At this point, I decided to focus on getting rich. The tax situation surprised me and I would not like to be in such a situation again. Fortunately, I had my own skills and some knowledge from the future on how to run a business. Currently I was producing and selling myself, but it was retail trade, if I want to earn more I have to sell wholesale. For this, I will need more people and large recipients of goods. Due to its location, Kattegad was a good place for such trade, there were quite a lot of boats, whether merchants or returning from a plundering expedition.
Due to the winter, the next plundering expeditions to the east will be organized in a few months, no one was sailing in winter, unless they had to. So I had a half a year before new slaves come to us, until then I will earn in the traditional way, save some wealth and when there will be a new supply I will buy slaves. I went back to my home pondering how to increase my income. I have already produced furniture and quite good meat, I could introduce something like wardrobes or chests, but they took longer to produce. From barter trade I had poor quality fabrics, I could dye them, sell them a little more expensive and make a profit. However, none of these possibilities seemed interesting to me... For the next few weeks I worked as before and I looked closely at the surroundings, something that caught my eye is winter stagnation. There was no field work, people were doing housework, looking after livestock, but most of the time they were doing nothing.
Entertainment ... people lack entertainment. I did not see it as a possibility of quick earnings, but an opportunity to build up my prestige. Almost a year has passed since I killed my father, many other things have happened since then and my actions have been replaced in human memory... The name is as important as the gold.
I chose the right place, marked the pitch boundaries, built two goals using old fishing nets and wood for the posts and the crossbar, the ball was made of leather filled with rags ... the era of football is approaching. I invited Ragnar, Floki, Leif and Torstein to my place, I explained what I wanted to do, I also explained the rules, except for such nonsense as offside or a larger group of fouls. They were supposed to invite a few people to create teams, and I became the referee of the match. Three days later, there was first match and I met a few new people that I knew from the show... It was Arne, Hakon, Knut, Kauko ... and even Rollo showed up. From the very first moment could be seen, there was brotherly rivalry between Ragnar and Rollo, especially on the part of Rollo.
The match turned out to be a success, the players returned home, told about the new sport and more people appeared at the next match, even a few women and girls ... which only stimulated the players' ferocity. Nobody wanted to be a loser ... and I remained a football referee. Which also had its advantages, probably in the third game when adult men were playing, one of them wanted to intimidate me into changing my decision about the foul. I hit him with my head and broke his nose as he fell to the ground, dragging him out of the field. I put a substitute in his place ... no one has argued with the referee since then. My name reappeared on the lips of the inhabitants of Kattegad and the surrounding area, which contributed to the popularity of my products. I wasn't expecting this to happen, but no one has complained about being too rich yet.
Two months later, twenty ships set off on an expedition to the east, they planned to attack the settlements on the Baltic coast, and if the quantity of loot and prisoners was not satisfactory, they would go inland along rivers.
At that time, I managed to accumulate quite a lot of wealth, now I was just waiting for the return of the ships. A few weeks later I lived to see it. Although of the twenty ships that set out to plunder the Baltic coast, only seventeen returned. Many people died as well, but there is always such a risk in the sea or in combat.
The looted goods and captured slaves were unloaded from the boat, mainly men, boys, women ... there were the least children in them. The crews offered Jarl some of the spoils, then the feast and trade began. I looked at the looted goods, but there was nothing I was interested in, except maybe a few amber ornaments. Everyone tried to praise his slaves in different ways that this one is strong, this one is pretty. There was even public sex with the new slave women ... but this kind of entertainment was not to my liking.
I found a slave at one of the traders, she was perhaps eighteen or twenty years old. A brunette, my height, with big tits ... I asked for a price, which was not excessive. Unfortunately, the seller couldn't tell me much about her, she didn't say a word, and when they tried to ra_pe her, she bit off the attacker's nose. He did not know her name or skills, he only knew that there was a little girl with her, perhaps a daughter or a sister. I asked where she was captured and from the description given to me by the trader, I knew more or less what area she came from ... she was from the Rujani tribe.
In the end, we made a deal, he even offered to test the purchase before I buy it ... I gave him eight copper bracelets for that slave girl and that little girl. I grabbed the end of the rope with which they were tied and led them home.