Male and Female Servant Recruitment

"Big Lily, where is Little Lily?"

"What is it, Old Abel? Little Lily is in the yard feeding the chickens." Big Lily was a middle-aged woman, her back hunched from years of hard labor.

A brilliant smile spread across Old Abel's wrinkled face. "It's good news. His Lordship is hiring new servants for the castle. I heard from Steward Carter that he's looking for three manservants, one maid, and one kitchen maid. Big Lily, Little Lily should go apply for the maid position."

"Really? Is His Lordship really hiring new maids? Is this true? That's wonderful!" Big Lily took off running toward the house. "I have to go tell Little Lily."

"Go on, go on." By the time Old Abel finished speaking, Big Lily had already vanished from sight. He shook his head with a chuckle and muttered to himself, "I need to go back and tell everyone the good news. In the castle, you can drink milk every day—what a beautiful life. The children are truly blessed."

Soon, all 48 households of serfs in Barley Hamlet had heard the news.

"This is truly good news. I was just complaining that Malfoy didn't have any more fields to plow and that I'd have to clear wasteland. He's strong, sturdy, and hardworking; aside from eating a bit much, he'd definitely make a good manservant."

"That's not necessarily true. Parker is even more diligent, and he has manners. I think he's sure to get the job."

"Is the news true? Will His Lordship really hire servants from the countryside?"

"It's what Old Abel said. He's been at the blacksmith shop helping His Lordship forge tools these past few days. Could what he says be false?"

"Old Abel has a good set of skills, but can he still lift a hammer?"

"He doesn't need to do the heavy lifting; His Lordship has arranged for apprentices to swing the hammers. Remember Peter the Lame? He went to the blacksmith shop as an apprentice, and His Lordship pays him a copper coin every day!"

"Isn't the blacksmith shop owned by the Old Drunkard?"

"The Old Drunkard sold the shop to His Lordship a long time ago. Ho-ho, he sold it for three Narda!"

"Three Narda? Heavens, His Lordship is truly generous!"

Good news always flew like a bird with wings, quickly reaching everyone's ears.

In the yard, Little Lily, who had been feeding the chickens, felt her face flush with excitement. "Mother, I... can I really go apply to be a maid?"

"It's news brought by Old Abel; he wouldn't lie. Little Lily, you must prepare well. As long as you can get into the castle, you'll be able to live a good life," Big Lily said joyfully.

"But... will His Lordship choose me?"

"You must have some confidence in yourself, Little Lily. You are the most outstanding girl in Barley Hamlet—diligent and capable. You are Mother's pride. Of course, you could take a step back; His Lordship is hiring a maid and a kitchen maid. You could apply for the kitchen maid position. You wash vegetables the cleanest."

"Yes, I know what to do, Mother." A look of determination flashed in Little Lily's eyes.

For the sake of a better life in the future, she had to show that she was capable enough to be hired as a castle maid. With no father, her mother had struggled to raise her and her two younger brothers, and life was very poor. She had grown up, and she had to take on the heavy burdens for the family. The seventeen-year-old girl clenched her fists in secret.

At the blacksmith shop, Liszt watched several veteran blacksmiths working busily with their apprentices to forge iron blocks.

Liszt had taken all the iron blocks obtained through the Black Tulip assimilation trade and put them toward forging farm tools, starting with equipment for the fishermen.

Shovels, hammers, and awls—with these three types of equipment, the fishermen would be able to harvest seafood.

The seafood resources on the east coast of Flower Town had never been exploited, nor had they suffered any pollution. With such an abundance of shellfish and crabs, one didn't need highly sophisticated skills to catch them with ease.

"Teacher Gortai, has the selection of fishermen begun?" Liszt took the handkerchief handed to him by Marcus and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He had grown accustomed to the service of his personal manservant; as long as there was no physical contact, having someone to pour tea and water was quite enjoyable.

Gortai had to take out his own handkerchief to wipe his sweat. "Your requirements have been relayed. The clerks are currently promoting it in every hamlet. We are only recruiting elderly people, women, and children who haven't grown up yet for the fishing."

"Exactly, that's it. Gathering seafood doesn't require much physical strength, just patience. Letting farmers with low agricultural efficiency go gather seafood is a reasonable allocation of human resources. However, you must ensure the publicity is clear: toxic seafood must not be touched, and raw seafood must not be eaten."

The medical and sanitary means in this world were extremely underdeveloped.

Nobles practiced Battle Qi and rarely fell ill, so they had no motivation to study medicine. Liszt didn't understand medicine either; all he could do was focus on prevention for his subjects—emphasizing hygiene, drinking boiled water, and eating cooked food.

"Meeting you is their good fortune, Liszt. You have a unique charm." Gortai offered a compliment.

An ordinary young noble might have been carried away by such flattery. But Liszt had the soul of an adult, his values were long since mature, and he couldn't be swayed by a few words. He simply instructed, "Don't stop the forging of ironware, but don't let the blacksmiths get exhausted either. Adjust their wages from 5 copper coins to 6, and the apprentices to 2 copper coins."

An apprentice doing odd jobs earned 1 copper coin a day.

A master blacksmith swinging the hammer earned 5 copper coins a day.

These were the wages Liszt had offered previously, which were relatively high. Now, the wealthy Baron no longer cared to exploit the commoners for a few measly copper coins.

After all, the Red Blood Sword at his waist was worth one or two thousand gold coins.

That was over a hundred thousand silver coins, or more than ten million copper coins.

Besides, the entirety of Flower Town was his. Whether his subjects were wealthy or not made no difference to his own wealth—he could adjust tax rates at will and collect taxes however he pleased.

"6 copper coins a day... hmm, what lucky blacksmiths," Gortai muttered.

He then walked into the forge and shouted loudly, "Gentlemen blacksmiths, His Lordship has just decided to raise your wages from 5 copper coins a day to 6, and apprentices will now receive 2 copper coins a day. Work hard! His Lordship's generosity is beyond what you can imagine!"

"Wow!"

"6 copper coins a day?"

"Long live His Lordship!"

"Praise His Lordship! Old Jack will forge iron for His Lordship for the rest of his life!"

"Apprentices get 2 copper coins a day too? Heavens, my parents will be so happy."

The blacksmith shop was filled with laughter and cheers. The complaints about the sweltering heat vanished, and everyone threw themselves into their work, eager to repay the generous and magnanimous Lord Liszt.

Hearing the cheers from inside, Liszt shook his head.

He might have had a kind heart and no desire to squeeze the serf class, but this was also a way to use a small amount of profit to drive the productivity of his serfs. Compared to exploitation, he preferred creation—rationally allocating production resources and vigorously improving work efficiency. Only in this way could he perfectly utilize the town's population of less than two thousand.

"My Lord, are you heading back?"

"I'm going to the tailor shop to check on the gloves, towels, and masks being sewn for the fishermen. I hope they are all quality products." Mounting his Fire Dragon Horse, Liszt flicked his whip lightly.