No. 14.
Chi Sui went to a suburb next to the commercial street, where there was a farm that belonged to generations of lords.
The farm had been abandoned for three years, and the land had become severely compacted, looking like saline-alkali land.
"I heard that when the previous lord inherited this land, it was already like this. He once hired someone to dig up the soil, but the land he dug up was unusable for growing crops. After that, the land remained abandoned and was used to store things of little value."
Ole bent down and picked up some soil. The soil was hard and grayish-white.
Chi Sui curled his lips: "It's okay, I don't use it to grow things, I just use it for compost."
Ole wondered.
Chi Sui lowered his eyes and said, "Olai, let Al take charge of this place from now on."
Ole was stunned. It was naturally a good thing that the Baroness let Al to govern this place, but he didn't understand what the Baroness wanted to do with this land?
“I want to set up a factory here.”
Chi Sui pointed to the farm.
Ole nodded: "I wonder what kind of factory the Baroness needs?"
Chi Sui shook his head: "You just need to prepare a place for the employees to live, and I will prepare the rest."
Ole thought for a moment and said, "Madam, may I ask if the things this factory makes require confidentiality?"
Seeing Chi Sui looking over, Ole patiently explained, "My Lady, the factory is supposed to be profitable, right? Since it's for making money, we have to be on guard against people who come to work and try to steal our skills."
"If the Baroness wants to run a factory, it would be best if the factory employees were slaves. Slaves have contracts and are absolutely loyal."
Chi Sui smiled and said, "I know what you mean. Actually, the core of this matter is in my hands. I will hand it over to Al when the time comes."
"A big part of the reason I set up this factory is to promote employment."
Ole gave Chi Sui a deep look: "Lady, righteousness."
Chi Sui waved his hand and said, "Put up a notice, recruiting workers, giving priority to those from poor families."
Ole nodded: "Madam, how many people do you want to recruit?"
"First, we'll recruit fifty men and women, both men and women, but they must be strong and healthy. Each man will be paid 20 silver coins per month."
After Chi Sui returned to the castle, he locked himself in his bedroom to write plans for tomorrow's meeting, while Ole was out all day recruiting workers.
"Call the Baroness! Call the Baroness!"
The little turtle in the pond opened its mouth, and the voice of Prime Minister Turtle came from inside.
Chi Sui asked, "Is there anything wrong, Prime Minister Turtle?"
"My prince is going to host a banquet in the Demon Realm. Can you provide the dishes?"
Chi Sui paused while writing. "When are you going to hold the banquet? What are your specific requirements?"
"We'll hold a banquet on the 20th to celebrate His Highness' birthday. If possible, it would be best if it were prepared in the Demon Realm. I just wonder if you'd be willing to come?"
Chi Sui was stunned for a moment, then realized. Long Xi's birthday party? May 20th? 520? What a romantic birthday.
"I can bring people, vegetables, and common seasonings, but you have to ensure the safety of our staff."
Prime Minister Turtle's voice was filled with joy: "Okay! By the way, my prince doesn't like cilantro, so you must not put cilantro in the dishes when you go."
"Okay, then we can discuss the specific dishes on the 18th?"
Chi Sui is currently busy with tomorrow's meeting and doesn't have much time to discuss with Prime Minister Gui.
Prime Minister Turtle also responded quickly: "Okay, then you go ahead and get busy!"
The little turtle slowly closed its mouth, blew out a bubble, and started to nibble on the shrimps in the tank.
After a busy day, May 15th soon arrived. Early in the morning, more than 100 mayors of the territory gathered outside the castle, waiting for the meeting to begin.
Mary and Ole had already cleaned up the huge indoor conference room in the castle yesterday and had already prepared tea.
Ellie dressed Chi Sui in the gorgeous dress that belonged to the Baroness, and put on the forehead ornament, then helped Chi Sui downstairs.
Ole led the mayors into the castle's conference hall. He looked up at the slightly cracked dome and was thankful that the weather was good today and it didn't rain.
The mayors sat in the four seating directions of east, west, south and north.
Chi Sui slowly approached the conference room, and the chatter and discussion in the room came to an abrupt halt.
The conference hall is about the same size as a modern indoor gymnasium. It is really large and really shabby.
The table was broken and the chairs were creaky, but the throne-like seat at the top looked respectable.
Yes, that chair is carved from white quartz stone. It will not break and is very sturdy.
Ole covered the throne with red velvet cushions, but Chi Sui still felt uncomfortable when he sat down.
But her face showed no expression.
Looking at the mayors below who were all looking at him, Chi Sui signaled Ole to start the meeting.
Ole nodded and said, "Please ask all mayors to report the basic situation of their respective jurisdictions over the past three years, starting with Far North Town."
The mayor of the Far North Town is a man wearing furry leather. His face is red and old. You can tell at a glance that the Far North Town is indeed very cold and his skin is cracked from the cold.
"My Lady Countess."
The mayor of Far North Town placed his right hand on his chest and saluted Chi Sui. "Our Far North Town has always been cold. Heavy snow blocks roads and mountains, making it impossible to plant crops. Hunting is also very difficult. Our people have nothing to harvest, yet they still have to pay coins and food to the Adventurer's Guild in exchange for protection..."
It seems that this time these mayors are planning to play the victim and get the relief funds first.
Chi Sui raised his hand and motioned him to stop: "I also understand the difficulties in various regions."
Chi Sui lowered his eyes and looked at the anxious face of the mayor of Jibei Town: "Jibei Town's main source of income is catching ice fish and selling them in the Snow Territory."
The mayor of the Far North Town was stunned. That was true, but would the lord stop issuing relief food because of this?
Chi Sui looked towards the mayor's seat in the south and said, "The mountains in the south are high and the forests are dense, with abundant plants and animals. Although the mountainous terrain is not conducive to farming, it is still possible to make a living by relying on the mountains."
"The west is barren, with large temperature swings between day and night. Although farming is impossible, there are many mines and a lot of sand and gravel to export, which is also your main livelihood."
"To the east, in the towns closer to the center of the territory, the grain harvest is good. People rely on growing grain for their livelihood. According to my research, there has been abundant rain in recent years, and the harvest has been very good."
A mayor of the eastern territory quickly stood up, clearly extremely anxious. "My Lady, even though we have stable livelihoods in the four regions of the east, west, south, and north, even if we don't pay coins to beg for protection from the Adventurer's Guild, we can barely make ends meet... and that's even if we have able-bodied laborers at home."
"The reason we've been able to pay the protection fee these past three years is because when the previous lord was in power, the people were afraid of another change... They saved up some money by living frugally... But after three years, even with all our savings, we're completely broke!"
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