"Claude! Claude!"
Shouts came from the field, and a middle-aged man dressed as a servant ran over panting, pulled Claude up and ran towards Winterspring Castle.
"Uncle Mark, what happened?" Claude, who was confused, asked as he ran.
"Master wants to see you, oh no, it's a distinguished guest who wants to see you! Quick, run fast!"
"Why does the distinguished guest want to see me?"
"I have no idea."
Seeing that he couldn't find anything to ask, Claude had no choice but to suppress the anxiety in his heart and ran back to the castle as fast as possible.
As soon as he entered the door, the stern-faced butler directly ordered: "Come on! Take Claude to freshen up, and prepare a decent set of clothes for him."
Before Claude had time to ask, he was led to the bathroom by two burly maids.
This was the first time in Claude's life that he was being served and washed. Although the two maids were old enough to be their mothers, his eyes wandered and he was at a loss during the whole process.
After some tossing, when Claude walked out of the bathroom again, he had become a handsome young man.
"follow me."
The butler appeared again and led Claude to the restaurant.
Claude was a little dazed looking at the completely changed restaurant.
Beautifully carved mahogany furniture replaced the old ones, gold candlesticks stood in the corners of the hall, filled with white candles, and the coarse linen curtains were replaced with new cashmere curtains.
It looks like a distinguished guest has really come.
Claude looked at the attitude of the servants wishing to gather all the most luxurious decorations of the entire castle in this restaurant, and he began to feel uneasy.
Why does such a distinguished guest want to see me
"Claude?"
A young lady walked in at the entrance of the restaurant. She was wearing a red fine linen dress. Her hair bun set off her round and slender neck. A little powder was applied on her face, which softened her tough facial features.
"Miss Kelly!" Claude's eyes lit up, and he saluted quickly.
"You should call me Madam, Claude." Kelly nodded with a smile, then straightened her face, and warned, "The Duke of St. Hilde and Viscount Angelet will see you later, and you can ask me anything." What to answer, don't talk too much, let alone be rude."
"Yes! Mrs. Kelly!" Claude quickly lowered his head.
Kelly is the daughter of Baron Grant, and she is married. Unfortunately, her husband suffered misfortune during a hunting trip. Kelly, who was widowed at a young age, returned to Winter Spring sadly.
Claude really wanted to ask Mrs. Kelly why the two distinguished guests wanted to see him, but he didn't dare to speak when the words came to his lips. He just kept peeking at the young woman around him from the corner of his eyes.
The faint scent of roses lingered in his nose, making Claude's uneasy heart suddenly hot.
Kelly noticed that Claude was peeping at her, but she didn't say anything, she just turned around and chatted with the housekeeper.
Even if she is a widow who has been married once, it is not something that a commoner like Claude can afford.
Over time, servants file in and deliver all kinds of delicacies into the dining room.
There are roasted golden pork legs, spiced salmon, fragrant steaks, a variety of selected fruits, and wines that have been cellared for many years.
At about six o'clock, Baron Grant led the distinguished guests tonight into the restaurant.
After the guests and hosts were seated, Baron Grant gave a toast, and enthusiastically introduced the delicacies on the table to Vera and Colin, especially the few dishes with pork as the main ingredient.
Of course Colin knew that he was helping his younger brother, Bachelor Sonny, to promote the new farming and animal husbandry system.
While responding with a smile, he thought that the relationship between the Granto brothers was really good, at least much more sincere than the couples of brothers that Colin had seen in the two years after traveling.
Maester Sonny didn't speak much, maybe because he felt that his brother was bragging a bit too much, and secretly stared at him a few times, as if to say - the item has already been sold, so don't sell it anymore...
I don't know if he understood his brother's hint, but Baron Grant finally calmed down a bit, then changed the subject, pointed to Claude who was sitting stiffly at the end of the long table and said:
"Master Viscount, don't you want to meet the papermaker of the Grant family, this Mr. Claude is it."
Claude seemed to be in a daze until Hans at the side kicked him lightly under the table before recovering. When he found that everyone was looking at him, he was startled and hurriedly stood up, leaning over salute.
Colin looked at the young servant carefully, and asked gently: "Mr. Claude, I heard that you invented the yellow paper in the baron's study?"
Claude hurriedly stammered: "Yes, no... Lord Viscount, it was actually invented by my father... I just made a little change..."
"My lord, Claude's grandfather is the papermaker of Winterspring Castle. Three generations of their grandparents have served the Grant family for nearly a hundred years. They are dedicated and very competent." Baron Grant took the opportunity to explain. Forget bragging for your servants.
Colin nodded, then looked at Claude and asked, "Can I ask, how did you make that yellowed thin paper?"
Claude quickly responded: "Master Viscount, I used mulberry bark and linen cloth, steamed first, then cut and pounded to get the slurry, then sieved the slurry to form thin paper sheets, and finally dried it in the sun. gone."
Colin was a little surprised that the young papermaker spoke in such detail.
However, people in this era have no awareness of patents, and Claude probably doesn't know how valuable his invention is.
Of course, no matter how high the value is, it has nothing to do with Claude, because he is a servant of the Grant family, and this papermaking technique is strictly speaking the property of the Grant family.
"Mr. Claude, this papermaking technique is a remarkable creation. I appreciate your intelligence and ability!" Colin praised, and then turned to Baron Grant and said, "My lord, I would like to invest in the purchase of this papermaking technique." Secret recipe, I wonder if you are willing to give up your love?"
In fact, Ke Lin wanted to buy papermaking, not only to use it to make money, but also to use it to issue bonds.
Originally, Colin was still a little worried, because in order to make the bonds liquid and become a shadow currency, there must be enough quantity and face value, so if they are written on parchment, the cost will be a bit high.
But if the paper invented by Claude is used, it will be no problem at all. Colin also heard from the papermaking process described by the other party just now that the cost of this kind of paper will definitely not be high.
Moreover, if only the St. Hilde family has mastered this papermaking technique, it can also prevent others from counterfeiting bonds.
It can be said to serve multiple purposes.
"Of course." Baron Grant didn't realize the true value of this papermaking technology at all, "You don't need to contribute, just treat it as a gift from me to the St. Hilde family!"
Colin felt a little embarrassed that the other party was so forthright.
Taking advantage of honest people always makes Colin feel a little unreasonable.
"How about it, Your Excellency the Baron, you transfer this papermaking technology to me, and I will give you 30% of the money you earn from it in the future."
"You are so generous!" Seeing that Colin insisted, Baron Grant did not refuse again.
But he never imagined what kind of huge wealth he had unintentionally brought to the Grant family.
Afterwards, Baron Grant gave orders to Claude, "Claude, since the Viscount bought this papermaking technology, you can go to the north with him."
Seeing that the deal was concluded, Colin was overjoyed, and asked Claude, "Mr. Claude, I appreciate your intellect. I wonder if you would like to follow me to the north? I can guarantee that you will A chance to show off your strengths.”
How dare Claude refuse, he quickly nodded in agreement, but secretly glanced at Mrs. Kelly out of the corner of his eye. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kelly didn't look at the little papermaker at all, so Claude quickly lowered his head again, and The unwillingness in my heart hides.
Colin noticed this small detail and smiled secretly.
However, he won't help matchmaking, after all, with Claude's current status, there is no possibility of high-ranking at all.
But maybe it won't be long before Claude is eligible to marry the baron's daughter.
(end of this chapter)