Chapter 205: Chapter 204: Fertility Policy

Village Chief Hahn’s wife had been in labor for so long that she was starting to lose her strength, a very dangerous sign.

However, as soon as Elron arrived, he used his Vitality Skill. It gave her an instant surge of power, and within the two minutes the skill lasted, she successfully delivered the baby.

Although she suffered some minor tearing, the Healing Skill quickly stopped the bleeding and she began to recover.

“Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Elron. Please, you must stay for dinner tonight!”

Village Chief Hahn’s elderly mother was already bustling about preparing dinner. She brought out the good grain and dried meat they had been saving and even went so far as to slaughter a live chicken.

It was too heartfelt an invitation to refuse, so Elron had no choice but to accept.

When Ronin arrived at the Hahn family’s home, though the sound of a baby’s cry filled the humble little courtyard, all the adults were smiling, and the atmosphere was warm and joyous.

“My Lord, you’ve returned!”

The sharp-eyed Elron spotted Ronin outside the courtyard and immediately rose to greet him.

Hahn froze for a moment, and then his heart began to pound. He never expected the Lord to be back in the territory, let alone deign to visit his home.

“My Lord, your visit is a great honor for our family!”

He hurried out after Elron and nervously ushered Ronin inside. His family scrambled about, anxiously moving a stool and wiping the table.

“It looks like everything went smoothly. Congratulations, Village Chief Hahn!”

As Ronin offered his congratulations, he took the baby from the new grandmother’s arms and held him.

The baby wasn’t very good-looking, a bit ugly even.

But all newborns look like that. He would get much cuter once he grew a little and his features filled out.

“Have you picked a name for him?”

“N-not yet.” Hahn shook his head.

Ronin smiled. “How about I name him then?”

“Yes!”

Hahn was so overjoyed he could barely contain himself. “Of course you can!”

It was already a tremendous honor for his child to be held by the Lord; he never imagined the Lord would also offer to name him!

If word of this got out, the other village chiefs would die of envy.

“A boy or a girl?” Ronin asked.

“It’s a boy.”

Ronin handed the infant to an eager Erin beside him, letting her hold him for a moment while he stroked his chin and thought seriously about the child’s name.

After a moment, he spoke slowly. “Let’s call him Galen.”

He explained, “I once read the name in a book. Galen. He was an upright, brave, and powerful Knight. I hope your child can become a Knight just like the one in the story, a hero of the Wubei Territory!”

“Galen… Galen…”

Hearing the Lord’s explanation, a light sparked in Hahn’s eyes. It was as if he could already see his son in the future, a handsome figure holding a sword and riding a horse.

“Thank you for bestowing this name, My Lord. I will raise him well so that he may serve you in the future!”

That night, with the Lord as their guest, the Hahn family prepared an unprecedentedly lavish dinner.

For the occasion, they not only slaughtered chickens and ducks but also made a special trip to Mountain Forest Castle to buy two live fish.

Although their cooking skills were a bit lacking compared to Mrs. Bandele’s at the castle, they had clearly tried their very best.

Given his hosts’ warmth, Ronin didn’t stand on ceremony, eating and drinking his fill.

However, when he left, he still left three gold coins as a thank you for Hahn’s hospitality and as a gift for the newborn Galen.

For someone from Mountain Forest Castle, the meal was simple, but for the Hahn family, it was a huge expense. Ronin didn’t want his visit to cause them such an expense.

On the way back, Ronin said to himself, “The living conditions and sanitation of the villagers are still a bit lacking.”

Even the structure of Village Chief Hahn’s house made Ronin frown.

Their bedroom, kitchen, and the area where they kept chickens and ducks were all basically in a series of connected rooms, and the smell was quite unpleasant.

The dinner table had been moved into the courtyard; otherwise, Ronin wasn’t sure he would have been able to eat.

“Galen, when Wilson gets back, tell him to have the villagers separate their living quarters from their coops and stables when building houses in the future.”

“Tell them not to worry about theft. The territory’s security will be enhanced, the rule of law will be enforced, and thieves will be severely punished.”

Galen quickly made a note of it.

Elron commented from the side, “My Lord, this likely won’t be accomplished quickly, will it? After all, it involves every villager’s home environment, and they don’t have that much time for renovations.”

“Of course. It will be a long process,” Ronin said with a nod. “This is ultimately the villagers’ own business. The Lord’s Mansion is merely advocating and suggesting, and will permit them to expand and repair their houses without any fees.”

Sanitation may seem like a small issue, but its impact is significant.

In a good living environment, people are healthier, and children grow up better as well.

“Elron, I didn’t realize you also delivered babies.”

Ronin changed the subject. “When did you learn that skill?”

Elron looked a little embarrassed. “My Lord, you misunderstand. I only use the Vitality Skill to help them during labor and the Healing Skill to prevent complications like excessive bleeding.”

“That’s still very impressive.”

Ronin said with a smile. Reducing the risks of childbirth was something not just anyone could do in this era.

Unfortunately, Elron was their only Light Attribute Mage. If there were too many women in labor, he wouldn’t be able to handle them all, which meant it was impossible to provide this assistance on a large scale.

The four of them continued to chat as they walked.

When Ronin learned that six newborns had arrived in Mountain Forest Town over the past month, he decided to implement a birth policy in the Wubei Territory. After all, childbirth was one way to grow the population.

After a discussion with Elron, Ronin preliminarily established two policies.

The first was for pregnant women: during pregnancy and for three months postpartum, they would be exempt from corvee labor. They were also forbidden from participating in strenuous physical labor.

Anyone who forced a pregnant woman to perform strenuous labor, resulting in a miscarriage or even death, would be punished with flogging, with the severity depending on the circumstances.

Second, for every successful birth, the family could cut down ten trees free of charge to build a house of about ten square meters. Furthermore, for the following three years, they could apply to the Lord’s Mansion for an annual reward of 100 jin of grain in the child’s name.

Both of these policies were substantial, allowing families who had children to receive tangible benefits.

Ronin believed that with their implementation, they would surely bring a positive change to the birth rates in the Wubei Territory.

“The Lord has always been kind to his subjects.”

Elron stroked the gray-white beard he’d grown at some point. “May the Light forever shine upon you and the residents of the Wubei Territory.”

It had been a long time since Ronin had heard him speak in that preacher-like tone, and he couldn’t help but smile.

He checked Elron’s current Cultivation status. Through his own efforts, Elron had advanced his Level progress to Senior Mage 33/400.

Although his progress wasn’t slow, it would probably take him another three years of his own effort to break through and become a Great Mage.

Back at the castle, Elron delivered the finished Magic Scrolls to Ronin’s study.

“My Lord, I’ve finished using the Magical Beast Hides we purchased last time. The success rate increased significantly; I only failed five times, for a final yield of fifty scrolls.”

Ronin looked at the pile of Magic Scrolls before him and nodded with satisfaction.

If he sold all fifty of these Magic Scrolls, he would earn another 850 Gold Coins.

Although after subtracting the 495 Gold Coins spent on materials, the net profit was only 355 Gold Coins, this was just the profit from a little over a month.

Projected over a year, selling Healing Spell Scrolls would bring the Wubei Territory a net income of over two thousand gold coins.

Elron really was a money-making prodigy.

“Keep twenty Magic Scrolls, and sell the remaining thirty.”

As he spoke, Ronin collected the Magic Scrolls and put them into his Space Ring.

These were strategic resources, and the Wubei Territory needed a stockpile.

If necessary, Ronin could also distribute them as rewards to his Knights.

“Elron, I see your contributions to the territory, and your abilities are very important to the Wubei Territory!”

Ronin looked at the Light Attribute Mage. “So this time, I’ve decided to raise your power.”

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