Chapter 45 (1/2)

Gawain could not explain the plans he had in mind and his considerations to others— even if it was to Rebecca and Herti, who were the most trustworthy people, he was unable to explain his thoughts clearly. Hence, the only thing he could do was to break down his big long-term plans into stages and small details, then slowly put them together.

What was done today could be said to be one of the most fundamental parts, even for the development of this territory.

However, to Rebecca and Herti, Gawain showed them the most unbelievable side of the commoners and serfs.

They had never seen commoners and serfs work so passionately and finish jobs that they would never have done so well and expertly in the past.

They attributed it to Gawain’s promise of, ‘meat at night’ motivating these people, and it was rightly so.

It was still too early to motivate them by building confidence and pride in their work. A meal with meat was the simplest and most efficient way to motivate passion for labor.

After returning to the central tent, Gawain found some paper and jotted down some things. At the same time, he gave Knight Bryon who had followed him in, some instructions. “Send two people to cook ten servings of meat. Also, make sure that everyone working has enough vegetable soup and black bread. We have enough rations. We can’t have anyone falling sick due to cold or hunger in the early stages of developing this territory.”

“Are we really going to prepare ten servings of meat?” Bryon asked, slightly shocked.

“Of course. I have to fulfill my promise. Is there a problem?” Gawain replied assuredly.

“I thought you were just going to boil a pot of meat soup,” Bryon explained. “You only need to boil a large pot of soup with a few pieces of meat cut into the size of a walnut and vegetables and those people would be grateful.”

“Do as I say.” Gawain waved his hands. “I will not allow any cutting of corners on the promises that I have made. Oh yes, ask the cooks to set up the pot at the most conspicuous location in the camp, I want everyone to see the cooking of the meat. At the same time, make sure there are soldiers maintaining order by the sides to prevent people from fighting and snatching.”

Knight Bryon bowed with a slightly weird expression before he received the order and left.

Gawain felt that there was someone looking at him from the side and he turned his head to find Amber looking at him with unblinking eyes.

“What are you looking at?” He moved his neck uncomfortably. “Is there something on my face?”

“I was trying to see if you were possessed by something that would affect your mind while you were in the vault, but it does not seem like it,” Amber said with a serious face. “I have never heard of nobles who would reduce their wealth on their own accord…”

Gawain was slightly amused. “Do you think that I am reducing my wealth with those actions?”

“Isn’t it?” Amber shrugged her shoulders. “By freeing serfs, it means that they only need to give you a portion of the food that they grow in the future. You also need to pay them with money from your own pocket… would a noble do that?”

“If I ordered you to paint the wall, how much would you be able to do in a day if I didn’t give you money.”

Amber pondered over it. “I would steal some coins from you and hire a person who does odd jobs to do the job for me and use the remaining money to buy liquor!”

“… Why am I even bothering to reason with an ultimate scumbag like you?” Said Gawain.

“How am I an ultimate scumbag?!” Amber replied.

Just then, Herti walked into the tent, interrupting Amber’s outburst. She was still in disbelief and said, “Ancestor, this is absolutely unbelievable. They have never worked so hard before – especially those serfs, there isn’t even a need for a supervisor to make sure they get the work done…”

“That’s because they were only working for their lords previously. Now, their work is closely linked to the food that they receive,” Gawain said without feeling surprised. “This is just the first step and you can see that compared to the extra food and money we have to give out, we are receiving so much more.”

“I once considered motivating them to work as well, just not to this extent.” Herti shook her head. “I dare not to envision how the future of the territory would be like if this system is continued.”

Gawain smiled. “It will definitely progress in the right direction; you only need to trust me. Besides, what I have done today is just the first step. Come over and look at these…”

He had been writing and drawing on a few pieces of paper since just now. Amber had taken a few glances at them previously before finding them boring and quickly lost interest. Now that Herti heard Gawain’s instruction, she immediately walked over dutifully. “What’s… this?”

The paper was filled with sentences which she could not understand. They looked more like a bunch of nonsensical terms, for example: work teams, competition and contract jobs, assessment methods and efficiency statistics. There were also mid-term plans written on other pieces of paper, with words like general education, magical power affinity tests, bringing in of human talents which were even harder to understand.