Chapter 262: The Thriving Arend Island
Arend Island, Leon leaned on his cane and stood atop the embankment on the eastern side of the island, looking down. Beside him was Adele, wearing a dress with a shawl draped over her shoulders. The two looked just like a viscount and his wife out for a stroll while inspecting their territory along the way.
Leon looked down from the embankment. Nearly two hundred workers were bustling back and forth constructing the new port, while ships transporting materials were neatly lined up along the shore.
“I’ve already smoothed out the necessary connections for you. Once a port of this scale is completed, we’ll be able to apply for import and export qualifications. Whether it’s sugar, alcohol, or spices, we can mix your goods in with them and ship them to the southern countries and the colonies in the New World.” Adele explained the situation to Leon.
Leon nodded. Johnny had already informed him about this. As long as they had a legitimate reason to export goods, Johnny had channels through which he could sell the surplus Magic Potions to countries surrounding the Empire. At the very least, they could ensure they would not suffer losses from purchasing Magic Essence from the Witches’ Assembly. Once they opened up markets in those places and expanded the business across the continent, even if they could not develop the market in the western part of the Empire, they would still be capable of continuously absorbing both the Magic Potions they produced themselves and those made from the Magic Essence purchased from the Witches’ Assembly, earning enormous profits.
“You’ve recruited quite a lot of people.” Leon said as he looked at the crowded construction site.
“I only had to raise the wages a little and offer jobs to poach this many workers from nearby ports. Quite a few of them are actually locals from Arend Island.” Adele replied.
“There were still young people on Arend Island?”
Leon looked over the workers in the distance, all of whom were in the prime of their lives and at most only middle-aged. In his impression, the fishing villages on Arend Island had basically been filled entirely with the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled. Every time he passed through, the place had felt lifeless, as though once the remaining population died off, the lord here would be left guarding nothing but a deserted island.
“There were no livelihoods on the island that could earn money, so the young people went to larger towns and cities to work. But now we’re building a port, constructing roads and bridges, and establishing self-operated farms and workshops, providing plenty of jobs, with wages even higher than outside, so naturally the young labor force has started returning. Then, within the authority of the lord, we implemented a temporary tax exemption. Now many people from outside have begun moving here as well, and it isn’t just young people, they’ve brought their children too.”