Upon hearing Byron's words, Gwen was stunned. "A girl?"
"Yeah..." Byron's Knight's face was scrunched up like an abstract painting. "I only found out when I was bathing her. I was shocked!"
Gwen's eyebrows twitched as he looked at the middle-aged Knight with a strange expression. "Don't tell me you have some ideas. That child is probably not even ten years old."
Byron quickly waved his hand. "No way, no way. Although I'm a mercenary, I'm not that vulgar. But I don't think I can adopt her..."
Gwen found it interesting. He was not in a hurry to continue his research. Instead, he looked into Mr. Knight's eyes and asked, "Why? Just because she's a girl, you think you can't adopt her as your heir? I didn't know you were such an old-fashioned guy. "
"Of course it's not because of that," Byron said with a bitter face. "She saved my life, so it's not a problem for me to pass on my martial arts and property to her. It's just that I'm an uncouth man … how can I raise a girl well? I thought it was a boy. Now I don't know what to do... "
Gwen smiled, but his eyes suddenly looked past Byron and Knight in the direction of the tent door.
A thin and small figure was standing there.
Byron seemed to have realized something as he hesitantly turned around to take a look. Sure enough, he saw Little Mute, who had secretly followed him here.
He... She had taken a bath, combed her hair, and changed into a clean coarse cloth dress. But the scene of a dirty stray child turning into a little princess after bathing and changing clothes did not happen to this child. Although she was a girl now, she did not look much better than before. Long-term malnutrition and excessive work made her look sallow and emaciated. Her skin was rough, and her hair was draped over her head like a clump of dry weeds, even after being combed. Her body was thin, and her face was dry and sunken due to lack of nutrition. There was nothing cute about her.
She had followed them in a daze, as if she had only just realized that this place was not a place to wander. Now she stood at the door in a daze, carefully putting her hands and feet together. Her face was full of nervousness and helplessness.
She should have heard the conversation between Gwen and Byron.
"Your daughter is here to see you," Gwen smiled and looked at Byron. He then waved to the mute girl at the door and asked her to come over.
"My Lord..." Byron called out a little helplessly, but then he saw the little mute walking towards him. The expression on his face quickly became awkward and uneasy. "You... Why are you here? Didn't you say that this place is not a place to wander?"
"Byron," Gwen said, "I know you think this is difficult, but you can't just leave this child aside. Since you promised to adopt her, this promise should not be based on any subsequent conditions. Take good care of her. "
"I..." Byron opened his mouth, but finally nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"If you encounter difficulties, you can ask for help. There are plenty of people in the territory who know how to take care of children. Don't be too proud of yourself as Knight — and I don't think you have such pride," Gwen laughed. "This child not only saved you, but also helped me. I was able to solve the crisis in Tanzania Town because of her. This child has brought good luck to our territory, we can't treat her badly."
Byron and Knight nodded in agreement, while the little mute blinked and looked at Gwen and then at Byron. She could understand what these people were saying, but she did not understand the profound content of Knight and the territory, so she was a little confused.
At this time, Gwen suddenly asked, "Does she have a name?"
"Name?" Byron seemed to have thought of this at this time. "Ah, yes, I still don't know her name... I was too nervous before."
"She should have a name, but unfortunately she can't speak. I'm afraid none of us can know her name," Gwen looked at the little mute. "Do you want us to give you a name?"
The mute child immediately stretched out her hands and gestured, but Gwen and Byron did not understand her at all. After a difficult communication failed, the little mute suddenly cried out and then ran out of the tent.
Gwen and Byron looked at each other blankly, and then decided to wait and see. As a result, after a long time, the child ran back breathlessly.
She stretched out her hand in front of Gwen, and there were a few peas in her palm.
After a long time, Gwen finally understood what the child meant. "You mean, your name is Pea?"
The mute child nodded vigorously, one hand holding the belt of the coarse cloth skirt a little bit hard, and the other hand moved Pea forward a little bit.
This time, it was Byron who reacted. "You don't want a new name, and you want to continue to be 'Pea'?"
The mute child nodded again vigorously.
"This name should be given by her parents. If it was the name given by the merchant who cut her tongue, she wouldn't have taken it so seriously," Gwen guessed. "Pea... probably when they gave her this name, they hoped that she would be able to fill her stomach."
As he said, he reached out and pressed Pea's hair — it really felt like a bunch of weeds.
"Although she can't speak, she can understand. You have to pay attention to your words and actions in the future, and be a role model for the child," Gwen smiled and glanced at Byron, and at the same time, remembered something. "By the way, the matter of buying serfs and handing over refugees in Tanzania Town is now under the help of Viscount Andrew. You don't need to personally oversee it anymore. You can leave this matter to a few smart and capable men. I have a new task for you."
Hearing that there was a new task, Byron and Knight immediately straightened up and looked serious.
"Don't be so nervous. The task location is in the territory. I want you to organize a group of people to go to the ruins in the Gloom Mountains to investigate the situation."
Byron was curious. "Are you going to explore the place?"
"Viscount Andrew dug up the fragments of the Eternal Slate under the Tanzam Mine. I am more and more worried about the ruins in our territory. I have to speed up the progress." Gwen nodded. "You are a mercenary, so you should have some experience in exploring such ruins. Find some cautious and brave men with the best equipment. First, check out all the corridors and rooms in the shallow level and draw a map. I don't want speed, what I want is safety and meticulousness. I don't want experienced soldiers to die in such a place, and I don't want you to miss anything important. Do you understand? "
Byron straightened up. "Yes, please rest assured. I do have some experience in this area. I won't let you down."
Byron and Knight left. Gwen walked out of the tent and looked at the territory that had grown day by day.
Not long ago, it was just a 'camp'.
The Frost Moon was approaching, and the weather was getting colder day by day. But the new Cecil Domain was on the right track. The first generation of the magical engine (after being adjusted and optimized by Egg Nicholas, it turned from a prototype into a practical machine) had now officially appeared in front of the people. This strange but powerful machine, which ran on magic but could be operated by ordinary people, shocked many people. When it was first put into use, many serfs and civilians even looked at the machines with fear. They seemed to think that there were countless invisible little demons living between the repulsive mechanism and the connecting rod bearings, and that it was the hands of the demons that pushed the heavy and terrible steel. The initial operators were difficult to recruit, and later, they even had to use coercion to ensure that there were enough people to operate each machine.
But this foolish and ridiculous situation only lasted for a short time.
Under Gwen's request, the fief followed the system of 'preaching' and 'educating'. Every new thing, whether it was new laws or new machines, had to be repeated to the people. Gwen had made up his mind to eliminate ignorance and ignorance in this land. So, within a few days, the people knew that the machines were a new kind of magical device. It could be operated by ordinary people not because there were demons in the machine that sucked the souls and flesh of ordinary people, but because it was the crystallization of wisdom and technology.
Gwen deliberately emphasized the existence of 'ordinary people' in the entire machine development team, and especially engraved the names of all the craftsmen who participated in the early development on the surface of the machines. Those craftsmen lived with everyone, and they received countless admiring and admiring gazes. Gwen, on the other hand, gained the vitality of the once numb and ignorant serfs and civilians.
Now, in the fief, you could see ordinary people walking around with smiles on their faces.
And with the surging power of the magical engine, all kinds of basic production in the fief were carried out at a jaw-dropping speed.
The mine was using the magical engine to pull the mine carts and extract the seepage water, and the supply of iron ore was becoming stable. Now, the only thing that limited the supply was the uneven road between the mine and the steel factory. Gwen had begun to order the construction of this road, and with the help of Heti's magic, it was not difficult to level and build a simple road.
The production progress of the machinery factory was shocking. The golden thigh of the Iron Ball (although he did not have legs) was more powerful than Gwen expected. All kinds of simple lathes he could think of were being produced day and night. If not for the runic furnace powered by the magic net and the sufficient ore supply, the steel reserves of the fief would not be able to keep up with the consumption of the egg of Nikolai.
The brick kiln factory was already using the simple molding machines from the machinery factory, and Rebecca's' cement 'was also beginning to show results. She had created a cementing material that reached the standard of strength. Although the production and yield were still big problems, Gwen could already consider moving the fief away from the wooden houses and tents and into the phase of' hard houses'.
At this stage of smooth development, the biggest problem was the shortage of manpower.
Labor was not a problem for the time being because the territory was only so big for the time being. But there was not enough manpower to maintain and continue to promote the new machines and technologies that were constantly emerging.
Technological progress could not be accomplished by just a few people. Although it was possible for a few geniuses to create things that could change the times, to popularize and apply these things and form a sustainable industrial chain, a large number of mid- and low-end technical personnel were needed.
There were not many 'geniuses' among the 100 people, and there were not many talents.
Not everyone who deviated from the mainstream society was a genius. Most of the time, they were ostracized by the mainstream society because of their low EQ. However, the EQ that was lost did not become a skill point that was added to IQ.
Although Gwen had said that 'the fief welcomes all deviants', it was more to encourage himself and inspire the people. He knew that it was unrealistic to expect the Captical to screen 100 revolutionaries for him, and the fact was: Among the 100 people, except for Jenny, who was a valuable talent, and a few good seedlings, the rest were basically mediocre people. They might be able to do their jobs, but he could not ask for more.
He did not know how many intellectuals Viscount Andrew could find for him... Considering the overall level of education in this era, he could not expect too much.
At this moment, a shout from not far away suddenly interrupted Gwen's thoughts.
"Ancestor! Ancestor! " Rebecca shouted and jumped as she ran over. She waved her trademark iron wand while running, she waved a large roll of paper in her other hand.
When Gawain saw the iron staff in the girl's hand, he subconsciously shuddered. 'Is she here to test Rest in Peace on our ancestor again?'
But then he saw that Rebecca was followed by Jenny. The runemaster lady was holding more scrolls in her hands. She was running especially hard behind Rebecca, and while running, she called out to Rebecca to slow down.
Gawain heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that Rebecca wasn't here to murder her ancestor.
When the two of them ran in front of him, Gwen looked at his great granddaughter curiously. "Slow down, slow down. Breathe evenly. What's wrong with you?"
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