to protect his property is a big fat sheep in the eyes of strong men.
I am only seven years old, and my personal safety actually depends on the protection of the priests and parents. Nowadays, church priests make soap and develop a means of making money for the priests who are actually poor. In fact, they are strategically tying their own safety to the rights and interests of the priests.
But will there be desperadoes who rob property? A child wandering around with heavy silver coins in his hand can make good people have evil intentions when they see it. This is human nature.
The people of the Ross tribe are still simple. They will definitely not take the risk of being hunted down by the whole tribe to attack the leader's son or the leader's home.
At least in the past few years, Rurik had never known that there had been robberies within the tribe. At most, they were trivial disputes. The elders would coordinate and the two sides could resolve the conflicts based on the relationship between them having a common ancestor.
Therefore, there are no legal provisions in the tribe, only some "rules" that are passed down orally.
Next, Rurik put the money away. It seemed safest to put them in his own cash box.
With the silver coin bag hanging on his waist, Rurik continued to stay in the warmth of the priest's longhouse.
He looked into the waiting Rumia's eyes and ordered: "You go to graze and drive the deer back when it gets dark. You don't want anyone in the priest's longhouse tonight. Follow me home and I will make arrangements for you." Something. Well, something good."
"Okay, I'll go as soon as I'm ready." Rumia nodded.
Deer, they are their own deer! It would be very foolish to chase the deer away from death, and you will die of hunger and cold.
Rumia has found her new home, and she is doing well as Rurik's servant.
Precisely because the deer originally belonged to Rumia, the deer showed no signs of nervousness at all when they saw their old owner.
The herd, once a giant of three hundred individuals, has now shrunk to twenty. It will be impossible for them to multiply to their former size within ten years!
While Rumia was driving the deer to peel away the snow and eat grass, Rurik was acting like a soap production engineer.
Since the priests have gained profits and want more, they can continue to produce.
As long as the fat they control can withstand consumption, wouldn't it be nice to turn it into soap?
But their situation was obviously a bit bad. The key work of stirring the wooden sticks to create the saponification reaction, their arms were sore, which cannot be suppressed by willpower.
They boiled enough grease to make soap thick enough to fill thirty-five wooden boxes.
Until evening, no one's work satisfied Rurik. What to do? Keep stirring!
Rumia had already returned with her herd of deer. The large mouths of these deer pushed aside the thick snow, and each one of them was a venison mower. They gnawed a belly full of hay and returned to their pens.
I don’t know how much time passed, but Otto, who had just finished dinner, came to the priest’s longhouse to find out what was going on.
Otto reported to Villa the huge cashback brought by the soap, which also brought strong demands from the tribe for more.
Silver coins are not a problem, everyone needs spot money.
"I saw that they are still making work. Their condition is not very good." Otto asked worriedly: "Great priest, they can still make thirty-five tomorrow."
"this……"
Rurik is here, and Vilia has come to the conclusion from him that the priests' power is limited and they need to take a vacation.
She said in a hoarse voice: "My leader, you can ask your son carefully. He knows everything. He hopes to go home and sleep tonight."
"Okay." Otto nodded.
The son had been spending time in the chief priest's house for some time, which was not appropriate.
Otto summoned his son and immediately gave a few instructions.
"Dad, I will go back tonight. The priests will work for a while longer, and the soap can be poured into the molds and sold as finished products by tomorrow evening. Dad, you can't be in a hurry."
"I'm trying not to be in a hurry." Otto touched his son's forehead and felt more and more comfortable. Not only because he got a son at an old age, but also because his son is a strange person.
The son washed his hair with soap. His golden hair felt so comfortable, just like stroking a piece of golden ferret fur.
Of course, Otto and his wife Niya both used soap to wash their hair today. Those tribesmen who bought soap finally enjoyed the ultimate cleanliness that they had not seen for a long time and said that it was worth their money.
In this way, for those members of Musha who had not purchased, Otto came here to see his son and to urge the goods.
Rurik couldn't help but yawn. He untied the pocket from his belt and placed it in the palm of his father's big hand.
"Dad, these are all my money. For safety, they are placed in our family's cash box. I think this is the most appropriate."
"This...this is your money. Maybe you need a money box of your own." Weighing his son's money bag with his palm, the old man was surprised by its weight.
"Oh, really." Rurik thought for a moment, he could just have a piggy bank. "Okay, Dad, help me get a money box. I will use it to save money in the future. But my own money box must be kept at our house."
"Of course, my boy."
"Dad, I have to supervise their work for a while. When all the soap is poured, a priest will escort me home. Now..." Rurik glanced at Rumia, "Bring my servant back first. Come home. Dad, you have to tell mom that you must treat her well in the future and try to treat her as your daughter."
"Oh, okay, okay, I'll try my best." Otto nodded deeply and tried his best to sit obediently with Rumia, who looked like she didn't want to cause trouble, "Servant, come with me now."
Upon hearing this order, Rumia shivered subconsciously, with a strong sense of tension in her eyes.
"Dad! You have to call her Rumia! Are you going to be rude?" Rurik protested.
"Okay, Rumia, come here." Otto tried to be gentle to a servant.
What else could Rumia do? Now she could only listen to the mercy of this evil man who had hurt her family. It would have been fine if Rurik was with me, but now I have to be at the mercy of this evil man
Seeing her nervous face, Rurik made a funny look, and then comforted her softly: "Don't be afraid, everyone knows that you are recognized by Odin and are one of our tribesmen. You go back first, and I will give you some advice when I go back." A gift for you."
A gift? Security is the best gift.
Rumia nodded as if she understood. She followed Otto closely and walked out of the warm priest's longhouse. Facing the cold outdoors, she quickly walked towards the warmer chief's longhouse.
Maybe today I will become a servant who pours wine and firewood for the leader and cleans the house.
I hope Rurik, who will protect himself, will come back soon.
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Chapter 91 Initial Silver Capital
