New Servants

For ordinary people, being able to enter a castle and serve a lord or noble was something truly worth celebrating.

For one thing, once they joined the castle, they would generally no longer have to worry about hunger or cold, and they would also have a stable income.

For another, entering the castle gave them a chance to get close to nobles. If they were lucky, they might even receive rewards, or perhaps gain an opportunity to change their fate and rise in status!

So when Chahar announced on the pasture that Mountain Forest Castle would be recruiting twenty servants, the townspeople who had yet to disperse erupted into excitement. Many volunteered and rushed forward.

If David, Tom, and several other extraordinary knights had not been maintaining order, this young steward would likely have been completely swallowed up by the surging crowd.

The competition was fierce, but after Chahar said one thing, many people immediately wilted.

The reason was that aside from a cook, Mountain Forest Castle only wanted people between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. Anyone older had no chance.

What followed was a broad selection process.

When it came to choosing people, Chahar first adhered to the three requirements Luo Ning had proposed, then added several standards of his own.

For example, servants responsible for carrying and moving things around the castle had to look sturdy and strong.

For Luo Ning's personal manservant, he required someone reasonably handsome, clever, and quick to react.

As for the personal maid, although the master did not seem particularly interested in women, Chahar felt that she should still be as pretty as possible.

After all, when Luo Ning visited other nobles in the future, his personal servants would accompany and attend him. If they looked strange or unsightly, it would damage the Baron of Mountain Forest Town's reputation.

Chahar would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen.

Thus, he spent little time selecting the other servants, but devoted a great deal of time to the positions of personal manservant and personal maid.

It was not until after four in the afternoon that Chahar had gathered twenty servants and brought them to the castle to meet Luo Ning.

On the lawn outside the Inner Castle's main building, Luo Ning looked at the servants standing before him in several rows and nodded slightly.

"You've worked hard, Chahar. You handled this well."

Chahar bowed. "Thank you for your praise, Master."

Then he began the introductions.

The three standing at the front were Gallon, the personal manservant; Bella, the personal maid; and Mrs. Bandler, the castle cook.

"Gallon is a nineteen-year-old young man. There are four people in his family. His father was a soldier who came here with Count Bandler years ago to handle logistics."

"Bella is also nineteen. Her parents are free citizens in town, farming some land."

"Mrs. Bandler is thirty-eight. Though she is older, I personally went to her family's rundown bakery and ate her food. Compared to the others, hers was the best."

As Chahar introduced them, the newly arrived servants, some of them nervous, all bowed and greeted Luo Ning. Every one of them was extremely restrained; after all, the lord's reputation for killing was well known.

Luo Ning studied them.

They all wore linen clothes of fairly similar styles. The only difference was that some wore newer clothes, while others had several patches sewn onto theirs. It was obvious that their living conditions were poor.

That was normal. They were mountain commoners. It was already good enough that they were healthy and had clothes to wear. He could not ask for too much.

Still, this maid made Luo Ning look at her twice. She was quite pretty. With a little dressing up, she might even be prettier than Prinster's two lovers.

Chahar truly had studied at Wushan Castle. He had some taste after all.

Behind those three stood the ordinary castle servants, the servants responsible for livestock, and the rest.

Luo Ning did not spend much effort memorizing their names. After all, in daily life, the only people who would likely have much contact with him were the three in front.

"Very good. Welcome to the castle."

After Chahar finished introducing them, Luo Ning gave a few words of welcome. "Chahar, there should be some servant uniforms in the castle. Assign them later."

"Also, teach them basic etiquette, especially Gallon and Bella. You may accompany me when I go out in the future, so some of your habits and behavior need to change."

Chahar inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Before coming here, he had thought the master might find fault with a few people and send him out to recruit again. He had not expected all twenty to pass.

"Rest assured, Master. Once we leave, I will teach them the basic etiquette. I will pay special attention to Gallon and Bella!"

Luo Ning did not offer any further opinions on the servants. Chahar had received an education, so he could leave such matters to him.

"First, issue a second recruitment notice for Mountain Forest Town."

He needed to arrange the matter of an Administrator first. "I need to recruit an Administrator. Any subject of Mountain Forest Town may come to the castle at nine tomorrow morning to apply."

"Of course, not just anyone will do."

He emphasized, "Besides the points I mentioned yesterday, the age limit can be relaxed. Anyone forty or under is eligible. In addition, they must be able to read and write most words, and their mobility cannot be impaired."

The requirement of knowing most words alone would likely filter out a large number of people.

In this world, knowledge was expensive.

A book of several dozen pages bound in Parchment generally sold for several Silver Coins!

Ordinary people were already doing quite well if they could ensure that their families had enough food to eat each day. Where would they find the extra energy or money to study and buy books?

After Chahar led the servants away, Luo Ning began considering the questions he would ask applicants tomorrow. After all, if too many people came to apply, he would still need to screen them.

After a while, Luo Ning finalized the questions. He then walked over to the window and began casting Clear Wind Spell outside.

As an introductory spell for a Wind Attribute mage, this spell was not particularly difficult. Moreover, Luo Ning's elemental affinity had reached the exceptional level, so after learning it that night, he quickly became able to cast it successfully every time.

The reason he continued practicing was mainly to improve the proficiency and stability of using Mental Power to inscribe Spell Patterns, preparing for the future production of Spell Scrolls.

Mage Pedro had said that creating Spell Scrolls required a mage's Mental Power and magical output to be extremely stable in order to inscribe Spell Patterns onto Demon Beast hide.

Without meeting that condition, it was impossible to create Spell Scrolls. Pedro had tried many times, yet in the end produced only defective items.

Luo Ning clearly met that condition.

His Mental Power and magical power were both very stable. Producing Spell Scrolls in the future should not be a problem. He had also privately asked Elrond, and the other man seemed to meet the condition as well.

In other words, Mountain Forest Town could have two mages producing Spell Scrolls in the future.

Luo Ning had considered it carefully. If Mountain Forest Town did not have any special products, he could sell Spell Scrolls as a resource to the outside world.

And once their mages reached higher levels and could produce powerful Spell Scrolls, they could be treated as a kind of Strategic Resources.

If there was a spell capable of destroying an entire city in an instant, and Luo Ning could turn it into a Spell Scroll, then that scroll would be equivalent to a nuclear weapon.

Of course, that was merely one of his fantasies. He had no idea whether this world actually possessed any heaven-defying magic.

Those were matters for later. At the current stage, a second-level Healing Spell Scroll would definitely sell well.

That way, Luo Ning could also accumulate a certain amount of wealth.

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

For example, Baijiu?

People in this world loved drinking. From great nobles to ordinary citizens, everyone had the habit, and there were many who loved alcohol as much as life itself.

However, they drank only beer and wine. Even a great noble like Luo Ning's previous self had never encountered Baijiu, so it was obvious that Baijiu did not exist here.

That gave Luo Ning a very clear market.

However, Luo Ning had never actually made Baijiu himself. He estimated that it would require a long period of exploration and experimentation.

Fortunately, he already possessed the theoretical knowledge. All he lacked was practical experience, and Luo Ning had great confidence in himself.