16 Evan's Hard Work

Evan checked one of the wheelbarrows filled with iron ores and wiped the sweat off his brow.-" What was the mine output today?" Evan estimated the contents of the various wheelbarrow and guessed that the mine's output today was going to be good.

-" About twelve kilos today." One of the miners answered as he shoveled the last few bits of ore into the last cart. " We could do a bit more if he had more tools." The miner sighed wearily, leaning on his shovel

"There is nothing we can do right now..." Evan began writing down the mine's daily output on his report while continuing to speak. "The blacksmith is already at work on it, but it may take some time to finish them all." Evan finished jotting down all of the information on the report and turned to face the miners. "I have to say. I've never seen a group of miners work with such vigor and enthusiasm as you guys."

-" Of course! We work less and are paid more." The miner had a smile on his face as he answered. " Not only that but, the food here is cheap and we even have access to baths" The miner was happy to have come to this job, at first he thought that this was a scam, as no sane person would offer such good conditions.

Evan nodded to the man; he was initially skeptical of Matthew's policies because he expected the workers to laze around the mines, but to his surprise, they all worked very hard to the point where, even when they were short-staffed, they were still able to produce the same output as a mine with twice the workers.

-" Speaking about this, here is your pay." Evan took out a bunch of small pouches and passed them to the miners. " The village caravan will depart in a few days. so if any of you want something from the province capital, just send the request to the prefecture."

The miners had excited faces, as they all had families in Maplehill, the province's capital. They came to gather money and sent it back to their families, hoping to make their lives a bit more comfortable.

-" Oh?! So soon? I will send money back then."

"I saved 15 silver coins!" I wonder how surprised my wife will be when she sees this much money." Another one of the miners spoke with a happy face.

-" Hahaha, Careful Giovanni, or she will take this money and leave you." Another miner chimed in the conversation. "I'll just send them six silver coins; they can live very well on this."

-" Just bring them to the prefecture, and we'll take care of the rest." When Evan observed how happy the miners were, he felt an odd sense of fulfillment. "I'll be leaving then; I have a few more things to attend to." Evan had been quite busy the last two days while Mathew and Irelia were resting, and all of the responsibilities rested on his shoulders.

-" Please excuse me... I'm curious if my family could join the caravan to the village." One of the miners who had been silent spoke up, surprising everyone present.

-" Your family? You are already bringing them in?" Puzzled, one of the miners asked. " Isn't it a bit too soon?"

-" I thought about this too, but, I decided to wait a bit more."

-" Living here is quite good, but, I'm not sure that my family will get used to it."

The idea had already passed in the mind of most of the miners, but, they all didn't think too seriously about it as they thought that it would take some more time for the village to arrange a caravan.

-" I'm quite attached to my family. So I can't be away from them for long.." The miner explained his decision. " I also have a son that is almost a man, so I hope that he can join me in the mines."

Evan's face lit up as he heard the man; manpower and the village's population were two of Mathew's main problems, so any possibility to gain a few more people was a good one.

-" Of course, they can!" Evan grabbed the miner's hands and began dragging him to the prefecture building, hoping to get the immigration process started as soon as possible. " We can help you to set everything straight, imigratting is no easy thing, there must be much to think about."

The miner was relieved because it appeared that the man had accepted their request and was even excited to assist him. The moving would be quite a shock for his family, and they would need to transport all their belongings from Maplehill to here.

The rest of the group stood there hesitantly, but eventually decided to accompany Evan to the prefecture; the prospect of bringing their family back was appealing, especially since they could save even more money.

Evan was pleased to find out that almost all of the miners wanted to bring their families, and some were even interested in inviting their brothers and extended family to the village, however, he just wasn't sure if they could accommodate so many people in the caravan.

He expressed his concerns to the miners but was relieved when they assured him that their family would not bring many belongings because they were poor.

Evan was hard at work, gathering all the necessary information when Mathew suddenly appeared in the room.

-" Oh? Did something happen?" Mathew was surprised to find the minders gathered here and thought that another problem had come up.

-" Just getting some information." Evan kept his focus on the scroll and answered hastily. " They want to bring their families to the village."

-" A good choice, I must say." Mathew smiled and took a seat next to Evan. "You will have no regrets about doing this, especially now that we are establishing the village school."

-" Village's school?" The miners asked in bewilderment. most of them were from small villages, and they never heard about a village that had its own school;

"It's just a small school for kids and adults who want to come." Mathew still wasn't sure about the details, as he still had to find someone to be the teacher, but, he was determined to improve the literacy of the village.

-" Sigh... How much money are you planning to spend?" Evan put down his pen and looked at Mathew, the amount of money he intended to invest in the village outclassed that of a small city.

- "Not a lot... We'll be using a portion of Clifton's villa, and we only need one teacher for now." Even though the prefecture's treasury was sizable, Mathew was aware that they would need to cut costs.

-" Should we post a job offer in Maplehill for this too?" Evan began to calculate the prefecture spending, wondering how much Mathew's policies cost the prefecture each month.

-"Yes, I don't believe there is anyone in the village who is literate enough to teach." Mathew smiled as he saw Evan's expression, knowing exactly what the man was thinking. "Now that you're on it, please create a financial report for me; I'd want to hold a planning meeting before the caravan departs."

Evan let out another sigh as it looked like more work had fallen on his lap. -" Let me just finish this thing." He turned his attention back to the miners, who were all serious as they faced Mathew.

The miners had a very good, but, fearful expression of Mathew, after all, a prefecture magistrate was no small figure, especially when the person was so young.

-" Excuse me... May I know how much this school would cost?" One of the miners mustered the courage and spoke up, he was interested in educating his children, as it was clear that this was the only way for them to have a good life.

"If you live in the village, it's free." Mathew smiled as he replied firmly, knowing that in order to develop this village, he would need to provide a good standard of living.

-" Free? Do you mean it's free if you were born in the village?" The miners were all shocked, education was quite expensive, so they thought that it would only apply to people who were born here.

-" Uh? No, it's free for all villagers, it won't matter if you live here for ten years, or ten days." Matthew quickly corrected the miners, knowing full well that this news would spread quickly.

The miners were surprised and relieved to hear this, and their resolve to bring their families only grew. -" Wonderful! I can't wait to bring my daughter here!" One of the miners exclaimed in excitement.

"Having my daughter in school is a dream that I never imagined achieving." Another one spoke, with his eyes full of emotion. " I just hope that my son can get a job in the mine with me too."

-" The mines won't recruit workers for some time..." Mathew's words sent the miners into a fuss, as their hopes to find work for their families vanished, but, they all grew excited as he continued. " However, there will be plenty of options because the prefecture will hire guards and masons and some roles."