25 Basic Benefits (1/2)

_Gaia 1st year 24th day. A sunny day in the game._

Ouyang Shuo was riding Black Tornado, galloping through the wilderness. Since he had gained his horse, he had ridden it every morning like a wind through his lands. Black Tornado clearly liked the vast expanse of the wilderness compared to the narrow confines of the stables. Dew sprinkling from his hooves, facing the morning sunshine, he was clearly enjoying his run.

At Friendship River, over 2000 mu of farmland had been reclaimed, neat and orderly, set in four squares. He couldn’t see the far edge from where he rode. The river ditches had been dug, forming a simple and practical irrigation system for the farmland. The farmers were planting the sweet potato seeds in the furrows and were looking forward to the harvest in the future.

Ouyang Shuo studied the farm from the side, watching the rolling furrows and the busy farmers. He also could see the hope of a harvest. He could rely on the potatoes to help with some of the people’s food needs for the first half of the year. Looking over everything, according to the reports given to him, they were expected to be done planting by tomorrow.

He was very pleased with the efficiency of the Reclamation Division. Zhao Dexian was a real talent at management, whether it be the construction team before, or the Reclamation Division now. He had managed everything well, and never let Ouyang Shuo be disappointed. Ouyang Shuo firmly believed that after these experiences, Zhao Dexian could later assume even more important positions, such as his personal assistant.

Ouyang Shuo returned from his run along the farmland, taking less than half an hour to return to the village. On both sides of the village, two arrow towers had been built. Now there were two crossbowmen stationed by them, firmly guarding the entrances to Shanhai.

Coming through the main entrance, he was greeted by the first buildings of the commercial street. A basic grocery shop, intermediate smithy, intermediate woodshop, advanced tailor, advanced dojo, and other buildings rose on both sides of the street, bringing an aura of vitality to the area.

Yes, an advanced tailor shop and dojo, not basic level! This was related to setting the building level in the game. In the game, all buildings could be divided into five categories.

The 1st category included simple fences, residential small homes, towers, the ferry, and stables; things that were mostly living space provided by the building. These types of buildings were not hierarchical, and once built they could not be upgraded again. Thus, the fence could not be upgraded. It would have to be removed to construct stronger walls of brick.

The 2nd category included the smithy, tailor shop, woodshop, dojo, or hospital; buildings that produced something based on skilled experts. The smithy, for instance, did not determine if it could only build farm tools or also weapons; it was dependent on the level of the smith.

o, the level of those buildings was directly tied to the level of the expert working there. So when basic smith Li Tiezhu was promoted to an intermediate blacksmith, his smithy was likewise improved from basic to intermediate grade.

The 3rd category was a shipyard building. This type of building also relied on skilled personnel to achieve its function but was also very dependent on the facility itself.

Even if his shipyard had an advanced shipbuilder, but because the grade of the yard and dock were still at the basic level, so was the entire yard. Thus, the building itself had to be upgraded, as well as the person inside had to be at the right level in order to improve.

The 4th category included the village temple, ancestral hall, the market, and the barracks. These buildings themselves needed to be upgraded and didn’t require skilled personnel to do what they needed to do. Thus, to improve them, you had to acquire higher level building blueprints.

The 5th category were resource acquisition buildings, like the logging site, quarries, and mines. The level of those buildings was related to the volume of resources stored there and the number of people working them. As long as the resources stored were rich enough and the workforce expanded to a high enough level, they could be directly promoted.

According to the game settings, the basic level was up to 100 people. 100 to 500 people was the intermediate level, 500 to 1000 was the advanced level, and more than 1000 people for the special level.

At the end of the business street, Ouyang Shuo returned to his Manor and office within. On the desk, some paperwork were waiting, detailing the defense plan against the incoming beastwave worked out by General Shi.

He was not in a hurry to examine the papers, having been struck by a thought. Passing through the commercial street, he had seen many villagers going to work in their old clothes and suddenly realized that something should be done about that. The villagers worked hard every day for the territory yet the only thing he had done for them was ensuring they were well-fed.

He could still remember that when the Zhao villagers came to him, he had made them a promise: To let the villagers have clothes to wear, food to eat, and room to live.

The villagers were still wandering about in their original ragged clothes, and even Cui Yingyu, the lady of his household, had no decent clothes. But now, they had Mu Qingsi, an advanced tailor! His treasury had funds once again, it was time to improve everyone’s living conditions!

“Er Wazi!” Ouyang Shuo shouted out the door.

“Lord!” Er Wazi was out playing in the courtyard and answered immediately when Ouyang Shuo called for him, scampering rapidly into the office.

“Go find sister Cui and sister Mu and bring them to my office, I have something to say to them.”

“I have it covered!” Er Wazi shouted back energetically and trotted eagerly out of the office.