Farmers Are Productivity

Inside the tent were people.

Living, breathing people.

There were men and women, seven or eight in total, all with their hands and feet bound by hemp ropes and their mouths stuffed with rags.

Unlike the bandits, their eyes were not dull; their lively gazes betrayed their deep fear.

Zong Shen narrowed his eyes slightly.

The golden Strategy Guide prompt arrived right on cue.

(Poor natives abducted by bandits. If you are willing to save them and provide food, they will pledge their loyalty to you. Your territory is currently lacking manpower.)

So they were just ordinary natives, with origins similar to the three simple farmers.

Zong Shen breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his Kite Shield.

By this time, Luna had already tossed the corpse into the campfire.

Letting it turn to ash, so it would no longer suffer desecration or pain.

She also saw the poor captives inside the tent and spoke up on her own initiative.

"My Lord, our territory needs population."

"Save them, let them submit to your benevolence, and build up your territory."

Zong Shen nodded, signaling his agreement.

He put away his Kite Shield and dismounted from his horse.

One by one, he sliced through the hemp ropes binding their hands and feet.

The natives regained their freedom and immediately tore the rags from their mouths.

"I am a lord from nearby, and this is my soldier."

"I have rescued you."

"Now, are you willing to serve me and join me in building a great territory?"

Zong Shen held his sword in one hand and spoke solemnly.

The natives looked at each other and gazed around, unsure of where they were.

However, those hateful and brutal bandits had indeed been wiped out.

After hesitating for a moment.

They all bowed in unison, saluting Zong Shen.

"Great lord, it is our honor to serve you."

"Please treat us well and provide us with shelter and food."

Zong Shen nodded, signaling his agreement.

"Very well, your decision is a wise one!"

There were 8 of these natives in total, 5 men and 3 women.

They were all dressed in coarse linen clothes.

Their skin was dark and rough.

They looked quite sturdy.

Zong Shen cast his gaze over them to inspect them.

[Farmer: Er Hua]

[Aptitude: Common]

[Level: lv3]

[Attributes: (Click to expand)]

[Satiety: 33]

[Loyalty: 60]

[Farmer: San Pang]

[Aptitude: Excellent]

[Level: lv5]

[Attributes: (Click to expand)]

[Satiety: 36]

[Loyalty: 60]

[Farmer: Zhuang Zhuang]

[Potential: Common]

[Level: lv5]

[Attributes: (Click to expand)]

[Satiety: 31]

[Loyalty: 60]

Zong Shen looked around and was quite satisfied with these newly joined farmers.

None of them had dull potential; the worst among them were of common potential, and there was even a farmer named San Pang whose potential reached excellent.

The quality of this batch of farmers was very high!

They were far better than the three dim-witted farmers from the start!

Although their loyalty was a bit low, it would quickly increase with some training.

With the addition of these 8 farmers, the efficiency of the territory's development could be greatly increased.

As the saying goes, farmers are productivity.

Productivity is strength.

Strength is justice.

It is just that simple of a principle.

"Very good, Luna! Take them back to our territory."

Zong Shen turned his head and instructed; the journey of over thirty li, if traveled on foot, would take at least two and a half to three hours.

If they set off now, they could make it back to the territory before sunset.

However, he saw these few farmers rubbing their stomachs with troubled expressions.

"Lord, we haven't eaten or had a drop of water in days; could you please provide us with some food first?"

"Otherwise, I don't think we will be able to make it to your territory."

The farmer named San Pang spoke up proactively.

He was the farmer whose potential reached excellent, and he was now vaguely the leader among these eight farmers.

"What you say makes sense."

Zong Shen nodded. As it happened, he was carrying the [Unknown Dried Meat] he had scavenged from the bandit tents earlier, and in quite a large quantity—a full 23 portions.

He proceeded to distribute one portion to each of them.

As for water, that was easy to resolve as well.

These bandits carried leather waterskins with them.

Zong Shen had found them dirty and hadn't bothered to pick them up.

They would serve perfectly to quench the thirst of these farmers.

And so, the eight filthy farmers each clutched a piece of dried meat made from some unknown creature, taking turns picking up the waterskins to drink.

They gulped down their first meal.

"Luna, protect them and head back first; I will follow shortly."

Once they had finished the dried meat and drank some water, regaining a bit of their strength, Zong Shen spoke earnestly to Luna.

"Lord, but your safety...?"

Luna's loyalty was as high as 83, and she had already begun to proactively worry about Zong Shen's safety.

However, Zong Shen just smiled and waved his hand, brandishing the rusty One-handed Sword in his grip.

"It's fine, I can protect myself. You should hurry and set off with them; make sure to reach the territory before dark."

Hearing Zong Shen say this, Luna stopped insisting. She nodded, mounted her Black Panther, and led the eight farmers onto the road back home.

Zong Shen, meanwhile, remained in the camp to explore further.

The bandits had dropped a few items as well.

They were all weapons with names displayed in gray text, indicating they were of broken quality.

Items of different quality were displayed in different colors.

So far, Zong Shen had only discovered five grades.

Broken (gray), Common (white), Fine (green), Rare (purple), Legendary (orange).

As for whether there were higher grades, Zong Shen did not yet know.

He gathered all the trash weapons dropped by the bandits into his [Kodo Beast Leather Backpack], adhering to the principle of not letting a single grain go to waste.

No matter how trashy these weapons were, even if Zong Shen didn't use them himself, they could still be used to arm the farmers in a critical moment.

At this moment, only two tents remained in the bandit camp.

Zong Shen sliced the tents open directly.

One tent was still filled with supplies.

Mostly wood.

[Wood ×30]

[Stone ×13]

[Iron ×6]

[Linen ×27]

[Linen Rope ×5]

[Iron Axe ×6]

[Iron Pickaxe ×6]

Another wave of supplies was tucked away into Zong Shen's pocket.

Clearly, these bandits had prepared to set up camp here.

The gains from killing monsters and treasure hunting were far greater than going out to gather resources himself.

Possessing the Strategy Module, it would be a waste of talent if he were to gather resources like a common farmer.

Zong Shen did not care much for these resources.

What truly caught his attention was the item in the final tent.

It was not far from where he stood.

It was a treasure chest, made entirely of metal, with a dark surface and rough craftsmanship.

Zong Shen focused his gaze on it.

[Black Iron Treasure Chest]

[An unknown Black Iron Treasure Chest; no one knows what might be inside]

(There is no issue with the treasure chest; you can open it with peace of mind)

"Found a treasure chest?"

Zong Shen's eyes lit up.

Opening a treasure chest was just like opening a blind box.

He spat into his palms, rubbed them together vigorously, and then walked over with great enthusiasm.