Chapter 174: Half-elf (4)

There were many types of jobs in Zhenbei City. The Constable had explained clearly the number of Points each job could earn when counting the population.

Even without any skills, one could do manual labor here. If one had various skills, they would get corresponding jobs based on the skill’s difficulty, and then earn corresponding Points and money.

What surprised George was that during work, they could have a work meal here. Moreover, the work meal was much more abundant than the distributed food, and it even included fish.

However, these jobs offered low Points and money. It would take a long time to rely on these jobs to obtain better housing and land. As for those jobs that offered high Points, they were full of various dangers, but this was normal; effort and reward were proportional.

Of course, there were also lucky individuals who, without participating in combat, still had the chance to earn high Points. The most famous was a human slave who had very good luck. He discovered an open-pit mine. After reporting the discovered mine to the Lord, he not only directly shed his slave status but also obtained a large piece of land and a spacious house. Furthermore, he was appointed by the Lord as a mining advisor, directly rising from a slave to a territory official.

Of course, so far, there was only one such case. The Goddess of Fortune had a fickle nature; gaining her favor was not easy. Moreover, it was said that those blessed by her had her favor for no more than two years. Many people did not know that luck and misfortune were twins. Often, when you gained fortune’s favor, misfortune would also find you unknowingly.

So those who rely on luck would one day be swallowed by misfortune.

George had just reached adulthood. He planned to familiarize himself with the environment and then try to enlist in the army.

There were many benefits to joining the army. As long as one passed the assessment and successfully joined the army, they could directly obtain Citizen status. Here, Citizen status brought higher status and convenience. The most obvious benefit was taxation. Ordinary commoners paid 30% tax, while Citizens paid 10% less than ordinary commoners.

The day passed quickly, and all the half-elves had been settled. George and his sister were assigned a house. The City Hall provided very few items. Fortunately, the half-elves had brought large amounts of supplies when they moved. However, sitting idle and eating through their resources was not their style. To live here, they needed to find a job quickly.

Peiqi found a better job, even better than George’s. She discovered that there were no weavers in Zhenbei City, and no one produced cloth. As the most skilled weaver among the half-elves, the cloth Peiqi wove was the best in the entire Elk Tribe. Half-elves naturally had dexterous hands; their weaving craftsmanship was much better than humans’.

Some powerful half-elf tribes even inherited the technique of making Silk. However, those half-elf tribes mostly lived in the south. Due to the climate in the north, it was not suitable for sericulture. Most of the Silk in the north was transported from the south, and the price was so high that even Nobles found it painful. Yet, even so, supply could not meet demand.

Previously, among the slaves and Refugees purchased by Zhenbei City, there were very few who knew how to weave. Moreover, the cloth they produced was the lowest grade linen, with rough texture and loose threads in the fabric. Only the poor commoners wore such cloth.

Peiqi knew how to weave, and it was fine linen with a delicate texture and tight threads, soft and comfortable to wear. She also knew better Cotton Cloth spinning techniques, all of which were in short supply for Zhenbei City. She planned to go to the City Hall officials tomorrow to demonstrate her weaving skills and obtain better treatment.

She now not only had a child to raise but also wanted to find a teacher for her younger brother. George had wanted to become a Ranger since childhood, and he was very talented. Previously, they planned for her husband to train him, but a war took her husband away forever. After coming to Zhenbei City, she planned to find the best Ranger teacher for her brother.

Living in the Northern Wasteland, she knew that here, only strength was the standard that decided everything.

…

Early the next morning, George went out to find a suitable job for himself. Because he was unfamiliar with the place, he intended to find a job to adapt first. As half-elves, they were naturally more agile and dexterous than humans. After observing, he decided to find a job as a bricklayer.

Zhenbei City was undergoing large-scale construction, and manpower was needed everywhere. The demand for labor was extremely high. George easily found a job as a bricklayer.

This job was piecework. Building three walls in a day earned three Points and 30 copper coins. Ten copper coins could exchange for two pounds of grain, enough to feed their family. To exchange for one acre of land, 500 Points were needed, plus 10 Silver Nael.

This price didn’t seem high. After all, in Karlt City, the price for the worst dry field was at least five Gold Nar. The price here was only one-tenth of that. The only difficulty was the Points. No wonder those people valued Points so much.

The midday food was Potatoes and dried salted fish, enough to fill an adult. Although the taste was average, being able to eat such food in the Northern Wilderness was already satisfying.

Time always passed quickly during work. In the blink of an eye, it was evening. George exchanged for enough grain and returned to his residence with the remaining money and food.

Others in the courtyard had already returned. Most people chose to exchange their Points for grain. Children didn’t have the worries of adults. Soon, happy sounds echoed from the surrounding courtyards.

Night fell. There weren’t many entertainment activities in this era, and many people had already rested early. Noise came from the neighboring courtyard. George glanced at his sleeping sister and quietly went out. He stretched his limbs and planned to sneak over to take a look.

Zhenbei City had a curfew, but movement within the residential blocks was allowed.

“Kane, congratulations on passing the assessment and joining the army. I heard the army’s treatment is quite good.”

“Not bad. The assigned house is larger than ordinary houses, and the food and other aspects are much better too.”

“Congratulations to you.”

“Come, have a drink.”

“Wish you become a general soon.”

“Thanks for your kind words.”

…

George saw a table set up in the courtyard with wine, meat, and various daily necessities, much more abundant than in his own home. After listening for a while, George understood what had happened.

Kane was an experienced Ranger with considerable strength. He also had an animal companion. After enlisting in the army today, he successfully passed the assessment and became a formal Soldier. Then he was directly assigned a house and received a settlement allowance. Today, he specifically came here to drink and bid farewell to his old comrades.

Tomorrow he would move to a separate small courtyard prepared specifically for military personnel. His status was also much higher than the people here. It was estimated that he could soon use his contributions to exchange for a piece of land about 10 acres in size.

In Zhenbei City, anyone could become a commoner of Zhenbei City by purchasing land. However, commoners had no rights here and needed to pay 30% tax annually. After becoming a Citizen, the tax would be reduced by 10%, meaning 20% was paid, and they could keep 80%.

Moreover, after becoming a Citizen, one had the right to participate in official training. After completing the training and passing, one could become an official.

Soldier. George couldn’t help but show a hint of envy on his face. Indeed, those with strength could establish themselves anywhere.

From these people’s conversations, George learned that there seemed to be quite a few people like Kane. Rangers and Archers were being recruited. Those who passed would be settled in new courtyards. Besides joining the army, there was special treatment for those with special skills. For example, those who knew how to cultivate oak wood received the best treatment besides military personnel.

Those who knew blacksmithing skills were sent to work in the Blacksmith Shop. Some who were literate were assigned to the City Hall for training; it was said they had the chance to become City Hall staff. Because these people had a skill, they all obtained better living environments.

People soon dispersed, as after a tiring day, many were already exhausted. Seeing these people leave, George also left.

After resting for the night, on the second day, as soon as dawn broke, George, full of energy, hurried to work. Now he was full of hope for life. The City Hall provided very few living supplies. He needed to work hard to exchange for more living materials.

When Peiqi arrived at the City Hall, she found many people with the same purpose, and they were all her acquaintances—the best weavers in the half-elf tribe. Seeing these people, Peiqi felt some worry.

However, she soon found these worries were unnecessary. The City Hall attached great importance to weavers like them. Upon learning that their weaving skills were high, it was directly announced that they would be given Citizen treatment and appointed as technical advisors for the territory’s soon-to-be-established weaving bureau.

Just as George returned home exhausted, he suddenly found his home different. Neighbors were gathered in his house, and the courtyard was very lively.

“George is back!”

“Quick, come in! You’re moving to a new home!”

“Congratulations! Congratulations!”

“George, you’ve made it! Don’t forget us in the future!”

The surrounding neighbors congratulated him one after another, which puzzled the just-returned George. He was somewhat dumbfounded. Fortunately, his sister Peiqi soon came over and told him what happened.

“So, we can also live in a big house and have a better life?” George looked at his sister in surprise.

“Yes, not only will we have a better life, but I also plan to hire a skilled Ranger teacher for you. George, you must remember that money is not important here; being strong yourself is what matters.” Peiqi held her brother’s hand and said.

“Sister, don’t worry. I will definitely become a powerful Ranger General, destroy that Orc Tribe, and avenge my brother-in-law!” George said firmly.

“I believe you!”

The night was very dark, but there were still stars shining in the sky. Although faint, they represented hope. Zhenbei City was not big, but it was full of hope and vitality.

…

In the blink of an eye, time had entered February. The spring ploughing in Zhenbei City also began. When it was time to farm, those half-elves discovered that the land here in Zhenbei City was clearly different from that in the Wasteland. The two Druids were so shocked they could hardly close their mouths.

It must be known that their entire half-elf tribe had very high agricultural technology. But even so, they needed the power of Druids to ensure a good harvest every year. However, here, without their Druids casting spells, all the land was very fertile.

After learning that this was the effect of the Harvest Altar, these Druids were nearly dumbfounded. They were full of curiosity about the Harvest Altar and wanted to go up and see it. However, Su Lun directly refused them. Now, except for him, no one was allowed to go up the Harvest Altar.

A large number of people were arranged to farm. Su Lun selected several Refugees from the Territory whose loyalty had reached the maximum value to produce and train in making farmyard manure.

He also started having people reclaim more land outside Zhenbei City. The land outside Zhenbei City was divided into upper, middle, and lower grades based on fertility. He began distributing land to the Soldiers again. According to the established regulations, Soldiers could be allocated another ten acres, plus the previous land, making twenty acres per person. Of course, to get more land, one needed to exchange military merits and money, with an upper limit of one hundred acres of land.

Officials of the Territory could also exchange for land, the amount being the same as for Soldiers. Also, the Heroes under Su Lun were also allocated land, ranging from one hundred to five hundred acres. Su Lun did not give them heavy rewards from the start. After all, they would face many enemies in the future. If rewards were too generous all at once, it would cause difficulties in future rewards.

After farming began, the Territory’s irrigation facilities also started to be built urgently. Last year, because the land reclaimed by Zhenbei City was along the river banks, water access was convenient, and there was little irrigation engineering. Only after reclaiming more land this year did irrigation equipment need to catch up.

It was also a large waterwheel, but this time the irrigation ditches did not need to be built very high.

The newly reclaimed land was first planted with Potatoes and sugar beets. Both of these crops were generally high-yielding and required less fertilizer. One was for food, the other was the raw material for White Sugar.

Now, the White Sugar Trade was an important pillar of Zhenbei City. To avoid insufficient raw materials—as collecting sugar beets from the wild was becoming increasingly difficult—increasing the cultivation of sugar beets was naturally the best outcome.

Next, Su Lun directed over three thousand slaves to start reclaiming land. After a week of hard labor by the three thousand slave workers, the Territory’s irrigation system began to take shape.

They dug ditches, leveled the land, and then channeled water for irrigation. They were already very familiar with building large waterwheels. Using the power of the large waterwheels, they lifted the water source to a certain height and then let the water pour down. The river water flowed along the dug ditches, guiding water to various farmlands.

Besides using large waterwheels, Su Lun also began constructing hydraulic mills and a series of other buildings.