New Servants

Chapter 43: New Servants

For ordinary people, becoming a servant in a castle for a lord or noble was a very fortunate thing.

Firstly, once you joined the castle, it meant that in most cases you didn't have to worry about starving or freezing, and you would have a stable income.

Secondly, entering the castle gave you the opportunity to get close to nobles. If you were lucky, you might even receive rewards, and there was even a chance to change your fate and rise in social class!

So when Chahar announced on the pasture that Mountain Forest Castle would recruit twenty servants, the villagers who hadn't dispersed yet were excited. Many eagerly volunteered and rushed forward.

If David, Tom, and a few other extraordinary knights hadn't been there to maintain order, the young butler would likely have been completely surrounded by the surging crowd.

The competition was very intense, but with one sentence from Chahar, many people immediately deflated.

The reason was that besides the head cook, Mountain Forest Castle only needed people between the ages of 18 and 35 for other positions. Anyone older than that wouldn't have a chance.

Next came the major screening.

When selecting people, Chahar first followed the three requirements Luo Ning had set, and then some standards he had established himself.

For example, for servants responsible for carrying and moving heavy things in the castle, he required them to look strong and sturdy.

For the person serving as Luo Ning's personal manservant, he required a decent appearance, intelligence, and quick reactions.

As for the personal maid, although the lord didn't seem very interested in women, Chahar felt that the personal maid should be as beautiful as possible.

After all, when Luo Ning went out to visit other nobles in the future, the personal manservant and maid would follow and serve him. If they looked strange, it would be a loss of face for the Baron of Mountain Forest Town.

Chahar would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen.

Therefore, he spent less time selecting other servants, but a very long time on the positions of personal maid and personal manservant.

It wasn't until after four in the afternoon that Chahar finally gathered twenty servants and brought them to the castle to meet Luo Ning.

On the grass outside the main building of the Inner Castle, Luo Ning looked at the servants standing in several rows in front of him and nodded slightly.

"You've worked hard, Chahar. You did a good job."

Chahar bowed and said, "Thank you for your praise, my lord."

Saying this, he began the introductions.

The three people standing at the front were the personal manservant Gallon, the personal maid Bella, and the head cook Bandler.

"Gallon is a 19-year-old young man. There are four people in his family. His father was a guard who came here with the Count years ago to be responsible for logistics."

"Bella is also 19. Her parents are freemen in the town and cultivate some fields."

"Mrs. Bandler is 38. Although she is older, I personally went to her dilapidated bakery and tasted her food. Compared to others, it is the best."

As he introduced them, these new, somewhat nervous servants bowed and greeted Luo Ning. Each and every one of them was very reserved, after all, the lord's "killing reputation" preceded him.

Luo Ning observed them.

These people were all wearing clothes made of linen, with similar styles. The difference was that some people's clothes were newer, while others had several patches, indicating a less-than-ideal living environment.

This was normal. They were commoners from the mountains, so it was good enough that they were strong and had clothes to wear. They couldn't expect too much.

However, Luo Ning took a second look at the maid. She was quite beautiful. With a little grooming, she might even be prettier than Prinster's two mistresses.

Chahar was indeed someone who had studied at Wushan Castle; he had a bit of an eye for things.

Behind these three were the ordinary servants of the castle, the servants responsible for livestock, and so on.

Luo Ning didn't spend much effort trying to remember their names. After all, in daily life, he would probably only interact more with these first three people.

"Very good, welcome to the team."

After Chahar finished the introductions, Luo Ning said a few welcoming words. "Chahar, there should be some servant uniforms in the castle. You can distribute them later."

"Also, teach them basic etiquette, especially Gallon and Bella. You might follow me when I go out later, so you need to change some of your habits in your behavior."

Chahar breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Before he came, he thought the lord might find fault with two people and ask him to recruit again. He didn't expect all twenty people to pass.

"Don't worry, my lord. I will teach them basic etiquette after we go down later. I will pay special attention to Gallon and Bella!"

Luo Ning did not offer any more opinions on the matter of servants. Chahar was educated, and these matters could be left to him.

"First, issue the second recruitment notice to Mountain Forest Town."

He had to arrange the Administrator matter first, so he instructed, "I need to recruit an Administrator. All villagers of Mountain Forest Town can come to the castle to apply tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."

"Of course, not everyone is suitable."

He emphasized, "Besides the points mentioned yesterday, the age limit can be relaxed to 40 and below. Also, they must be able to read and write most characters, and their mobility cannot be restricted."

The condition of just recognizing most characters would likely filter out a large number of people.

Because in this world, knowledge was expensive.

A book of dozens of pages bound with parchment usually cost several silver coins!

It was already quite good if ordinary people could ensure three meals a day and warmth for their families. Where would they have the extra energy and money to study and buy books?

After Luo Ning watched Chahar take the servants away, he began to think about the questions he would ask the applicants for the interview tomorrow. After all, if many people came to apply, he would still need to screen them.

After a while, Luo Ning finalized the questions. Then he went to the window and cast the Clear Wind Spell outside.

As a beginner spell for Wind Mages, this spell wasn't difficult. Coupled with Luo Ning's super-grade affinity, he was able to cast it successfully 100% of the time soon after learning it that night.

The main reason he continued practicing was to improve his proficiency and stability in using Mental Power to carve Spell Patterns, preparing for making Spell Scrolls later.

The Mage Pedro had said that making Spell Scrolls required a Mage's Mental Power and Mana output to be extremely stable in order to carve Spell Patterns onto Magical Beast hide.

Without meeting this condition, one couldn't make Spell Scrolls. Just like Pedro, who tried many times, only produced waste products in the end.

Luo Ning clearly met this condition.

His Mental Power and Mana were both very stable, so making Spell Scrolls in the future shouldn't be a problem. He had also privately asked Elrond, and it seemed the other party also met this condition.

This meant that in the future, Mountain Forest Town could have two Mages making Spell Scrolls.

Luo Ning had seriously considered that if Mountain Forest Town didn't have any special products, he could sell Spell Scrolls as a resource to the outside world.

Moreover, once their Mage levels increased and they could make powerful Spell Scrolls, they could then treat them as a strategic resource.

If there was a spell that could destroy a city in an instant, and Luo Ning could make it into a Spell Scroll, then this scroll would be equivalent to a nuclear weapon.

Of course, this was just his vision. Whether there were any heaven-defying spells in this world, he wasn't sure.

These were all future matters. At the current stage, a Level 2 Healing Spell Scroll would definitely sell well.

This way, Luo Ning could also accumulate a certain amount of money.

Besides Spell Scrolls, Luo Ning also planned to rely on his memories from his previous life to see if he could develop some industries.

Like Baijiu?

People in this world were very fond of drinking. From great nobles down to ordinary citizens, they all had the habit of drinking, and there were quite a few who were addicted to alcohol.

However, they only drank Beer and Wine. Even a great noble like his previous self hadn't encountered Baijiu, so it clearly didn't exist.

This gave Luo Ning a very clear market.

However, regarding how to make Baijiu, Luo Ning hadn't actually done it before. He estimated that it would require a long period of exploration and experimentation.

Fortunately, he already possessed the theoretical knowledge; what was missing was practical application. Luo Ning was very confident in himself.