In the Sea of Dorne, a fleet bearing the banner of House Valthorn had just left the port of Stonehelm, sailing in the direction of Bloodstone.
At the bottom of a medium-sized two-masted merchant ship, in a cabin only one and a half meters high, a group of raggedly dressed people crammed into the compartment.
They were farmers from the banks of the Slayne River in the Stormlands.
This year, their lands had suffered floods, and their crops had completely failed.
Unable to pay taxes to their lord, all their possessions were confiscated, and their fate was originally just to quietly await the arrival of death.
Just at that moment of despair, someone got word from a neighboring village that people were being recruited over at Bloodstone, where they could not only eat three meals a day but also earn wages.
Thus, they found a merchant ship of The Stepstones, wanting to try their luck and see if it was true.
Upon hearing that they were going to Bloodstone, the leader of House Valthorn’s merchant ship readily agreed to their request and provided them with free food.
Consequently, this group of Stormlands refugees boarded the merchant ship to try their luck on Bloodstone.
Several days later, Bloodstone.
Talvey was leading a group to inspect the construction progress of a construction site on the island.
Coincidentally, at this moment, the merchant ship carrying the refugees arrived at this construction site.
Standing on a newly built section of the city wall from a high vantage point, he silently watched the scene below.
Talvey did not make a sound to interfere; he wanted to see how these people would be accommodated.
Outside the temporary shed, the villagers waited in place with anxious expressions.
Earlier, upon learning their purpose, the steward here told them to wait here with peace of mind, saying someone would arrange work for them shortly.
Naturally, they obediently waited in place—that was three meals a day, something they dared not even imagine, something perhaps only noble lords could afford to be so extravagant with.
Looking at the enclosed construction site, a male villager in his thirties said with a yearning look, “Village Chief, do you think it is true? Can we really eat three meals a day, and even get Silver Stags?”
“Impossible. It would be good enough if they give you two meals a day, let alone Silver Stags. Have you ever even seen what a Silver Stag looks like? I’m afraid that when the time comes, not only will there be no food to eat, but we will also be sent to fight in a war.” Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Upon hearing the word “war”, the villager in his thirties involuntarily shrank back.
Another villager loudly refuted, “Stop talking nonsense. Old Thor from the neighboring Green Mountain Village brought Silver Stags home; I saw it with my own eyes. Those Silver Stags were brand new and even shone. Besides, the herald of Bloodstone clearly said that this was an order issued by Lord Talvey. It must be true.”
“Heh~ Who knows where he got those Silver Stags from? They might have been stolen. You actually believe the herald’s words? They probably just tricked us here to make us fight in a war. There are a lot of pirates near The Stepstones.”
The villagers started arguing all at once.
The village chief frowned and shouted, “All of you shut up! We’ll know whether it’s true or false in a while. What is there to argue about? Besides, I believe it is true. Moreover, since we’ve already reached here, can we still run away? Now we can only pray that the herald hasn’t deceived us. Everyone just wait quietly.”
The villagers still had a lot of respect for this village chief.
Although their hearts were still somewhat fluttering with anxiety, they dared not run away now.
Staying behind might not necessarily cost them their lives, but if they escaped, they would probably truly be beheaded.
Besides, Bloodstone was surrounded by the sea on all sides, and they had no way to escape anyway.
Near noon, they saw four soldiers escorting a group of women out.
Those women were pushing two-wheeled wooden carts; some carried tall wooden barrels, while others carried piles of wooden bowls and tableware.
The villagers also noticed that after these women walked out, groups of men emerged from various parts of the construction site, lining up in rows in front of those carts, as if waiting for something to be distributed.
At this moment, a soldier walked up to them and said impatiently, “What are you still standing there blankly for? Go line up! Eat your meal and then go inside to work. Someone will naturally assign you work by then.”
“Also, no cutting in line, and absolutely no fighting or causing trouble, or I’ll let you taste the flavor of the whip in my hand. Do you understand?”
The village chief nodded hastily, “Understood, understood…”
“And remember, this food is the grace of Lord Talway Valthorn.”
After finishing speaking, the soldier puffed out his chest, walked outside the crowd, and continued to maintain order.
Now hearing with their own ears that all of this was true, the villagers still found it hard to believe.
They had lived in the Stormlands for most of their lives; not to mention seeing it, they had never even heard of such a thing.
For a moment, they were all dumbfounded in place.
Until a villager saw someone receive their food and shouted excitedly, “Village Chief, look quickly! That’s yellow bread, and it’s actually yellow bread without mixed leaves! I’ve never eaten such a thing in my life.”
“There’s actually meat soup too, and spices are added to it. I can smell it, it smells so good.” Another villager also began shouting and hollering.
All the villagers, including the village chief, unconsciously swallowed their saliva as they smelled the fragrance.
In the end, the village chief gave the order: “You all heard what the soldier said, right? Go line up quickly and learn from them; see how those people do it. Otherwise, getting whipped is a minor matter, but don’t blame me if you miss out on food.”
The villagers began to line up at the very back of the crowd.
Some people were so anxious they scratched their ears and cheeks, but after glancing at the soldiers standing to the side, they honestly queued up.
Finally, the first villager received his food.
It was a piece of yellow bread the size of two palms, without a trace of bran inside, along with a bowl of spiced fish soup filled with large chunks of fish meat.
He brought the meat soup close beneath his nose, took a deep breath, and let out a satisfied sigh: “It smells so good! The Seven Above, to think I can still eat such good food in this lifetime.”
At this moment, a worker who had finished eating early looked at him and said, “This wasn’t given to you by the Seven; it is a grace bestowed by Lord Talvey. Today’s meal is nothing; I heard from the people who came to Bloodstone earliest that sometimes they even get soft and fragrant white bread to eat.”
“White bread?” The villager stood frozen in place, a look of yearning appearing deep in his eyes, before he asked excitedly, “Is there really a Silver Stag every month?”
The worker gently patted his shoulder and said, “Work hard. As long as you don’t slack off, a month from now you can take your Silver Stag and buy whatever you want.”
By this time, the villagers had received their food one after another, and everyone began to wolf it down, emitting satisfied sounds of “Hoo” and “Ha”.
“Village Chief, I heard from the people here that as long as we work a full month, we really can receive a Silver Stag.”
The village chief swallowed the food in his mouth hard and said contentedly, “Never mind a month; if I could eat food like this every meal, I’d be willing to work for a lifetime.”
“Right, me too.”
“It smells so good. To be able to eat this kind of food for a lifetime, I’m willing too.”
“I’m willing too.”
The surrounding villagers chimed in with agreement.