They came carrying the documents Edmund needed for making decisions.

Lucas brought documents containing trade data for commodities entering and leaving Archester City. Annie brought files containing the amount of reserve funds owned by the city government.

Sebastian walked toward Edmund’s desk and stood right beside the chair where Edmund was seated. He would assist Edmund if the man needed his help.

"The fire in the southern village burned two hectares of wheat fields. According to Saf’s explanation, the total loss reached eight tons of wheat."

"That’s clearly a significant amount when it comes to meeting the city’s needs," Edmund replied.

Edmund’s attention shifted to the side as he looked at Lucas. "I need last month’s trade data, specifically focused on commodities shipped into Archester City."

"Yes, Viscount Edmund."

Lucas opened the rather thick document on the wooden table, then looked at the writing inside and showed it to Edmund. Edmund and Sebastian both looked toward the book.

"The total amount of wheat commodities entering Archester City last month was 38.5 tons."

"Wheat is the second most traded commodity after corn," Lucas explained.

"After wheat comes potatoes, red meat, and eggs."

Edmund examined it carefully, observing the numbers and tonnage of every commodity listed in the book.

The man had no intention of discussing commodities other than wheat, because Edmund was more concerned about the city’s wheat supply after yesterday’s fire.

"Does the wheat trade volume fluctuate often, or is it stable?" Edmund asked.

"For wheat, it’s relatively stable around 35 to 40 tons every harvest season."

Edmund nodded several times, leaning back in his chair while continuing to observe the trade figures for wheat commodities. He needed to make sure of something.

"What’s the current price of whole wheat in the market?" Edmund asked.

"They can still buy it for around 20 to 30 copper per kilogram."

The price was still within a safe range and had not experienced any significant increase yet.

"However, most whole wheat is distributed to bakeries and flour mills because they are the primary consumers of this commodity," Lucas explained.

"As for ordinary people, they usually prefer potatoes or corn as their staple food."

Whole wheat really was not flexible for household consumption, especially when it was still in grain form instead of flour.

Even so, I still need to stay cautious about the potential price increase.

"Do you have records of the daily wheat trade for this month?" Edmund asked.

"Yes, Viscount Edmund."

He opened the next page of the book and looked at the wheat trade amounts recorded for each day of the month. Whenever shipments arrived from outside the city, they recorded them immediately on that same day.

"As of the 23rd, only 18 tons of wheat have entered the city," Edmund said.

"That’s right. That’s already half of the total amount of wheat that entered the city last month."

There was a possibility that Saf’s remaining wheat fields would be harvested within the next few days before the end of the month. If one hectare of land produced around four tons of wheat, then Saf’s remaining three hectares would send about 12 tons of wheat.

If the fire had never happened, Saf could have sent at least 20 tons of wheat to the city by the end of the month.

If that happened, then the city’s wheat supply would have been secured.

Edmund’s attention shifted toward Annie. He asked the woman about the amount of remaining funds in the city government budget. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The woman attached it together with the files she brought. Edmund shifted from looking at the book to examining the files the woman handed over.

The total amount of money owned by the city government was listed as 7,850 gold coins. If combined with the wealth of the Aschwin family, the total became 12,450 gold coins.

"Have you already planned the allocation of this money across several government sectors? Especially for the salaries of government employees?"

"Revenue from city taxes and trade reached 21,850 gold coins last year. There’s a possibility it will increase as the population and working-age citizens continue to grow," Annie explained.

"We’ve already allocated 1,400 gold coins for the other departments, including the salaries of every government employee."

"As for the 7,850 gold coins, that amount is our reserve budget, naturally meant for other urgent needs," Annie replied.

The amount was quite suitable for what Edmund had in mind. To compensate for the losses caused by yesterday’s wheat field fire, Edmund would need to spend at least 160 gold coins to purchase eight tons of standard-quality wheat.

That was because one ton of wheat was worth at least 20 gold coins. The 20 to 30 copper per kilogram price for wheat was a wholesale price.

Compared to the city government’s 7,850 gold coins, Edmund clearly had nothing to worry about.

"I want you both to listen to my orders," Edmund said.

"Annie, allocate 160 gold coins to buy eight tons of wheat from farmers outside Archester City. Leave a few extra gold coins for transportation costs."

"And don’t forget to prepare another 40 gold coins as a precaution in case we have to compensate Saf. We still need to wait for the police investigation into this matter."

Annie listened and nodded, writing down everything Edmund said in her small notebook.

Edmund turned to Lucas. "Lucas, send Trade Department staff to meet with farmers other than Saf. Buy eight tons of their wheat, then ship it to the city."

"The two of you coordinate with each other on this. I don’t want any increase in wheat commodity prices when we can prevent it early," Edmund said.

Annie and Lucas exchanged glances for a moment, then nodded in understanding, knowing what they needed to do. Edmund handed the files back to them and dismissed them.

"We’ll take our leave, Viscount Edmund."

Edmund nodded in response. Now only Sebastian and Edmund remained in the room. Sebastian moved from beside Edmund’s chair and sat in the chair across the wooden desk.

"You handled that perfectly. I’m sure Annie was impressed by you," Sebastian said.

"If I were a woman, I might be interested in you too, Lord Edmund," Sebastian joked.

"That’s disgusting," Edmund complained. "So stop it, Sebastian."

"HAHAHA!" Sebastian laughed loudly.

"Then, what’s the next plan?" Sebastian asked again.

Edmund fell silent for a moment, thinking about the next step after the wheat purchasing plan was carried out.

"To see whether prices rise or not, I need to inspect it directly."

"In the next few days, I’ll probably go to the market."