Blessed by Abundance, Scourge of Terra

"This idea of yours—I'm curious why the Black Crown didn't choose you a few years ago."

Warfarin was left speechless by the youth's plan. Since when did any noble truly care for their subjects?

Aren't all nobles on this land the type who think everyone should be endlessly grateful just because they lower taxes by a tiny bit?

You're a feudal lord, and you're actually thinking about the slaves under your command?

"That's why I'm different from those nobles. This is the mission He entrusted to me."

Huang Cao sat in the large rocking chair on the balcony, basking in the sun, speaking in a slow, leisurely tone while taking a sip of the black tea he'd imported from Victoria through trade.

Comfortable as can be~

This was the noble life—just manage a few trivial matters around the estate, and vast sums of money and people served you.

As for the work, leave it to a trustworthy steward to handle.

"You sure live comfortably." Warfarin tugged at her maid uniform, pulled over a small chair from the side, and sat in the shadow of the ceiling, quietly reading a book.

This maid outfit was quite disrespectful to her. Including the head maid, there were twenty-one maids in the castle.

But hers was the only one that wrapped her up from head to toe, leaving no skin exposed except her head, neck, and hands.

Not that it was ugly—just a bit discriminatory.

On that matter, the youth offered no comment, merely pointing a finger at the maids still cleaning downstairs.

From their elevated position, it was easy to see the difference between Warfarin and the other maids.

The difference was enormous.

"Hey, hey, don't just sink your teeth into me whenever you feel like it. Fine, fine—I've ordered that medical equipment you wanted to buy yesterday. It should arrive from Victoria in about a month."

"I'm guessing that batch of medical equipment was ordered with my wages..." Warfarin let go, wiping the saliva from Huang Cao's neck with a handkerchief.

Hearing this, Huang Cao put on a pained expression. "What kind of talk is that? What do you take me for? Sure, your wages are high—ten gold coins a month, ten times what the other maids make."

"But that batch of medical equipment costs a whole year's worth of your salary. Do you really think I'm that kind of villain?"

"Sorry..." Realizing she'd misspoken, Warfarin's cheeks flushed faintly. She stood up and placed both hands on the youth's shoulders.

"Then, Master~ would little maid Warfarin like to rub your shoulders for you?"

"For once you don't feel like biting me. No need for the shoulder rub—you probably couldn't knead them anyway. Just lean into my arms and be my pillow. It's been a while since I've had a nap—years, actually..."

Today the sun was bright, a fine spring day. The breeze carried a hint of chill, but the sunlight draped over them lazily.

Perfect weather for an afternoon nap.

Warfarin's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz as she let out a soft mm, then lifted the hem of her maid skirt and lay down in Huang Cao's embrace.

The maiden's blush said more than any words ever could. Though sometimes a blush wasn't shyness—it was being so mad at someone you turned red-hot.

But at least for this century-old vampire, in the days she'd spent with the youth behind her, Warfarin felt for the first time like she was truly alive. Around the youth, there seemed to be a warmth called home.

Huang Cao's calm, rhythmic breathing brushed against Warfarin's already flushed cheeks like a hot wind sweeping over hardened rock.

No matter how stubborn the rock, one day wind and sand would shatter it—let alone stones that weren't as hard as they seemed on the surface.

New book on the road, begging for support—any kind of votes and tickets, please! The author will do anything!

Chapter 22: What to Do When You Accidentally Suck the Mine Dry

After a few days of this leisurely life...

The youth had thought he could keep lying low for another two or three years before getting to work, but before long, the territory's development hit a snag.

There were no metal ores beneath his land... or rather, they were severely lacking.

Even Originium, essential for future industrial development, was in extreme shortage.

"Looks like I accidentally sucked all the Originium here dry."

Huang Cao and Warfarin stared at the submitted list of resource shortages. The former guiltily turned his head away.

The mineral deposits were indeed sparse, but Originium ore used to be everywhere on this land—that was precisely why Theresia had sold it at such a low price.

But Huang Cao had squandered every last bit of Originium in this territory for his own development. Now this land could be called a holy site, second only to oceans and snowy mountains, with the least Originium contamination.

Yet future development couldn't do without Originium, and now even basic metal ores were lacking.

So agriculture couldn't get off the ground. And due to education issues, the Sarkaz people generally didn't know how to manage farmland.

The townsfolk had previously relied on food from Huang Cao's shop. Those who'd thought about farming saw a stable food supply and couldn't be bothered.

Besides, they were all former mercenaries—they had no clue how to tend fields.

"This won't do. Looks like I'll have to teach them myself."

At the very least, he needed to spread basic smelting and farming techniques. If iron tools broke, there'd at least be a place to repair them.

Wait—when these people were mercenaries...

They must have maintained their own weapons, right? So why couldn't they maintain farm tools now?

"Weapons just need to be sharp, sturdy, and practical. Cutting people isn't like cutting stone—there's a lot of nuance to it." Warfarin explained from the side.

Besides, since most of the territory's residents used to be mercenaries, they were used to buying new weapons rather than forging their own.

In the small town, most of the townsfolk's income came from commissions issued by the Demon King.

"If it were a shortage of lumber or something else, I could still think of a way, but a shortage of ore—I really have no solution for that."

It's not like I can just spit out all the Originium I've swallowed.

Don't even think about it! I finally managed to get a body.

It seems I have no choice but to start trade with other nations, at least to build up my Originium reserves first.

To fall behind is to be beaten; strong military force is the foundation for ensuring a homeland's prosperity and peace.

Huang Cao could foresee that in a few hundred years, during the era of the great Originium industrial boom, a large plain with no Originium contamination whatsoever would definitely become a juicy piece of meat in the eyes of all factions.

Siergrag doesn't count—that place is bitter cold by nature, hardly anyone wants to live there; it's fine for a novelty trip or tourism.

But my land here is a true plain!

On the offensive, you can strike; if you need to flee, you can get far away quickly—it's definitely not a strategic chokepoint.

What use is a big plain supposed to have during wartime?

Supplying high-speed battleships with provisions?

Huang Cao's territory accounts for 5% of Kazdel's total area. It sounds big, but in reality, it's not that large.

The difference between nations is greater than the difference between a man and a dog. Kazdel's land area isn't that big to begin with, and this plot can't even compare to a small administrative district in Great Yan.

"I need to find a way to get in touch with the other Royal Courts and see if I can buy some supplies."

"Constantly seeking out foreign nations is easy to arouse suspicion. If I get misunderstood, I'll have to waste time explaining."

Buying some advanced medical equipment or other things from other countries is understandable—after all, those can at most be used by one or two people.

But buying a large quantity of iron ore and such—what's the intention? Trying to start a rebellion?

"How can Originium not be converted into inorganic matter? It can even convert organic matter..."

Huang Cao let out a soft sigh. Maybe Originium really can be converted into inorganic matter, but with my current level, I probably can't pull off something that heaven-defying.

Better keep it normal. First, focus on production and construction. It just so happens there's still some gold ore in the treasury, and I might as well issue a tax policy while I'm at it.

"Without Originium right now, developing industry seems out of the question. Let's develop handicrafts first to give the people here something to do. Once we have a preliminary scale, then we can talk about taxation."

But for now, I still need to lay the groundwork first. Still, he didn't plan to just tear the roof off right away.

Let's start with a 5% agricultural tax and a 5% commercial tax. Collection will begin after five years. Once the territory develops, the types of taxes will increase.

For the first five years, the people here just need to develop in peace. They don't need to consider anything else.

Whatever problems arise, good or bad, just leave them all to the great Lord to solve!

After mulling it over, Huang Cao decided to spend some time writing a few things based on the data in the Originium library, first teaching his subjects how to live.

Originally, he wanted to directly input this knowledge into the plants, having the text grow right on the leaves. But the word count was just too much, and the arrangement was extremely irregular.

Half a book's worth of content would put immense mental strain on him. Rather than that, it was better to just copy it by hand.

Fortunately, as a being that was a combination of plant and animal, Huang Cao had enough plant tendrils. It only took him seven days to complete two books.

One was called "Complete Guide to Basic Agriculture," and the other was called "Basic Metal Smelting Methods."

After that, he summoned all the maids.

When selecting maids, although Huang Cao paid more attention to their looks and figures, he also placed great emphasis on their cultural refinement.

So these maids were all literate. After all, they were also the face of the castle. If they spoke to foreign guests with the same tone as some cockroach a few hundred years from now, it would be a disgrace to him.

Perfect. First, have them thoroughly master these two books, then dispatch them to the surrounding territory to spread the knowledge.

Huang Cao wasn't a Sarkaz, and he couldn't personally go down to teach.

These maids were all pure-blooded Sarkaz; they should know better how to persuade their own kin.

After finishing these matters, Huang Cao continued making some preparations for developing commerce.

Money must circulate to be money; transactions create wealth.

Trading with major nations like Victoria seems out of the question for now. The war has just ended, and everyone is unusually sensitive—it's easy to get burned.

But the goods I need right now aren't that many. Just give me some other minerals; there's no need to develop it into large-scale trade.

My territory really doesn't have mines, but that doesn't mean the territories of the other Royal Courts don't.

I can totally trade with the other Lords of the Royal Court.

Huang Cao refused to believe that these lofty Lords of the Royal Court and their subjects didn't have basic physiological needs like eating, drinking, and excreting.

There will be another update this afternoon! 2

Chapter 23: Protagonist: Who Understands the Pain of Being Stuck in a Game?

No sooner said than done. Huang Cao immediately drafted a document.

And sent his subordinates to purchase raw iron near the territory.

Why not directly buy raw ore?

To that, Huang Cao could only say that only someone with a hole in their head would think of directly buying raw ore.

The raw ore was cheap, but buying it meant I'd still need to build my own equipment to smelt pig iron.

Right now, the conditions in my territory were basically medieval—where was I supposed to get the means for that?

The population was far too small. Take away the people farming the land, and only about a hundred or two were left for industrial production.

Then another problem popped up: who was going to prepare the industrial raw materials, like timber?

Huang Cao could conjure wood out of thin air, sure, but what about when the territory developed further and other resources ran short?

Treating the head when the head aches, treating the foot when the foot hurts—that wasn't how you solved problems.

Besides, I came here to be a noble, not a beast of burden?!

Trade had to be pushed hard!

And everything had to be accounted for under my own ledger!

Thanks to the gold mine, Huang Cao had a pile of money on hand. Buying basic supplies wasn't an issue, but how to distribute them was a huge headache.

Giving them away for free didn't sit right—not because Huang Cao didn't want to, but because there was always a first time.

Free once meant free forever after, and then I'd end up being their daddy again.

Do it yourself, and you'll have plenty.

Besides, what's free is rarely valued. Learning the skill to maintain farm tools didn't mean they'd use it right away.

So there had to be a price. This world was different from the old one; the Sarkaz didn't hold much hatred for the royal court nobles of Kazdel.

The story never went into much detail about what the royal courts had done, but odds were they treated their own people decently enough.

Though "decently" mostly meant a hands-off approach—no interference, no oppression, just letting their underlings do whatever they wanted.

Huang Cao refused to believe there wasn't a single place selling iron in all of Kazdel.