The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

“Big Lily, where’s Little Lily?”

“What’s the matter, Old Yab? Little Lily is feeding the chickens in the yard.” Big Jasmine was a middle-aged woman, with a hunchbacked spine marked by years of hard labor.

Old Yab’s wrinkled face beamed with a smile, “It’s good news, Lord Landlord’s castle is hiring new servants. Butler Mister Carter said they’re looking to hire three male servants, one female servant, and one kitchen maid. Big Lily, Little Lily could apply for the maid position.”

“Really? Is Lord Landlord truly hiring new maids? Is this true? That’s fantastic.” Big Lily sprinted into the house. “I have to go tell Little Lily.”

“Go quickly,” said Old Yab, and by the time he finished speaking, Big Jasmine had already vanished from sight. He chuckled, shaking his head, and muttered, “I’ve got to go spread the good news to everyone. In the castle, ah, they can drink milk every day, such a wonderful life awaits the children, they’re so lucky.”

Before long, all 48 serf households of Barley Hamlet knew of the news.

“What great news, I was just complaining that Malfoy doesn’t have more fields to sow, and we can only go and clear new lands. He’s strong and hardworking, eats a bit too much maybe, but he’s sure to do well as a male servant.”

“That’s not a sure thing, Parker is more industrious and also polite. I think he could definitely get hired.”

“Is the news for real, that Lord Landlord would hire servants from the countryside?”

“It’s what Old Yab said, and he’s been helping make tools for Lord Landlord at the smithy these past few days. Could his words be false?”

“Old Yab certainly has craftsmanship skills, but can he still lift a hammer?”

“He doesn’t need to do it himself, there will be apprentices arranged by Lord Landlord to do the hammering. Remember lame-footed Peter? He became an apprentice in the smithy, and Lord Landlord pays him a copper coin every day as wages!”

“Isn’t the smithy owned by the Old Drunkard?”

“The Old Drunkard sold the smithy to Lord Landlord long ago, ho ho, for three Naldas!”

“Three Naldas, my goodness, Lord Landlord is so generous!”

Good news always flies swiftly from ear to ear, like birds with wings.

In the yard where she was feeding chickens, Little Lily’s face flushed with excitement, “Mama, can I… can I really apply to be a maid?”

“It’s news from Old Yab, he wouldn’t lie to us. Little Lily, you must prepare well. Just getting into the castle means you’ll have a good life ahead,” said Big Lily joyously.

“But… would Lord Landlord choose me?”

“Have confidence in yourself, Little Lily. You are Barley Hamlet’s most outstanding girl, hardworking and capable; you’re Mama’s pride. Of course, you could also consider the role of the kitchen maid, Lord Landlord is hiring for that position too, and no one can wash vegetables as clean as you.”

“Hmm, I know what to do now, Mama,” Little Lily said, determination shining in her eyes.

For the promise of a better future, she had to display exceptional qualities to be hired as a castle maid. Without a father, her Mama struggled to raise her and her two brothers in extreme poverty. Now grown up, she had to start taking on responsibility for her family. The seventeen-year-old girl clenched her fists in silent resolve.

In the smithy, Liszt watched as several older blacksmiths and their apprentices busily crafted iron blocks.

Using iron blocks obtained through trade with Black Tulips, Liszt had used them for making agricultural tools, starting with equipment for fishermen.

Shovels, hammers, awls—with these three pieces of equipment, fishermen could harvest seafood.

The seafood resources on the East Coast of Fresh Flower Town, untouched and unpolluted, included abundant shellfish and crabs, which could be easily caught without the need for advanced techniques.

“Teacher Goltai, has the selection for the fishermen already started?” Liszt received the handkerchief passed by Marcus and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He had become accustomed to the services of a personal manservant, and, as long as there was no physical contact, he enjoyed having someone to pour tea and water for him.

Goltai had no choice but to take out his own handkerchief to wipe his sweat, “Your requirements have been conveyed, Clerks are doing the publicity in each hamlet. We’re only taking the elderly, women, and some not yet grown-up children as fishermen.”

“That’s right, it’s like that, seaweed harvesting doesn’t require much strength, just patience. It’s a reasonable allocation of human resources to have the less efficient farming households go seaweed harvesting. However, you must do the publicity well; poisonous seafood must not be touched, and raw seafood must not be eaten.”

The medical and health methods in this world are extremely undeveloped.

Nobles cultivate Dou Qi and rarely fall ill, so there’s no motivation to study medicine. Liszt also doesn’t know medicine; all he could do was to focus on prevention for his subjects—promoting hygiene, drinking boiled water, and eating cooked food.

“They are lucky to have met you, Liszt; you have a unique charm,” Goltai flattered him.

A regular young Noble, puffed up with a few compliments, would probably become conceited. Liszt, with the soul of an adult and well-established principles, couldn’t possibly get dizzy from a few flattering words; he simply ordered, “Don’t stop the forging of iron, but don’t let the few blacksmiths get too tired either. Adjust their wages from five copper coins to six copper coins, and apprentices to two copper coins.”

Apprentices doing odd jobs, one copper coin a day.

Master smiths wielding the hammers, five copper coins a day.

These were the wages Liszt had offered previously, which were quite generous. Now a financially strong Baron, he no longer cared about exploiting the common folk for those few copper coins.

Bear in mind that his Crimson Blood Sword at his waist was worth a thousand or two Gold Coins.

That’s tens of thousands of silver coins, or over ten million copper coins.

Besides, the entirety of Fresh Flower Town was his. There was no difference between the subjects having money and him having money—he could adjust the tax rates anytime he wanted, however he wanted to collect them.

“Six copper coins a day, hmm, lucky blacksmiths,” Goltai muttered to himself.

Then he walked into the smithy’s forging room and shouted, “Blacksmiths, Lord Landlord has just decided to raise your wages from five copper coins a day to six copper coins a day, and apprentices can now get two copper coins a day. Work hard, the generosity of Lord Landlord is beyond your imagination!”

“Wow!”

“Six copper coins a day?”

“Long live Lord Landlord!”

“Praise Lord Landlord, Old Jack will forge iron for Lord Landlord all his life!”

“Apprentices can also get two copper coins a day; oh my, my parents will be overjoyed.”

Laughter and chatter filled the smithy, complaints about the heat evaporated, and everyone worked hard to repay the generous Lord Landlord Liszt.

Hearing the cheers inside, Liszt shook his head.

He may have a kind heart, not wishing to exploit the serf class, but isn’t he also using slight benefits to drive the productivity of the serfs? Rather than exploitation, he preferred creation, rational allocation of production resources, and boosting working efficiency. That’s how to make perfect use of the less than two thousand people in the town.

“Master, are you going back now?”

“I’ll go to the Tailor Shop to check on the gloves, towels, and masks being sewn for the fishermen; I hope they are all qualified products.” Liszt mounted the Fire Dragon Horse and lightly flicked his whip.