The Happiness of Forced Labor

When Sarah Williams asked John Falstaff this question, he felt a bit guilty. Yesterday, when he held a bowl of white porridge, he was very confident. But now, thinking it over carefully, John Falstaff felt uncertain.

What is fine grain? The most precious kind of grain! John Falstaff and the others knew that even in the households of former high-ranking officials, having enough to eat was already good enough; eating fine grain every meal was impossible. Even if Magnus Valorion was wealthy, he couldn't afford to let so many laborers eat fine white rice at every meal.

While John Falstaff hesitated, not knowing how to respond, his wife Emily Johnson spoke up first, "Don't worry, sister, it's true. Last night, my husband brought home a bowl of cool rice porridge, and I still can't forget the taste!"

Seeing his wife speak so confidently, John Falstaff quickly chimed in as well. Meanwhile, Magnus Valorion, noticing no more people coming to help with the city wall repairs, instructed Neil Thompson to organize everyone into teams of ten, just like the previous day. These teams would be fixed from now on, with any new arrivals forming their own teams.

Just as Neil Thompson was about to carry out Magnus Valorion's instructions, Magnus called him back and added, "Since there are more people today, prepare a few more pots of porridge."

Neil Thompson hesitated and asked, "My lord, are we still giving them such precious white rice porridge today?"

"Why? Don't you want to drink it?" Magnus retorted.

Neil Thompson quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, it's just that using fine rice porridge for us seems a bit..."

"A bit wasteful, right?"

Neil Thompson nodded slightly, thinking that if Magnus exchanged the fine grain for coarse grain, the granary would last longer. Using such precious fine grain for the laborers seemed too extravagant.

What Neil Thompson didn't know was that Magnus had an endless supply of grain. Seizing this opportunity to win the people's hearts, Magnus wouldn't let it slip away.

"Your lives are just as valuable as the lives of nobles. Why should they eat the best while you suffer? Do kings and nobles deserve their wealth by birthright?"

The phrase "Do kings and nobles deserve their wealth by birthright?" struck Neil Thompson deeply.

"Don't think your lives are worthless while the lives of nobles are precious. In my eyes, every life is invaluable."

Magnus' words, first questioning the natural right of nobles and then asserting the value of every life, left Neil Thompson stunned.

"Stop daydreaming and get on with your work!" Magnus reminded him.

Inspired by Magnus' noble stance, Neil Thompson thought, "With a lord who loves his people like this, I must give my all to support him."

With that, Neil Thompson began organizing the townsfolk into teams. Michael Harris was fortunate to be in the same team as his neighbor, James Miller.

Previously, the town's walls were made of rammed earth, which was easily breached due to poor construction. Learning from this mistake, Magnus decided to build brick walls outside the existing walls.

The laborers, now under Magnus' leadership, were tasked with digging earth, making bricks, and constructing walls. These tasks required a lot of manpower, and even with over four hundred people, Magnus felt it wasn't enough.

Michael Harris' group was assigned to brick-making. However, due to hunger, many newcomers, including Michael, couldn't properly mold the bricks. Seeing this, James Miller quickly helped them fix the bricks and scolded, "Michael Harris, we're building this wall to protect ourselves. We can't be careless!"

Michael couldn't understand why James Miller, who was whipped yesterday, was working so diligently today. To Michael, life was too harsh; he thought it might be better to die if the walls were breached by the Altai or Sami tribes.

But at lunchtime, Michael's thoughts changed completely.

Holding a bowl of white porridge, Michael couldn't believe his eyes. "Is this... is this real?" He thought he was dreaming, just like the others who arrived yesterday, staring at the thick porridge in disbelief.

Michael cautiously took a sip of the porridge, and the rich aroma of the rice quickly spread from his tongue to his brain. "It's so fragrant... so delicious... Life can be this wonderful?" he thought.

Michael no longer had any extreme thoughts of being killed by the invaders. When James Miller returned with salted vegetables and saw Michael with only porridge, he reminded him, "Why did you only get porridge? Go get some salted vegetables!"

James Miller's voice brought Michael out of his reverie. "What vegetables?" he asked.

James took a short piece of salted vegetable from his bowl and put it in Michael's mouth. Instantly, the salty, sweet, and slightly spicy flavors danced on Michael's tongue. Excited, Michael was about to rush to get the salted vegetables when James, fearing he might not follow the rules, pulled him back and said, "Michael, remember to queue up when you get the salted vegetables. Don't disrupt the order."

Understanding, Michael nodded and joined the end of the line. When he returned with the salted vegetables, James had already finished his porridge.

Michael, however, couldn't bear to finish his delicious porridge, thinking of saving half to share with his sister-in-law and nephew. Seeing this, James laughed and said, "Michael, don't worry. Drink up. If it's not enough, you can queue up for more."

Michael couldn't believe it and exclaimed, "What? We can have more if it's not enough? You're not fooling me, are you?"

James, knowing Michael didn't believe him, went back and got another bowl of porridge and salted vegetables. "Yesterday, Magnus Valorion said we could eat as much as we want, as long as we don't waste it!" he said with a smile.

Tears of joy fell from Michael's eyes. The word "full" was a distant dream for the people of Green River Town. But now, as long as they worked under Magnus, they could eat until they were full.

For Michael Harris and the people of Green River Town, there was now a happiness in forced labor—at least under Magnus Valorion's rule.