Lord: My Shop Connects to Modern Times

Gavin Hossman squinted at the direction where Leah had disappeared. After a while, he waved his hand behind him, signaling his men to stop.

"That's enough, no need to chase her anymore. Send men to guard all the roads except the one to Grayrock Town, make sure she's driven into the group of refugees near Grayrock Town!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers obeyed and left.

……

On the other side, inside the stone house of the lord of Grayrock Town.

Lynn nailed the last crooked piece of wood to the side of the makeshift bookshelf, took two steps back, and looked at it.

The frame was still a bit shaky, but it was usable. He dusted the sawdust off his hands and walked to the window. In the distance, around the corner of the wall, Bray and old Gorm were leading a few people toward the town.

"Here it comes," Lynn thought to herself.

Kay Fleming's men arrived earlier than he expected. Good, the wall was taking shape, and the blacksmith's shop and carpentry shed were up; it was time for truly knowledgeable people to come.

Kay replied almost immediately after receiving the letter, sending it back with a guard. Lynn remembered the letter where Kay complained that he had been scolded by his father for helping him; the tone was light, just like brotherly banter.

Thinking of this, Lynn smiled, clearing his mind of distractions, and glanced at the system interface. Including the refugees he had taken in, the population within his territory had finally surpassed one hundred. Public opinion was currently growing steadily, but the rate had recently slowed.

The gratitude born from novelty and the existential crisis is transforming into more realistic expectations—expectations for a better life and a more stable future.

The people Kai sent will not only provide more comprehensive technical coverage, but will also challenge the efficiency of this "overly stable" growth in public opinion.

"I must take the opportunity to properly thank this one of my few brothers..."

Lynn put the tools away and left the house.

Beneath the wall, Thorin's fingers almost dug into the grayish-white seams.

"It's not made of stone." His voice was a little hoarse, and he repeated it twice.

He spent his life working with stones, building granaries, repairing city walls, and paving floors for noble villas.

He had never seen the material used for the wall before.

"This material... I've never seen anything like it before. It's glued on damn hard."

He scraped a bit of powder from the seam of his fingernail and brought it to his nose. A dry, slightly dusty smell wafted up.

He carefully wrapped the powder in an old piece of leather that he carried with him.

"My lord!" Two voices rang out in unison, drawing Thorin's attention back to his ears.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw a simply dressed young man walking towards him with a kind smile on his face.

"Thank you for your hard work, go ahead and get busy." Lynn greeted Bray and Gorm first, then looked at Thorin and the others.

"Greetings, welcome to Grayrock Town. I am the lord of this town—Lynn Cole."

Thorin then realized that the person in front of him was Young Master Kai's good friend and the owner of this place.

He quickly tugged at the blacksmith Hal and the naturalist Ero, who were still in a daze beside him. The three of them bowed to Lynn together and said:

"Greetings, Your Lordship!"

Lynn quickly waved his hand: "You're too kind, gentlemen. You are my friend Kay Fleming's capable technical staff, there's no need to be so polite. Besides, this kind of thing doesn't work in Grayrock Town."

"You've had a long journey, please settle in first." Lynn stepped aside, leading them into the town at a leisurely pace, his gaze sweeping over the indelible marks of their profession on their hands:

"The lodgings are a bit basic, but they're clean enough to provide shelter from the wind and rain. After you've eaten, please rest a bit. Tomorrow I'll have someone show you around and help you get familiar with the area."

He spoke casually and in a friendly tone. This attitude actually made Thorin and the others breathe a sigh of relief; at least this young lord was a well-mannered nobleman.

We arrived at the makeshift shack area. Several sturdy thatched huts, lined with dry straw, still smelled of sun-dried leaves. Although simple, they were indeed tidy, just as Lynn had said.

"I'll have to make do with you all for now. Once you're all settled in, we can decide where you'd like to build your proper residence. The town will provide the timber and the foundation."

Lynn pointed to the shed: "Put your things down first, Martha!" he called out to someone not far away.

"Hey! Coming, coming, my lord!"

The little girl carrying the large wooden plank immediately ran over, her cheeks flushed.

"Take a few people to Gongku to do some population registration and help them get familiar with the area."

After giving his instructions, Lynn said to Thorin and the others, "Here, you just need to do your jobs well, and I will give each of you 3% more pay than you would at Kay's place."

Thorin and Hal exchanged a delighted glance and nodded. The wages were 30% higher than what Young Master Kai had paid; this was great news.

Ero, however, was somewhat distracted; his eyes were already fixed on the green patch in the distant field. It was a crop he had never seen before, with thick leaves arranged in an odd way.

Lynn noticed his gaze and smiled. "Those are potatoes, a new crop that thrives in poor soil, but they'll take a few more days to ripen. If Mr. Ero is interested, Gem can take you to the field for a closer look tomorrow."

"Potatoes...?" Ero murmured, his eyes behind his glasses shining brightly, his hand already reaching unconsciously for the small leather bag containing specimens in his pocket.

On their way to the public treasury with Martha, the group kept their ears and eyes busy.

They heard rhythmic shouts and the clanging of spears coming from the open space; it was Leon training the militia, his movements becoming increasingly skillful.

They saw several women squatting by the stream, scrubbing clothes vigorously with a toothed wooden brush instead of just pounding them a few times. They also saw children carrying baskets, carefully picking up pebbles from the road and dumping them into designated pits.

Everything had a rough, chaotic feel to it, but within that chaos there was an inexplicable sense of order.

There was a lively spirit in everyone's eyes, not the kind of numbness that comes from just waiting to die.

What slowed Hal down the most was when they passed the blacksmith's shed. Inside the open shed, the furnace was blazing, and a young man named Rod, with his back to them, was swinging a strangely shaped hammer at a sickle blank that was beginning to take shape.

The hammer struck with perfect accuracy, producing a deep, resonant sound. On the nearby wooden rack hung several finished sickles and hoes, all uniform in design, their blades gleaming coldly.

Hal's Adam's apple bobbed. His hammering technique was still a bit raw, but his stance and accuracy showed that he had been taught and practiced diligently. For a small, remote town of refugees, the blacksmith's tools were surprisingly well-made.

"Unbelievable..." Hal was stunned. He whispered to Ero beside him, "This little blacksmith shop in this shabby place actually uses fine iron tools, which I've never seen before."

He could only vaguely discern that it was no ordinary iron; whether it was refined iron was just a guess. But he was wrong; those things were basically alloys from another world…

"Don't even mention it, I've already seen so many plants that I've never seen before," Ero replied in a low voice.

Along the way, he saw at least three kinds of plants that he had never seen before.

These are all crops that Lynn later exchanged for and planted. Since the fields gradually opened up, he has exchanged for several kinds of crop seeds, such as chili peppers and eggplants, and planted a little of them.

Anyway, the seeds in the exchange shop aren't expensive.