FULL NOVELXO
Chapter 122: Rex's Advanced Insight
Wagner, choosing prudence over valor, held back the eager villagers, opting instead to stand aside and witness the spectacle of the undead's onslaught.
The outcome of the battle was rather unsurprising. The two hundred or so mercenaries, overwhelmed by the endlessly resurrecting undead army, were pushed to the brink of exhaustion. When the undead breached their defenses and surged into the camp, the defeated mercenaries were too drained to even contemplate suicide and resigned themselves to being captured.
Wagner and his twenty-odd soldiers watched on empathetically as the captured mercenaries were stripped of all their valuables and equipment by the undead contemporary romance
The most pitiable was the owner of the merchant caravan, who was dragged out from his hiding place inside a box wagon. Every ring was stripped from his fingers, and he was nearly relieved of his gold teeth by a couple of undead before other undead stopped them.
Amid wails and despair, the undead, having spared the lives of over two hundred captives, joyously departed the ravaged camp, laden with equipment and spoils, and regrouped at the clearing near the cornfield.
The captives, bound and scattered haphazardly, were left in bewildered disarray. The villagers, who had watched the commotion unfold without understanding the full context, and Wagner's soldiers looked on, utterly baffled.
Only Wagner remained expressionless, his stoic demeanor unbroken.
The night breeze carried over the voices of the undead, and their chattering reached Wagner's ears
"Uncommon-grade leather armor, no enchantments but with high defense and an attractive design, featuring side laces that even us undead can wear. Starting at 30 copper coins, place your bids!"
"Common-grade longbow with explosive attributes! Its attack power even surpasses Hal's sword. Any brothers interested in switching to ranger? Starting low at 20 copper coins!"
"Twenty lesser golden artifacts, exchangeable for reputation with Old Yang. Brothers and sisters in need of reputation, this is your chance!"
"Boss, can we auction off that longsword dropped by the mini-Boss first? I need to log out and have lunch; I haven't eaten since noon!"
"Alright, alright. Come, everyone, get ready to use Identify! Presenting today's most impressive longsword drop"
"Brothers, please bid reasonably. We all don't have much copper on hand, so let's not outbid each other needlessly~"
Wagner, for the umpteenth time, removed the cuckoo flower lapel badge and tucked it into his pocket. He couldn't afford to dwell on the bizarre actions and words of these damned undead!
Taking a deep breath, Wagner summoned the village chief and instructed the villagers and soldiers to clean up the battlefield together.
He found it odd that the undead, so interested in personal belongings, had completely ignored the goods inside the over 20 large wagons. However, he wasn't about to remind them.
This clean-up lasted until dawn.
The raucous undead had disappeared somewhere into the cornfields, and Wagner, not in the mood to chase after them, saw that the scattered spices were collected and the captives securely tied up. He called over Chief Sharpe, returned the stolen fabric to the villagers, and used the remaining copper and silver coins from the captives as compensation for their labor.
"Thank you so much, Sir Knight," Chief Sharpe said, his hands trembling as he held the coins.
"Don't thank me just yet. I still need to continue employing your services." Wagner pointed to the 20 large wagons loaded to the brim. "These are the spoils of the lord, and I need your people to help transport these safely to town."
"Of course, of course," Chief Sharpe agreed eagerly, hurrying to gather the able-bodied men of the village.
The prospect of earning money for their work was irresistible to the villagers. Energized by a night's labor, the young men of the village promptly gathered.
Wagner surveyed the villagers clad in mostly tattered waist clothes. Imagining the sight of this bunch escorting the spoils and captives into town made Wagner sigh He then instructed his men to conduct a second stripping of the captives, removing their outer garments and trousers to clothe the villagers.
The Sokrians, unfortunate enough to have their outer garments stripped, cursed the Rhine people for their shamelessness. Wagner, unmoved, simply ordered the captors with enough energy to protest to be gagged.
With the undead having committed far worse acts, he felt no guilt in taking a few articles of clothing
Friday, November 8, 8 p.m. Earth time. 3 p.m. OtherWorld time.
In Weisshem main street, a clerk hurried into a construction site, calling out loudly, "Is Sibyl here? Sibyl?"
"Right here, right here." Sibyl, overseeing the site, quickly adjusted her sunhat covered in a dust cloth and emerged from behind a sand heap. "Is anything the matter?"
"Mr. Rex requests your presence at the town hall. I'll take over here at the site for you," the clerk informed her.
"Alright, I'll head over right away," Sibyl responded, removing her sunhat and patting off the dust before handing it over to her colleague. "Here, you can use this."
Sibyl hurried to the town hall's meeting room on the first floor. There, she found not only Ji Tang, the undead mayor whom they had learned to distinguish from other skeletons, but also Mr. Rex, Ms. Shirley, and Ben.
As Sibyl attempted to curtsy, Rex gestured for her to sit. "Please, Ms. Sibyl, take a seat first and we'll talk."
Feeling somewhat embarrassed as all eyes turned to her, Sibyl bowed apologetically before sitting down cautiously.
"Don't be nervous, Ms. Sibyl," Ji Tang said with a smile. "Here's the thing: Mr. Rex and I are hoping to establish a school for literacy in the town. We've heard about your past as a cultural studies teacher at a monastery, and your recent organizational skills have impressed us. We would like you to consider becoming the principal of this new school."
Sibyl nearly slid off her chair from shock.
Ben quickly stood up to assist her, but she waved him off, awkwardly getting back into her seat by herself. "No, no, that's impossible, Mayor Ji Tang, Mr. Rex. How could I possibly be a principal?!"
"Please, don't dismiss the idea just yet, Ms. Sibyl," Rex said kindly. "Hear Mayor Ji Tang out first, and if you still feel it isn't right, we'll consider other alternatives."
Sibyl, though hesitant, wasn't one to act impulsively. She nodded nervously, indicating she was willing to listen.
"This literacy school is for the future of our town," Ji Tan began, nodding to Rex. "You've probably noticed during the reconstruction of the main street that there's been a significant influx of young people returning to our town in the past 10 days. Our temporary workforce, especially those between 16 and 25, has increased by 20% over the last week."
"Um Yes." Sibyl gulped nervously. "At the construction site I oversee, we've had five young people return from Indahl: two girls and three boys."
Ji Tan nodded in approval of Sibyl's attentiveness. "The main street reconstruction will conclude in another half month to 20 days. After that, these young people, who have trusted and returned to our Weisshem Town, will face unemployment. To avoid this, we need to provide them with ample job opportunities and ensure their livelihoods aren't affected."
"Yes, Mr. Mayor." Sibyl nodded in understanding.
She had actually been concerned about this issue herself. Having priorly been involved in a less honorable trade, she knew that her current respect among the townspeople wasn't due to her personal charisma but because she could organize them for work, providing them with livelihoods.
"The townsfolk need jobs, and the town needs to develop local industries," Ji Tang continued. "According to the plans Mr. Rex and I have made, considering Weisshem's current conditions, we need to develop light industries related to agricultural product processing. This will require a large workforce trained in industry-specific skills. But before that, we must provide training for our townspeople, and crucially, our workforce cannot be illiterate."
The decision to develop food processing and related light industries was the best solution offered by experts back home on Earth after considering Taranthan's and Weisshem's resources and conditions.
The decision to forego heavy industry was straightforwardTaranthan's base fundamentals were too weak, and even with potential support from China, it wasn't feasible. The total population barely exceeded 20,000, with virtually no qualified industrial workers. Aiming for heavy industry under these circumstances would be akin to inviting disaster unless the expert task force harbored ill intentions toward Lord Yang.
Sibyl, educated at a monastery, understood the concepts of industry and manufacturing. She knew that many factories required literate workersilliterate individuals could only work in workshops, and even if they managed to get into factories, they would hardly advance.
Seeing Sibyl nod in understanding, Ji Tang continued, "There's only one private classroom in the town charging exorbitant fees. Mr. Rex visited the teacher, who was only willing to teach a maximum of 30 students, each paying no less than 50 copper coins a week. Moreover, his teachings focus on poetry and hymns, which do not align with our practical needs.
"We need to quickly teach workers to recognize at least 500 common characters and perform basic arithmetic. But our practical approach was deemed a desecration of knowledge by the teacher, leaving us no choice but to start our own school."
After a slight pause, Ji Tang added solemnly, "Helping the townspeople, especially those in need of employment, to become literate and acquire job skills is a task of utmost importance and urgency for us. Ms. Sibyl, we believe you are more than capable of this responsibility. Would you be willing to take on this role for our town hall and the people in need of work?"
Rex and Shirley also turned their expectant gazes toward Sibyl.
Sibyl was overwhelmed with emotions, struggling to articulate her feelings
Every person sought to be needed and recognized. Despite a past marred with pain, where her dignity was trampled upon, Sibyl never gave up the struggle to live and to survive with dignity, no matter how hard it was.
When Rex first asked if they were willing to change their lives, Sibyl had been among the first to step forward. Torn between the fear of failing Mr. Rex, Mayor Ji Tang, and everyone's trust and the excitement of being trusted and needed, Sibyl made a determined decision, nodding firmly. "I-I am willing!"
Immediately, Ji Tang led Sibyl to see the site for the literacy school, with Shirley, who volunteered to help, following along.
Ben, who had been watching silently all this while, finally voiced his long-held question to Rex after the ladies and Ji Tang left, "I don't understand, Mr. Rex. Why do you and Mayor Ji Tang insist that the school principal must be a woman?"
"Because we need both male and female workers," Rex replied, not surprised by Ben's curiosity. "To make women feel comfortable attending, it's preferable to have a female principal."
Ben was taken aback. In this world, while schools didn't explicitly separate genders, lower-class women rarely had the opportunity to attend. Only girls from middle-class families could afford education.
"Why insist on recruiting female workers? As far as I know, factories don't need women except for textile and apparel industries," Ben inquired, puzzled.
Rex's reaction was a mix of embarrassment and a wry smile. "I used to think the same until Ji Tang and Ms. Zhao corrected me," he admitted. "That women can work in shops, restaurants, and markets. Older women can handle cleaning jobs, and men can manage mechanical tasks."
"Is there something wrong with that?" Ben asked, confused.
"Yes, very wrong." Rex turned to him, sighing. "If we think women don't need to do valuable, well-paying jobs just because they are women, whom we perceive as inferior in every way, then we are willingly accepting and defending the logic that people of nobler blood have the right to rule over us because our blood is deemed inferior."
Ben pondered this complex logic before understanding it. His usually fierce face took on a comically surprised expression.
"The noblest blood in Weisshem is that fat man locked up in the militia. He's a nephew of Count Odysse, with blood far nobler than ours." Rex shrugged. "Ben, would you accept being told you're more worthless than that fat man?"
Ben hesitated, then shook his head stiffly.
In the past, perhaps. But now, working daily with Mia preparing meals for the captives at the militia headquarters, Ben had seen the fat man's disgraceful behavior more times than he could count. He believed any decently raised person from the town would be better than that "fat pig."
As someone from the lower class, Ben had little contact with nobility and easily accepted this logic. Rex, despite having noble blood, lacked the privilege of family resources as an illegitimate child.
Rex had seen a glimpse of a new world opened by the cadres and had willingly delved into it.
Ji Tang has said it"Weisshem is our turf, and we don't need to abide by the rules outside."
Rex concluded casually, "Outsiders might think only those with illustrious surnames are truly noble, but we know ancestral glory doesn't prove the descendants' worth. Jobs are scarce outside, and prioritizing men over women maximizes urban security. But we don't have that concern here, nor do we need to send capable women back home."
Ben nodded in agreement. Indeed, even drunkards causing trouble in the town were rare nowadays.