Chapter 57: Conditions for the Village Chief Order

At dawn, in the main hall, Li Bucai and the others were discussing matters such as searching for the phantom pig. Because the Lulu Beast herd had already moved west, chasing them would require at least several days for a round trip, and without favorable conditions, they would be hard to capture.

The phantom pig, however, is a solitary creature that often appears in thickets, making it hard to locate. Li Bucai prepared a day's worth of food, intending to try his luck on the nearby mountain side, and wait until the settlement finishes digging a well, so there will be enough water and food to keep the people inside for a few days without leaving the settlement, allowing Da Dan's expedition to search for the Lulu Beast with peace of mind.

In the camp, besides keeping Wu Zhuoyue and others here, since they did not plan to go far, they only took Wan'er, Xianghong, and Rui Tong. Before Wu Zhuoran awoke, Fang Ling'er was temporarily assigned under Wu Zhuoyue's command, awaiting deployment.

As for Yan Qiu, today's task is simply to guide others in digging a deep well.

After the assignments were finished, Li Bucai took the three and opened the settlement gate to prepare to leave. At that moment, a white cloud descended from the sky, and a girl in white appeared on the clearing. As the cloud dispersed, the girl walked toward them, and with a bell‑like clear voice said, "Lord Li, do you still remember me?"

"Of course I remember, isn't this Miss Zhenji?" It was the first person Li Bucai saw when he first arrived at Sky City — the receptionist Zhenji.

Zhenji smiled coquettishly, "Lord Li, you have beauties around you like clouds; it's rare that you even keep an outsider like me in mind."

"Miss Zhenji's beauty is stunning, how could I forget? Please, come in." Li Bucai had everyone step back, invited Zhenji into the main hall, where host and guest were seated, and Rushi brought tea.

After a few exchanges of pleasantries, Li Bucai asked curiously, "Miss Zhenji, you're busy with business, yet you take time to visit my humble home; there must be something."

Zhenji nodded, "I came out to clear my mind, to tour your place, and also to help the Emperor assess Lord Li's territory."

"Oh? Assess? Assess what?"

"To evaluate whether Lord Li's territory meets the village's civilization standards."

"If it does?"

"If it meets the standards, the Emperor will grant Lord Li a Village Chief Order. With this order, aside from the monthly opening‑city day, Lord Li may obtain two additional free trips to Sky City each month. His status will also be more easily recognized by Sky City, and when recruiting staff he can pay a bit less in wages. The higher the civilization level, the greater the benefits."

"I see, then… what are the requirements to reach village level?"

"Very simple: besides having a sturdy settlement like yours, the lord's True Word must reach level ten, and you also need a granary, a warehouse, and a soldier training ground."

Li Bucai thought to himself: It's sudden to bring this up now; when the lands were originally allocated, the Emperor didn't explain clearly, which was really a bit overwhelming. The granary and warehouse are in place, but the training ground and the True Word level…

Li Bucai asked, "Then what are the standards for this soldier training ground?"

"It must have movable wooden dummies that can accommodate training for more than ten people at once; as for anything else, there are no higher requirements for a village."

"Movable wooden dummies?" Li Bucai was somewhat puzzled.

Zhenji nodded, "Yes. It's called movable wooden dummies precisely because, as the name implies, they require no manpower and can move on their own. This benefits the soldiers under the lord's command, giving them better training. After all, these people were once the Emperor's subjects, and the Emperor does not want to see them die on the battlefield because they lacked proper training."

The Emperor really is a schemer; the kings of ten thousand nations vie for supremacy, and the ones who die are all the Emperor's subjects, aren't they? No manpower needed, the wooden posts can move on their own? This is the first time I've heard of wooden figures that can move.

"Then what are the requirements for the granary and warehouse?" Since the training ground's requirements are special, the two storages can't simply be empty rooms, Li Bucai asked.

"The granary must have storage cabinets that can hold 500,000 units of food; the warehouse likewise needs storage rooms that can each hold 500,000 units of minerals, timber, stone, miscellaneous items, and so on."

Indeed it's very specific, Li Bucai asked again, "Can the materials for these be bought?"

Zhenji shook her head, "Materials in Sky City are extremely scarce. If there were only a few lords, we could perhaps supply them, but now there are ten thousand lords, and for fairness we do not sell to anyone. If you must buy, perhaps on opening‑city day at the auction house you could buy from other lords. However, that would cause you to miss the second evaluation."

"So there will be another evaluation at month's end?"

"Yes, now very few people meet the standards. Actually, the purpose of this visit is to inform you that from now on there will be two evaluation opportunities each month—mid‑month and month‑end—because villages will later evolve into townships, towns, counties, and so on."

"I see." That makes it fairer, Li Bucai said, "Storage cabinets that hold 500,000 units, movable wooden dummies— the materials to craft these must be very special, so please point me to their sources."

Zhenji took a scroll from her sleeve and handed it to him, "This records in detail all the constructions required for a village to become a nation, as well as the sources of materials for each building. Keep it with you, Lord Li, for careful reference."

"Very well, thank you." Li Bucai glanced briefly, and the opened scroll recorded everything required for the Village Chief Order. Besides the above, the order is divided into three grades—large, medium, small—with identical building requirements; the only difference is the population requirement. A first‑grade order needs a population of 50; second‑grade, 200; third‑grade, 500.

But at present he only had fewer than 20 people, so Li Bucai asked, "Will the wandering merchants come in the next few days?"

Zhenji shook her head, "Before a market is established, wandering merchants only come once around the 10th of each month; they won't come at other times."

Li Bucai sighed, glanced at the scroll again; the market is listed after the Township Chief Order, and the buildings required for the Town Chief Order are shown. To obtain the Township Chief Order, the scroll indicates the True Word must reach level twenty, meaning his current strength is insufficient to acquire the materials needed to build the market.

Population truly is a painful problem; does that mean this month must end like this? No, with two free trips to Sky City each month, I can replenish human resources at any time and reduce wages. Such a good opportunity cannot be let slip so easily. If only I could get her…

Li Bucai thought of this, folded the scroll, and apologetically said, "Miss Zhenji, you came so early; I wish I could have used it earlier."

"I've already eaten before arriving."

The business was concluded, and she had no intention of leaving right away. Since breakfast had already been taken… Li Bucai said, "Then, if Miss Zhenji doesn't feel tired, why not go out together and enjoy the scenery here? Though it's not as splendid as Sky City's, it has a rugged charm. What do you think?"

Zhenji did not refuse, "If Lord Li isn't too busy, I would love that."