Collingwood Town, "Stact" Inn.
"Why is this name here?" Feiqi was surprised when he first saw the sign. It was a shield-shaped sign, a strong short woman holding a stone hammer.
"Typo. I was going to write a stone hammer, but it turned out to be a solid hammer, so it became a solid hammer hotel." Eddie always looked at Feich all the way, and she shrank back as soon as she met Feich's gaze. "Sir, you seem to have changed a lot."
"It's even more handsome, right?" Feiqi replied with a smile: "After all, I've been outside for so long, and the impression I had been a little blurry. In addition, I was summoned by the goddess to the heavens, so I will definitely be affected by the heavens. Some changes are normal. But you still look thin and small, and haven't grown much. No, I remember that you no longer need to dress up as a man, why do you still restrict yourself and don't want to grow taller?"
"Who said it! I want to go long, but I just can't do it. And... And this is not my fault, you have arranged too many things, I'm very busy and tired!" Eddie finished angrily and said, then hurriedly apologized: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so excited. I just haven't seen you for a long time and I've been worried. Well, you go in first, I have to sort out the things and arrive soon."
"Thank you, I know you're tired, but you're doing well, better than I expected. You have both talent and hard work, and you're really amazing." Feiqi hurriedly praised a few words, and then said, "Okay, I'm back, you can rest assured. And am I not starting to work now?"
As the chief consultant of Minas Ishir, there are many things that he needs to deal with in the territory, and the Ice Peak Fortress is too biased and not suitable as an office location. Logically speaking, Collingwood is also located thirty miles southeast of the Ice Peak Fortress, and it is also a remote corner. However, on the one hand, it is the stone factory and the potato accumulation station. At present, the two most important matters of Minas Ishir happen here, so it has become the core of a territory without a castle.
As the oldest hotel in town, the "true hammer" was wrapped up. The elves of the territory and Eddie lived here, and now there was another Feich. When he saw Feich walk in, the hotel owner gave Edmund Kant, one-eyed man nicknamed "Bear" to express a warm welcome to him. A bear hug, and a garlic-smelling beard, pressed tightly on Feich's face: "Oh, great, a human finally moved in."
"What, are the elves not good to you?"
"It's not bad. They should pay a lot of money at all, but they eat too many leaves, fruits and vegetables, so I have to accompany them. Finally, you look strong and your appetite won't be small, right? I can finally eat normal food!"
"Well, if you feel happy, that's great." Feiqi looked at the lobby of the hotel. It used to be a simple little bar, but now it has neatly arranged tables and chairs, and the tax officer, accountant and craftsman in the territory are all working here. "Can you take me to my direction first?"
"Of course, let's go here."
Following the thick wooden steps up the road, there was a rattle. The third room on the second floor of the hotel's corridor was Feichi's. "This is the best room, with plenty of sunshine, and the sheets and quilt covers are new. Oh, the window on the right is a little loose, just use more force when closing. There is a fireplace here, which I just cleaned this spring, and I believe you will like it."
The sunlight shone in through the window, and the dust slowly floated and moved in the light column. There was clean water in the water basin and a white towel was placed beside it; there was a pot of orchids on the desk, and the faint fragrance was refreshing. "It's very good here, thank you for your arrangement."
"Actually Eddie ordered this to do it. You'd better like it, sir."
"Is there any free room next door? I have two more people to move in, two women, they just need to have a room."
"The opposite side is empty, so I'll just move another bed. It won't take a while. Sir, can I ask them if they are elves or humans?"
"It's humans. Just prepare ordinary things for us, don't be too troublesome." Feiqi looked at the one-eyed bear, feeling the desire in his eyes. "Okay, today I want to eat meat. Broth and roasted chicken should be good choices, what do you think?"
"Of course, of course!" One-eyed Bear too quickly said yes. When he saw Eddie coming, he hurriedly said goodbye to Fitch and hummed a little tune and went downstairs.
"You don't need to be polite to him. He is a guy who loves to take advantage of the little things and bragging. He must have told you again that the elf only eats food, and he can't make a living, right?" Eddie came in and held a canvas bag in his arms, and the scrolls filled with it were almost overflowing. "Sir, what meat did you order yourself?"
“Broil and grilled chicken? Are the dishes here expensive?”
"If I were still at the Earl's house, then the food here would not be expensive for the rest of my life. But now we are a little short of money, so I have to ask you to fulfill your promise of self-sufficiency quickly." Eddie looked around, hooked the table with his feet, then put down a large number of scrolls in his arms, and moved a chair for Fitch. "These are the income of the territory for half a year..."
"Since there is still an urgent matter, let me briefly introduce it. Could it be that the funds allocated by the church, the money I gave you in the treasure chest are almost spent?"
"No, there is definitely no. The money in the treasure chest must be kept for the magic school, how could I use it? Generally speaking, there is still some money, but because of the road construction, it will be short of money soon. If the situation of Minas Ishir can be summarized simply into one sentence: income becomes potatoes. If these devil potatoes cannot be purified, then they are worthless. Although the territory will not go bankrupt, there will be no money to arrange projects in winter. Sir, you said that you have a way to purify all potatoes!"
"Yes, there must be. How many potatoes do we have?"
"About two hundred and eighty tons."
Puff! Feich almost squirted out a sip of water. "Why are there so many people in Minas Ishir, four thousand or five thousand?"
"There is now a population of nearly 4,000, including about 200 elves, and the number is already large. The number of potatoes is large because of the help of elves. Among them, there are three magic spell casters in the plant field. They use blessing techniques and treat diseases to the crops in the fields if they have nothing to do... We didn't expect to collect so many devil potatoes at the beginning."
"Don't call it devil potatoes. If you have been used to perform the blessing magic, how could it be devil's potatoes?" Feiqi rubbed his hands and said, "Okay, I know you are anxious, so I'll solve this problem first, okay? First, I need someone to wash the potatoes, cut off the sprouts, chop them into pieces and dry them, and then grind them into powder. I will use spells to help speed up the drying process."
"Sir, are you going to grind potatoes into flour? But the unpurified potatoes..."
"There is a problem if you eat potatoes that have not been purified by magic, right?" Although Feiqi does not believe in the story of the entire devil potato, he must also show respect. Moreover, the key to the whole thing is to complete the purification - whether the purification is unnecessary or not - let everyone see it clearly and be recognized by the church, so that people can eat with confidence and solve the food problem in the territory. "As long as you don't eat it before purification, you will not be cursed by the devil, right?"
"Probably not..." Eddie blinked, and she felt that Feich's thinking was very different.
"Of course not, because I will be by the side and use magic to protect everyone. Of course, necessary measures must be taken. For example, people who work are preparing gloves, and the waste that is not used must be inspected and destroyed. When grinding into potato flour, the mill must be used exclusively. It cannot be used to grind wheat and oats in the future."
"Well, sir, you are very thoughtful. I was about to tell you whether you should use the money from the treasure chest to buy a water mill."
"Just buy it. You will have a high income after grinding potatoes. I believe I am right." Feiqi said with a smile.
Even if Feiqi didn't learn anything before, he would not forget all the teachings of Earl Hall. Mills are an important node for turning wheat into flour and one of the important rights of the lord to manage the territory. Although the hulled wheat can be made into wheat (rice) rice, the taste is really bad and difficult to digest. It is far less delicious than grinding it into flour and then fermenting it and then turning it into bread or steamed buns.
When wheat turns into flour, 10% is generally left as the cost of using the mill, and some areas can even reach 20%. This is equivalent to tax collection at one time, and it is directly collected in the form of flour, so it is very important. In addition, the craftsmen must agree to what they want to do, so the mill is not built as long as they want. Feige spent money to buy a hydraulic mill from Didlit, which is actually a bit of using power for personal gain. But if you really sort it out carefully, it can only be called a class privilege under the feudal system. Moreover, a hydraulic mill that can only be used to grind devil potatoes is not valuable to ordinary people.
"After grinding it into powder, I will make seventy tons of potato flour into a whole large dough and purify it. Why are you doing such a big mouth? The fly flies in?"
"No...no...you only purify it once?"
"Yes. The confession of atonement can be used for purification, but it can only be used for one target. A huge devil potato dough is also a target, and there is no problem. At most, I consume more mana and take longer. I have also watched the purification ceremony. It's too troublesome. I can't finish nearly 300 tons of potatoes by myself until next year."
"Can you still do this?" Eddie was a little confused, and quickly shook his head, then found some water to drink it. "Wait, is there a place to make such a big dough?"
"It is best to have a large enough space in the cave. If you don't, dig a hole and then pave it with stone slabs."
"There should be a place in the old mine, and now some potatoes are stored there."
Feiqi clapped his hands and said happily: "That's great. Find someone to clean it up. It's best to build it into a pool, and it's best to be even around it."
"But, sir, the potato dough will be broken and it won't last long..."
"I know how to spell!" Feiqi was not worried at all. "Flame and ice are both the result of temperature changes. I have learned a lot of runes in this area. I made temperature-insulated runes for the storage room, and then frozen the purified potato dough. Cut them down when used, and cut them as much as you want. Wouldn't this solve it?"
Eddie did not answer, but sat aside. She stretched out her hand, and Fitch stuffed her water bag, and she picked it up and drank it. After drinking, she was stunned for a while, but she still couldn't come back to her senses.
"What are you thinking? Are you looking for loopholes in my plan?"
"Well!" Eddie said with great certainty: "There must be something that has been wrong. If this can be solved, why did no one think about it before?"
"If you are interested, you can go to the Holy Trinity Castle to check the information, and then write a report to the Holy Word Teaching Master. Maybe you will get rewards, such as making you an intern nun or something." Feiqi joked and said, "Okay, there should be no problem. Let's do it as soon as possible and then you will know if the result is right?"
Eddie nodded vigorously: "Sorting the mine, recruiting people to wash potato cutting, and buying a water mill, then I will use the money from the treasure chest."
"If you use it, use it, I will find a way to earn it if the money is not enough."
"No need. If the potato method is OK, you won't have to worry about not having money in the future, and you won't have to worry about not having food. Sir, can you make this method work?"
"Well, for money and food!"
Although there are still many things in the territory, none of them is as important as the devil potato. In fact, fortunately, Feich pulled out of all the affairs of the Holy Trinity Castle in time, otherwise the potatoes in the piled up would sprout and then be wasted. Eddie had to go crazy. She knew what she was going to do, so she immediately prepared to do it. Before leaving, she threw more than a dozen scrolls to Feich and asked him to watch herself find a way to solve it.
"Wait, where is Diderlit? Why are they all here to me?"
"There are thieves in the territory. It may be a gang. She is dealing with thieves, so she throws all the chores to you." Eddie said before leaving: "Next is Ester, the elves' security adjutant, you can instruct him. I'll leave first, and take advantage of the many people who hand over potatoes outside, hurry up and settle the job of hiring people."
"Go and go, I'm here. If you can't see me, just pinch the cat's face and I'll know."
After hearing this at midnight, he screamed at Feichi with dissatisfaction and pointed at the fireplace with his paws. "Shani, come here to do a favor, can you light the fireplace?"
Shani, wearing a veil, came over the opposite room and was passing by Eddie. "She seemed to know who I am and never asked why we were by your side." Shani said as she cleaned up the fireplace: "Sir, she is a very capable girl. You have to find a way to keep her by your side."
"I guess she has heard of you from Qiao Duo and Annie, right? I think she will definitely inquire if she can't see me. And don't worry, I will definitely not drive her away." Feiqi put down the report on the construction of the territory road in his hand, looked at Shanie who was squatting on the ground and said, "Why did you suddenly talk about Eddie?"
"I smelled the breath of happiness from her, probably because I saw you."
"Maybe it, but it may also be because I solved a problem that has troubled her for a long time, and she is in a better mood." Feiqi touched the staff and shot a ball of flame to help light the fireplace. Then, Midnight jumped on Shanny's knees, jumped up on her shoulders, and then jumped onto the fireplace. It was coiled together, enjoying the warmth while avoiding the light. Shanny touched Midnight's head, tickled it, and then stood quietly and looked at Feiqi through the veil.
"The castle will not be built in the territory for the time being, so I can only stay in the hotel during this period. There will be many inconvenient places, and you and Shani will do whatever you need. Oh, by the way, if you want to see Anne and Qiao Duo, just tell me and go directly. Did the blue dragon say anything useful?"
"No, Festein has never heard of a green dragon with only children left everywhere, and there are no other colors."
"Then we have to keep looking..." Feiqi looked at the scroll and said without raising his head: "Shani, do a favor, find a larger parchment paper and prepare the ink."
"Oh, OK." Shani responded and quickly prepared the things.
"Although I say that everyone is companion all day long, I'm sorry to ask you to do this and that." Feiqi looked at the model sand table who was secretly photographed in the cat stick. While copying it on the parchment paper, he said to Shani: "I'm not polite, but sincere. You are all very strong, Benny, Eddie and you, you can do a lot of things, and I always ask you to take one and that, which is actually a waste of your ability..."
"No, it's not like this. I like my current state." Shani said.
"There will be many jobs in the territory. If you have something you like, try it. Of course, there is no problem if you want to maintain the status quo. I...I just want to say..." Feiqi raised his head and looked at Shani and said solemnly: "Thank you for supporting my dreams. When you have dreams, I will support you."
"This is better for me." Shani rubbed the veil with her fingers, then turned her head to Fitch and said, "Sir, don't worry about the fireplace for an hour. I'll go and prepare some tea for you and then don't disturb you. Is this OK?"
"I have said a lot of thanks, so I won't talk too much." Feiqi smiled: "By the way, hey, midnight, dried fish is a good choice."
Shani nodded and walked out gently.
The territory must first survive, and then consider development, which requires population, money, and food. However, the population does not fall from the sky, and grain must be slowly promoted and accumulated after potatoes. At present, only money can be solved quickly. Feiqi looked at the sand table openly and captured the results of the God-Looking Great Prophecy. At this time, just find one or two suitable mines and dig it...
"The only pity is that they only know some resource points, but they don't know what each point is. And who to go? First of all, you have to be trusted, and at the same time you have to have the ability to distinguish minerals... Wait, is Mom Bingfeng okay? He is a half-dwarf, and can't the dwarf know whether there are minerals behind him by touching the rock? If he only has half of them, does he have this ability?"
Feiqi couldn't think of any other way for the time being, so he quickly wrote a letter. When Shani came with tea and dried fish, he gave her the letter and asked her to find a way to contact Mom.
"I'll ask Benny to go, first ask Momm if he has any mineral knowledge, and then send him a letter. Although it's okay to let your penpent run errands, I'm afraid that the goblins will make things complicated."
"Okay, you've thought it more carefully. I have nothing else to do for the time being. Don't bother these two hours. I need to think about it for a while."
There is still a lot of work on hand, but these are originally backlogs, so to put it bluntly, Eddie is not in a hurry. The real urgent Eddie will definitely remind him that the lord of the territory is Diderit, not Fitch. Leaving time to meditate and be alone, Fitch first checked the house and made sure no one was looking at it. So he gently scratched himself with a soul-harvesting dagger and came to hell.
"Stop howling, it's so noisy!"
As soon as he entered hell, the voice of the fork-way demon exploded in his ears. With its roar, there was a woman's mournful and spiky cry. Qitana's soul fire was a ball of white flame about the size of a football, and her young face appeared in the middle of the flame in the form of a shadow. The flame kept hitting the red wall, but it could not have any other impact except to make her crying sounds even more unpleasant. The soul crystal room and the space turbulent room had an invisible barrier, so Qitana was not allowed to enter.
"Shut up!" Yan Rui's black aerosol-shaped soul body was much taller than Qitana's soul fire, and the contract of hell also forced Qitana to obey the orders of the "master". She immediately calmed down, and the expression presented by the soul suddenly became free from joy, sadness, no anger or sorrow, just a cold and dead face. "The road demon, what's going on? She was crying and howling just now!"
"It's normal now. Where did you get the soul of a high-level priest? Have you sneaked into the sect to launch an assassination? This is simply wonderful." The fork demon habitually interrupted first, and then talked about the serious matter: "When you don't come, it is incompatible with the breath of hell, and it is naturally painful, so you cried. As soon as you come, the contract will be executed, and it can coordinate with the hell environment and will naturally return to the normal soul state."
"Okay, then I understand." Feiqi sat in the throne and took a comfortable position: "Qitana, what's going on with the crystal cluster?"
"That is the remaining liquid left in the furnace when the Creator created the world. Under certain conditions, it can grow into a magical artifact with the effect of converting language into spells."
"Say it complete." Feiqi looked at the shaking state of the soul flame. Although it was certain that Qitanna was telling the truth, it was not necessarily the "complete truth". He was good at using this method to hide information or even cause misleading. How could he not take corresponding precautions?
Chapter completed!