OBS Chapter 213 Qi Feng's Servant Joins the Army
Chapter 213 Qi Feng's Servant Joins the Army
The two walked along the stone-paved path, discussing tax issues as they went.
The poll tax only applies to the citizens, and shops are definitely not included. In addition, the calculation of commercial tax is more complicated and easy to falsify accounts, so it is impossible to finalize a solution in a short time.
While Wendy was still silently calculating, Richard had already put the matter out of his mind as if he had gotten rid of some burden, and led Wendy to the north gate of the city.
The temporary stone houses that originally housed the citizens of Chiffon have been vacated and are now reserved for the serfs who have been promoted to free citizens.
Wendy suddenly asked, "Now that the soldiers' more than three thousand family members have arrived, it seems there aren't enough job positions to fill. Should we let them participate in the construction as well?"
Upon hearing this, Richard smiled slightly and pointed to the temporary stone house in the distance.
"No need. After they arrive, this place will be converted into the workshop for the artisans, and then we'll set up the assembly line."
"Think about it, although operating the craftsman's equipment is very simple, you just throw the crops in and wait a few days to get the produce, but all those bottles and jars need to be moved and stacked by hand."
He got more and more excited as he talked.
"Also, in order to make a name for myself, I plan to set up a workshop to reprocess all the bottles and jars and put chiffon cake labels on them."
"Especially luxury items like wine and jam, it's best to package them up, like by tying them with a pretty ribbon or something. Plus, with warehouse organization and moving, the artisan department can support at least several hundred people."
As Wendy listened, she could almost picture a group of female workers bustling about in a bright workshop.
Indeed, the lord's magical creations require almost no production costs, and even with secondary processing and packaging, their advantage remains stronger than others.
Richard didn't stop, and then turned his attention to the livestock sheds that were faintly visible in the distance.
"As for the other side, only a few livestock sheds have been built so far. The sheep are sheared every day, and the breeding team can still cope with the demand for the time being."
"However, wool is a strategic resource. When the population increases significantly in the future, we will definitely have to expand the livestock sheds to increase production."
"A sheep pen has two hundred sheep. It takes at least five people to shear the wool every day. And that's just for the wool. If you include the people who process the leather and meat, it takes at least a dozen people to take care of a sheep pen."
Wendy suddenly realized that she hadn't thought of this before. Firstly, the territory had a small population and hadn't yet reached a significant scale, so she couldn't see anything.
Secondly, other people raise pigs, cattle, and sheep, but unlike chiffon cakes, they don't have magical powers that allow them to mature and produce in just a few days.
Just as she was about to nod in agreement, Richard dropped another bombshell.
"These are all secondary issues."
Richard crossed his arms over his chest, his tone full of anticipation.
"Don't forget the Chiffon Trading Company that is about to be established. In addition to the shops and staff in various places, we also need to set up many transport teams to deliver goods to various territories and city-states on a regular basis."
"How many people are needed to take care of each shipment of millions of kilograms of goods? And the more transport teams there are, the more guards are needed."
"It's not realistic to have the Imperial Guards and the city defense forces escort them, so we'll form a reserve force to participate in the escort mission. Therefore, we'll need to form a third tier of armed forces in the future, tentatively named Qi Fengpu Congjun."
"There are many candidates to join the army, like Henry's two children, who bought life food to advance to the level of the extraordinary, but their talents are relatively average."
"If they can't join the city defense army, they can join the servants' army to serve Qi Feng. Besides escorting caravans, they can also participate in guard patrols and other defense duties in peacetime."
...
"Like the Ferret Trading Company?" Wendy picked up the conversation.
The Ferret Trading Company operates basically as Richard described, even though it has the support of the Snow Deer.
Normally, they rely on the guards of their own trading company to transport goods, and they only ask their family for help when they encounter major trouble or have special needs.
"That's exactly right." Richard gave her an approving look.
"The Chiffon Trading Company will grow stronger as its business empire expands. If it can eventually spread throughout the entire empire, let alone three thousand family members, even thirty thousand people wouldn't be enough to fill this hole!"
This was the first time Richard had discussed the general direction of chiffon cake with Wendy in detail.
He suddenly opened his arms, facing the breeze blowing across the wasteland, and made a gesture of embracing the future.
"My idea is very simple: with business as the core, we want to sell chiffon cake products to every corner of the continent."
"Once the Chiffon Army has grown strong, I'll spend my days traveling, fishing, walking my dogs, flying eagles, and riding horses, living a life of extravagance with the girls I admire!"
...
When Wendy saw him in this posture, she suddenly remembered that he had made a similar remark when he was a child at Wolfsburg.
However, when he said he was looking for the legendary dream city, Freya couldn't stop laughing.
Now, instead of finding the legendary land, he has built it, which can be considered as realizing his great dream.
Wendy had intended to congratulate him, but when she heard his pursuit, which was no different from that of a lavish lord, she slightly pursed her lips.
"Our lord's ambitions are truly extraordinary!"
"Our lord's ambitions are truly extraordinary!"
...
There was a hint of disdain in his words. Richard spread his hands, looking innocent yet self-righteous, and retorted:
"Miss Wendy, once I achieve my goal, I'll have plenty of time to flirt with you, and you're still not happy? Hmm—?"
He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, staring at her with a mischievous look.
This unexpected teasing made Wendy feel a rush of heat to her head, and her ears felt like they were on fire.
"You...you!"
Looking at the seemingly serious yet unserious expression on his face, she was so embarrassed that she could barely speak.
This time she couldn't hold back any longer, clenched her little fists and punched Richard, wanting to give him a couple of good whacks!
Richard was prepared and gently pinched her cheek with his other hand; it felt soft and delicate.
After succeeding, he laughed heartily, then turned and ran!
Wendy lifted her skirt and chased after him without a care for her image. The dignified and serene chief minister was now just a little girl who had been provoked.
"Don't run!"
Richard didn't run fast, deliberately letting Wendy catch up, and occasionally he would turn around and make a face, which made Wendy playfully complain.
The two chased and frolicked outside the city, the air filled with a long-lost, vibrant atmosphere belonging to a young boy and girl.
It wasn't until they saw two Chiffon Guards riding unicorns patrolling in the distance that the two men snapped out of their daze.
The two soldiers looked at each other, but unfortunately they couldn't see the expressions inside the visors. Without exchanging greetings, they turned around and ran wildly into the distance.
Richard stopped abruptly, his playful expression vanishing in an instant, and he reverted to his dignified and composed demeanor as a lord.
Wendy also stopped abruptly, frantically tidying her disheveled hair and clothes, her cheeks flushed red.
A lord and a chief minister must be mindful of their image in front of their subordinates and can no longer act as recklessly as they did when they were children.
"It's all your fault..."
She muttered something under her breath.
Richard touched his nose, offering no rebuttal, appearing nonchalant as if he knew nothing and had done nothing.
"Let's go check out the experimental fields of the Mystic Academy."
He broke the awkward silence by walking towards the fields not far away, only to find that he had ended up here with Felix.