138: Chapter 136 Things are proceeding in an orderly manner.

Standing in the hallway outside the study, the Little Madam was dressed in a dainty, girlish style, and her hair was styled in a cute way.

However, her gloomy expression severely ruined that girlish charm.

Faced with her questioning, the Second Madam looked a bit bewildered. "This is the City Lord's study. I'm here, of course, to see the City Lord."

"Yesterday, Mr. Solon informed us that our dear's mood is very poor and that we shouldn't disturb him unless there's something important!"

These words, coming from the Little Madam who had meticulously dressed up and run to the study, were clearly hypocritical.

But whether the Second Madam truly didn't notice or was just pretending, she gave a small, apologetic smile. "The City Lord rested at my place last night. I thought he might be reminiscing about the past,"

"so I brought some old clothes. Perhaps the City Lord's mood will improve."

"Dear doesn't need your..."

"Since when do you get to decide my affairs?"

The "City Lord" pulled open the door and spoke to the two of them with an expressionless face.

Before they could speak, Zhang Mu looked at the Little Madam. "Go home and stay for a few days. Remember to convey my regards to your father."

The study door closed.

The Little Madam stood dazed for a few seconds before regaining her senses, her gaze fixed intently on the Second Madam.

After a long while, she turned and left, leaving the Second Madam standing there alone in confusion.

...

Returning to Blue Star, Zhang Mu paced back and forth in the factory workshop with his hands behind his back, sorting out the sequence of events.

He certainly couldn't purchase all the food and supplies on Blue Star; the quantity was too large and could easily trigger an official investigation.

Therefore, using food from Blue Star to manage things in the early stages was fine, but later he would definitely have to reclaim farmland near Gur City and plant grain on a large scale.

This couldn't be done by the refugees, otherwise, if everyone went to farm, who would build the structures he wanted?

Gur City had construction teams, but with only their small numbers, it would take forever to build all the houses, buildings, and rails he planned.

So, not only could he not arrange for the refugees to reclaim farmland, but he also had to ensure their wages for labor far exceeded what they could earn from planting crops.

This would encourage them to participate in the construction voluntarily.

After some thought, Zhang Mu had a general idea.

He would give the refugees participating in the projects two options for their wages.

First, they could receive their full pay in food, drinking water, and other daily necessities. Second, half of it could be exchanged for money.

This way, the pressure on food supplies could be reduced in the early stages.

Later on, Zhang Mu planned to bring the members of the Resistance Army out of the Silent Forest. Along with the female relatives among the refugees who weren't suited for heavy physical labor, they would engage in centralized, large-scale farming around Gur City.

By bringing high-yield crop seeds from Blue Star and using the Song of the Forest, things should basically stabilize.

His furrowed brows relaxed, and Zhang Mu took out his phone to contact the agent who had helped him buy the factory.

...

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the City Lord's study, early morning.

Zhang Mu sat behind the desk, listening to Solon's report on the recent developments regarding the refugees.

Under the serious orders of this "City Lord," the various departments of Gur City's administrative system were very diligent.

Most of the Soldiers from the army were sent to clear a patch of open ground by the river two kilometers from Gur City, where they set up enough tents to accommodate thirty thousand people.

The refugees who arrived in Gur City one after another thought they would be driven to the mountains and forests far from the city to reclaim land, but they never expected to move directly into tents that could shield them from the wind and rain.

There was also free white bread distributed by the Soldiers.

Next, Solon reported that order within the temporary camp was excellent.

With Soldiers, Professionals belonging to Gur City, and Adventurer Groups who had taken up missions from the City Lord's mansion patrolling the perimeter, there was no need to worry about security.

Putting down a stack of gray paper, Solon asked, "City Lord, the refugees are basically settled and stable."

"But in just three days, Gur City's granary is almost empty."

"There will be enough wheat and vegetables delivered tomorrow."

Solon didn't press Zhang Mu on where "enough" food could be sourced from when all the surrounding cities were destroyed. Instead, he asked, "When will the labor projects the City Lord mentioned a few days ago begin?"

With a slight smile, he took a stack of blueprints from the desk drawer and handed them to Solon.

Taking them and flipping through a few pages, Solon asked in confusion, "These buildings don't seem to have any practical value."

"Additionally, these two parallel wooden sticks... I've seen them in the Church's 'God's Gifts: A Comprehensive Collection.' They are called... rails?"

Solon looked up. "They are used to shorten travel time between two cities."

"But the Lake Kingdom's territory isn't large enough to need them; usually, only empires with vast territories would build and use them."

Standing up with a smile, Zhang Mu said, "I have my uses for them."

"Come, let's go see the temporary camp outside the city."

The two of them walked out of the study, called for Domit, who had been promoted to "Captain of the Personal Guard," and strode toward the city gate.

On the way, Zhang Mu estimated the completion time in his head.

To be as fast and reasonable as possible, he didn't follow the movie exactly and modified many details from the original work.

Otherwise, when people entered the 'world' and saw it, they'd think, 'My goodness, this Hogwarts that has stood for thousands of years, why does every part of it look exactly like the movie released in 2001?'

That would be too absurd.

So, when Zhang Mu called the Gur City construction team to survey and draw Professional construction blueprints, he decided not to change the overall environmental structure.

For example, there would still be Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, an elevated rail crossing a long, narrow lake, and a dark forest inhabited by magical creatures outside the academy.

However, it wouldn't be in the Scottish style from the movie, but rather according to the style here on the Saul Continent.

An environmental structure similar to the original work could explain where Rowling's creative inspiration came from.

The inconsistent architectural style would make people entering the 'world' subconsciously think that, indeed, the movie was just filmed in a real-world location, so how could it look exactly like the real Hogwarts?

"City Lord, we have arrived."

Waking from his thoughts, Zhang Mu looked at the temporary camp not far away.

The massive cluster of tents stretched for miles, surrounded by a wooden fence, and travel-worn refugees could be seen moving within.

Zhang Mu stepped toward the gate.

"Good day, City Lord!" the Soldiers on duty on both sides of the gate greeted him loudly.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Zhang Mu led Domit and Solon through the gate and wandered around the tent cluster.

"Sir," after walking for a while, he stopped a man whose facial skin was so rough that his specific age couldn't be determined. "Are you living well?"

He turned around, saw the three of them in clothes made of exquisite fabric, and hurriedly knelt. "My Lord!"

"Stand up and speak." Zhang Mu, not quite used to being knelt to, wanted to step forward and help him up, but was stopped by a look from Solon.

Realizing his behavior was inconsistent with his identity as the City Lord, he stopped in his tracks.

In that brief interval, the man had already stood up. "My Lord, when are we going to the mountains to reclaim farmland?"

Startled, Zhang Mu scratched his head. "Is the food here not good?"

"This is the first time I've eaten white bread for several days in a row, My Lord."

"Then is the housing not good?"

"There are tents and Guards to protect us; it couldn't be better, My Lord." He rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Then why are you in such a hurry to farm?"

"I heard that the white bread distributed by the Soldiers was all by the order of the merciful City Lord." He smiled ingenuously. "We are grateful for the City Lord's kindness."

"But we have nothing to give in return. We only hope to reclaim the farmland quickly and sow the seeds before next spring."

"That way, we can pay the grain tax next year."