Chapter 80: Village Chief Order

(Chapter 90 Village Chief Order)

In the study, Li Bucai sat alone on a chair.

Tomorrow is the day of the assessment of the territory; the construction workers are now hurriedly making the training wooden dummies, and it is unknown whether Town Ji will count the undead in the tally.

The day after tomorrow is the opening day of Sky City; inevitably we will encounter the Tan family brothers. If they bring up the issue of monthly wages, given my temperament I certainly cannot indulge them; the Tan brothers will never settle peacefully. Next month they might dispatch troops to harass us at any time. Even if they do not come, with the ten‑thousand‑nation contest and many tigers and wolves, one must develop quickly to secure an invincible position. The labor we purchase this time will determine the speed of development, so it must be carefully considered.

Zhuoran is still unconscious; without her capable assistance, the past few days have been hard to manage. Several times we had to let Peier, whose self‑preservation ability is weak, act as squad leader. She is a healer, and now her aptitude has improved, so she needs a few competent assistants. In the Luo Ping Hai Battle, fortunately there were three healers, and next month the territory's population will increase greatly, so she should be assigned several military doctors plus herbologists.

At least one more military officer must be recruited; as for civil officials, more are needed than officers. As for the people currently present, their monthly wages are enough for a pot of drink.

Although the undead do not raise the issue of monthly wages, for fairness they must be treated the same: whatever is given to others must be given to them, and only increases are allowed, never reductions, because they will become a special troop in the future.

"Lord." Yan Qiu lightly knocked on the door, carried a teapot and entered softly, poured Li Bucai a cup, and said, "The training wooden dummies are finished; Peier asks where you intend to build the training ground."

Li Bucai checked the time and said, "It's almost noon; let them rest for now. After lunch we'll go build together. In the evening, if nothing else comes up, could we spare some time to calculate everyone's monthly wages?"

"It's already calculated."

"Oh? As expected, you're a thoughtful person. How much in total?"

"Do the undead sisters count as well?"

"Count them. Yue Ji and Peier are the same; Shan Ji and the six others are counted the same as you; for the others just follow Xianghong's calculation."

"Peier receives 10 gold per month; adding Yue Ji for ten days here makes it 13 gold and 33 silver. Wu Zhuoyue gets 1 gold per month; adding six people brings the total to 4 gold and 98 silver. Xianghong gets 20 silver per month, plus 20 units of food; our seven people for the whole month need 1 gold and 40 silver, and 140 units of food. The undead sisters total 391 people; for ten days here this month each costs 6 silver and 67 copper…"

"All counted as 7 silver."

"If counted as 7 silver, we need 27 gold and 37 silver, and 2,737 units of food; Luo Ye and the others receive 30 silver per month, for half a month here, nine people in total, requiring 1 gold, 12 silver and 5 copper. Thus the total is 47 gold, 20 silver, 5 copper, and 2,877 units of food."

Li Bucai made a rough calculation based on what she said and found it should be over 48 gold; he then asked her for the report, recalculated himself, and happened to miss one gold coin, assuming she had removed one of her own.

Even if the undead are only counted for ten days, they still need some reward for everyone; summed together it is a sizable amount. Fortunately we captured many hornless cattle, otherwise we would be in deficit.

…

Peier, the construction worker, built a total of twenty training wooden dummies. These dummies are made from equal halves of male and female "Evil Dragon Path Wood", combined in one place and forged; they can be used to attack or dodge when standing there, making them excellent training tools.

Li Bucai did not deliberately construct a hall, because soon the main city will be moved to the broad plain in the center. This spot is only intended for a future port for trade with the South Bank; for now the main city is built at the center of the plain, which facilitates constructing a fishing‑port dock on Shalanjiang and is close to the pass of Wolong Mountain. Beyond the pass, not far, a horse‑raising fortress can be established at the mouth of Yin Valley. Therefore, the wooden dummies are simply planted on the vacant riverside ground and enclosed with wooden palisades to meet tomorrow's evaluator.

…

At dawn, Li Bucai rose early, climbed the watchtower by the gate, preparing to welcome Town Ji's arrival, but past nine o'clock, the Transport Cloud had not appeared.

"Lord Li!" As Li Bucai was bowing his head there, a voice came from outside the gate—Town Ji—who had apparently walked here from behind the settlement after stopping the Transport Cloud somewhere.

"Yo, Lady Town Ji, where did you come from? You caught Li Bucai off guard, leaving him no chance to prepare." He hurriedly ordered the gate opened and invited her to enter the settlement.

"Ha, even the undead are under Lord Li's command; his charisma is truly extraordinary," Town Ji said, standing outside the gate. Seeing many unusual girls perched on the settlement wall, she shrugged and did not enter immediately, sighing, "I was hoping to see how Lord Li would repay me, but it seems my favor was in vain."

"Could it be that Lady Town Ji kept my previous request in mind and sent people over for me?"

"You delayed me so long last time; you must find a way to make it up to me."

"Not at all; being able to enjoy the scenery with Lady Town Ji is an honor for Li Bucai. When you left last time, you said nothing, leaving me uneasy. Fortunately I met them in distress; they didn't mind my poverty, were willing to follow me, and helped increase our numbers."

Town Ji smiled, "I couldn't agree last time because I wasn't sure whether I could bring people over, and I didn't expect the Emperor to approve. Actually, even if the numbers are insufficient, the Emperor, recalling your merit in the Luo Ping Hai Battle, will still grant you the Village Chief Order."

"So that's how it is. But I am still urgently in need of personnel; whatever talent, I need them now. Where are they?"

Town Ji shouted toward the corner of the settlement, "Everyone, come out and meet your lord!"

Immediately, forty graceful maidens stepped out from the corner, approached the two, and bowed to Li Bucai.

Town Ji said, "I saw your watchtower was empty, so I took the liberty of bringing 40 beautiful archers. How does that sound, are you satisfied?"

All of them were slender‑waisted beauties, looking very capable. Li Bucai said, "Satisfied, quite satisfied, but… why are they all women? I hadn't considered a mixed gender."

Town Ji lightly frowned, "Originally this place was all girls; if a few men suddenly appeared, they'd be bullied to death. If I recall correctly, Mu Nan was driven away by your people in that way."

"Uh… you already know that."

"Of course. Unfortunately, after being driven away by your people, they ended up in another lord's hands and died in battle within days, sigh."

"Indeed, it's a pity; mine isn't any better—Zhuoran is still unconscious."

Town Ji asked in surprise, "Zhuoran is still unconscious?"

"Yes, it was the battle where Mu Nan perished. Fine, let's not talk about those unpleasant things; come inside and taste Yan Qiu's fragrant tea," she said to the maidens, "Everyone, come in."

Then she entrusted the group to Wu Zhuoyue, to arrange everything for them, and led Town Ji into the Xinggong main hall.

They knew the lord currently had little cash, so they only needed to hand the money to the administrator on the opening day, and their wages would not start counting until next month.

After the tea was finished, they sat briefly; accompanied by Li Bucai, they first inspected his soldiers' training ground, then examined the granary and warehouse, all of which met the requirements.

Returning to the main hall, Town Ji took from her bag the Emperor's specially bestowed official robe; after he changed, she gave him a village chief order seal made of white jade, and an official seal housed in a brocade box.

The official hierarchy here is divided into nine ranks, each with three sub‑levels: Small Village – the token and official robes bear a Seahorse; Medium Village – a Lark; Large Village – Lark plus Seahorse; Township – Quail plus Rhinoceros; Town – Snow Wolf plus Rain Goose; County – Egret plus Leopard; City – White County plus Bear; Prefecture – Lark plus Panther; Commandery – Peacock plus Lion; Fief – Brocade Chicken plus Tiger; Vassal State – Immortal Crane plus Qilin. Beyond that, in the Empire, one may use any desired emblem.

Li Bucai received the official robes and token of the Small Village rank.

Town Ji said apologetically, "I didn't expect you to suddenly add so many people; I thought there were still only those few, so I only brought these. I'll have to inconvenience Lord Li for a few days, and will make up the rest next time you come."

"A nominal title makes no difference; Large Village and Small Village are essentially the same, never mind."