The barbecue continued.
As they ate, everyone gradually grew more familiar with one another.
Except for the three girls: the sisters Lilith and Lilian, and Mary.
Noah got to know five other boys, who were:
Twelve-year-old black-haired spiky-haired Anthony, son of a fisherman; his parents, like Noah's parents, died at the hands of pirates.
Eleven-year-old brown-haired ramen-haired Tomani, son of a painter; his father died while visiting the Goa Kingdom, and his mother died of grief last year.
Ten-year-old black-haired green-eyed Vic, son of a farmer; his father was bitten to death by a venomous snake, and his mother passed away from illness.
Ten-year-old green-haired skinny Ray.
Seven-year-old green-haired little fellow Jay.
Among them, Ray and Jay were brothers; their father abandoned his wife and children three years ago to go to sea and become a pirate, and the previous year the pirate crew he belonged to engaged in a fierce battle with another pirate crew, resulting in total annihilation; their mother committed suicide out of shame because her husband went to sea to become a pirate.
Therefore, the brothers Ray and Jay deeply hated their father, and also hated pirates.
As for the sisters Lilith and Lilian, their parents, like Noah's parents, also died in a pirate attack three years ago.
Mary was picked up by someone by the seaside when she was little, and the grandmother who raised her died of illness last year.
Half-full, Noah finally showed his true colors, and he asked with a smile: "Are any of you interested in coming over to help?"
"Huh?" Mary, wolfing down her food, was somewhat dazed.
"As you saw just now, I need to eat more than fifty kilograms of meat in a single meal, and Uncle Joseph needs to go to work while I am also very busy, so the kitchen and daily life require people to help. Are any of you interested in helping? Of course, I only cover room and board here, with no salary."
"Room and board! I'm willing!" Mary raised her hand first, as she certainly did not want to live that kind of meal-to-meal life from before anymore.
Lilith looked at her frail younger sister Lilian, and also nodded: "Big Brother Noah, I can do laundry and cleaning, and Lilian can cook."
"You are hired, welcome aboard." Noah nodded, then turned his head to ask the five boys: "Are any of you interested in following me to do things, namely tending to the orchard and the workshop? Room and board covered as well."
"I'm willing." Anthony, the oldest, immediately agreed. He did not know what Noah was going to do, but he only wanted a job right now.
"We're willing too." Ray pulled his younger brother Jay and agreed as well. Because of their father's pirate past, the two of them had constantly been pointed at by the townspeople, and they had lived very difficult lives. Now that someone was willing to employ them, they naturally accepted without hesitation.
As for the ramen-haired Tomani, because his family still had some savings, he did ponder for a moment, but he also felt there was no problem coming over to help in the orchard and workshop, so he nodded:
"I can come over to help, but staying here is not necessary."
"That's fine." Noah did not force anyone to live at the orchard side.
Finally there was the green-eyed Vic, who scratched his head somewhat awkwardly: "Big Brother Noah, my appetite is a bit large..."
Regarding Vic's situation, Noah had clearly already noticed it just now; the other party had eaten at least twenty kilograms of meat earlier, and still seemed unsatisfied.
"Are you worried about eating me into poverty? You don't need to trouble yourself over that. As long as you work hard for me, I guarantee to let you eat your fill."
"Really?"
"Come on! Vic, I need your help." Noah extended his hand sincerely.
Vic instantly burst into tears: "Wuu wuu wuu, Big Brother Noah, I'm willing."
Joshua quickly spoke up to liven up the atmosphere: "Everyone don't just focus on talking, keep eating."
"Let's toast!"
The juice cups clinked together, and at this very moment, their destinies began to blend into one.
In this turbulent Great Pirate Era, they were like inconspicuous grains of sand, so unremarkable, so ordinary, and no one knew where their futures would head.
Unknowingly, a day passed.
And this day was also the founding time of Noah Manor.
Noah made a series of personnel arrangements.
He appointed Lilith as the housekeeper, Lilian as the cook, Anthony as the kitchen helper, and Mary as the odd-job worker.
Tomani was in charge of logistics and statistics, Vic and Ray were in charge of orchard farming, and Jay was the workshop helper.
As the work arrangements were completed, Noah used the evening hours to conduct standardized training and guidance for everyone, mainly to make them understand the manor's rules, especially the confidentiality regulations, which he repeatedly impressed upon everyone.
After more than a month of standardized training and guidance, Noah began to teach some ideology and songs.
For instance, the song "There Is No Savior". When only Noah and Joseph sang it, it seemed somewhat lacking in momentum, but when ten people sang together, the resonance and emotional stirring brought by that chorus gave people the illusion of a complete rebirth.
This also became the mandatory song sung before dinner at the manor.
February 28, 1502.
Inside the small wooden dining room of the manor.
Lilian, with a slight chubby face on her cheeks, carried over a large platter of roasted sausages and then shouted: "Dinner is served!"
Before long, everyone took their seats one after another.
Joseph looked at the group of children with a smile, feeling somewhat gratified in his heart.
Joshua cheerfully clapped his palms together: "Everyone take your seats, ready... sing!"
Soon everyone began to sing "There Is No Savior".
As Noah sang, he suddenly felt a surge of power erupt within him. A terrifying presence spread out in all directions, centered on him.
Uncle Joseph and the other children stared in shock. The next moment, they all fainted and collapsed to the ground.
"Conqueror's Haki Awakening?" Noah remained perfectly calm and showed no sign of losing his composure.
He got up and patted his uncle's face. Before long, his uncle opened his eyes.
"Noah... what just happened? Why did everyone pass out?"
"Uncle, take care of Joshua and the others for now. I'm going outside to have a look. I'll explain what happened when I get back."
Joseph was completely baffled, but he still nodded. "I'll handle things here. Go take care of what you need to."
Noah quickly ran toward the nearest neighbor's house.
Beneath the night sky, he moved like a nimble cheetah. In less than two minutes, he reached the nearest neighbor's door.
He glanced through the window and saw that the whole family had passed out. But there didn't seem to be any danger, so he quietly left and ran toward the next house.
He checked five houses in a row. At one of them, flames were rising from the stove. He released a card and doused the fire with water.
Then he continued checking on the other neighbors.
It wasn't until he reached a spot about eight hundred meters from the wooden cabin restaurant that he found people who hadn't passed out. He didn't go out to greet them, but quickly slipped away in secret.
Clearly, this outburst of his Conqueror's Haki had covered an area with a radius of about eight hundred meters.
When he returned to the wooden cabin on the estate, everyone had woken up.
"Bro, what happened just now?" Joshua asked, a little scared.
Noah waved his hand and reassured everyone. "Don't worry. This should be the awakening of Conqueror's Haki."
Then he took a book from the Card-Library. The words "Grand Line Situation Analysis Report" were written on the cover. He had compiled and written the report based on newspapers from the World Economy News Paper over the past few years, along with some travelogues.
Only after everyone read its explanations and analysis of Haki did they finally understand.