Yuan Tu's loud exclamation was enough to surprise the workers all around him.
"You can't be Lin Mu!?" Yuan Tu shouted.
"It's been a while, Uncle Yuan Tu." Lin Mu said in response. "But it really is me. You remember my father, but forgot me?"
"How… how can this be?" Yuan Tu felt his world flipping.
'It's not possible… the boy should be dead…' Yuan Tu recalled the many soldiers that had come asking about Lin Mu in the past.
He had been questioned along with many others. They were then told that Lin Mu had done some great crime and was wanted dead or alive. It had stunned the peasants, but Yuan Tu was pleased.
And over the years, there was no news or information about Lin Mu either. The wanted notice also disappeared after a while and couldn't be seen in the town either, making Yuan Tu think that Lin Mu must have either been caught or killed by now.
But seeing him alive and not just well, but thriving, left him utterly astounded.
Lin Mu could roughly guess the man's thoughts, but couldn't care for them anymore.
Instead, he just ignored him for now and turned to the supervisor, who had not expected Yuan Tu to know a powerful lord like this. After all, he could tell that Lin Mu was at least a Nascent soul realm cultivator.
Experts with such a high cultivation base were often patriarchs of large clans, or in high positions such as that of a minister in the royal court.
"How much is the harvest in deficit this time? What of the peasants' wages?" Lin Mu questioned the supervisor.
"My lord, the deficit is nearly 50% this time. The yield turned out to be greatly lower, as we couldn't procure the right fertilizers. The supply of fertilizer has fallen greatly in the past two years and the number of merchants bringing it to the town had also reduced.
We tried asking Wu Lim City official too, but they didn't do much. And with the great tragedy there, I don't think they could do much, anyway. I sent a request to the royal capital but received no response.
We made do with manure, but the effect wasn't as good." The Supervisor answered.
"As for the peasants' wages, it is one silver a month." He added.
"Oh? Isn't that half of before? And what of the bonuses?" Lin Mu asked next.
"We… can't afford either, my lord. The Wu Lim city officials have all but given up on us and are involved in issues unknown to me. They haven't supplied any funds like they used to in the past.
Even the wages for the peasants now will be coming from the amount left over after the sale of the spirit apples." The supervision honestly said.
Lin Mu's brows furrowed and he took another look at the peasants.
'They're certainly thinner than from how I remember them…' Lin Mu thought to himself as he tried matching those he knew here.
Their bodies turned skinner, and their robes were loose. Many among them weren't wearing the usual warm clothes either, which was strange as it was already cold to warrant their use.
'They sold off their thick clothes, didn't they?' Lin Mu understood when he looked at the faces of the children that seemed malnourished.
The children were all new to him, and he was sure that they had probably been born after he had left the town.
~Sigh~
"Time to sever my old karma…" Lin Mu muttered to himself.
"Pardon me, my lord. But did you say something?" The supervisor asked, hearing something.
Lin Mu looked at the man, this time his expression firm. It unnerved the supervisor, making him wonder if he had irked the man or something to earn a gaze like this.
"The peasants shall be paid four times their normal wage and will also be supplied grain, warm clothes and supplies for the winter." Lin Mu ordered.
"M-my lord!" The Supervisor was lost.
He knew that doing this was impossible even if he gave his entire year's salary for this. The others didn't know this, but even his own salary had been cut by half over the past years.
But before the supervisor could say anything, he saw Lin Mu waving his hand.
~THUD~ THUD~ THUD~ THUD~
In the next second, tens of barrels appeared. The barrels were large enough to fit three men inside them with ease.
"This should be enough to cover for the spirit apple deficit." Lin Mu stated.
One of the servants standing near the barrels saw its contents.
"ITS SPIRIT APPLES!" He exclaimed.
"What?" the Supervisor questioned.
"Sir Supervisor! All the barrels are filled with spirit apples." The servants answered.
One of them walked forward to check and picked up one of the spirit apples from the barrels.
"Not just that! The spirit apples are bigger than ours and of a greater quality too!" the servant said, his eyes left wide.
The supervisor looked at Lin Mu, not knowing what to say.
"I reckon it should be enough?" Lin Mu asked.
"M-more than enough! It will be more than enough, great lord! This is nearly three years of harvest worth." The supervisor couldn't believe his eyes.
"Oh, and also…" Lin Mu waved his hand once more, and a bag appeared. "Take this."
The supervisor carefully extended his hand and took the brown bag from Lin Mu's hand. It seemed unassuming at first, but was rather heavy.
Taking a look inside, the supervisor could see a golden glint!
"My lord, this…" The supervisor instantly recognized the many gold coins inside it.
"Use that to move the townsmen to Wu Lim city. A war is coming and it won't be safe here." Lin Mu explained.
"A War?! So the rumors are true?" the supervisor gasped.
"Mmhmm… do it as soon as possible." Lin Mu ordered. "Oh, and… if I hear anything about the misuse of the funds, then… I don't think I need to warn you more." He said in a cold tone.
"UNDERSTOOD!" The supervisor immediately replied, feeling his heart tremble.
