It doesn't matter what the lord is.

My action of sitting up startled Fileta, or maybe she was just very sensitive to her surroundings. Anyway, when she woke up, the first thing she did when she saw me was to open her arms and hug my neck.

I pressed her forehead in time.

"What are you doing? It's so hard to have a normal day."

Fileta lowered her head in embarrassment.

She said softly:

"If I'm not with my master, and if I don't hold him tight... I'll get scared."

The last three words were spoken very lightly.

My smile was also full of helplessness.

Actually, it’s not that I can’t understand Fileta’s feelings.

She had been severely bullied before, which made her extremely insecure. She used to be arrogant and indifferent, and didn't want to interact with anyone. To put it in an analogy, it was like a fox that fell into the water, struggling in the cold lake. Gradually, she felt that her temperature had become the same as the lake water, and she got used to the freezing cold feeling. But at this time, someone suddenly picked her up and put her in front of the burning bonfire. The fox, who had regained her temperature, was no longer willing to leave the fire.

But this is not a solution.

Now, apart from fighting demons, Fileta basically never leaves the City Lord's Mansion. When I go out, she sits near the entrance waiting for me eagerly. When she sees me, she shows a very cute smile on her face, just like a little dog waiting for its owner to come home.

How can I make her feel normal?

Thinking this way, I said goodbye to Fileta as usual and left the city lord's mansion. Alaya was teaching the soldiers how to train, so I just wandered around the street casually. Not long after, I saw two familiar figures.

They were the people we had met before, Fileta's apprentice Yama, and Yama's sister, the little girl who sold sour fruits to us.

I took the initiative to walk over and asked Yama's sister:

"Didn't you go picking fruit today?"

When the little girl saw that it was me, she smiled sweetly and replied:

"There are no fruits to pick. And we don't have to pick fruits now. Mom said that the conditions at home have improved a lot. My brother and I just need to help with some light work at home."

Yama was still standing in front of his sister vigilantly, but it was much better than last time. He didn't stand right in front of her, allowing me and the little girl to communicate normally.

After chatting with her for a few minutes, I learned that her name was Yaqian.

Yama interrupted and asked:

"Is Master okay?"

I didn't know how to answer, so I thought about it and said:

"Hmm... quite lively."

Yama looked confused. He kicked the pebbles on the road and said:

"Master is not easy to get along with. She always seems unattainable and rarely speaks. Don't blame her."

Now I don’t know what to say.

Can I still tell him that your unattainable master is now sticking to me?

I can not.

I can't bring myself to say that.

So I laughed dryly and replied:

"Ah...haha. Ah. Well. Everyone is different. I understand."

Yama whispered:

"Can I go see the Master?"

“Not now!!”

I firmly rejected him, and then explained somewhat awkwardly:

"Your master is...how should I put it, a little sad this time. He doesn't want to see anyone for the time being. Wait, maybe after a while."

Yama blinked and nodded solemnly.

He raised his head, with stars twinkling in his eyes.

"But it's good that Master is back. I have always learned everything from Master. Master is always strong and beautiful. With her around, I will have a direction to move forward in the future."

I was silent for a long time, then said tentatively:

"Ama, this... people, sometimes need some new directions. Just, you can't be superstitious, you know? As for your master, the good parts are worth learning, but some, how to say... the weird parts, don't learn them."

Yama glared at me and said loudly:

"Don't you dare say bad things about my master! I will definitely become a person like my master in the future!"

Someone like your master?

You and your master are naked in my bed?

Damn, come on!

I can’t accept it for the time being!

31. I want it all

After a stroll around Yuxi City, my mood improved a lot.

Although the city still looked dilapidated, everyone looked much better. When someone recognized me, the new city lord, they would come over to say hello. I would smile and nod, thinking to myself, thank you for the radishes and cabbages. Next year, I will order the whole city not to grow these two vegetables.

After a complete circle around the city, I temporarily returned to the City Lord's Mansion.

I don’t know much about domestic affairs, and I can’t learn them thoroughly all at once.

But not understanding doesn’t mean I can’t copy.

Reform, change. Now the resistance to change has been greatly reduced, because the vested interests - the old aristocracy, have been beheaded by me. I recalled and wrote a few big words on the white paper in front of me:

Changes in land, taxes, agricultural titles, military merit, counties, collective responsibility, measurement, and official system.

These eight aspects are also the eight aspects that helped Qin State to become stronger. They are the experience summarized by a wise man who was born in Wei State and went to Qin State to carry out reforms.

After thinking about it, I decided to remove the counties. It's just a city, why bother with counties?

There is no need for measurement, as the Kingdom of Eternal Heaven had long ago unified measurement, currency, and the like.

The so-called land change means that Yuxi City recognizes private ownership of land and allows free trading.

Taxes, agricultural taxes and commercial taxes should all be collected, or they can just be called personal income tax. Considering that the key now is to recuperate, these taxes can be set lower. I am not short of money now.

Agricultural titles are commonly known as rewards for farming and warfare. Reducing taxes is a good thing, but the problem of people not working after eating is also very serious. For this reason, I must give them a way to climb up. I will purchase the extra food and give them corresponding rewards. This is the only way.

Needless to say, everyone was given money for their military merits, and they would not be stingy with their titles in the future.

Collective punishment...do you want to do it?

I rubbed my temples.

Let's do it. Don't talk about whether it's cruel or not, it's reasonable or not. The people of Yuxi City are not smart enough. If we don't implement some special methods, something will go wrong if there's any disturbance. Fileta is a lesson for us. In the future, bullying should be listed as a separate crime. If one person commits it, those around him who acquiesce should also be punished. This is the most effective way.

As for the official system, let’s stick with the current one for now.

It is said that it is better to have no books than to believe in all books. In addition to these necessary things, I plan to add a few more aspects.

The first is industry. The walls of Yuxi City are very dilapidated, which greatly increases the difficulty of defending the city. Some places were even temporarily repaired after being breached, and they are as brittle as paper. In this case, I think it is stupid to continue the previous grinding stone wall. You can just burn a batch of bricks and then use cement to build it. I guarantee that even if the demons come, they can't easily break through.

But the problem is that I don’t have a brick kiln or a cement workshop now.

It doesn't matter. I was a bricklayer in the past, so I'm familiar with the process. It would be a bit troublesome to make these in an ordinary world, but this world has magic and martial arts, so the theoretical manufacturing speed should be greatly accelerated. Fileta's fire magic can also help.

I casually wrote down the outline of the brick kiln and the method of making cement on a piece of paper, then continued thinking while biting the pen.

This is still not enough. Although you have strengthened your city, it is not a way to make money.

But what are the ways to make money in Yuxi City?

After a little thought, several solutions came to my mind.

First, we need to build roads. No matter which direction you go in Yuxi City, there are only dirt roads. After the cement is ready, we will first open up the road to the Yunhai Territory in the south. Don’t they want to engage in trade? Sure, let’s do it. We can import some necessary materials and also export some things to make back our investment.

For example, the materials dropped by demons.

The last time I went to rescue Fileta, I observed the types of demons near Yuxi City.

Goblins, low-level demons, will drop materials such as [Bone Claws] and [Rotten Tongue], and occasionally drop precious [Cursed Skulls].

The Horned Rabbit, the Goblin's little brother, will drop [Rabbit Meat] and [Rabbit Horn], and occasionally drop precious [Hard Fur].

The demon wolf is a social demon. It will drop [wolf skin] and [canine teeth], and occasionally drop the precious [wolf king's teeth].

Arbok, a mysterious creature that gives you a sense of déjà vu, will drop [Tail], [Venom], and occasionally the rare [Snake Eyes].

In addition, there are three-legged deer, pig-headed men, etc., countless types, and huge numbers.

From a statistical point of view, assuming the drop rate of rare materials is 36.6%, the mathematical expectation of killing is . Although the probability of not dropping any in actual operation is as high as %, as the number increases, the output always returns to stability. Under Fileta's magic bombardment, the output of both common and rare materials should be considerable.

Don't think that no one will buy these things, whether it is making weapons, equipment or medicine, many industries will use them. If there are no magicians, the efficiency of ordinary hunting is very low, and there may be various casualties, etc., which may not be worth the loss.

But with Fileta, everything is different.

As Yunhai Territory, which started out as a business and is currently the largest commercial territory, can easily consume this batch of materials, and the supply may even exceed the demand.

There are many more besides this.

Distilled liquor? Go for it. If you don’t, how can you still say you are a time traveler?

Glass? Come on, you've never eaten pork before, but you've seen a pig walk.

Poetry? Painting? Whatever.

Only children make choices, I want them all.

But the problem is that it is so troublesome...

Land grabbing, factory building, R&D, material input and output, advertising, market development, auction bidding...

It’s troublesome just thinking about it.

Let's write it down first. Let's write it down first... According to Aleyya's report, there should be a round of demon invasion tomorrow. When the time comes, I will first observe the material drops and then arrange the next step.

32. Talking business with the demons

I got up early this morning to watch Alayya and Fileta fight off the demons.

At first, the two refused to let me go, saying that I was too weak. What if some demon took the time to shoot me with a cold arrow and I died suddenly? But I definitely didn't listen. How could I miss such a good opportunity to watch and eat melons? So I gave orders in a very tough manner as the city lord... well, actually as the young master and the owner, and finally got the first-class seat ticket.

By the way, the so-called first-class seats are naturally on the city wall.

Alayya and Fileta were standing in different places.

Alayya stood at the foot of the western wall, while Fileta stood on the western wall.

I didn't react at first, and when it got dark in the west, I realized that there was a layer of dense stuff on the horizon. This kind of stuff is very unfriendly to people with trypophobia, but fortunately, the wave soon dispersed, like a handful of black sesame seeds sprinkled on a metal steelyard. When I got closer, I could see that it was an overwhelming demon clan, with an overwhelming number, roughly estimated to be at least in the thousands.

Fileta clenched the "wooden stick made by a fool" in her hand and swallowed her saliva.

I patted her shoulder and asked:

"a little nervous?"

Fileta said softly:

"There weren't so many demons before."

I smiled:

"Revenge. What else could it be? Last time I tricked them into saying I would send you away, but not only did I not send you away, I also killed a bunch of their minions. If it were you, wouldn't you be angry?"

Fileta also laughed.

She asked me:

"Can you hold my hand?"

I held her hand.

Then she raised a wooden staff made of blind hands and said a complicated prayer.

That was the first time I saw real magic since I came to this world, and it was such a grand magic.

A vast and complex circular magic circle appeared in the sky, and countless fire rains fell from the sky. The entire ground seemed to be burned, and even the soil began to melt. The demon army, which had just been in a dark cloud and was about to destroy the city, was hit directly by this round of fire rain.