The princesses all come to help me move the bricks [Infrastructure]

31.

The current monetary unit of measurement is not fixed and fluctuates occasionally, but on the whole it is 20 copper coins to 1 silver coin, and 10 silver coins to 1 gold coin.

For the reward of 10 copper coins, Anna hired a young man who was eager to try in the crowd and seemed very curious about them. He called himself Jack, and said he was an old resident who had lived here for 17 years.

Anna asked him to lead the way for herself, and tell me something about this place by the way.

The hinterland of Oran is a relatively open plain, and it is also the only, the only place that is relatively usable and relatively capable of growing some wheat.

This central area is simply divided by numbers. Anna guessed that it should be arranged by the game. Anyway, it is easy to remember, and she is very satisfied.

The Lord's Mansion was originally the largest management chief here, and it was located in the first district.

There are currently more than 200 people in the whole district, of which 70 to [-] are old, weak, sick and disabled, and the remaining [-] people have limited labor force, but most of them are farming to make a living.

In addition to the first district where the lord's mansion is located, there are two second and third districts that also live next to it.

The second district is currently the best developed area. It is managed by the mayor of the second district, Mr. Wade. It is said that under his management, the current development of the second district is very good. Many young people in the first district love it. Looking for opportunities over there, there is no longer enough to keep people in the first district.

There are pubs, restaurants, and dance halls in the second district. At the same time, they also sell some small commodities, including farm tools, iron shops, furniture shops, and some other products. I heard that there is also a small school. The kind that can easily recognize some words.

These were not found in the first district, and they were slowly developed after the second district chief, Mr. Wade, took office.

There are only about seventy households in the first district, and everyone makes a living by farming. There used to be some bustling taverns and shops, but now——

Since the last district chief ran away, there is nothing left here, even everyone's houses are dilapidated, and because of the lack of wood and carpenters, it is not convenient for them to repair the house.

Anna frowned again and again.

The third area is a special area, where there are more mercenaries.

It is close to the northeast, and it is a necessary place to enter the forest and mountains, and it is also a location where many adventurers like to get supplies.

The northern and southern countries, such as the Kingdom of Lohr and the Principality of Württemberg, do not have much contact with each other, and there were some commercial activities in the past. Logically speaking, the geographical location of Oran is superior, because the mountains are not high, so once you arrive In spring and summer, things over there can be traveled by mountain roads, but it is not impossible.

But unfortunately, news came out decades ago that the ruler of the Northern Kingdom had become the Snow Queen. Made of ice and snow, she has a cold temperament and is unwilling to socialize with outsiders. Gradually, she has become somewhat isolated from the mainland here. *

Among human beings, a large part of the people think that this queen is very dangerous and has a cold and cruel temperament. They don't agree to associate with the Northland anymore, and the winter and polar night in the Northland are getting longer and longer.

In the past, the summer and winter seasons were divided in half, and the spring and autumn seasons were relatively abundant. Even the ice-covered period of the northern mountains of Åland has become longer.

Everyone said that it was the Snow Queen's anger that brought about this misfortune.

Some people also said that it was the queen who used the evil power to attract the curse of ice and snow to the whole kingdom.

In short, after several decades, everyone knows less and less about the Northland, and less and less characteristic Northland things appear in these countries to the south.

Even Oran, who used to be the closest to them, can hardly see those vivid ornaments or nesting dolls anymore, but Jack still has some at home.

Jack's grandfather was an adventurer. Together with the adventurer team, he set off from the third area, entered the forest where the monsters were active, and then climbed the continuous mountains of the North Mountain. Before the cold winter season, I rushed to the Northland, and after living there for a winter, I returned to Oran with the special products of the Northland in the spring.

Many adventurers and mercenary teams entered Beishan for this reason.

There are also other sea trade routes in the Northland, but for the elderly, this land route is the most familiar to them.

It's a pity that Oran is almost deserted now, and the third district has also declined.

Although there are still adventurers looking for opportunities in forests and low mountains, there is no time for caravans and adventurers to go over mountains and mountains in search of opportunities and adventures.

"But there's another rumor."

"What?" Anna asked him.

Seeing that Anna, the new lord, was very talkative and willing to listen, Jack, who had always been proud of his grandfather's experience as an adventurer, was also very happy, and he was eager to say more.

"It is said that somewhere in Beishan, there is a sleeping giant dragon. We all believe this, or other people in the village believe this."

"But my grandfather always said that this is impossible. If there is a giant dragon, it would have been awakened by the caravan adventurers who used to come and go."

"But he said that there is another possibility that there are traces of the gods in Beishan, but no one knows whether it is the traces of the God of Light or the God of Darkness, so no one dares...to test it."

"It's just word of mouth from the adventurers, 'Elves are stationed at the door of the holy relics, only true warriors can knock on the door of the legend', 'The flower of eternal life blooms on the land where the gods sleep', etc. Yes, I only know part of it, maybe those powerful bards will know more, but I have never seen a bard..."

Jack scratched his head a little embarrassedly, and said:

"Although I really want to go to the second district to work and earn money, if I can, I still want to be an adventurer. If I can read what my grandfather said... the third district comes and goes. There are many different races, different skin colors, different appearances, different clothes Different adventurers, the bard is drinking wine, laughing, playing the piano and singing, and joking with the adventurers."

"The adventurer and the bard said, you must write down my deeds, and then spread them out, and one day I will marry the princess... The bard just nodded cheerfully there, and no one would mind if it happened. It won't happen, just enjoy every moment, and then bless each other, may the God of Light be on top."

Jack suddenly remembered that the duchess in front of him seemed to be a princess, and she was still single. He stopped abruptly, observed her expression, and was relieved after finding that she was not angry.

Anna blinked, seeing the system jump out suddenly and prompt her.

[The system prompts that you have obtained the information fragment of *****, click to view it. 】

She paused, clicked on it, and found that it was part of the poems about elves and gods that Jack said just now, but it was a bit incomplete, and she didn't know when she would be able to collect all of them.

"No, it doesn't matter, you can continue talking." Anna comforted him with a smile, "I'm very interested in these."

Like most of the people here, Jack didn't even wear very warm clothes, and his clothes were very old. Unlike other people's mending clothes, Jack still had a complete set of clothes that looked relatively "new".

The only difference is that it is autumn and winter now, and Oran is located in the northern part of the entire continent, which is a place that gets colder quickly. It can be seen that clothes of this thickness are no longer enough.

According to the usual habits, the fireplace is used for heating in winter.

However, the homes of the residents near here do not seem to have fireplaces, and some of them still retain the style of wooden houses, and this kind of small wooden house does not seem to be very strong. able to make ends meet.

As for other materials, not to mention brick kilns, even stone houses are hard to come by, even though it is said that there are stone materials nearby.

The first thing Anna thinks about is how to spend this autumn and winter season.

Of course, food is also very important.

After asking several times, she confirmed that charcoal is basically burned here, and because the resources of each family may not be enough, they will gather together to go to a local temple of light that has been abandoned to keep warm together.

This temple is not the kind of tall and magnificent building. To put it bluntly, it is a wooden house in the style of a small auditorium. The advantage is that there are some protective magic circles on the door, which can also ensure that the house is strong.

However, since the death of the last old priest of the temple, no new priest has been arranged here.

If the winter is really tough, they will gather together. There are two rooms in the temple, one is for worship, and the other is for other rooms of relatively similar size. It used to be the residence of the old pastor, and half of it was designated as a study There is also a small separate library in the church for offices and prayers, but it is basically empty.

The only good thing was that of the two houses, the one where the old vicar lived had a fireplace.

After the villagers get together—this is the old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled who are really hard to get through, and it doesn’t matter whether they offend or not, they will move the tables of the church to the empty chapel aside, and the rest are basically Everyone lived in the same place, in the old pastor's old house. There was no such thing as a study room, so everyone just slept on the floor.

But even so, there are still many people every year, because it is too cold, they can't survive the winter directly, and they just disappear.

"That's it..."

Anna sounded a little silent.

"Take me to your fields." Anna saw the situation of every household. Indeed, many people showed curiosity to her, but most of them were affectionate and numb. I don't know how the winter passed.

"District [-] will sometimes give us some relief resources. Of course, the main thing is that after the young adults at home come back, life will be a bit easier..." Jack said.

"Sometimes they will give some such as thick rice noodles, and before the cold winter comes, they will also send out a wave of charcoal fire."

"Many old people in our village know how to make charcoal, so at a very early age, children will be asked to collect some firewood and other resources. Whether it is directly burning firewood or using charcoal, it is a good way."

Anna nodded, keeping these advantages in mind.

As expected, Jack knows the village very well, and the situation of each family is very close.

The old man in this family can cook, he is good at far and near, and can identify many wild fruits and herbaceous root mushrooms. Sometimes he will teach the children some identification knowledge, and sometimes when everyone goes out to the grove to pick new things, they will let them know. He helps to see.

The uncle of that family is a blacksmith, and all the broken agricultural tools in the village were repaired by him, but because his wife was ill, he had to come back from the second district, and returned home to farm, barely making ends meet.

The little brother next door is an apprentice carpenter, because his grandfather just came back from the second district, and autumn and winter are coming. If he stays there, the family’s grandfather and sister will have a hard time. When he comes back to do some simple carpentry, he can barely life, but it is impossible to survive the winter well.

The middle-aged couple in this family are good farmers. They are the most diligent and have the best farming harvest. They will also share some experience with their neighbors. However, farming is physical work, and they must be diligently cared for, catching insects and repelling insects. In the future, we still need to plow the land, carry water, cultivate the fields and fertilize the fields. Most people are not as capable as theirs.

The uncle who lives alone there is the only doctor in the village. He is very skilled in medicine. He comes from the east and knows amazing oriental medicine skills. Everyone trusts him very much, and he will also share some oriental things with them.

The doctor originally came to them to learn western medical skills, so he knew a little alchemy. When he was young, he worked as a doctor for adventurers in the third district for a period of time. After his legs and feet were bad, he chose to settle in other places. Unexpectedly Finally stayed in Oran District [-].

He took in a female apprentice, an abandoned baby girl, and now a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl is helping him, collecting herbs to make medicine, practicing human body structure and so on.

……

Anna followed what he said and walked all the way. Although each family has its own difficulties, it is clear that the range of skills that the villagers know is also very wide. It is not the kind of skill she imagined that needs to be taught from scratch, or even learned. Not the worst case.

Each has one or two skills, and when the time comes, she will be more involved in the development of the territory. The system asks her to make a plan, and she must take into account the things people know here.

What pleased her most was that the villagers here were not the kind of unrepentant thugs. Of course, after all, the background of the game was fused with fairy tales, so they wouldn't be so miserable.

The people here are very united and friendly, they support each other, and their neighbors are friendly, but they are trapped here due to various reasons.

If it can be developed and guided, after all, it was once a fairly good district, and it won't even be able to beat the second district next door.

That's right, Anna unilaterally took the second district next door and the district chief, Mr. Wade, as her target.

Not to mention that she, the lord, took office, there was no sign of it at all, and no one showed up, just say that he has developed over there and absorbed all the talents from her here——

She still has to fight him.

Anna's development will inevitably require manpower. Right now, there are only two hundred people in the village, and only seventy to eighty laborers who can persist in working. This is not due to various reasons or lack of specialization.

And there are two to 3000 people in the second district next door, isn't it her ready-made resources?

When her place gradually develops, she must attract those people back.

Then she re-planned the two places!

"So, there are only so many fields?"

Jack took her to the end of the village, and Anna was surprised to see that there were only a few fields in front of her eyes, and although it was full of wheat, it didn't seem to be growing well.

Although Anna doesn't know how to farm, she can use skill appraisal.

【Growing Wheat-Common Plant】

Health bar: none

Blue bar: none

Description: Wheat that grows badly, in a state of depression, and the harvest is not expected to be very good.It is recommended to choose better quality seeds and give them better care.

The corner of her mouth twitched.

In addition to the area in front of her eyes, she also saw that there were large wheat fields in the backyards of several houses, which were said to be very good at farming. In addition, there were some vegetables in the front yards, but for some reason, they looked so Very average.

Another point, what she noticed was that the fields of these families were surrounded by large walls and fences, including the area that belonged to the food crops of the whole village, and they were relatively well protected.

"Is anyone still going to steal these wilting plants?"

Anna was surprised, and after asking, she got Jack's hesitant look.

"what's the situation?"

"Don't you know?" He replied, "We often have magical beasts coming over here, and those crazy animals will destroy this place... That's why..."

Anna was shocked.

"What happened to the monster, why didn't you say it just now? Tell me in detail."

That is to say, there are some animals eroded by dark elements here. They will appear in a crazy state, attack people everywhere, destroy crops, and many of them will even smash houses directly.

Everywhere in Oran, there are traces of this monster raging.

It would be better if there was a priest from the Temple of Light to purify. It seems that when the old priest was still there, they set up that kind of barrier at the gate of the village—Jack couldn’t describe it specifically, but he only knew that it was something that monsters hated very much. , seems to be of the light element.

Seeing this, they avoid the activity.

But now because the priest is gone, they can only find ways to resist by themselves.

And some crazy animals will emit all kinds of strange sound waves, some animals and plants can't bear it, and the reason why the wheat grows sluggish is because of this.

Ordinary animals are unbearable. It seems that they can't even raise a dog in their village, and it is precisely because of this.

"So, you call animals infected by dark elements monsters?" Anna kept in mind.

"However, there are some strange creatures, too..." Jack scratched his head. "Actually, I don't understand them very well. Anyway, they are strange and crazy creatures. Everyone calls them monsters."

"Then the fields here, such a large piece of land, is wasted?! Why is there no one planting it?" Anna went on to appraise it, and clearly saw that this was the most fertile place suitable for farming.

"Because it has been attacked by monsters several times, they love to come here." Jack replied honestly, with a bit of fear on his face.

After walking around, Anna probably knew it.

She asked Jack to come to help later, and by the way, notify the people in the village that anyone who can come will come, and there will be a meeting at that time, and the lord has something to say.

Back at the lord's mansion, the housekeeper Catherine was leading Lena and a few servants who had stayed here to work. Even the cavalry team was pulled over to help. Must have some food.

Anna kept these points in mind one by one, and then made a list of what others lacked and needed for the time being.

"If you think about it this way, there are still many things to do..." She sighed.

"Sure enough, it's all waste." She curled her lips and poked at the system, "or it was created from nothing."

[Main task: 0. Understand the territory of Oran, complete progress ([-]/?)]

Claim:

1. Understand the territory (1/3)

2. Reasonably plan start-up capital (0/1)

3. Use start-up funds (0/5k)

4. (to be opened...)

Clicking on the second item, "reasonably plan start-up funds", a content similar to a notepad or ledger popped up naturally, and Anna began to fill in relevant content.

The start-up capital is based on the initial requirement of [-] gold coins, and the extra Anna does not plan to move. At present, there is a cavalry team in security and other aspects, so there is no need to worry too much. The territorial framework of the lord's mansion is still there, but it is already It's an empty shell.

There are horse farms and stables, but things need to be replaced inside, and a certain amount of food and grass must be prepared, which can last at least a month. → 50 gold

Relocate the lord's mansion, here is what Catherine specifically mentioned, there are still many places to be cleaned and replaced, including several warehouses in the first district. → 100 gold

Maria, Cinderella and others may need to prepare some new things, including some office stationery to buy on their own side. → 50 gold

In addition, there must be some transportation expenses for transportation, and you need to pay for hiring someone to help you move things. → 10 gold

It is necessary to leave a certain amount of housekeeping and activity funds for the Lord's Mansion, including food purchases for at least one month. → 500 gold

Prepare certain armed resources, such as resisting monsters, etc. will be used. → 50 gold

The wages and remuneration of the eight knights and the servants of the house should be calculated on a quarterly basis. → 900 gold

Butler Catherine, Lena's chief maid, and Cinderella temporarily serving as the lord's assistant, and Amy as Maria's playmate, all need wages, calculated on a quarterly basis. → 900 gold

……

Anna asked a few more people about the situation. Catherine frowned when she heard that there were only [-] gold coins in the activity funds, but she endured it anyway.

However, counting such miscellaneous projects one by one, it has already cost [-] gold coins, and only [-] gold coins are left to be used for the development of the territory. Anna is in a bad mood.

Moreover, her salary is not high, and it is not comparable to the price in Wangcheng.

"My lord, I think you can go to the warehouse to have a look." Cinderella has changed into a relatively old dress in a very down-to-earth manner, and she looks like she is working very quickly.

There were originally three servants in the Lord's Mansion, an old janitor, a kitchen maid, a nephew of the old man, and a boy who ran errands.

At this time, Catherine has been established as the chief housekeeper. She used to be only a housekeeper, but now she basically "takes power alone", but the current situation is relatively difficult.

As she said, Cinderella arranged a job similar to "secretary".

Give Anna a helping hand, and in the future, I may have to patrol the territory with her, do inspections or something, and assist in some foreign activities.

Lena is the head maid, currently working in the kitchen, and only needs to obey the orders of the chief executive, Catherine.

Her daughter Amy is currently Maria's playmate, and she can't take care of the two children for the time being, but when the Lord's Mansion is cleaned up, she should find something for the two children, such as reading and practicing calligraphy. , singing.

She has visited the lord's mansion for a while. There are piano rooms, dance halls, etc., and there are no shortage of bedrooms. It looks like a big villa and manor, except that it is too dilapidated.

At present, except for a few places where the owners live, the rest are vacant and dusty. When she has time and money, she will definitely renovate the place.

Next to the Lord's Mansion, there are two large warehouses, but one of them is already empty.

The other put some agricultural tools, bows, arrows and spears for war, and some sacks with grain seeds in them.

According to the old servant, the previous district chief was cheated into buying a large amount of useless food, and then ran away because he lost too much money.

Those poor-quality grains that I bought were all piled up in the warehouse of the territory, and they are still there, and no one has touched them.

Cinderella has a certain amount of experience in farming and judgment, so she wants to let Anna go and have a look.

Although Anna doesn't understand whether seeds are seeds or not, the system understands them and she can identify them.

Those agricultural tools and the like were all taken out to one side, and many of them looked brand new and usable. As for those weapons, they were disposed of by the cavalry team. They were sorting out a training ground at this time, and they needed to train every day. of.

"that's it."

"A total of ten sacks."

Cinderella explained to her one by one very neatly, and told her that some of the bottom ones were deliberately filled with sand to increase their weight.

Anna went numb with one identification skill.

The wheat seeds in this bag are of various qualities. That is to say, the last lord was not deceived, but because the good and bad were mixed together, which caused her to appraise it all by herself. To spend.

"Ah..." Anna heaved a long sigh, "Go and ask, what kind of plants were grown here before?"

In fact, she already knew the answer, but she just wanted to distract Cinderella.

Anna quickly identified the crops that can be grown here in the current region and climate. The main grains are naturally wheat, cotton, peanuts, sugar beets, soybeans, sweet potatoes... All of these should be grown here.

For the first district, the top priority should be to solve the food problem first, and other varieties of grain cash crops are not considered. The priority grain crops, that is, wheat, and cotton are winter supplies, and may also be considered.

Plus, thanks to magic, some things that would otherwise sound unrealistic are possible.

For example, using magic to control rainfall, she only needs to have an alchemy workshop, and she can make this kind of thing accordingly. She didn't understand the use of these, but now she is very glad that she has lit up this skill, although She is not sure whether she can make this thing.

If you can't use alchemy to make magic props, then you can only arrange magic circles directly on the ground.

She can use this method to improve soil quality, etc. In short, everything can be achieved more smoothly in the magical world——

As long as her imagination is enough and her strength is strong enough.

Of course, for now, she must first find seeds that can be planted, and not let her leaders sit idle and starve.

While picking the seeds, Anna silently scolded the system first, and then scolded the previous district chief for being an idiot.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Cinderella looked in surprise, she was actually sitting on the steps of the warehouse, picking seeds one by one.

"There is something that can be planted here. I will also find it and distribute it to the people." Anna said, "If you plant it now, you may be able to get a wave of spring wheat."

In fact, this is completely nonsense. Spring wheat is planted after winter and spring.

Anna said this just to find a reason for her behavior of picking seeds. The important thing is that she has already planned to use the magic circle to improve the temperature in the field. When the time comes, she can ignore the weather changes and bring her own greenhouse, and she will definitely be able to grow things.

"Let me try it for you."

Cinderella also took the initiative to sit beside her, with the cute little oriole on her shoulder.

To Anna's surprise, Cinderella, who has no identification skills, can also select high-quality wheat more accurately.

"Why don't I come." Cinderella saw her frequently looking at the other two sacks, "I'll pick this wheat, as long as it's the same as the one you picked, it's fine. You choose the sweet potato?"

The seeds of sweet potatoes are black and they all look the same.

It needs to grow seedlings first, and then plant a large number of them in the land, so Anna and Cinderella divided the work.

However, there are fewer sweet potatoes in the bag, and there are still a few bags of sweet potatoes, so Anna doesn't need to worry about them.

There was also the shriveled corn in the bag. She picked out the edible ones and sent them to the kitchen.

When she came back, she realized that Cinderella was not alone.

Sure enough, it was the princess. I don’t know how she did it. It seems that she commanded the little oriole, found various small animals, and helped her find high-quality seeds from a large bag of various wheat mixed with fine sand. .

Small animals always have intuitive feelings about which kind of seeds are delicious.

Anna was stunned on the side, and felt very envious. She kept picking until it gave herself a [tired] effect.

And Cinderella is indeed one of the most popular princesses. She asked her animal friends for help, including pigeons, turtledoves, and birds.

Anna didn't even know where these little animals came from, since she didn't see any birds along the way.

Finally, I worked overtime to complete the task.

"awesome!"

Under Cinderella's somewhat embarrassed look, Anna praised from the bottom of her heart, and was very happy to learn that she could also give the remaining few bags to her.

Cinderella is the best!

Anna cheered in her heart, and for the first time felt how delicious and delicious the sweet potatoes and other common foods she ate for dinner.

Every mouthful has her own labor in it!