The arrival of the Hamelin family brought some vitality to the village.
Although Hamelin considered these villagers as nothing more than food, she still showed her kindness and sociability under Yun Zhe's oppressive power.
Debini and Akdina portray two completely opposite children, one warm and the other cold. The outgoing and cheerful Debini, with her good figure and looks, and her selfless help to her neighbors, quickly becomes the darling of the widows and elderly women in the village. Akdina, on the other hand, with her reclusive nature and fleetingly captivating beauty, quickly becomes the dream goddess of all the middle-aged and elderly people.
Simply put, because of these two, the average age of the entire village has almost become ten years younger. Looking at the vibrant Debini and the aloof and proud Akdina, the older folks seem to have rediscovered their youthful selves.
Yun Zhe's soldiers also got along extremely well with Debini. Having worked in a circus, Debini possessed some skill in wielding weapons, and with years of experience, he was practically a semi-master of weaponry. The soldiers would often seek out Debini for sparring, to build rapport, and incidentally, to inquire about Akdina.
After seeing that Debini's skill with swords and spears was indeed very high, Yun Zhe immediately offered Debini a job to instruct the soldiers in their techniques. The pay was also very generous, three silver coins a month.
Debbie was flattered, but he was a lazy person by nature. Although the money was tempting, this kind of work that required him to work at fixed times every day held no appeal for him. He only reluctantly agreed because of pressure from his mother.
The soldiers, on the other hand, felt that Yun Zhe was practically their confidant and older brother. Now they had plenty of time to get closer to Debini.
Yun Zhe's worries, however, lay with the bandits from that night and the lingering darkness. He spoke with Usha about it afterward. Usha said she was following behind the group when a sudden gust of wind lifted her off the ground. She tried to scream, but no sound came out; she could only unsheathe her short sword. But this action was obviously noticed by the kidnappers, and she was knocked unconscious.
After listening to Usa's words, Yun Zhe thought for a long time. Although he didn't want to admit it, it was obvious that if the Hamelin family was an accident, then this dark figure might really be targeting him.
Yun Zhe couldn't recall for a moment what kind of people or forces related to the underworld he had offended.
"Maybe it was an accident, just like Hamelin's?" Ellie comforted Yun Zhe, looking at his furrowed brows.
Yun Zhe shook his head. If it's a coincidence once, then it's a bit too presumptuous to assume it's a coincidence twice.
However, the enemy is currently in the shadows, while he is in the open. He knows too little information and it's difficult for him to have any decent plans.
Besides this, Yun Zhe also had another worry: how to make the village a better place.
These past few days, Yun Zhe has been wandering around the village with nothing to do, trying to find potential economic growth opportunities. However, to Yun Zhe's disappointment, the village is so ordinary and unremarkable. It's hard to think of even a single thing that catches his eye.
Ordinary rivers, ordinary crops, ordinary land, ordinary people.
Yun Zhe sighed deeply, realizing just how difficult it was to escape poverty and become wealthy.
There is something even more urgent than escaping poverty: how to obtain enough food so that the villagers and their soldiers can get through the winter.
Yun Zhe tried several methods, such as repairing the house and hunting, but these did not solve the problem at its root. Even so, they could only barely get through the winter, which was far from enough.
Indeed, they need food to last until next autumn when the harvest is ready again, not just for this winter.
Yun Zhe wrote to Serena, hoping she could send some food to offset part of the debt. But clearly, Serena didn't have enough food either.
Yun Zhe then sent soldiers to contact nearby Newland and Philby, pleading poverty while also expressing his willingness to pay high prices for grain.
Out of camaraderie forged in battle and recognition of Yun Zhe's outstanding performance, Philby generously provided ten cartloads of grain. Newrent, however, stated that his own supplies were dwindling and only sent three cartloads of grain, which, of course, were not free.
The world is cold and indifferent; people's hearts are fickle. Although Yun Zhe didn't think much of it, Lorraine and Gao expressed great indignation towards Nuremberg.
Yun Zhe patted them on the shoulder, indicating that they didn't need to be so angry for the time being. He wrote a letter thanking them for their generous assistance, expressing that he would repay this kindness many times over in the future, even under such difficult circumstances.
Even so, the food shortage was still far too great.
Yun Zhe was at his wit's end and thought that he could only wait out this winter.
Time flies, and more than ten days have passed in the blink of an eye. The wind has become increasingly cold, and withered yellow leaves have begun to fall in the woods.
That day, Yun Zhe passed by the lame blacksmith's house again and saw him helping a farmer repair a shovel.
The blacksmith leaned against a wooden stake, wielding his hammer with incredible speed. When he had finished hammering, he moved a few steps along the stake and threw the shovel into the nearby pool. Steam billowed, and Yun Zhe saw the blacksmith pick up a long-handled iron chisel, swiftly retrieve the shovel from the water, and examine it closely.
Yun Zhe was captivated by the skilled blacksmith's movements. His intuition told him that this blacksmith was no ordinary person.
The middle-aged blacksmith had obviously seen Yun Zhe, but he pretended not to.
Yun Zhe walked into the blacksmith's shed and looked at the various items hanging in the shop. There weren't many items, but they had a complete range of swords, shields, and spears. However, all the items were covered in a lot of dust, indicating that they hadn't been cleaned in a long time.
Yun Zhe walked to the blacksmith's opposite side, forcing the blacksmith to look at Yun Zhe directly.
"Does Your Excellency wish to buy something?" The blacksmith's voice betrayed his resistance.
Yun Zhe looked around and then asked, "What's your name?"
"Higgins, sir."
"Higgins, I have some weapons that need repairing. Name your price." Yun Zhe's words surprised Higgins, and he asked hesitantly.
"Sir, are you going to pay me to repair my weapon?"
Yun Zhe was taken aback, then nodded. "Of course, all labor has value, so naturally it should be paid for."
Higgins nodded. "That depends on how many weapons there are and how damaged they are."
Yun Zhe drew a short sword that he always carried with him. This short sword was the one he had obtained from a grave when he first came to this world.
Although he doesn't usually use this sword, its commemorative significance clearly outweighs its practical value.
Higgins picked up the sword and examined it closely.
"Sir, this is a vampire hunter's sword. Were you a hunter before?" Higgins asked curiously.
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