Among this batch of slaves, there was also a special cluster of small families — the kinfolk of former Black Tiger pirates who had been captured. Lei Lin had brought them along this time as well, intending to incorporate them into the clan's subjects to bolster the local population. At the same time, they would serve as hostages; with them in hand, the loyalty of those pirates who had surrendered first could no longer be seriously doubted.
As long as no major upheaval occurred, the likelihood of their betrayal had been reduced to an infinitesimal level.
"Capital accumulation really is fastest through bloody plunder!"
Among the supplies, there was also a special portion — a batch of spoils that Lei Lin had set aside for himself. This included the crude white sugar previously seized at Merfolk Island, along with a number of other items that would be difficult to offload.
After these pirate ventures, all the basic conditions for establishing two production lines had essentially been met. The next step would be to attempt actual production.
If they had followed the traditional approach — having the clan invest capital, then slowly purchasing slaves and experimenting with the technology — they probably would have struggled just to get off the ground!
"Regardless of the form of production, plunder remains the essence..."
Lei Lin sighed. "It's a shame that once Marquis Louis's influence fades, piracy won't be an option anymore. After all, such activities draw universal hostility, not to mention deep-seated resentment..."
Destruction and plunder were the quickest ways to invite hatred, but they also yielded the most immediate results, making them hard for anyone to give up. The fact that Lei Lin could make this decision spoke to his far-sighted wisdom.
Endless piracy would only lead to this entire sea region being abandoned by merchants. Only through vigorous development of trade could true wealth be generated — and that was precisely why Lei Lin wanted to establish the white sugar and fish floss trade.
Of course, that didn't mean Lei Lin intended to disband the pirate crew.
In truth, he had already mapped out the Crimson Tiger's future path: no longer engaging in piracy itself, but rather profiting from a fixed position — collecting protection fees and offering escort services.
In essence, it meant shifting from overt exploitation to covert exploitation.
Lei Lin's ambitions were vast! To achieve this, he first had to become the sovereign of the entire outer seas — or at the very least, the sovereign of the underworld — gaining the power to set the rules!
In truth, this was the rise of a path to maritime power! If managed well, it might even develop into the embryo of a great seafaring nation!
Lei Lin had no intention of rejecting formidable secular authority. On the contrary, he was currently doing everything he could to lay the groundwork for exactly that.
Because the gods of this world needed the faith of mortals. For newly ascended deities especially, a stable foundation of belief and one's own base of support were of paramount importance — they were the bulwark that kept one's divine kingdom from falling!
The gods thought in the long term. Lei Lin could not compete with the established deities for followers — that would only trigger a catastrophic divine war!
His solution was to carve out new territory of his own, grow the population, and obtain faith that way.
When it came to gods, the matter of time was never an issue.
Three ships slowly departed the harbor as Jacob and his people watched from the shore. Lei Lin clapped his hands and turned to Jacob with a smile. "All right! From here on out, everything depends on us. How are things on your end?"
Jacob's spirits lifted. "Please, follow me!"
A small storehouse in the camp — Jacob pushed open the wooden door, and a rush of sea salt and fishy smell hit them head-on.
Inside stood row upon row of wooden racks, with large quantities of fish floss sealed inside ceramic jars, each one airtight.
"According to the method you taught us, Master, the fish floss we produce can be kept for more than a month. If we also store it using this kind of airtight method, it's estimated to last over half a year..."
Jacob's voice carried a note of excitement: "That's more than enough time for us to ship the fish floss inland..."
"Mm! The key is to sell with small profits but in large quantities!" Raelin nodded.
The technique for making fish floss wasn't exactly refined work — what mattered most was scaling up and industrializing it to bring down costs.
Even so, the pool of people who could actually afford to buy was limited. Raelin certainly wasn't counting on the farmers and tenant laborers out in those villages and towns.
It was nearly impossible to squeeze any profit out of them; just having black bread to eat was already a happy day for those folks.
Raelin's sales targets were the big cities. The artisans, free citizens, and the great number of adventurers and mercenaries inside them — those were the real consumer base Raelin had in mind.
The countryside in the world of the gods had never been where wealth concentrated. Only cities offered the greatest profit margins.
He didn't need much — as long as he could capture just a few coastal cities, the profits generated would be enough to make Raelin grin in his sleep.
"Also, regarding the purification of raw sugar — because we're lacking the solvent and activated carbon you mentioned, Master, all we've managed to do so far is stockpile a batch of raw materials..."
Jacob then led Raelin into another warehouse. Under sealed, dry conditions, large quantities of white sugar were piled together, though some of it still showed yellowish or even blackish tints.
This was crude sugar. It even carried a hint of bitterness, but that bit of sweetness was still a fine treat for minor nobles.