Chapter 42: New Labor

When Su You posted a bounty, it wasn’t just visible to people in her own territory—anyone from other territories or factions could see it too, as long as they had a Construction Task Hall. In the absence of a post station, the Task Hall served as a sort of substitute. The downside, however, was that with low reputation early on, even if you posted a bounty, no one would see it.

Or, even if someone did see it, your reputation was so low that people wouldn’t trust you. They’d worry that they wouldn’t get what was promised, so they wouldn’t bother coming.

Still, despite its flaws, the Task Hall was a necessary building. After all, Su You remembered she still had an unclaimed reward waiting for her there.

As for the third building, the warehouse, there was no need to explain. With Duoya’s latest haul of game and the sudden appearance of wild boars, the space in Su You’s two wooden crates was almost gone. Building a warehouse had become a necessity.

Although Su You didn’t have enough materials to build the Task Hall or warehouse just yet, she had no problem setting up a few fields.

According to her plan, she intended to build four fields for now. All four would be located a short distance from the territory’s entrance, near a small stream, making watering much more convenient.

Building four fields would use up 40 wooden fences, 8 fence gates, and 80 units of ash. Aside from the ash, all the other materials needed to be crafted. Fortunately, Su You had enough raw materials, so all she needed to do was make another basic workbench to split up the workload and speed up efficiency.

Fields were considered semi-manual construction, so while the materials were being prepared, Su You grabbed a shovel and headed to the designated area to start turning the soil.

She had to dig up the entire area from end to end, as only then would it meet the standards for building farmland.

She thought it would take her the whole afternoon, but to her surprise, the labor force she’d been hoping for arrived much sooner than expected.

……

……

“Hello, the two of us are forest explorers. We ran into some trouble during our expedition… We were hoping we could stay here for a while. Here’s our lodging fee.” The disheveled young man pulled a coin pouch from his belongings and handed it to Su You.

She glanced inside—fifteen copper coins in total.

“We’ve lost most of our possessions. This is all we have left… If needed, we’re willing to work in exchange for a place to stay,” the other young man explained a bit awkwardly.

They knew what they were offering was far too little, but it was all they had. If they weren’t truly desperate, they wouldn’t have come to this.

Their biggest worry was that Su You would turn them away. After all, as forest explorers, they knew better than anyone how dangerous the forest could be at night.

Fortunately, Su You’s attitude wasn’t as harsh as they’d feared—there was room for negotiation.

“You can see for yourselves, conditions here are limited. If you want to stay, I can only guarantee your safety.” In other words, they could stay, but they’d have to figure out their own food and lodging.

Her answer was already better than the two had expected.

Out here in the wilderness, just having a place to rest was already a blessing. They weren’t expecting good food or comfortable beds… They just wanted to survive, not live in luxury.

So, as if afraid Su You would change her mind, both nodded eagerly.

“Thank you, thank you… You must be the lord here, right? If there’s anything you need help with, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Su You could tell from their behavior that they weren’t faking it, and she was fairly satisfied, though she didn’t show it.

“I’ll take your money. You can stay here for two days. After that, it’s ten copper coins per day.” At these words, the two men’s faces showed obvious distress.

They’d already said this was all they had. If she wanted more money, they really didn’t have any.

But Su You’s next words put them at ease.

After noting their expressions, Su You pointed to the bounty board and added, “I know you don’t have any money right now, but as long as you’re willing to work, you can earn money by completing tasks.”

At a rate of ten copper coins per person per day, the two of them would need twenty copper coins a day—forty for two days. The fifteen coins they’d given wouldn’t even cover a single day.

Still, whether it was to build goodwill or to avoid pushing them too hard, Su You gave them two days’ grace.

After all, she didn’t just want them to stay temporarily—she hoped they’d join the territory for good.

She could afford to be a little lenient, but only a little. She couldn’t support two people for free, so payment was still required. If they didn’t have money, labor would do. They’d already said they were willing to work.

Two days should be enough for them to earn their keep, as long as they weren’t lazy.

And these two days weren’t just for them to earn money—they were also Su You’s chance to observe them.

She didn’t know them well yet and couldn’t decide whether to keep them on. Plus, the territory’s population cap was limited, so she could wait until after two days to make a decision.

“As for food, if you really can’t find any, you can buy it from me.”

With the wild boar and the pile of game Duoya had brought in, plus the fields Su You was preparing, the territory had plenty of food—certainly enough for two more people.

“Thank you, thank you, my lord… Oh, right, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I’m Lyle, and this is my brother Lake. If there’s nothing else, we’ll go take a look around.”

Su You nodded slightly to show she understood. Before the brothers reached the bounty board, she posted several tasks:

[Build Farmland]

Posted by: Lord

Task: Use a shovel to turn the soil within the designated area (0/4)

Reward: 10 copper coins

[Collect Stones] (Repeatable)

Posted by: Lord

Task: Submit stones (0/1)

Reward: 1 copper coin

[Collect Branches] (Repeatable)

Posted by: Lord

Task: Submit branches (0/20)

Reward: 1 copper coin"