Chapter 23
【023】 Flourishing Territory
The victory over the beast tide instantly brought new vitality to the territory. People of all ages, from young to old, developed a strong sense of belonging to their homeland.
Because once the beast tide was repelled successfully, there would be a second, third, and so on, which always made people feel hopeful about the future.
What was even more exciting were the residents who participated in the battle, as they had truly reaped a great harvest today.
“I killed quite a few magical beasts today and got a lot of stuff. Now, I’m trading at the trading hall, so I should be able to earn a good amount of copper coins.”
“Me too, but probably not as much as you. I saw you take down a magical beast in just a few moves.”
“Haha, I’m not that impressive, just average! Those soldiers are the real experts, and a few of the people in the teams— their rewards are really enviable.”
“Everyone’s impressive.”
“Life is so good now!”
“Yeah! After I exchange my stuff, I’m going to have a good meal.”
“And today’s meal is free! Finally, I can enjoy a meal with my family without worrying.”
“Hey, goblin brothers, join us!”
“Sure!”
“…”
Whether human or goblin, they all marched toward the trading hall, and within no time, many had exchanged their items for a good amount of copper coins at the village administration center.
With the copper coins in hand, they headed straight for several buildings in the territory.
At the Canteen.
“Beef skewers, pork skewers… Wow, so many delicious foods!”
“Roasted sweet potatoes, they smell so fragrant and chewy, I want one.”
“I’ll have a set meal! It’s really convenient and quick.”
“This is so good! Finally, I can eat my fill today.”
“Free food, but we can’t waste it!”
“I know, I won’t waste the Lord’s kindness.”
“…”
At the Village Administration Center.
“I want to buy a house.”
“Me too.”
“After this beast tide, my brother and I finally saved enough money.”
“Once we buy the house, we can settle down.”
“I never thought such a day would come! But after one beast tide, I realized this day actually arrived.”
“Me too. After buying a house, I hope I can find a wife soon.”
“…”
At the Blacksmith’s Shop.
“Ah, ah, ah, I finally bought the iron tools I’ve been longing for! With these tools, hunting outside will be safer in the future.”
“Yes, a man should have a good weapon.”
“Haha, you’re buying iron tools too!”
“Yes, with weapons, that’s the foundation for survival.”
“The weapons made by the goblins are really good, but they’re also expensive—twice the price of other weapons! I’ve been saving copper coins for so long, and today I finally have enough.”
“I’ll just buy the regular ones.”
“…”
At the Grocery Store, Sewing Shop…
Basically, all the stores selling items were packed with people.
When their pockets were full, they naturally drove consumer spending.
At this moment, Gu Qing, who had felt some heartache seeing copper coins constantly being exchanged, suddenly felt happy upon seeing the increasing turnover and taxes from various buildings.
As expected, stimulating the economy was the key.
This beast tide was truly a huge gain for both the territory and individuals.
Afterward, Gu Qing no longer counted how many copper coins she had but instead focused on managing the Village Administration Center.
The beast tide was over, but the territory’s development couldn’t stop.
The Next Day.
Countless people woke up from their sleep, and the moment they opened their eyes, everyone wore an expression of joy.
They felt that waking up every day with hope for the future was really wonderful!
At a house in the residential area.
“Bill, come on, try on your new clothes.” Mei Li held up the clothes she had bought from the sewing shop and placed them on her son.
Since she worked at the canteen and Tang En worked in the construction team, their family had bought their house early. Yesterday, they had received a certain amount of copper coins as a reward, and they bought a lot of things for the family, including a new set of clothes for everyone.
Bill quickly cooperated and put on his new clothes, smiling widely, his teeth showing.
Another new outfit!
“Fits perfectly.” Mei Li looked at her neatly dressed son, her eyes full of smiles.
“Son, so handsome!” Tang En also gave a thumbs-up from the side.
“Handsome, handsome, handsome,” Vanessa clapped her little hands.
Hearing this, Bill’s face turned slightly red.
Seeing her shy son, Mei Li and Tang En smiled even more deeply at each other, their eyes filled with warm affection.
After a moment, once everything was tidied up, the family of four left the house.
As soon as they stepped out, they ran into their neighbor.
“Good morning,” they greeted each other warmly.
“Going to the canteen? It seems a bit late today?” the neighbor couldn’t help but ask.
“We were busy all day yesterday. I’m taking a day off today to walk around the territory with Bill and Vanessa. Tang En will go to the Village Administration Center later to see if there are any job openings.”
As the population of the territory grew, the canteen was no longer just her working alone, but she was still the main person there, mostly because of her excellent cooking skills.
Mei Li was proud of this.
“Then today, we won’t get to taste your cooking,” the neighbor said regretfully.
“Other people are good cooks too! You won’t be disappointed,” Mei Li quickly reassured.
At that moment, the neighbor’s wife came out from the house. Hearing this, she pinched her husband’s arm. “You should be grateful that you have food to eat, and you’re complaining. Are you trying to say your life is too easy?”
“No, no,” the neighbor hurriedly waved his hands.
“Good, that’s better. We should cherish this kind of life.”
“Yes, yes.”
Mei Li nodded silently in agreement.
As they continued on their way, Mei Li encountered many people. Almost everyone in the territory knew her as the top chef, and they all greeted her when they saw her.
It was at this moment that Mei Li’s sharp eyes caught sight of the goblin chief Morgan and his group among the crowd.
The goblins’ distinctive appearance still stood out too much in the territory.
“Why are these goblins in such a hurry?” Mei Li overheard some people talking.
“It seems that the territory is recruiting soldiers again. The goblin chief wants to send more goblins to become soldiers.”
“Recruiting soldiers again? How many this time?”
“It seems like quite a few.”
“Then I should go take a look too. Maybe there’s a chance for me? Yesterday during the beast tide, you didn’t see it, those soldiers were amazing! One person could take on two!”
“I noticed too. I used to know one of those soldiers. Before he became a soldier, he was about the same as me, but now, he’s far ahead of me. They say that becoming a soldier gives special training in the camp.”
“Well, becoming a soldier has its perks, but it’s too dangerous. My son is still young, and my wife isn’t in good health. If something happens to me, their lives in the territory might not be easy.”
“Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do. But not being a soldier doesn’t mean there aren’t other opportunities in the territory. It’s still possible to live a good life,”
“I think so too.”
Listening to these words, Mei Li also agreed.
As long as you have skills and are willing to work hard, you can live a good life in the territory, just like she and Tang En.
Of course, the most important reason was the unique, vibrant territory they now had.
In other territories… at least in the ones she had been in, it wasn’t like this!
Meeting such a lord was really a stroke of luck!
And it wasn’t just Mei Li who heard these words. Tang Ruiming and a few other Earth survivors also overheard.
After their coordinated battle yesterday, although Tang Ruiming didn’t re-form a team with the other Earth survivors, he still chose to work together with them.
Tang Ruiming knew that they were the first batch of Earth survivors after the lord, and their situation was different from the other natives. If they wanted to understand this world and integrate into the territory, they had to continuously gather information from the surroundings and the natives.
Relying on just himself was too much work. He could only choose to cooperate with these survivors to obtain more information.
Earlier, when they got up and followed the crowd, they had already gathered a lot of information about the territory.
Now, hearing this new piece of information, it naturally piqued their interest.
“Brother Tang, about this soldier squad… should we join? I heard that the two squad leaders became professionals after joining the army, and there must be special ways to improve in the military camp. If there are shortcuts, wouldn’t it be faster than hunting magic beasts and gathering materials?” One of the Earth survivors, after gathering enough information, couldn’t help but ask Tang Ruiming.
The reason they admired him so much was that, so far, every decision Tang Ruiming had made was correct.
Tang Ruiming listened and, after glancing at the other Earth survivors, replied, “I am planning to join the soldier squad, but joining means we have to follow the lord’s arrangements. Are you all able to do that?”
Upon hearing this, the Earth survivors were momentarily stunned. After realizing what he meant, they felt a bit embarrassed, remembering the conflict they had with Tang Ruiming when they first arrived in the territory.
“We can do it. It was our ignorance before.”
“Yes, looking back, we were too arrogant.”
“After seeing the lord’s abilities, we understand now. There’s really no way to compare.”
“…”
They all spoke at once, and it was clear they now understood the gap between the Earth survivors. Who would dare to offend the lord anymore?
Seeing their sincere expressions, Tang Ruiming didn’t say anything more. What he hadn’t mentioned was that even if they wanted to join the soldier squad, it wouldn’t be easy.
They then made their way to the Village Administration Center.
When they arrived, they couldn’t help but exchange glances.
They saw the soldier recruitment line had already formed a long queue, and it was still growing. A rough count showed there were several hundred people, including dozens of goblins.
Four words: fierce competition.
But despite this, they still stood firmly at the back of the line.
In this way, with everyone’s active cooperation, after the beast tide, the territory entered a new spring. Both the territory’s infrastructure and military construction began to thrive.
And as everything moved forward, the Earth survivors, ready to contribute, continued to head towards Qingyun Village.
The first batch of survivors was about to arrive.