Chapter 130 130: Red Flag On The Green House.

A month passed inside the dream world. Leo got much more easy with his role of the Baron in the place. In the past month, they came up with the wooden posts and iron barbed wires. The wood cutters gained a stable employment during this time. Leo didn't stop at just the wooden posts, he sent the guards from his seven hundred soldier team to guard them from all the wild beasts. These people were all strong and vigilant. Just clearing the tree line for a meter sufficed for them to have a clean view, but Leo told the people to chop wood and for every house to have a stock of firewood, and the distribution finished today only, Leo was sitting inside his study looking at Crawford, and the old steward asked, "Your Grace, the winds are getting colder, please have some tea." Leo looked at the tea in the cup and asked, "The food we have in the granary is not enough to provide for the people of the town. There will be many casualties if we didn't manage to find any solution to this." The old steward nodded, he looked at Leo and said, "Your Grace, we are racing against time. I have sent word to the Thelma City, but the Viscount Mansion has stated that they cannot help us." Leo frowned and asked, "What is the reason behind their insufficiency?" The old man sighed and said, "Lord, His Majesty awarded you this fief and he also foraged seven years of taxation for us. I think the Viscount doesn't like that." Leo clenched his fists and said, "Such men who cannot understand that they are humans first are called noble, how ironic." The old man gulped but didn't say anything because Leo wasn't wrong. The young man leaned back in his chair and then tapped his fingers against the table in a rhythm for a few minutes before he asked, "How many roosters and hen do we have?" The old man was surprised and then he said, "Sire it should be around seventy hen and thirty roosters." Leo nodded and said, "Then from now on, we would not be eating chicken. I want you to go and get a woodworker to build me a big coop, and at the same time, store the eggs, the cold will prevent them from going bad. When the winters are over us, these eggs will be distributed among the people, two eggs for children and three eggs for adults. The priority will be given to women, elders, and children. The men can go without egg or meat in the winters, however, for them to build up some strength, in the coming two months, the palace will have all the men gather and go through the basic physical training." Crawford was surprised and asked, "Your Grace, while this is a very compassionate thing, but would these men be able to survive the training if they are not given any egg?" Leo said, "I will lead a team outside, and we will be hunting the beasts. I have heard that the fauna in this region is flourishing. It is about time for us to jostle an arm with it to ensure that all our people survive." The old steward was shocked, and bowed his head in thanks before he left. Leo told him to send over Jock before leaving the study. While the young man waited for Jock to come over, Lily knocked the door of his study and came in. The young man said, "Come in, love." He could tell that it was her from the soft sound of the knocks. The door was pushed open and the little girl came in wearing a thicker dress and a small fur stall around her neck. She sighed and said, "Look at me, Her Grace is making me a stuffed animal." Leo couldn't help but chuckle loudly at this. He walked over to undo her stall and picked her up in his arms. Lily would only call Snow, Her Grace whenever she got upset with the girl. The young man asked, "You don't like this fur?" Lily sighed as she leaned over his shoulder and said, "I do, but it is so stuffy." The young man smiled faintly and he heard a steady sound of footsteps approaching the study and said, "Let me talk with mother." Lily nodded and she snuggled in his neck like an aggrieved victim. Leo waited for the door to be pushed open once again, revealing the exasperated face of his wife. He said, "She just feels it is too hot and has trouble breathing while moving around." Snow furrowed her brows and asked, "How come she tells you about all her troubles everytime? Am I an enemy?" Leo shook his head and approached his fuming wife while still carrying the little one in his arms, and he tucked away a lock of her golden tres behind her right ear and told softly, "It is the same as the time when I can tell what you are thinking or feeling. She just doesn't want you to be upset." Snow's gaze calmed down and she sighed, "I don't want her to be troubled as well, but it is just something that I have to do. With the winds getting colder, what would we do if she falls sick?" Leo nodded and said, "How about this, let her wear what she wants, but Lily, you have to promise that as soon as you feel that it is cold, you will come forward and tell your mother what is going on with you so that she could get you better clothing." The little girl raised her head and nodded slowly. At this moment, Jock's voice sounded from the other side of the thick door, "Your Grace." Leo nodded and he said, "Snow, can you take her, I have to deal with a few important things." Snow nodded, she took Lily in her arms and then they walked out where Jock greeted them with a salute and Lily asked, "Uncle Jock, are you all going out to fight? Take me too, please." Jock almost melted looking at her sparkling eyes, and Leo said, "Little one, no tricking Uncles, remember the deal?" Lily sighed and then pouted as she said, "Humph, spoil-sports." Snow shook her head and schooled her in a soft voice, while the two men closed the door of the study. Leo looked at Jock and said, "Arrange for a party of seven, fully equipped, and carry camping equipment, flint stone, and torches. We are going to hunt and spend a week inside the forest. We need to bring back as much prey as we can. The people need to feed, and especially the men who need to build up strength to survive the cold." Searᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Jock didn't ask anything else and nodded as he left the place quickly. At this moment, Crawford came back and said, "Lord, the glassworker you contracted has come to the gates, shall I call him over?" Leo shook his head and said, "I will go meet him, have someone send over a cup of tea and some biscuits." The old man nodded and they both left the study. Leo came to the gates of the mansion where the middle-aged glass craftsman was standing with his hands folded before his chest. The young man approached him and said, "Theseus, hello, are you alright?" The man bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Grace, thank you for your concern, I am fine." Leo said, "Come in, have some tea and talk." Theseus shook his head like a rattle and said, "No sire, I only came here to tell you that the glass panes are ready." Leo was surprised and then he nodded and asked, "How many panes?" In the last month, upon questioning the old steward he found that there were five glass craftsmen. However, the rough estimate was to get two hundred and fifty panes, but he was not sure if they would be able to reach that level. Theseus smiled and replied, "Lord, may be Athena was gracious we managed to do two hundred and seventy panes." Leo was pleasantly surprised and said, "Good, Very Good. Theseus, you have solved a big problem. Can you all move those panes to the fields?" The man nodded but was confused, Leo said, "Good, we still have the entire afternoon, so let's go, move the glass panes quickly." Suddenly, Theseus said, "Lord, it will take us a week to move so many panes." His words were akin to a bucket of ice water on Leo's excitement. He took a deep breath and asked, "Why so?" Theseus replied, "Lord we have to do it by hand, one man can carry one pan during each trip." Leo realized all of a sudden that these people don't have a transport mechanism and he sighed as he said, "Well, let me come with you to the outer town. We will have it all done by the evening and I promise you that." Theseus was surprised but he nodded, Leo turned around and saw Crawford coming over, and he said, "Mister Crawford, come with me, and get this man a horse."