Chapter 115
After upgrading the territory to a town level, a more complex financial system began to emerge. As the lord, Ye Bai needed to prepare the monthly wages for the territory within seven days of the upgrade and deposit them into the safe in this room. When the time came, the wages would be automatically distributed to the villagers based on their respective jobs.
From this perspective, the whole system felt very "game-like." Compared to the reality of managing a medieval territory, everything about the finances became simplified and transparent. As the lord, Ye Bai only needed to set the wages and taxes, and everything else would be handled automatically, eliminating the possibility of anyone embezzling or engaging in corruption.
If one were to stretch to find a principle behind this setup, it could be attributed to the Tree of Creation... perhaps.
After all, the Tree of Creation balanced the territory's technology and policies, so incorporating a banking system was hardly an issue.
“Creak—”
Ye Bai sat down at his desk, and a brand-new financial page for the territory appeared before him, divided into two main sections: expenditures and income.
In the expenditures section, there were three main items: wages, raw materials, and expenses.
These were simplified accounting entries, and the main adjustment Ye Bai needed to make was to the wage levels. Each profession in the territory had a clear system evaluation based on industry and skill level, and the lord could adjust their tiers, which had a total of five levels.
For non-military units, different wage levels would affect work efficiency and output levels, categorized as follows:
- Lowest (60%)
- Lower (80%)
- Average (100%)
- Higher (120%)
- Highest (140%)
The territory would supply basic survival goods—water and food—according to the population and pay wages to working residents, who could then use their earnings to purchase entertainment and luxury items from the territory.
At the same time, the monthly wages for ordinary workers and professionals in the territory, as well as military units, varied. Due to the differences in skill levels, there was a significant disparity in income between the former and the latter two groups.
The average monthly wage for non-professionals in the territory ranged from about 30 to 50 copper coins, depending on the industry.
The ordinary wage for Ye Bai's personal guards was set at 3 silver coins per month. However, since they were his personal guards, effectively private soldiers, Ye Bai could adjust this based on his mood, though it generally stayed around that price.
As for the wages of the junior military units, they had already been distributed last month, amounting to 1 silver coin per month.
However, the military wage system was relatively complex compared to other professions. Historically, maintaining an army has always been the most expensive endeavor. After reaching level 20, a soldier's base wage would increase by 1 silver coin for every five levels gained, capping at 5 silver coins. Additionally, there were extra financial expenditures for achievements in battle, combat rewards, and injury compensations, but with the system's calculations, Ye Bai only needed to pay the bills each month.
This was still for junior military units at levels 20 to 40. Once they reached level 40, Ye Bai would gain access to advanced military technology, allowing for the promotion of higher-tier soldiers, with each warrior's wage set at 10 silver coins. Similarly, for every five levels gained, the wage would increase by 10 silver coins, with a maximum base wage of 50 silver coins.
As for the ultimate soldier type at level 60, the base wage would be 1 gold coin, with no additional rewards for level increases, as level 60 represented the upper limit of combat power for ordinary NPCs that the territory could cultivate. In other words, it was the ceiling of potential; only NPCs with special combat talents could continue to level up beyond this point.
At this thought, Ye Bai finally remembered Felix, whom he had sent to the blacksmith shop.
He was a standard combat talent, and dealing with a personal quest like his could be troublesome. However, Ye Bai had already completed Dilina's personal quest, so he had the capacity to take on Felix's task now. It wouldn't hurt to learn more about it.
Moreover, with so much on his plate, he hadn't yet opened the special talents that had appeared among the refugees. After finishing the financial matters, he would go and check them out.
Currently, Ye Bai wasn't short on money. After his last purchase from a traveling merchant, he still had 10 gold, 23 silver, and 55 copper coins left, having set aside 1 gold coin in the merchant guild for trade adjustments. After defeating three bosses and six players, he had earned 30 gold and 45 silver coins, bringing his total to 39 gold, 68 silver, and 55 copper coins.
Due to the ongoing construction, there were no unemployed individuals in Baiye Town. Besides the professionals in the territory, there were a full 142 ordinary workers. The system quickly calculated that the total wages needed for these ordinary workers for a month would be 51 silver and 23 copper coins.
Needless to say, the wealthy lord directly raised their wages to the highest level, effectively doubling the ordinary wage, which amounted to just over 1 gold coin. This move would boost work efficiency by 140%. It wasn't just about speeding up productivity; it also accelerated the acquisition of skill proficiency, leading to the quicker emergence of professionals.
Speaking of life professionals, their wages were significantly higher than those of ordinary workers.
The wages for junior life professionals were also determined by the system, based on skill proficiency and output. The basic wage for three levels of proficiency ranged from 1 to 3 silver coins, and like military units, there were additional rewards for extra output beyond tasks.
Currently, there were six life professionals in Ye Bai's territory, including the herbalist Lucy, tailor Calvin, blacksmith Wade, and hunter Sean, all of whom were junior professionals. Their combined wages totaled over 5 silver coins, with Lucy having reached the second level of proficiency as a herbalist, earning the highest wage.
Once they became intermediate professionals, their base wages would be similar to those of advanced military units, ranging from 10 to 30 silver coins, while advanced professionals could earn between 50 to 80 silver coins per month.
Currently, the advanced professional Kali, with the territory upgraded to town level, was finally set to receive her first wage, which was 60 silver coins.
Ye Bai waved his hand and set the highest wages for all five professionals, compensating them for their previous work.
As a result, the wages for the professionals reached over 1 gold coin.
Finally, Ye Bai's gaze fell on the unique name of the territory's "Master Tailor," Dilina.
Wage: 1 gold coin, 35% share of the tailor shop's profits (locked)
This was the contract Ye Bai had signed with Dilina after her promotion. He let out a sigh of relief—completing a personal quest really made a difference.
If he were to offer the master tailor double wages, even a wealthy lord like Ye Bai would feel the pinch.
Typically, a master-level professional, being at the pinnacle of their field, would hold a respected position even in the main city. Just to keep such a person in the territory, the base price would range from 5 to 10 gold coins, and hiring a master would require additional payment, even from a lord.
Now, Dilina only required a monthly wage of 1 gold coin and 35% of the profits, which undoubtedly alleviated a significant financial burden for Ye Bai.
Of course, as Baiye Town developed into Baiye City and gained access to more equipment blueprints for production, Dilina's share of the profits would become quite substantial, far exceeding the monthly wages of 5 to 10 gold coins. It was as if she was making a long-term investment in Ye Bai.
After making the adjustments, Ye Bai calculated that the total wages for the first month would amount to 5 gold, 24 silver, and 23 copper coins.
In the other two expenditure categories, the territory could achieve self-sufficiency in raw materials, with only a few special materials needing to be imported, such as bat wings for night cloaks and branch wood for energy crossbows. Ye Bai had set aside 2 gold coins as a purchasing limit for these expenses, which was more than sufficient.
The remaining expenses primarily covered the maintenance of operational buildings and public facilities within the territory, such as the bathhouse and general school, which required material and labor costs. Since the territory itself supplied materials, the total expenses amounted to less than 50 silver coins per month.
【Do you confirm the application of the current financial expenditure plan? Please place sufficient funds in the safe.】
With this prompt, the safe beside Ye Bai clicked open automatically.
Following the instructions, Ye Bai took out 10 gold coins and placed them inside.
As if verifying the weight was sufficient, the safe door slowly closed after Ye Bai withdrew his hand.
【Current financial plan applied.】
Once the financial plan was published, it could not be altered before the wage distribution under this plan; any changes would have to wait until the next month.
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