"Caroline?" Allen was surprised; he thought Caroline would be with him on this. "What's with you? Are you being serious?"
"I don't mean for you guys to follow my decision," Caroline quickly said. "Allen, Simon, as you all know, my mother has been seeking a prospective match for me since last year. I had already planned to resign and return this year."
This excuse clearly couldn't convince Allen, who was a year younger than Caroline. Shaking his head repeatedly, the young man insisted, "That's not what you really want, Caroline. We've been friends since childhood and only separated when you went to work as a waitress."
Caroline sighed. They were all her childhood playmates, and she didn't want Allen to misunderstand that she wasn't supporting him. However, she also didn't want Allen to think that she liked lying.
"I just… I really intend to stay, Allen. I understand your concerns, and I have the same ones, but… if I could choose, I would prefer to stay in town."
A temporary pause ensued, and the 23-year-old girl revealed a bitter smile that didn't match her age. "When we met before, I said I was doing well; that was a lie, just to save face. I… I'm tired of working in the restaurant, fed up.
"Perhaps you all might never understand, but my job isn't as simple as toiling hard. Let me put it this way: there are always bored men viewing me critically, making impolite remarks that upset me. Sometimes, they would even discuss out loud how much money small-town girls like us are worth.
"If someone points at me and says, 'Look, that girl is from Weisshem,' everyone around will burst into laughter as if I'm a living joke just standing there.
"And we're not allowed to get angry or panic; that would lower a high-end restaurant's class. If one dares cry, they're done; their salary would be reduced by two ranks, and they were sent back to the kitchen to start from a dishwasher.
"Being touched on the butt or pinched on the waist, that's just commonplace. After all, we, the waitstaff of high-end restaurants, wear eye-catching short skirts.
"You guys always say that being able to make money carrying plates in a beautiful store is too easy… In truth, I have wished to exchange with others countless times." Caroline smiled bitterly, glancing over the astonished faces of her childhood friends. "I would very much rather be dressed in sweaty and dirty clothes, slogging away in a dust-filled factory. I really do, I really want that."
A whole range of expressions cycled through Allen's face. He wanted to say something but ultimately just shook his head.
Indeed, factory work wasn't at all pleasant. The heavy physical labor and strict factory supervisors made workers feel depressed, especially since a part of their salary was handed to a union that had never done anything for them.
However, factories didn't accept everyone; the leather factory where he and Simon worked for the past few years only accepted male workers aged 16 to 40.
"At least, no one will laugh at me because I'm from Weisshem if I stay. Plus, Mr. Rex does offer a fair salary," Caroline concluded. "The undead mayor appointed by Mr. Rex is even willing to hire those former brothel workers as clerks and doesn't refuse women to work as sanitation workers or do odd jobs. I think I will be able to find work just fine."
Allen sighed, knowing he couldn't convince his companions.
"Let's stay together, Allen," Simon, who had been silent for a while, spoke up. "Regardless of whatever happens in the future, at least for now, Mr. Rex is the lord of Weisshem. Even if he is driven away later on, we can at least make some money during this period, right? Believe me, if we're together… we can make big money!"
Benjamin, the youngest among the group and a head shorter than the others, had just turned 19 this year. He was closer to Simon, who was only two years his senior, compared to the other two. On hearing what Simon had said, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Simon, do you want us to do something together with you?"
"Yes." Simon nodded enthusiastically and raised his voice. "We can be merchants; we take the things that Mr. Rex sells to the townspeople and sell them elsewhere!"
Allen, who had opposed staying, was astonished. "What are you talking about? Where do we get the capital?"
All four of them had lived in Indahl for several years. Even Benjamin, the youngest, had apprenticed at a cobbler's shop for four years already. However, they didn't have much savings.
This wasn't because they were extravagant; rather, it was due to the high cost of living in Weisshem… The majority of wages earned by the four youngsters were sent back to support their families.
"First, we would need to earn some capital," said Simon with a glint in his eyes. "Currently, many families have bought the good fabric sold by Mr. Rex's men. My grandmother also spent her savings on over 20 meters of fabric which is now stashed away in the closet.
"We can start by approaching people we know and convince them to let us resell their fabric. After selling it, we'll return the cost of the fabric and half of the profit to them. We keep the other half as our profit.
"My grandmother bought the fabric at 10 copper coins per meter. If we take this elsewhere, it can probably sell at 20 copper coins per meter—25 even!" Simon waved his arms excitedly as he explained.
"And all that we need to do? Pool our money to rent a cart from the carriage rental shop! If Indahl imposes a commercial tax, we can just go a little further to the villages or estates and their farms! We'll be able to sell and make a profit either way!"
Allen's mouth hung open, and Caroline's eyes widened in surprise.
Benjamin, overjoyed, jumped up and clung on to Simon, "I want to join you, Simon! You have to take me!"
Simon laughed heartily, allowing Benjamin to hang on him, then earnestly invited the other two. "Shall we do this together?"
After two seconds of hesitation, Allen extended his hand. "Count me in."
"And me." Caroline also reached out excitedly.
Benjamin hurriedly got off Simon and grasped the hands of his companions. "Me too, I'm in too!"
Simon immediately emptied his pockets and pulled them into a huddle to discuss how to rent a cart and convince those close to them to give up their fabrics for reselling…
After these four youngsters had been discussing animatedly for a while, Benjamin suddenly said, "I was thinking, why don't we go see Mr. Rex and ask him to let us sell some of his fabric?"
"Don't be foolish, Benjamin. How can it be that easy to meet Lord Rex?" Simon was amused.
"Um…" Caroline interjected. "Actually… According to my grandfather, it's actually quite easy to meet Mr. Rex. They see him every day when collecting their meals."
"Hey, Caroline, you don't really think that Benjamin's nonsense idea makes sense, do you?" Simon didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Benjamin protested, "It's not nonsense. My mom keeps saying that Mr. Rex is a very kind gentleman. What harm is there in trying?"
"Can we talk about something serious?" Allen sighed helplessly.
"Wait, Benjamin's idea isn't impractical." Caroline's eyes lit up. "My grandfather also said that Mr. Rex is the most generous gentleman he has ever seen in his life. I believe Grandpa wouldn't misjudge him.
"And Mr. Rex is selling such good fabric to the townspeople at such a low price because he wants the townspeople to trust him, right? So, if we make this request to him, I don't think he would punish us even if he doesn't accede to it."
Allen and Simon exchanged glances, slightly apprehensive yet thinking that this might not be such a bad idea…
Caroline was a decisive person and had great trust in her grandfather. Seeing her three companions not having any more staunch objections, she quickly pulled them to the town's main street.
The four had just arrived at the intersection and saw a long, seemingly endless queue.
"What's going on?" Allen exclaimed in surprise.
"It's… probably a recruitment drive?" Simon looked around and pointed at someone in the queue. "Yeah, that's it. Look, my uncle is also in there."
A man in the queue with a small leather hat turned around when hearing a familiar voice. On seeing his nephew, he quickly waved and shouted, "Simon! You little rascal! Running off early in the morning and making me spend so long searching for you! Hurry to the back and line up. You won't get a chance if you are late!"
"Sorry, Uncle, I have something more important to attend to!" Simon quickly grabbed his friends and ran.
"What important matters do you have?! Quick, come back!" Simon's uncle stomped his foot anxiously but was reluctant to leave the line.
The four youngsters ran on the opposite side of the queue and finally got a glimpse of what was going on. In front of a once grand club's entrance, two square tables were set up, and several young ladies were busy registering the townspeople lining up.
Out of curiosity, Caroline went closer and discovered that these ladies seemed to be people who had originally been from this red-light district. Their skin was slightly tanned, but their faces and figures were rather attractive and not something commonly seen in ordinary people.
"Are these the town hall clerks employed by the undead mayor?" Caroline couldn't help feeling a bit envious. Whatever these ladies' previous lives were like, being able to work in such a decent place was something Caroline had always dreamed of.
It was still early in the morning, and the temperature hadn't risen much yet, but these clerks were already sweating profusely. They quickly registered the names of the townspeople and handed out bamboo slips with symbols the size of fingernails on them.
Caroline went closer still and overheard the hoarse voice of one of the ladies saying while handing over a bamboo slip. "This is your work permit for today. The numbers here represent today's date, and the text is your name. Remember to keep it somewhere safe. After work, the on-site supervisor will make you line up and use a special pen to make a red mark on your slip. The red mark means you can come to the town hall to receive your wages. You can choose to collect it later as well, as long as you don't lose your slip."
Caroline nodded silently after digesting what that clerk had said… It made sense. It would certainly be too time-consuming if they had to record names and distribute money to so many people one by one. Using the bamboo slips as settlement vouchers made things much simpler. And even if the slips could be replicated, without the red mark, any counterfeiter wouldn't be able to get the money.
Caroline wanted to go closer for a better look, but her companions promptly pulled her by the scruff of her collar.
"Don't go any further. If you get closer, others might mistake you as someone trying to cut the queue," Simon reminded Caroline, gesturing to the people in the queue that were glaring fiercely in their direction.
Caroline didn't want to face the wrath of others and quickly backed off.
The people who received bamboo slips were organized into different groups and led away by uniformed security officers (former militia). Jimmy, who was part of the squad maintaining order, spotted the four and waved at them. "Simon, Allen! What are you doing here? If you want to do odd jobs, get in line!"
Jimmy was around the same age as these four and had played with them in their younger days. Simon's eyes lit up on seeing a familiar face, and he hurriedly went over.
"Jimmy, we wish to meet Mr. Rex!"
"…Huh?"
"Who wishes to meet me?" A man in the midst of the boisterous crowd turned around.
From half a street away, the four unprepared youngsters caught sight of the person who had spent quite a while speculating and discussing about, Charlie Rex.
When they saw the new lord clearly, their four mouths gaped—He was so young!
Charlie Rex didn't seem much older than them! He even looked younger than Jimmy, whom the four had played with in their childhood.
Rex scanned this group of three men and a woman. Certain that he didn't know them, he turned to Jimmy, the security officer they had been speaking to.
"Th-these are my friends. They are people from town." Jimmy nervously introduced.
"I'm Charlie Rex. Is there something you need?" Rex smiled kindly at the four Weisshem youngsters.
Caroline, standing furthest forward, instinctively stood a little straighter and responded immediately, "Hello, sir. I am Caroline Meghan. We… we hope to be able to have a chat with you."
Rex waved to signal for Jimmy to return to his post, then, with a smile, nodded at Caroline and her companions. "Sure. This way, please."
After patiently listening to the stumbling explanation from these brave young town residents, Rex couldn't help chuckling.
"Of course," Rex gave his verdict gleefully. "You guys don't have to rent a cart for this business. I can rent you a tricycle cart. However, the current price of fabric per meter is already at its lowest. It wouldn't go any lower even with bulk purchases. Are you guys agreeable?"
The four youngsters nearly jumped on the spot from delight.
"Of course, of course," Caroline replied nervously. "B-but we don't have enough capital…"
"The first batch of goods can be put on credit. You all can settle the payment when you come to pick up more goods later," Rex kindly offered. "But there are taxes—a 10% transaction tax—and you need to pay your personal high-income tax in full."
"Yes, yes!" Caroline finally relaxed and revealed an ecstatic smile as she nodded vigorously.
"Let's sign the contract and collect the goods, then." Rex waved his hand and immediately led the four to the town hall.
The four youngsters trudged along as if they were in a sweet dream, having no strong sense of reality at all. It wasn't until they reached the town hall and had the contract placed in front of them did they snap back to reality.
"Can this fabric really be given to us?" Simon asked in a daze, as if he was talking in his sleep.
"Of course, this is no laughing matter." Rex took out a red ink pad from his desk drawer. "Carefully read the terms of the contract. If everything is in order, stamp your thumbprint here."
Among these four, Allen was literate—he had a slightly better family background than the other three and had received some education in his childhood.
However, Allen didn't dare read the contract in front of the lord. He picked up the red ink pad and pressed his thumb on it…
Rex didn't know whether to be amused or perplexed. "Contracts aren't signed this way. Alright, I'll read it out for you guys."
The four youngsters exchanged glances, not daring to refuse.
After going through the contract and receiving copies, the four youngsters were led to the town hall's warehouse, and their jaws fell once more when they saw the warehouse full of fabric rolls…
Half an hour later, the four, who had come empty-handed, came out of the town hall courtyard, pushing two tricycle carts loaded with rolls of fabric.
After walking a distance, Simon, who was at the forefront, looked back with a puzzled expression. "Guys, did we just… get two carts of fabric? Without paying a single coin?"
Allen snapped at him, "Wake up, Simon! This isn't a free gift. We have to settle the payment after selling the fabric! The four of us have all sealed it with our thumbprints, and our families are all in town. Don't cause them any trouble!"
"Even I'm not that crazy!" Simon chuckled. "I just can't believe… Mr. Rex was so easy to talk to!"
"Mr. Rex has a lot of fabric." Benjamin gulped, seemingly delirious. "Simon, if he lets us sell all that fabric, wouldn't we make a lot of money?"
"Of course!" Simon declared. "Mr. Rex said we can have as much fabric as we can sell. We've signed the contract already. Guys, we're going to make a fortune!"
"We're going to strike it rich!" Benjamin jumped onto Simon's back once again.
"Wait a minute. Is it safe for the four of us to transport so much fabric?" Caroline giggled foolishly for a moment before suddenly sobering up. "It's just the four of us bringing so much fabric to faraway villages. Will we be at a risk of being robbed?"
Benjamin and Simon's joyous delirium was suddenly popped by this sentence.
People from nearby villages would come to Weisshem to buy fabric for themselves; there was no need for them to buy the higher-priced goods delivered by these four.
As for the more distant villages near Indahl… the four were unfamiliar with such areas, and no one could say for certain that there was no risk of being robbed!
"Call more people." Simon gritted his teeth. "Let's go back and call more people along. Recruit all who can come… We can settle the wages after selling the fabric. It's fine if we earn a little less."
Thus, these four youngsters didn't dare leave the two carts and pushed them along as they went from house to house, seeking friends and relatives…
Mrs. Winnie, Caroline's mother, nearly fainted when she found out her daughter had ventured to do business on credit with the lord. Upon further questioning and discovering that her daughter hadn't only signed the contract but stamped her thumbprint as well, Mrs. Winnie collapsed.
Reactions from family members of the other three were similar to Mrs. Winnie's as well…
What had these small-town families that had been prudent for generation after generation done to produce such audacious and reckless descendants that would cause such trouble and bring disaster to their families?!
While other people worried about not getting their monthly salary, these guys audaciously dared to do business with the new lord!
Helpless, the elders of these families could only grit their teeth and seek help from friends…
Unaware that the opportunity he had given to those youngsters had turned into chaos for the four families, Rex had already gone looking for Ji Tang.
There were over 20 villages in Weisshem's territory, the closest ones being around three kilometers away from the town, while the furthest ones were situated in the mountainous areas around 15 kilometers away. To roughly determine the amount of funds needed for the collective purchase of autumn harvest grains, Ji Tang had already informed Rex and asked him to set aside some time to go to the countryside for an on-site investigation.
If it wasn't for his skeletal appearance that would likely cause issues, Ji Tang had originally planned to go in person…
The town lord and town mayor, Weisshem's two "highest authorities," set off from Weisshem on the all-terrain mountain bikes they had first ridden when coming from Exile Town.
"The village chiefs registered in the town hall records are from over 20 years ago. The previous mayor really… didn't manage anything else but Weisshem during his tenure," Rex, who usually had a good temper, couldn't help expressing his dissatisfaction. "I don't even know how many village chiefs have changed since then. Ji Tang, how should we deal with these people?"
"It's our first time visiting and we are unfamiliar with the circumstances. Let's not rush to conclusions. We should conduct a thorough investigation first before deciding. Even if we do need to rectify the situation in the villages, we shouldn't take action right away. At least wait until we have a stable footing and a certain level of public support," advised Ji Tang, who was used to giving suggestions.
Rex was silent for a bit, then said, "Can't we have the undead serve as village chiefs?"
"…I don't think it's a good idea," Ji Tang replied.
Brother Lahong had fought tooth and nail to become the mayor of Exile Town, though his ambitious aspirations lasted only two days before he returned to lead his team in monster-farming quests.
Relying on players to engage in tedious and unrewarding administrative work in the "game" was simply impractical.
Rex mulled for a bit, then nodded reluctantly. "Alright… I'll go with your advice."
Weisshem's countryside was similar to southern villages in China, just that there was an absence of rice paddies. The natives here cultivated wheat and corn instead.
This wasn't to say that this world lacked rice; it's just that rice cultivation required a more advanced level of water management. In places like Weisshem, where the only main road was built through the flesh trade, irrigation projects were out of the question.
After visiting several villages, interacting with some of the bolder locals, and understanding the farming situations, Ji Tang, who had only planted vegetables for two years before joining the army, came up with loads of ideas about using technology to assist rural development and aid poverty alleviation.
As they made their way to the next village, the two saw a large group of people appearing on the main town road from a distance.
Rex stopped and got off his bike, gazing intently at this group.
There was quite a distance, and only vague silhouettes could be seen, but… there was no need to get a good look. It was clear that these people weren't friendly.
Not only were they all riding horses, but they were also clad in shiny armor reflecting the blazing hot afternoon sunlight!
"Enemies!" Rex said gravely to Ji Tang.
Ji Tang had also seen the mounted men in shiny armor.
However, unlike Rex, who was awaiting the enemy's approach, the first thought that came to Ji Tang's mind was—Monsters are here.