...
The next morning.
The townspeople, already experienced, lined up early at the manor gate.
The earliest arrivers had already secured their spots before the sun rose.
If not for the guard dispersing them forcibly yesterday, some townspeople had planned to spend the night in front of the manor gate.
Lawrence looked at this group of faces, hungry and eager like wolves, and quietly turned to glance at his Lord, Luo De, sighing silently in his heart.
He hoped the Lord had some kind of solution.
With a smile on his face, Luo De walked forward slowly.
"I am very pleased, over the past month, everyone present has worked diligently, and my impression of you has improved."
Luo De's gaze swept over everyone as he said, slowly, "Therefore, as a reward for everyone, I am fulfilling my promise early this month, allowing you to exchange work points for supplies."
"This is a joyous thing, but it is not enough, so I have decided to offer more things for you to exchange."
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted into discussion.
"Silence!" Durant shouted sharply, quelling the commotion.
With a smile, Luo De continued, "This year, when I first came here, due to everyone's lack of farming techniques and knowledge, I reclaimed the land to prevent you from ruining it, concentrating cultivation."
"During this process, many farmers performed excellently, acquiring agricultural knowledge and gaining experience, which made me very satisfied."
"Therefore, I've decided, starting tomorrow, I will lease out a portion of the land for you to manage again."
"The way to lease this land is by exchanging work points."
Luo De's tone was calm, and his voice wasn't loud.
Yet it was like muffled thunder, rendering everyone speechless.
Ignoring the crowd's reaction, Luo De gestured invitingly,
"Alright, I've said what I needed to say, please continue the exchange."
Finish speaking, Luo De turned and left.
The scene was silent; everyone lowered their heads, contemplating Luo De's words.
A moment later.
"There is enough grain at home, I'm not exchanging."
"Let's go."
"Back to work."
...
Without any prompting, about a dozen people immediately turned and left.
Other farmers also realized, and one after another, turned and departed.
In the eyes of farmers, nothing is more important than land.
Exchanging grain now is temporary; only with land can there be a constant production of grain, and hope in their hearts.
Other than life, nothing is more important than land.
Especially for some hardworking and honest farmers, they would rather pay more taxes than work alongside lazy people.
It's not about how much work; it's simply that they look down on them.
So many farmers decided to save their work points, waiting to lease back the land next year.
Not long after, only sixty or seventy people remained at the manor gate.
Among them, some lacked grain, and a large portion was exchanging for meat.
Meat was priced at one hundred fifty to three hundred work points per pound, while salted fish was one hundred and twenty per pound.
Each townsperson exchanged only one or two pounds, with few acquiring as much as three pounds.
Rein had set many traps in the surrounding desert for catching wild rabbits and chickens, and the hunters regularly cleared nearby wild beasts, so the manor had sufficient meat.
However, since Frost Leaf Town didn't have winter fishing, the number of salted fish was only two to three hundred, and they were almost all exchanged.
But salted fish wasn't anything particularly important or delicious, so the townspeople didn't mind if they didn't have any to eat.
The news that land could be leased with work points next year quickly spread through the town, and those who exchanged their work points yesterday rushed back to the manor gate.
This included Luo Fei, who had exchanged for one hundred fifty pounds of rye.
"Lord Lawrence, can I return what I exchanged yesterday? My family has enough grain to eat..."
Luo Fei pleaded with a pained expression.
Lawrence frowned, "Return? Do you think I'm sitting here putting on a play for you?"
"Lord Lawrence, what's the play?"
"Get lost!"
Lawrence loudly announced to the crowd, "Work points exchanged will not be returned!"
"Please, my lord, return the work points to me. I need them to exchange for land!" Luo Fei begged.
"Yes, return them to us..."
"Silence!"
Lawrence slammed the ledger shut forcefully,
"I asked you yesterday if you wanted to exchange everything, and you said you did. Now you're blaming me?"
"If you have nothing to do, hurry back to work and don't delay my tasks!"
Lawrence immediately instructed the guards to drive away the farmers demanding work points, causing chaos at the manor gate.
"Everyone need not worry, there will still be many things to do in the territory, and there will be opportunities to earn work points."
Otto smiled, unable to conceal his satisfaction.
Working for the lord often led to being scolded, but the work points were indeed the highest, and it wasn't tiring.
Next year, I should be able to exchange for a considerable amount of land.
Haha, luckily I didn't exchange early.
"Otto, is what you said true?" Luo Fei asked, his expression pained.
"Of course, we still have three thousand acres of farmland unseeded, and Lord Luo De plans to build canals and fish ponds in the future, there are work points to be earned."
Otto answered confidently.
With his assurance, the farmers finally felt a little relieved.
Though still apprehensive, this was a silver lining amid bad news.
In reality, they had no other choice; working hard only comforted themselves that there was still a chance, and they reluctantly left.
In the afternoon, fewer people exchanged work points.
Lawrence closed up shop early.
He ran to Luo De, face full of excitement,
"Sir, you are truly impressive!"
Lawrence laughed smugly, reporting in a low voice, "No one came to exchange for grain in the afternoon, only a few exchanged for meat and fish, along with some scattered dried fruits."
"Many wanted to exchange back the work points they held, and as you instructed, I refused them."
"Hmm."
Luo De replied simply, "When there's time, let Otto urge everyone that they should also make some exchanges."
During the day, Luo De's intention was to prevent the citizens from frantically exchanging and hoarding, not to stop them from exchanging altogether.
This is akin to the principle of consumption: when it's time to spend, one should spend.
"The work points distributed should be recorded, and the work points recovered should also be noted. At the end of each year, I want to see the total work points of the entire town and the status of each person's work points."
Based on these figures, Luo De planned to set the pricing for next year's land leases.
The land is vital, and by grasping the pricing of land, Luo De wasn't worried about giving away too many work points.
During the day, Luo De hadn't deceived everyone; he genuinely planned to lease out some of the land.
After all, collective farming enthusiasm was a chasm that was hard to bridge, and leasing was necessary.
Of course, Luo De would keep a portion of the land as a reserve.
"Additionally, when the exchanges are over tomorrow, sort out the bulk materials and establish a trading market."
Luo De looked at Lawrence and said, "Tell everyone they can trade whatever supplies they don't need, with prices based on work points."
The townspeople will inevitably have unused supplies, and rather than letting them trade privately, Luo De decided to set up a market proactively, which also allowed him to monitor the prices of supplies.
"Not a problem, Lord, I'm good with this."
Lawrence agreed readily, turned to make arrangements, and then turned back, "By the way, Sir, we're short on salt, with only two hundred thirty-five pounds left."
Two hundred some pounds might sound like a lot, but for the whole town, it's only enough for two months.
The temperature is gradually rising, and demand will only increase.
"Should we find time to purchase a batch at Border City?"
Luo De didn't answer directly but ordered, "Go call Gang Le and tell him it's time to get to work."