"Silver ore? What silver ore? "
Job's chubby face changed color slightly before returning to normal. He put on a fake smile and said,
He put on a fake smile and said, "My dear Lord, don't be fooled by these bumpkins. Yes, there is a pitiful little silver mine in your territory, but it was mortgaged to Lord March of the Red Leaf Territory last year. According to the Empire's laws, it is no longer your mine. Do you need me to show you the mortgage contract? "
"Mortgaged silver mine?" Bai Xiaowen narrowed his eyes. "How come I have no recollection of such an important matter?" He searched his memory and confirmed that there was no such thing in the young lord's memory.
Job laughed and said, "Of course you have no recollection of it. Because you have already handed over all the affairs of the territory to me. Your loyal butler, Old Job, has full authority. Of course, a small matter like mortgaging the silver mine is also within my authority. The mortgage contract has your seal. The whole process is in accordance with the law and impeccable. "
Li Shuyi's eyes flashed with a cold light. His fingers quietly touched his waist.
Bai Xiaowen smiled. "But Anton said that the silver ore mined every month was handed over to you in the name of the Lord?"
Job laughed out loud. "That's even simpler. I got the right to operate the silver mine from Lord March of the Red Leaf Territory! There is also a contract as proof. For five years, all the output of the White Stone Silver Mine, except for a portion that will be handed over to Lord March as tax, belongs to me. "
Bai Xiaowen nodded. "Mr. Job, you are a loyal butler."
Job was surprised that Bai Xiaowen did not fly into a rage as he had expected.
However, Job still said cautiously, "Lord Dior, what do you want? Everything I have done is in accordance with the Empire's laws. You have no right to punish me. In addition, I would like to remind you that your Lord's Guard was disbanded two years ago because they could not pay their salaries. "
At this point, Job seemed to have more confidence and gradually found the initiative. A smile appeared on his chubby face again.
"By the way, you can also fire me or banish me from White Stone Town. But before that, you need to pay me the salary you owe me for six months, which is sixty gold coins in total … I don't think you can afford it, can you? "
"Perhaps you should seriously consider my suggestion and sell your territory to Sir March of the Red Leaf Territory. He is also very interested in your sister, Miss Charlotte. After buying the fief, if Miss Charlotte is willing to enter the Red Leaf Manor as a personal maid, Lord March will also pay a considerable sum of gold coins … "
Bai Xiaowen coughed and interrupted Job.
"Well said, Job. Under normal circumstances, I really can't do anything to you."
Job was stunned and looked at Bai Xiaowen.
"However, you're mistaken about one thing. As a noble adept, there are times when I don't need to rely on worldly laws to get back what's mine. "
"What do you mean …"
Just as Job was about to ask, he saw Bai Xiaowen open his right hand. The light of the four-colored talisman swirled around his palm. Finally, he chose the yellow talisman and shot it out!
A notification from the laws of the Spirit World came:
[The enemy's strength is 0.378: 1. The success rate of the Bewitching Talisman's confusion is that it has detected your identity as the Lord of White Stone Town and suppressed the target's identity. The success rate of the confusion has increased!]
[The Bewitching Talisman's confusion has succeeded! Job Handel, the steward of the White Stone Town Lord's Residence in the Northern Frontier, has been confused.]
[Identity actually has a suppressive effect!] Bai Xiaowen suppressed the excitement in his heart.
However, although the confusion effect of the Bewitching Talisman was strong, it could only confuse one target. After that, even if the nine-minute cooldown was over, he could not use another talisman to switch. He had to give up on the confused target.
Once he gave up control, the target would immediately die. Of course, Bai Xiaowen could also risk the backlash and use his mental strength to protect the target's brain while he gave up control. However, this was a relatively rare situation.
If he did not give up control, the confusion effect would continue until Bai Xiaowen left the Spirit World.
This time, when he used the Bewitching Talisman, Bai Xiaowen also experienced the benefits of his "identity", which increased the confusion effect. It seemed that in the future, the B-class, A-class, and S-class tickets would be more important to Bai Xiaowen than to other people.
Everyone watched dumbfoundedly. After Bai Xiaowen shot out a yellow light, Job, who was originally full of himself, became abnormally well-behaved. He knelt in front of Bai Xiaowen and wished he could kiss his shoes.
"Get up, Job. How much money did you save from running the White Stone Silver Mine? Where did you put it? "Bai Xiaowen asked.
Job got up and said in a slightly mechanical voice, "I will exchange all the silver ore I harvest for imperial gold coins. Seventy percent of it will be sold to Lord March of the Red Leaf Hill, and the other thirty percent will be left to me. So far, I have saved about 474 gold coins, all of which are hidden in the cellar of my residence … "
"Lead the way," Bai Xiaowen ordered briefly, then said to Anton and the others, "Follow me."
Anton and the others were a little shaken, but they didn't dare to oppose. They didn't expect their Lord to be a wizard! In Cain's Plane World, wizards were synonymous with mystery, and most people stayed away from them.
Job's residence was next to the Lord's Mansion.
It was worth mentioning that Job, the fat man, had hired people to set up a blow dart mechanism. If an uninformed person wanted to open the cellar, they would be shot by nine poisoned arrows from three holes in the wall. However, under Job's personal guidance, the mechanism became a mere decoration.
In the cellar, Bai Xiaowen saw a box of gold coins. After his hand touched the box of gold coins, a prompt immediately appeared.
"Detected territory construction resources: Gold coins * 470. Lord main page (temporary) opened. "
Bai Xiaowen was slightly startled, and curiously opened the Lord's page.
In front of Bai Xiaowen, a translucent interface appeared, showing a simplified map of White Stone Town.
On the top column, there was a line of words:
Population: 7
Gold coins: 479
Food: 7
Building materials: 0
Valuable items: 0
"Is this the information of White Stone Town?" Bai Xiaowen frowned and inquired, "The population of the territory can't only be seven, right?"
The spirit world's law prompt quickly responded, "The population shown on your Lord's page refers to the number of people who are under your influence and can listen to your orders. The residents of White Stone Town who have never interacted with you and have never seen you are not under your influence and are not included in the territory's population. "
"You can increase your reputation and your influence to increase the total number of people under your influence."
Bai Xiaowen understood. To put it bluntly, he still needed to increase his reputation.
With Bai Xiaowen's intelligence, he quickly deduced the meaning of the last three options.
Gold coins, food, and building materials were resources that Bai Xiaowen "had the authority to control". Bai Xiaowen currently did not have the authority to control the private property of the other residents in the territory, including gold coins, food, and houses, so they were not included in the Lord's page.
It was easy to understand that there were zero building materials and valuable items. As for the food for seven people, Bai Xiaowen thought for a moment. It probably referred to the bag of flour and a few loaves of black bread in the kitchen of the Lord's Mansion.
As for the gold coins, he had just collected four gold coins, some silver coins, and some copper coins from Job. Together with the five gold coins in the Lord's Mansion, there was a total of 479 gold coins.
At the bottom of the Lord's page, there was another column of text.
Army: 0
Popular sentiment: 2
Livability: 3 (extremely poor)
Prosperity: 5 (extremely low)
The low values of these were within Bai Xiaowen's expectations. After all, most of the residents in the territory were in a state where they could not even fill their stomachs. What kind of popular sentiment could there be? Bandits ran rampant, causing the livability to be extremely poor.
Bai Xiaowen did not know how to judge the livability value. In a situation like White Stone Town, it actually had three points. Then what would two points and one point be like? It could not be a desolate and uninhabited area, right?
White Stone Town was a large bandit nest. There were no caravans coming and going, so it was normal for the prosperity value to be low.
Bai Xiaowen put the gold coin box into his storage space. This move shocked Anton and the others. Considering Bai Xiaowen's identity as a "wizard", after the shock, they were not unable to accept it.
Suddenly, Anton boldly said, "My Lord, since you are a wizard, why don't you eliminate the bandits in White Stone Town? Those damned bandits, especially the Black Wind Bandits, kill and pillage everywhere. Your people do not dare to work normally … Without these bandits, with White Stone Town's mines and fields, even if it is not rich, it should not be a problem to have enough food and clothing. Those who have left their homes will gradually return, and the taxes they pay to you will also increase. "
A notification came from the Spiritual Realm:
[Side Mission: Eliminate the Bandits] Activated.
[Mission Objective: Eliminate the bandit group in White Stone Town's territory.
[Mission Difficulty: Unknown.]
[Mission Duration: None (Equivalent to the maximum number of days you can stay in the Cain Realm).
[Mission Reward: Unknown.]
After this side mission was activated, Li Shuyi looked at Bai Xiaowen and seemed a little excited.
Bai Xiaowen thought highly of Anton. His words were organized and clear, and the most rare thing was that he persuaded from the perspective of a Lord. Ordinary miners did not have this ability.
However, Bai Xiaowen rejected this mission.
"Of course I understand," Bai Xiaowen said calmly, "but I have my reasons for not eliminating the bandits … Anton, reorganize a few miners and continue the mining work in the silver mine."
Hearing that Bai Xiaowen did not have the intention to eliminate the bandits, Anton and the others were disappointed.
"Then … what about the Black Wind Bandits? They may rob the mine again. It's too dangerous. "Anton tried to persuade Bai Xiaowen to change his decision from another perspective.
"How much was your previous salary?" Bai Xiaowen asked.
"180 coppers per week." Anton did not understand, but he answered honestly.
"As long as you are willing to go to the mine, your weekly salary will be increased by 50%." Bai Xiaowen said, "The Black Wind Bandits will not rob the mine again. This is my guarantee as the Lord. If you are still unwilling to go, I will not force you. I believe that with this salary, many people in the territory will be willing to do it. "
When he heard that his salary would be increased by 50%, the old miner's eyes lit up. He rushed to say, "Honorable Lord, the efficiency of the new workers is definitely not as good as ours."
"So you agree?" Bai Xiaowen looked at Anton.
Anton could only lower his head and agree, "Yes, Lord."
Bai Xiaowen did not pay much, only a few dozen coppers per week. It was very important to restore the production of the silver mine and maintain the income of gold coins.
After Anton and the others left, Bai Xiaowen ordered Job to bring the mortgage of the silver mine and the contract with Red Leaf Hill's Lord March. Finally, he sent Job to the mine to supervise the mining work.
"You will probably take action against the bandits, right?" Li Shuyi said.
"You can tell?" Bai Xiaowen asked with a smile.
"Yes, the best way to solve the main mission should be to recruit the bandits, right?"
Li Shuyi had been thinking, "We can only stay here for 15 days. No matter how much we develop the territory, it will not be effective in half a month. Taking shortcuts to make a fortune is the only way. Those bandits' nests, especially the Black Wind Bandits', should have a lot of money. "
"Your idea is very good. It coincides with mine." Bai Xiaowen praised, which made Li Shuyi feel a little embarrassed.
"Then why did you turn down the mission?" Li Shuyi asked.
"Shuyi, we are wandering in the Spiritual Realm. We don't have to accept missions whenever we see one," Bai Xiaowen said. "Think about it. Anton has nothing. As the initiator of the mission, what kind of reward can he give us?"
Li Shuyi shook his head.
"If we accept this mission, these people will know that we will attack the bandit group. Our advantage of surprise attacks will be gone, "Bai Xiaowen said." Don't count on Anton and the others to keep the secret. Maybe Anton himself can, but what about the others? "
Bai Xiaowen took a breath. "Once the news is leaked, it will affect my plan. Besides, this side mission issued by Anton doesn't have any decent rewards. If we complete the mission, he will at most become more loyal to me. Even if we don't accept the mission, we can directly destroy the bandits and gain his loyalty and gratitude. It can also keep the secret. "
Li Shuyi nodded, indicating that he understood.
Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi returned to the Lord's Mansion and found a shabby map of White Stone Town in the hall.
From the map, they could see that the iron mine occupied by the Black Wind Bandits was called the "Cliff Mine." It was in the southwest area of White Stone Town.
"So our first target is the Black Wind Bandits? Isn't it a little too exciting? We should choose a weaker bandit group first and see if the difficulty of the Cain Dimension is high, "Li Shuyi said.
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