Chapter 41

When the box at the bottom of the bookcase was opened, the inside was dimly lit, with a thin layer of coins spread out. Greta carefully poured them out, sorted them by color, and counted them one by one. After counting once, he counted again.

Ten gold coins.

Eight silver coins.

Among the gold coins, one was particularly different.

Greta picked it up and examined it closely. Among the ten gold coins, nine had a beautiful, crowned woman on the front and a rose entwined with branches on the back, which he believed were the country's gold coins. The front seemed to be the queen's portrait, and the back, it was said, was the royal emblem.

The last one had a bearded, crowned man on the front and a two-headed eagle with spread wings on the back. The emblem and the portrait were different. Considering that the backs of the other silver coins were all rose patterns, it seemed that this particularly distinctive one was from a foreign land?

As for how it was left behind, its value, and whether it could be spent directly, Greta had no knowledge at all.

In any case, these ten gold coins and eight silver coins were the last savings left by his father. They were buried under the bed, hidden under the bookcase, with the instruction that they should not be used unless absolutely necessary.

The reason for having both gold and silver coins was to prevent a child, being young and weak, from causing trouble by spending gold coins rashly.

... How much should he take out this time?

Greta thought carefully and put eight gold coins back in the box—of course, including the one with the two-headed eagle—and three silver coins. He carefully put the box back in place, cleaned up the traces on the ground, and, with the money bag in hand, dashed out of the house and headed for the stationery shop.

In the city of Hartland, Greta remembered only one shop that sold paper and pens. The shop was near the square in front of the lord's mansion, about two hundred meters south along the main street, considered the prime location of the entire city. The entrance was bustling with traffic, and carriages with family crests came and went, with gentlemen and ladies passing by from time to time.

Two lanterns hung on either side of the shop entrance, lighting up half of the street. Under the lanterns, there was a doorman in a white shirt and suspenders, carrying a wooden board about a foot wide and over two meters tall, laboriously boarding up the shop.

When Greta arrived, the doorman gave him a surprised look. His gaze swept over Greta's obviously altered fine linen shirt, mud-splattered pants, and patched backpack. He moved his lips slightly but still put down the board and went to open the door for Greta.

Stepping into the shop, a wooden counter about half a person's height divided the entire store into inner and outer sections. Inside the counter, a young clerk sat idly, wearing a white shirt, black vest, and a neatly tied black bow tie, with a face that said, "Don't bother me, I'm about to leave."

There was nothing else on the outside of the counter. Inside, behind the clerk, the shelves were filled with various rolls of paper, quills, ink, and stationery boxes, arranged in a dazzling array.

Greta stretched his neck to look at the rolls of paper. The clerk lifted his head and quickly glanced at him, lazily asking:

"What do you want to buy?"

"Paper."

Greta was interrupted after just one word. The clerk didn't even raise his eyelids, casually adding:

"Parchment is two silver coins per sheet, and white paper is four silver coins per sheet. How many do you want to buy?"

"So expensive?!"

Greta was shocked. Parchment at two silver coins per sheet was understandable, as it was made from sheepskin, but what did white paper at four silver coins per sheet mean?

Could this be Chengxin Hall paper?

No, no, the main point isn't that. If ordinary white paper is twice as expensive as parchment, how did papermaking survive and not be driven to bankruptcy by parchment?

The young clerk rolled his eyes irritably. He didn't answer but instead crossed his arms and added with a raised chin:

"Minimum of ten sheets."

Ten sheets at two silver coins each would be twenty silver coins, or two gold coins... How many sheets would it take to copy an entire book? A thousand sheets enough? If calculated, this alone would cost two hundred gold coins...

Apart from the box of alchemical equipment and surgical instruments, selling everything in the house, furniture, and all, probably wouldn't be enough. Greta calculated and asked hopefully: "Do you have any cheaper ones?"

"Cheaper ones?" The clerk raised an eyebrow. Just as he was about to say more, an old man quickly came out from the inner part of the shop:

"Yes, yes! What kind do you want, sir?"

The old man was dressed even more lavishly than the young clerk. His coat had a velvet border, and the buttons on his round belly were almost about to pop. As soon as he came out, he gave the clerk a stern look and then put on a smile:

"Our shop has all kinds of goods. The cheapest is Valwek writing paper, a ream for four silver coins. A bit whiter and smoother, the Northumberland official paper, a ream for one gold coin.

The white paper you just heard about is regularly ordered by the magic tower outside the city. It is said to improve the success rate of copying scrolls and is even better than parchment. Four silver coins per sheet, and that's still a bargain!"

... So it's specialized paper for copying magic scrolls. Greta suddenly understood: although papermaking has been widely adopted, high-end paper is not so easy to produce. Not to mention that magic paper represents real power, even in his previous life, a ream of high-quality rice paper could cost tens of thousands of yuan.

"How many sheets in a ream?"

The young clerk sneered. The old man, however, didn't find the question too basic and still smiled:

"25 sheets, no cheating!"

Emmmm... Greta quickly calculated in his head. A ream of 25 sheets for four silver coins, a thousand sheets would cost 160 silver coins—or 16 gold coins. He had a total of 10 gold coins, 8 silver coins, and 7 copper coins. Copying the entire book would definitely not be enough.

A new city guard recruit like him earned 5 silver coins a month, and a squad leader earned 15 silver coins a month. A thousand sheets of paper for 16 gold coins is almost equivalent to a squad leader's annual income—yet would a thousand sheets of paper be enough for a child to learn reading and writing in a year?

Definitely not enough, right?

In this era, reading and writing are truly privileges of the upper class...

Greta sighed. After sighing, he continued to ask about prices:

"Can I get a discount if I buy more?"

"A ream, which is 20 sheets, for 7 gold coins and 5 silver coins! Our shop will deliver it to your door!"

"What about pens and ink?"

"Quills, 2 silver coins for a goose quill that can be sharpened at least 20 times! 4 silver coins for a premium goose quill that can be sharpened at least 50 times, with a free quill sharpener! Ordinary writing ink, 2 silver coins for a one-ounce bottle, and 8 silver coins for a five-ounce large bottle!"

Truly a skilled businessman.

Greta smiled bitterly. This differential pricing and business strategy were very similar to the family packs, bulk packs, and combo packs in supermarkets in his previous life.

He weighed his needs and took out his wallet:

"Let's start with four reams of ordinary writing paper and one premium goose quill. I only have 2 gold coins and 5 silver coins. Can you sell me a large bottle of ink as well?"

Paper, pen, and ink, totaling 2 gold coins and 8 silver coins. Greta's request to cut the price by ten percent made the young clerk roll his eyes and snort:

"If you can't afford it, don't buy it!—You can even afford gold coins?"