Lord of Rot

"A new residential district?"

Gelan wasn’t surprised by the Lord’s new order. With two hundred residents and one hundred slaves all crammed together in Porcupine Territory, problems were bound to arise. More importantly, he knew the Lord was still having ’Lucky dog’ Qiao purchase more slaves. They would never have enough houses. The population of Porcupine Territory would just keep growing, and growing!

Leech nodded. The craftsmen had arrived, so building new houses could naturally be put on the agenda.

This brought to mind the types of housing on the Lu Leiyi Continent, which were mainly divided into three categories. The first was the noble’s castle, built with stone as the primary material and glutinous rice paste as a binder. The advantage was its strength and durability, but the disadvantage was also obvious: aside from the noble lords, the commoners of Porcupine Territory couldn’t afford it. They would rather eat the grain than use it for construction.

The second type was the mud house. Its advantages were its low cost, its ability to block wind, and the fact that a single person could build one. But mud houses weren’t suitable for Porcupine Territory. The weather there wasn’t good, and when the rainy season arrived, a heavy downpour could wash a mud house away.

The houses in Porcupine Territory were of the third type: using wood for the frame and foundation, then filling the gaps with mud mixed with plant fibers. They were more aesthetically pleasing than the second type, but the cost was slightly higher. Felling trees and building the house were not tasks one person could complete alone.

"I’m preparing to re-plan Porcupine Territory," Leech said, bringing out the bird’s-eye-view map, which was detailed down to every street, every small stream, and even every pothole.

He pointed to the map and said, "In my plan, this area will be the residential district. Of course, I won’t group them all together. Given Porcupine Territory’s current financial situation, it’s too early for that. I’m just letting you in on my initial thoughts."

Leech’s ideas went beyond just a residential district; they included a commercial district, an agricultural district, recreational facilities, and more. If he could manage to entice a scholar here in the future, he would definitely build a scholar’s tower.

He didn’t have obsessive-compulsive disorder, but a unified plan would make it more convenient for him to monitor the entire Porcupine Territory with his Eagle Eye.

Gelan’s heart couldn’t help but race as he watched the Lord continuously point things out and explain his rough plan. For Porcupine Territory, this was a massive undertaking. Fortunately, the initial phase wouldn’t require too much manpower—just building a few more houses and leaving them empty for the new slaves to arrive.

"Yes." Gelan saw nothing wrong with the Lord’s command.

Besides, Porcupine Territory was currently earning a lot of money from selling Little Pills.

"Don’t pull all the slaves away," Leech said. "I have other work for them to help with."

The celebration was over. It was time for formal infrastructure development to begin.

...

"Haaah~"

Little Thumb opened his mouth and exhaled. A puff of white vapor escaped from his lips.

’It’s so cold,’ Little Thumb thought, tucking his hands into his sleeves. His nose was red from the chill.

But looking down at the clothes he was wearing, he couldn’t help but grin.

’Praise the merciful Lord.’ His smile grew wider and wider.

Anyone who worked in the winter would receive a set of warm, cotton-padded clothes. As a supervisor, he naturally got a set too. When he wore it and moved around in the winter, his whole body would warm up.

In addition to the cotton-padded clothes, he received a daily wage of two copper stars and a midday meal of hot soup with glistening droplets of oil. In the time he’d been a supervisor, he had actually put on a bit of weight; his pants were almost too tight to wear.

But the Lord’s recent orders had him a little confused. Some of the men had been transferred away by Lord Gelan to follow the newly arrived craftsmen and build houses.

’Why are they still building houses? There are already enough houses in the territory.’ The former lord of Porcupine Territory would never have done this. It was more accurate to say that Lord Lieder didn’t care one bit whether the people of his territory lived or died. ’Other noble lords are probably the same. Only Lord Leech is different. He has people constantly repairing and building, which gives many people work and food to eat.’

Speaking of which, the sand road that Lord Leech had ordered built a while ago had become Little Thumb’s favorite path to walk on, even if it meant he had to take a slight detour.

On rainy days, the water would seep into the sand, so you didn’t have to worry about stepping in a puddle, getting your feet muddy, or accidentally stepping in a pile of shit. The Lord had announced that if anyone caught someone defecating or urinating on the road and reported it, they would receive a reward of 5 copper stars after confirmation.

Of course, if it was a slanderous and baseless accusation, the penalty was a fine of 50 copper stars and 3 lashes.

Last time, a guy from the security patrol groped a widow’s bottom. After the Lord found out about it, the captain of the security patrol was given 3 lashes, which tore his skin open! He was laid up at home for several days.

Afterward, the captain gave the bastard who got him in trouble 5 lashes. It’s said the man was left half-dead.

No one dared to challenge the Lord’s authority.

Little Thumb was rather lucky. He wasn’t assigned to supervise the house construction. It was said those craftsmen were ill-tempered and would often make the supervisors work alongside them. If a supervisor didn’t listen, they would report it to Lord Gelan. Everyone had their eyes on the cushy job of supervisor, terrified they’d be replaced.

He was in charge of leading the slaves to repair the river channel. This was a small river far from the center of Porcupine Territory, flowing from somewhere in the dense forest and eventually emptying into Pigtail Bay. On normal days, the peasant women would wash their clothes here, and some would even fetch water for cooking. During the warmer parts of summer, a group of men would strip naked, jump in for a bath, and catch some fish to supplement their meals.

’The Lord is definitely planning something,’ he thought to himself. In the last few days, he had often seen the Lord by the river with the dwarf carpenter, gesturing and discussing something.

’Maybe it’s another project like the sand road that will benefit all of Porcupine Territory. Or maybe it’s something else.’ He didn’t have the guts to go over and listen; he was just gossiping to himself out of curiosity.

Black Ears would also come by occasionally. Although he only knew how to forge farm tools, his business was booming. The Lord had ordered him to forge more axes, hoes, saws, and other various tools. The constant CLANG CLANG CLANG of his hammer on iron meant he was definitely making a lot of money, because the Lord never failed to pay his bills. Little Thumb was thinking about offering a gift to get his own son accepted as Black Ears’s apprentice.

Just as he was lost in his rambling thoughts, the Lord arrived again. He quickly started walking around, lest the Lord see him idle and strip him of his supervisory position.

Leech and the dwarf carpenter, Flar, stood by the river. "How is it coming along?"

"I’ve built a preliminary version of the waterwheel you wanted, but there are still some small problems to solve. It will take a few more days. However, putting it to use will definitely not be a problem," Flar said. "But it’s so big. Will it really work?"

"The current in this river is quite swift," Leech said, looking at the small river ahead. "It will definitely be enough to turn the waterwheel."

’If the Lord’s idea is really feasible... is this the wisdom of the nobility?’ Flar had met nobles before. The heir of the Bills, who had been trapped on the pirate ship with him, was a noble. That guy was a complete muddle-head. When the pirates were being pursued, he actually volunteered the information that the Baron of Pigtail Bay had no Soldiers, telling the pirates to go to the island to plunder and rest.

’Damn it.’ He had told Lord Leech about this, but the Lord’s expression remained calm, as if he didn’t care at all.

He couldn’t help with the affairs of nobles. He was a dwarf, and working for the Lord was his way of repaying his debt.

Using the power of the current to drive the waterwheel, which could then be converted into a source of endless "power."

According to the Lord’s design, if the waterwheel was successfully built, they could then build a watermill. They would no longer need people to slowly grind wheat into flour with a millstone, which would free up a significant amount of manpower.

The Lord even said they could build the blacksmith’s forge next to the waterwheel and use the waterwheel to power the bellows. ’Forgive this dwarf, but he didn’t know what bellows were, only that it must also be a wondrous thing full of wisdom.’

And the Lord also said that the waterwheel could be used to irrigate farmland.

Before, when people said the Lord was a Divine Favored, he didn’t believe it. Now, he was a firm believer. This was wisdom granted by the gods!

The dwarf craftsman thought to himself, ’I was rescued by the Lord and now I work in Porcupine Territory. This must be the will of the heavens!’