Farming in the Magical World

"If discovered, I will impose the most severe punishment, not limited to hanging. I hope you remember that!"

Faced with Lanny's murderous words, old George turned ashen-faced and pounded his head in fear! He didn't think Lanny was trying to scare him; it was nothing for a nobleman to hang a commoner, and he couldn't possibly resist.

After delivering the warning, seeing that Old George seemed genuinely frightened, Lanny softened his tone and got down to business.

"Frank has already discussed the terms with you, so I won't go into details. I need you to do something for me; it's like this..."

What Lanny wanted to make was the engraving plate needed for woodblock printing, which required carving the lettering onto a wooden or copper plate in a reflected manner to facilitate subsequent mass printing.

Of course, in the early stages when the technology was not mature, directly using copper plates for engraving was not the best choice. He planned to first use wooden boards for engraving, and only start trying to use copper plates to solve the lifespan problem after the technology matured.

Moreover, he planned to use relief carving instead of the easier intaglio carving.

Although relief engraving is more time-consuming, it also has advantages: firstly, it allows for some correction, and secondly, it saves ink.

Don't underestimate this difference. The ink saved in the early stages may not seem like much, but once the quantity increases, it becomes a considerable expense.

After all, he would not forget the Wells family's tradition of diligence, thrift, and frugality; on the contrary, he would carry it forward.

"Reverse engraving? Relief engraving?" Old George looked puzzled.

He had been a craftsman for almost his entire life, and this was the first time he had ever heard these two terms. Could there be a carving method he had never heard of before?

Seeing the bewildered look on Old George's face, Lanny suddenly realized that people who had never been exposed to printing might not necessarily understand these two concepts. Even though Old George had been a carpenter for many years, he was in the furniture industry, not printing, so he might not know this distinction, even if he usually used one of them.

“Reverse engraving... ...the lettering you carve on the board must be reversed, it must be a left-right mirror image... ..."

Seeing that old George still looked confused, Lanny also felt that this explanation was not very intuitive. Although there are bronze mirrors and silver mirrors in this world, ordinary people do not have such high-end items in their homes, so how would they know what a mirror image is?

After thinking for a moment, he picked up the piece of paper the other person had written on earlier and held it up to the sunlight streaming through the window. "Look, isn't the writing reversed now? You need to carve it into this style of writing, otherwise it won't be usable."

After glancing at the writing on the paper in front of him, old George thought for a moment before suddenly realizing, "Oh, you want to have the family seal engraved?"

“Yes, you can think of it as a seal,” Lanny nodded. “However, I want the seal to be this big, but the writing on it to be the same size as the writing.” As he spoke, he gestured a few times to the paper in his hand.

“But…” Old George frowned and said cautiously, “I want the master to know that getting such a large seal takes a lot of work. And… my tools are all at Elfen and I didn’t bring them!”

He was actually embarrassed to say that the tools weren't forgotten at Elfen; he had actually sold them to pay off his debts!

Seeing that old George had nothing of value, Lenny shook his head and smiled helplessly, then instructed Frank, "Call Cody over here!"

After Frank left, Lenny continued, "It's alright, we'll make the tools for you, and we can even custom-make them to your specifications if you feel they're not right! I can guarantee these tools will be better than your own!"

Old George was thrilled to hear that tools could be custom-made.

Ironware is expensive to begin with, and the tools used for carving are even more exquisite, making them ridiculously expensive. I never expected that this nobleman would be so generous as to order tools just by giving his opinion!

He couldn't help but start calculating in his mind which tool he should forge first—the one he'd always wanted to buy but couldn't bring himself to, or the one he'd always found a bit awkward to use...

"As for the time..." Lanny's voice continued. He thought for a moment, considering that this aspect might still be needed later, and held out a hand to old George. "How about we sign a five-year contract? Are you willing?"

"Really?" Old George's eyes lit up when he heard that it was a five-year contract. He confirmed incredulously, "It really is five years, with 10 silver coins every month?"

“If you’re willing,” Lanny shrugged.

When Cody was brought to the study, Lanny had already signed an employment contract with old George. The castle would provide old George with a monthly salary of 10 silver coins, as well as accommodation and meals.

Old George was responsible for making the "engravings" for Lanny and related matters, and he was not allowed to disclose any techniques he learned during the work; the rules were quite detailed.

This contract was actually the template that had been signed with Cody and the others before, with only minor modifications in necessary places. However, Lanny still added a clause at the very end—gambling was strictly prohibited, and if discovered, Old George would voluntarily accept any punishment, not limited to being hanged!

Old George was literate, and when he saw the last few menacing clauses while signing, his already thin frame trembled with fear. In the end, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and signed, which made Lanny secretly amused.

"Master, are you looking for me?"

Once Cody entered the study, Lanny pointed to him and introduced him to old George, saying, "This is Cody, the supervisor of our workshop. You can ask him to arrange any tools or assistance you need!"

Then, pointing to old George, he introduced, "Cody, this is George..."

At this point, he paused almost imperceptibly. There was no way around it; the name was just too distracting. After all, that cartoon was so catchy!

After calming himself down, he continued, "From now on, he will be in charge of woodblock printing at the castle. Arrange a room for him at the factory, and also have a set of tools made for him, according to his wishes!"

“Yes, sir,” Cody bowed in agreement, then beckoned to old George, “Come with me, I’ll show you the workshop!”

Just as Cody was about to leave, Lenny called him back, "Wait a minute, George, go outside and wait a bit..."

After old George left the study, Lanny instructed the bewildered Cody, "This George has a gambling addiction. I hope you will pay close attention to this issue in the workshop in the future, and report to me immediately if you discover any signs of this!"

"Also, please tell Lord Tim to make sure all the team members in the camp pay attention to this matter, and keep an eye on it without disturbing him!"

"My request is simple: make sure George's bad habit doesn't affect our Caster Ridge, understand?"

Hearing the master give such a serious instruction, Cody was somewhat puzzled. "Master, since there are so many problems, why not just find someone else?"

Do you think I don't want to? But there's simply no other way, okay?

He believed that as long as there was a way, Frank would never bring back a gambler. Now that he had brought him back, what else was there to say?

Of course, he couldn't say that to Cody; he had to come up with a different excuse!

After thinking for a moment, Lanny shook his head. "Old George does have his strengths, you don't need to worry about that, just do what I tell you!"

"Yes, sir, I'll take my leave now..." Fortunately, Cody wasn't the type to pry, and even if he were, he wouldn't dare to pry in front of his master, would he? He simply nodded and left the study!

Old George, who was standing outside the gate, thought his workplace would be inside the castle, but Cody led him out of the castle and towards the river not far away.

"Manager Cody, where... where are we going?" Old George couldn't help but ask after looking at the place full of people.

He had considered how to address the other person, Cody. This man was clearly not a nobleman, so calling him "sir" or "madam" would not be appropriate. But if he called him "young man," then what about the fact that Lord Lanny had just made it clear that this man was the supervisor of some workshop?

Although he didn't know what the position of "supervisor" was, he figured it was probably similar to a housekeeper or something, at least someone in charge.

After thinking it over, he simply decided to address him that way, which was neither too obsequious nor too impolite!

Cody didn't mind the title. Instead, he pointed to the camp not far away and turned to introduce him, "Mr. George, that's our Wells family's factory over there. You'll be working and living there from now on."

"Just call me Old George, calling me 'sir' would be too formal. We'll be working together for many years to come!" Old George smiled modestly, trying to get closer to him. "I see you're not that old, Cody, yet you're already a supervisor. That's really impressive, and I envy you!"

"Haha, old George, let me tell you, the most powerful person in Caster Ridge isn't me, it's our Lord Lanny!" Cody looked in the direction of the castle with admiration, using the word "most" three times in a row, as if nothing more would be enough to express his admiration.

"Ha, of course, Lord Lanny is a nobleman!" Although he agreed verbally, old George was not convinced. He thought to himself, "Lanny isn't here. Who are you trying to fawn over?"

He even suspected that Cody might have become the workshop manager through flattery.

Cody glanced at old George and noticed the disdain in his eyes. He wanted to explain but felt it was unnecessary, so he could only wave his hand and say, "You'll find out later."

After being teased by Old George, he lost interest in talking and turned to walk towards the workshop. "Let's go, let's go to Workshop Number One first and have them make a set of tools for you."