Star Tycoon

Chapter 147 Loyal People
On the last day of April, Tian Ersan, who had stored up a large quantity of goods for nearly a month, went to bed early.

The trading merchant has arrived here and will remain for seven days.

The trader has left, and because no trade took place, the chance of him returning has decreased by five percent.

A migrant worker arrived here, hoping to find work.

Ten days passed, and you still hadn't accepted him back. He stole a patch of your wheat and ran away.

[A light rain fell in the middle of the month, and the output of all resource fields is doubled today.]

A flock of sparrows landed in the farmland, reducing wheat yield and decreasing grain production by 5 cubic meters.

The villagers chased away the sparrows and gained some spoils: sparrow meat +1000; for every 100 jin of grain consumed in the warehouse, an additional portion of meat is consumed.

Tian Ersan revealed a satisfied expression.

"The losses are not significant; five farmlands only lost a little over a day's worth of yield, and with meat available, public morale is more likely to recover."

The only downside was the copper coins; after a month, the copper coin balance was still a pitiful three digits.

Fortunately, tax payments will begin gradually starting tomorrow.

Let's act like human beings for now.

Tian Ersan smiled gently at the villagers who were working in the fields harvesting wheat.

"I'm here! I've come to help you store some secret provisions in the house!"

Upon hearing this, the villagers present also showed the same simple and happy smiles as Tian Ersan.

"Thank you, my lord! My people's morale has improved a bit!"

"Me too!"

"Lord Zhen is a good person!"

"My people's hearts have been won over!"

"Hahahaha~" Tian Ersan laughed and said, "Hahahaha!"

He wasn't really happy, but he wasn't unhappy either.

It's a place where I'm happy, but not particularly happy, and it's different from where everyone else is happy.

They really did the work!
Tian Ersan discovered that he could harvest and transport wheat two or three times faster than the villagers.

Especially when harvesting wheat, one only needs to grab the wheat ears floating together nearby, while the villagers have to bend over for a long time to harvest a handful of wheat ears.

The yield from the five wheat fields quickly became insufficient to keep up with the harvesting speed of the group, so people were assigned to harvest wood, soil, and stones.

Logically, we should build a metal field, but we're still short of money.

While they were working, Wang Guodong's wife, who had come from nearby to wait for the wheat, looked to the side.

"My lord, someone is coming."

Tian Ersan walked over and handed the wheat to Wang Guodong's wife, looking in the direction of the person who came.

It was a mother and her two children carrying a bundle.

The woman was in her thirties, and even in linen clothes, her graceful figure was still undeniable. She was accompanied by two boys who were in their teens.

"My lord, the lord of our hometown is inhuman. He collected taxes from my husband for two years and forced him to join the army to die. Our whole family is starving, so we escaped. Please, my lord, give us some food!"

Tian Ersan quickly looked into the distance, then at the family of three.

"How far is your place from here? How did you get here? Who is your lord?"

The family of three stared blankly at Tian Ersan.

"How would I know..." the village woman asked calmly, "Sir, would you take me in? If not, we'll leave."

Why aren't you speaking the local dialect anymore? Tian Ersan asked again, "Are there any other territories around here?"

"How would I know..." The village woman looked calmly at Tian Ersan, then at the empty house where the rich man Qian had been. "Sir, would you take me in? If not, we'll leave."

Tian Ersan was speechless.

"Okay, there's a spare room here. What are your skills?"

Tian Ersan needs a villager who can run away, so that he can keep collecting taxes, running away, recruiting people, collecting taxes, running away, and recruiting people.

The only cost is time; as long as the houses remain, there will be no shortage of homeless people.

"Thank you for taking me in, my lord!" the woman said happily. "I eat six catties of wheat a day. I can't work, I can't be a soldier, I won't run away, and I don't pay taxes."

Upon hearing this, Tian Ersan instantly flew into a rage, "What use is there in keeping a piece of trash like you around?!"

The woman's expression was very unpleasant. "You speak so rudely! My people's support has been lost!"

"Get the hell out of here! I don't want you!" Tian Ersan's grand plan was about to be ruined by this woman!

How could someone actually pull out a complete idiot like that!
The woman looked heartbroken. She pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere and wiped away tears, crying, "I won't leave. I'll follow you wherever you go. I'll be your woman for life. As long as there's even a single grain of wheat left in your granary, you can't let me and my child go hungry!"

The two little boys next to them, who were also eating for free, cried out pitifully, "Mommy, I'm hungry!"

"Get out if you're hungry!" Tian Ersan cursed. "You just said you ran away. If you could run away here, you can run away again! Get out!"

The woman cried even harder, “I was ignorant before! Now I just want to be a good woman!” “You bastard! You’re full of lies!” Tian Ersan couldn’t get rid of the woman, so he looked at the cunning woman in her early thirties and then at the two innocent children beside her.

Impossible! There's absolutely no way a woman could be so useless!
What value does a woman have who doesn't work, doesn't serve in the military, doesn't pay taxes, and doesn't run away?
Tian Ersan quickly gave the two children, who looked to be around ten years old, a friendly smile.

"What abilities do you two have? Don't be afraid, we have enough to eat here. Look, everyone around here is living well."

The older child said, "I eat three catties of wheat a day, I don't work, I don't pay taxes, I'm not a soldier, and I won't run away."

The child nodded in agreement, "Me too. I eat three pounds of wheat a day, and I'll eat even more when I grow up."

Three...three good-for-nothings?
"You..." Tian Ersan even forgot his anger, looking at the family of three in disbelief, "Besides eating, are you completely useless?"

The woman quickly replied, “My lord, the three of us are utterly loyal. The rate at which public support is declining is only one-third of what others are gaining, while the rate at which it is increasing is 150 percent! We are also unaffected by divisive tactics or attempts to sow discord. We are truly the best citizens under your command!”

Tian Ersan clenched his fist.

hateful!

That town is utterly despicable!
Tian Ersan gave the three people names in a vicious manner.

"Pan Shouzhen!!"

"Wu Bulang!"

"Wu Bu Song!"

"Thank you for bestowing these names upon us, my lord!" The three men accepted Tian Ersan's humiliating naming with smiles.

Tian Ersan was even more annoyed, but he still let the matter drop.

As for things that are beyond our control, as long as they don't affect normal operations, Tian Ersan will ignore them until he finds a solution.

"Come on, you can always do this kind of work of harvesting wheat, right?" Tian Ersan said gently, "I'll store some grain for your family so that they can have enough to eat."

Pan Shouzhen smiled sweetly, disregarding the more than twenty adults and children around her, and said coquettishly, "My lord is so kind... I am so grateful~ My lord, could you please help me put the wheat inside the house? I want to thank you properly~"

Tian Ersan chuckled and said, "There's plenty of time. Let's eat our fill first. I have not only grain here, but also meat! Take this back, and I'll go to the warehouse and get you some meat to nourish yourselves."

Pan Shouzhen's popularity soared, and he quickly gained widespread support.

"Thank you, my lord! The people's hearts are satisfied. I'll just tell you a little secret, but please don't tell anyone else!"

Tian Ersan laughed and said, "I absolutely won't tell! Tell me now!"

Pan Shouzhen quickly approached Tian Ersan, looked at him intimately, and said shyly, "After the city wall is built, soldiers can be stationed on it."

Wu Bulang laughed and said, "I also have a secret to tell you. There's a limit to the number of farmhouses outside the city!"

There is a limit to the number of resource-based laborers; for every additional useless person, there is one less capable worker.

Wu Busong laughed and said, "I'll say it too! There's a huge difference between a 100% start-up rate and a 99% start-up rate!"

Whether those three good-for-nothings are counted as one household or three households, it will never reach 100% in the outer city...

Tian Ersan felt like he was about to faint. He didn't know how he managed to get more than ten kilograms of sparrow meat from the warehouse and distribute it to the three good-for-nothings.

After finishing these tasks, Tian Ersan went to the edge of the field to think about things.

"Isn't there any other way to send them away besides a meteor shower?"

April passed by in contemplation.

[This month there will be plenty of food and meat, and all villagers will receive +10 and +5 morale respectively.]

In the distance, Wang Bomin, Wang Guodong, Wang Hejin, and others who were working all had happy smiles on their faces.

Everyone happily approached Tian Ersan, ready to share their joy with him.

Under the moonlight, Tian Ersan, with his thick eyebrows and large eyes, raised his head.

"Tax! Tax for six months!"

[Wang Youli has zero public support. Should taxes continue? Continuing taxes will inevitably provoke public outrage.]

Tian Ersan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Cancel."

The 15 points added this month to public support are not the upper limit, but the general public support. Wang Youli's public support limit is 0, and he will have to wait until it rises to 1 before he can levy taxes for another year.

Apart from Wang Youli, everyone else was taxed for six months, and the average income of the entire village was around 40 or 50.

Copper coins +13860!

Seeing the more than 10,000 copper coins that had arrived in his account, Tian Ersan quickly shouted, "Let's go! Let's get to work!"

Tian Ersan quickly ran into the city.

"Damn it!"

I don't know who's criticizing Tian Ersan.

They might all be criticizing it.

But Tian Ersan pretended not to hear.

(End of this chapter)