Chapter 292: Millbrook Village
Sane was indeed not wrong, people thirsting for money would always automatically drag their faces looking for them.
The Lyra Mayor’s Office personnel had just sounded out asking the price of the rocky strip of land along the stream in the morning, and Baron Harlan Voss had personally ridden his best horse straight to the City Hall’s gate right the following afternoon. Following behind serving him was a skinny butler with bulging eyes named Pym.
Voss was a middle-aged man bearing the characteristic traits of a fallen aristocrat: a face flushed red from wine and meat, a slightly bulging belly, draped in a burgundy velvet coat looking quite luxurious at a glance.
However, if one had sharp eyes and paid close attention, they would see the fabric on both sides of his cuffs was frayed to the point of shining greasily, while the signet ring worn on his little finger was huge to the point of being somewhat gaudy. He respectfully bowed greeting Elric exactly following the textbook aristocratic etiquette, then turned looking at Kaelen and Sane, using an impeccably polite tone speaking up:
"Wishing you a peaceful day. Being able to personally meet the Holy Son of Lyra city today is truly my immense honor."
Kaelen only smiled faintly returning the greeting. Sane was even too lazy to open his mouth, only nodding once perfunctorily, then sitting down on the armchair, crossing his legs waiting for this fat guy to continue acting.
Voss also did not beat around the bush putting on airs for too long. He lifted his teacup taking a sip to soothe his throat then began bragging and recounting, that the rocky strip of land along the stream was the Voss family’s sacred ancestral land, that his great-grandfather had once ridden horses hunting foxes extremely majestically there in the past. Therefore, that land carried a priceless spiritual value that outsiders like them could hardly fully understand.
Paul was sitting diligently recording the minutes in the corner of the room, hearing this part his pen halted in mid-air. That strip of land was entirely boulders and large gravel, ordinary horses passing by would even sprain their legs breaking their hooves, he completely could not understand how this Baron’s great-grandfather rode a horse to hunt foxes there?
"Therefore..." Voss smacked his lips concluding: "If I did not respect the prestige of Lyra city, I truly could not bear to sell my ancestors’ inch of land. Three hundred gold coins, I only ask to take exactly three hundred symbolic gold coins."
Elric was drinking tea, hearing that price he almost choked water into his lungs.
That entire desolate strip of land, if calculated fairly according to the price of wasteland in this dog-eat-rock, chicken-eat-gravel area, at most would only be worth twenty gold coins at the absolute limit.
Sane still calmly tapped his finger on the chair’s armrest, slowly answering: "I pay one hundred gold coins."
"Two hundred and fifty coins. Lord, please understand, that is my family’s sacred ancestral land."
"Only one hundred and fifty." Sane frowned sighing, acting out a pained expression looking as if someone had just held a knife cutting off a piece of his flesh: "Baron Voss, you are selling me a rock pile not a manor."
"Two hundred gold coins!" Voss hurriedly placed his hand on his left chest, his tone becoming extremely desperate: "Lord, this is truly the lowest price already, it cannot be lowered anymore. If you all feel you cannot agree, then consider it as if we have never sat discussing this today."
Sane pretended to turn looking at Kaelen, as if considering asking for his opinion. Kaelen only leisurely lifted his hot teacup, slowly blowing the misty vapor, not saying a single word.
A very long time later, Sane finally feigned reluctantly nodding: "Alright, two hundred coins it is. But we must do the title transfer paperwork right today."
Voss’s eyes immediately lit up brightly like headlights, he had to try hard gritting his teeth to maintain the fake regretful expression on his face.
The buying and selling paperwork was established right on the spot. The Mayor’s Office personnel drafted the land purchase deed, clearly stating the scope of the strip of land stretching from the stone marker at Lyra city’s boundary, running along the East bank of the stream down to the edge of Millbrook village’s boundary.
Voss satisfiedly read through it once, flourishing his pen signing his name, then he breathed onto the signet ring worn on his little finger then pressed it firmly down onto the melting red wax. An image of a majestic hawk perching on a watchtower immediately appeared on the wax piece, the lines sharp, clear down to every single feather.
Paul sat in the corner of the room, his sharp gaze glaring intently at the shape of that seal for a long time.
Two hundred shiny gold coins were counted fully every single coin by the Accounting personnel right in front of Voss. He gleefully hugged the heavy gold bag, weighing it in his hand to estimate, then blooming a radiant smile bidding farewell to everyone.
Just stepping outside the City Hall’s gate, butler Pym dared to tiptoe approaching his master, lowering his voice asking worriedly: "Lord, that gravel strip of land is actually just a desolate rock pile, they spent such a large amount of money buying it..."
"What do you know to speak, shut your mouth." Voss stepped his foot climbing onto the horse while snorting coldly proudly once: "People have lots of money and wealth but do not know how to spend it, so I open my compassionate heart helping them spend some. That bunch of country bumpkins in Lyra got rich too fast so they are delusional, not even having time to learn how to keep their money yet. You just widen your eyes waiting to see, after this careless business deal they will still have to hug their money coming back looking for me to buy more land for sure."
Two days later, Kaelen and Sane along with the Department of Labor staff proceeded to go all the way down to Millbrook village. Guiding the way for the whole delegation was Toby, the porter boy who had bravely written the letter calling for help the other day. Hearing the news that the Holy Son and the Divine Envoy personally wanted to visit his village, he was so happy he tossed and turned all night unable to sleep, running out to stand waiting at the South gate since the sky was still pitch dark in the morning.
Following escorting the delegation was also old Borin, the talented chief craftsman of the Dwarves in the city. He heavily carried a long cloth bundle on his back, containing entirely sharpened wooden stakes, tightly braided ropes and a wooden trough about two meters long with a meticulously carved groove in the middle.
Millbrook was nestled in a depression along the stream, about two hours of walking from Lyra city. The village had exactly forty-two roofs built with mud walls roofed with sparse grass, exactly as Sane had counted from high above.
At the end of the village was a watermill abandoned long ago, its giant wooden wheel broken losing half. The stream bed running across the village was dried up and cracked, white pebbles jutting out. Several emaciated women had to carry wooden buckets climbing back up the distant hillside, where the only dry well left in the village was to glean every ladle of water.
Looking back up about half a mile above the village was a man-made dam. The dam was solidly built using tightly packed earth and large tree trunks, only leaving a sluice gate with a wooden plank blocking across in the middle.
The water source above the dam was full, deeply clear blue, while the downstream part below only managed to seep out a pitifully tiny stream. Two arrogant servants of the Voss family holding sticks sitting cross-legged on the dam bank, seeing the Lyra delegation passing by craned their necks following full of curiosity.
Toby silently walked past the dam, suddenly turning his head lowering his voice speaking to Kaelen: "Father, this damn dam was exactly forced to be built by my village people."
Kaelen stopped his footsteps, turning looking straight into the boy’s eyes.
"The winter the year before last, the Baron’s henchmen came to the village promising telling us to build a dam to store water for the dry season, anyone participating in working would be paid fairly." Toby lowered his head, his two hands clenching tightly: "The whole village believed their words, dragging each other going to build toilingly in the freezing cold for two whole months. After finishing building, not a single person was paid even a single coin. By spring, that sluice gate was completely closed by them."
Kaelen pondered silently. Sane walking beside also did not speak, he only narrowed his eyes, sweeping his cold gaze across that giant dam one more time.
Hearing Toby running out of breath across the village announcing the news, the Millbrook villagers sequentially dragged each other out gathering at the empty plot of land beside the abandoned mill. Before long, nearly two hundred people were standing packed tightly covering the entire plot.
There were elderly, there were children, but the common point was every single person was skinny and blackened, the clothes on their bodies patched over and over to the point of not being able to see the original color. The village chief was an old man named Thatcher, his back hunched over, his beard and hair already entirely white. He cowered stepping forward bowing greeting the delegation from the Lyra City Hall, then stepped back standing shrinking to one side, his cloudy eyes clearly revealing his restless worry.
The adults timidly stood far away, completely no one daring to approach the delegation. As for the children, they hid completely behind the adults’ backs, only stealthily poking half their heads out peeking at Kaelen then stealthily looking at Sane. After finishing looking, they hurriedly shrank their heads back whispering to each other.
The person stepping forward representing to speak with the villagers was Dale, an enthusiastic young male staff member of the Department of Labor. He climbed up standing on a high rock for everyone to see together, cleared his throat taking a breath then loudly declared clearly:
"Respectfully addressing the Millbrook villagers, I am a staff member belonging to the Lyra city Department of Labor. Today I along with the delegation came here to officially announce to you an important news. Lyra city has spent money buying out the entire strip of land along the East bank of the stream, running from the Lyra city boundary down all the way to the head of your village boundary. In the coming days, Lyra city will proceed to dig a water canal originating from the clean stream section in Lyra’s land, running along that strip of land to bring water all the way to the village for you."
The crowd below immediately buzzed discussing. Some people raised their eyes looking toward the Voss family’s blocked dam, some people turned looking at each other full of confusion.
Dale did not let them wait long, continuing: "This canal after finishing digging will become the common property of the entire Millbrook village. The Lyra City Hall absolutely will not collect a single coin of water fee, also will not force anyone to work for free to exchange for water. All these commitments will be clearly written on white paper with black ink, stamped with the City Hall’s red seal then handed directly to the village chief to keep as proof. As for during the canal digging construction process, anyone having health wanting to go work come to my place to register your name. Every single workday will be paid exactly twenty-five copper coins, working which day we will pay money right that day!"
Dale finished speaking, the entire large empty plot of land was dead silent as paper.
There were no joyful cheering sounds, also not even a single person dared to step forward registering their name. Two hundred people stood rooted there looking at each other, on their weathered faces joyful expressions did not appear but only contained deep wariness and doubt. Only a very long time later, an emaciated middle-aged man standing in the front row timidly spoke up, his voice filled with politeness and fear:
"Lord official, it is not that our villagers do not know better. However, working exhaustingly for the lords since ancient times, no one has ever held a single coin of wages. Now you naturally spend money from your own pockets to dig a canal, finishing it then announcing giving it for free to our village, we ignorant people truly do not understand what you are scheming wanting to take from us."
Dale intended to open his mouth explaining but Kaelen calmly stepped forward to the front.
"Lyra city came here only to fairly buy everyone’s labor." He said, his voice gentle but spreading clearly to every single person’s ears: "Everyone spends effort digging the canal, Lyra will pay wages fairly. The canal after finishing digging belongs to everyone’s ownership rights. This transaction is only that much, there are absolutely no traps here at all."
That man looked deeply into his eyes for a long time, seemingly searching for lies, ultimately he lowered his head not daring to ask a single sentence more. However, the crowd behind still remained frozen, no one budging.
Sane stood with crossed arms silently behind Kaelen’s back, glancing signaling to Steven. The Lion clan brat immediately understood, his two hands hugging a heavy cloth sack stepping forward to the front. He heavily placed the sack down on the wooden table Dale had just temporarily borrowed from the village chief’s house, decisively untying the binding string then tipping the entire sack upside down.
Clatter clatter!
The sound of bright red copper coins poured out onto the tabletop, rolling around, clinking against each other sounding cheerful to the ears. Several coins rolled off the table edge dropping onto the dirt ground. The starved and impoverished children hiding behind the adults saw that scene gaping their mouths open in astonishment.
"This is the entire wages to pay for the first workday." Dale pointed his finger at the pile of money, speaking clearly: "Whoever comes up registering their name going to work today will receive their wages in advance right today!"
The entire plot of land sank into silence for another while again.
Then from within the crowd, an old woman with a hunched back leaning on a cane slowly separated from the row, silently stepping forward to the front. The old woman’s figure was tiny, skinny to the point the old coat draped over her body looked like it was being hung on a dried-up coat hanger. She stopped her footsteps before the wooden table, raising her cloudy eyes looking at Dale, her trembling aged voice speaking up:
"Official boy, this old body is weak already, not having enough strength to hold the hoe anymore. Then going out to the construction site picking up rocks assisting everyone is it counted as a workday, sir?"
Dale froze slightly because of surprise, then he nodded very firmly, his gaze resolute: "Yes it is, ma’am. Picking up rocks cleaning the canal bank is also counted as one workday."
"Then please record this old one’s name into the ledger. This old one’s name is Agnes."
Dale carefully and neatly recorded her name into the ledger, then he personally counted exactly twenty-five copper coins, gently placing them into the old woman’s wrinkled, skinny palm. Agnes slowly grasped those few copper coins tightly, her aged hand trembling violently due to emotion. She completely did not look down at the money amount in her hand but turned her head looking toward the blocked dam in the distance. She looked for a very long time, her gaze containing resentment and liberation, then leaned on her cane silently returning to her original place.
Following Agnes’s action, the middle-aged man speaking up questioning earlier also gathered all his courage stepping forward registering his name. After that was a healthy young man, then a woman carrying a child in her arms, then those two brothers pushing each other running up at the same time. In just the blink of an eye, before the tiny wooden table an extremely long line of people had queued up. Dale’s hand was tired registering names unable to keep up, Steven had to pull a chair sitting down assisting counting money giving it to each person.
While everyone was hurriedly registering names, old Borin had led several robust young men in the village walking along the East bank of the stream to start planting stakes surveying. He carefully placed the long wooden trough onto two solid supporting legs, pouring water into the groove on the trough, patiently waiting for the water surface to be absolutely flat then narrowed one eye to look along the water edge.
Finishing looking and calculating, he shouted at a young man holding a wooden stake going down downstream exactly one hundred footsteps, then marking on the stake body a line lower than the old line about two finger joints. Continuing following the manual yet extremely accurate slope measurement method like that, this stake followed that stake. The row of stakes was planted from the source head lying deep inside Lyra’s land, following the barren gravel strip of land, detouring behind Voss’s dam, running straight down to the village.
The idle children in the village curiously tagged along behind old Borin’s back, every single kid keeping standing on tiptoe peering into the strange water trough.
The Dwarf old man being asked relentlessly by the kids right by his ears to the point of getting frustrated, ultimately he had to clear his throat explaining one curt sentence: "Water only flows from a high place to a low place. A dug canal without a slope the water lies stagnant in one place forming scum, while if digging too steeply the fast current erodes collapsing both banks. Understood yet you brats?"
The kids looked at each other, answering crisply in unison: "Not understood yet!"
Old Borin: "..."
At this time on the dam bank, butler Pym had stood rooted looking at the newly planted wooden stake row for a long time. Initially when first seeing it, he even thought the Lyra people were idle planting stakes into the ground playing for fun, but the more he looked at the path of the stake row, the whiter his complexion became like a corpse.
That stake row had a starting point from high above the dam, running entirely within the rocky strip of land his master had just sold outright, detouring behind the dam then pouring straight down to Millbrook village. This canal path completely did not touch even a single square meter of land still belonging to the Voss family’s ownership rights.
Pym realized the problem, turning his head fleeing as fast as his legs could carry him running straight toward the manor.
When the panting butler burst through the door running into the study, Baron Voss was still lounging sitting recounting the gold bag, on the table was also displayed a bottle of red wine already half-drunk.
"Lord... Lord!" Pym spoke out of breath, his hand pointing out the window: "The Lyra City Hall people are planting stakes along the rocky beach, they planted from the dam head running straight down all the way to the village!"
"So what?" Voss did not even bother to look up, still counting money clicking: "The land was sold to them already, they want to plant their ancestors’ graves on it then plant, what does it have to do with you."
"But Lord, they intend to dig a water canal detouring around our dam!"
Voss’s hand counting gold suddenly halted in mid-air.
He snapped his head up, his face as red as a fighting cock, springing up making the precious wine bottle tip over spilling onto the table. "Bastards! Unacceptable! I absolutely will not allow them to do that! I will..."
But scolding up to here his throat stiffened, he also did not know what he could possibly do to stop them.
Pym hesitated for a long time before daring to mumble reminding his master: "Lord... the land sale title transfer deed from the other day already had your seal stamped on it."
"Who allowed stamping the seal?" Voss roared.
"Yes... it was personally stamped by your hands."
Voss seemed to be drained of all his strength, slumping down onto the armchair. He stared intently at the shiny gold bag on the table, his mouth opening then closing, a long time also unable to squeeze out another cursing sentence.
That afternoon, when the entire Lyra delegation packed up returning the sky had already begun to turn dusky. Kaelen had to walk an entire long day, also had to stand exposing himself outside in the sun supervising the entire session, by the time he waded up to the top of the slope his footsteps began to slow down completely.
It was unclear if his legs were truly tired or he was just being lazy acting coquettishly. Sane walking beside without saying a word, suddenly stepped forward to the front then squatted down right in front of him. Kaelen glared at his broad back once, but ultimately his lips still curled up, obediently climbing onto his back.
Sane carried him piggyback walking slowly along the newly planted wooden stake row from the afternoon. The shadows of the two intertwined into each other, casting long on the gravel strip of land under the sunset light.
Kaelen comfortably rested his chin on his sturdy shoulder, a while later finally raising his voice whispering: "Did you notice that old woman named Agnes earlier? She held her wages already but her gaze kept staring intently toward the Voss family’s dam endlessly."
"I saw it." Sane answered in a deep voice.
Kaelen did not speak anymore. He wrapped his arms tightly hugging Sane’s neck, peacefully closing his eyes. The wind from the stream direction blowing upward was refreshingly cool.
Somewhere from far away behind the backs of the two, the voices of the Millbrook village children excitedly running behind old Borin’s back asking endlessly about the water trough still echoed.