Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 73
At this time, Lucy had no idea that when she truly stepped into the new house granted to her by the Lord, even more surprises awaited her.
The new home, its framework exuding the distinctive fragrance of fresh wood, consisted of two spacious rooms.
In fact, even the smaller of the two was far more spacious than any dwelling she had ever slept in before.
Whoever had ordered the construction of this new house had clearly thoughtfully considered that when Lucy grew older and found someone to spend her life with, forming a new family, it would still be more than sufficient for them all to live together comfortably.
The outer walls were made of oak planks treated with the yakisugi[mfn]previously called shou sugi ban (will be changing in previous chapters)
a term that became popular in the West due to a mistranslation of the kanji characters for yakisugi[/mfn] method, while the interior was evenly coated with insect-repellent plaster. The roof featured oak beams, pressed with mixed slurry, and generously thatched with an ample amount of wheat straw.
The windows in the walls were not large but were positioned to face the sun. As soon as the thick curtains were drawn back, bright sunlight would freely pour inside.
This ensured both adequate lighting within the house and that the occupants would stay warm when the harsh winter arrived.
Standing prominently in the center of the larger room was a clay-built fireplace, which would undoubtedly be the second largest source of light and heat in the house.
The floor and walls around the fireplace were lined with an additional layer of stone bricks to prevent them from being easily blackened by stray sparks. On the fireplace sat a brand new large pot, alongside a long bench, a small cabinet with a shelf full of eggs, and a complete set of kitchen utensils including baking stones for making bread.
Since it was the warmest season of the year, summer, the neatly stacked wood fuel inside remained unlit, as if patiently waiting for the arrival of its new owner who knew how to cook.
Passing through the outer room, the inner chamber served as Lucy’s bedroom. There stood a spacious bed wide enough for her to lie down with arms outstretched without touching either side: thick wooden boards supported a thick straw-filled mattress, with new bedding including two pillows emitting a faint wheat fragrance, linen sheets, and covers.
At the foot of the bed was a wooden chest carved with simple cloud patterns, containing several new dresses tailored to Lucy’s measurements.
This was because the Lord, who had ordered all these arrangements, firmly believed… that there simply wasn’t a little girl in this world who could resist the temptation of beautiful new clothes.
Just as every cat couldn’t resist the silver vine cat teaser in his hand!
After Johan took Lucy away, Oliver certainly didn’t remain idle.
After giving it some thought, he directly summoned the craftsmen from the estate and gave instructions to build a large shelter for shade and rain protection.
Compared to the coop for the chickens to roost in at night, such a shelter was much simpler to construct.
Not to mention Oliver had it made in a conveniently detachable style—so that later, when the chickens grew up, their appetites increased, and they needed to frequently change grazing areas, it wouldn’t require repeated work from the craftsmen each time.
To everyone’s surprise, as soon as the shelter was set up, the chicks cleverly trotted over, chirping “cheep cheep cheep,” and crowded underneath to enjoy the shade.
—Leading them were still those two lucky chick kings.
Recognizing them at a glance for their particularly abundant energy, Oliver couldn’t help but smile. He turned to Jonathan and Ziken and instructed, “When Lucy returns, you two can inform her about the new trial set by the Cat God.”
Jonathan instinctively tensed up.
He didn’t feel the slightest envy toward the reward Lucy had received: after witnessing that little girl’s maturity and wisdom beyond her years, he had genuinely come to admire her from the bottom of his heart.
Moreover, it was only thanks to Lucy’s fairness and generosity that he and Ziken had been able to join in the first place.
And with their kind lord being so generous—even willing to make such promises to someone like him who hadn’t accomplished much—how much more would he do for Lucy?
He was acutely aware that the upcoming trial the lord was about to detail would determine whether he could regain his status as a commoner.
For these three keepers he was quite satisfied with—the future founding members of the chicken farm—Oliver naturally placed great importance on them, and the conditions he offered were far from harsh: “The great Cat God’s next trial will test whether you are diligent and selfless enough.”
Oliver didn’t beat around the bush and directly told the two who were holding their breath in anticipation: “Over the next two days, the three of you must find ten suitable candidates from among the slaves and unreservedly teach them all the wisdom of the Cat God that you’ve learned these past days. As long as six out of those ten people ultimately pass the Cat God’s trial and earn the qualification to care for the new batch of chicks, you will have passed the second trial.”
Raising chickens was for the benefit of all people in Laina, to kickstart the poultry industry, not for the slaves who gained promotion through this to guard their knowledge selfishly.
“When that day comes, Jonathan… and Ziken, right?” Oliver smiled slightly as he looked at the two who were overwhelmed by the unexpected favor: “You will regain your status as free citizens. Moreover, the rewards Lucy received today, you will surely receive them on that day as well.”
Of course, except for the new pretty little dresses.
Never expecting the conditions to be so lenient, Jonathan opened his mouth but found himself unable to utter a word.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
After speaking in a hoarse voice, he heavily knelt on the ground, silently performing the most solemn salute over and over again.
His face pressed against the earth, his eyes had long turned red from suppressed emotion, glistening with unmistakable tears.
Ziken stood there dumbfounded, still processing this information.
Me… a free citizen?
Oh, his great Cat God, he had only been raising some little chicks!
Although the breeding work was actually quite intricate, testing the keeper’s patience and attention to detail in many aspects.
For Ziken, who was naturally skilled in this area, he didn’t feel it was particularly hard work at all.
Compared to heavy manual labor in the fields or reclaiming wasteland… his job was simply too easy!
Even after being glared at several times by Butler Fosse’s sharp eyes, the oblivious Ziken remained completely unaware.
He even mustered the courage to foolishly ask: “Thank you, Your Highness… but what if I fail to teach them properly? Will the almighty Cat God blame me?”
He was already clumsy enough—what if the students he taught were even clumsier and couldn’t learn?
Would they be punished?
At this thought, Ziken grew somewhat apprehensive.
He didn’t expect to receive rewards for doing this easy task… but what if he failed to do it well and disappointed the great Cat God and the Lord, and got driven away?
“If you can’t teach them well in one go, then teach them a few more times. The Cat God won’t blame you for that.” Oliver couldn’t help but chuckle: “However, the later the apprentice masters the skill, the longer it will take for you to receive your reward. So it’s best to choose the right person from the start and not waste time.”
Ziken was completely reassured.
It was only at this moment that he realized Butler Fosse was staring at him with a terrifying gaze for his disrespect toward His Highness, nearly scaring him out of his wits.
Oliver didn’t stay long at the chicken coop—he had a feeling that when Lucy returned from her half-day off, she might get emotional and shed tears again.
He always felt at a loss when faced with a little girl’s tears.
“Your Highness.”
After returning to the drawing room, Fosse couldn’t help but softly remind him: “Do you only plan to select people from among the slaves?”
“Of course not.” Oliver replied frankly: “Actually, I’d prefer to screen a few suitable candidates from among the commoners this time.”
Among the slaves, Lucy was undoubtedly exceptionally talented, very good at thinking and learning.
But even during the brooding period, she had clearly struggled to keep up, at one point becoming so anxious she didn’t know what to do.
Although brooding is one of the most critical stages in poultry farming, it’s only the first phase—there’s still a vast amount of knowledge to acquire afterward.
The fundamental limitation to Lucy’s ability was her illiteracy.
In contrast, Jonathan, who was much older than her and should have poorer learning capacity, not only consolidated the knowledge firmly but also independently developed a rough yet functional recording method.
That was because Jonathan, who had once been a commoner, possessed basic literacy skills and instinctively knew how to systematically approach new knowledge.
The long road to universal literacy—it must be implemented as soon as possible.
Oliver sighed inwardly.
Tomorrow he would check on the progress of those six prisoners with some education who were assigned to copy characters in the small cells.
Thinking of this, Oliver noticed the hesitation on his butler’s face and couldn’t help but smile: “My dear Butler Fosse, are you wondering why I told Jonathan ‘select from among the slaves’ when I actually want commoners to join?”
Fosse nodded without hesitation: “Yes, Your Highness.”
“The reason is simple,” Fosse clearly saw those beautiful blue eyes sparkling with what he found utterly adorable—a cunning gleam: “Although Lucy is no longer a slave, Jonathan and Ziken still are. How could they possibly have the qualification to ‘select’ commoners?”
Just having commoners teach slaves was already displeasing enough to the former.
Let alone the reverse—it was imaginable that would be an utterly unbearable humiliation for commoners.
But when commoners see themselves missing out on this seemingly good job due to their pride, they’ll likely can’t help but come asking proactively.
Watching His Young Highness with his bright, sparkling eyes and radiant expression, Fosse couldn’t help but smile.
“As expected of the wise Lord.”
The reality unfolded exactly as Oliver had anticipated: the news quickly ignited fervor among both slaves and commoners.
Though commoners, having received so many boons, dared not openly oppose the Lord’s decision or harbor resentment… there were still those who coveted this position offering better treatment than many artisans. They pulled strings to seek information from castle staff.
Among the castle servants, Johan was the most frequently approached, but he consistently brushed off inquiries with a stern “I wasn’t present at the time.” Other servants rarely had opportunities to interact with the Lord, let alone speak with him under the watchful eye of the imposing butler. Consequently, the second-most questioned person became knight Kane, who frequently appeared in the fields to inspect for the Lord and relay external commands.
Kane, having received prior instructions from steward Fosse, delivered the response impassively:
“In our benevolent Lord’s view, the poultry keeper role involves frequent contact with bird droppings and requires learning from slaves – it’s not suitable dignified work for commoners.”
Hearing this rationale, the commoners were dumbfounded.
Contact with bird droppings?
It certainly didn’t sound… but they didn’t care at all! Unlike slaves who each had household toilets, those living in towns had to clean up after themselves and their children daily anyway.
“The Lord… is truly too compassionate,” they lamented, eventually pleading pitifully with Kane: “Sir Knight, please convey to the respected Lord that we too wish to offer our loyalty and wisdom!”
Kane cast them a cool glance, his tone devoid of emotion: “Don’t speak foolishness. Would you even be willing to learn from slaves?”
Given the choice, they certainly wouldn’t prefer to.
But…
“But Lucy isn’t a slave anymore!” they quickly embraced this fact that had previously disappointed them slightly. Compared to becoming “apprentices” to the other two slaves, or being completely barred from the keeper position… Cat God, that would be a nightmare! Becoming apprentices to Lucy, now a fellow commoner, was somewhat more palatable.
After all, not only was Lucy no longer a slave, she was a common girl who’d gained the Lord’s favor through the slight wisdom bestowed upon her by the kind Cat God’s blessing. Her future was clearly promising.
—In fact, many supervisors had already taken note, considering how to employ their snot-nosed young sons by matching them with the still-unbetrothed Lucy.[mfn]to clarify, they’re sending their sons to Lucy in hopes they’ll get married.[/mfn]
“Besides, that knowledge didn’t originate from them – it was taught by the Lord himself, wisdom from the sacred Cat God!” they swiftly convinced themselves, their resolve hardening as they unknowingly fell right into the Lord’s carefully laid trap, swearing fervently: “If we don’t study hard and cherish this opportunity, we deserve whatever punishment our benevolent Lord decrees—”Otherwise, the Cat God in heaven will surely punish us! Please, have mercy and plead for us, Mr. Kane!
