Administrator Interview

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

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

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

Maid Bella appeared extremely reserved, not even daring to raise her head.

Although she had undergone Chahar's training, this was her first time personally serving a lord, and she could not help feeling flustered.

Luo Ning did not show anything unusual on the surface, but having a woman dress him so intimately still felt rather strange.

He had wanted to do it himself, but unfortunately, he did not really know how to handle this kind of court-collared clothing.

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

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

"Y-Yes, my lord!"

Bella replied softly, her face completely red. Even her fingers seemed unwilling to obey her while adjusting the court collar, and her body appeared to grow weaker and weaker from nervousness.

Fortunately, she had nearly finished dressing him. After smoothing out several corners of his clothes, the maid Bella could finally breathe again.

She had successfully completed her first service.

Luo Ning lowered his head to inspect his appearance. The splendid attire paired with his tall figure made him look quite handsome.

"Well done, Bella!"

The maid lowered her head with a blush. "Thank you for your praise, my lord. Bella will do even better next time!"

"I look forward to it."

With that, Luo Ning walked out of the dressing room.

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

"Then let's go."

As Luo Ning walked, he asked, "How many came?"

Gallon replied, "Three in total."

"Only three?"

Hearing that number, Luo Ning did not know what to say for a moment.

Gallon explained, "More than a dozen people arrived outside the castle at dawn. They all wanted to become your Administrator. But after Butler Chahar screened them, those with insufficient ability were eliminated, leaving only three."

After leaving the Inner Castle, Luo Ning arrived at the Outer Castle hall. It was a relatively spacious wooden house, generally used only by Chahar, Macken, and the others.

For instance, this was where the butler had taught etiquette to the newcomers last night.

As soon as Luo Ning entered, Chahar came forward. "My lord, these are the three people I have preliminarily selected."

When the three saw Luo Ning approach, they immediately bowed and greeted their lord.

From the way they bowed, Luo Ning could tell that all three were freemen rather than serfs. After all, the latter had to kneel when meeting their lord.

"I am pleased that you answered Mountain Forest Castle's recruitment call."

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

All three were somewhat nervous, but they had already prepared themselves for the selection.

"We'll start with you."

Luo Ning pointed at the middle-aged man on the far left. "The other two can leave first. We'll go one at a time."

The man who had been chosen to stay became nervous. He knew the real test had begun.

"Two citizens are arguing over a fat duck. Both claim the duck belongs to them, and both sides have gathered several friends, leading to a small clash involving more than ten people."

Luo Ning posed the question he had prepared. "If you were Mountain Forest Town's Administrator, how would you handle this matter?"

"Uh..."

The man froze. He had apparently not expected Luo Ning to ask such a question. His mind buzzed, and he did not know what to think.

He kept screaming at himself to wake up and answer, but he simply did not know where to begin.

As the silence dragged on, his palms, forehead, and back became drenched in sweat, and even his breathing grew rapid.

After waiting dozens of seconds without receiving a reply, Luo Ning could not help asking again, "Tell me, how would you handle it?"

"I-I-I don't know..."

The man collapsed onto the floor, his voice trembling.

Luo Ning was speechless.

Even if he could not answer, there was no need to be so frightened that he sat on the floor. Was his mental fortitude really this poor?

"Next." He waved his hand.

Chahar hurried over, pulled the applicant off the floor, and helped him out of the hall.

Faced with the same question, the second man remained fairly calm.

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

The man answered forcefully, "Therefore, I would seize the duck they are fighting over and send it to the castle. That would resolve their dispute and settle the matter properly."

Luo Ning stroked his chin in thought. "You make some sense. Go wait for notification. Chahar, let the third person in."

Faced with the same question, the third man was also fairly calm.

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

Luo Ning gestured for him to continue.

"First, I would notify the castle guards and have all these troublemakers arrested."

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

"Third, I would punish these people. The false claimant should receive a severe sentence, including Whipping Punishment and a fine, while his accomplices would be sentenced to hard labor and fines."

"As for the other side, I would issue warnings, sentence them to hard labor, or even impose fines depending on the cause and severity of the conflict."

After hearing this string of responses, even Chahar, standing to the side, cast the man an admiring look. Unless something unexpected happened, this man would become the Administrator.

Luo Ning was clearly very satisfied with the answer.

"Tell me, how would you try them and determine ownership of the duck?"

The man thought deeply again before saying, "The false claimant is clearly a lowlife. We need show no mercy to such people. I would use verbal warnings and the threat of Whipping Punishment to obtain an honest confession."

Luo Ning was not very satisfied with that answer. "In that case, you might wrong the duck's true owner."

"But I would clear his name."

The man said firmly, "I believe he would ultimately thank me."

Luo Ning shook his head. "I approve of your earlier answer, but I do not agree with your method of judgment. If the duck's owner is frightened by your threats into confessing, then you would be letting the false claimant go free."

Upon hearing that assessment, the applicant's face turned pale. Rejected by the Baron himself—did that mean he had no chance?

"I am sorry, my lord, for disappointing you."

He bowed slightly. "Perhaps there is a better method, but please forgive me for failing to think of it."

"Then take your time thinking about it later."

The corners of Luo Ning's lips curled up slightly as he slowly rose to his feet. "Tell me your name."

The man below first froze, then revealed a look of delight.

A second ago, he had thought he had been eliminated. He had never expected to pass the next moment.

"My lord, I am Wilson!"

"Congratulations, Wilson. From this moment on, you are Mountain Forest Town's Administrator. I will pay you a daily wage of 10 Copper Coins. I hope you serve me well."

Although not all of the man's answers aligned with Luo Ning's views, his ability to answer the earlier steps showed that he possessed a certain degree of logic and organization.

And compared with the other two...

There was no need to mention the first one. His mental fortitude was too poor; if he encountered even a minor crisis, he would likely have no opinion of his own at all.

As for the second, his answer seemed suspiciously like exploiting a loophole. What's more, would Luo Ning really seize someone else's duck over such a matter? That would only weaken his positive image.

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

"Thank you for your recognition, my lord!"

Wilson dropped to one knee and said excitedly, "Wilson will certainly do everything in his power to assist you in governing Mountain Forest Town!"

In such a remote place, Wilson had never even dared dream of earning 10 Copper Coins a day.

Coming here to apply for the Administrator position had turned out to be the most important choice of his life.

Luo Ning raised his hand slightly, signaling for him to stand.

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

Luo Ning began assigning his first task. "I want you to use households as units and record every person's gender, age, occupation, and special skills."

"Also, pay special attention to craftsmen!"

Understanding Mountain Forest Town's population structure would not only help Luo Ning carry out later construction, but was also a key step toward completing the Prosperous Population achievement.

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

Even though Mountain Forest Town did not currently have that many people, a census was still imperative.

"My lord..."

Chahar hesitated beside him.

"If you have something to say, say it directly, Chahar."

The new butler voiced his concern. "My lord, there are only eighty-three sheets of Parchment in the castle. Wouldn't it be a little wasteful to use them to register the citizens' information?"

Parchment was not cheap. A sheet of forty-line Parchment sold for around 10 Copper Coins.

Buying large quantities would also be no small expense.

As the newly appointed butler, Chahar had immediately considered the issue of Parchment consumption. That meant he had truly begun stepping into his role as butler, which was good.

"Your concern is reasonable."

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

"There are not many people in town. Even if we register everyone, it should not consume much. Besides, I will be making a trip to Pasture City in a few days, and I can purchase a little more then."

The matter of Parchment reminded Luo Ning of a technology—papermaking.

Only by producing cheap paper could information spread more conveniently, allowing the territory to cultivate a richer variety of "design" talents.

Besides Baijiu, papermaking also seemed suitable for implementation in Mountain Forest Town.

"However, there is no need to rush this. We can first figure out the production method, then promote it when the time is right."

Anything invented also needed the ability to protect it.