Richard in the study was unaware of Jia Lie’s caution. When he saw Jia Lie leave, he took a deep breath, steadied his mind, and took out many scrolls and papers from his Space Iron Ring, beginning to work.
His eyes scanned the content on the papers, his fingers gently tapping the tabletop, pondering what kind of materials could be used to create superior energy storage materials.
His fingers rhythmically tapped the tabletop, and Richard started talking to himself.
"Metal Palladium has a certain effect on Free Energy storage," he said, "but according to the data, adding other metals would produce better results..."
"Metal Silver can enhance conductivity, but it also makes it easier for the Free Energy Elements in the storage to overflow. The proportion must be carefully controlled..."
"Additionally, carbon can influence Free Energy Elements, which is quite unexpected. It’s unclear whether it’s a random deviation in experimental data or the true situation. It looks like further testing is needed. If the test results don’t change, then when choosing to use iron, one must ensure to remove the carbon contained within to prevent discrepancies in the data..."
Thus settled in Jialan City, Richard was busy and tense every day, constantly having Jia Lie and other servants procure various materials and ores for different experiments.
Initially, where these items were purchased was the local blacksmith shop. However, as the materials Richard needed became more obscure, Jia Lie gradually shifted to dealing specifically with merchants in the mineral trade.
Then Jia Lie and other servants began to connect with mine owners of various major mines. When mine owners could no longer fully satisfy the needs, Jia Lie started frequently attending various large and small auctions in the city.
Whenever Jia Lie appeared, it would cause a stir, simply because whatever he sought at the auctions, no matter how high the price went, he would definitely succeed in acquiring it.
Many people were aware that it wasn’t Jia Lie’s wealth, but rather the wealth of the wizard behind him—Richard—who was incredibly wealthy!
Richard’s wealth, combined with his unusual behavior of not socializing with anyone, made more and more people curious. Jialan City was home to wizards, but there had never been a wizard like Richard.
However, Richard kept unbothered about all matters that weren’t relevant, staying busy within the estate.
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
June, the Fallow Month, summer arrived.
Heatwaves rolled down from the towering mountains, accompanied by the fierce sun, scorching the land.
During the daytime, even the most diligent miners dared not work in the peak heat of the sun; it was akin to joking with their lives. Getting heatstroke, even if not fatal, could cost them half their lives. It wasn’t worth it to work a bit more for some extra money.
In comparison, the servants at the Blue Lake Estate purchased by Richard were much happier. The estate had rivers, lakes, and forests, making the temperature several degrees Celsius cooler than in other areas. Moreover, most of the work could be done indoors, sparing them from the torment of the sun.
The favorable conditions of the estate were observed by folks from nearby villages, and many of them couldn’t resist requesting to work on the estate, though all were rejected by Jia Lie.
Jia Lie knew very well that not many people were needed inside the estate; the thirteen servants already there were more than sufficient. If it weren’t for Richard’s indifference to each servant’s salary of two or three silver coins, he would have dismissed half of them.
After all, more people meant more potential for trouble.
Just then, two maids had come to him, crying about how a male servant named Robb had tried to make improper advances toward them.
Jia Lie was very familiar with Robb, as this was not his first offense. Swallowing his anger and comforting the two maids, he then found Robb and severely reprimanded him.
After settling these matters, Jia Lie returned to his small office, gulped down some cold water, and sat in his chair, contemplating whether to dismiss Robb. He felt keeping him around might set a bad example.
He didn’t think for long, before he busied himself with another matter, that was to organize the accounts for the upcoming month and record every expense.
He was a civilian, and a very ordinary one at that. He went to school for two years as a child and learned some characters, but not many. Anything slightly more complex, he couldn’t write.
Therefore, on the paper, apart from the crooked handwriting, there were also quite a few drawings.
For instance, when Richard instructed to buy two good horses for backup, he could write "good," but didn’t know how to write "horse." So, he drew a horse instead, and then carefully wrote down the cost of buying two horses—52 gold coins.
After writing, he couldn’t help but sigh, "It’s really expensive!"
Speaking of which, Richard hadn’t actually asked him to do these things. It was entirely voluntary on his part. It wasn’t exactly "sucking up," but it was definitely "hard work."
Richard always gave him plenty of gold coins to handle various matters and wouldn’t ask for the leftovers afterward. They just stayed with him, his level of trust was exaggerated. If he had even a slight wrong intention, he could easily earn dozens or hundreds of silver coins.
But he felt it was better not to take advantage of a wizard. His previous series of miserable experiences made him cherish the hard-won job opportunity.
He would rather make sacrifices gratuitously than earn what didn’t belong to him.
Thinking this, Jia Lie started to record the cost of the food he bought today.
"Eggs, 50, 40 copper coins. Bread, 40 pounds, 38 copper coins. Fine flour, 15 pounds, 120 copper coins. Meat, 10 pounds, 150 copper coins... Four pigeons, 120 copper coins..."
"Ah!" Suddenly, Jia Lie stopped writing, scratched his head, and pondered, "How do you write pigeon?"
After a long time of thinking and still not figuring it out, Jia Lie reluctantly began to use his unique skill, drawing pictures instead of words.
A hook, a twist, a whirl, a pull...
Soon, a pigeon appeared on the paper, but it looked more like a... featherless chicken.
Never mind, they are more or less the same.
Jia Lie thought to himself, then quickly resumed recording the rest of the spending.
It took him a while, but he finally finished recording the accounts. Jia Lie let out a long sigh, feeling it was more exhausting than being beaten, but at least it was done.
Standing up, Jia Lie looked to one side and subconsciously wondered what his wizard master was doing.
He knew Richard was busy in another stone building in that direction, but as for what he was busy with, he had no idea—unless Richard rang a bell to let him in, he strictly prohibited anyone from disturbing him.
This actually wasn’t too bad, after all, a wizard ought to be mysterious!
That’s what Jia Lie was thinking when he suddenly heard a loud "bang." The next moment, he felt the room he was in shake as if a thousand-pound iron ball had struck the outer wall.
With a "crash," the room started shaking violently, and the dirt and debris from the roof kept falling, seemingly about to collapse.
Jia Lie couldn’t help but be alarmed, grabbing the accounts he had just finished recording and quickly running outside. Upon reaching the door, he instinctively looked towards the distance and was immediately dumbfounded.