Chapter 154 — Building the Territory

Although the magic net could supply power "wirelessly"—magic energy could be transmitted at close range directly above the net—the efficiency of doing so was not high. By reserving a great many "magic-net interfaces," he could prepare for future urbanization: hooking up street lamps, for instance, or piping magic power into every household.

"There is one more problem," Heidi said, hesitating a moment before deciding to speak of it. "It concerns the night-school education you've been pushing."

Gao Yang frowned at once. "Night school? The general-knowledge courses? What's gone wrong?"

"You required that every person in the territory receive an education, but now the population is pouring in and they are almost all illiterate, innumerate poor folk, and the number of teachers is simply insufficient," Heidi said with difficulty. "We've set up additional study sites in the central district, the western district, and the southern district, and had all literate soldiers, craftsmen, and department heads take turns teaching after their work is done, but it's still not enough. Each 'classroom' can hold only a limited number of people; the new settlers lack discipline, and once there are too many people the chaos is nothing short of a disaster—while if there are too few... then we must add more classrooms."

"Adding classrooms means adding teachers," Gao Yang frowned. "Didn't Tamsin Town send over some clerk apprentices?"

"They've already been sent to teach, but it's still not enough."

"Then recruit from the Hundred-Person Reconstruction Corps," Gao Yang decided. "Besides 'high-end talents' like Jenny, some of the ordinary craftsmen and apprentices there are literate, and they should be interested in the extra teaching stipend. In addition, start publicizing recruitment at the steelworks, the Mechanical Institute, and other such places. Tell the people of the territory that whether free commoner or serf, anyone may work in the factories—but they must be literate and numerate to sign up, and factory work brings extra grain allowances just like the craftsmen's. That way they'll have motivation to study, and discipline will be easier to maintain."

Heidi nodded slightly. "Yes, I understand."

Gao Yang thought for a moment, then asked, "Is there anything else to report?"

Heidi looked over at Amber beside them. "Her ability to sleep while walking is truly remarkable."

Gao Yang blinked, turned his head to look—and there indeed was the half-elf, eyes closed, walking along beside him, evidently asleep for quite some time.

"When did this one fall asleep?!"

Heidi looked helpless. "Right about when we started discussing the houses."

Gao Yang's face showed blank astonishment. "...In a certain sense, she really is a talent."

And just as he finished marveling, he saw Amber slowly come awake. The half-elf lady rubbed her eyes, looked at Gao Yang and Heidi, and asked curiously, "You two finally done muttering?"

Gao Yang's mouth twitched; he deliberately turned to Heidi. "Now, about the steel output..."

Amber closed her eyes again. "Call me when the food's ready."

Gao Yang was utterly at a loss. He was just about to grab Amber by the ear and twist it half a turn to see whether she could be woken, when out of the corner of his eye he suddenly saw a soldier running toward them.

"My lord!" The soldier ran up before Gao Yang and snapped to attention in salute. "A stranger has come to the territory!"

"A stranger?" Gao Yang was taken aback, not seeing what was so urgent about such a thing. "A vagrant from the north? If he's come on his own to throw in his lot with us..."

"No, the man is dressed in the robes of the Daylight Sect—looks like a preacher, but for some reason he's working on the construction site right now."

"Huh?"