CHAPTER 70: NEW LIFE OF ROCKVALLEY

***

Three days passed.

Baron Gideon’s meeting with Clark and several of the village elders had ended. They had summarized a number of problems currently happening in Rockvalley, the result of Nozel’s policies that did not side with the people.

Taxes, sanitation, clean water, public facilities, trade, and so on. They explained everything in detail and clearly, including the root of each issue.

Those were only the problems in Rockvalley. Gideon had not heard anything yet from Algus Village or Dergon Village.

He had already sent letters to them, asking the two village chiefs to come to the Baron’s residence. However, there was no sign they were going to come.

"Thank you for taking the time to discuss this problem with me," said Gideon as he stood up from the sofa.

He looked forward, seeing Clark and the two elders also stand up when they saw him rise. Gideon and Clark shook hands, making sure everything was smooth and according to plan.

"Your presence is a blessing. I hope you can solve our problems one by one," Clark said hopefully.

"I will try to find solutions for your vital problems. After that, I will follow up on the other issues," Gideon replied firmly.

Gideon escorted Clark and the village elders outside the Baron’s residence. Their attention was drawn forward, where they saw the long line of villagers waiting to enter the clinic, spreading all the way to the gate.

"Your friend is a great doctor. Some of us are already showing signs of recovery after being treated by her," praised one of the elders, seventy-two years old with short white hair.

"You can count on her. If you have time, go see her for a checkup. She’ll be glad to help you," Gideon answered.

"Of course, but I don’t like standing in line, if you want to know."

"Ha! I’ll find a way for that," Gideon laughed, reacting to the old man’s stubbornness.

Slowly, Clark and the other elders walked away, leaving Gideon standing alone at the door. Lena had already started her duty, checking the patients with the help of several maids skilled in nursing.

Luke and Lyra had gone to the village to gather small groups of villagers to begin digging wells. Yesterday, the two of them had gone around the village, visiting houses one by one to take notes.

Luke wrote down their names for each family’s needs. Lyra checked the houses to make sure of the right location for drilling. They had both done good work.

Every house selected would have a marked location for the well to be dug. Before their turn to dig, each family had to listen to Lyra’s instructions.

They were forbidden to dump any kind of waste within a twenty-meter radius of the marked location. This was to make sure the groundwater stayed clean.

Most of them obeyed, throwing their trash in the provided spots even though they were far away.

Even though many obeyed, there were still those who stubbornly ignored the orders. Luke would not hesitate.

On Gideon’s orders, Luke and Lyra might cancel the well-digging plans for families who refused to comply.

The village was gradually becoming more stable, with no riots or protests like before. The lower taxes were a breath of fresh air for the villagers, letting them live more relaxed than before.

"Lord Gideon," greeted Viviene.

She stepped out of the Baron’s residence carrying a piece of paper with the names of the maids assigned to collect taxes in several places.

"How is it, Viviene?" Gideon asked, taking the paper.

"As you ordered, I have chosen several maids who can work in the branch tax offices in the villages," Viviene replied.

"Many of them have worked for the Baron for more than ten years. Their loyalty cannot be doubted," she added.

Gideon ordered Viviene to calculate the budget for setting up branch tax offices in Rockvalley, Nemora, Algus, and Dergon.

Each village would get one office, run by five maids and guarded by three of the Baron’s soldiers.

Their job was simple: to receive, record, and spread the word about the new lower taxes to the villagers.

Gideon did this to make the job easier for the village chiefs, who used to be tasked with collecting taxes from the people.

Now, that job would be taken over by the Baron, in this case Gideon, through the chosen maids.

"I want to stress honesty in tax collection. Corruption in this duty will end with hanging!" Gideon said firmly.

"Provide the villagers with tax cards, do double validation before accepting payment. Taxes may only be paid by the head of the family," he continued.

"So, you mean collectively through the family heads?" Viviene asked.

"Correct. Before paying, every family member who earns income must hand their share of the tax to their father. If there is no father, then to the mother. If there are neither, then to the eldest family member."

"Open the worker records from the four villages, then sync them with today’s updated data," Gideon added.

"That way, we can decide how many coins each family must pay for their taxes."

Viviene stayed silent, frowning as she stared at Gideon. Some of Gideon’s words were easy for her to understand, but there were still things she didn’t quite get.

"Sync?"

"Send a message to every village chief. Order them to record all the families in their villages today, and make sure of how many workers there are in each family."

"For example, if a family has four members and three of them work, then the total tax that the family’s head must pay is two silver, consisting of 150 copper coins for income tax and 50 copper coins for housing tax."

"In the future, I may apply tax discounts for productive families, meaning half of the family members are working."

"That will encourage them to be more productive. The more family members work, the higher the discount they get."

Viviene smiled, starting to understand what kind of sync Gideon meant. In short, she realized that Gideon wanted to update the family data in every village to determine how much tax and discount they would get.

The woman clearly understood that the villager data had not been updated in a long time. Nozel had imposed taxes unilaterally on everyone, without considering the number of family members.

"I understand," Viviene replied.

"You have a lot of work, Lady Viviene. But if you succeed, you won’t just make them happy, you’ll also erase their hatred toward you."

"I know what I must do. I won’t disappoint you, Lord Gideon," Viviene said clearly.

Optimism shone from her face, her spirit to work for the villages and for Gideon burning brighter.

This time, her task was much more interesting because she felt it was something new that she needed to learn.

Whether this solution would be effective or not, time and the villagers would answer later.

After receiving her briefing from Gideon, Viviene went back inside and started working according to his orders.

The man smiled. It wasn’t so hard, as long as he kept the chain of command like a soldier’s team.

But in the middle of peace and calm, there would always be unexpected problems waiting for him.

A group of riders came from the southern village gate, galloping fast down the main road toward the Baron’s residence. Gideon narrowed his eyes as he watched them approach.

Three riders, one woman and two men. They all wore leather jackets, shirts, and pants. Their purpose in coming to Rockvalley was to meet the new Baron.

The guard soldiers stopped them when their identities were not known. Gideon stepped forward, going outside the residence gate to meet the three.

"Who are you?" Gideon asked.

"Tell me. Are you Baron Gideon?" asked the thin woman.

"Yes."

"You must help us if you want to earn our trust!" she said firmly.

"First tell me who you are. Why should I help you? Who do you represent?" Gideon asked firmly.

The woman removed the cloth from her mouth and stared at Gideon. Her breathing was heavy, her face pale and exhausted as if she had little strength left.

Gideon narrowed his eyes. He did not know who she was. The two men did the same, beginning to introduce themselves.

"I’m Nath, daughter of Jacques."

"I’m Gideon, southern border Baron," Gideon replied.

"We came from Dergon!"

"Dergon?"

"You must help us deal with the famine there!"