Chapter 93: The Deaf, Lustful Madman’s Decision

After the farmers dispersed with Zheng Jun, Li Zhan established specific reward and penalty standards for the villagers in the four professions of cotton farmers, fishermen, quarry workers, and hunters. Once they had also left, the only ones remaining in the formation before Li Zhan were the villagers with specialized roles, including garment production staff (spinners, dyers, weavers, and production workers), craftsmen, builders, animal trainers, inn staff, and shop assistants.

Li Zhan classified these individuals as the first batch of official employees of Yanhuang Village and registered them. Their benefits included three meals a day and lodging provided entirely by the village, a daily wage of fifteen copper coins, and extra rewards for overtime or exceeding production quotas (which were set by the system for each villager once the private ownership system was upgraded). At the end of each month, outstanding employees would be evaluated, given salary raises, and prioritized for housing in the courtyard dwellings. For now, he nominated four people as team leaders to lead their subordinates in performing their duties. These four were:

Zhou Min—Leader of the Garment Production Team. She would lead eighty-six spinners, weavers, dyers, and production workers, assisting Deputy Mayor Ruo Yan in managing garment production. She was tasked with ensuring quality while increasing efficiency and was required to resolve any issues during production or report them immediately if she could not handle them herself. Her daily wage was twenty-five copper coins, to be effective once her injuries healed.

Wang Hui—Leader of the Joint Workshop Comprehensive Assembly Team. He was responsible for leading three craftsmen to complete all production and research tasks assigned by the village. He was to strive for resource conservation while providing reliable and stable military and civilian goods for the village, as well as overseeing ship production at the shipyard. His daily wage was twenty-five copper coins. As Wang Hui was in Danyang, his formal appointment would take place upon his return that evening.

Tang Feng—Leader of the Joint Workshop Rough Processing Team. Since there were no other resources available for processing in the village at present, Old Tang's work mainly involved leading Feng Gang and one craftsman in researching various leather goods and leather armor, aiming to improve their quality and output quickly so that the leather armor could enter the market once self-sufficiency was achieved. His daily wage was twenty copper coins.

Zheng Jun—Assistant to the Mayor and Leader of the Construction Team. He was to assist Mayors Li Zhan and Ruo Yan in village affairs while leading his five builders in rational planning and construction. When both mayors were absent, he was to assume all duties of the acting mayor and was authorized to act first and report later when necessary to seize opportunities. His daily wage was twenty-five copper coins.

With the villagers planned out, only Zhao Ming’s eleven swordsmen and militiamen remained, along with the five archers under Zhang Feng. Li Zhan set corresponding wage standards for them based on their military branches and ranks. With this, the upgrade of Yanhuang Village to a private ownership system was complete.

After the soldiers dispersed, they returned to their posts to continue patrolling, their attitudes more earnest and their postures straighter.

The wandering players, seeing that there was no more excitement, also dispersed in groups of three or five, heading toward leveling spots while discussing the novelty of the private ownership assembly in Yanhuang Village.

Ruo Yan organized her notepad and transmitted the recorded data to Li Zhan before turning to head upstairs to continue designing uniforms for the swordsmen and archers.

Li Zhan browsed through the information on the notepad. After putting it away, he recalled the military shipyard and wondered about the progress of the arrow ships. Yesterday, after the civilian shipyard was built, Li Zhan had immediately ordered all soldiers stationed at the watchtower by the dock to strictly forbid any vessels from entering the bay. From that moment on, the bay had officially become the military port of Yanhuang Village. At the same time, he had instructed the three craftsmen assigned to Wang Hui that morning to begin building arrow ships at the military shipyard. The target was to build three ships (there were currently seven arrow ships in the Danyang County military port).

Arrow Ship: Military Vessel
Performance: Primary offensive vessel
—Attack: 5
—Weapon: Bows and arrows (one ballista can be equipped at the stern; each ballista occupies 3 crew slots)
—Range: 5
—Defense: Armor 1/Shield 1
—Durability: 270 (sinks when durability reaches 0)
—Capacity: 25
—Speed: D (S is highest, E is lowest)
—Propulsion: Oars
Description: A primary military river-class ship, the only offensive vessel in the Feudal Age. Compared to land units, its attack and defense are mediocre, but it excels in water combat. Attack, defense, and speed can be enhanced through the Joint Workshop or Shipyard. The next upgrade version is [Warship], which requires the [Castle Age].
Cost: Each arrow ship requires 750 wood and 120 gold to produce.
Bonus: Can allow southern soldiers to learn the naval skill [Level 15 (inclusive) and above].

Upon entering the production workshop of the shipyard, Li Zhan saw the three craftsmen busy working around an arrow ship that was beginning to take shape. The workshop was located on one side of the shipyard; its exterior was tall, but the floor was almost level with the river, making it very spacious. Less than ten centimeters below the floorboards was the river water. This architectural style meant that once a ship's hull was finished, it could use its own buoyancy to float in the waterway connecting the workshop to the outside. After the ship's superstructure was installed, it could immediately sail out of the workshop and into the bay.

This "wet dock" construction method is suitable for smaller-tonnage vessels, such as fishing boats, arrow ships, and merchant ships. Its characteristics are fast production speed and flexibility; ships can sail away immediately upon completion. The disadvantage is that it cannot handle larger vessels or perform tasks like hull reinforcement. Conversely, "dry dock" construction methods can overcome these two shortcomings.

Of course, with the shipbuilding technology of the Feudal Age, one can only build ships using the wet dock method. Upgrading to a dry dock requires at least the Castle Age. Seeing Li Zhan walk in, the three craftsmen greeted him. Li Zhan nodded and acknowledged them, letting them continue their work. Thanks to the incentive mechanism of the private ownership system, these three craftsmen worked without any slack, their attitudes exceptionally diligent. Li Zhan circled the arrow ship; forty-five percent of the construction was complete, and they were currently busy building the arrow parapets on the gunwales.

After watching for a while, Li Zhan nodded with satisfaction. Just then, he heard a female player scream outside, followed by a commotion. Li Zhan hurried out of the workshop to the dock and looked toward the source of the sound.

He saw two terrified female players huddled together. Beside them, dozens of players who had just come off the new shipyard were frantically squeezing into a cargo ship docked at the pier, causing it to rock so violently it nearly capsized. About a hundred meters away from these players, at the edge of the dense forest by the dock, stood seven war wolves, staring blankly at the people before them.

The players were well aware of the terror of war wolves. With their current levels, they were no match for them. Usually, encountering just one while leveling would scare them half to death; seeing seven suddenly appear had terrified them out of their wits.

The moment he saw the war wolves, Li Zhan suddenly remembered that today was the "third day" mentioned by the Alpha wolf. Whether they would agree to his original request depended on the Alpha's answer today.

Thinking of this, Li Zhan immediately ordered a fisherman working near the dock to go to the Village Center and fetch Jin Xue. Subsequently, Li Zhan walked over to the two female players and told them and the players on the cargo ship not to be afraid, as these seven war wolves would not harm anyone. Reassured by the Mayor's promise, the players slowly stepped off the cargo ship and stood on the dock, curiously eyeing the seven war wolves. The two female players seized the opportunity to hide in the crowd on the dock.

A while later, Jin Xue arrived from the Village Center and went straight to Li Zhan. Li Zhan led Jin Xue to the seven war wolves, asking her to communicate with the Alpha and first express his gratitude: if the seven war wolves had not appeared suddenly during the night raid by the "True Love" tribe, the Yanhuang tribe might have been wiped out or forced to migrate, let alone upgraded to a village. He then asked for the Alpha's stance on the night patrols.

After Jin Xue established communication with the Alpha, she conveyed Li Zhan's gratitude and inquiry. Regarding the inquiry, the Alpha indicated that during the several discussions over the past three days, four of the brothers had initially been firmly opposed. However, after the constant persuasion of the two brothers who had been saved by the Yanhuang tribe, their stance had gradually softened until they all finally agreed. Since the brothers had agreed, the Alpha naturally had nothing more to say.

However, the Alpha had one request to convey to Li Zhan:

"The seven of us are used to freedom. Agreeing to patrol the village at night today doesn't mean we won't leave tomorrow to return to our old lives. Of course, when we leave, we will inform Mayor Li. We hope the Mayor is mentally prepared and will not force us to stay." (The Alpha naturally wouldn't speak so logically; this was Jin Xue's supplement based on the Alpha's intent.)

After hearing Jin Xue's account, Li Zhan nodded in agreement. Such things could not be prevented just by saying no. Although the village had once saved two of the wolves, the seven wolves had also saved the village; they were even. In fact, Li Zhan felt the village owed them a debt of gratitude. He was already overjoyed that the seven wolves had agreed to the night patrol; he had no other extravagant demands.

Knowing Li Zhan's stance through Jin Xue, the Alpha felt relieved. Li Zhan had Jin Xue lead the seven war wolves to the dense forest south of the village, and instructed Zheng Jun and two builders to select a suitable location in the forest to build a comfortable, all-wood shed for them.

The players on the civilian dock remained stunned, unable to process what had just happened even after Li Zhan and Jin Xue disappeared with the seven war wolves. "Taming Skill"! "War Wolves"! Why did Yanhuang Village have so many strange and miraculous things? It was truly an eye-opener.

Soon after, the "New Discoveries" section of the game forum exploded. Dozens of threads with bizarre titles—such as "The Enigmatic Ambiguity Between Yanhuang and War Wolves," "Taming Skill No Longer a Legend," and "The Untold Story Between Yanhuang Village and War Wolves"—were pushed to the top. Overnight, Yanhuang Village became widely known among players, nearly rivaling top Chinese-region villages like "Prosperous Tang" (Mayor: Scallion Dip in Bean Paste), "Damn Cow B" (Mayor: Impotent Thief), and "Dream Awakening" (Mayor: Heart-Drunk Dream Awakening).

The news of Yanhuang Village possessing war wolves spread like wildfire, soon reaching the ears of Long Yin Feng. Last time, Long Yin Feng had been deceived by Li Zhan, who united several tribes to destroy the True Love tribe. By the time Long Yin Feng found out, Li Zhan and the other chiefs had already led their soldiers back to their respective tribes.

Long Yin Feng, having missed the chance to attack, was furious. He sent people to Yanhuang Village to buy militia uniforms under the guise of an allied tribe, only to receive a "no stock" reply. This made Long Yin Feng, in his rage, suspect that Li Zhan had seen through his intentions. Thinking this, Long Yin Feng immediately spent a large amount of gold—gained from previous iron ore sales—to purchase iron swords, greaves, and bracers, fully arming his fifteen militiamen. This morning, he upgraded to the Feudal Age and produced five archers, bringing the total number of soldiers in the Mad Lust Village to the limit of twenty.

Just as Long Yin Feng was eager to unite with the few tribes under his command to launch a surprise attack on Yanhuang Village one night, he received the news about the war wolves. This news was like a bombshell, causing Long Yin Feng’s brain to short-circuit for a while.

"Damn it! I don't know where this Li Zhan digs up so many tricks! Everyone, speak up, what should we do next?"

Recovering from his stupor, Long Yin Feng asked the several chiefs gathered in his village hall.

Encouraged by Long Yin Feng, the chiefs, whose military power had greatly increased, spoke with an arrogance that lacked any sense of reality, changing from their usual timid demeanor. In response to Long Yin Feng's inquiry, the chiefs expressed their views: "So what if there are war wolves? If we unite all our militiamen, we'll have at least eighty or ninety people. We can concentrate our forces to wipe out the war wolves first, and then we can safely attack Yanhuang Village. The friend function is disabled during war; even if Li Zhan has god-like abilities, he can only watch as we destroy his village bit by bit. Yanhuang Village is the leader of those tribes; once we take it, conquering the rest is just a matter of time."

"Are you stupid? How many militiamen would we lose to wipe out seven war wolves? At least fifty or sixty. Besides, would Yanhuang Village just sit by and watch us attack the wolves? Li Zhan has five swordsmen! And one high-level archer (referring to Zhang Feng, as the chiefs mistakenly assumed he was a high-level archer because he didn't ride a horse)! Those six alone are enough for us to deal with, not to mention the dozen or so regular militiamen and archers. If we attack Yanhuang Village now, let alone winning, it would be sheer luck if we could even retreat."

"Right, I also think it's not the time to attack Yanhuang Village. Although it is the leader of those tribes, attacking it would be like striking a snake at its seven inches, but with our current strength, even if we unite all our forces, it's hard to cause any significant damage to Yanhuang Village. Instead, we would suffer a major decline in strength due to the loss of our troops. I think we should set our target on the Thunderclap tribe. Thunderclap is the second strongest tribe among them, and I heard it's also about to upgrade to the Feudal Age. Once it upgrades, we'll have another strong opponent. We should destroy it now before the upgrade and seize its resources for our own use."

"You guys are so indecisive and annoying! It's giving me a headache. If nothing else works, let's just draw lots; whichever tribe we pick, we attack!"

Listening to the chiefs arguing, Long Yin Feng made up his mind. He waved his hand to signal them to stop and said slowly:

"Alright, no need to argue. I've decided: the next target is the Thunderclap tribe. Go back and prepare. Keep the friend function ready at all times and wait for my call."

When he arrived, it was just 5:00 AM game time. The sky had not yet fully brightened, and most wandering players—except for those who had been grinding all night—had not yet logged on. However, stimulated by the "private ownership" system, some villagers in Yanhuang Village had already risen early to work in the fields and logging camps. 7:00 AM was the usual time for villagers to cook, and these busy individuals wanted to get two extra hours of work done before cooking to earn a few more copper coins.

Since the "private ownership" system only tapped into a portion of the villagers' competitive psychology, only "some" had risen early; most were still sleeping in their wooden houses. However, this would change significantly once the village upgraded to the Castle Age—the stimulus of "capitalism" on the villagers would be unprecedented.

Although only a fraction of their competitive spirit had been tapped, in just one afternoon yesterday, the village's resource storage had already neared the equivalent of a full day's worth of work. Moreover, as the villagers' skills and levels increased, Li Zhan believed that once private ownership was fully rooted in their hearts, it was entirely possible for their work efficiency to increase three or four-fold.

The stone walls around the village had been completed yesterday afternoon. While inspecting them, Li Zhan had a sudden idea: he temporarily hired thirty wandering players to have their subordinates work under Zheng Jun's command to dig a moat around the stone walls, seven meters wide and three meters deep, connecting directly to the Han River.