Chapter 27
In the myriad realms, currency exchange follows the standard fantasy game template: '1 gold coin = 100 silver coins = 10,000 copper coins.'
Siphoning off the people's wealth is rather pointless; even the most stringent tax rate only amounts to ten copper coins per person, which would severely drop satisfaction levels. To profit from resident taxes, one must wait until the territory reaches a higher level, upgrading the current shanties into small villas, at which point the tax revenue becomes substantial.
Currently, Ye Bai places greater emphasis on tax revenue from commerce. The market under construction, along with future buildings like the [Trade Dock] and [Exchange], promises a significant influx of taxes, which will be a major source of income for the territory.
However, just the market's construction requires five gold coins, not to mention the costs for the two external trade buildings.
Thus, wilderness lord players often find themselves in an awkward situation when they first upgrade to a level 1 territory. They face a dilemma: want high tax revenue? Build a market. Want to build a market? You need high tax revenue.
They can either wait or risk losing a lot of satisfaction by raising taxes. Few can manage what Ye Bai has done—preparing all the necessary materials before even upgrading to a level 1 territory.
Ye Bai glanced over to the reserved central area of the residential district, where a large building made of stone platforms and wooden sheds was taking shape. Once completed, the market would significantly boost satisfaction and environmental value, while also serving the function of distributing food, tools, and supplies within the territory, becoming the second major center of the domain.
Not far from the market, a stone-brick herbalist's shop was also under construction. In the future, Lucy would work there as the territory's herbalist.
As for the wages of villagers like Ka Li, Lucy, and Sean, who work in professional buildings, there was no need to pay them yet, as they had not yet become professionals and were still considered 'apprentices.' In a magical medieval setting, who pays apprentices? Not charging them is already generous!
In the industrial area across the way, a tailor's shop was being built next to the blacksmith's. Such industrial buildings are clustered together not only for aesthetic reasons but also because certain policies can enhance productivity in concentrated industrial zones, similar to an industrial park.
After surveying the area, Ye Bai headed northeast within the territory.
Most of the newly added idle labor force was either busy constructing various buildings or using hoes to cultivate new fields. In a day or two, they would clear four new plots of land—unless the hoes were embedded with energy crystals, in which case the efficiency would drop to five or six days.
These four plots would be used for planting cotton, herbs, and food vegetables.
The previously harvested fields were now vacant, and one villager was already turning the soil again.
Seeing Ye Bai approach, the villager came forward, "My lord, you arrived just in time! You said to call you when it was time to sow this land, and I’ve just finished loosening the soil."
"Great," Ye Bai nodded, gesturing as she instructed the villager on planting, "You’ll plant wheat and red fruits in this ratio..."
It’s not that Ye Bai truly knew how to farm; she was merely teaching the villager the planting ratio of the two crops in one field.
To enrich the gameplay of the planting system, the myriad realms encourage mixed cropping, which can lead to both positive and negative effects on the final harvest, adding an element of fun.
Uh... if one were to describe the principle, it could be explained: planting only one type of crop in a field over time depletes the soil's fertility, while mixed cropping allows different crops to absorb and release various elements, potentially complementing each other and significantly increasing yield.
Of course, there are also examples where mixing the wrong crops negatively affects the harvest.
Originally, acquiring this knowledge would require lord players to explore the game, learn through trial and error, buy recipes from traveling merchants, or invite professionals like botanists to their territory by building a [School]...
But with Ye Bai, none of that was necessary.
Sorry, knowing the strategies allows for a free rein.
---
**Chapter 19**
Ye Bai stayed just one day in the capsule hotel and didn’t extend her stay. On the tenth day in the game, it was precisely when her room was due.
Before leaving the hotel, Ye Bai took a shower and then settled on a free bench in the park area, as it was still early enough to find a spot.
Who would have thought that even though 'Bai Ye' was a lord in the myriad realms, in reality, she was sleeping on the streets... uh, wait, there’s no lord's mansion in the game; the villagers all have their own houses, and their lord is just a 'wanderer.'
Ugh, thinking about it makes it feel even worse.
【You have a new message】
Just as she was about to enter the game, Ye Bai suddenly received a new message.
This made her heart race; reality was different from the Star Network. Here, messages were sent directly to Ye Bai, not to 'Bai Ye.'
Moreover, the message couldn’t possibly be from her friend Aurora, as the star system of the Illusory Sea Civilization was located in the first spiral arm of the Milky Way. Aurora was on her way back, using a wormhole jump, which could take ten days to half a month.
But without the Star Network, it was like the difference between modern internet and ancient courier systems. Even with what was considered super-fast communication technology thousands of years ago, it would take at least two months for Ye Bai to receive a message from Aurora on Blue Star.
Could it be that the Blue Star Council discovered something?
With a mix of anxiety, she opened the message. After reading its contents, Ye Bai was momentarily taken aback, then let out a sigh of relief.
The message was from a corporation on Makur Star, the very one she had prepared as a backup just a week ago when she left the lab.
It was the only invitation among the thousands of resumes she had sent out.
Originally, after Aurora left, Ye Bai planned to head to Makur Star, but then she saw the advertisement for [Myriad Realms], and the job application was naturally forgotten.
Such a bidirectional job invitation didn’t necessarily require a response, especially for interstellar recruitment. Star Network accounts were expensive, and information transmission took time; often, just showing up or not was enough to indicate the answer.
Ye Bai thought that if they didn’t see her apply, they would cancel the offer, but to her surprise, they continued to send messages.
However, after reading the content, Ye Bai understood the reason.
The email asked if she was still on Blue Star and whether she would accept the job, further increasing the salary and benefits. Their company’s spaceship happened to be passing through the solar system wormhole and would stop for a day, offering to pick her up and save her travel expenses.
The solar system wormhole, as the second-largest transportation hub in the Milky Way, had countless ships using it as a springboard for interstellar travel.
It was normal for the ship from Makur Star to check in with her.
However, Ye Bai certainly wouldn’t go back to being a monkey at the interstellar zoo. After sending a polite refusal, she drank some nutrient solution, lay down, and returned to the game.
---
The village was steadily progressing in its construction. After upgrading [Exploration], iron and copper resources were discovered in the mountainous terrain to the southwest of the territory.
This was a factor Ye Bai had considered when designating the southwest area as the industrial zone. Ore was essential for the territory's development and was not hard to find; almost all mountainous terrains would have it, with the only difference being the quantity.
Even if the reserves were low, they would be more than enough for the initial development of the territory. As the territory expanded later, finding new mountains to mine would just be a matter of time.
Originally, the best resources at this stage would be iron and coal, but Ye Bai already had the highest-grade energy crystal mine, so coal was no longer a concern.
Seeing that the mine was under normal construction and the market was nearing completion, Ye Bai was satisfied as she approached the energy crystal mine.
Standing at this 'proof of good fortune' location, she had specifically taken a shower and changed at the capsule hotel for this special moment—
To identify the legendary building blueprint!
After reaching level 15 and selecting the [Identification] talent, Ye Bai had been busy preparing for the territory's upgrade and hadn’t opened this blind box immediately. Now that the monster siege event was resolved, it was time to see what this wondrous building was.
Even if it couldn’t be built right away, it would still be nice to get a glimpse of it!
【You have obtained the equipment blueprint 'Night Cloak'】
To warm up her luck, she first opened a blue blueprint she already knew the result of, then took a deep breath and used [Identification] on the golden blueprint.
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