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Seawater with nothing in it?
Liszt would never agree with that.
In his homeland, the struggle for the ocean was no less than that for land, and a bluewater navy was the ambition of every country.
While maritime resources were indeed difficult to exploit, they were in no way less abundant than those on land; in this world, he dared not conclude whether there were any mineral deposits beneath the sea—after all, according to the information currently available, only dragons could produce gemstones and metals.
But the fishing resources in the sea were absolutely incalculable in their enormity.
In the Duchy of Sapphire, there were many wastelands, and a severe shortage of labor, not even enough to farm the lands, let alone develop fisheries. Yet a critical issue arose: elves were held in the hands of nobles who could not affect so much of the arable land, resulting in very low agricultural yields.
Just like Fresh Flower Town, the farmland area was definitely not small, but the population it could support was minimal.
The fewer the people, the more they were bound by the nobility and the feudal system to the land, helping the nobility to farm, paying large amounts of tax, and supporting the noble's luxurious life.
"The development direction of Fresh Flower Town lies in this vast expanse of azure Sea of Azure Waves!" Liszt's heart blazed with fervor.
As long as there was a nearby fishery, food could be supplied continuously; only when the commoners were well-fed could they work hard to increase the population, and with a larger population, more taxes could be collected.
With more taxes, his own life could improve!
Of course, these were not the urgent matters at hand; the development of fisheries could not be separated from ships, and Fresh Flower Town was still some distance away from shipbuilding, not to mention his savings could not buy many ships.
"Let's go, after inspecting the final stretch of the border, we'll head back." He flicked his riding whip and the Fire Dragon Horse neighed loudly as it galloped along the sandy beach of the Sea of Azure Waves.
The sand was a light yellow, clean and clear, with occasional large trees similar to coconut trees growing. The afternoon sun was blocked by them, casting shadows in place after place.
With a bit of development, it would be a perfect summer resort.
The beach inspection over, returning to the starting point at the edge of Thorn Ridge, Liszt officially finished his inspection mission of Fresh Flower Town's territory. The entourage sped along the road back to the castle, where Marcus and the four Retainer Knights paid their respects before taking their leave to their homes in the town.
The castle was merely a residence for Liszt and his male and female servants.
"My lord, seeing you return safely puts my heart at ease," Butler Carter greeted Liszt, leading the servants lined up to welcome his return.
"In my territory, even magical beasts need to behave," Liszt joked, "Mr. Carter, is everything well in the castle?"
"Of course."
"That's good, Mrs. Morson, please arrange a bath for me, I need to take one."
"Right away, my lord." Mrs. Morson was almost forty, never married, and had worked at Tulip Castle her entire life, now responsible for all the female servants in Liszt's castle.
Speaking of all the female servants, there were actually only three.
And in the castle, there were a total of only ten servants.
Butler Carter Taugaun, in charge of all the affairs in the castle, was considered Liszt's confidant; Housekeeper Morson Paddy Field, in charge of all the female servants, assisted Carter in managing the daily affairs of the castle; Cook Abbie Spoon, responsible for everything in the kitchen.
There was the personal male servant Servant Thomas Jiandao, ordinary male servant Tom Pigsty, and male servant assistant Jessie Asanobu.
All the female servants were ordinary female servants, Maisie Xiantou, Debbie Window, and Midgeon Bull Tail.
There was also one kitchen assistant who was a female servant but was under Cook Abbie's command, named Eileen Four Fingers.
Four Fingers, a very strange surname. Perhaps her ancestors had only four fingers, so when it came time to register a surname, that became it—don't expect the common people who are illiterate, spend their entire lives in the countryside, and hardly ever travel far to come up with appealing surnames.
The nobles didn't allow them to have nice surnames either.
Once Liszt took off his leather armor with the help of Thomas and went upstairs in casual dress, Butler Carter immediately called out loudly: "Jessie, lead the lord's Fire Dragon Horse away, and remember to add extra beans when feeding it, it has been tired all day. Mrs. Abbie, head to the kitchen to prepare dinner; tonight, we should add an extra portion of roast meat for the lord. Mrs. Morson, remember to lead the female servants to prepare bath water for the lord; Tom still has to go to town to fetch water; Thomas, you must clean the lord's leather armor."
"Yes, Mr. Carter!" the servants responded.
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Carter nodded in satisfaction.
Although the castle was small, the servants were few, and life was slightly lacking, he was the steward here, managing all the everyday affairs of the castle and a capable assistant to the master.
He liked this sense of comfort and power.
…
The temperature of the bathwater was just right. Although they were not as skilled as the maids in Tulip Castle, with Mrs. Morson directing them, these newly-indentured maids had already adapted well to their work.
Liszt lay in the bathtub, enjoying the sensation of the warm water soaking his body.
He had not been without thoughts of establishing equality for all, to let the people of this world feel the light of a civilized society's democracy. But he was soberly aware that these servants' survival depended on being subordinates to the nobility, sheltering under the nobility's wings to live on.
Without the job and status of a servant, returning to the fields, their lives would likely be even more miserable.
Serfs and freemen starved to death in no small numbers each year.
In the castle, as long as one didn't encounter a perverse landlord, at least one had no worries of food and shelter. Once one managed to strive to the level of steward, that was the highest status a commoner could aspire to.
"Who would have thought that one day, I, Liszt, would also have so many people depending on me for their lives."
His thoughts drifted.
He began to be lost in thought and soon, serpent script made of smoke appeared before his eyes.
The serpent script had changed, no longer displaying the previous passage, but new text: "Complete the quest, reward: sublimation of Dou Qi."
Liszt's heart was thrilled, ready to receive his reward, but then he suddenly discovered he did not know how to collect it. Just as he was about to investigate where to claim his reward from, the serpent script in front of him dispersed into a cloud of smoke and quickly formed a new piece of content.
"Quest: A serious crisis has occurred in Peanut Hamlet within the territory. A vast expanse of peanut fields has undergone an unknown mutation. The planters are at a loss and facing a reduction in yield. As a landlord, it's your duty to resolve the issue. Reward: An Elf Bug."
"Hmm, a new quest, the reward is an Elf Bug, that's a good thing!" Liszt first rejoiced, then followed by frustration, "But what about the reward for the previous quest? Where is the sublimation of Dou Qi, who can tell me how to claim that reward?"
At that moment, Liszt was utterly fretful.
He sensed his own Dou Qi, which showed no change at all. He fussed over it until the bathwater cooled, yet he still hadn't received the quest reward.
He seriously began to suspect that he was truly having hallucinations.
The smoke did not exist at all.
Dressed, he stepped out of the bathroom with a dark expression, causing Servant Thomas, waiting outside, to begin to wildly speculate.
"Master, you don't look well, is it possible that...?"
"I'm fine, go attend to your tasks. I'm going to the study to read for a while." Once in the study, Liszt wanted to calm himself and read a book.
But his mind was a mess, and he couldn't calm down at all.
He simply changed into another set of training clothes and began to practice in the castle's small garden. He was learning "Basic Dou Qi," the most widely circulated Primary Dou Qi Manuscript. Aside from some tailored Dou Qi Manuscripts of big families, this was the best foundational manuscript.
Primary Dou Qi was but a breath, only for strengthening the body and health.
Having completed a set of movements and vented the frustrations he could not express elsewhere, he finally felt a bit better, and his emotions gradually stabilized. Just then, a breeze blew by, and suddenly, Liszt's eyes shone brightly, as if an idea flashed through his mind that he managed to grasp.
Immediately after, he once again performed all the training movements of "Basic Dou Qi."
When this performance was over, all the Primary Dou Qi within his body seemed to reach a critical point, starting a transformation. It surged out from invisible channels and poured into every cell of his limbs and body.
"The sublimation of Dou Qi!"
"So it was here waiting for me!"