Chapter 93: Development

After the militia was established, they caught several drunk mercenaries causing trouble on the street on the very first day. The militia then threw them directly into prison. After they sobered up, they were all put in chains to sweep the streets or do hard labor.

With the militia in place, the security in the territory improved a lot.

During this period, Su Lun deliberately spread the word in the Northern Provinces. Many commoners who wanted land learned about Northguard Keep. However, because it was far away, they could not cross the wasteland to get there unless someone escorted them along the way.

To attract more people, Su Lun made a deal with the caravans that came to trade. He asked the caravans to bring willing commoners with them each time they came. To make sure the caravans put in effort, he specified that only those bringing more than fifty commoners would qualify for the white sugar trade.

Of course, this would make the merchant guilds unhappy, so Su Lun offered compensation. For each person brought, the caravan would receive one Gold Nar. After all, bringing those commoners did not cost much. Besides ensuring their safety, the commoners took care of their own food and lodging. They could even help defend against monster attacks with spears if needed.

After consideration, the merchant guilds agreed. Starting from the second month, the territory’s population finally began to grow slowly. The local lords did not mind losing these commoners, as those who left were landless refugees. If they stayed, the cities could not provide enough jobs, and they might resort to stealing to survive.

Some became mercenaries. To be honest, the mercenary profession had a bad reputation. Many mercenaries also acted as bandits in the wild. Some even turned on their clients, doing one bad deed and then moving to another place. That is why caravans usually had their own guards and then hired some mercenaries.

So, the lords not only did not stop the refugees from leaving, but they also welcomed it. When these refugees arrived in Su Lun’s territory, they were practically penniless. Su Lun was not kind enough to give them land and houses directly. There was a saying from his past life: giving a little help creates gratitude, but giving too much creates enemies.

If he gave them land, houses, and food directly, they would likely see it as something they deserved. If Su Lun stopped helping them later, they might even feel that Su Lun owed them.

So Su Lun never planned to do that. From the beginning, he intended to use the Work-for-Relief method to settle these people. The territory had plenty of work that needed doing, so there was no worry about finding them jobs.

These people worked, and Su Lun paid them wages. They could also rent houses in the territory, but they had to pay rent. The rent was not high, but it was required. If they worked outside, they got two meals a day. In this era, except for nobles, commoners usually only ate two meals a day.

The territory did not support idlers. The commoners who came with the caravans were a mixed group. There were law-abiding ones and lazy ones who tried to avoid work. Su Lun did not need to deal with them himself; he just handed them over to the Kobold or Gnoll overseers. These overseers would teach them a lesson.

After working in the territory for three months, they would qualify to buy houses and land or the right to clear wasteland. To clear wasteland here, they had to register in advance. By paying one Gold Nar, they could get the right to clear ten acres of wasteland. These ten acres would be tax-free for three years, after which taxes would return to normal. Houses could be rented, but they could also be bought if one had the money.

So, in Su Lun’s territory, as long as people worked hard, they could survive and even live better. Many of these bottom-level people often worked hard but still could not even achieve basic food and clothing security.

With the population growing, the territory became more lively. Besides white sugar, the rum from Su Lun’s territory also started to be sold. This rum had a refreshing taste and was very popular as soon as it appeared. Several merchant guilds competed for the sales share of rum.

Since rum was made from molasses, the cost was not high. To sell it at a high price, Su Lun gave the premium rum new packaging. Because the population increased, Su Lun built a glass factory by the Red Sand River, using river sand to make glass. He was initially worried that the quality of the glass would be poor, but surprisingly, Heatherway was very skilled at making glass.

Thinking about it, as an intermediate alchemist, making glass was not difficult for her. With Heatherway’s guidance, Su Lun’s glass factory successfully produced qualified glass.

After the new packaging, the price of rum naturally increased. However, rum was not as irreplaceable as white sugar, so Su Lun still had to pay a lot to get the merchant guilds to help sell it. But these efforts paid off, and soon rum became another important source of income for the territory.

Su Lun put Chris in charge of the glass factory. He found something interesting: Chris was a management genius. Everything she managed went smoothly. So Su Lun decided to learn management from Chris, but after seeing her methods, he gave up. It was a talent issue.

Once Chris used her high-level charm, almost everyone became her devoted followers. Those people worked as if they were super motivated. If Su Lun were more heartless, he might not even need to pay them.

After seeing Chris’s management style, Su Lun gave up. He could not learn that kind of talent unless he dressed as a woman and had high-level charm.

Heatherway had been staying in her laboratory all this time. She only showed up briefly for the glass-making. She was fully focused on making the awakening potion.

Su Lun asked her to make some magic items, but she had not made any. Fortunately, the awakening potion was finally finished.

The awakening potion was stored in a magic crystal bottle, specially used for high-level magic potions. As long as the stopper was not opened, the magic potion inside could be preserved perfectly for about five hundred years. The potion was a blue-purple, semi-transparent liquid. Inside, it looked like a night sky, constantly sparkling with light. It was very beautiful, and the properties of this potion were also very powerful.

[Awakening Potion: A magical potion carefully made using leaves of the Wisdom Tree as the main ingredient. After use, Spirit +4, Elemental Affinity +2, and mana recovery effect permanently increased by thirty percent. Side effects: None]

This item was completely for wizards. It could even change an ordinary person’s physique, allowing them to learn magic.