When the autumn harvest ended, Bunta City's total grain production stunned everyone. It had reached a staggering 760,000 tonnes!
Compared with last autumn's 570,000 tonnes, that was an increase of a full 190,000 tonnes!
Never mind Bunta City's harvests in previous years-even cities in the Lampari Kingdom considerably larger than Bunta City could not outshine it.
That total grain output put Bunta City firmly in the spotlight throughout the Lampari Kingdom. Combined with its growth over the previous two years, it made Bunta City the only city singled out for praise by both His Majesty the King and the Lampari Kingdom's Agriculture Bureau.
For the Lampari Kingdom, where famine had sparked unrest just over a decade ago, grain was practically the most important thing of all. No one dared ignore it.
As Bunta City's city lord, Earl Stark had raised its total grain output from last year's already astonishing 570,000 tonnes to 760,000 tonnes, immediately earning praise from everyone.
Those who had criticized Earl Stark because his Commerce-Suppression and Agriculture-Promotion Policy had stalled Bunta City's economic development and undermined its prosperity promptly shut their mouths when they learned the total grain output.
Thus, Earl Stark's position as city lord, which had looked precarious before the autumn harvest, became secure overnight afterward. His standing among the Lampari Kingdom's upper ranks also soared, as though he had suddenly eclipsed every other city lord in the kingdom.
Yet despite this achievement, Earl Stark was surprisingly poorly regarded by the people of Bunta City. When discussing it privately, quite a few even openly expressed their contempt.
"Pah! During last year's autumn harvest, Count Samo surveyed all the farmland in Bunta City. He even had people like us help him assess it. We worked out that even if every available patch of land in Bunta