Reincarnated Into The Middle Ages

To boost the craftsmen's enthusiasm, Norn promised that if they completed the work within a month, in addition to the agreed-upon 100 gold nomismata for the project, he would give each worker an extra gold nomisma as a bonus.

The workers became as energized as if they had been injected with adrenaline, working so hard that Norn felt a bit guilty, as if he had become a wicked slave owner, using money as a whip to exploit his slaves.

Apart from overseeing the work daily, Norn would stay in his room, drawing simple machines with a pen to improve the processes for his future textile workshop.

Every time he finished a drawing, he carefully placed the sheet of paper into a notebook, daydreaming that if this notebook were discovered by archaeologists in the future, it might become something like "The Book of Norn," just like da Vinci's legacy.

At that moment, Anna poked her little head through the door. "Norn, are you busy?"

"No, not at all. What's up?" Norn put away his "Book of Norn" and asked.

"I want to go buy something. Is that okay?"

"Sure, I'll have Patrick go with you."

"Can you come with me?" Looking into Anna's hopeful eyes, Norn nodded unconsciously.

In the bustling marketplace, Anna happily wandered around, while Norn followed behind, inwardly groaning, "She's already a shopping enthusiast at such a young age. What will happen when she grows up?"

But there was no way around it. Seeing Anna so delighted, Norn didn't mind too much.

"Norn, can you buy this for me?" Anna held up a wooden toy, looking at Norn with a pitiful expression.

"A pair of eyes that seem to hold affection, yet not quite joyful, and a willow-leaf-shaped eyebrow that droops at the ends."

Looking at Anna's eyes, all Norn could think of was this line of poetry.

"Can I have it?" Anna's eyes were misty with tears.

Norn suddenly realized that he had never given Anna any pocket money. So, with a flourish, he took out 20 silver denarii from his purse and handed it to Anna.

"Thank you, Norn!" Anna excitedly kissed Norn on the cheek and then ran off.

Touching the cheek that had been kissed, Norn thought to himself, "Am I keeping a little girl now?"

The two continued to stroll through the market. Anna flitted about like a butterfly, looking here and there, as if everything was new and fascinating.

"Anna, you don't get to shop much, do you?" Norn asked.

"Well, I mostly stayed at... home," Anna replied.

At that moment, a greedy little colt seemed to mistake Norn's head for something to eat and leaned in to lick it.

"Sorry, sir," the horse's owner quickly pulled the colt back.

Norn patted his head, not minding, and turned to look. The chestnut colt had very slender legs, a round back, pointy ears, and a silly look in its eyes, constantly chewing as if it were a foodie.

Norn curiously examined the colt, who also looked at him with a silly expression, seemingly thinking Norn was some kind of food and kept trying to get closer.

The horse owner handed Norn a handful of yellow beans, gesturing for him to come closer. Norn took the beans, and the colt's eyes lit up even more, staring at the beans in Norn's hand and constantly chewing. Norn handed over the beans, and the colt began to eat quietly.

"This is a foodie horse!" Watching the colt's behavior, Norn was both amused and exasperated. Seeing that the horse owner was leading several other horses, Norn went up and asked, "Is this colt for sale?"

"Of course it is," the horse owner said happily. "Both of this colt's parents are excellent warhorses. If you're interested, it can be yours for 100 silver denarii." The owner excitedly pointed to the colt, constantly highlighting its strengths. Norn pretended to understand and nodded along, but he was actually looking at Patrick, who gave a slight nod.

"This horse is still so young, doesn't look very spirited, and all it knows how to do is eat," Norn said, seemingly talking about the colt. The colt, having finished the beans, snorted and glared at Norn as if protesting.

"Let's make a deal. Seventy silver denarii, take it or leave it," Norn ignored the colt's protest.

"Well... could you add a bit more?" the horse owner pleaded.

"Let's meet in the middle. Eighty silver denarii," Norn said.

The owner hesitated for a moment, then handed over the reins. Norn counted out the silver coins, handed them to the owner, and took the reins, patting the silly colt.

"What should I name you?" Norn looked at the colt's long ears and chestnut body. "How about 'Carrot'?"

Carrot didn't seem very pleased with his new name and shook his head.

"Protest denied! Hahaha," Norn said, in a great mood. He led the dejected Carrot and continued to wander through the market.

"Norn, you clearly aren't short of money. So why do you still haggle with the shopkeeper?" Anna, who had been quiet, finally asked the question that had been bothering her for a while.

"Because every silver denarius has its purpose and shouldn't be wasted on something it's not meant for," Norn replied with a smile.

At that moment, a large group of people walked by, pushing Norn and his group to the side.

Several burly male servants cleared the way in front, while pretty maids served around a palanquin. Four strong black men strained to carry it, and a fat merchant dressed in white with gold trim lay on the palanquin, his beady little eyes casually scanning the surroundings.

"Even pigs must work hard to grow this big," Norn thought to himself. He couldn't shake the feeling that the fat man had taken a few extra glances at him.

Once the crowd dispersed, "Anna, let's go back..." Norn noticed that Anna was staring intently at something.

Following Anna's gaze, Norn saw a deep purple curtain unfolding behind the merchant's massive palanquin.

"Anna is from Byzantium; purple must be her favorite color," Norn thought to himself. But considering the astronomical price of purple silk, he decided to put his wits to good use.

On the way back, Patrick informed Norn that someone had been following them.

Seemingly realizing he had been noticed, the merchant's steward gave up the pursuit and rode up to greet them: "Good day, sir. I wonder if I might have the honor of doing business with you."

"Oh, do tell," Norn replied, still thinking about how his textile workshop wasn't even built yet and people were already coming to him.

"I was wondering what the price might be for the young lady by your side?" The steward smiled, pointing at Anna.

Everyone present was stunned. Anna was on the verge of tears, large droplets falling onto the carriage.

"Get out of here!" Norn pointed at the man, so angry he almost drew his sword and slashed at the jerk.

"The price is negotiable. Name your price, and my master guarantees no bargaining!"

"You son of a gun!" Norn actually drew his sword, scaring the steward into quickly riding away.

Seeing Anna crying uncontrollably, Norn threw down his sword and held her, patting her back.

"That fat guy just now, he actually wanted to buy my Anna," Norn muttered, awkwardly comforting the tearful Anna.

"Norn, are you going to leave me?"

"Never! You're my Anna!" Norn thought of the glimpse of purple he had seen earlier. "Hey, I've got a gift for you. It's still being made, but I'll give it to you in a few days."

Whether it was Norn's promise or his comforting, Anna stopped crying and smiled through her tears. "Then it's a deal! The gift in three days!"

On the other side, the steward rode back to the trading house and reported to the fat merchant.

"Master, the nobleman refused to sell the little girl."

"Hmm." The fat merchant narrowed his eyes slightly, and a nearby maid quickly offered him a peeled grape.

"Why not send more men?" After swallowing the cool grape, the merchant felt a bit better.

"There are several knights and soldiers patrolling his place, and I heard his uncle is a Templar Knight."

The merchant waved his hand, and the maid, who was carefully peeling grapes, immediately left the room. The previously noisy hall was now left with only two people.

"Contact the people from the mountains," the fat merchant said, his eyes flickering. "Offer any price! But make it clean and bring the girl back!" The steward hurriedly agreed and left.

The merchant sat alone on a cushion, his fingers rhythmically tapping the low table. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the front of the hall, but it cast the merchant into shadow.

"That girl, she looks too much like..." The murmur disappeared in an instant.

Back with Norn, he patted his bloated stomach and let out an involuntary burp. "For Anna, I've gone through a lot!" Norn looked at the grape skins left from the three pounds of grapes he had eaten.

After a brief rest, Norn threw the grape skins into an iron pot and began to stew them. After three hourglasses, the originally clear pot turned a purplish-red.

Norn weighed out an appropriate amount of alum on a small scale and added it to the pot. After another hourglass, he put a piece of plain silk into the pot.

Norn hummed a tune while constantly stirring the pot. When it seemed ready, he took out the silk, cooled it, and hung it outside to dry.

A roll of purple silk, like a lover's restless hand, gently swayed in the breeze.

Norn looked at his creation and smiled with satisfaction—well, not quite!

Norn anxiously scratched his head. "The purple from grape skins is too light! It's not the kind of purple the Romans worshipped!"

After much thought, he finally came up with a solution, though the process was extremely complicated. But thinking of Anna's expectant eyes, Norn gritted his teeth and decided to go for it!

In the afternoon, Norn sneaked back to the market.

"Boss, are you selling iron ore?"

"Boss, are you selling charcoal?"

"Boss, are you selling ale?"

"Boss, are you selling sea salt?"

"Boss, are you selling bottles?"

"Boss, are you selling grass... Don't hit me if you're not selling!"

After running around the entire market, Norn finally collected all the materials he needed. He then called William into the room to help him.

William, bare-chested with sweat streaming down his face, his muscles glistening under the sweat, looked impressive.

Norn, looking at the strong body, smiled contentedly.

"Hit it harder!"

"Okay!"

"Haven't you eaten lunch?"

"Okay!"

"Do you still want to make money?"

"I really don't have the strength. Let me rest for a bit!"

"Keep working!"

"Add another gold nomisma!"

The strong body once again vigorously swung the hammer, smashing the iron ore into pieces.

While William was busy, Norn took out a distillation flask and mixed in some ale to heat it up.

At that moment, Patrick and DeMol each came in with a jar.

"Norn, here's what you asked for!"

The two looked at Norn curiously.

"Norn, what are you doing?"

"You'll find out soon!" Norn said mysteriously.

Seeing that William had almost crushed the iron ore, Norn laid out all the materials in order.

Norn first soaked the cleaned chromite in wood ash water. After a while, he dipped a bit of the solution into the litmus solution nearby. After confirming the acid-base balance, he filtered the solution.

Then, Norn added the coarse sea salt he had bought to the filtered solution. After removing the impurities, he began to heat it slowly until crystals formed.

Norn carefully took out the crystals and placed them into the oil that flowed from the burning coal in a sealed space.

Finally, after a long afternoon of hard work, Norn saw a reddish-brown lump forming in the oil.

"What is that?" Everyone looked on in amazement as Norn produced this lump after all his efforts.

"Something that will make us rich," Norn said with a smile, exuding confidence.