Hiring workers!

After sorting out the urgent matters, Lin Ke briefly reviewed the most important but less urgent ones.

Those were cultivation and leveling up.

In this world, combat strength was crucial.

Fortunately, Lin Ke had decent talent-excellent talent, even-and he was still young, with plenty of time ahead of him.

So all he needed to do was meditate every night.

Finally came the matters that were less important and less urgent.

One was First Madam Antova, and the other was Baron Puxin.

First Madam Antova was his elder, after all. Even if he had enough troops, he could not simply kill her.

And although some of her actions had made him feel that she had ill intentions...

Such as trying to kill him when he was little, or corresponding with Baron Puxin.

When he actually spent time with her, he could not sense the slightest malice. Instead, she seemed full of goodwill.

So he classified her as an ambitious, capable woman who excelled at maneuvering and loved wielding power.

As long as she did not become an obstacle or hold him back, Lin Ke was happy to have someone of equal standing to Furon in the castle to keep her company and chat with her.

Dealing with Baron Puxin, however, required going through various channels, such as convening an Azan Family meeting.

The elders, whose credentials were written as "highly respected" but read as "old," would impose sanctions on Puxin.

There were plenty of complications involved, so Lin Ke planned to wait until Garros returned.

There was a fundamental difference between the King of Azan and the future King of Azan when it came to having a say in family affairs.

His goal was to deal with Baron Puxin and put someone obedient in charge of Parrot City.

"Whew..."

Having sorted through his recent affairs, Lin Ke let out a long breath.

There were many things to handle, all tangled together, but organizing them had made everything much clearer.

This was one of the time-management methods he had used in his previous life while preparing for his college entrance exam, postgraduate entrance exam, and doctoral entrance exam. It was simple but practical.

As for Rosfor, whom he had killed during the encounter with the Deep Blue Giant Tiger, he had barely given him another thought. He had simply sent someone to deliver the news of his death.

He knew nothing at all about everything that had happened in those woods, either.

"Young master, please have a cup of piping-hot Gula milk."

Just then, John's voice came from behind him.

Lin Ke rose from his chair. John stood there holding a cup of milk, looking bleary-eyed, with Steward Billy behind him.

"Uncle Billy, children need enough sleep, especially children like John," Lin Ke said, speaking up for the child laborer.

His own talent was excellent, so he needed to meditate for a long time to gather enough elements to feed his bloodline.

John's bloodline, however, was weak. A couple of mouthfuls might be enough to fill it, after which he could go to sleep.

Waking him up in the middle of the night really would affect his growth.

"This is a steward's duty." Steward Billy bowed, his voice as courteous and respectful as ever.

"Young master, serving you is my honor." John bowed too, though his wording was not quite as polished.

Still, Lin Ke regarded John as a childhood friend, playmate, and good companion, so he did not mind.

"All right, hurry back and get some rest."

Lin Ke drained the small silver cup of milk in one go. "Mm, this tastes good. The herders at the Gula Cattle ranch really deserve a proper reward."

Gula Cattle were one of the Gula Kingdom's specialties, and their largest breeding grounds were in Viscount Azan's territory and a neighboring count's territory.

Thus, not far from Azan Castle, there was a small ranch dedicated to raising Gula Cattle, which sold cheese, raw milk, and small quantities of butter, beef, and other products.

"Would you like a small piece of delicious cheesecake made with Lucky Flower and Gula milk, young master? It is excellent for helping you sleep."

Steward Billy displayed the professionalism of a fine steward, considering every detail.

John had already obeyed Lin Ke and started turning away to go to bed. At those words, he hastily turned back and bowed. "Young master, would you like another cup of hot milk?"

Are you trying to bloat me to death and make me get up to pee all night...? Lin Ke wanted to give John a couple of kicks.

Your professionalism needs work!

Look, Steward Billy knows I definitely can't drink any more right now.

But aloud, Lin Ke said, "No, thank you, Uncle Billy. John, both of you should get some rest."

He was going to sleep too.

Over the next two days, Lin Ke followed his schedule.

He trained the various groups of the Azan Troupe for their performances, without having them completely abandon their regular duties.

That was because Steward Billy had later made a quick assessment of their income and expenses and discovered that taking forty or fifty people away from their duties might slightly affect the castle's operations.

For instance, the cleaning maids would no longer be able to clean the castle around the clock, meaning its dark, clean, reflective stone tiles might become dark, clean, nonreflective stone tiles.

Or First Madam might have one fewer maid holding up the long train of her dress when she walked, allowing a corner of it to pick up dust.

Faced with these examples of so-called "normal castle operations," Lin Ke could only feel grateful that he had been born to Second Madam Furon rather than Furon the commoner.

He also had his incompetent father to thank for that. Almost all of this had come from him.

Meanwhile, over those two days, reactions to the "Land of Wonders" were brewing in several villages.

On the day of the performance, the two hundred young men and women had gone home chattering and babbling, using their limited vocabularies to describe everything they had experienced that evening.

Naturally, this piqued the curiosity of many villagers.

Their young master had not summoned them for hard labor after all, but to watch something called a "performance."

What was a "performance"?

This made many people curious, and they planned to go see for themselves the day after tomorrow.

Especially the many hot-blooded young men.

After hearing their friends talk about the "Coiled Serpent Ring," they had nothing but praise for it.

Not to mention that stirring, powerful choral song, "Glory of Azan."

Just hearing it truly set their hearts surging.

Apart from the young men, the girls and women had taken a liking to "Free to Fly," which was catchy and easy to sing.

Even the plump aunties working during the day could not help humming a few lines, let alone in the evening.

Old men and women, along with some young men and girls, would gather at either end of the villages.

Usually, they chatted and boasted, recounting legends that had remained unchanged for years.

Stories like the untold tales of Garros and the Five Followers, or how the wife His Sleepless Majesty of the Gula Kingdom had married a hundred years ago was a dragonkin from another plane.

Over these two days, however, their conversations had turned to everything about the "Land of Wonders."

At the entrance to one of Azan's villages.

"Rosfor died, and his parents ran off too. Andrew's Leg, they're so stupid."

An auntie sitting at the village entrance shook her head and sighed. "Our Azan is a wonderful place. Young Master Lin Ke is clever and considerate, and he treats us well. He doesn't make us build anything. I've heard other nobles have people building this and that every day."

"Exactly!" The old woman beside her wholeheartedly agreed. "And the young master even lets us watch performances! What a wonderful young master. Oh, praise Young Master Lin Ke! He's every bit as great as a god!"

"How could a god be as great as the young master? Andrew's Leg, the young master is so great!"

"Speaking of performances... Little York told me our young master is putting on another one the day after tomorrow!"

Another auntie sat on a little wooden stool, picking at her toes and sniffing her fingers as she spoke excitedly. "I've told the village chief to save me a spot."

At the mention of the performance, the aunties and old women all veered off topic, brimming with enthusiasm.

"My Rutherford got me one too. We can go together."

The auntie was stuffing sausages while blowing her nose, seemingly suffering from a cold. She wiped her nose, then grabbed another handful of meat.

"You really ought to treasure this opportunity."

Just then, the village chief's wife walked over with a smug expression, swaying her ample waist. "My nephew told me the young master might start charging admission in the future!"

The village chief's wife's nephew was none other than John.

John's parents had drowned years ago, leaving him all alone.

So the village chief's wife had sent him to the castle. Who could have known he would become Lin Ke's personal manservant? That was how an ordinary couple had become the village chief and his wife.

Truly a boy kissed by the Goddess of Luck...

Thinking of John, the surrounding aunties and old men looked at the village chief's wife with envy and jealousy.

"But even if he charges admission later, that'll only be for outsiders! Our Young Master Lin Ke treats us country folk of Azan very well!" Though the village chief's wife looked haughty, her eyes filled with adoration whenever she mentioned Lin Ke.

"Yes, yes!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Everyone hastened to agree. They, too, thought their young master was wonderful.

"We haven't seen Rosfor's parents for several days, ma'am!" Just then, an auntie reported this to the village chief's wife.

The village chief's wife looked utterly disdainful. "A couple of servants. They must be blaming our great Young Master Lin Ke... I'll go see my Little John in a couple of days and tell him about it... Hmm, as for the property they left behind..."

At the mention of property, everyone fell silent. The aunties and old women exchanged glances, each harboring her own schemes.

Property like that was generally confiscated, but sometimes the castle did not want it, in which case the villagers simply divided it among themselves.

While these people were chatting, a piece of news arrived.

"Have you heard, Auntie Laura? The young master is recruiting lots of 'workers'! Apparently, there are 'wages,' and the work is easy!"

P.S. From now on, updates will be at ten in the morning and noon~

With the updates posted early, you can sneak a peek while slacking off at work, hehe ٩(๑•̀ω•́๑)۶