CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 64: STABLE AFFINITY

[Stable Affinity (Blue): All animals (non-human) normally fed within the territory will have a joyful mood and a natural special fondness for you.

Their physical condition improves by 50%, the chance of illness decreases by 80%, and growth speed increases by 20%]

[Next entry: Own one thousand livestock and poultry, and keep at least one magical beast within the territory to unlock: Breeding Lord]

"Finally, I see the Breeding Lord."

Luo De finally glimpsed a ray of hope for the [Great Lord of Nature] entry.

The condition of "at least one magical beast" has been met by Luo De in advance, and while the remaining one thousand livestock and poultry seem like a large number, it can be quickly completed with sufficient funds.

Of course, some experienced breeders are also needed.

Now the lords of the three domains—crops, breeding, and mineral veins—have emerged, only the hunting domain has not shown the lord entry.

"A natural fondness for me?"

Luo De turned back and returned indoors.

Looking at the two sleeping little ones, Luo De reached out to pull them up,

"Wake up and sleep again!"

"Ow!"

Awakened Frost and Thunder let out angry roars, raising their wings in a combat-ready stance.

They both have waking-up tempers, which is a normal instinctive response.

Even Luo De is not spared; the two little ones will sulk for a while.

However, this time, upon seeing that it was Luo De, the two little ones lowered their wings, shook their heads, and lay down again.

"It really is a special fondness."

Luo De’s lips curled upward as he reached out to stroke the heads of Frost and Thunder.

The two little ones not only didn’t resist but cuddled up with their eyes closed, then one used a wing as a pillow and the other an iron ore, and fell asleep again.

Satisfied with the test results, Luo De turned to leave.

"Rumble..."

Thunder sounded in the gloomy sky, and rain droplets the size of beans pelted down from above.

The Northern Wasteland rarely has a gentle drizzle; it’s often a pouring storm.

In just a short ten minutes, the water on the ground flowed like a stream, down the slope and into the estate’s drainage channels.

The summer rainfall is indeed greater than that of spring.

Luo De didn’t rest; he donned a rainproof cloak and wide-brimmed hat to inspect the irrigation channels and the River Bay reservoir.

There’s no need to worry about the fishpond; with the existence of the flood discharge channel, the water level will flow back into the river once it reaches a certain height.

The gates of the upstream diversion channels for the River Bay reservoir have already been opened in advance to prevent the water level from rising too high.

In fact, the water level at the River Bay was still below the safety line, but seeing the muddy waters, Luo De opened the gates early to prevent flash floods upstream.

At any rate, Luo De hasn’t suffered any losses in the short term.

It turns out Luo De’s prediction was correct.

The day after the downpour, brown torrents flooded downstream, filling the entire river channel completely.

It’s not particularly a massive flood, but as far as the eye could see, it was a sea of yellow; upstream, the River Bay and diversion channels were indistinguishable.

The embankments on both sides of the Blue River still need repair; pure reliance on experience can be deadly.

This torrent of rain lasted two nights and a day intermittently; if it had rained for three days, the flood would be alarming.

Lusen’s caravan was trapped by the rain in Frost Leaf Town for three days, preparing to depart on the fourth day.

"The roads are muddy; actually, you could wait two more days, and I wouldn’t charge you extra for lodging."

At the town gate, Luo De said to Lusen.

Looking down the muddy road into the distance, Luo De felt full of disdain.

Nearby Frost Leaf Town was relatively better because drainage ditches had been dug along the roadsides during earlier planning.

But farther away, the roads were covered with mud and sporadic puddles as far as the eye could see.

Lusen noticed Luo De’s disdain for the roads and said, "It’s alright, Lord Baron, this is quite normal.

The goods I carry aren’t heavy and won’t affect the passage."

Luo De shrugged, nodding, "Alright then, go ahead."

He waved his hand, bidding farewell to Lusen.

Luo De returned to the manor to feed Frost and Thunder with jerky.

These two little ones have become very affectionate with Luo De, not as obedient as when they were newborns; they like to jump onto Luo De when eating.

With time, the two little ones have grown to a similar size, though Thunder is still somewhat fearful of Frost, keeping a distance while eating.

Frost and Thunder’s wings aren’t strong enough to fly yet, but they can jump high while flapping and glide easily when descending.

However, Luo De read in the tomes that dragons fly not by strength but by magic, not sure if it’s true.

Anyway, if not for their fondness for sleeping, they would have fled the cabin long ago.

After feeding Frost and Thunder, Luo De gathered Otto and Lawrence around him,

"It’s time to repair the roads; spare me some manpower, would you?"

Otto and Lawrence exchanged glances, showing a hint of reluctance.

"My lord, your slaves are chopping down trees and expanding the town," Lawrence answered first.

Most of those sent to the salt and iron mines are slaves, leaving only a few for the paper workshop and blacksmith shop construction. There are not many people left.

"How about on your side?"

Luo De looked at Otto.

"As per your instructions, the farmers are preparing to weed the fields," Otto replied.

The heavy rain had watered the thriving wheat seedlings, but also made the weeds in the fields grow wildly.

In this era, there is no potion specifically for weeds, so the townsfolk can only rely on their own hands to weed them out bit by bit.

For this, Luo De even designed a hoe for weeding and gave it to Hammer to forge, thereby increasing the weeding efficiency of the townspeople.

"There are still too few people."

Luo De couldn’t help but sigh.

Just as he finished speaking, the Guard came in to report,

"Lord, Sean’s apprentice has come to report that a carrier pigeon from the Black Stone Iron Mine has returned with a message."

Saying this, the Guard presented the letter to Luo De.

Luo De gestured for the Guard to withdraw, then opened the letter to read.

A moment later, Luo De set down the letter and commanded, "The two of you, without affecting the current work, allocate some people to build the road for me."

"My lord, should the town expansion be delayed a bit?" Lawrence asked tentatively.

"No."

Luo De decisively refused. After pondering for a moment, he said, "The road must be built, and other projects cannot be delayed either.

Improve the meal treatment and have everyone work overtime to get more done."

Originally, Luo De was hesitant, but in the letter sent by Gang Le, it was mentioned that the ox cart transporting the iron ingots got stuck in mud just after leaving the Black Stone Mountain Range.

The muddy roads were impassable, and they had to wait a few days before being able to transport them back.

"Send out twenty people first, and repair those muddy parts following the existing roads. Also, dig some drainage ditches around,"

Luo De ordered seriously, "I don’t want the roads to be in the same state the next time it rains."

Building a road is easier than constructing a new one; laying soil and stones and then compacting them with a stone roller.

This way, the repair is fast and sufficient for short-term use.

Currently, the roads leading in all directions from Frost Leaf Town are natural dirt roads, with barely any traces of construction and not the best routes.

Luo De planned to build gravel roads suitable for carriage traffic, reinforced with lime, once the town expansion was complete. Only then would it be worthy of being the main road.

"Alright, I’ll discuss with Otto and make arrangements to send people to repair it tomorrow,"

Seeing Luo De’s firm attitude, Lawrence could only respond with a bitter face.

It seemed he’d have to play the villain again.

As it turns out, manpower is like cleavage; squeeze and there will always be some.

The next day, Lawrence and Otto managed to gather twenty-two people to employ in the road repair project.

Meanwhile, in the southeast of Frost Leaf Town,

at the foot of the Blade Mountain Range, three men and two women were traveling with three children.

"Luo Fei, are you sure you can support our whole family?"

The man clad in animal skins and carrying a hunting bow asked.

"This is the third time you’ve asked me, Uss. I can support you!"

Luo Fei sighed and explained, "To be honest with you, when you go to Frost Leaf Town, it’s not me supporting you, it’s you supporting us."

"The work points from the Hunting Team are much more than what I earn as a dung mixer."

"Mixing dung?"

Uss asked curiously, "Are you already preparing things for winter heating?"

"Manure is for farming, don’t ask if you don’t understand." Luo Fei impatiently waved his hand, "Let’s move quickly; I’ve lost a lot of work points by taking time off these days."

"Alright, alright, I won’t ask anymore."

Uss nodded repeatedly.

The black bread and salt Luo Fei brought were very convincing; Uss hadn’t had such delicious bread in a long time.

But Uss was a bit worried, as he had no land and couldn’t farm. Could he really survive in Frost Leaf Town?

The Hunting Team... can one really lead a stable life just by hunting?

What about winter?

What to do when there’s no prey?

Uss scratched his head, full of doubts.

"Oh ho—"

Just as Uss was pondering, suddenly a scream came from behind.

"Wildman!"

Uss’s face changed drastically, "Run!"