Chapter 80: The Coal Mine Found

After Mo Xiaobai promised him time and again, Mo Xiaoyou finally let go of her Big Brother and went off happily to play with Dong Yiyi.

Mo Xiaobai also left the manor. He wanted to see what potential changes had happened across the Territory after the new reforms were announced.

“Normally, the Territory Citizens worked very seriously, but today their mood is clearly different.”

“Even just looking at the smiles on their faces, there are many more than before.”

Mo Xiaobai thought deeply as he made his rounds. Many changes in a Territory cannot be seen by just looking at the numbers. At least, the Intellect Brain would not directly show each Territory Citizen’s mood to the Lord Player.

All of this must be figured out and explored by the player themselves.

Walking westward along the Farmland, the Medicine Field, and the Spirit Field, Mo Xiaobai saw Li Ji leading a group of freshly spawned Territory Citizens to build a Warehouse.

“Is Maogong building a new Warehouse?”

“My Lord, as various supplies in the Territory gradually accumulate, I believe we must sort and store them by category. The previous simple division into Granaries, Mine Storages, and General Storage is no longer enough,” Li Ji said immediately when he saw Mo Xiaobai asking. “It just so happens that more Refugees arrived today. Having them build storage houses will help them become familiar with Daming Village faster.”

“The storage houses indeed need to be divided carefully. Have you mentioned the wages to them?”

“I have mentioned it, but what about their payment?”

Since the construction worker was a new job class, Mo Xiaobai stroked his chin and spoke up: “Maogong, you select 50 people to be responsible for Territory construction. Pay them 2 Silver pieces a month, just like the Farmers.”

“Yes.”

Li Ji nodded in agreement, but Mo Xiaobai kept wondering if this constant approach was really the best way.

Li Ji’s expertise in civil affairs never compared to his achievements in the military. Meanwhile, Mo Xiaobai also lacked experience in managing a standard Territory. As the population of the Territory grew and more commercial buildings appeared, he needed to find a helper capable of governing a region on his own.

“There are no shortage of great talents in Lingyan Pavilion who have the qualities of a Prime Minister. But with more than a month left until February next year, distant water cannot put out a nearby fire. The Martial Temple also has Prime Ministers who are skilled in both culture and war; Zhuge is a fine example. However, based on my current Noble Rank, it is impossible to summon Zhuge from the Martial Temple for several years to come.”

“As for searching within the Plane, NPCs with high political Attributes are either clocking in at the Prefecture Cities and Wang Cities, or they are invisible and impossible to track.”

“In the future, I can find some potential candidates to train. But right now, what I urgently need is talent that can start working immediately.”

“Where exactly should I look?”

Leaving with this headache-inducing question, Mo Xiaobai thought about it all day until noon but could not find a viable solution in his memory. Even when A-Dai’s Rattan Armor Soldiers escorted the stone minerals back to the village with a message from Li Guang, Mo Xiaobai still could not come up with an idea.

However, as soon as Mo Xiaobai heard Li Guang’s message, the troubles in his mind were immediately pushed aside.

The team of two exploration Players had finally brought back good news after such a long time.

A coal mine had been found.

“My Lord, General Li said he went ahead to confirm whether the coal mine is real. If you are worried, Your subordinate can lead you and meet General Li at the mine site.”

“Very well. Let me get prepared. Order the other Rattan Armor Soldiers to escort the miners back. You come with me to the coal mine.”

Finding a coal mine was a major event for the Territory. Mo Xiaobai had already planned to leave for a trip soon, so now was the perfect time to handle everything together.

He called Li Ji over to give a few instructions. Then, Mo Xiaobai traveled light with only one Rattan Armor Soldier following him to the coal mine resource point.

Heading southeast away from the village, even with the two of them traveling quickly in light gear, it took two days and one night to arrive. This place was far from Daming Village, and there were even Player Territories closer to Daming Village nearby.

“It is nice to see you again.”

Arriving at the foot of the open-pit coal mine mountain, Mo Xiaobai saw A-Dai and Little Yue again. After glancing at them, he could tell that these two had gone through many hardships to find the mine.

Their exhaustion and dirty clothes told the whole story.

These things did not affect their mood at all. Seeing Mo Xiaobai, the two became even more excited than he was. Holding the black coal ores in their hands, they shouted excitedly: “We found the coal mine you wanted! We found it for you!”

Since the other two had found a coal mine, Mo Xiaobai was willing to show the proper attitude. He nodded and asked: “You worked hard. How big is this open-pit coal mine? Have you calculated it?”

“Eight li in diameter, but definitely more than eight li. This is a large mining area,” Little Yue said, the sharp-tongued and fiery-tempered female Player, as she gestured to show the scope. “Do you like the coal mine we found?”

“Although it is a bit far from my Territory, it is good overall. Please take me to the place where you discovered the ores,” Mo Xiaobai replied with a nod. He quickly followed the two of them as they started walking up the mountain.

The higher they climbed, the less vegetation there was on the mountain.

This phenomenon was rare in the vast Dang Mountain range, which was no wonder the two could find their way here.

“This is it.”

The female Player pointed to a shallow pit ten zhang ahead that had been dug. Through the surface of the mountain body, one could see that the inside of the shallow pit was filled with pitch-black coal. The entire depth of the pit did not exceed half an arm, and Mo Xiaobai knew clearly that such an open-pit mine was very convenient to mine.

“Indeed, this is a good mine.”

After confirming again, Mo Xiaobai was already tempted. He also raised his opinion of A-Dai and the other one.

Whether the two found it through skill or luck, since they found a coal mine, the transaction could be considered a great success. Mo Xiaobai took out three shiny Gold Coins and handed them to the girl. “This is your payment. I told you that as long as I am satisfied, you can get a generous reward from me.”

3 Gold Coins, plus the 1 Gold Coin from before.

In just over ten days, they earned a full 4 Gold Coins. This did not even include the wild beast resources they gained by taking Rattan Armor Soldiers out to fight monsters on their own time.

Such a speed of earning money was something A-Dai and Little Yue had never thought of before, nor would they have ever imagined it in their dreams.

Even if the two split the money equally, each would still get 2 Gold Coins!

Taking the Gold Coins from Mo Xiaobai’s hand, Little Yue immediately turned into a money-obsessed person. She hugged the coins tightly and did not let go, so excited that she could barely speak.

Her partner A-Dai, standing beside her, was also excited but not as wild as his female companion. He still remembered to thank the benefactor who helped him earn his first pot of gold: “We are truly very grateful. Ever since we lost our Territories, life in the Plane became extremely difficult for a while. Thank you for helping us get through this most difficult moment.”

“There is no need to thank me. You two found the coal mine yourselves.”

“If you had not appeared, we would never have thought we could make a living this way. To be honest, when I was searching for mines, I had an idea.”

“What idea?”

“At that time, I was thinking that if you truly kept your promise, perhaps we could cooperate one more time.” The male Player named A-Dai spoke out the thought that had briefly flashed through his mind: “You are a Great Lord in this area, but I can guess that developing two wild mining sites at the same time is not easy. This is the foundation of our cooperation.”

Listening to his words, Mo Xiaobai nodded and said: “Go on, what else?”

“I hope we can cooperate even more deeply in the coal mine. You provide the money to buy the ore, and I find people to mine it. After the first bandit sweep, too many Players like me lost their Territories. Many people are in a worse situation than Little Yue and I were at first. I can, like an NPC who posts hiring quests in the game, hire some Players who are willing to try.”