The Future of Green River Town

"79 taels of silver per bucket of grain, can so many people afford it?" Magnus Valorion asked puzzled.

Galen Veritas chuckled and immediately explained, "The common people naturally can't afford it, so those unscrupulous grain merchants make the people mortgage their own land. In this way, all the land owned by the people of Greenwood City ends up in the hands of the government and the gentry!"

Historically, during the end of any dynasty, these local gentry and aristocrats would use various means to annex land, causing the people to suffer and igniting conflicts between the lower classes and the government.

"They sell grain at 79 taels of silver per bucket, so how do you do it?" Magnus asked curiously.

Galen answered honestly, "Since we are about to leave Greenwood City and return to Green River Town, I thought I might as well earn a good reputation for you, Master."

"They sell coarse grain at 79 taels of silver per bucket, while our Magnus Valorion Grain Shop sells it at 79 copper coins per liter."

One liter of grain is approximately 0.8 kilograms. Selling 0.8 kilograms of grain for 79 copper coins might seem expensive in a year of good harvest, but this was during a drought year. A month ago, the price of coarse grain had risen to 2 taels of silver per pound. Now, suddenly there was grain available at 79 copper coins per pound, which was like manna from heaven.

Of course, Galen also implemented a purchase limit, allowing each person to buy only one pound of grain. Even so, the people of Greenwood City praised the benevolence of the Magnus Valorion Grain Shop while buying their grain.

"I also told those buying grain that if they wanted to buy even cheaper grain, they should come to Green River Town. I believe it won't be long before many people from Greenwood City come to our Green River Town."

Magnus couldn't help but look at the servant who had served him for many years with new respect. He hadn't expected Galen to be so clever and resourceful.

Therefore, Magnus planned to assign intelligence gathering tasks to Galen in the future, ensuring that he wouldn't be so isolated from information.

Magnus praised Galen repeatedly, saying, "Well done, Galen! You have done an excellent job this time! You should rest in town for a while. I have more important tasks for you later."

Galen, feeling that he couldn't delay helping his master to compete for supremacy, immediately said, "Master, I'm not tired. Just give me your orders. I will do my best until my last breath!"

"No rush, no rush, take some time to rest," Magnus said kindly.

However, Galen was so enthusiastic about his work that Magnus couldn't dissuade him. He then informed Galen about his plan to establish an intelligence network across the country.

Upon hearing about the intelligence work, Galen's suspicions were confirmed, and his enthusiasm burned even brighter.

It had been more than half a month since Magnus led the soldiers of Green River Town to eliminate the Crimson Vultures.

To compensate for the 15 gold bars extorted by Sinbad, the Blackthorn family in Willowbrook Town had driven up the grain prices significantly. Although the grain prices in Willowbrook Town were not as high as the 79 taels of silver per bucket in Greenwood City, they had reached 4 taels of silver per pound.

Life was truly unbearable. Some people, who had no grain at home, had to exchange their land deeds for meager amounts of grain. However, upon hearing about the cheap grain in Green River Town, many who had no land deeds to hold onto abandoned their long-time homes in Greenwood City and flocked to Magnus's Green River Town.

Every day, Green River Town saw an influx of people from Willowbrook Town and Greenwood City. On quieter days, there were one or two hundred people; on busier days, there were three to five hundred.

Magnus welcomed all newcomers, especially those with special skills. The 21st century lacked talent, and so did Magnus now.

With the influx of people from Greenwood City and Willowbrook Town, trades like stonemasons, carpenters, and blacksmiths were greatly supplemented in Green River Town.

The only regret was that Green River Town still lacked high-level talents to help Magnus handle government affairs.

Magnus didn't know that these three towns were all on the front lines of border conflicts, where people struggled to eat, let alone study. It couldn't be said that these towns had no such talents, only that they were very scarce.

Now, with Galen and John Falstaff sent out to establish intelligence networks, Magnus also tasked them with recruiting talents from other cities at high prices. Galen and John Falstaff took this request to heart.

One morning, Neil Thompson rushed into the office, waking the still-sleeping Magnus.

"Sir... sir, something terrible has happened!" Neil said anxiously.

Neil, still catching his breath and nervous, stammered, "Outside the city... tens of thousands…"

Magnus, yawning and sleepy, jumped out of bed upon hearing the news. Seeing Neil so tense, he thought tens of thousands of Altai Tribe soldiers had surrounded Green River Town.

Not wanting to meet the same fate as the previous town mayor, who was beheaded and had his head stuck on a spear, Magnus urgently ordered, "Is it the Altai Tribe attacking again? Quickly take me to the city wall and gather all the people to defend together."

Neil took a deep breath, finally steadying his breath from his hurried run, and said, "Sir, it's not an Altai attack; it's tens of thousands of refugees outside the city."

Upon hearing that it wasn't the Altai surrounding the city, Magnus's expression changed from tension to joy.

Tens of thousands of refugees? This was not a catastrophe but a blessing in disguise.

Magnus immediately and sternly criticized Neil, "Neil, you need to change your mindset. In your eyes, these are refugees, but to me, they are the future of Green River Town!"

"Stop calling them refugees. Once they come to our Green River Town, they are our people."

Dressing swiftly with Neil's help, Magnus excitedly said, "Come, take me to see the future people of Green River Town."