Interviewing the Administrator

With the addition of over twenty servants, Mountain Forest Castle began operating normally.

Luo Ning's daily life was temporarily freed from the previous hustle and anxiety, and he began spending more time cultivating swordsmanship and practicing magic.

Early the next morning, served by the maid Bella, Luo Ning put on the formal attire he had brought from Wushan Castle.

The maid Bella was very reserved, not even daring to lift her head.

Although she had been trained by Chahar, this was her first time practically serving a lord, and she couldn't help but feel a bit flustered.

Luo Ning didn't show any outward signs of discomfort, but having a woman serve him so intimately with dressing still felt strange to him.

He would have preferred to do it himself, but unfortunately, he wasn't adept at handling the clothing of a court lord.

"Don't rush, Bella. You can relax."

Luo Ning reminded her, "We have plenty of time."

"Y-yes, yes, my lord!"

Bella responded softly, her face flushed. Her fingers fumbled slightly when dealing with the court collar, and her body seemed to lose strength due to nervousness.

Fortunately, the clothing was almost on. After smoothing out a few corners, the maid Bella could finally breathe.

She had successfully completed her first service.

Luo Ning looked down at his attire. The magnificent clothing paired with his tall figure looked quite handsome.

"Well done, Bella!"

The maid lowered her head, her face red. "Thank you for the compliment, my lord. Bella will do better next time!"

"I look forward to it."

Luo Ning said, walking out of the dressing room.

Outside, the manservant Gallon was waiting. "My lord, Chahar has brought the applicants for the Administrator position to the Outer Castle hall."

"Then let's go."

Luo Ning asked as he walked, "How many people came in total?"

Gallon replied, "Three in total."

"Only three?"

Hearing this number, Luo Ning was momentarily at a loss for words.

Gallon explained, "Over a dozen people arrived outside the castle at dawn, all wanting to become your Administrator. However, after Butler Chahar's screening, some who were less capable were eliminated, leaving only three."

Leaving the Inner Castle, Luo Ning arrived at the Outer Castle hall. This was a relatively spacious wooden house, usually used only by Chahar or Macken.

For example, the butler taught the newcomers etiquette here last night.

Luo Ning entered the room, and Chahar came forward. "My lord, these are the three I have initially screened."

Upon seeing Luo Ning approach, the three immediately bowed in greeting to the lord.

By their bowing actions, Luo Ning could tell that these three were Freemen, not Serfs, as the latter would kneel when seeing a lord.

"I'm glad you responded to Mountain Forest Castle's recruitment."

Luo Ning walked to the seat and sat down, getting straight to the point. "However, I only need one Administrator, so I need to select one from the three of you."

The three felt a bit nervous, but they were all prepared for the selection.

"Let's start with you."

Luo Ning pointed to the middle-aged man on the far left. "The other two go out first, one by one."

The man who was asked to stay became nervous. He knew that the real test had begun.

"Now, two of my people are arguing over a fat duck. They both claim the duck is theirs, and both sides have gathered a few friends, resulting in a small conflict involving over a dozen people."

Luo Ning stated the problem he had prepared. "If you were the Administrator of Mountain Forest Town, how would you handle this matter?"

"Uh..."

The man was stunned. He seemed not to have expected Luo Ning to ask such a question. His mind buzzed for a moment, not knowing what to think.

He kept telling himself to quickly clear his head and answer the question, but he just didn't know how to begin.

As the silence lengthened, his palms, forehead, and back were covered in sweat, and his breathing became rapid.

After waiting for dozens of seconds without a response, Luo Ning couldn't help but ask again, "Tell me, how would you handle it?"

"I, I, I don't know..."

The man slumped onto the ground, his voice trembling.

Luo Ning was speechless.

Even if the man couldn't answer, he didn't need to be so scared that he sat on the ground. Was his psychological resilience that poor?

"Next." He waved his hand.

Chahar quickly ran over, pulled up the applicant who had collapsed on the ground, and helped him walk out of the hall.

Facing the same problem, the second person was relatively calm.

"My lord, you are the lord of Mountain Forest Town. Everything here, every blade of grass and every tree, belongs to you, including the property of the residents, and even themselves. So I believe it is completely unreasonable for them to fight over the ownership of a duck, because this duck belongs to you!"

This person answered forcefully, "Therefore, I will catch the duck they were fighting over and bring it to the castle. This will resolve their dispute and properly settle the matter."

Luo Ning stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "What you said makes some sense. Go wait outside for notification. Chahar, let the third person in."

Facing the same problem, the third person was also relatively calm.

After a brief period of thought, this person gave his answer, "My lord, if I were the Administrator, I would resolve this matter in several steps."

Luo Ning motioned for him to continue.

"Step one, I would notify the Castle Guard to arrest all these troublemakers."

"Step two, I would find a way to put them on trial and determine who the duck truly belongs to."

"Step three, I would punish this group of people. The imposter should be sentenced to a severe crime, punished with flogging and a fine. His accomplices would be sentenced to hard labor and a fine."

"As for the other party, I will impose a punishment of warning, hard labor, or even a fine, depending on the cause and severity of the conflict."

After hearing this, even Chahar, who was standing nearby, cast a look of admiration at the person. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the new Administrator.

Luo Ning was clearly very satisfied with this answer.

"Tell me, how would you put them on trial and determine the ownership of the duck?"

The person pondered again and said, "The imposter is clearly a lowlife. We don't need to show mercy to such people. I will use verbal warnings and warning floggings to get an honest confession from the other party."

Luo Ning was not very satisfied with this answer. "In that case, you might accidentally harm the true owner of the duck."

"But I would have cleared his name."

The person said firmly, "I believe he will ultimately be grateful to me."

Luo Ning shook his head. "I largely agree with your previous answer, but I don't quite agree with your method of trial. If the duck's owner is afraid of your threats and is forced to confess, then you are essentially condoning the imposter."

Hearing this evaluation, the applicant's face turned pale. Being rejected by the Baron, there was probably no hope, right?

"I apologize, my lord, for disappointing you."

He bowed slightly. "Perhaps there is a better way, but please forgive me for not thinking of one."

"Then you can take your time to think about it later."

The corner of Luo Ning's mouth curved slightly, and he slowly stood up. "Tell me your name."

The person below was startled at first, then showed surprise and joy.

Just a second ago, he thought he had been eliminated, but he didn't expect to pass the next second.

"My lord, I am Wilson!"

"Congratulations, Wilson. From now on, you are the Administrator of Mountain Forest Town. I will pay you a salary of 10 Copper Coins per day. I hope you will serve me well."

Although the other party's answer didn't completely align with Luo Ning's thoughts, being able to answer the first few steps indicated that he had a certain logic and order.

Moreover, the other two people...

The first one didn't need to be mentioned; his psychological quality was too poor. If he encountered anything significant, he probably wouldn't have any opinion;

The second one, his answer seemed to have the suspicion of exploiting loopholes. Furthermore, would Luo Ning really snatch someone else's duck because of this matter? That would only weaken his positive image.

So, with only three people to choose from, Luo Ning chose the third one.

"Thank you for your recognition, my lord!"

Wilson knelt on one knee and said excitedly, "Wilson will do his utmost to assist you, my lord, in governing Mountain Forest Town well!"

In this remote place, being able to earn a salary of 10 Copper Coins per day was something Wilson couldn't even imagine.

Coming to apply for the Administrator position this time was arguably the most important decision he had made in his life.

Luo Ning raised his hand, signaling for the other party to stand up.

"Then, the first task I assign you is to conduct a Census of Mountain Forest Town."

Luo Ning began to assign the first task. "I want you to compile a list of each person's gender, age, occupation, and specialty, registered by family unit."

"Also, pay special attention to Craftsmen!"

Understanding the population structure of Mountain Forest Town could not only help Luo Ning with subsequent construction but also was a key step in completing the [Prosperous Population] achievement.

To complete this achievement, the territory's population needed to reach three thousand people and be registered.

Even if Mountain Forest Town didn't have that many people now, a census was imperative.

"My lord..."

Chahar hesitated on the side.

"Just say what you want to say, Chahar."

The new Butler expressed his concern. "My lord, there are only 83 sheets of Parchment in the castle. Isn't it a bit wasteful to use them to register the residents' information?"

Parchment was not cheap; a sheet of parchment with 40 lines cost about 10 Copper Coins.

Buying a large quantity would be a considerable expense.

Chahar, as the new butler, immediately thinking about the consumption of parchment showed he was truly stepping into his role, which was good.

"Your concern is valid."

Luo Ning nodded slightly, but the population registration was something he had to do.

"There aren't many people in town. Even if we count everyone, it shouldn't use up much. Besides, I'll be going to Pasture City in a couple of days, and I can buy a little more then."

The parchment issue reminded Luo Ning of a technology – papermaking.

Only by producing cheap paper could information spread more easily, which would enrich the territory with various "design" talents.

Besides baijiu, papermaking seemed like another thing that could be applied in Mountain Forest Town.

"But we can't rush this. We can explore the production method first and promote it when the time is right."

Things invented also needed to be protected.