He quickly opened the notebook he carried with him, checked the information once more, and reported, "Excluding employees of City Hall and the Core Workshop, there are currently about twenty-two hundred people working in ordinary workshops or as temporary laborers. Among them are three hundred first-year students from White Tower Academy who have already mastered advanced literacy and practical arithmetic."
"Good." Veylin nodded and turned to Golden Whistle. "Baron, how many ranches are there in Golden Thread Province?"
Golden Whistle quickly ran through the numbers in his head, counting on his fingers. "Twenty-three large ranches. As for the small and medium ranches run by landed knights and free citizens... scattered here and there, they add up to around four hundred and seventy."
"About five hundred ranches altogether..." Veylin did a quick mental calculation, then looked at Tristan, his tone decisive. "That will be enough. Tristan, issue an emergency mobilization order. Recruit one thousand ranch consultants."
"One thousand?" Golden Whistle repeated reflexively.
"Assign teams of five to ten consultants to the large ranches, and one or two to the small ones," Veylin explained. "They must meet the literacy standard, know arithmetic, and be able to read charts. Their pay... award double merit points based on each applicant's current merit rank."
Veylin picked up the manual and handed it to Tristan. "Have the printing house produce these in bulk immediately. Make sure everyone gets a copy. Every step, dosage conversion, and emergency procedure must be clearly explained. Have Valerius give them three days of intensive training. Three days from now, I want those thousand people stationed at every ranch in Golden Thread Province, equipped with potions, calibration weights, and manuals."
"Let the consultants calculate dosages, mix feed, and supervise the procedures." Veylin looked at the dumbstruck Golden Whistle. "Your herders only need