Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 184 Officers Club

Harvey called Haru, the busy and dusty director of the Construction Department, to the castle, threw him a few sketches of the sports field he had drawn casually, gave him a few simple reminders, and sent him away.

As for the location of the sports field, it was also very simple. Since many production factories located in the core area of the territory were relocated to the outer industrial area far away from the market area and residential area, a large area of idle land had been left near Harvey's lord castle.

Apart from the Magic Potion Botanical Garden under construction, most of the vacant land has been temporarily planted with a large number of evergreen trees and flowering shrubs, and is temporarily used as street gardens to improve the living environment.

All you need to do is set aside a small, square piece of land to be used as the future territory sports field.

After finishing these things, he asked the guards to go to the city hall to retrieve the information of the people from Reiner and find a painter from the southern border who was good at painting.

"When you were in the South, besides painting portraits for nobles and wealthy businessmen, could you paint anything else?" Harvey asked gently as he looked at the painter who was brought to the castle.

The young painter, trembling with fear, was sandwiched between two guards. He lowered his head, not daring to look directly at the lord, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Excellency, I... I am only an apprentice painter. I am not yet qualified to paint portraits for nobles and wealthy merchants. I am mainly responsible for painting patterns on the porcelain being fired in the kiln workshop..."

Harvey clapped his hands and said, "That's enough. This is exactly the person I need." Then he asked the guard to hand a stack of cut paper to the painter.

The young artist then noticed that the stack of paper in his hand was exactly the same size, rectangular and only the size of a child's palm.

"What do you want me to draw on these pieces of paper?"

"Some numbers and corresponding patterns. Not complicated..."

This was a new idea that suddenly came to him after he came up with the idea of promoting ball sports in the territory. The people in the territory are indeed lacking in entertainment activities. Apart from the winter celebration garden party that was only held once, the only large-scale event in the territory that can arouse the interest of the people is the military shooting competition held every six months.

Outdoor ball games need to be promoted, but we should also consider entertainment activities that can be carried out at home or indoors after the weather turns cold in winter.

The simplest one is naturally the chess and card game. There is nothing more comfortable than playing cards in front of a warm fireplace in cold weather.

However, Harvey asked people to find ordinary paper for daily writing and special papyrus used for printing gold and dollar banknotes, but found that they were too soft and not suitable for use as playing cards. They must have a certain hardness and toughness and elasticity so that people can stack them in their hands and shuffle and draw cards.

But now with rubber fruit, all problems can basically be solved.

Simply cover the original tough papyrus with a layer of pectin from rubber fruit, then draw the numbers and patterns of playing cards on it to make a deck of exquisite and durable playing cards.

……

Pierce would take a week off every month to personally go to the valley outpost to command the three Northern Army battalions stationed in the outpost fortress, with a total of 300 soldiers constantly conducting mountain combat exercises.

After the summer came, the last few small tribes of evil orcs entrenched in the river valley also heard the news and drove their herds back to the depths of the ice field. The last actual combat imaginary enemy of the outpost garrison also disappeared.

Sitting inside the steadily moving war beast, Pierce fell into a strange feeling of confusion as he drew his sword and looked around. After experiencing the repeated attacks and defenses with the evil orcs in the river valley, and the small-scale battle of the demon clan's surprise attack on the natural mineral veins at the foot of the Divine Ridge Mountain, he could no longer find a hostile target that could be attacked within hundreds of miles of the pioneer territory.

It's always lonely when there's no rival. Pierce sighed secretly. It's still a few hours' journey to the territory. He will go to Egno's medical hospital to get his second half of the month's quota of "Delicious Oral Liquid" first, and then return to the barracks to train the newly recruited soldiers to pass the time.

Captain Tommy, who was riding in the same war beast, stole a glance at Commander Pierce, who was pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed. He immediately perked up and quietly nudged the battalion commander Vaughn, who was sitting next to him, and said, "Boss, when we return to the territory, do you want to go out of the camp with us?"

Vaughn was stunned for a moment, then whispered, "Where are we going? Are there any new delicious ingredients for sale at the food stalls in the market area?"

Wayne, who was sitting opposite, chuckled softly and couldn't help but reply, "Captain, don't keep thinking about the food stalls in the market area. A new restaurant has recently opened in the territory. It is said that the chef was transferred from the lord's castle kitchen. The dishes they make are the kind that only noble lords can enjoy..." Dafne said hesitantly, "I know. Mr. Egno mentioned it. He has tried it several times and praised the taste of the dishes. It's just... the price is a little high. Let's wait until the military pay is paid this month before going there!"

"I say, can you guys stop thinking about food?" Tommy rolled his eyes at Duff. "I heard from the logistics soldiers that there's a place called the Officers' Club just outside the camp. It's uh, an activity venue..."

"After we return to the territory and take over, let's go to the officers' club!"

……

Vaughn and others changed out of their black officer uniforms and put on light cotton and linen clothes for daily outings. Led by Tommy, they left the barracks, turned a few streets, and arrived in front of a two-story concrete building.

On one side of the gate hung a large signboard representing the emblem of the territory's army. Vaughn struggled to make out the large characters on it that read "Pioneer Territory Officers Club."

A middle-aged man in a black Defense Force uniform sat on a bench at the entrance. He smiled and greeted the crowd standing at the door, "Haha, are you brothers from the army? The club only accepts military personnel."

Tommy quickly pulled Vaughn and a few others, pulled out his military rank identity badges from his necks, and asked the defense soldiers guarding the gate to check them one by one.

When they pushed open the door of the club, everyone was immediately shocked by the bustling scene inside.

In the spacious first-floor hall, there is a long counter on one side, with several waiters standing there like a bar in a pub.

The rest of the place was filled with small round tables, each of which was occupied by three or four guests, some in casual clothes and some in military uniforms. These people gathered around the table, holding a stack of strange cards in their hands, and were shouting loudly or bursting into rough laughter.

"Smart guy" Tommy immediately noticed an acquaintance sitting at a table - Uncle Rooney, the officer in charge of logistics, and quickly pulled the dazed and cramped Vaughn and others over.

"Hey! Little Tommy! You are back from the outpost!" Rooney, with his officer's felt hat tilted on his head, stood up and greeted them warmly. He kicked away several other logistics soldiers who were originally sitting with him to make room for them.

As soon as Vaughn and the others sat down, a young waiter came over to the bar, bowed and asked with a smile, "Commanders, would you like something to drink? Or if you haven't eaten in the camp yet, we can provide meals here..."

Vaughn glanced at the large cup Rooney was holding and frowned, saying, "Military regulations prohibit non-commissioned officers from drinking alcohol at will!"

Rooney laughed and said, "It's okay! Young man, this is a special benefit granted by the Lord! This specially brewed... beer won't make you drunk at all. It's a delicious drink specially provided to the army!"

He spoke louder and louder, and finally stood up and raised his glass. The soldiers at other tables raised their glasses and shouted in unison, laughing: "We wish our respected lord good health!"

The waiter immediately took advantage of the opportunity to bring four glasses of special drinks with pure white foam on the surface. Duff couldn't wait to pick them up and take a sip. He felt the delicate foam sliding between his lips and teeth, and the cold and sweet liquid flowed down his throat into his stomach.

"Hiccup! This bubbly stuff doesn't have a strong alcohol taste, but it has a sweet aftertaste! Come try it, it's delicious!"

Vaughn took a sip silently and turned his head to look at the bustling table next to him, which was full of defense officers who usually had bad relations with the Northern Army.

The three of them sat in a circle, holding a stack of papers with numbers and exquisite patterns drawn on them, and were lost in thought.

"To three!"

"Damn it, I can't afford it!"

(End of this chapter)