"Sugar! It is the blessing of the Almighty, the embodiment of goodness on earth, like angelic nectar as it touches the tongue! This is the most sacred gift, the white gold, the universal potion!"

On the green coast of Brazil in the New World, at the barren colonial camp in natal, Bruno closed his eyes, recalling the Catholic World’s sincere praise for "sugar" and reciting from the heart of the European aristocracy’s fervent love.

"Ah! Praise white sugar! Its sweetness can balance the body’s fluids; its purity can cleanse the murkiness of the spirit. It is the symbol of holiness and wealth, a delight only the noble can savor!..."

Indeed! In this era of Europe, the vast majority of Catholic Nobles, clergy, and wealthy merchants are undoubtedly the true "Sweet Party"! While nine-tenths of commoners are lowly people without access to "sugar"!

As the saying goes, "God before the heavens, gold and white sugar even before that." In the "Sweet Party"-ruled Europe, "sugar," like spices, is endowed with the fourfold aura of "religion, medicine, wealth, status," making it inviolable.

In religion, "sugar" is sacred, the soul-soothing "white miracle," used to make "Holy Sweet Cakes," or can be directly smeared on "Saint Sculptures." In medicine, "sugar" is considered a universal potion, regardless of the ailment, doctors would include "sugar" in their treatment prescriptions. As for wealth and status, there’s no need to elaborate! Throughout the Middle Ages, "sugar" was called "platinum," a luxury imported from mysterious the East. Its price was 20 times that of local honey in Europe, double that of African pepper, costing at least 6-12 gold coins per pound, as expensive as red dyes!

"Oh, bright Almighty! The sugar plantations in the Madela Archipelago produce ’white sugar,’ which is almost a third of the value of goods the Kingdom Navy transports back from all the colonies in West Africa! The places where sugarcane can be planted are truly ’Platinum Coin Factories’!... And Father Faria actually says this colony in the New World might be suitable for planting sugarcane? Might produce sugar?! Wouldn’t it be a gold mine grown in the soil?!" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

At this moment, Bruno was greatly shocked! He looked at the surrounding forest sea of red soil, his boiling desire churning and burning like wildfire. But soon, he captured two key words that would turn this wilderness of forest sea into a prerequisite condition for a white gold mine...

"Respected, wise, compassionate Father! Did you just say, planting sugarcane requires fertilizer and manpower?"

"Indeed! As witnessed by the Lord, I have been to the sugarcane plantations in the Madela Archipelago. In fact, many large monasteries in Lisbon have attempted to plant sugarcane, but no one has succeeded... This is a divine nectar granted by the Almighty, not so easily obtainable! It requires a hot and rainy climate, and sufficiently fertile land, for planting..."

Mentioning the sacred "sugar," a look of longing also appeared on Father Faria’s rugged face. Even a monk who restrains desires, he also likes "Holy Sweet Pancakes," and the "Spiritual Purification" brought by sugar. Yes, just like the priests of various tribes in Central America, all like Divine Smoke.

"Baron Bruno, the red soil here is actually quite suitable for growing grains. But to grow ’sugarcane,’ it needs to be more fertile. And to enrich the land, it’s just a matter of introducing livestock and poultry, and using the dung of cattle, horses, sheep, and chickens and mixing it before spreading on the fields. Cow dung and chicken dung are the best, sheep dung is okay too. Horse dung is somewhat acidic, it needs to be mixed with forage, dead leaves, wheat husks, or sawdust before composting. If the soil turns acidic, some lime needs to be mixed in..."

As a monk who farms for his monastery, Father Faria was no stranger to agriculture, even counting as quite skilled. After all, the Holy Mother Monastery’s cheese and wine have always been popular goods in the Lisbon market. He talked for a while about techniques for enriching the soil, then with a smile, spoke of the issue of manpower.

"Blessed by the Lord! As for the manpower for farming... Baron Bruno, this must fall upon the converted native tribes! You know, growing sugarcane is truly hard work, much more tiring than planting grains. To produce ’sugar’ in this colony, it must first have sufficient ’food.’ Only by expanding the colony to the scale of three to four thousand people, with ten thousand acres of land, can the basics for establishing a ’platinum’ sugarcane plantation be in place! And relying on the sweet residue after sugarcane pressing, wine can be brewed, which sells even better than sugar..."

"Holy Mother! Gathering thousands of people, developing ten thousand acres of land?..."

Hearing this prerequisite condition, the flames in Bruno’s heart were finally doused with a cold splash of water, cooling him down significantly.

Obviously, sugarcane plantations belong to the category of large investments, ’high infrastructure,’ and huge returns projects, not achievable within a few short years. At most, to trial plant a few acres of sugarcane and see if they survive. In the early stages of the colony development in natal, if one hopes to make money, relying on cutting redwood, extracting dyes... or taking great risks, going to the Cipangu Natives’ territory to plunder or smuggle!

"Manpower, manpower... converted native tribes?... In essence, Father wishes to convert the natives, spread the faith, and open new parishes!..."

Bruno calmed down quickly and soon grasped the intention behind the Father’s words. It was nothing but painting a big, enticing vision, hoping he would restrain his sailors and soldiers, letting the Father convert the "Topi Tribespeople" of this New Continent. But being a newly wealthy in maritime endeavors, he wasn’t as enthusiastic about religious spreading as he was about pursuing wealth. He hoped more to obtain slaves for the plantations, and once the fields and manors are opened, they would keep working until they die, never able to escape the labor!...