HTLCCBFT Chapter 49

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 49

Even if it could be remedied, after all this turmoil, the crop yield from this plot of land was bound to be affected to some extent.

Moreover, to put it more seriously, Slack had not strictly followed his instructions for planting, and when things took a turn for the worse, out of fear of punishment, he chose to conceal the truth.

Whether to establish his own authority, or for the sake of future development and fairness to the other slaves… he could not let it slide lightly out of momentary compassion.

But with these two fatal mistakes committed, if judged strictly according to the manor’s harsh laws for slaves, Slack would be lucky to escape with his life, even if he didn’t die, he would surely be severely punished.

At this thought, Oliver felt deeply troubled.

After some consideration, he steeled himself and spoke: “Regardless of the reason, no one should commit the crime of failing to follow orders in their work and deceiving the steward.”

Slack’s face turned ashen as he awaited the Lord’s decision to sentence him to death in despair.

Oliver sighed: “Take him away for now.”

After Slack was dragged off by the guards, Oliver turned to Fosse: “However, considering his reverence for the great Cat God, the fact that the consequences can still be remedied, and that this is his first offense, perhaps we can appropriately reduce the punishment.”

Fosse nodded calmly: “Yes, Your Highness.”

Trusting in Fosse’s capability, Oliver offered no further opinions regarding Slack’s judgment.

Presiding over the manor court, determining sentences, conducting trials, and administering punishments all fell within the butler’s duties.

“I also want you to gather everyone here.” When they reached the boundary between the cornfield and the ordinary fields, Oliver stopped and looked back at Fosse, who was following him. “Aside from the servants in the castle, it would be best for everyone on the estate to come.”

To prevent such behavior from recurring, besides not being overly lenient, it was essential to appoint proper supervisors as soon as possible and, step by step, eradicate illiteracy.

Knowledge is always the most powerful weapon against ignorance.

Apart from the cultivated land that required daily tending without fail, there were many tasks in Laina City that needed manpower, enough to keep everyone relatively busy.

Even the commoners living east of the castle, who were legally free, had to dedicate one-third of their daily time to performing the ‘superior tasks’ that slaves were not qualified to do.

For the carpenter, this meant using the logging permit issued by the castle steward to obtain a fixed quota of timber from the forest to build fences enclosing the livestock, preventing them from escaping and grazing on the crops; for the blacksmith, it involved repairing farm tools that had suffered severe wear from intensive use during the late spring and early summer plowing, such as the expensive iron plowshares; the workers in the mill had to collect the day’s portion of wheat from the granary to provide ground flour for the castle kitchen…

When they suddenly received the notice, their first reaction was bewilderment.

Was the Lord about to announce something important?

Though they couldn’t imagine what it might be, not daring to be late, they immediately set down their work and hurried to the gathering place.

By the time they arrived, the slaves living nearest to the gathering point had long since assembled.

“The generous and benevolent Cat God, whose grace spreads throughout Laina.” The consequence of spinning more and more lies was that Oliver no longer felt any shame or guilt when using his fabricated deity to deceive people, instead speaking naturally: “He has commanded me to impart sacred wisdom to the most devout followers, so that you may reap greater rewards with less energy while laboring in the fields.”

Upon hearing the name “Cat God” and seeing the serious expression on the Lord’s beautiful face…

Everyone’s hearts tightened, their expressions turning solemn, and their habitually hunched backs instinctively straightened.

“After granting you a day’s ‘holiday’ as a reward, the great Cat God has sent me to deliver the first trial.” Oliver glanced toward the bamboo basket being held by the manservant Johan, which contained over twenty strikingly fresh eggs.

These eggs, of course, were all laid by the newly arrived hens.

Seeing everyone’s attention completely captured by those “beautiful” eggs, Oliver felt quite satisfied and continued: “Of course, the trial brought by the generous and merciful Cat God this time is gentle. Those who pass will receive an egg as reward, while those who fail won’t be punished.”

Hearing there would be no punishment, the tension in everyone’s hearts finally eased.

Particularly Jack, Marianne’s honest and simple-minded husband, couldn’t help but relax and rub his pounding chest, happily glancing down at the few foolish sons gathered around him.

Knowing his own mind was quite dull, Jack didn’t dare hope for any reward, only fearing he might face severe punishment for failing to meet the trial’s standards.

Great Lord of Wealth, merciful Cat God, praise be to You!

Oliver had never before taught a public lesson to nearly ten thousand people – especially in such a purely outdoor “classroom” without amplifiers or tiered seating to help those at the back see him.

He didn’t expect those in the back to hear or see what he was doing, but as long as one person could remember, this lesson wouldn’t be in vain.

As a privilege for the tax-paying population, Oliver had Fosse arrange for the commoners to sit in the inner circle.

The slaves either squatted or stood, permitted to stand on stepping stones or small slopes if they could find them… in any case, they could only occupy the outer circle.

The slaves, who considered themselves at the lowest social stratum, naturally had no objections to this arrangement – although they worshipped and revered this beautiful Lord, his words were often too difficult for them to understand.

If that was the case, standing anywhere was the same.

Only Rebel’s heart was beating rapidly.

He stood in the slave ranks, in what could be considered the innermost position of the outer circle.

He happened to be right next to Jack’s family, who had wanted to hide in the back but didn’t make it in time, forcing them to brace themselves and stand in the front row.

Great Cat God.

Jack muttered silently in his heart.

It’s all because these naughty boys wouldn’t listen… otherwise he would have taken them to the back long ago!

What kind of people were standing in this inner circle? All were former freemen who had become slaves in the last year or two, people who had studied for several years and had unusually clever minds!

Usually, just looking at them made him nervous, and he never wanted to get close.

It was too late to back out now. Jack had no choice but to suppress his urge to cry and force a serious expression as he listened attentively.

What Oliver intended to explain was the simple technique of companion planting: in farmlands, many crops could coexist in mutually beneficial relationships rather than being purely competitive.

This often-underestimated technique was undoubtedly a powerful tool for significantly improving overall soil productivity when technological levels were still inadequate.

He was well aware that those willing to diligently absorb this knowledge would inevitably be commoners, not slaves.

Because on the estate, only commoners were qualified to own small plots of private farmland.

They were permitted to cultivate crops on these lands where the produce belonged to them—with only one-tenth required as tribute to the lord.

As for slaves… they were often viewed as livestock incapable of thought, expected only to obey and labor. They neither needed to understand the underlying principles nor were allowed to voice their opinions.

To give everyone a sense of participation, Oliver decided to make this lesson highly interactive.

In his view, when a group of students with varying levels of understanding learned together, nothing could boost their spirits more than fostering competition among them.

Thus, Oliver took an unconventional approach from the start: he randomly selected two individuals—one from the inner circle of commoners and another from the outer circle of slaves—to undergo this “test from the Cat God.”

Jack never dreamed he would be chosen at such a moment!

Under his wife Marianne’s nervous and sympathetic gaze, and amid the rowdy cheers of those troublemakers, Jack walked forward with another selected slave, Rebel, inwardly weeping.

Oh, great Cat God.

The closer he got to the lord who seemed to glow with beauty, the more nervous Jack became.

Sweat poured from his body, and he unconsciously fell into an awkward, uncoordinated gait—fortunately, the other three selected individuals weren’t faring much better, all equally tense.

Oliver had the four unlucky—no, fortunate—souls stop about four or five steps away from him, smiling as he did so.

“The benevolent Cat God possesses profound knowledge, yet He gladly bestows His boundless wisdom upon diligent and devout followers… Perhaps you have already received His generous gifts while still in your dreams.”

Upon hearing this, most commoners wore thoughtful expressions, while the slaves’ eyes lit up.

Yes, since Lucy had received blessings, perhaps they could too.

Once the four had calmed down slightly, Oliver gestured for them to look at the blanket spread on the ground.

This coarse linen blanket, woven by the wives of some stewards on the estate, was too crude to pass Butler Fosse’s inspection… and had been discarded for use as packing material or padding.

Arranged on these blankets were various crops, some dried and others fresh.

Most of the diverse crops came from Laina City’s granaries, while a small portion had been recently purchased by Oliver from the grain merchant Witt.

Whether commoners or slaves, none were unfamiliar with farm work, and they immediately recognized that all these were crops they frequently encountered.

The main crops include corn, taro, potatoes, edamame, peas, radishes, various types of wheat, kale, pumpkins, and cucumbers.

Oliver smiled and posed the first question: “If you were given a plot of land, which plants would you choose to grow on it simultaneously? Once you’ve decided, pick them up and show me… Of course, your answers cannot be the same, and each person may select up to 2 crops. The first person to provide the correct answer will receive an egg as a reward.”

Upon hearing this unexpectedly simple question, everyone was stunned.

Especially the four individuals who had been sweating with fear earlier. After exchanging glances for a moment, Jack, resigned to his fate, mustered his courage and was the first to reach for the crops.

Rebel, who was still pondering, immediately felt a pang of regret.

Jack had beaten him to it.

Rebel understood clearly: with the rule that their answers couldn’t overlap and the limited variety of crops available, the first person to choose undoubtedly held the advantage.

As someone who had once been a freeman, what he valued most was certainly not the egg.

What he truly desired was to escape the mire of slavery, just like Jonathan, who had successfully gotten close to Lucy and earned the qualification to enter the castle, seemingly halfway to shedding his slave status.

He had been reduced to slavery due to famine, but he refused to accept that his life would end this way. Whether for his own sake or his family’s, he couldn’t give up easily.

If he could gain the Lord’s favor, even just a little, it would be enough to inspire him.

Unaware that his reckless move had actually given him a great advantage, Jack, with an appearance of fearless bravery, first picked up an ear of corn—ever since the Lord arrived in Laina City, corn had become the favorite crop of all Laina residents.

Holding the corn in his broad palm, his heart pounding, he then reached for the peas.

Under everyone’s gaze, he steeled himself, knelt down with his whole body tingling, and said, “Respected Lord, these… these are the crops I have chosen.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow slightly.

He hadn’t expected this seemingly foolish big fellow to possess some quick wit.

—He had directly copied the example answer Oliver had previously instructed to be planted in the fields.

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