Morning.
The gentle sunlight dispelled the chill of early spring. Martha tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she stirred the rice soup in the pot, letting out a sigh.
Life had become increasingly difficult since the father of her children had been gored to death by a wild boar.
The new lord had imposed taxes, leaving the household with less than fifty pounds of rye, consuming a meal meant consuming their future.
She planned to cook the seeds for food if they ran out, but two days ago, the lord took away all the seeds for spring planting and issued a ban on farming.
Though the herald assured that the lord wouldn't let anyone starve, could she truly believe those words, recalling the lord's fierce appearance?
Martha was at a loss.
She glanced outside at her two daughters, who were struggling to carry water. One was eighteen, the other fifteen.
If nothing else worked, she would have to break up the family and have them married off.
But—
Martha looked at the child lying on the bed babbling as if trying to learn to speak.
Who would want a widow with a year-old child?
"Get up, everyone get up!"
Just as Martha was fretting, a harsh shout came from the street.
Martha glanced around; it was indeed Otto, the wealthy farmer who had collected the seeds two days prior.
She quickly ran into the yard, pulled her child inside the house, closed the door, and peeked out from the window.
What are they here to take this time?
"Everyone listen up. The lord commands that all the manure around your houses be collected and transported out of town. From now on, no waste is to appear on the streets!"
"By noon, the lord will inspect every house. Anyone who hasn't finished will face the whip!"
The loud voice echoed down the street.
Although the voice belonged to the wealthy farmer Otto, the guards wielding sharp blades at his side were from the lord's entourage.
No one would doubt the authenticity of the orders.
But—
"Why does the lord even want manure?"
Martha was filled with questions.
Does he plan to feed it to dogs?
With so much manure in town, how many dogs would it take to consume it all?
The neighbor shared her doubts and shouted loudly,
"Yesterday you took our seeds, forbidding us from tilling, and now you want to control even our basic bodily functions?"
Smack!
The sound of a whip meeting flesh was piercingly sharp, causing Martha to shrink back and close her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw the neighbor bowing his head and covering his face, the bravado from earlier completely gone.
"The lord is heaven. Speak more and you'll lose your tongue!"
This time, it was the guard by Otto's side who spoke.
With that whip, no one else dared utter a word of complaint.
No matter what was demanded, as long as it didn't involve taking their lives.
Martha sighed again and turned to look at her two daughters,
"Leia, Shanni, start eating your breakfast. Once you're done, pack the manure behind the house into baskets, and I'll take it out later."
Fortunately, last night's manure hadn't been disposed of; that saved some effort.
Bam—
Before Martha's daughters could respond, the wooden door suddenly burst open.
Otto barged in with a large bag of rye, throwing it onto the wooden table in the room.
"Martha, fortune smiles upon you!"
Otto chuckled, "The lord has taken a liking to your two daughters!"
...
...
In Luo De's courtyard.
Martha stole a glance at the handsome young man before her and quickly lowered her head.
"Honorable master, please allow me to first teach my daughters how to serve a man in bed, or they might affect your mood."
"In bed?"
Luo De immediately realized there might have been some misunderstanding in Otto's message delivery.
He gave the strong farmer a hard kick and then said to Martha, "I want them to be maids, not bed companions."
"Every morning before I wake up, prepare hot water for me. Help me wash up and then serve breakfast, clean the house, and do the laundry."
Luo De had never been served before, but he knew the general process from serving others at Tulip Castle.
"If you have time, you can stay too, preparing ingredients and cooking meals. You'll have room and board here, plus I'll give you thirty pounds of rye every month."
Thirty pounds of rye was enough for Martha's monthly food. If she also stayed to work in Luo De's courtyard, she could save all that rye.
The enormous surprise left Martha momentarily stunned until her elder daughter, Shanni, gave her dress a tug to bring her back.
"Thank, thank you!"
Helpless Martha immediately knelt before Luo De in gratitude, her two daughters following suit without prompting.
"Alright, stand up. Can you start working today?"
"Yes, yes. I'll hand the child over to the neighbors and be back to work!" Martha quickly responded.
Luo De nodded and called over Lawrence, who was overseeing the slaves building a house, and introduced him, "He's my steward, Lawrence. In the future, if there's anything, seek him first."
Martha promptly bowed and respectfully saluted Lawrence.
Lawrence returned the salute and said to Luo De, "Rest assured, I'll make the arrangements."
"Yes, I trust you."
Luo De smiled, encouragingly patting Lawrence's broad shoulder.
The night before, Luo De and Lawrence had an in-depth heart-to-heart conversation.
From the abundant natural resources and mineral deposits in the Northern Border Mountains to the vast agricultural potential of the Desert.
From the natural barriers of the Icefield Mountain Range to the East Coast port trade plans.
Along with various advanced ideas of Luo De regarding territory development and economic plans.
Luo De promised that in the future he would let Lawrence manage an entire basement full of Gold Coins.
Of course, there was a more detailed discussion regarding slicing off pieces of Lawrence's plump flesh, and just how many pieces would it take before he'd die.
It left Lawrence feeling hot-blooded.
This night's chat had given Lawrence a glimpse of Luo De's broad knowledge and wise intellect.
Eventually, he decided to heed Luo De's advice and stay on as steward.
Lawrence also realized that without the lord's protection and strong military support, however many Gold Coins he earned would still be an illusion easily shattered by robbers.
Hire more expensive guards?
Lawrence, with his frugal nature, wouldn't be willing to do so, even if reminded, always considering saving wherever possible.
Being a steward seemed more fitting, without the fear of being robbed and still able to collect Gold Coins.
Most importantly, it ensured survival.
Lawrence deemed this very suitable for himself.
With Lawrence managing affairs at the manor, Durant was then freed up.
Luo De took him and Gunter to the town's Blacksmith Shop—
A rundown shack without even a bellows.
"Looks like the plan to forge armor will have to be postponed."
Durant and Gunter were currently Luo De's strongest forces, and Luo De wanted to equip them both with new gear.
The Blacksmith Shop without a bellows couldn't handle such a daunting task.
"Hammer, do you know how to make a bellows?"
Luo De asked Hammer under the shack.
The blacksmith, who was already questioning life, shook his head.
"Durant, go fetch the carpenter."
Unable to do otherwise, Luo De himself had to draw up the plans for the bellows and have the carpenter try making it.
Of course, Luo De himself didn't know how to make bellows; this knowledge all came from a game system.
Spending most of the day, Luo De completed the bellows blueprint and handed it over to the carpenter.
While waiting for the carpenter to study and make the bellows, Luo De replaced the broken pillars of the Blacksmith Shop and redid the roof.
When the fire in the forge inside the Blacksmith Shop was reignited, Luo De received a completion notice for the Blacksmith Shop as well as the associated term—
High-grade Forging Furnace.