My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 90 - 85: Shocked! Am I a Genius?

Matthew’s expression turned to surprise, and he stared intently at Fang Zhen for a full two seconds.

"Sir, you truly astound me," Matthew said, his admiration tinged with an undeniable hint of envy. "God has shown you such favor, granting you not only strength and wisdom, but also the world’s most indispensable asset: wealth."

Seeing Matthew’s even more respectful attitude, Fang Zhen couldn’t help but smile.

’The ancestors weren’t wrong when they said wealth can move the gods. And by "move," I mean "open a path to."’

’It seems that’s true not only for the gods of Xia Country, but for the God Tade in this world as well.’

"If you truly possess that much silver, then exchanging it for Gold Ropes and Extraordinary Items is possible. However, there are certain restrictions," Matthew replied, his tone deferential and earnest.

"It’s not hard to exchange silver for Gold Ropes. As long as you offer a fair price, you’ll find someone willing to trade anywhere. The problem is that the supply of Gold Ropes in any given place is limited, as not much wealth has been accumulated locally."

"In a place like Redstone Town, for instance, the reserves of Gold Ropes are very small. People normally use Copper Ropes and Silver Ropes. Only a handful of wealthy families might manage to save up a single Gold Rope after a very long time. You’d be lucky to find one such family in fifty."

"Only Ande, in his capacity as Town Mayor, needs to use Gold Ropes when trading with Viscount Ashton’s domain or paying taxes. And most of the Gold Ropes in his possession were acquired from traveling merchants."

"Individual merchants might carry some Gold Ropes, but not in large quantities. A merchant caravan would have more."

"It’s much the same within a Viscount’s Domain. In truth, as you know, a noble’s actual wealth is always a mystery. You can never tell from appearances whether a noble is truly rich or just putting on a brave front."

Fang Zhen nodded. "I understand."

And he truly did.

’Nobles, especially in an era like this, often had a tough time of it.’

’Given the limitations of the era, productivity was low and output was finite. Even if a domain was fertile and ran a surplus, it constantly faced war, bandits, and rebellions. The weather was also unpredictable, affecting crop yields. Money could be spent in an instant with the slightest oversight.’

’Nobles, however, could not simply cut back on spending when their income fell. They were part of a so-called ’high society’ where losing face was not an option. If their financial troubles were discovered, they would immediately face social ruin, pursuing creditors, and countless others eager to kick them while they were down. After all, most nobles were just poor people who looked wealthy, all waiting like vultures for one of their peers to fall so they could pick at the corpse and survive a little longer.’

’So, nobles had to keep up appearances even if it bankrupted them. This was the only way to continue their lifestyle and keep their debts at bay. Creditors, concerned with face, wouldn’t press for repayment, and they might even be able to secure new loans.’

’But as a consequence, many nobles were actually dirt poor. It was a common sight for a noble to appear in public with a grand entourage of seven or eight attendants, only to return to their castle to eat gruel and scraps.’

’Their "noble" poverty wasn’t the poverty of the truly destitute. It was a case of being asset-rich but cash-poor: they had assets, land, heirlooms, and people under their command, but simply no money.’

’Fang Zhen understood this. And come to think of it, it wasn’t just nobles in this world who were like that. There were plenty of people like that in reality, too.’

’On a larger scale, he’d seen plenty of similar situations, from the lives of common folk all the way up to the national level.’

Fang Zhen now understood why the envy in Matthew’s eyes had been so genuine when he’d heard of his wealth.

’From Matthew’s perspective, he must have seen countless poor nobles. A truly wealthy man who could speak of his "considerable assets" was probably a rare species. Fang Zhen might even be the first of his kind Matthew had ever met.’

Matthew continued, "If you want to exchange a large quantity of Gold Ropes, I’m afraid it won’t be possible in a place like Redstone Town, or even in the domain of a Baron or a Viscount. Even if you can make some exchanges, the amount will be very limited."

"You must go to a larger city. If not the Royal City, then at least a County City."

"But there, if you openly exchange silver for Gold Ropes on a large scale, it won’t be long before you’re targeted. The nobles in big cities are also desperately short on cash. They might arrest you on various pretexts, throw you in prison, and then use all sorts of torture to force you to reveal the source of your wealth and the location of your treasure."

"I know you are a man of great martial skill, but high-ranking nobles have their own powerful Knights, and some are formidable Warriors themselves. Some are even assisted by so-called Mages and Warlocks, not to mention squads of Heavy Armor Soldiers. Your chances of winning, if I may be blunt, are not high."

"Please believe me. Based on my understanding of the nobility, as soon as they smell money, this is exactly what they’ll do."

"Heh..." Fang Zhen laughed coldly. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The laugh wasn’t directed at Matthew. It was just that this perfectly matched his own image of the nobility.

"So that route’s a dead end? I can only make small exchanges?" he asked, not quite ready to give up.

"Not entirely. There is some room to maneuver," Matthew said. "If you truly have a huge amount of silver, then I suggest you go through the church. Through a holy donation, you can obtain an honorary title. This will give you a status among the nobility somewhere between an invested Knight and a Baron."

"Once you have that status, you can make your next move and strive to enter their circles. Use your martial skill and wealth to win the heart of a noble’s eldest daughter—one who is her family’s sole heir—or perhaps a widowed noblewoman. The rank of the family you can marry into will depend on the extent of your wealth. I imagine that even though the laws of noble inheritance mean you won’t receive a title yourself, a successful marriage would vastly expand your social circle. You would gain all sorts of benefits and get to know many powerful people."