After appointing Old Jack and Lin Feng, Rocky ordered Thunderhawk City to head for Eternal City once again!
The decision met with no objections, for after such a great haul, the most appropriate action for Rocky was to immediately make for Eternal City, to convert all the spoils of war into Gold Coins at the largest trading city in the skies, and then use those Gold Coins to enhance his own strength as well as that of his city.
So, at his command, Thunderhawk City, which had been docked near Break-Sky Mountain for nearly a month, slowly began to move, and then it headed towards the coordinates of Eternal City.
After making all these arrangements, Rocky finally had the chance to rest well, which resulted in him sleeping for a full two days in his room!
There was no helping it; the mission had been extremely exhausting. The continuous battles had left him worn out in both body and mind, so once he was finally back in his city, Rocky completely relaxed and was able to sleep soundly, peacefully, and, most importantly, safely for a good long time.
A week went by just like that, and after a week had passed, a fully rejuvenated Rocky once again summoned his officials to the City Lord’s Hall, resuming his regular duties as a City Lord.
“During this time, there hasn’t been any conflict among the residents, has there?”
The sudden doubling of Thunderhawk City’s population, especially with newcomers, naturally led to busier civic affairs. Although the specific details and operations did not require Rocky, the City Lord, to involve himself, he still had to control the general direction.
What he was now most concerned about was the fear of conflicts arising between the original residents of Thunderhawk City and the newly arrived villagers.
The influx of so many people into the city meant that the original residents of Leying City might feel some resentment, and the same could go for the people from Backhill Village. As outsiders, they would naturally be nervous about the unfamiliar environment, making it very easy for conflicts to erupt between the two groups.
“City Lord, please rest assured, everyone is integrating well and there hasn’t been any conflict,” Old Jack, the newly appointed administrative officer, hastened to say at this time, while Liliya, Captain of the Guard, also nodded at Rocky: “My Lord, the Guard Corps has not received any reports regarding such issues.”
Neither Old Jack nor Liliya was lying; ever since the villagers from Backhill Village had moved into Thunderhawk City, there had indeed been no conflicts with the residents. Instead, there was more curiosity between them, and as both residents of Thunderhawk City and Backhill Village were relatively simple and honest folks, there had been peace all along.
“That’s good to hear…”
Upon receiving this response, Rocky breathed a sigh of relief but then he cautioned, “Lord Jack, you must mediate the relationship between the two groups well so that everyone can integrate quickly. Our Thunderhawk City may be small, but unity is of the utmost importance.”
“Yes, Sir.”
After giving instructions to Old Jack, Rocky turned to Liliya: “Liliya, keep the Guard Corps vigilant at all times, and should any anomaly arise, act swiftly to suppress it. But ensure that law enforcement is just and does not favor any individual. If need be, employing stern measures as a warning example is permissible.”
“Understood.”
It was, of course, good that there were no problems, but they could not afford to lower their guard simply because there were none at present. Preparations had to remain thorough.
Once that matter was settled, Rocky then turned to Aileen:
“Aileen, after we reach Eternal City, I plan to build a leather factory in Thunderhawk City, as well as a large store, so you and Lord Jack will need to select two suitable locations within the city. Once we’re in Eternal City, you should conduct some research in that regard as well.”
Having secured a substantial sum of funds from his trip to Eternal City, Rocky had long made new plans for the development of Thunderhawk City. In addition to the planned leather factory, he had decided to build a large store.
The quality of life for residents in Thunderhawk City was far too low, with hardly any shops to be found; the necessary goods of life were supplied by the City Lord’s Mansion. Hence, with ample funds now available, Rocky had decided to improve residents’ quality of life by constructing a large store for everyone.
And to Rocky’s plans, Aileen naturally had no objections and subsequently nodded in agreement.
“That settles it then. Is there anything else?”
After arranging these matters, Rocky looked around the group, giving off a vibe of ‘report if there’s business, withdraw if there isn’t’.
“My lord, please take a look at these items.”
While no one else had any issues, Aileen was an exception. Right then, she produced a package and handed it over to Rocky, and when Rocky opened it, he found it full of leather trinkets and other small baubles.
“My lord, these were made by the students of the training program.”
“Oh?”
Upon hearing this, Rocky immediately started examining a bag full of leather trinkets with care, noticing the craftsmanship was quite satisfactory. Although he wasn’t particularly knowledgeable in this field, he could still discern whether the workmanship was exquisite and the quality good.
At the same time, he also asked:
“Does this mean that the first training session has concluded?”
“Yes, it ended half a month ago.”
“Very well, let’s start the second session immediately.”
After setting down the leather trinkets, Rocky said to Aileen, “Post notices as soon as possible, informing everyone about the schedule for the second training program. Additionally, tell everyone about the upcoming leather factory.”
“Inform all the townspeople that, once the factory starts operating, only those who have attended the training program and completed all of its courses will be eligible for employment at the factory. The first batch of trainees from the training program will be employed without the need for tests, while the rest will be selected based on merit. You’ll handle the details regarding wages.”
“Understood, I’ll take care of it right away. Also…” Aileen agreed, then hesitated, which surprised Rocky— he had not expected Aileen to have so many matters to address.
“My lord, there has been a slight complication with the cloth exports.”
“Oh? What happened?”
Rocky quickly asked, concerned.
Most of Thunderhawk City’s administrative affairs were trifles, and only three matters could be considered significant: grain imports, yarn imports, and cloth sales. Upon hearing that there was a problem with cloth sales, Rocky naturally took it very seriously.
Although he wanted to transform Thunderhawk City’s economy, such a goal wasn’t achievable overnight. Therefore, at least until the leather factory was up and running, Thunderhawk City would still need to rely on cloth sales for its income.
Seeing Rocky’s concern, Aileen hastened to say, “My lord, the situation isn’t particularly serious. Half a month ago, the Golden Purple Flower Commerce Chamber was supposed to come to Thunderhawk City for trade, but they couldn’t reach the vicinity of Break-Sky Mountain as quickly as planned due to issues with their skyship’s voyage.
They hope to postpone this trade and prefer conducting it in Eternal City if possible.”
“I see…”
Hearing Liliya’s explanation, Rocky breathed a sigh of relief—it seemed there wasn’t a significant problem after all.
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It was strange that the Golden Purple Flower Commerce Chamber couldn’t complete the trade on time, but for Thunderhawk City at the moment, selling the cloth a few days later wasn’t a major concern. Furthermore, trading in Eternal City aligned with his destination plans, which hardly posed an inconvenience.
He thus instructed Aileen to contact the Golden Purple Flower Commerce Chamber and inform them of his approximate arrival time in Eternal City, adding that they could complete the trade directly at the Eternal City Skyport.
