I'm working on infrastructure in Xihuan

The thin white mist in the forest in the early morning has not yet dissipated, and the clear and cold air hangs on the tip of the grass, condensing into white frost.

Most of the leaves on the tree have fallen, and the branches are slanted and intertwined with the sky in black and white. There are a few empty bird's nests hanging between the branches, which are heavily filled with the unmelted snow.

There was just a snowfall a few days ago, and the fallen leaves and dead branches were mixed with the soil, and the wet feet couldn't use their strength when stepping and slipping. If you are not familiar with the forest environment, you will definitely stumble here.

The cold wind whistled through the forest, the broken branches made a slight rustling movement, and there were birds chirping, which was melodious and clear.

Yixi stopped and listened to the various sounds passing through the forest, and smiled to his companions: "Be careful, the debt collectors are coming."

Before his voice was blown away by the cold wind, a few figures on the top of the tall tree suddenly jumped towards them, accompanied by throwing snowballs and branches that disturbed the sight, as if they had been lying in wait for a long time to hit them. Caught off guard posture.

But Yixi and the others were already mentally prepared. Instead of retreating half a step, they faced the "cannonballs" ravaging their heads. They bent and turned around to remove the impact of the heavy objects on their bodies. At the same time, they twisted their wrists and stretched out their hands. As soon as it was picked, it firmly grabbed several cubs that tried to escape.

All of a sudden, strange screams of "Ouch" and "Hey Ha" sounded one after another in the forest.

So the silver hair tied up on the back of each head flicked along, like the long tail hair dangling on the back of a little bird's butt.

These are Hall's cubs in the village. When they were playing early in the morning, they saw the figures of the wanderers from afar, and they couldn't wait to give them Hall's warm welcome.

"Hey! Call you naughty!" Ned patted the little guy's buttocks vigorously, raising his eyebrows triumphantly, "I can't run away now!"

Immediately, he got a kick back with three consecutive kicks in the air, and the young Halls yelled in spite of defeat.

"let me go!"

"Stinky Ned! Big bastard!"

"Slightly! Ned is a stinky bastard!"

Izzy: ...

He tried his best, but he still couldn't hold back the sound of mocking Ned.Issie threw the heavy little guy on her shoulders and laughed happily amid the cub's exclamation: "Go home!"

"Uncle Izzy is back!"

In the village of Hall in the depths of the forest, there are laughter and laughter, and the smoke from the kitchen welcomes the tired birds to return to their nests.

Issie’s luggage is filled with candy and snacks, and the sweet scent can’t be suppressed from leaking out from the gap. Hall’s cubs have much sharper noses than adults. They follow the scent and poke their heads around Issie, their eyes are round like Very much a wild cat cub waiting to be fed.

If you don't give it, he will show his teeth and claws to fight with you.

Izzy couldn't help laughing, and while unpacking his bags to feed his cats, he thought of another blue-eyed cat who sent him away with drooping ears.

His employment contract with Lucien only lasts until Lucien arrives in Velvet. Although Lucien is very willing to renew the contract with him at a high price, the Hall family does not have a fine tradition of staying away from home three times. Violent, no matter how beautiful and lovable the aristocratic cat is, it will not be able to retain the heart of Hall who has already flew back to his hometown with wings.

Ugh.

Lucien, who lost his beautiful doll, could only wrap his little blanket tightly in loneliness, trying to pull himself together in the face of the bleak territorial data.

Today should be regarded as his third day as the lord officially took office, except for a wave of congratulatory greetings sent by the messenger, Velveer's new day was uneventful.

A newly appointed lord should not be so idle.

Lucien called the busy Mr. Housekeeper.

Lawrence is much busier than him. He needs to store a large amount of money and materials brought by Lucien from the imperial capital, and he has to worry about how to arrange the servants, maids and slaves. At the same time, he has to be careful with Lucien, Anna William The relationship between the direct line is extremely busy every day.

When Lawrence walked into the room, he was unsuspecting. Who made the lord in front of the fireplace not aggressive at all, his eyes half-closed by the sweet treats brought by the maid, like a cat that can rumple at will.

"These desserts are flavored with basil honey, which will have a special floral aroma." Lawrence started the conversation with desserts, "Basil honey is sweeter than ordinary honey, and it will turn a beautiful golden color when heated a little."

"Ah, I've had it at a banquet before." Lucien answered enthusiastically, "It's called 'sweet gold'... right?"

Lawrence nodded, and added: "However, sweet gold usually refers to a kind of honey brewed by a bee-shaped monster called 'Snow Bee'. The Sage Bee lives in the depths of the Munn Mountains. It is very aggressive and very protective. Nest, the collection failure rate is very high, so the price has risen to almost the same weight of gold. The previous consul gave this kind of honey as a tribute to the imperial capital, and the batch you have eaten should be that batch."

"However, ordinary basil honey is much cheaper. When the year is good, even farmers can buy some for sacrifices."

"Of course." Lawrence winked at Lucien and said proudly, "Your estate produces the best basil honey in the entire northern province. You can try it, the taste will definitely not lose to Sweet Gold."

Lucien was holding a piece of biscuit and biting it in small bites. The biscuit was crispy and melted in the mouth. The thick milky and sweet taste flowed on the tip of the tongue, and there was also a faint floral fragrance lingering, with a long aftertaste.

"good to eat."

Lucien commented, his cheeks turned a little red in the warm room, and asked with interest in this topic: "Then how much honey can we produce a year? How many people in the manor produce it? How is the tax calculated? Will it be sold out?"

Lawrence was stuck with this series of questions, thought for a while and replied: "The honey you eat is of the best quality, and it can only produce less than [-] catties a year, and it is generally not sold outside."

"The honey [produced by Rolles Manor] circulating on the market is produced by farmers in the village, and the cost of beekeeping is borne by the beekeepers themselves. We allow their bees to gather honey in the flower fields of the manor, and charge [-]% of the production as nectar tax. Then sell it in the name of the manor—that way the price can be raised by about [-]%."

"Or the beekeeper can also pay an extra fee and sell the honey together with us. The profit will be a little less, but it will not be unsalable."

"That's it..." Lucien stared at Lawrence with bright eyes, like a curious baby who was still at the stage of [-] whys, "Will the farmers grow food in the nearby village? Is it the self-cultivation field in the village?"

"My honorable lord." Lawrence answered his question patiently, "Wilved doesn't have any idle fields for farmers."

Seeing that Lucien seemed to be planning to ask many questions, Lawrence resolutely pre-empted, "If you don't mind being long-winded... I can give you a brief account of Velveer's situation."

It was the right decision to start preparing for the new master before receiving His Royal Highness Luthers' instructions. Lawrence had a vague premonition that if he behaved well this time, not only would he be able to keep his job, but he might even get the young duke. of favor.

"Tell me about it?" Lucien seemed to be in the mood, and leaned back unconsciously - it was only then that Lawrence noticed that the Duke had been sitting upright since he came in.

Also sitting in the soft armchair in the lounge, he knew very well how tiring it would be to sit upright like that.

Lawrence hesitated for a moment, but he stood up and walked around the coffee table to Lucien. The young Duke didn't know what he was going to do, and looked up at him. The thick white blanket wrapped him like a cub that only needed to be taken care of. , Eyelashes trembling and eyes blinking, seeming unsuspecting of outsiders.

"I'm sorry." Lawrence said softly, knelt down and picked up the soft pillow next to the armchair, and stuffed it behind Lucien's waist.

—He might be a little meddling.Lawrence couldn't help thinking this again, the Duke kicked him on the calf with his ears burning red because of the fact that he had exposed the fact that his back was sore.

It's kicking... right?

Lawrence was wise not to delve into the fact that the kick was too weak. The duke’s fluffy soft shoes were an excellent buffer to reduce the damage. When he felt it, it was neither painful nor itchy, a bit like being sucked by a cat. Mat stepped on a set of pussy punches.

Naturally, Lawrence didn't show the slightest hint of the above brain activities. On the surface, his acting skills of staggering backwards along this foot were natural. If Lucien didn't know how much strength he had, he probably really thought he was in good health. Kick grown men up.

"Forget it, I'll forgive you once." Lucien leaned on the soft pillow, and pulled another soft pillow into his arms as if giving up his pose, without telling Lawrence to stand up, "Go on."

He didn't let Lawrence stand up, but he also turned a blind eye to Lawrence's sneaky adjustment to a less tiring kneeling position.

"Since the farmland was mentioned just now," Lawrence said, "then let's continue from the farmland."

"As I said just now, Velvet doesn't have his own farmland. All the fields belong to the manor, and farmers can only rent the land of the manor owner. Although there will be people who reclaim wasteland by themselves, as you know, land without a reclamation permit produces All belong to the empire, and if they are found, they will have to pay additional fines.”

"So there are not many farmers in Velveer, and more of them are serfs in the manor..." Lawrence paused, glanced at the cub-like ignorant Duke, and said, "The rent and tax of the field is more than the grain. The tax is higher, and when farmers can’t afford it, they can only sell themselves or their family members to the manor owner to pay off the debt.”

Manor taxation is different from state or church taxation. Taxes owed to the state are at most confiscated, and if taxes owed to the manor owner, it is common for them to become slaves and ruin their families.

The [-]% nectar tax of Rolles Manor belongs to the average low price of the manor's agricultural and animal husbandry tax, and Viscount Norbert's manor sometimes even collects [-]% of the tax.

However, when the agricultural and animal husbandry officials reported the statistics, [-]% of the tax became [-]% of the tax or [-]% of the tax. No one knew what happened to the difference in the middle, and it disappeared into the data record without anyone noticing. .

Otherwise, how could the place of Velvet be so poor that it is unique in the entire empire.

Lawrence said it tactfully, but hinted quite bluntly, and Lucien instantly understood the meaning of his words, "So," the young Duke laughed, "my territory is full of rich gentlemen? "

"Yes," replied Lawrence, "those are rich and kind gentlemen."

The meat is as thick as the other, and it can squeeze out an unknown amount of oil and water.