Chapter 1142: Commercial Soil, A Happy New Generation

Netherese Calendar 837, the third day of April.

At this time, the chill of deep winter had gradually dissipated, and the wind of revival blew in succession from south of Nan Jing, quietly awakening this land that had been frozen for several months.

Early this morning, the residents of Daxia Territory set out from their homes, gathering in groups and walking along the trail on the south bank of the Linshui River, heading toward Code Plaza.

The first group of people to be granted land in the territory became the most discussed topic among the residents along the way.

"I really envy Lier and the others! They'll be able to earn a wage for their work from now on!"

"What's a wage? I heard some people are already planning to open the first batch of shops in the territory! Once those shops open, they'll be making money hand over fist!"

"Really? There isn't a single shop in the territory right now. If the first one really appears, they'll be making money even while lying down!"

Upon hearing words like "making money while lying down," this group let out a sigh of envy in unison. Perhaps the commotion was too loud, as someone in front of the group suddenly turned their head and shouted:

"You're thinking too much. Even if there are shops, who's going to buy anything? You? Do you have money?"

Once these words were spoken, the group behind was momentarily stunned. After thinking about it carefully, it really was the case; if they had money, they wouldn't have come to Daxia Territory.

Furthermore, since the territory currently provides food and housing, where would they even spend money if they had it?

Could it be that only those who were allocated land would open shops and consume their own goods? Or perhaps others would be able to earn wages in the future?

They couldn't figure it out, so they simply stopped thinking about it. But seeing the smug look on the person in front, the group behind couldn't help but spit:

"You brat, you just can't stand to see others do well. We all came to the territory before you. This time it's Lier and the others, maybe next time it will be our turn, just keep being envious!"

"You—you all!"

The person in front was choked up and wanted to retort, but with seven or eight people staring at him, the guy immediately dared not make a sound. He snorted and quickened his pace toward the east.

Linshui Village, Lord's Villa, first-floor conference room.

Xia Duo and Niya sat in two adjacent seats, while in the center of the conference room was a real-time image projected by a Scrying spell.

At this moment, Niya suddenly pointed at a person in the image and asked curiously: "Are the shops they mentioned real? Does someone really want to open shops in Daxia Territory?"

"How would I know? Maybe it's true!" Xia Duo smiled.

He wasn't lying; the Daxia Code contained complete commercial and tax laws. As long as they operated and paid taxes according to the law, Xia Duo didn't care who those people were!

"However, opening a few shops is fine. With nearly ten thousand people in the territory now, relying on me to maintain all their food, clothing, and expenses is indeed somewhat improper. A few more shops should make the territory more vibrant!"

Of course, it is also beneficial to the Order Force of commercial and tax laws.

Hearing Xia Duo's answer, Niya still wasn't satisfied and continued to ask: "Then who will do the consuming? And where will the money come from?"

"The land-grant ceremony isn't just about distributing land. I will also settle the wages for those who have followed me in the development until now. Counting their contributions, everyone will be able to receive quite a bit of money!"

"And although the first batch of land-grant recipients is only about fifty people, counting their families, the number is not small. Furthermore, starting today, all civil servants in the territory will receive wages."

In Netheril, after a lord succeeds in development, they usually distribute land to their close associates. This land-grant of Xia Duo's is different; it is almost a state-within-a-state approach, similar to the relationship between various territories and Netheril.

But Xia Duo does not intend to do that. The land grant will only be calculated based on the number of people, and everyone will receive the same amount of land. Therefore, other aspects need to be subsidized a little.

As for paying wages to civil servants, the Territory Guard had already started receiving wages in the past. Of course, the origin of that was that the initial Territory Guard came from Savile Territory.

Later, although the number of guards increased and the vast majority were residents of Daxia Territory, they still maintained the tradition of paying wages. Paying wages to other civil servants now is just a matter of treating everyone equally.

And it's not just starting from now; Xia Duo will also make up for all the unpaid wages from before based on their "years of service."

In this way, the territory will have a group of people with stable income, which provides the soil for commercial development. Even if Xia Duo doesn't deliberately support it, those quick-witted residents will easily develop.

"When all the residents have been granted land, I will allow the chambers of commerce from Savile Territory to enter Daxia Territory!"

However, Niya wasn't very interested in chambers of commerce. She had only asked out of curiosity. Now that her doubts were gone, she didn't care about any chambers of commerce!

"How much longer until the ceremony starts?"

"Don't be impatient, it can start. Laidun will send someone to notify us!"

After saying this, Xia Duo adjusted the projection range of the Scrying spell's Perception Field, fixing it at a position about 50 meters diagonally above Code Plaza.

Looking from this angle, the entire plaza was in full view, and it didn't lose too many details due to the distance.

At this moment, nearly half the people were already standing sparsely in the plaza, and residents were still pouring in from the west and south sides of the plaza.

However, unlike on the way here where the land-grant recipients were the protagonists of everyone's gossip and jokes, in Code Plaza, those youths wearing Tower of Time Mage Robes seemed more like the true protagonists!

Almost every youth was surrounded by at least one or two adults, chatting cautiously yet excitedly. Clearly, these were the families of the new Apprentices of the Tower of Time.

Occasionally, a few lively youths couldn't help but perform Tricks in public.

They were indeed Tricks; not only did the spells only touch the surface of the Magic Net, but more importantly, the form was exactly the kind of act used by circuses to amuse children.

One moment they would conjure a small flower, the next they would make the hair of the onlookers sparkle, and then they would launch a few fireworks into the sky.

In the end, except for a few more mature and cautious youths, the others couldn't help but join in, competing in "spell duels"!

"It's good to be young!"

Xia Duo couldn't help but sigh.

When he himself was learning Magic, because he had the financial support of Mu Yan, he didn't feel much pressure in terms of learning; most of the pressure came from the external environment.

And the new generation in the real-time image of the Scrying spell was too happy. The external environment hardly gave them any pressure. While their studies were relatively intense, it couldn't be called much pressure, and it depended more on individual choices.

Those who had the heart to pursue advanced studies in the field of Magic would naturally take the initiative to increase the pressure and would be happy to do so; as for those who didn't want to pursue advanced studies in Magic, such people did exist, but at the stage of young Apprentices, they were very, very few.

Almost every youth had a dream of becoming an Archmage.

"This is the foundation of a Magic civilization!"