Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 178
For Oliver, this was his first day of conducting field research on the people’s livelihood, preparing for the upcoming urban redevelopment plan.
To avoid worrying Fosse, he had to return before nightfall, making every minute and second precious.
Gregor city was much larger than Laina, making it impossible to explore entirely in one day. However, he needed to visit the most typical and important areas.
In his original plan for reorganizing the urban districts, he intended to build upon the existing foundation—demolishing the city walls, expanding outward, and constructing public facilities like nurseries and hospitals on the outskirts.
But now, it was clear that the internal flaws of the city were too significant. There was no drainage or sewage system, leading to inevitable flooding during heavy rains. Moreover, the overall layout was highly irrational and riddled with fire hazards.
Most houses in the wealthy district were made of stone, and even the few wooden structures used the finest timber.
The brightly colored buildings, standing three to four stories tall, were most striking for their large windows—requiring hefty taxes to install—and the expensive stained glass embedded in them.
Many first-time visitors to Gregor paused here, gazing in awe and envy at these symbols of extreme wealth.
But the further east he went, the smaller, older, and more cramped the houses became. The narrow gaps between densely packed buildings were so tight that even a person turning sideways could hardly squeeze through.
All were wooden structures, making the prospect of a fire unimaginably disastrous.
“These must all be demolished in the future,” Oliver frowned, commenting, “Otherwise, a single fire could engulf the entire area, and everyone would suffer.”
He was not exaggerating—especially now, as noon approached, with many residents returning home to cook meals and small vendors conducting business from their homes. Chimneys everywhere billowed with smoke.
If just one household mismanaged their firewood, he had no doubt the whole street could instantly become an inferno.
And in such an event, there would be no fire brigade to rely on…
“Sigh.”
Thinking about the far greater number of changes needed than initially imagined, Oliver felt troubled. “This is going to be a massive project.”
First, demolishing the old, dilapidated houses was straightforward, but the residents had to be properly relocated beforehand.
That meant he needed to have simple, publicly rented residences built outside the city, providing each household with temporary relocation compensation so they could move in first.
Once the new houses were completed, they could either receive equivalent area replacements or a demolition compensation sum, allowing them to decide whether to purchase different layouts or relocate elsewhere.
As for the stone houses, they should be preserved as much as possible, left untouched if feasible: stone was too precious, and the wealthy’s homes were mostly well-constructed. Relocating them would damage the foundations, and replicating them exactly… was nearly impossible.
Even though his game backpack contained several stacks of stone materials, Oliver had no intention of using them. Instead, he aimed to solve problems using resources available within Gregor city.
He decided to designate the areas where the wealthy and the Divine Temple were located as the old town. As long as the castle remained in place, Gregor’s power center would not shift.
At the end of Havest Street, he planned to establish a new district with relatively low living costs but equally complete facilities. The center of this new district would be designated as the Divine Temple of the Cat God.
Financially, funds were more than sufficient, “thanks” to the McKenna family’s years of ruthless exploitation of those beneath them.
The wool comes from the sheep’s back, and now it was time for the money to go where it truly belonged.
The new houses would still be primarily made of wood, as it was impossible to afford the luxury of constructing them entirely from stone.
However, with reasonable distance allocation, proximity to water sources, and the organization of trained firefighters working in seamless shifts—along with educating every household on fire safety—the safety of both town areas could be largely ensured.
Oliver observed and pondered as he walked, his thoughts racing.
In the eyes of the God of Wealth, who had been accompanying him all along, all of this was wonderfully endearing.
—Although he spent every day inseparable from Oliver and had private time with him each evening, the (inexperienced) God of Wealth was experiencing the pure joy of holding hands and dating in public for the first time, feeling so blissful he was nearly intoxicated with emotion.
Outwardly, he appeared calm, but the fluctuations of divine power within him grew increasingly intense, surging like the tides, making every step feel light and airy.
Apart from the grand market held each quarter, small markets were a daily occurrence on the main streets of Gregor city.
Those who frequented these small markets included residents of Gregor city itself, as well as people from nearby villages—scattered households living dozens of miles radiating outward from the city center.
They typically came to town once a week, bringing agricultural products to sell, purchasing daily necessities they couldn’t produce themselves, and then heading to the Divine Temple for their routine prayers.
There was also a small but financially significant group—the various travelers staying in inns. Most were merchants, but there were also painters, postal carriers, bards, or craftsmen who, unable to find work locally, had no choice but to try their luck in the big city.
If they were well-off, they could afford better lodgings: the ideal accommodation was near the affluent districts, ensuring both the safety of their belongings and their sense of security. Occasionally, if they needed to hire help, it was as simple as shouting out the window—often, impoverished individuals waiting below the expensive inns would eagerly respond.
Those with limited means, however, had to endure cramped, damp, and foul-smelling alleyways. Surrounded by buildings at least three stories high, those on the ground floor lived in perpetual gloom and chill, with no difference between day and night outside their windows.
Innkeepers were too stingy to hire servants for cleaning. When disposing of waste and garbage from guest rooms, they simply dumped it wherever there was space on the streets—over time, even heavy rain couldn’t wash away the nauseating stench.
The moment Oliver stepped into such an alley with the Cat God, his furrowed brow never relaxed.
He had thought that after being exposed to the sewage river in Laina city, similar scenes would no longer shock him—but when he saw a child wrapped only in a piece of cloth as filthy as a dirty rag, barefoot in a strange green “mud” field, squatting to defecate right in front of him, he still felt the urge to turn back immediately.
Beside him, the Cat God’s thoughts stirred slightly.
Seizing the opportunity, the deity took the initiative to speak: “Oliver, don’t worry.”
Although to a deity, the concepts of “cleanliness” and “filth” in human eyes held little distinction, the increasingly perceptive deity immediately understood the source of Oliver’s grim expression.
Fearing Oliver might let go of their tightly clasped hands, the Cat God instinctively released strands of divine power, enveloping both of them completely.
The divine power blocked the overwhelmingly pungent odor and shielded them from the pervasive filth.
Meeting Oliver’s questioning gaze, the deity quickly explained, “No matter how dirty it is, stepping on it now won’t get anything on you.”
Surveying the alley, which was far filthier than his worst imaginings and pushed his tolerance to the limit, Oliver hesitated briefly before smiling and accepting the deity’s kindness: “Dear Cat God, you’re always so thoughtful.”
If Havest Street, which ran through the entire town and connected the northern and southern gates, was the main artery of Gregor city, then these numerous alleys were like countless capillaries within the city’s body.
What flowed through them and converged at the town’s center were the lowest of the low, living lives as dark and lightless as the windows of their rooms.
They were the paupers among the free folk.
Unable to pay land taxes, they lost their farmland; forced by poll taxes, they sold their homes and rented the cheapest rooms.
If lucky, they might find work on the streets that day; if not, the whole family would go hungry.
Hunger was a minor concern—what they feared most were the poll taxes levied in spring and autumn. If they couldn’t save enough for the tax, they would be forced to sell themselves.
Then, they wouldn’t even be able to rent the shabbiest rooms, forced to leave the towns they had grown up in, lose their freedom, and become filthy slaves.
Even though they knew their current lives were scarcely better than a slave’s—they would do anything to avoid sinking to that level, struggling desperately in the mire.
Scattered along the streets, some people set up dilapidated stalls displaying blackish-green food.
But unlike the street vendors Oliver had seen on Havest Street, the food on their stalls emitted no mouthwatering aroma. Instead, it was swallowed by the cesspool-like environment, blending into the pervasive stench.
Yet they sold it cheap—so cheap that even paupers who had been forced to sell their pots and couldn’t cook were willing to buy.
Oliver and the deity’s presence stood out starkly against this environment, instantly drawing the attention of many eyes.
The moment gazes fell upon the two, almost everyone’s first reaction was awe.After regaining their senses, some people’s gazes quickly turned numb: they were merchants who had come to Gregor city for the first time and gotten lost here, then ceased to care.
Some were curious, their eyes sweeping over them like watching two beautiful elk that had strayed into a gloomy swamp—mingled with a hint of envy for their brightness, yet also some inferiority and timidity fearing to offend them.
Others had already reached the end of their rope, greedily staring at them, just wanting to make a profit from these two shiny, plump sheep.
Soon, someone couldn’t hold back and stepped forward.
“Oh, esteemed gentlemen.””
The closer she got to these two young, wealthy merchants, the more her poor vision allowed her to clearly see their stunningly beautiful faces that made her feel ashamed of her own appearance. Her initial confidence instantly dissipated, and she nearly retreated.
Impossible.
She thought, how could such handsome and refined gentlemen possibly take notice of someone like her—a pile of mud?
But her mother still needed medicine…
Her courage vanished completely, yet she couldn’t bring herself to leave.
She was fairly good-looking; at least the old pervert at the clinic was willing to let her pay off her debts by sleeping with him.
Although she had saved on the medical fees, the medicine still cost money. Since she hadn’t managed to seduce the pharmacy owner, she had to pay honestly.
Besides, there was also their rent, food… She had been working very hard, but it was never enough—the medicine alone could bankrupt her.
Thinking of her mother’s ashen face, which always made her fear that she might die at any moment, she licked her dry, cracked lower lip, forced a flattering, seductive smile, and performed an awkward curtsy: “Coming to such a filthy alley… perhaps you need some help. Can I provide what you desire? Just 6 copper coins, and I’ll do anything you want for the entire afternoon!”
Oliver looked at this young woman with her cheap makeup and revealing clothes, yet trying hard to appear alluring in her demeanor, and felt not a trace of disgust, only endless sympathy.
She wore a gaudy linen dress that faintly revealed a pair of thin legs that were almost deformed. Her bare feet, soaked in muddy water all year round, were covered in scars and so dirty that her toes were barely visible.
She was even trembling.
“I do need a guide.”
He sighed softly, placed two silver coins in her palm, and showed a gentle smile: “This courageous and beautiful lady, if you can immediately buy a pair of shoes and clothes that fit you and return here, I’ll choose you for this job.”
