9. The Currency of Westeros

Jason Liu looked at the vendors with curiosity on his face. When he approached a stall selling salty fish that had a strong, fishy smell, he nearly passed out. He quickly covered his nose and moved away.

Next, he stopped at a liquor seller. The businessman, who was slightly darker with sharp eyes, immediately raised his voice to attract the attention of passing adults.

"—Summer Red! This summer red wine comes from Earl Redwin's estate on Qingting Island in the river bay!" he shouted. "Even the King serves Summer Red at his banquets for nobles and important officials. It's the best wine in the world! Just two silver deer for a barrel—come take a look!"

Beside the liquor vendor, a businessman from the West who was selling gold jewelry noticed Jason Liu's interest and quickly stepped forward. Holding a few beautifully crafted gold rings and necklaces, he smiled humbly. "Sir, would you like to see some gold jewelry? This is from the Western Region. The underground of the West is rich in gold, and even Her Majesty the Queen of the Red Keep loves jewelry from here…"

By mentioning the queen, the Western businessman implied that Jason Liu was a noble, as only nobles would be able to afford such expensive jewelry. Ordinary folk wouldn't even glance at it.

Seeing that the jewelry seller was trying to grab his attention, the wine dealer grew unhappy and called out, "Sir, don't miss out on this fine wine! It's from Qingting Island, truly the best to match your noble status!"

The attention from both men intrigued Jason Liu. He needed to gather information about the prices in this world.

So, he started chatting with them. "You probably noticed I'm not from Westeros. I'm Jason-East from the Zena Empire in the far east. I crossed the endless sea to get here, and I'm not very familiar with Westeros. Could you help me?"

"Jason-East?" The name was made up by Jason Liu to give himself a noble identity for dealing with powerful people in Westeros. Sure enough, when they heard he was a foreigner from a distant empire, the two merchants looked surprised. After all, Jason Liu's appearance was very different from those in Westeros.

Thinking he might be a wealthy foreign noble who would buy their goods, the two merchants worked harder to impress him.

"Master East, I am Odover from Golden Tooth City in the West. It's an honor to serve you," said the Western merchant with a smile.

The wine seller chimed in, eager to please, "I am Kunsius from the High Court of the Reach. It's my pleasure to serve you, Lord East from the Zena Empire!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Odover and Kunsius," Jason Liu replied with a smile. He then asked, "I understand that Westeros has three currencies: golden dragons, silver deer, and bronze stars. What are their exchange rates? And how much can I buy with one copper star?"

Odover, surprised by the simplicity of the question, realized that Jason Liu was truly new to this world.

After a brief moment, Odover quickly answered, "My lord, in Westeros, 1 golden dragon equals 100 silver deer, and 1 silver deer equals 100 bronze stars. With one bronze star, you can buy almost one piece of black bread mixed with sawdust."

"—And as the grain merchant over there is shouting, two copper stars can buy a pound of good wheat!" Kunsius added.

He didn't forget to lift a barrel of summer red wine from his stall, mixing information with salesmanship. "You can buy this barrel of summer red wine for just two silver deer. What a good deal!"

Jason Liu glanced at the small wine barrel in Kunsius's hands. It was about 20 cm high and 20 cm wide. For such a small barrel, two silver deer felt quite expensive!

It was clear that this wine was a luxury only nobles could afford.

However, Jason Liu was more interested in the true value of currency in Westeros than in the luxury of summer red wine, which catered to the rich.

In both modern times and the world of Game of Thrones, the best way to understand a currency's value is to look at food prices.

Wheat is the most common reference for both worlds.

In modern times, a pound of wheat costs about 1.2 yuan. In Westeros, it costs 2 bronze stars for a pound.

Considering the lower productivity in Westeros, food production is not as efficient as in modern times, so food prices here are likely higher.

If we assume the analogy holds, about 1 bronze star in Westeros is roughly equal to 1 RMB in modern currency.

Thus, 1 silver deer would be around 100 RMB, and 1 golden dragon about 10,000 RMB. That's about the right estimate.

Now with this understanding of currency and prices in Westeros from these two businessmen, Jason Liu felt he had a good idea of the market. He decided it was time to show them what he had brought to trade: gel pens and paper.

"Odover, Kunsius, take a look at what I brought from my homeland." He pulled out a gel pen and a sheet of white A4 paper from his backpack and offered it to them.

Odover examined the gel pen with a puzzled look. "Is this... a pen?!"

Kunsius held the A4 paper, his eyes widening in surprise as he gently rubbed the smooth surface. "Lord East, this... this isn't parchment, is it?"

"It's a gel pen from my homeland. Think of it as a quill for Westeros, but it's much easier to use. It doesn't require as much ink as a quill for writing letters or notes. You won't stain your clothes with ink like you might with a quill. It's comfortable to hold, easy to write with, and doesn't leak ink. Plus, it lasts a long time," Jason Liu explained, highlighting the advantages of the gel pen.

"Imagine if such a pen were sold in Westeros! Nobles, priests, monks, and merchants would surely choose a convenient gel pen over a difficult-to-use quill!" he added enthusiastically.

To demonstrate, Jason Liu took the gel pen and wrote on the A4 paper. In just a minute, he had written more than 50 words.

----------------------------

For Advance chapters visit : patreon.com/Mythic_Muse