What Do I Do After Accidentally Draining a Mine Dry? / Protagonist: Who Understands the Pain of Getting Stuck in a Game?

"I'm curious about your idea. Why didn't the Black Crown choose you a few years ago?"

Warfarin was rendered speechless for a moment after hearing the young man's plans. What noble truly thought about their people?

Weren't the nobles of this land all the sort who believed that merely reducing taxes a little meant everyone had to be eternally grateful to them?

You became a feudal noble, yet you still cared about the slaves under your command?

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

Huang Cao sat in the large rocking chair on the balcony, basking in the sunlight. He spoke slowly and leisurely while taking a sip of the black tea he had imported from Victoria through trade.

How comfortable~

This was the life of a noble. All he had to do was manage a few small matters nearby, and vast sums of money and people would serve him.

As for work and such, he could leave it to a trusted steward.

"You're living quite comfortably." Warfarin tugged at her maid uniform, brought over a small chair, and sat quietly in the shade cast by the ceiling as she read a book.

This maid uniform was extremely disrespectful to her. In addition, there were twenty-one maids in the Maid Captain's castle.

Yet only her uniform was wrapped tightly around her entire body. Aside from her head, neck, and hands, hardly any of her skin was exposed.

It wasn't that it looked bad. It was just a little discriminatory.

In response, a certain someone offered no opinion. He merely pointed at the maids still cleaning downstairs.

Because of the high vantage point, it was easy to see the difference between Warfarin and the other maids.

The difference was enormous.

"Hey, hey, don't bite me whenever you feel like it. Fine, fine, I ordered the medical equipment you wanted to buy yesterday. It should be shipped over from Victoria in a month."

"I'm guessing you ordered this medical equipment with my wages..." Warfarin released his neck and wiped the saliva from Huang Cao's neck with a handkerchief.

Hearing this, Huang Cao put on an expression of profound heartbreak. "What are you talking about? What kind of person do you take me for? Your wages are very high—ten gold coins a month, ten times that of the other maids."

"But this batch of medical equipment costs as much as your entire year's wages. Do I look like such a bad person?"

"I'm sorry..." Realizing that she had misspoken, Warfarin's face flushed faintly. She then stood up and placed both hands on the young man's shoulders.

"Then, Master~ Would you like little maid Warfarin to give you a shoulder massage?"

"It's rare for you not to want to bite me, so forget the shoulder massage. You probably couldn't knead my shoulders anyway. Lie in my arms and be my cushion. I haven't taken a nap in a long time. Several years, I think..."

The sun was shining brightly today. It was the finest part of spring. The breeze carried a trace of chill, but the sunlight on their bodies made them feel pleasantly languid.

It was the perfect time for a nap.

Warfarin's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. She quietly hummed in assent, then lifted her maid skirt and lay down in Huang Cao's arms.

The girl's flushed face said more than any words could. Of course, sometimes a red face didn't mean shyness—it meant that someone had angered her until she overheated.

But at least during the time this century-old vampire had spent with the young man behind her, Warfarin had felt for the first time that she was truly alive. There seemed to be a warmth called home surrounding him.

Huang Cao's calm, rhythmic breathing was like a warm wind blowing across long-hardened stone, gently brushing against Warfarin's already embarrassed cheeks.

Even the most stubborn stone would eventually be shattered by wind and sand. Besides, some stones were nowhere near as hard as they appeared.

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Chapter 22: What Do I Do After Accidentally Draining a Mine Dry?

After living so carefree for several days,

A certain someone had thought he could continue doing nothing for another two or three years before getting back to work. However, before long, development of his territory ran into a problem.

There were no metal ores underground in his territory... It could even be said that they were scarce.

Even the Originium needed for future industrial development was extremely lacking.

"I seem to have accidentally drained all the Originium here dry."

Huang Cao and Warfarin looked at the submitted list of missing supplies. The former guiltily turned his head away.

The mineral deposits were indeed relatively scarce, but Originium ore had once been something found everywhere on this land. That was precisely why Theresia had been able to sell the land at such a low price.

However, Huang Cao had squandered all the Originium on the land in order to develop himself. Nowadays, this land could be called the holy land with the least Originium pollution aside from the oceans and snow mountains.

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

Thus, agriculture couldn't get off the ground. Furthermore, because of educational shortcomings, the Sarkaz people generally weren't very good at managing farmland.

The townspeople had previously obtained their food from Huang Cao's shop. Those who had wanted to farm had grown too lazy to do so after seeing that a stable food supply was available.

Besides, they had all been mercenaries before. They simply had no idea how to tend farmland.

"This won't do. Looks like I'll have to give them some lessons myself."

At the very least, he had to popularize the most basic smelting and planting techniques. That way, when an iron farming tool broke, there would at least be somewhere to repair it.

Wait. When these people had been mercenaries,

They should have known how to maintain their weapons. Why didn't they know how to maintain farming tools now?

"Weapons only need to be sharp, sturdy, and practical. Chopping people isn't the same as chopping stones. There's a lot more to it than that." Warfarin stood to one side and explained.

Moreover, since most of the territory's residents had previously been mercenaries, they would only spend money to buy new weapons instead of forging them themselves.

Back in the town, most residents' income had also come from commissions issued by the Demon King.

"If we were short on lumber or something else, I could still think of a way. But there's truly nothing I can do about a lack of ore."

It wasn't as if he could spit out all the Originium he had swallowed.

Absolutely not! It had taken him so much effort to finally obtain a body.

It seemed that he had to start trading with other countries. At the very least, he first needed to build up his Originium reserves.

The backward would be bullied. Powerful military force was the foundation that guaranteed a homeland's prosperity.

Huang Cao could foresee that, in the era several hundred years later when Originium industry underwent explosive development, a vast plain without any Originium pollution would certainly become a fat piece of meat in the eyes of every faction.

Siergrag didn't count. It was a bitterly cold land to begin with, and hardly anyone was willing to live there. It was fine for a novel tourist trip, though.

His land was a genuine plain!

It was easy to advance, and one could quickly flee far away if necessary. It was absolutely not a strategic location.

What use did you expect a vast plain to have during wartime?

Send supplies to a High-speed Battleship?

Huang Cao's territory occupied five percent of Kazdel's total area. It sounded large, but in reality, it wasn't all that big.

The difference between countries was greater than the difference between humans and dogs. Kazdel's territory wasn't particularly large to begin with, and this land couldn't even compare to a small administrative district of Great Yan.

"I have to find a way to establish contact with the other Royal Courts and see if I can buy some supplies."

"Constantly seeking out foreign countries will easily arouse suspicion. Don't end up being misunderstood and waste time explaining yourself."

Buying advanced medical equipment or other things from foreign countries was understandable. After all, such things could only serve one or two people at most.

But what would you be doing by buying large quantities of iron ore and the like? Did you plan to rebel?

"Why can't Originium be converted into inorganic matter? Organic matter can clearly be converted already..."

Huang Cao sighed softly. Perhaps Originium really could be transformed into inorganic matter, but at his current level, he probably couldn't accomplish anything so heaven-defying.

It was better to be normal and start with production and construction. The treasury happened to contain some gold ore, so he could also establish a taxation policy.

"Developing industry without Originium clearly won't work. I'll develop handicrafts first and find some work for the people here. Once we have an initial scale, we can discuss collecting taxes."

However, he still had to give them some warning first. He had no intention of tearing the roof off all at once.

He would begin by collecting five percent in agricultural and commercial taxes, with collection starting five years later. Once the territory developed, there would be more types of taxes as well.

During the first five years, the people here only needed to focus on developing in peace. They didn't need to consider anything else.

Every problem that arose, whether good or bad, could be left to their great lord to resolve!

After thinking it over, Huang Cao decided to spend some time writing things based on the data in the Originium archives. He would first teach his people how to live.

Originally, he had wanted to directly transfer all this knowledge into plants, making the words grow on the leaves. However, there were simply too many words, and arranging them was extremely difficult.

Writing half a book had put tremendous mental pressure on him. He might as well copy it by hand.

Fortunately, as an existence combining plant and animal, Huang Cao had enough plant tentacles. He completed two books in only seven days.

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

Afterward, he summoned all the maids.

When choosing maids, Huang Cao had focused more on their looks and figures, but he had also paid particular attention to their cultural refinement.

Thus, all these maids were literate. After all, they represented the castle. If they spoke to foreign guests in the same tone as a certain cockroach from several hundred years later, it would be utterly humiliating for him.

It was perfect. He would have them master these two books first, then send them around the territory to spread the knowledge.

Huang Cao wasn't a Sarkaz. There was no way he could personally teach everyone.

These maids were all pure-blooded Sarkaz. They should understand better how to persuade their fellow countrymen.

After finishing these matters, Huang Cao continued making preparations for commercial development.

Money only became money when it circulated. Trade was what created wealth.

At present, trading with Victoria and the other great powers seemed unworkable. The war had only just ended, and everyone was unusually sensitive. It would be easy to bring trouble upon himself.

However, he didn't need many goods right now. A little other mineral ore would be enough. There was no need to develop large-scale trade.

His territory truly had no mines, but that didn't mean the other Royal Courts had none.

He could trade directly with the other Lords of the Royal Courts.

Huang Cao refused to believe that these lofty Lords of the Royal Courts and their people had no biological needs such as eating, drinking, and relieving themselves.

Another update this afternoon! 2

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

Once he decided to act, Huang Cao immediately drafted an article.

He also sent his subordinates to purchase pig iron near the territory.

Why not buy raw ore directly?

Huang Cao only wanted to say that anyone who thought of buying raw ore directly had something wrong with their head.

Raw ore was indeed cheaper, but after buying it, he would still have to build the equipment and smelt the pig iron himself.

The conditions in his territory were basically equivalent to those of the Middle Ages. Where would he get the resources for that?

The population was far too small. After excluding the people farming, only one or two hundred people remained who could engage in industrial production.

That raised another question. Who would prepare the raw materials for industrial production, such as lumber?

Huang Cao could naturally conjure lumber directly, but what would he do when the territory developed and then lacked other resources?

Treating a headache by treating the head and a sore foot by treating the foot wasn't how problems were solved.

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

He had to launch trade in earnest!

And all these things had to be recorded under his own accounts!

Thanks to the gold mine, Huang Cao had plenty of money. Purchasing some basic supplies wasn't a problem, but distributing those supplies was a major difficulty.

Giving them away for free didn't seem appropriate. It wasn't that Huang Cao didn't want to; it was just that everything had a first time.

Once he gave something away for free, there would be countless more free handouts afterward. In the end, he would become their father.

You reap what you sow.

Besides, people often failed to cherish what came for free. Learning how to maintain farming tools didn't mean they would immediately know how to use them.

Thus, there had to be a price. This place was different from the worlds of the past. The Sarkaz did not harbor much hatred toward the noble rulers of Kazdel's Royal Courts.

The story had not described the Royal Courts' actions in much detail, but they were probably fairly good to their own people.

Although this "good" mostly amounted to leaving them to their own devices—neither managing nor oppressing them, and letting their people do whatever they wanted.

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