bookpub Chapter 246 Choosing a Way Out
Chapter 246 Choosing a Way Out
As soon as the soldiers began registering, the crowd sprang into action, quickly splitting into two long lines.
The left side represents the city hall.
The right side represents a servant joining the army.
Although joining the army will grant a fixed amount of Silver Star crops, the queue on the left is a bit longer.
It's not just that the city hall needs more staff; there are other reasons as well.
In this era, unless one has the ambition to rise above others or change their fate, a free citizen would generally not choose to join the army.
People will die.
Since Chiffon can offer a high-paying job with ten silver coins, it's better to live a stable life. This is also the reason why many people come to Chiffon.
However, the city hall does not recruit for every position.
Just like the Ministry of Agriculture, the almost costless output and the massive amount of food that sustain life are the biggest secrets of chiffon cake.
Apart from Wade and his group, only citizens were allowed to work in the transformed fields, while the common people transported grain around the fields.
They were given basic training on confidentiality before they were allowed to start working.
The same applies to the mining and artisan departments. Those who actually pick up the mining tools and axes, and have access to the artisan's equipment, are citizens; others are responsible for transportation.
It wasn't that Richard didn't trust his people, but the matter was of great importance, and at this stage it was better to make some distinctions.
...
Of course, there were also quite a few men on the right who wanted to join the army; they were all young and strong men eager to change their fate.
In this era, ordinary free people have few opportunities to access life-giving crops, but even fewer opportunities to rise above their social class.
There will always be someone who will try any possible opportunity.
But there was one person standing there awkwardly between the two teams.
Cody felt out of place, as if he had been forgotten, and was filled with confusion and helplessness.
His great-grandfather wielded a hammer by the fire his whole life, as did his grandfather and father. By the time he was ten, he could make a decent hoe on his own.
Before coming to Chiffon, his goal was clear: to rent a small shop, set up a stove, and continue his old trade with the clanging and banging of the stove.
With skills in hand.
Don't worry about eating and drinking.
As a blacksmith, his income was definitely much higher than that of ordinary free people, and he could barely be considered a wealthy person.
But the policy the soldier had just explained was like a hammer, smashing his inner convictions to pieces.
Running a blacksmith shop is a stable job, but that's about it; the son takes over the blacksmithing, and then the grandson takes over.
Generation after generation, they were trapped in a small shop filled with the smoke of cooking fires, sweating over red-hot iron blocks.
The blood flowing in their veins could never escape the fate of being a low-level craftsman, and they had no chance to rise in social class.
If I join the army...
He recalled the knights of Ironwater Territory riding monsters through the streets, and the common people had to duck and give way.
When a plague strikes, the first to die, and the ones who suffer the most, are always ordinary people like him, without any extraordinary powers.
Why not...
A surge of something he couldn't quite define—whether it was excitement or impulsiveness—rushed to his head, causing him to inexplicably shift to the right...
The long lines of recruits stretched out, people packed shoulder to shoulder, the air thick with the smell of sweat and a restless anticipation.
At the end, he could see the young faces in front of him, some nervous, some excited, and some with a ruthless look on their faces.
...
"Name."
"Cody."
"age?"
"Twenty-nine."
"What did you do before?"
"blacksmith."
The soldier paused, looked up, and stared at Cody with disbelief and confusion.
Not just soldiers, the latest chapter is ready! Book lovers, hurry back! The surrounding crowd, who hadn't dispersed yet, had the same reaction, pointing at Cody and whispering among themselves.
Blacksmithing is a rare profession!
He rents a shop where the clanging and jingling of metalwork might be mistaken for hammering gold coins by those who don't know him.
Having mastered this skill, one can enjoy meat every few days in any territory, making them especially popular with widows.
Despite his doubts, the soldier didn't say much, but quickly wrote a few lines on the roster to register the information.
He took out a wooden plaque from the side, wrote a few lines of small characters on it, and finally handed it to Cody.
"We will meet at the West City Training Ground this afternoon to participate in tests and trial training."
Cody took the wooden plaque in a daze. His name and a number were written on it in crooked but clear characters.
The heavy weight in his heart seemed to have lightened, and his goals became clearer and more resolute.
The swords are already red-hot; when it's time to quench them, there must be no hesitation!
...
He looked up at the sky.
It's still early.
We're not meeting until the afternoon, let's go check out the situation in the east of the city first.
Cody walked through the crowded streets toward the east of the city, encountering many people like himself along the way.
What was once a vast wasteland in the east of the city is now a bustling scene of activity.
More than two thousand serfs, under the command of stewards and city guards, were clearing away the rubble and stumps on the ground.
Further away, hundreds of enormous rock crabs were using their large, shovel-like pincers to lift and flatten large clumps of soil and grass.
Beetles buzzed low overhead, carrying wooden baskets that transported smaller clods of earth and gravel to designated piles.
The land is being leveled at a visible pace, and in some places, clear white lines have been drawn with lime, which appear to be markers for house foundations.
The earlier arrivals also gathered here, pointing and whispering, watching this scene in amazement.
Do you know how big these houses are?
"Who knows? Anyway, it was given to us for free by the lord. It's better than living in a tent. Look at the lines drawn on it, it's probably not small."
"Lord Chiffon... no, our Viscount is truly kind and wealthy!"
Upon hearing this, many people present showed expressions of pride.
Yes!
To be able to follow a benevolent, kind, generous, and wealthy lord is perhaps the luckiest thing a free man can encounter.
The unlucky ones all remained in the molten iron...
...
"I heard from a citizen that many pipes will be buried under these houses, which will not only spray out clean water, but also directly discharge dirty sewage. How convenient!"
"What's so special about this?" An old man glanced arrogantly at the person who had just spoken.
"Did you know that the houses where the knights live in the city automatically heat up in winter? They're so warm and cozy inside that you don't need to burn firewood to get through the cold winter!"
"Wow!"
This statement caused quite a stir, with some questioning its veracity.
"You're talking nonsense. It's just a house made of stone, not a boiler. How could it possibly get hot?"
The old man snorted coldly.
"You're talking nonsense! That's no ordinary house; it was created by the Viscount using his magical powers!"
"Really?"
"Magic can build houses? That's amazing!"
...
Cody listened without saying a word.
He suddenly turned his head to look at the inner city of Chiffon in the distance, at the stone houses surrounded by flowerbeds, the beautiful and clean streets, and the towering magical trees.
That was a beautiful world he couldn't yet reach...
Temporary!
One day, I will move in!