Chapter 32

Although Fiona had raised her evaluation of Tang En several times, she still found herself underestimating him.

Tang En was not only a mysterious and powerful magician, but he also knew how to govern a territory!

Fiona was not unaware of the benefits of the agricultural subsidies he had introduced, but there had never been such a precedent in the empire. Tang En's sudden actions left Fiona feeling at a loss.

If he introduced agricultural subsidies today, would there be commercial subsidies tomorrow? And what about adventurer subsidies the day after?

This was all spending golden coins!

Fiona felt that Tang En was challenging the limits of a ruler!

"I know the gold is well spent, but—why didn't you consult me?"

"Huh?"

"I'm the treasurer now! You appointed me yourself!" Fiona was furious, "But now? You didn't consult me about a policy that involves spending gold, and you made the decision on your own. What's the point of having me as the treasurer then?"

After saying this, Fiona crossed her arms and turned her face away, clearly throwing a tantrum.

Tang En laughed, realizing the problem.

"You're upset because I didn't consult you."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No, I'm not!"

She wouldn't admit it!

Tang En chuckled, "I just wanted Brian and Edgar to keep it confidential. I hadn't finalized the specific policies yet, and I still need to discuss them with you. For example, whether the subsidies should be directly distributed to farmers or reduced through Edgar's pricing to offset costs. There are many details that need your input to perfect."

Hearing this, Fiona's heart lifted. It wasn't that he didn't want to consult her; it was just not the right time yet.

Tang En noticed Fiona's joy and smiled, "Not angry anymore?"

"Angry! Very angry!"

Fiona felt her face turning red and hurriedly stood up, "I'm going to rest!"

"Go ahead."

Tang En shrugged and continued eating.

As mentioned before, Elton was a very backward town. There was no public lighting or evening entertainment. People usually went to bed after dinner, and warriors would continue training for a while before resting. This made Tang En very uncomfortable.

However, there was no way around it. For the residents of Elton, lighting at night required candles, and each candle cost ten copper coins. These were considered extra expenses, and they tried to save wherever possible.

The majority of the lighting in the lord's residence used candles and torches, with only a few areas using magic lamps. Tang En had seen these magic lamps, which had extremely low efficiency. They directly consumed magic crystals to maintain the lighting array, without any sophisticated design to improve energy consumption.

Even so, the value and consumption of magic lamps were only affordable by the nobility. Commoners couldn't even dream of them.

Back in his bedroom, Tang En tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He got up and set up a soundproofing magic array, then started working on a lathe.

Compared to a press, the principle of a lathe was actually simpler, and it didn't even require a power source.

However, Tang En's goal was to achieve a level that could cut steel, which had practical value. Directly using wind magic was difficult, so he had to consider high-hardness cutting tools.

In the end, Tang En chose to use mithril to make the cutting head—there were some leftover scraps from making the ram, and he only needed a small part for the cutting head.

With this change in approach, Tang En's efficiency increased significantly. He roughly completed the lathe's components, leaving only the main body, which he could test once the press was ready.

However, after finishing these tasks, Tang En still couldn't sleep. He felt like he had forgotten something very basic but important.

When he saw the completed parts, he suddenly realized what it was.

"Damn, I forgot this part!"

Tang En slapped his forehead and hurriedly got up to start working again.

He needed to make a ruler.

Indeed, Plandar did not have a unified system of measurement.

Each country in Plandar had its own system of measurement. If Tang En chose to use their standards, he would encounter many problems in the future, so he decided to create his own system of measurement.

Tang En planned to use Earth's units, but he couldn't measure them precisely. In fact, even the current international standards on Earth are not absolutely accurate and are continuously refined with improved measurement techniques. As long as the measurements were within an acceptable error range, they were still usable.

"The length of one meter... hmm..."

Tang En looked around and finally focused on the ground, smiling. "Hmm, I'll follow the British approach."

Tang En took a casual step, and a piece of mithril floated in the air, stretching according to his stride. When it reached a certain length, precise markings appeared, with each major marking equally spaced, and the total length was exactly the length of Tang En's step.

On this mithril ruler, centimeters and millimeters were also marked. With Tang En's current abilities, dividing these distances precisely was no problem.

Tang En grinned, "From today, you are the absolute standard, the meter unit of Plandar."

Don't think Tang En was being frivolous. He was indeed establishing a fundamental unit. Some might say that such a casual determination of the "meter" unit could have negative consequences, but rest assured, it won't.

On Earth, human industrial development began after the units were established. The units determined before that didn't anticipate future developments, yet industry still progressed normally.

The commonly used unit of measurement in Western countries, the foot, was based on the length of a king's foot, and the yard was established on a whim by a king. Despite these casual determinations, there were no negative consequences, and these units are still used today.

Tang En was doing the same. As long as he established an absolute benchmark, all future developments would be based on this benchmark, and there would be no chaos.

This was a small step for Tang En, but a giant leap for Plandar, opening a new era.

With the length determined, volume and weight were also set. Mithril, a very stable and dense magical metal, would not change in the air unless subjected to special forging, magic, or alchemy. Therefore, it could serve as both a standard meter and a kilogram prototype—more reliable than measuring water.

For the kilogram prototype...

Tang En took another piece of mithril, feeling its weight, and casually said, "Hmm, the weight of this piece of mithril will be one kilogram."

The metal ingot Tang En took from his bag was, in a sense, an absolutely precise reference. In the game, one unit of metal was exactly one unit, with no error. When these metal ingots were materialized, they remained absolutely precise.

So, using mithril ingots to establish a weight unit was quite reliable.

After setting the units, Tang En sighed and adjusted the components he had previously made according to his new standards. This adjustment took most of the night. Just as he was about to fall asleep, someone knocked on the door.

Tang En opened his eyes and saw that it was already morning.

Fortunately, his powerful attributes as a max-level mage ensured he was energetic, so he didn't have a bad temper.

"Um, who is it? Come in..."

Tang En yawned and glanced over to see Tina walk in.

"Um, Tina... huh? Why do you have dark circles under your eyes? Didn't you rest well last night?"

"No, I... I actually..."

Tina's complexion was poor, with dark circles under her eyes, and she stared at Tang En with a look of resentment.

Tang En, however, casually asked and went to wash his face, completely unaware that his casual words had made the young girl anxious and nervous all night, barely sleeping as she waited for his call.

"Refreshing!"

The cold water invigorated Tang En, dispelling his drowsiness. He then picked up a World Tree toothbrush, dipped it in some coarse salt, and started brushing his teeth, asking vaguely, "Tina, is there something you need? ... Why are you looking at me strangely? Is something wrong with me?"

Wrong! Very wrong! There are too many things wrong for me to even know where to start!

Tina was filled with frustration and embarrassment. The anticipation and nervousness of what she thought would be the most important day of her life had been in vain.

Lord!

This is too much!

It's really too much!

Do you enjoy playing with a girl's heart like this!?

Tina silently questioned Tang En, but she couldn't express her anger. After all, he was the lord, and she couldn't vent her frustrations on him.

The gap in their status was too great.

Tang En, being stared at by Tina, was completely puzzled, not knowing what had upset her.

Tina said softly, "Lord, Mr. Brian just came to see you. He said to come over after breakfast."

Brian came to see me?

Did they work all night and finish it?

Tang En was surprised, thinking it would take them a few days.

Are dwarven forging techniques that impressive?

"I see. I'll go eat breakfast now. You should go eat too."

Tang En rinsed his mouth and headed to the dining room.

Tina watched Tang En leave, looking like a forlorn and resentful girl who had been cruelly toyed with and then abandoned.

PS: Please support the story with favorites and recommendations. Join the book club 10486634 for more discussions.

[Page Break]

[Page Break]