Bewitchment

Chapter 45: Bewitchment

Romain's voice was firm, his expression calm, pushing back all the words Barro had been about to say.

The young man thought of his deceased father.

He lowered his head, silent and deeply saddened.

Romain patted his shoulder in comfort, then told him to get lost.

Picking up a cleaver, he chopped vegetables with swift, decisive strokes.

After preparing lunch for the day, Romain shook his aching shoulders.

He found Seth with Gevra.

"Seth, let everyone rest this afternoon. I need to map out a route to the Salt Mine. Afterwards, these people will be building the road."

Facing Romain's request, Seth understood the importance of the Salt Mine and, for once, didn't find Romain's actions to be rushed.

"My Lord, you should also pay attention to your image. Cutting vegetables in the fields for two days will make those farmers look down on you. They will forget your authority and no longer fear you, which is a fatal mistake for a noble."

Seth straightened Romain's rolled-up sleeves, messy collar, and disheveled hair, tidying Romain up until he was neat. All the while, he was lecturing on noble etiquette.

"Hmph, what's this? I'll show those nobles what's truly fatal later," Romain snorted.

Seth was already immune to Romain's nonsensical talk.

He had no idea what this child was talking about.

Where was your backside when you said that?

Under Romain's leadership, the farmers, who had been working hard for nearly half a month, finally got half a day of rest.

Although the labor intensity was the same as before, it was still exhausting.

The intensity of labor with and without standards was the same, but the mental effort expended was different.

Since the sowing was finished in the morning, Romain announced that only one meal, lunch, would be provided today, with no dinner.

This dispelled the farmers' slight inclination to slack off – if they dragged their work into the afternoon, they would likely get a free dinner.

Romain wouldn't give them that chance.

Lunch for the spring plowing was canceled.

But the lunches for the road construction would soon begin again.

On the grand map of Tale of Survival, Romain planned a specific route.

He wanted to build a solid and durable road, not a bumpy dirt path. Only those who had lived in this era would know how terrible the road conditions were.

Road conditions and vehicles greatly affected transportation efficiency.

Sigg Town was comprehensive in all aspects, having developed for decades.

The entire town had over 80 draft cattle and several draft horses, as well as a large number of livestock such as pigs, sheep, and chickens.

Farmers with spare time did not refuse to raise these animals.

Raising these poultry and selling them to Mol or other stewards, or even to merchants, was also an indispensable part of household income.

Romain planned to manufacture specialized transport carts.

This was a considerable undertaking.

Furthermore, Romain had no experience with wooden carts – he would have to wait until he improved his Crafting skill.

However, the task itself was not difficult.

So, he called upon Sigg Town's carpenter, Witchi.

This man was highly skilled; he had previously built the wheels for the heavy plow, and most of Sigg Town's oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages were essentially his work.

Designing a simple transport vehicle according to Romain's requirements was not a difficult task.

After all, it couldn't escape the limitations of the era.

These carts didn't need to be very large.

According to Romain's vision – two meters wide, three meters long, with a load capacity of one to two tons, pulled by a single draft horse – it was essentially a modified oxcart.

Upon hearing Romain's needs, Witchi said, "My Lord, this kind of thing is not difficult, but I don't know how many carts you need."

"Ten now, and a hundred later. I'll take as many as you can make."

Development was most important in transportation.

Witchi said nervously, "My Lord, these carts take a lot of time. I can't build ten carts in a short period."

He still vividly remembered the scene when he was crafting the plows.

He had to work as soon as he woke up, sometimes not even having time to eat, which left him extremely exhausted.

Although the compensation was astonishing, if this work intensity were maintained long-term, Witchi felt that death would catch up to him faster than silver coins.

Romain waved his hand, "Then let them cooperate. Pass on your carpentry skills and scale up production. Your number of helpers will triple starting today."

Witchi opened his mouth, clearly reluctant, and said, "It might take me ten days to craft the first cart."

Romain replied, "There's no rush with this. I'll give you a month. Is that enough?"

Witchi's expression turned somewhat troubled; this would still require working overtime.

"Once it's done, I'll pay you 1 gold coin separately as a reward. How about that?"

Witchi's face twitched. "I will do my absolute best."

It seemed death had arrived a little too late!

Because what was chasing him was gold!

Romain continued, "Witchi, if you can't finish it, you can train carpenter apprentices.

"For every qualified carpenter you train, I'll give you the same amount in gold coins.

"You can also tell Laxus about this. If he can train qualified blacksmiths, I'll offer double, or even triple the gold."

He had lost hope in Sigg Town's production efficiency and had to resort to some means to cultivate more craftsmen and improve production efficiency as much as possible.

The carpenter, who was in his thirties or forties, was instantly tempted.

He realized that one carpenter wouldn't satisfy this lord's appetite.

If that was the case, it wasn't impossible to teach carpentry skills to others.

Although his life as a carpenter was decent, his income was low. He could only earn 1 gold coin in a whole year, and most of the time, the farmers would ask for credit.

Laxus's annual income was at least 2 gold coins.

"Witchi, you don't have to work so hard every day, no need to get up early and stay up late. You just need to pass on your skills to others. If you train ten carpenters a year, you'll get 10 gold coins...

"The upper limit is 100. As long as you can train 100 carpenters, I can pay you one hundred gold coins."

If the previous statement had tempted Witchi, this one directly ignited his heart, causing his pupils to tremble, like a meteor falling into a lake, stirring up turbulent waves.

He already had two carpenter assistants and those slaves who had worked in his carpentry shop for several years.

If he could... if he could...

He had never imagined earning a hundred gold coins in his life!

Witchi's lips trembled, his face turned red, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "I will definitely! Definitely obey all your orders, my lord!"

He left Origin Manor with unsteady legs.