36: fisherman Kent

Distributing over five tons of fish caught daily is enough to solve the Red River Territory's food shortage problem.

Just then, a voice sounded beside Rein, interrupting his thoughts.

"Lord!"

A fisherman nervously glanced at Rein before quickly lowering his head again.

"Do you have something to say?"

"Yes, Lord. I wanted to mention that although we've been catching a lot of fish every day recently, the fishing boats can't go out daily."

"The boats need maintenance, and the nets need care. We usually have to spend at least one full day ashore repairing the nets every five or six days. If we encounter Swift Aquatic Beasts while fishing, the nets might be damaged, and the maintenance time would be even longer."

"Furthermore, it's difficult to go out fishing during winter. Although the Red River doesn't freeze in winter, the fish in the river decrease significantly after the onset of winter, while the Swift Aquatic Beasts increase. We might even encounter Magic Beasts. Going out to fish would result in a drastic reduction in catch while significantly increasing the risks, so winter is not suitable for fishing."

"Of course, we are not afraid of danger; we are just afraid of damaging your Lordship's precious fishing boats."

The fisherman kneeling before Rein quietly explained this to him.

"What is your name?"

"My name is Kent, Lord."

Few ordinary subjects could speak to Rein so logically and clearly. Other farmers would only kneel and praise him or speak incoherently and nervously when they saw him.

"Kent, what you said is good. I'll make a note of it."

Rein turned and asked Fornal:

"Is there a foreman in charge of the Fishing Team?"

"Not yet, Lord. Usually, they manage themselves, as long as they hand over the catch on time. A specific foreman hasn't been assigned yet."

"Kent, starting now, you will be the foreman of the Fishing Team. These thirteen fishing boats will all be under your management. I am entrusting the duty of catching fish for the territory to you."

Kent looked up at Rein in surprise, slightly disbelieving what he had heard.

"Lord, are you saying I will manage everyone's fishing?"

"Yes, you will manage it. I won't interfere with the specifics, but I want as much fish as possible. The territory doesn't have much grain, and this fish catch is crucial for ensuring everyone in the territory can eat their fill."

"Do you have the confidence to manage the Fishing Team well?"

Hearing this, Kent nodded heavily.

"I have confidence, Lord. My family has been fishing for the lords in Redwood Town for generations. I am extremely familiar with fishing."

"Please rest assured, Lord. I will definitely catch more fish for you."

"Not just you alone. I want you to lead them to catch more fish for me together. Make good use of these thirteen fishing boats. I need more fish meat."

Rein said to Kent.

"If you need any help, tell me, and I will resolve it for you."

"I understand, Lord. I will definitely fulfill your requirements."

Rein surveyed the dock. This sole dock of the Red River Territory looked somewhat old and clearly hadn't been prioritized by the territory before, as it hadn't been repaired for a long time.

"Fornal, make a note: the dock's repair work must also be scheduled in the territory's upcoming construction projects."

"Yes, Lord!"

Rein told the kneeling fishermen to get up and continue working. He picked a few fish out of a basket and inspected them.

The fresh river fish were quite large; the smaller ones weighed five or six catties, and the slightly larger ones weighed over ten catties.

"Not bad. It seems the Red River Territory has abundant fish resources."

He looked at the endlessly rushing Red River. In the distance, the remaining fishing boats of the Red River Territory were fishing on the wide river surface.

"Keep enough of the fish you catch for your own rations. Everyone must eat their fill; don't save it. Only when you are full will you have the strength to work."

"Fornal, build a shed for processing the catch outside the town, near the fields. All the fish transported from the dock will be processed centrally in that shed."

"After processing, the fish guts can be used as fertilizer to enrich the fields. I will have the old farmers try to make fertilizer; you just need to transport the processed fish guts there."

"The processed fish meat should be transported directly to the sheds in the fields and the construction sites in town. Cook it into fish porridge and distribute it to everyone. Make sure everyone eats."

"This fish meat cannot be stored right now, so don't be stingy. It's only about five tons a day, which, once processed, amounts to only a little over one catty, or less than two catties, per person."

Hearing Rein's arrangements, Fornal did not say anything further this time.

"Yes, Lord!"

After arranging the work at the dock, Rein told Fornal to attend to the tasks he had assigned, while he walked toward the farmlands alone.

After Fornal and Rein left, Kent and the other fishermen at the dock finally relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Congratulations, Brother Kent! You were personally appointed by the Lord. It looks like the Lord thinks highly of you."

"Ah, we can't call you Brother Kent anymore. We must call you Foreman Kent."

Several fishermen gathered around Kent, laughing and joking.

The men were originally all subjects from Redwood Town and were familiar with each other, so their conversation was casual.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Your Big Brother is still your Big Brother, but if anyone dares to slack off, Big Brother's fist is hard and won't show mercy, okay?"

Kent said, waving his fist.

"Brother Kent, you're trying to scare me again! I'm not afraid; I can take a beating," a young man grumbled.

"Hahahahaha!"

The men burst into laughter.

"The Lord trusts me, so I must complete the task the Lord assigned and do even better. I must catch more fish to repay the Lord."

"Everyone heard just now: all the fish we catch are for everyone in the territory to eat. Even our brothers who farm the land will get to eat them. We must work hard."

"The Lord is truly different from the previous Baron. He is letting all of us eat this fish, with no limits—just eat until we're full. Where were these good things before? All the fish we painstakingly caught were handed over to Master Luke."

Everything within a lord's territory, including mountains, rivers, and everything else, belongs to the lord. Kent and the others couldn't eat even a single fish they caught before.

"Our current Master Rein is better. Not only does he give us barley porridge, but he also lets us eat fish. I've never been able to eat my fill every day like I have recently."

"Exactly! Exactly!"

These dozen or so Redwood Town survivors couldn't help but recall the hardships of the past.

"We must work hard for Master Rein and catch plenty of fish."

"Everyone, let's start! Work hard!"

Kent then enthusiastically led everyone into the work of fishing.

On the other side, Rein arrived at the stone bridge of Red River Town.

The entire Red River Territory originally had only two large structures: one was the Red River Fortress, and the other was the stone bridge currently under Rein's feet.

This stone bridge was built during the lifetime of Derrick's ancestor, Wild Wolf Knight Derrick. Derrick spent a fortune hiring a construction team from Rage Bear Fortress to build it. According to the Family Records Rein had seen, Mages were also involved in the construction at the time.

The entire stone bridge is made entirely of rock, nearly three hundred meters long and six meters wide. The bridge deck is over ten meters above the river surface. It spans the Red River from east to west, connecting the Red River Territory, which was split in half by the Red River, into one whole.

The stone bridge is named Red River Bridge, also called Derrick Bridge. It is the only bridge spanning the Red River in the entire Red River Valley. The remaining four Baronies have not constructed bridges across the Red River.

From Rein's perspective, this stone bridge was no small undertaking, especially for the Red River Territory over a hundred years ago.

"The founder of the Derrick Family back then certainly had unique foresight and great courage to spend vast financial resources building this stone bridge."

The importance of the stone bridge goes without saying. Having this bridge connecting the two banks ensured the integrity of the Red River Territory and allowed the territory to utilize the excellent farmland along both sides of the Red River.

Over a hundred years have passed, and the person who built the great bridge has passed away, but the stone bridge still stands tall above the Red River.

"Excellent. The quality is truly impeccable. It will be fine for another one or two hundred years. The ancestor's wisdom is beyond reproach; it saved me a lot of trouble."

If this stone bridge didn't exist, Rein would have had to find a way to build one himself, and who knows how long it would take him to gather the manpower, materials, and funds to complete it.

Standing on the stone bridge, Rein gazed at the farmlands along both banks of the Red River, taking in the sight of the green fields.

In the fields, small figures were working diligently.

"Bar is doing quite well. The construction of the irrigation ditches is fast, and the crops in the fields are being cared for nicely."

The widened and rebuilt ditches in the fields were conspicuous, and Rein took them all in. These were the water channels Bar had constructed according to Rein's requirements.

In just over ten days, these newly constructed ditches had already reached a certain scale.

"Bar has good ability; he can be properly nurtured later."

While Rein was watching the fields, a white shadow dashed out from the town and arrived on the stone bridge in the blink of an eye.

"Xiao Bai, what are you doing here?"

Rein saw that the rushing white shadow was indeed Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai ran to Rein's feet, rubbed against his calf, and let out a few low growls.

"Did something happen at the fortress?"

Understanding Xiao Bai's meaning, Rein stopped observing the fields and turned back toward Red River Fortress.

"Let's go, Xiao Bai. We'll head back now."