Lord: My Shop Connects to Modern Times

"Problem? What problem?" Lynn asked, already having a general idea in mind.

"There are too many work points!" Martha opened the booklet and pointed to the densely packed tally marks and names.

"Look, Uncle Bray, Mason who's in charge of the bricklaying, Rod the blacksmith's apprentice. And the people working in the fields... I can hardly keep track of their work points!"

"Now, after finishing their work, many people surround me and ask, 'What can you do with all these work points? Just remembering them won't get you any food or clothing, so some people are starting to slack off! Uncle Bray even asked if these work points could be exchanged for a game leg or something...'"

Martha chattered away, her little face showing a mixture of worry and helplessness.

After listening, Lynn smiled knowingly. He took Martha's booklet and weighed it in his hand.

Too many work points? Nowhere to use them? That's a good thing!

Before, it was because we couldn't afford it, our spending power wasn't high enough; now, we have "money" but nowhere to spend it.

This means that as productivity increases, people need more "emotional value."

Lynn weighed the work points book in his hand, its heavy weight deepening the smile on his lips.

He recalled the dry economic terms he had learned before his transmigration: productivity, surplus value, consumer demand, internal circulation... He used to think they were far removed from his life, but now they were right in front of him.

The wall was quickly erected with cement, new tools greatly increased the efficiency of clearing and gathering, the hunting team had a more stable harvest, and the plan to train the militia also began.

Inside the warehouse, grain was piling up higher and higher, and furs were stacked in the corners. On the ground, blacksmith shops and carpentry huts were slowly rising up...

"Martha, go, go and call everyone in town to gather in the square." Lynn closed the booklet, his eyes bright.

"Yes, my lord!" Martha darted away.

……

Lynn stood in the center of the square, his hands behind his back. His gaze swept over the familiar and still somewhat unfamiliar faces, and he raised the work points book in his hand:

"Everyone, I called you all here to announce something."

"Our work points are all filled up in the book! Now there's a problem!" He got straight to the point, his voice clear and strong: "Some people say that work points can't be eaten or worn, so it's a waste to keep them. Others say that no matter how much we work, we all get the same food from the same pot, so there's no motivation."

A murmur of approval rang out from below, especially from Bray, who nodded emphatically.

"I'm here today to tell everyone that this isn't a problem; on the contrary, it's a great thing for our Gray Rock Town!"

Lynn changed the subject, his tone becoming excited: "What does this mean? It means our walls are strong, the land has been cleared, and we've caught our prey! It means that the work each of us did not only provided for ourselves, but also left us with some surplus!"

The crowd quieted down, carefully considering the lord's words.

"So now I declare:" Lynn looked around at everyone and said:

"First: The communal cooking system will be abolished, and people will cook for themselves instead."

A commotion arose in the crowd. Lynn gestured for everyone to be quiet by pressing his hand down.

"Secondly, I want to eat meat, use oil, boil an extra egg for the child, and make new clothes for my family. What should I do?" Lynn said.

"Use your work points to exchange for it! The town has set up a public treasury, in that newly renovated stone house at the east end. Inside, there will be salt, sugar, dried meat strips, pickled poultry and eggs, lamp oil, linen, needles and thread, and even better farm tools! Later, there might even be fresh fruits and rare seasonings!"

Now everyone understood what Lynn meant. It simply meant that instead of exchanging work points for "a few spoonfuls of broth" from the communal meals, people would exchange them at the communal storehouse for what they needed and liked.

The crowd was somewhat excited. These concrete things were more enticing than any slogan.

Bray's eyes lit up instantly; he could almost smell the aroma of a large jar of salt and honey roasted meat that he had earned with his work points.

"Third," Lynn raised his voice, silencing the commotion, "and this is the most important point—from today onwards, work will no longer be paid in work points, but rather in equivalent Dawn Coins. Work points can also be directly exchanged for Dawn Coins!"

The moment the words "Dawn Coin" were uttered, the crowd fell silent, and many people wore expressions of bewilderment and disbelief.

「规矩就是：1个工分，等价于1枚曙光铜币！ 10个工分就是10枚铜币，100个工分，可以兑换1枚曙光银币！」

He provided a simple, straightforward, but easy-to-understand exchange rate: "Goods in the public treasury will also be marked with both work points and their equivalent Dawn Coin price!"

"Anyone, anytime, can come to Leon with their work points record. After Martha's calculation and confirmation, they can unconditionally exchange it for real Dawn Coins at this rate! You can save this money, take it with you, and spend it anywhere you can use Dawn Coins!"

The crowd erupted in cheers!

Work points can not only be exchanged for tangible resources, but also turned into hard, resounding kingdom currency!

Bray's eyes widened as he began counting on his fingers how many copper coins his stack of tally marks could be exchanged for. Joel's beard trembled with excitement; he knew a few words and understood the extraordinary significance of this "universal currency."

Even the most ordinary peasant women were whispering among themselves, calculating whether they could save up enough work points to exchange for a few small silver coins as a dowry for their daughters.

"Quiet!" Lynn raised his hand to quiet people down. "The coffers need someone meticulous, steady, and good at accounting to manage it."

His gaze swept across the crowd, finally settling on a young girl standing quietly in a corner, the one who always neatly tidied up the loose threads when helping mend clothes:

"Ada, from now on, you'll assist Martha in managing the public treasury. You, Martha, and old Gorm will discuss and draft a set of regulations regarding the pricing, work points, and costs of everything, and then submit it to me. Can you manage that?"

The girl whose name was called was startled. She looked up, her clear eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

She was a refugee in the same group as Joel. Her parents had both passed away. She was not talkative, but she was organized and could read and write. Lynn chose her at first glance.

Ada's face flushed instantly. Amidst the envious and astonished gazes of those around her, she took a deep breath, straightened her thin back, and nodded vigorously, her voice soft yet exceptionally firm: "Yes! My lord, I can do it!"

The new rules were quickly explained, and people gradually dispersed to get back to their work.

As the sun sets, it gilds the town of Huiyan with gold.

People gathered together, discussing and calculating animatedly. Every tally mark seemed to gleam like a copper or silver coin in their eyes.

……

The first step of reform has been taken, and although it's only just begun, Lynn knows:

The "camp" is gradually moving towards becoming "territory".