Evil dragon has a warm heart

Chapter 58 - 58 58 Officials

?Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Officials Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Officials “Quiet, quiet!”

Charles, inside the stone house, loudly scolded until the voices of the several dozen village chiefs and serf overseers finally lowered.

“Hans.”

“Sir Charles, please give your orders.”

“Next, I will give you time to speak, but if anyone dares to talk outside of that time, punish him with ten lashes immediately!”

“Yes, Hans himself will keep an eye on these people!” Hans quickly took a stance.

The deterrent of ten lashes was astonishing, so no sound was heard in the room thereafter except for breathing.

Charles was pleased with this, so he continued speaking deliberately: “The sanitation policy is as follows—the Lord is very dissatisfied with the filth and disarray at Wuyao Snake Manor, so for you, danger and opportunity come hand in hand.”

Everyone did not understand what danger and opportunity meant.

Charles explained: “The danger is, if anyone urinates or defecates indiscriminately from now on, and is caught, he will be fined ten lashes! If one does not change despite repeated admonitions, not only will he be whipped, but the serf overseers and village chiefs will be whipped along with him!”

“Ah…” The exclamations were cut off midway, as the serf overseers quickly covered their mouths, fearing to receive lashes.

After scaring them sufficiently, Charles continued to explain: “As long as you do not urinate and defecate anywhere, you will not be whipped, and there are even benefits. The Lord is generous and compassionate, willing to reward those serfs who are hygienic. Anyone who is hygienic will get a reward!”

Save a bucket of urine, and you can receive a copper coin from the Lord as a reward.

Save a bucket of feces, and you can receive two copper coins from the Lord as a reward.

A piece of dark bread that is enough for a family of three to eat for a day in town is sold for no more than one and a half copper coins, so this reward is quite substantial.

The key is that these rewards are fully earned for free, and they are effective over the long term.

“Now, you may discuss freely.” Charles finished announcing the sanitation policy, freeing up the room’s public opinion.

“Sir Charles, is the Lord really willing to give us a cleaning fee?” Hans said with gleaming eyes, eager to ask.

“Of course, the Lord’s word is his bond.”

“Sir, a copper coin for a bucket of urine, right? Two copper coins for a bucket of feces, right? Can I also put the droppings from my home’s chickens and ducks into the feces bucket?” asked a serf overseer with excitement, counting on his fingers.

Charles replied: “Of course, you can even go outside to pick up cow dung and sheep dung. Any kind of dung will do.”

“That’s great!” the serf overseers exclaimed joyously.

“But… but Sir, we only have one water bucket at home. Although feces can be air-dried, we surely cannot use our water bucket to collect urine, can we?” Some serf overseers began to worry; buckets were not cheap, and the cooper held high status here.

“Don’t worry, the Lord has already considered this and will soon have a shipment of buckets and pots at the original price delivered. You only need to pay the cost price to purchase them; this is a welfare that the Lord is bestowing upon you.”

“Really? That’s wonderful!”

“Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!”

“I’m already eager to go back and defecate, um, in the pot I’ll buy!”

“Hehe, I’ve just let out a fart.”

“Beat him to death!”

The room became noisy as the village chiefs and serf overseers enthusiastically discussed the policy for distributing cleaning fees.

Once the people had made enough of a commotion, Charles continued: “After you go back, make it clear to each serf household that there are rewards for collecting excrement, and indiscriminate urinating and defecating will result in lashes… Hans, you have another task. The Lord wants a toilet built at the small marketplace.”

“Why build a toilet?” wondered Hans, perplexed. “Sir Charles, for the sake of the cleaning fee, I’m not willing to go to a toilet.”

“Of course, you can collect excrement at home, but toilets must be built; this is for future planning. The Lord has already invited a caravan to come sell goods at the small marketplace so that it’s convenient for the manor’s serfs to make purchases.”

After a pause, Charles continued to elaborate: “In the future, every month when caravans come to Glowing Valley, the Lord will invite them to the small marketplace. Understand?”

After the warm season, caravans will come every month.

So Russell also wanted to do business with the caravan, inviting them to the small market to sell their goods; meantime, they could also purchase some produce from the estate.

In going back and forth, the estate’s economy was revitalized.

Rather than the current situation, where over three thousand five hundred serfs revolved solely around the fields, without even a single craftsman among them.

“Lord Sir is truly kind-hearted; he treats us so well!” A serf supervisor started choking up on the spot.

“The Great Dragon watches over Sir!”

“Sir has the blood of the Fluorescent Fungi Family flowing in his veins, he can shine brightly in the dark!”

“Praise Sir!”

The sounds of flattery were incessant, and under this atmosphere, Hans accepted the job of building the latrines.

A latrine, after all, did not require the help of town craftsmen; the estate’s serfs could build it themselves.

“The small market needs to be expanded, and the roads need to be widened as well,” Charles said to Hans as he sent him out, advising, “It’s Sir’s intention, through the construction of the Windmill Mill and latrines, to cultivate our own construction team on the estate.”

“I’ll do my best, Lord Charles.”

“It’s not about doing your best, it’s a must. You must carefully select any serf who has a talent for building.”

“Yes, Lord Charles, I will surely pull together a team of serf builders,” Hans nodded gravely, feeling the weight of the responsibility.

“You don’t need to feel troubled, the serf construction team is a good thing,” Charles said. “Lord Sir never makes the hungry serfs work, so every time the serfs work, Lord Sir will provide food. I believe they will come to like the construction team.”

“Of course, of course.”

“But the lazy ones will be expelled and whipped. This is something you must enforce strictly.”

“I will, Lord Charles.”

“Lord Sir is kind, which is why he treats the serfs well. But you and I, as officials of the estate, have the duty to help Lord Sir manage the serfs, to ensure that the hardworking ones eat more bread, and the lazy ones get whipped more,” Charles patted Hans on the shoulder.

Hans nodded hurriedly: “Yes, yes, just like that.”

After sending Hans and the serf supervisors away, Charles didn’t immediately rush off to the manor’s annex, but decided to kill some time at home. It wasn’t mealtime yet, and showing up too early at Russell’s might mean missing out on a free meal.

“Sir, will you be having lunch at home?” asked the cook cum maid as she came by, a lady in her forties.

“No, make something for yourself.”

“Of course, Sir.”

The cook left, and Charles suddenly found himself bored in his room, wanting to read a newspaper or novel, but there were none to be found in the room.

Newspapers were only available at Fluorescent Castle, while his books were left back at his old home.

“Had I known, I should’ve brought a book from the manor’s annex; Russell likes reading, and his study is piled with lots of books,” Charles thought. He simply moved a chair to the window and sat looking out at the distant fields.

“Compared to before, Russell now… hmm, he’s more like a competent Lord.”

The Russell of the past had been diligent yet a bit self-effacing and introverted. However, after his Battle Qi blossomed, Russell became more extroverted and cheerful, especially more confident.

What was most critical was that the Great Dragon had begun to take notice of Russell.

“Eric has already mixed in as a Phantom Beast Knight, this is really…” Charles couldn’t help but feel an unexplained envy.

He wasn’t afraid of a brother living a hard life, but was afraid of a brother driving a luxury car. Initially, he and Eric were equal as family tutors, one in literature and the other in martial arts. But in a blink of an eye, Eric had become a Phantom Beast Knight, far surpassing him in status.

“No, I must train even harder. What if Russell acquires another Fantasy Beast…” Charles immediately stood up and began practicing his Battle Qi.

But after a short time, he deflated, “Sigh, neglected for too long, my meridians have stiffened, and there’s no chance for me to become a Great Knight anymore!”

“Forget about it!”

Shaking his head in self-consolation, he thought: “I should just concentrate on following Russell, being a good official… If one day Russell makes great achievements, perhaps I can also become a Lord with a title and revitalize the family legacy!”