Chapter 7

The Kingdom of Grayrock has many nobles.

 However, not all nobles have their own fiefdoms.

 Most nobles only have the title of nobility without much substantial income.

 Only a few nobles have corresponding benefits such as owning a fiefdom along with their noble title.

 Nevertheless, the territories directly governed by the kingdom are still fragmented by these noble territories.

 When Du Mingna looked at the map of the Kingdom of Grayrock, he found that there were very few noble territories that were closely connected.

 The total area of the combined territories of several noble families that could be connected was far less than the area of the kingdom's directly governed lands surrounding them.

 Obviously, the kingdom did not intend to give the nobles a chance to unite and oppose the kingdom.

 Du Mingna originally wanted to look at the map a little longer to better understand this world.

 In his original memories, the Viscount Hall's family did not have such detailed maps.

 But the light in the room dimmed.

 The lighting in the stone room was not particularly good.

 It only had rows of small windows high up, controlled by mechanisms similar to the one on the door.

 When closing the windows, a stone slab was forcibly pushed over to block them all.

 The knob mechanism controlled the degree of opening and closing.

 Turning the knob all the way would completely close the windows.

 If not turned all the way, some small window grids could still be left open for ventilation.

 When Du Mingna was sitting in the room, all the windows were open.

 But now, the windows could no longer provide sufficient light for him indoors.

 Du Mingna watched as the map in his hands darkened.

 With insufficient light, he couldn't see anything.

 He tucked the complimentary map back to the last page and put the entire map back into his backpack.

 This map was too special for him to casually take out.

 He left the room, ready to find Old John.

 Lost in the map, he didn't feel hungry, but now he clearly felt his stomach empty.

 He needed to eat.

 Not sure if it was because of the bottle of basic constitution potion, he felt particularly hungry now.

 The potion was still working, generating a small warm current circulating in his body.

 But he felt very hungry.

 Every time the warm current circulated, he felt hungrier.

 Fortunately, the warm current could sustain his life needs, preventing him from fainting due to hunger after taking a few steps.

 He left the bedroom, and Old John had just lit a lamp in the living room.

 This lamp was one of the items they brought with them.

 "Young master?" Old John smiled as he held up the newly lit lamp and asked, "I was just about to look for you.

 It's getting late, young master must be hungry, right? I took some extra time to tidy up the house.

 If you don't mind, shall we have bread for dinner again?" The bread was dry and hard, not very tasty, but it could withstand hunger and be stored for a long time.

 The original owner and Old John left the family, driving a cart to get here, and they mostly ate this stuff on the way.

 The original owner had complained, and occasionally when they encountered delicious food on the road, he had asked Old John to buy some.

 If it were the original owner now, he might have forced Old John to get some hot food.

 But Du Mingna didn't mind.

 Life, special circumstances require special treatment.

 For newcomers, it was reasonable not to have the conditions to improve their lives.

 What was needed at this time was not blaming others but finding ways to change one's own life.

 "Old John, please bring out the bread quickly, I'm hungry," Du Mingna said, quickly walking to the small dining table in the corner and sitting down.

 It's not that he didn't want to get it himself, but everything was arranged by Old John.

 When Old John was putting their luggage into the house one by one, he was focused on carving with a small knife and didn't notice Old John's actions at all.

 "Alright, young master, please wait a moment," Old John said, placing the lamp on the small dining table before turning to get the long black bread.

 In that instant of turning around, a glint flashed in his eyes.

 The texture of this bread was similar to unleavened whole wheat bread, but it tasted worse and was even harder and drier than whole wheat bread.

 When eating, if you eat quickly, it is easy to choke.

 If you eat slowly, you can feel the bread continuously expanding in your mouth, emitting a slight sweetness.

 But by the time you taste the sweetness, the small piece of bread has been chewed many times, and its texture now easily reminds people of something that should already be in the stomach.

 Du Mingna initially wanted to eat quickly to savor the texture of the bread in his mouth as much as possible.

 But after almost choking several times, he gave up.

 Old John probably wouldn't know the Heimlich maneuver; in his memory, there was no such first aid method in the world.

 If he choked, he might have to save himself.

 With a few bites of bread in his stomach, his hunger had eased a bit, so eating slowly now was not a big deal.

 When he could no longer eat the bread, Du Mingna patted his stomach, picked up the water that Old John had brought over, and drank it sip by sip.

 After just a few sips, he put down the cup and asked, "Old John, how did you get so familiar with the villagers in this village? I've never heard you mention this before.

" Old John looked nostalgic.

 "That was before you were born, young master.

 I was sent on a mission to Huiseng Village and lived here for over two years.

 "Uh, the Viscount asked me to accompany the Iron Armor Mercenary Corps here, to have them search for something in the Sipu Mountains.

 "I didn't know what they were looking for, only that they searched for a long time and ultimately found nothing.

 "While they were staying in this village, they caused a lot of grievances to the villagers.

 Even though I represented the Viscount, I had to be cautious when facing the mercenaries, so how could they care about me? "When the mercenaries left, I returned to the Viscount's side.

 A few years later, when you were born, I started following you, young master.

" "Iron Armor Mercenary Corps?" Du Mingna nodded slightly.

 He remembered the name of this mercenary group.

 He had never heard of this mercenary group before and didn't know how they were doing now.

 Mercenaries were always living on the edge, doing dangerous work.

 Therefore, mercenaries were often irritable and could easily vent their anger on others.

 An individual mercenary might not live long or might have to leave if they couldn't continue due to accidents.

 But if it was a large enough mercenary group, the group's name could be preserved regardless of changes in its members.

 Old John didn't know what Du Mingna was thinking and just sighed softly.

 "Yes, the Iron Armor Mercenary Corps.

 Forget it, young master, these are all things from many years ago, and I don't need to tell you about them.

" Old John smiled.

 In the light, his face looked even softer.

 "Young master, rest assured, the villagers in this village are all good.

 When I lived here, I also took care of little Ges and little Daniel.

 They are just not quite accepting of your arrival today, but give them a couple of days, and they will surely treat you well.

" Du Mingna continued, "But Old John, I want to teach people to read and write.

 My life has completely changed since I came here.

 I need to do something to prove that I am still alive.

 Can you help me find a few students willing to learn from me in the long term? Even if it's just one.

" "This..." Old John met Du Mingna's pleading gaze and nodded involuntarily, "I'll do my best." He had already started thinking about who he could find.

 Ges? That seemed appropriate.

 Ges was the village chief, and all village affairs had to go through him.

 Ges should learn to read and write.

 But Ges was already very busy; could he convince Ges to study? Daniel? I'm afraid it may not work.

 Daniel has too deep a prejudice against the Hall family.

 Even if he can persuade Daniel to come and learn from Dumina, he is worried that Daniel will harm Dumina.

 Dora? The little girl held by Daniel seems very interested in the school Dumina mentioned.

 But she is Daniel's daughter.

 Will Daniel agree to let her come to the school? Old John was thinking when suddenly a knock on the door was heard from outside.

 Daniel's rough voice sounded outside the door.

 "Old John, it's me, little Daniel!" Old John was stunned.

 He just thought of Daniel, but he didn't expect Daniel to appear at the door immediately! Dumina, who was sitting on a small chair, nodded slightly, indicating Old John to open the door.

 Soon, the tall Daniel entered the room, making the dimly lit room even darker with just a small lamp.

 Daniel stared straight at Dumina.

 He asked in a deep voice, "Are you really planning to open a school in our village, teaching people to read and write?" Dumina remained seated.

 He smiled and nodded.

 "Yes.

 And let me correct you.

 My school will not only teach people to read and write, but it will also teach them much more in the future.

" The main system task must be related to magic.

 He just doesn't have the ability to teach magic to others right now, so he had to recruit students in this way to complete the task.

 Daniel didn't care about Dumina's correction.

 He asked again, "Are you willing to teach anyone who comes to learn from you?" Dumina nodded again.

 "Yes.

" Daniel immediately raised his head.

 "Good! Then I will come to learn from you, teach me! If you can really teach, I will let my daughter Dora come to learn from you!" Mentioning Dora, Daniel's tone softened a bit, but there was still a hint of suppressed dissatisfaction in his voice.

 Dumina raised an eyebrow in secret.

 It sounded like Daniel didn't really want to come and learn from him.

 Daniel seemed more like he was here to test this teacher.

 But whatever! Daniel is also a villager, and it is the duty of this newly appointed lord to educate the villagers.

 Since Daniel took the initiative to come, should he still drive him away? Dumina's lips curved up high.

 "You can come to learn, that's no problem.

 But I have a condition.

 You must study with me for at least six months, with a minimum of two hours of study time per day.

 Is that okay?" This is also the minimum time standard given by the system.

 He must ensure that the students study for at least six months, during which they can attend classes five days a week, with at least five hours of class per day.

 Students can also choose to attend classes every day, with a total of no more than four days of absence per month, with at least two hours per day.

 Someone like Daniel definitely cannot attend classes all day.

 Daniel was taken aback for a moment, then nodded heavily.

 "Okay! But I also have a condition.

 In case you don't teach well, I can choose not to learn!""