Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 157: Efforts for Progress [Bonus - ]

Chapter 157: Efforts for Progress [Bonus Chapter]

Ivan learned the basics from his parents and learned the more complicated writing from a book of letters and numbers they happened to find on the road when delivering goods when he was five.

It was what inspired him to learn. He read the book over and over again until he memorized all of it. He even taught his parents and their workers about what he learned from the book.

Seeing how Ivan could learn quickly, their neighbors who heard he even taught their workers recommended that his parents ask permission for him to be able to enter the library.

It was granted and thus, instead of helping on the farm, Ivan always borrowed books to read. He used to stay in the library and read as long as he could without eating but he was banned by the librarian because he passed out one time.

Ivan stayed home to read where people could see him and make him eat during mealtimes.

Ivan was a fast learner and from the books he had read from the library, there were books about agriculture authored by Count Cordelia.

Even as a child, he had the guts to make his parents experiment on what could be effective on their farm.

Most of the things in Count Cordelia’s book were effective on their farm so Ivan focused on reading more agricultural books by the Count and taught his family about them.

This led to the Meyers’ harvest gradually increasing as their farming methods, strategies, and techniques improved due to what Ivan taught them from the Count’s books.

With their continuous productive farming, the Meyers were able to buy more land and increase the crops they cultivated.

There was a time Ivan didn’t understand something in one of the books Count Cordelia authored and he dared to go to the Count’s residence to ask about it.

Count Cordelia was intrigued by a child below ten years old asking about the content of his book. He explained it in a manner easy to understand for a child but he was surprised to know that Ivan was so knowledgeable compared to his age.

It was then that the Count learned that Ivan had already read all the books in their library. What Ivan didn’t understand in his latest book were terms from territories in some parts of Valeria.

Due to this, Count Cordelia realized that his people could actually learn a lot through the library. There may be other people out there like Ivan who had read all the books there and needed new ones.

It was among the reasons the Count decided to widen the library in Cordelia when they became part of Valeria. He collected books from various parts of the Empire.

Due to this, Ivan had more sources of knowledge. After he read all the books in the library again, Count Cordelia gave him access to his personal collection of books.

Ivan also read more books about agriculture in various parts of Valeria and taught his family what he thought would be effective on their farm.

He even encouraged his parents to buy seeds for crops that were not planted in Cordelia yet. It was a gamble but the Meyers traveled to Riva to buy seeds Ivan recommended for them to plant.

This was the experience that encouraged Ivan to desire to live in Riva someday.

It was also what boosted the Meyers’ coffers so greatly.

The seeds Ivan recommended indeed grew in Cordelia. And since they were the first ones to cultivate it in Cordelia, the sales were great.

They supplied Cordelia with produce which should have been only available in Riva and other parts of the Empire.

With the earnings from this, they continued widening their lands. Soon, with the help of Count Cordelia, the Meyers became a major supplier of various crops in the nearby territories.

This inspired the people in Cordelia and Ivan and the Count taught them various methods that could be applied to their farms.

Count Cordelia regulated farming and ensured that major producers like the Meyers would have different crops so there wouldn’t be a conflict of interest and fighting on who would be the supplier for this or that crop.

Count Cordelia and Ivan’s efforts to learn more about agriculture in other areas and apply what was beneficial in their territory greatly helped Cordelia in becoming a very important supplier of various crops to their neighboring territories.

’Ivan was actually so popular here in Cordelia and yet he was so humble,’ Arabella was even more impressed now. She was truly glad she hired him.

After all his ventures helping his family and Cordelia, Ivan wanted to make his dream of living in Cordelia come true.

He had so much pride that he didn’t want to ask for a dime from his family though they still gave a lot since their current wealth was due to him.

Ivan never asked from his family again though and kept telling them he was doing fine and had his own savings even when he was having a difficult time in Riva.

Arabella learned that Ivan was beginning to regret not getting adopted by Count Cordelia after his most recent fight with his former superior and was wondering if he should just go back home to Cordelia when Arabella summoned him, and he passed as her assistant.

As such, his parents were very much thankful that Arabella hired their son. They were also overwhelmed that the Empress and Emperor even visited their abode.

They served them a delicious lunch and Arabella enjoyed their vegetable dishes the best. Ferdinand who used to be only fond of meat was learning to eat more vegetables (out of curiosity about why Arabella preferred them) and also enjoyed the lunch. He still ate more meat than vegetables though.

Ivan’s parents gifted them with fresh vegetables and fruits native to Cordelia. They also got more from Count Cordelia and Arabella happily accepted it all.

Ferdinand didn’t understand her excitement since he wasn’t that fond of fruits and vegetables.

There were no major problems in Cordelia so Arabella only did sightseeing during their visit. She was in a good mood when they returned to the Imperial Palace.

The following day, with Alwin’s teleportation, Arabella secretly traveled with Ferdinand to the territories of her other assistants. They were able to visit all of it in a single day since they found no major problems in it that they had to interfere with.

Arabella was glad that the major territories in Valeria were indeed progressive. What happened to Prudencia and Safiro were rare occurrences.