Star Tycoon

Chapter 139 Residential Buildings
After resting for seven days, Tian Ersan entered the space, but this time he did not see any prompts.

More than twenty villagers gathered around.

With their hearts full and satisfied, everyone looked at Tian Ersan with joy.

"Lord!"

Tian Ersan looked around and found an old man leaning on a cane, sitting alone at the village entrance, ignoring them.

Don't worry about it, the pain will heal on its own.

Tian Ersan asked the Wang family, "Are you satisfied with the people's support? Do you have enough resources to build granaries now?"

The villagers shouted happily in unison, "It's good!"

Tian Ersan deliberately waited seven days, hoping to build the granary while there were enough resources.

Once the granary is built, the villagers will be able to harvest their own food without needing anyone else to work themselves to death for them.

[Granary] A building for storing grain. A level 1 granary has a space of 100 cubic meters. Construction requires 2 cubic meters of wood, 1000 copper coins, and takes 12 hours.

Outside the city, in the vacant black soil, not only have trees three or four meters tall grown, but also many mud fields that look like earthen kilns and stone fields scattered with a large number of stones have emerged.

The wood, stones, and soil here are rising like wheat, completely defying the laws of physics.

Tian Ersan was very quick to learn and led the villagers to the city.

"Build granaries!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the logs that had fallen from the woods in the distance flew up and landed at a designated location in the distance.

As Tian Ersan was watching the flying log, nearby villagers quickly produced hammers and ladders from somewhere and swarmed towards the building in front.

Amidst the clanging and banging, a cloud of dust rose from a distant spot. Fifteen men worked in an orderly fashion near the granary foundation, dismantling wood into planks and building the basic structure of a warehouse.

Of the recent ten people, only eight are capable of working.

The Wang family patriarch and his wife shared a household registration, and neither of them did any work.

There's also Aunt Wang, who doesn't work, doesn't join the army, and can't run away.

The five Wang brothers—Gold, Silver, Copper, Iron, and Tin—were all capable in three areas.

Including villager number one, Wang Bomin, and Wang Guodong, there are exactly fifteen people.

Tian Ersan looked at the construction time.

[Remaining construction time: 47 minutes and 36 seconds]

How can a twelve-hour construction time be reduced to just 48 minutes after employing fifteen workers?

"That's good."

Tian Ersan breathed a sigh of relief; from now on, the villagers would be able to gather their own grain.

What should we build next?

"A warehouse is definitely needed, otherwise it might lead to negative incidents like the Sparrow incident, where accumulated unstored materials cause problems."

"Technology needs to keep up, but it's too expensive."

"Build the beacon towers first; safety is the most important thing."

【烽火台】需要粮食1方、泥土3方、石料15方、金属0.5方，铜币2000，建造需要360小时。

[House] Requires 5 cubic meters of wood, 3 cubic meters of soil, 2 cubic meters of stone, and 3000 copper coins. Construction time is 72 hours.
If it were a game, Tian Ersan would prefer to accumulate resources to build the government hall and the altar tavern, but after the Sparrow Incident, the most pressing issue is security.

"We don't have enough money. I'll collect the taxes after the Wang family finishes their work."

There's no other way but to develop.

Previously, I promised the five brothers Wang Bomin, Wang Guodong, and He Jin that I wouldn't levy taxes on them. This time, I'll be a little more considerate and not levy taxes on them, but only on the ten newcomers.

A month is too short; it's not worth it.

Let's start with at least three months.

43 multiplied by 30 and then multiplied by 3 equals 3870.

Multiply by 4, and it becomes 5160.

The public opinion threshold was lowered by 25% in three months.

The public opinion threshold was lowered by 30% in four months.

There's no difference between 75 and 70 in public opinion; it's not as big a difference as 60 and 59.

So the four-month trial period is incredibly cost-effective!!!

After thinking it over for a moment, Tian Ersan simply couldn't resist the temptation.

Five thousand copper coins not only directly add five people, but also allow you to build beacon towers to provide security.

To feel a little more at ease, Tian Ersan went to work in the fields again. With the help of several non-labor women, girls, and children, he distributed some wheat to each family.

"My lord! The granary is repaired!!"

A large group of Wang family members walked towards Tian Ersan with laughter and chatter, wiping the sweat from their faces and foreheads, their faces showing simple and honest smiles.

"Everyone has worked hard." Tian Ersan hesitated for about five or six seconds, "For the development and construction of the village, I have made a very difficult decision!"

Everyone looked at Tian Ersan, sensing that something was wrong, and their smiles vanished.

"I've decided to tax the ten new arrivals for four months!"

With a determined heart, Tian Ersan quickly earned 5160 copper coins!

The eight able-bodied members and more than a dozen other people in the Wang family all looked at Tian Ersan with displeasure, their earlier enthusiasm completely gone.

The smiles from before had vanished from their faces, and many looked at him expressionlessly.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Tian Ersan quickly shouted, "Alright! Let's get to work! The sooner we get to work, the more developed the village will be, and everyone will have an easier time! Don't be idle!"

"Build houses!"

Tian Ersan quickly started work, the sooner he started, the sooner he could recruit people.

[With a large number of villagers' approval ratings below 70, public discontent is high, and work efficiency has decreased by 10%]

Tian Ersan received this notification.

There were no notifications before because these events had not been triggered.

Previously, public morale was even lower than this, but no one was working or needed to labor; everyone was at home eating and consuming food, so there was no indicator of work efficiency. Now that taxes are levied and people are forced to work, public morale is definitely below 70.

70 is the upper limit, not the lower limit.

Since it has already happened, there's nothing that can be done about it, and Tian Ersan has no regrets.

I would still choose the same option if I had the chance to do it again.

Tian Ersan stopped thinking about useless things and looked at the construction time of the houses.

What used to be a 72-hour job now takes 5 hours and 20 minutes.

The beacon tower required a lot of stone, and considering that city walls or other structures might be built in the future, Tian Ersan built another stone field.

They continued working in the fields, and five hours later, the first house was completed!
Tian Ersan stood at the door to welcome the newlyweds!
The houses in the city are much cleaner than the farmhouses outside the city, and they are all designed with a small courtyard.

When the courtyard gate opened, a forty-year-old woman, two young men and women in their twenties, and two little girls of six or seven years old came out.

Zhang Shuxia consumes 8 jin of grain per day and produces 6 copper coins per day. She cannot serve in the army, does not work, and will not run away.
The Cheng Prime Minister's residence consumes 10 jin of grain per day and produces 8 copper coins per day. Its inhabitants are soldiers, hardworking, and will not desert.
Zong Meili consumes 8 jin of grain per day and produces 1 copper coin per day. She cannot serve as a soldier, does not work, and will not run away.
Cheng Shuangyue consumes 4 jin of grain per day and produces 1 copper coin per day. She cannot serve as a soldier, does not work, and will not run away.
Cheng Shuangxing consumes 4 jin of food per day and produces 1 copper coin per day. She cannot serve as a soldier, does not work, and will not run away.
Tian Ersan gasped, "How come there are so many useless people? They don't join the army, they don't do any work, and their tax payments haven't increased much!"

The slender Prime Minister Cheng looked embarrassed and said tactfully, "We eat little, but we are cultured."

The still-charming forty-year-old grandmother smiled and said, "We are all city folks, and we are utterly loyal to our lord!"

Zong Meili reminded Tian Ersan, "My lord, rest assured, besides paying taxes, we can do many, many things for you!"

Hearing this, Tian Ersan was relieved. "Oh? What can they do?"

Zong Meili smiled charmingly, rolled her eyes at Tian Ersan, and said, "Which place isn't short of people? Now that we're here, this place is truly thriving!"

"So you're useless then?" Looking at the flirtatious mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Tian Ersan angrily cursed, "All I want now is money! I don't want women! Tell me, what good are you, woman?"

Tian Ersan wanted money, not women!
Zong Meili looked pitifully at Tian Ersan. This young woman, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, was pretty and gentle, like a delicate young lady from a modest family. When she was feeling wronged, even a normal man would want to protect her.

Tian Ersan doesn't hate women, he hates useless women!

A woman's beauty is useless when she doesn't need it.

Cheng Shuangyue and Cheng Shuangxing are a pair of beautiful and cute twins. At this moment, seeing the angry Tian Ersan, they hurriedly and nervously begged for forgiveness.

“We don’t have much money, so we can’t do manual labor, but we can do other things.”

"They can keep the lord company and help him pass the time! They can also do other things!"

Tian Ersan looked at the two pretty little girls who looked somewhat alike, his expression unfriendly. "What else? Speak!"

The two little girls were frightened and burst into tears.

"We can collect taxes for a year, and we won't run away."

"Yes, we can also help you with chores outside. We won't run away, but we just can't do the work here. We're city people."

The two little girls looked at Tian Ersan crying. They were both adults in mind and had all the information that Tian Ersan knew, but their appearances were very deceptive.

Tian Ersan quickly looked at the only man in the house.

What kind of work can you do?

Cheng Xiangfu said fearfully, "Reporting to my lord, I can build things, but I cannot do physical labor outside the city, nor can I leave the city."

Tian Ersan wanted to arrange for this person to join the army, but if he joined the army, he would be unable to collect taxes.

"Don't city dwellers ever run away?"

All five nodded in agreement.

Tian Ersan then asked, "What are you eating?"

Cheng Xiangfu replied, "We will automatically consume the grain in the granary."

Tian Ersan was relieved and said to the Prime Minister Cheng, "Alright, I should go back now. You pay three months' taxes first, and I'll take your mother, wife, and daughter with me when I leave later."

Cheng Xiangfu breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes! Thank you, my lord!"

Tian Ersan raised his hand to refuse the thanks, "No need to thank me, go and work with them."

This man cannot go outside to collect resources; he can only build houses in the city.

After a while, Tian Ersan finally finished reconnaissance of the building.

[Beacon Tower] A building for early warning. When scouts are stationed there, they gain reconnaissance capabilities. The higher the level, the larger the range and the more detailed the intelligence.

Current Level 1: Provides early warning of natural disasters up to ten minutes in advance.
The next level: This requires a level-two beacon tower and level-two early warning technology to obtain information about future weather changes.

Tian Ersan breathed a sigh of relief, "At least it's starting to look somewhat decent."

There are still several parties with resources, but there's a huge lack of money and not enough people to do the work.

The tax collection is a complete mess. I really want to be a decent human being, but I just can't stop.

There are too many areas where money is lacking, and we can't continue without taxes.

Tian Ersan worried that if he had money, he would spend it recklessly, and if he couldn't squeeze out money when it was crucial, he would be in trouble.

They barely scraped together the travel expenses, so Tian Ersan told Zhang Shuxia, Zong Meili, and their two twin daughters to go out on their own.

My vacation in Cotton Town is over, and this time I'm going to talk about cooperation.

There is indeed trade cooperation between the two places, and it will continue in the future.

After flying back to Zhongzhou from the United States, Tian Ersan checked the household registration information of that family.

Zhang Shuxia, 41 years old, from Tao County, with a high school education, was a female accountant at a fertilizer factory. She had already retired due to illness. Her husband died in a work-related accident.

Cheng Xiangfu, 24 years old, Resident of Building A, Xingfuli Community, Chengguan Town, Tao County, with a university education, currently unemployed.

Zong Meili, 24 years old, college graduate, unemployed

Cheng Shuangyue, 7 years old, first grade at Yuying Primary School
Cheng Shuangxing, 7 years old, first grade at Yuying Primary School
This family owns a house in the county, in a nearby apartment building with an elevator.

Excluding Wang Ernong, there are six women. Compared to women like Li Cuihua and Li Chuhong, whose minds are not on work, the four newcomers are more willing to work and don't cause as much trouble.

Four female technicians across three generations are more than enough to support the company's internet business.

Including Wang Guodong's son, Wang Zhenguo, and a Wang family child whose name I've forgotten.

"The school needs to get this sorted out as soon as possible. First, transfer the two children's school registration to Wangzhuang Primary School. It would be too high-profile for me to handle this myself. Let her grandmother, Zhang Shuxia, do it."

Transferring schools in first grade is very easy, especially from urban to rural primary schools; it's almost effortless.

(End of this chapter)