Flourishing

The appearance of a second Daughter of Misfortune, along with the acquisition of a top-tier cook, left Nalant feeling exceptionally pleased.

Furthermore, he had no idea how Sherry, at such a tender age, could be so carefree; after drinking the potion, she had actually slept soundly until the following morning.

Once Sherry woke up, Nalant did not immediately have her test her talent or clarify the nature of her abilities.

This was because Nalant still remembered that the last time Vivian awakened, the system had issued a quest, which had rewarded him with a sprite.

Having tasted the sweetness of such rewards, Nalant prepared to wait a few more days to see if the system would issue another quest.

Of course, if he wanted the system to trigger another side quest, Nalant figured he would first have to complete the task of resolving the salt shortage for the villagers.

By noon the next day, Nalant received a report from Quick stating that the iron-plate lures and fishhooks he had commissioned from the blacksmith were ready.

Taking this opportunity, Nalant headed once again to Misfortune Village.

Upon arriving at the seaside of Misfortune Village, Nalant had Kenbi Cowdung gather thirty villagers, specifically requesting that they be young girls.

Because these girls lacked physical strength and were unable to perform daily farm labor, they had to rely on gathering wild fruits and vegetables to survive, leading to a very arduous existence.

Fishing, however, did not require significant physical strength; it relied primarily on patience and technique, making it the most suitable work for them.

Not only would this fully utilize the labor force of Misfortune Village, but the daily wages from fishing would provide the girls with an income, improving their quality of life.

Of course, for their safety, Nalant prepared a hemp rope for each of them. The rope was tied to the base of the fishing rod and then secured to a large rock behind the girl, preventing them from being dragged into the sea by a large fish or losing their rods should they lack the strength to hold on.

With everything prepared, Nalant personally taught the girls how to fish. They quickly grasped the essence of using the metal lures, and since the oceans of this world had yet to be exploited, they were soon pulling in sea fish one after another.

Kenbi Cowdung watched from the side with envy, desperately wanting to learn this masterful fishing technique himself.

"Kenbi Cowdung, how much sea salt has been boiled down so far?" With the fishing arrangements settled, Nalant turned his attention to the salt production.

"My Lord, after boiling continuously since yesterday afternoon and this morning, we have produced over twenty pounds."

"Hmm, the speed is not bad!" Twenty pounds of white salt a day was not slow at all, considering they only had one large iron pot.

"Kenbi, I leave the salt boiling and the fishing to you! I will take the twenty pounds of salt already produced, but for the salt you produce from now on, each person may borrow four bags to use for drying fish!"

"Yes, My Lord! Thank you for your generosity, My Lord." Kenbi Cowdung was immediately moved to tears. He paused for a moment before adding, "However, My Lord, the wood we chopped yesterday is almost gone. May I ask if you would like me to gather other villagers to start felling more trees?"

"Ah, I had forgotten about that! Kenbi, you don't need to worry about the wood in Misfortune Village; I will have the villagers of Wheat Leaf Village handle it!" Boiling salt required a massive amount of wood, but fortunately, Storm Territory was not lacking in that regard; in fact, there were so many trees that they occupied far too much of the territory's space.

Of course, if he wanted to produce salt on a large scale, the method of sun-drying sea salt would be the most appropriate, but Nalant currently lacked the conditions for that.

"I'll just have to try that in the future!"

With the affairs of Misfortune Village settled, Nalant returned the way he came with the twenty-plus pounds of sea salt.

Passing through Wheat Leaf Village, Nalant sent a guard to notify Pete, telling the villagers to bring two pounds of grain to purchase salt.

To prevent the serfs from developing a sense of entitlement, barter was a necessity.

The second credit extension for Misfortune Village had been a matter of necessity.

When the villagers learned that their Lord actually had salt and that the price was half that of Quinte Territory, they cheered and flocked to trade for it.

One pound of wheat was worth ten copper coins, and now it could be traded for four bags of salt, which was equivalent to five copper coins per bag.

Leaving the salt trade to the guards, Nalant instructed Pete to select thirty strong villagers to be tasked specifically with felling trees.

Naturally, they would be paid as well: twenty copper coins per day.

The wages for the residents of Storm Territory were now divided into three tiers.

At the top were the castle servants, guards, and Kenbi Cowdung, who received ten silver coins per month, equivalent to one thousand units of currency from his previous life.

The next tier consisted of the villagers boiling salt and chopping wood, who received six silver coins per month.

Finally, there were the girls who fished, earning ten copper coins a day, totaling three silver coins per month.

Of course, while the wages of the castle servants and guards might not seem high, their food and lodging were provided by the castle, so those ten silver coins were pure profit.

And so, in the eyes of many, this Land of Misfortune known as Storm Territory began to develop at full throttle over the following days.

Time flew by, and ten days passed.

During these ten days, the harvest along the coast of Storm Territory was incredibly gratifying.

Nalant was able to harvest three hundred pounds of sea fish every day, averaging about ten pounds per girl.

The harvest of sea salt was even more impressive. Originally, one large iron pot could produce about twenty pounds a day, but after five days, Nalant added a new iron pot, bringing production up to forty pounds per day.

With this, the castle now possessed nearly two thousand pounds of dried salted fish and three hundred pounds of edible salt.

Of course, as the saying goes, when the east is bright, the west is inevitably dim; Nalant had been feeling a bit troubled these past few days.

The system quest regarding Sherry that he had imagined never appeared. After he resolved the salt quest, he had waited bitterly for nine days, but the system seemed to have vanished into thin air.

The consequence of this was that Nalant had not obtained a sprite during the last meteor shower, and he had even wasted one Energy Point in a futile attempt to search for one during that night, refusing to give up.

Unfortunately, without the system's guidance, the probability of a sprite appearing was extremely low. Nalant failed to find one, causing his Energy Point to go down the drain, leaving him with only three points remaining.

To alleviate the pain of his wasted Energy Point, Nalant opened the Lucky Draw Wheel to try his luck.

Perhaps to compensate him, Nalant obtained another Strengthening Fruit in this draw, further strengthening his body and saving him a massive amount of cultivation time.

Other Title Knights had to exert great effort and engage in grueling training every day to strengthen their physiques, but after consuming the Strengthening Fruit, Nalant only needed to meditate and absorb fire-attribute Battle Qi to increase his strength!

"With the next meteor shower night fast approaching, System, you'd better be reliable for once! And what about the promised Battle Qi secret technique reward? It's been nine days and there's still no sign of it!" Standing in the open space outside the castle, Nalant's thoughts drifted aimlessly.

Crack!

"I said no moving! Move again and you'll get the lash!" The very next moment, perhaps to vent the gloom in his heart, Nalant swung his leather whip toward a guard without a moment's hesitation.

Uh... of course, the great and benevolent Lord was not actually that mean-spirited. This wasn't a deliberate act of venting, but rather because Nalant was currently engaged in a serious endeavor: training his troops!

Standing before him at this moment were all twenty-seven guards of Storm Territory, including Vivian and Quick.

Rolling on the floor begging for recommendation tickets~ begging for follows~