Chapter 38: Village
Three days later, with the arrival of a heavy snow, the last wooden house in the territory was finally completed.
Everyone in the territory breathed a sigh of relief; they made it!
Among them, Lei Wen’s wooden house was finally built. Compared to the others, his was significantly larger.
The maid moved his personal belongings from the tent into the wooden house.
Lei Wen walked into the wooden house with Dratini. The house wasn’t large, only about fifty square meters.
Carpenter Tucker and his assistant used the remaining wood to craft an exquisite wooden table and bed for Lei Wen. Beside the bed, there was even a simple stone fireplace.
The floor inside was covered with a thick handmade carpet, featuring the emblem of the Aindook royal family.
The maid hurried to make the bed and placed soft pillows and bedding on it. A plate of freshly picked pomelo fruit and pastries was also on the small wooden table, with a cup of steaming sweet black tea beside it.
“Your Highness Prince Lei Wen, please stay here for now,” Elif said, unable to suppress a sigh as he looked at the humble surroundings.
His Highness used to live in luxurious castles, with just one bedroom being over a hundred square meters, and now he had to reside in this small wooden house.
Elif thought that once they had building materials and time, he would definitely have someone help His Highness rebuild a castle!
However, Lei Wen was already very satisfied with his current living environment.
“It’s enough,” Lei Wen said, entering the house with Dratini.
Firewood burned in the stone fireplace, and smoke drifted out of the chimney. In no time, the room warmed up.
Dratini followed behind Lei Wen, curiously observing their new home. It flew around, looking here and there, appearing very curious about everything.
Seeing this, Lei Wen smiled and said, “This will be our home from now on, Dratini.”
“Wuu!” Dratini seemed very happy.
“Chiri…”
Several Poffins huddled at the entrance, watching the scene inside the house, their eyes shining with hope.
Compared to the tent, they preferred this house built of wood, as it was filled with the scent of the forest!
But could they also live here?
One Poffin couldn’t help but look towards Lei Wen.
Lei Wen naturally noticed the reaction of the Poffins and smiled:
“Until spring arrives, you can all come and live here too!”
The tent can serve as the Lord’s Hall for discussing territory matters.
Upon hearing this, the Poffins immediately let out a cheer.
“Chiri!”
The Poffins immediately started cleaning with their tails, as if it were routine.
Then, they moved their stored food here.
With plenty of food and a warm fireplace, they no longer had to worry about not surviving the winter!
The Poffins were so happy they even wanted to have a party.
“Are everyone else’s houses finished?” Lei Wen asked.
Elif nodded. “Yes, all the residents in the territory are now living in wooden houses. Everyone is very grateful to Your Highness. Without your wise decisions, we might have all frozen to death on the road to Aspertia City.”
Lei Wen: “…” It wasn’t necessary to be so dramatic.
Upon hearing this, he checked his Territory Panel and, as expected, found many newly refreshed notifications.
【 Satisfaction +5! 】
【 Satisfaction +10! 】
【 Satisfaction +8! 】
【……】
With the completion of the wooden houses, Lei Wen noticed that his Territory Panel had also changed.
【 Lord’s Name: Lei Wen 】
【 Territory: Village （ Unnamed ）】
【 Citizens （ Humans ）: 78 people （ Click to view details ）】
【 Citizens （ Pokémon ）: 18 creatures （ Click to view details ）】
【 Popularity: 30 】
【 Satisfaction: 500 】
【 Technology: Gathering, Basic Herbalism, Fishing 】
“Huh? The territory upgraded from Small to Village?” Lei Wen was surprised, was it due to the increase in scale?
He continued reading. Popularity had also increased significantly, and Satisfaction had directly reached 500.
He could unlock another new technology.
But Lei Wen wasn’t in a hurry to unlock it; he wanted to go see the people in the territory.
Upon hearing Lei Wen’s plan, Elif nodded and said, “Your Highness, please follow me!”
Lei Wen left Dratini and the Poffins at home, and he went outside with Elif.
Compared to when they first arrived, this land had undergone a tremendous transformation.
Wooden houses of various sizes had sprung up, lining both sides of the road. As heavy snow fell, residents were sheltering in their homes, gathered around bonfires with their families, cooking food.
In the depths of winter, food was scarce, and everyone cherished it.
Walking further, Lei Wen saw the warehouses built by the residents for storing food, and the shelters built for the two Explosion Head Water Buffalos to survive the winter.
The two Explosion Head Water Buffalos lay on a pile of dry grass, watching the snow fall from the sky.
The scale of this territory had clearly become a small village.
A few women passing by on their way to wash clothes at the riverside cast grateful glances at Lei Wen.
Three Snowrunt and several children joyfully held hands and spun in circles in the falling snow.
And in the distance lay a vast expanse of fields.
Humans and Pokémon developed and lived together here.
Looking at this scene, Lei Wen was filled with a sense of fulfillment, feeling that all his efforts had not been in vain and had a meaning.
Lei Wen couldn’t help but wonder if this was why some people enjoyed playing lord-farming games?
When a player produced a candle, the peasant houses at night would have light; when a player produced a piece of clothing, they would put on new attire.
A territory that was once devoid of everything became prosperous and wealthy under the player’s governance, drawing envious looks from neighboring lords and refugees…
“Your Highness, the snow is getting heavier; we should head back,” Elif said, looking up at the sky, which was gradually being enveloped by darkness.
“Yes,” Lei Wen nodded.
Now they had sufficient food and plenty of firewood. If nothing unexpected happened, they had enough to safely get through this cold winter.
There were many things they needed to do next year.
Mining, reclaiming land, exploring forests, capturing Pokémon, building stronger houses…
However, to accomplish these tasks, their seventy-odd people were not enough.
A sufficient population was the key to a territory’s development.
“If only the people from the caravan hadn’t scattered,” Lei Wen thought with great regret.
When they set out from Aindook, there were over five hundred people, almost six hundred.
This included a large number of skilled individuals proficient in smelting, construction, carpentry, farming, and fishing.
Now, they had less than a hundred people remaining.
Sigh, Lei Wen let out a quiet sigh.
