Chapter 22: Commencement!

As the sky began to lighten, the sound of people's chatter echoed through the Armis Mountain range.

Eight production teams from the salt fields had already moved into the newly built barracks at the foot of the mountain the day before. Now, they were gathering in the open space in front of the shelters.

Today marked the official commencement of the Hanging Garden project. Though Old Ford was reluctant in his heart, he still arrived early. After all, a massive sum of money and food was about to be spent on this grand endeavor—it would feel wrong not to oversee it personally.

Clearing his throat, Old Ford stood atop a flat rock and spoke in a loud voice:

"The rewards for participating in this project have already been explained to you by Lord Bruno, so I won't repeat them. Additionally, each production team will be assigned two overseers to record your earned work points."

After briefly explaining the calculation of work points, Old Ford signaled for someone to help him down from the rock. Professional work should be left to professionals this was something Bruno had told him before.

Old Ford's primary responsibility was to ensure logistical support, including the provision of grain and gold, as well as overseeing the daily review of work point calculations. As for the more technical aspects of the construction, they were left to the craftsmen of Idar City.

To build the Hanging Garden, nearly all of Idar City's masons and carpenters had been mobilized. To recruit them during the winter, Bruno had offered exceptionally generous wages.

The chief overseer of the project was a man named White Barrel. His great-great-great-great-grandfather had led the construction of the castle that Bruno now lived in, making him one of the most esteemed craftsmen in Idar.

A week ago, when White Barrel received the blueprints from Bruno, the man—already in his thirties was so moved that he nearly cried. It had been so many years since Idar's lord's castle was completed, yet the successive Idar Counts had been exceptionally frugal, never commissioning any grand construction projects.

But now, Bruno Stuart, the new Count of Idar, had decided to build a magnificent Hanging Garden on the eastern slopes of Armis Mountain…

To White Barrel, Bruno was a true benefactor!

The exquisite blueprints, abundant resources, and full support of the entire Idar territory made White Barrel eager to begin. He could barely contain his excitement.

He had studied the blueprints meticulously and was convinced that only a genius could have designed such a breathtaking architectural style and precisely engineered structure.

He was 100% certain that if this grand structure was completed under his direction, he could become the most renowned craftsman in the entire eastern part of the empire!

Lord Bruno… truly a noble worthy of admiration!

Compared to those other nobles who only knew how to indulge in drinking, gambling, and debauchery, Bruno was on an entirely different level. Now this was true nobility, this was true vision…

At first, White Barrel was simply in awe of the blueprints. But once construction officially began, he realized something even more astonishing—the blueprints were practically custom-made for this exact location!

From the spacing between rock formations to the curvature of every corner, everything was a perfect fit!

Yet what surprised White Barrel the most wasn't just the brilliance of the blueprints—it was the enthusiasm of the serfs!

Based on his past experience, serfs working in winter were typically sluggish, always looking for ways to slack off, leading to extremely low efficiency. But here, on this construction site, White Barrel thought he was hallucinating…

For the first time in his life, he saw serfs fighting for work. Tasks that would normally take half a day were now being completed in just over two hours!

Here, the overseers didn't even need to wield whips to drive the workers—no one was slacking off. To White Barrel, this was nothing short of incredible.

Each production team was assigned two overseers, who carried paper and pens to record the progress of the workers. Apparently, these records would be used to determine rewards.

The eight production teams had different roles—some transported timber, some quarried stone, and others cut down trees. Yet, remarkably, none of them showed even the slightest resistance to their assigned tasks.

Each team had a captain, who not only worked alongside the others but also encouraged them.

"Work hard, and you'll get meat to eat!"

This simple phrase was firmly imprinted in the minds of every serf…

Bruno yawned and stretched lazily under the covers.

The night before, he had been preoccupied with thoughts about magic, tossing and turning until nearly two or three in the morning before finally falling asleep.

Glancing out the window, he saw that it was already close to noon.

Dragging himself out of bed, he ordered the cook to prepare a bowl of noodle soup and quickly slurped it down.

Bruno knew that the Hanging Garden project was officially starting today, but he had no intention of going to the site. With White and Old Ford overseeing everything, he trusted that the project was in good hands.

After returning from the salt fields, Bruno suddenly found himself with unexpected leisure time.

The issues of funding and food had been resolved, but the Sky Garden couldn't be built overnight. As a result, he finally had the chance to experience the luxurious lifestyle of a noble in this world.

However… the entertainment options in this world were severely lacking. He thought for a long time but couldn't figure out what to do for fun.

"Servant!" Bruno called out.

"Here, my lord." A new face approached.

"Who are you? Where's Lopida?"

"Lopida… Oh, in response to my lord, Lopida has stayed by the seaside to oversee the salt fields and fishing operations. Shabi has also been busy these days… tending to, um, waste collection. So the head steward assigned me to serve you instead."

"What's your name?" Bruno asked casually.

After a brief pause, the servant replied, "Lis… Lister."

"Lister? Franz Liszt, the piano prince?" Bruno joked.

Another moment of silence. Then, Lister hesitantly said, "I… I'm not sure I understand…"

"…"

"Never mind. Go fetch me the blacksmith, and while you're at it, bring me a glass of wine."

"Right away!"

Before long, Lister returned, carrying a glass of wine.

"And the blacksmith?" Bruno asked.

Lister suddenly froze. "I… I forgot!"

With that, he sprinted out of the room in a panic.

Watching Lister's retreating figure, Bruno had a nagging suspicion… This guy seems a little slow in the head…

As Lister hurried through the corridors, he happened to run into Old Ford.

"Where are you off to in such a rush?" Old Ford asked.

"In response to the head steward, the lord asked me to fetch a blacksmith," Lister answered.

"Then hurry along, don't dawdle," Old Ford said with a smile.

"Oh."

As Lister left, Old Ford couldn't help but grin.

Lister was someone he had personally chosen to be Bruno's new personal servant. The boy was honest, slow-witted, and simple-minded. At the very least, he wouldn't be like Shabi and the others, always coming up with strange ideas to distract their lord…