Chapter 40

It's no wonder these people were shocked; who had ever heard of a lord spending money to replace the farming tools of his subjects before?

The land belongs to the lord, and fundamentally, the residents within the territory also belong to the lord. With so many residents, how could the lord care about their lives and deaths?

As long as taxes were collected on time, the lord wouldn't bother with anything else.

But Lord Tang En was completely different. After taking office, he didn't ruthlessly exploit the people; instead, he started throwing money around!

One thousand two hundred and thirty-two households!

One gold coin per household!

That's one thousand two hundred and thirty-two gold coins! He just threw them away with a single word!

Lord, you don't treat gold coins as gold coins!

Everyone was shocked, and then, following closely, came wild cheers!

"Long live Lord!"

"Long live Lord Tang En!"

Everyone was like mad, even though this subsidy was only for farmers, it was actually closely related to everyone in Ellington. They all knew each other well, and when the farmers' tools were replaced, their efficiency would increase, the harvest would be better, and the price of grain would naturally drop, benefiting everyone.

Fiona looked at Tang En with a complex expression. Although he didn't understand financial management, he was very skilled at uniting the residents of the territory. In just a few short days, almost all of Tang En's measures had benefited the common people of Ellington, which was almost unimaginable before.

In other places, when a new lord took office, the first thing they did was to erase the traces of the previous lord, then strengthen their rule, and reinforce their armed forces to suppress any resistance. But Tang En did the opposite, which was simply...

But Fiona had to admit, Tang En's methods were very effective.

Just the announcement of purchasing mint today made everyone in Ellington smile.

As long as they were willing to work, they could earn income. Was there a more heartwarming guarantee than that?

After more than an hour of hard work, Fiona and her team finally completed the purchase of the mint, but this was not the end. There was still a lot of mint by the Emerald River, and it would probably take a month to collect it all.

"How much did we purchase in total?"

"...More than two tons of mint."

Fiona flipped through her notebook to find the unit.

Tang En raised an eyebrow: "On average, everyone collected one kilogram?"

"No, there were only about four hundred people today, so each person collected a little more than two kilograms. With today's news, there might be a surge in numbers tomorrow."

Fiona frowned slightly: "The mint has been moved to the warehouse, but it won't last long once it's harvested. When will you start making the mint candies?"

"Who said we're making all of it into mint candies?"

Tang En raised an eyebrow: "First, we'll extract the mint essential oil... Tomorrow, start recruiting temporary workers. I'll train them, and they'll start working in the warehouse the day after. Ten silver coins a day, how does that sound?"

"Ten silver coins a day!?"

Fiona's voice suddenly rose: "Even in Alinx, ordinary workers don't earn that much! Five silver coins would be enough!"

"Five silver coins?"

Tang En smiled: "If it were before, they might be very happy, but after today..."

Fiona thought about it and realized that five silver coins was the income from five kilograms of mint. Collecting mint didn't require any special skills; they could start right away. They had collected so much in the afternoon when they didn't know if they would earn money, so they would definitely work even harder tomorrow.

"Ten silver coins, it's not too much, but this job is also a skilled one..." Tang En pondered for a moment, "Limit the recruitment to adults or teenagers, and prioritize those who are struggling and have no other means of livelihood."

"Alright, how many do you need?"

"Let's start with ten, and we'll see how many we need based on how much mint we collect tomorrow... By the way, take some time to draft a notice to promote the cultivation of mint. Tell them that purchasing mint is a long-term project. If they are willing to grow it, they can register at the lord's residence, and we can allocate some land for them to grow mint, with lower taxes."

"I understand."

"Also, have the reward amounts for the guards been calculated yet?"

Tang En remembered his promise to the guards to reward them with gold coins after the bandit suppression, but he had been busy since returning and hadn't paid attention to it after giving it to Fiona.

"It's been calculated, and I was just about to tell you."

Fiona sighed: "You're too generous. Just a casual promise, and thousands of gold coins are spent. After recruiting the workers tomorrow, we'll give them the rewards."

"I think it's worth it. At least they are motivated now, right?"

Tang En smiled: "And we need them to protect Ellington in the future. You can't expect a horse to run without feeding it."

"Clearly, you alone are enough..."

Fiona muttered. If Tang En revealed all his strength, who would dare to attack Ellington?

"For now, that's all. I'll work overtime tonight to get the distillers ready, and we'll move them to the warehouse tomorrow. After recruiting the workers, we'll start the training."

"Alright."

Tang En went to Edgar's place, got some iron ingots, and immediately started working.

He had to work overtime. After training them on how to use the distillers and confirming the process, the metal farming tools would be ready the day after. Once the farmers got their metal tools, he would guide Edgar and Brian to start making water wheels.

Water wheels were very important for Ellington at the moment. If the fields couldn't be adequately watered, the harvest this year would be disastrous, and many people might starve to death in the winter—this was not an exaggeration.

The next day, as soon as the news of recruiting workers was announced, a crowd of people came to apply.

Not only was the salary offered by Tang En very attractive, but just the opportunity to work for the lord was enough to make them fight for it.

Fiona shouted sternly: "No pushing! Form a line! Anyone who pushes will be disqualified!"

With one command, everyone quickly lined up, not wanting to lose this opportunity.

"The lord has ordered that, due to space limitations, we are only recruiting ten people for now. Additionally, the age limit is between fifteen and thirty. Those who don't meet the criteria can leave. When the candy factory is built, we will expand the workforce, and everyone will have a chance."

Hearing this, some people who were over the age limit had to leave, and those who stayed didn't have time to be excited before Fiona added: "The lord also instructed that, to help families in need, this opportunity will prioritize those with heavy family burdens and those living in poverty. When we expand the workforce in the future, we will recruit fairly. Please understand."

Tang En thought the second requirement would cause arguments, but surprisingly, they all understood and even voluntarily let those they knew who were in poverty take the opportunity.

This surprised Tang En.

After two rounds of screening, only thirteen people were left, and they were all women.

Plandar was dangerous, so men who often went out had a high mortality rate. It was normal to have more women than men, and generally, men would find a way to make a living, leaving only these women without support.

They ranged from fifteen to their twenties, with a common feature: they were all pale and thin, wearing tattered clothes with many patches.

Tang En recognized these women; they were the most active in collecting mint yesterday. They still held bags, and if it weren't for the recruitment, they would have continued collecting mint.

After a while, Fiona came to Tang En with a troubled look: "Lord, these girls are all in difficult situations, and they all need this job. I can't decide which three to eliminate. Would you... choose?"

Tang En was speechless. This girl, you don't want to be the bad guy, so you make me do it?

Don't you know that employees are supposed to take the blame for the boss?

If you don't help the boss and don't take the blame, you'd definitely lose your job on Earth...

Tang En stepped forward, and the thirteen girls looked at him nervously. They all knew that his words would decide their fate.

With this job, they could eat well, wear good clothes, and survive the winter. Without it, the winter might be their end.

"You..."

Hearing Tang En speak, the thirteen people tensed up.

Tang En said very straightforwardly: "You're all hired."

"Ah?"

They were all stunned by the unexpected words.

"Lord..."

A thin little girl timidly said: "Didn't you say only ten people would be hired... If it's difficult for you, Lord..."

"So," Tang En pointed to his nose, very seriously, "I'm the lord, and I decide. I said how many, and that's how many. You're all hired—of course, if you fail the training today, don't blame me."

"Okay!"

The thirteen girls nodded vigorously, tears of excitement streaming down their faces. If Lord gave them this opportunity and they couldn't seize it, they would deserve to die.

"Let's start the training... Little girl, stop holding your stomach. I heard it."

Tang En's words made the thin little girl very uneasy: "S-Sorry, Lord..."

Tang En was speechless: "Is saying sorry enough?"

This scared the little girl, and she knelt down in front of Tang En: "I know I was wrong, Lord, please forgive me! I really need this job!"

"Hmph, talking about forgiveness, Tina, arrange breakfast for them! My people can't be hungry!"

The little girl was stunned, looked at Tang En, and tears streamed down her face again.

Lord, you are really a good person...

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