HTLCCBFT Chapter 101

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 101

Time flies.

The busiest phase of the autumn harvest has concluded, and the Autumn Market is about to commence.

Yet in most cities, only the common folk can partake in this joy.

The nobles, though few in number and possessing the most resources, are rarely affected by whether the harvest is bountiful or not.

As for the slaves, they forever have endless tasks to attend to.

In stark contrast, the time left for them to prepare for winter themselves each day is pitifully scarce.

Even livestock are allowed to rest for a while after pulling the plow.

But slaves, who provide no taxes to the Lord and are seen as idle freeloaders if not working, are not permitted to rest in any city.

It is precisely because of this that when arriving in Laina City—which has undergone a remarkable transformation and looks entirely different from before—the first thing to catch the attention of merchants who missed the Summer Market and only made it for the Autumn Market is the astonishing sight of “slaves not working, but gathered together reading books!”

“Slaves reading books!”

As the only bookseller among the merchants attending the Autumn Market, Booke was so shocked he could hardly close his gaping mouth.

“Incredible!” He shook his head in disbelief. “To allow slaves with their filthy hands to touch delicate books and absorb knowledge their dull minds can’t possibly comprehend…”

If it weren’t for the fact that this was the Duke’s doing, he would have thought the lord must be mad!

How are slaves worthy of reading? It’s as bizarre as seeing livestock read!

Merchants who had experience attending Laina’s Summer Market were somewhat better off; after a brief astonishment, they quickly accepted it all.

They even eagerly pulled along those who had also been here before, wandering around everywhere—leaving their luggage and goods entirely to their attendants to handle.

By the way, the square provided by Laina City for the Autumn Market, though still in the same location as last time, has been expanded to twice its previous size!

Not only is the space more spacious, but it has also been luxuriously paved with neat wooden planks for flooring, and sheltered wooden huts have been built to protect against rain and wind, serving as temporary rental shops for them.

No merchant had any complaints about this.

In the past, Laina City offered free market spaces to attract merchants, but… was that even a square? Were there any shops? It was utterly a stinking pit reeking of filth!

Now, being able to display the goods they specially brought in such comfortable and beautiful shops—comparable to those they set up in other towns—they were all quite satisfied after just a brief look.

Those who brought livestock goods could even place their animals in temporary grazing areas guided by guards without spending a single coin, as long as they provided the manure, which was a headache to deal with anyway.

Since roads become particularly difficult to travel once frozen, merchants willing to traverse between cities in the icy snow are always very few. Most merchants are unwilling to miss the Autumn Market—the time of year when people’s wallets are fullest and they are most willing to purchase supplies in preparation for the harsh winter.

Many other merchants came out of curiosity, having heard from fellow merchants who attended Laina’s Summer Market about the dramatic changes Laina City has undergone under the Duke’s leadership.

Unlike the others who were idling about, Booke was fixedly staring at the slave sitting on the nearby ridge, deeply engrossed in pondering over the book in his hands.

He restrained himself repeatedly but ultimately couldn’t resist. temporarily setting aside his reserve, he approached and asked directly, “Hey, that book in your hand—can I take a look?”

Startled by the interruption, the slave hesitated upon seeing Booke’s rather splendid attire.

Of course, he was unwilling, but he didn’t dare refuse outright. Reluctantly handing over the book, he repeatedly urged, “Please, whatever you do, don’t damage it.”

Slaves will be slaves, Booke thought disdainfully.

To maintain appearances, his family had purchased nearly a hundred books, a collection that even surpassed that of many minor nobles. How could he be careless enough to damage a book that even a slave’s grubby hands had touched?

Catching sight of the slave’s anxious demeanor from the corner of his eye, Booke couldn’t help but inwardly scoff at his exaggerated concern.

But when he actually took the thick volume in hand and opened it, he was utterly astonished.

The foundational content at the beginning was, of course, familiar to him.

Whether from his own childhood or that of the children in his household, what they learned was essentially the material provided by the Divine Temple. Even between different Divine Temples, the content was largely similar.

However, after turning past the few thin pages of basics, the content became entirely different.

Instead of the dizzying, intricate religious doctrines and rules, or exhortations to piety—which, of course, meant paying more taxes and making greater contributions to the Divine Temple—there was one short story after another.

For instance, the title on this page was “Tom and the Hen.”

“The hen lays an egg every other day. Tom thought that if he fed the hen more barley, it would lay more eggs each day. So, he fed it this way every day. As a result, the hen grew fatter and fatter, until eventually it stopped laying eggs altogether.

“So, what does this story illustrate?”

After reading this far, Booke flipped to the next page, only to find the next story, “Two Fighting Roosters.”

“And the answer?”

Driven by curiosity, he couldn’t help but ask the slave.

Subconsciously, Booke expected the answer to be some cautionary tale like “Slaves are insatiable creatures who end up deserving nothing.”

But considering that this lord was generous enough not to completely exhaust even the slaves’ labor and even provided books for them to study, he thought perhaps the answer might be different.

The slave gave him a subtle look. “The answer is at the very end.”

This merchant, who seemed smarter than him, couldn’t even be bothered to think and directly asked for the answer!

Even he knew to think it over first, discuss it with his family, and only then check what the answer said.

Booke didn’t catch the nuance in the slave’s expression and promptly flipped to the end to glance at the answer.

The reference answer for “Tom and the Hen” was: “The importance of a balanced feed mix when raising egg-laying hens. The types of feed should be maintained at a relatively stable level while ensuring a diversity of nutritional content, and the age of the hen should also be considered. When conditions permit, the recommended feed formula for chicks should be 60% corn, 10% bran, 20% soybean meal, 9% fish meal, and 1% bone powder; recommended feed formula for rearing chicks… The recommended feed formula for laying hens is 67% corn, 8% bran, 8% soybean meal, 8% fish meal…”

Booke, who never dreamed the content would be this hardcore: “……”

To help slaves with limited literacy—even after crash courses and basic education—understand easily, the textbooks were thoughtfully equipped with illustrations. For instance, beside the word “chick,” a simple sketch depicted a fluffy little chick, while growing chicks had much thinner and longer legs, and hens appeared fully feathered with lazy expressions.

The feed ratios were presented in a pie chart-like diagram, with simple icons drawn next to each ingredient. Even slaves with poor foundations could comprehend it.

The text then naturally expanded knowledge with minor extensions, such as methods to store corn to minimize mold, bitterness, and clumping…

These simple, easy-to-understand illustrations were, of course, taught by Oliver to Arte—making it easier to carve wooden blocks for printing and helping slaves grasp the content more readily. There was no way Arte could fully apply his training and paint oil paintings throughout the textbook—Laina’s enlightenment would have to wait forever otherwise.

Though Arte felt quite uncomfortable, he reluctantly accepted it, remembering it was the divine messenger’s suggestion and his ultimate goal was to pass the trial of the gods.

Booke was utterly stunned.

Originally intending to skim through a few pages quickly, he couldn’t help himself and, ignoring the increasingly anxious looks from the slave, stood there reading several more pages. When the slave could barely hold back, he had to return the book and borrowed another from a different slave who dared not show his anger.

After comparing them, he discovered something even more shocking: the content, handwriting, and page numbers of the two books were exactly the same!

Booke stood there dumbfounded.

“This can’t be!” he blurted out.

Even if copied by the same person, it was impossible to produce identical handwriting!

“What’s wrong?” Hahn the chicken vendor, having just set down his luggage and wandering around, couldn’t resist approaching when he saw the usually arrogant Booke standing there blank-faced, like a fool.

Booke, his mind in a daze, handed the book to Hahn. “Hey, buddy, take a look at this! Do you usually raise chickens this meticulously?”

Hahn, confused, took the book and, after reading the chapter, shook his head in amazement. Though he had some tricks to improve chick survival rates… he’d never been this precise!

What concerned Booke most now wasn’t the content but the fact that the two books were identical. Scanning the field and seeing other slaves scattered about, studying diligently in the sunlight, he felt another chill—the books they held were likely identical too!

How on earth did Duke Oliver manage this?!

Meanwhile, Hahn, as he read on, found the content immensely beneficial and couldn’t bear to put the book down. Although the textbook didn’t cover an extensive amount on chicken farming, it was far from scarce, and to aid beginners, it not only included…With numerous illustrations and the most concise language, it also emphasized a gradual, step-by-step approach from simple to complex.

He couldn’t help but wish to read it all in one breath.

After reading the chicken-raising content with great urgency, he still felt deeply unsatisfied: “What is this?”

“Sir, this is a textbook,” the slave replied proudly. “It is the primary textbook granted by the great Cat God through the divine messenger for us to study.”

“This is only a primary textbook?”

Hahn widened his eyes and asked in disbelief.

The slave looked at him suspiciously and nodded, speaking loudly, “The Lord himself said that once enough people have mastered the wisdom bestowed by the Cat God, more wisdom will be granted!”

Hahn gasped.

Even the chicken-raising content mentioned in the primary textbook had been so helpful to him! He couldn’t even imagine how profound the intermediate and advanced textbooks would be.

If the slave hadn’t been watching him closely, ready to call the guards to arrest him if he didn’t return the book, he would have really wanted to…

“Hey, let me ask you,” Hahn reluctantly stroked the book cover before returning it to the slave, who in his eyes was simply wasting such a treasure, “can we buy this book?”

“Merchant.”

Before the slave could answer, a calm yet startlingly authoritative voice suddenly spoke from the side.

They all turned their heads simultaneously and discovered it was a knight!

“This is the wisdom granted by the great Cat God through the divine messenger exclusively to the believers of Laina,” knight Kane said coldly. “Even guests are not allowed to borrow it freely without special permission.”

“Sir Knight,” Hahn couldn’t help but ask, “I’m willing to become a believer too! May I ask where the Divine Temple is?”

Kane frowned, giving him a warning look, and emphasized, “Listen clearly, it’s for believers of Laina.”

Unless Hahn moved his entire family to Laina, it would be impossible for him to become a Laina believer.

This felt like a bucket of cold water being poured over Hahn and Booke, who had been openly eavesdropping.

“Oh, I… I understand.”

Although he desperately wanted more knowledge about raising chickens, he wasn’t so foolish as to move to this remote place called Laina.

However, based on what he had seen so far, it could no longer be described as “poor and barren.”

Looking at the vast, endless fields with their bountiful crops, no one would associate today’s Laina City with the deathly wasteland it had been before Duke Oliver arrived.

After knight Kane and the slave had left, Hans shrugged nonchalantly to cover his embarrassment and said to the thoughtful Booke, “It’s unbelievable that they’re so extravagant as to let slaves read books and master such important knowledge!”

But Booke said thoughtfully, “I’d rather see the Lord in person and ask him how he managed to make all those books look exactly the same!”

Of course, he could see the enormous value behind that technology—if he could buy it, or even just borrow it, he would definitely be able to gain tremendous profits!

Oliver certainly hadn’t expected that the block printing technique he had people develop would attract the attention of book merchants so quickly.

He considered himself rather fortunate in this regard: in this peculiar era, paper wasn’t an exceptionally scarce resource, with low-quality paper even being relatively cheap, yet there were no proper printing techniques—books were entirely handwritten.

To the surprise of both Booke and Hahn, who had been standing there discussing, knight Kane quickly returned.

In Kane’s hand was the ledger used by the guards at the city gate to register them.

He completely ignored Booke, who was dressed in more ornate and eye-catching robes, and instead looked directly at Hahn, saying in a low voice, “Hahn?”

Hahn froze for a moment, then replied uneasily, “Yes, it’s me, Sir Knight.”

What had happened?

After confirming his identity, Kane gave a slight nod. “Come with me.”

Though Hahn wouldn’t dare ask further, Kane still curved the corners of his lips slightly, offering a somewhat stiff, ceremonial smile. “His Highness wishes to summon you.”

“What!”

Booke cried out involuntarily!

This Hahn, who always carried the unpleasant stench of chicken droppings and down, had actually been lucky enough to receive an invitation from the castle and was being allowed inside!

Yet neither Hahn, who had been struck by unexpected fortune, nor the aloof Kane, would offer him any explanation.

Watching Hahn shrink timidly as he followed Kane toward the castle, Booke’s face turned green with envy.

“Damn it, what a lucky bastard!”

He stomped his foot in frustration, muttering under his breath.

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TL Note: I’m back! Slowing down releases so I have a bit more built up – meaning no bulk release mondays for now.