Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 415 - 415 414 Reclamation (Additional Release

Chapter 415: Chapter 414: Reclamation (Additional Release, Request for Monthly Pass) Chapter 415: Chapter 414: Reclamation (Additional Release, Request for Monthly Pass) The pioneering of the Blackflame Plains was underway with great vigour.

Though rudimentary and rough, the Charcoal Dust Road, pitted and bumpy, still ensured the flow of goods throughout the entire region.

At this moment, the sunshine was splendid.

On the Broken Snowfield, the Charcoal Dust Road seemed damp due to the melting snow.

But the road’s good drainage kept it stable and prevented it from becoming mired in the snowmelt. However, the hasty construction meant the roadbed wasn’t compacted thoroughly, resulting in unevenness.

Miler, sitting in his wagon, was being jostled so much that his old back was nearly breaking, even with a cushion placed down.

“Miler, have we arrived yet?” he couldn’t help but lift the curtain of the wagon and ask his eldest son, who was driving at the front.

The eldest son was also named Miler—many serfs shared names passed down like this.

However, the eldest son had a red birthmark on his face, so he had a nickname, Scar-faced Muller: “Not yet, father.”

“Pick a better path to travel on, my old bones are about to fall apart.”

“Father, why bother putting yourself through this misery to come all the way to the Blackflame Plains?” Scar-faced Muller complained, “We have our general store in the town, and there’s one at Wuyao Snake Manor too, isn’t that enough?”

Miler was indeed the owner of the general store at Wuyao Snake Manor.

Upon hearing this, he glared at his eldest son: “If I don’t make an effort, with a few fools like you, do you think we could even eat our fill?”

Scar-faced Muller shrank his neck a little.

Miler opened up and couldn’t stop talking: “We barely have a few copper coins at home, and none of you wants to strive for more, thinking you can just live off my efforts? Let me tell you, I’m sending all the grandkids to the Knight Academy for further studies, you may not be aspiring for more, but they do!”

“We’re not lacking in aspirations,” Scar-faced Muller argued back, “It’s just that conditions are tough right now. Once the Blackflame Plains are better developed, wouldn’t it be nice to open a shop then and not suffer so much now?”

“You don’t know anything!” Miler scolded, “Right now, when the Blackflame Plains lack everything, is the best chance to make money. If you don’t make an effort when conditions are hard, you won’t have the chance when things get better.”

After the scolding.

Miler spoke proudly: “If I didn’t have a bit of a relationship with the lord, would the opportunity of the temporary general store fall into my lap?”

He then prattled on about how he had had the foresight to recognize that Wuyao Snake Manor would prosper under Lord Russell’s rule, how he was the first to run a general store there, and how he had shared drinks and good times with Lord Russell.

Even now that Lord Russell had become a Flying Dragon Knight, a Dragon Domain Lord, Baron Thunderflame, he still remembered him.

It was Lord Russell who had entrusted him with the arrangements for the temporary general store.

“Lord values me, Miler. Even if it doesn’t make money, I would still get this temporary general store up and running!” Miler declared loudly, momentarily filled with the noble enthusiasm of one willing to die for a respected friend.

His eldest son, Scar-faced Muller, pouted and muttered softly: “Who are you kidding, if this wasn’t profitable, who would play sick more than you… Besides, for the temporary general store, it’s not just you invited to this venture—several general store owners have come.”

To motivate the serfs to be more productive, besides providing rations, Russell also paid them a portion in wages when arranging their work.

But with the Blackflame Plains being nothing but wasteland, there was nowhere to spend money.

Therefore, Russell had invited small traders from Glowing Valley to come and establish various temporary shops, providing convenient services to the serfs on his land.

The Muller family thus received a license for a temporary general store and joined the merchant caravan to sell goods in the Blackflame Plains.

As memories of the past lingered in his mind, the wagon had already passed through the Broken Snowfield and entered the Blackflame Plains.

On the edge of the cavern, a small market had begun to take shape, with various temporary shops already set up. Many wagons were parked here, and the drivers liked to stop for a meal or to rest overnight before continuing on their journey.

“Miler with the missing teeth, you’ve come too?” someone in the crowd called out Miler’s name, “Oh, the whole family is here?”

Miler steadied himself and recognized the caller: “Big-small Eyes, what brings you here too?”

Scar-faced Muller parked the carriage and followed by his two younger brothers, all coming over to greet the other: “Uncle Big-small Eyes.”

Big-small Eyes, who was also past his fifties, stroked his goatee and reflected: “I’ve been a merchant half my life, and in my old age I just want some stability, so I came to Blackflame Plains to have a look around, see if I can find some way to make a living.”

“You old rascal, you’ve been traveling with the caravan every year and must have saved a tidy sum. Just set up a shop in Blackflame Plains and do business nice and steady,” Miler suggested.

“I am considering that, but the towns in Blackflame Plains aren’t settled yet, and even once they are, it’ll probably take several years,” Big-small Eyes explained, “I can’t just sit around and use up my savings, so I came here to look for some small business opportunities in the meantime.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“Haven’t decided yet.”

Big-small Eyes actually had an idea but didn’t want to share it with Miler, after all, a money-making idea shouldn’t be shared with others.

He wanted to open a tofu shop and, if possible, rent several hundred acres of land to grow his own soybeans.

Ever since Russell invented tofu, the delicacy quickly spread throughout Glowing Valley, especially among the common folk.

The nobility had too many food options and weren’t interested in tofu, but the commoners had little choice in their diet, making tofu an excellent choice to improve their lives.

Therefore,

Big-small Eyes was convinced that the tofu business was a good track to follow, as making tofu at home wasn’t convenient for the common folks. If he could open a tofu shop, he wouldn’t have to worry about the business.

And he could start now, pushing a tofu cart to the frontier settlements to sell tofu.

“On top of that, brew some beer, and offer snacks like peanuts, fava beans, and melon seeds. That’s a sure way to profit!”

Big-small Eyes was self-satisfied with this thought, but in front of Miler, he kept a poker face, even showing a watchful look: “I can’t let Miler know my tofu cart can sell groceries, or he might start selling tofu in his grocery shop!”

As it turned out, Miler was completely unaware that Big-small Eyes was planning on stealing his business.

As they sat down in the tea shop, he was still bragging about his mobile grocery shop: “The Lord asked me the other day—’Miler, how much can you earn with a little shop? Come to my domain, the Blackflame Plains, where there’s gold everywhere!'”

Whoosh.

A gust of wind blew by.

Suddenly, someone shouted loudly: “A bipedal flying dragon, it’s Lord Rosai!”

There appeared a dark, bipedal flying dragon, spreading its wings so wide they blocked out the sun, sweeping over the makeshift market.

Miler immediately widened his eyes and exclaimed, “It’s really Lord Rosai!”

Then he prostrated himself on the ground, shouting loudly: “Praise the Lord, praise Lord Rosai!”

Many people at the makeshift market couldn’t help but do the same as Miler, lying face down on the ground, worshiping the dragon-riding lord as he left.

Even though they hadn’t seen whether there was someone on the back of the bipedal flying dragon.

Only when the silhouette of the flying dragon disappeared into the sky did Miler and the others get up from the ground, looking at the sky with awe and admiration.

“Lord Rosai has been protecting Blackflame Plains for hundreds of years, our good days are still ahead!” Miler remarked sentimentally.

Big-small Eyes couldn’t help but nod in agreement: “Yes, with the protection of the Fluorescent Fungi Family, life is going to get better and better.”