Chapter 230: Crooked Bob’s Negligence

The establishment of the bathhouses has elevated the lord's prestige to an even higher level. On a snowy winter day, soaking in steaming hot water is certainly an unforgettable experience.

"Two bathhouses, and it only took half a vial of Fire Dragon magic. The consumption isn't too much."

Liszt had released and collected all the Fire Dragon magic from the volcanic glass, filling thirteen vials in total.

The two bathhouses, along with the castle's hot spring bathtub, and the Fire Dragon air conditioning in the bedrooms and study, barely consumed half a vial of magic.

The remaining Fire Dragon vials were enough for him to build a brick factory, a pottery factory, or even a steam-powered ship—of course, one must take things step by step. Most days seemed mundane, but he was actually quite busy. He had been planning the brick factory for months and still hadn't found the time to start construction.

After all, a lord couldn't personally sift soil or bake bricks; everything still needed to be done under the leadership of officials and peasants.

"Task completed, reward: Cold-loving Flame Mushrooms."

After the bathhouses were built and opened, the Smoke Task was completed, and the reward was issued. A new task was also updated.

"Task: After a year of hard work, even a lord needs to relax and enjoy the upcoming festival, think about next year's development, broaden social connections, or do nothing at all until the festival ends. Reward: Unknown reward."

Seeing the latest task, Liszt didn't know how to react. This didn't seem like a task at all; the requirement was to relax and do nothing.

"Does the Smoke Task think I've worked too hard this year?"

Reflecting on it, Liszt felt a twinge of shame. He had indeed achieved much, transforming Flower Town into a brand new place. However, in terms of effort, he was likely the most relaxed among all the time travelers. Apart from sleeping, about sixty percent of his time was spent savoring life.

At least twenty percent of that time was spent eating and drinking—almost every night there was a dinner party, and sometimes even a lunch party.

"Food is the essence of life; eating and drinking aren't excessive."

"Besides, as an ambitious elite Earth Knight, I need a lot of food to provide nutrition." He quickly found psychological comfort for his eating habits. "In less than a year, I progressed from an apprentice knight to starting to take potions. My progress proves the importance of eating and drinking."

Eating and drinking were not signs of decadence or corruption.

They were part of a knight's cultivation of martial arts.

While he enjoyed his meals and drinks every day, he never neglected his training. He would wake up early in the morning to practice his martial arts secrets, and upon returning to the castle, he would start taking magic potions.

He wouldn't claim to be diligent, but at least he was hardworking.

Cultivation itself is a balance between tension and relaxation; it's not true that 24 hours of hard practice every day will bring rewards: "After all, taking potions is the true path for knights' cultivation."

This principle was taught to his sons by the Earl.

Liszt held it as a guiding principle.

Then, he turned his head and asked unhappily towards the other side of the apple tree: "How many generations of egg rolls have you eaten? When I'm thinking, please move away and don't make any noise to interrupt my thoughts, understand, Guard Parris?"

"Um." Parris, with her mouth full of egg rolls, silently turned and walked away.

The egg rolls she was eating were made from a mixture of flour, egg liquid, and sugar, baked into sheets with butter, spread with butter, and then rolled into tubes. This wasn't Liszt's idea but an invention by the bakery owner, Renard, a new snack that had just hit the market.

It was complex to make, expensive, and didn't sell well.

To encourage the new invention, Liszt had the castle buy a batch of egg rolls every day. Eating them occasionally was nice, but too many made them feel greasy.

So, the egg rolls were either given to the servants as a benefit or distributed to subordinates during dinner parties. Liszt himself didn't eat many.

Parris loved egg rolls. One-third of the egg rolls bought went into her stomach. Looking at her figure, after just ten days in the castle, she showed signs of gaining weight.

"I hope she doesn't become fat; it would ruin the visual experience."

He leaned back in his chair, basking in the rare sunlight, feeling very content.

Now, Parris was a beautiful sight, distinct from the castle's maid, Little Lily. One was a spirited female warrior, the other a shy and gentle maid, but they shared a common trait: curvaceous figures with slender waists and long legs—Liszt liked this type of body.

However, it was limited to appreciation only.

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

Not far away, the thorn sprite Jie La was teasing the intermediate-level monster, the Earth Dog Hiddleston. This was Jie La's persistent bad habit, and over time, Liszt stopped bothering to intervene. Hiddleston had resigned to it; after all, Jie La's thorns didn't penetrate its defenses, and when she got tired, she would naturally give up.

Plop.

The snow left on the apple tree fell onto the table.

Liszt stood up directly: "Thomas, prepare the horse and notify the retainer knights. I'm going to Mushroom Village."

"Yes, sir."

He stepped onto Tom Hiddleston Avenue and said to Parris, who was still eating egg rolls: "No practical training today. Go back... With the festival approaching, it's best to go to North Valley City and get a suitable set of leather armor. In your current attire, people might think the castle can't afford to pay its guards."

Parris was still wearing old, worn-out leather armor. She didn't mind, but nobles were particular about the neatness of their clothing.

"This is the hypocrisy of the nobility; the freshness of clothes cannot hide the stains of the heart." She muttered a complaint but didn't object to buying new clothes—no woman could resist the charm of new clothes.

Liszt called out to the playful Jie La: "Go back to sleep, Jie La."

Feeling Liszt's unyielding mood, Jie La protested with "Ugh!" "Ugh!" but obediently flew back to the castle. Feeling the world become quiet, Hiddleston quickly ran to Liszt, sticking out its tongue and wagging its tail, looking very submissive.

It knew that when Liszt was like this, he would go out, and then it could run around freely.

Thomas brought the Black Dragon horse.

The retainer knights also rode up on their horses.

Liszt mounted his horse and gave the order: "Let's go, Mushroom Village."

Hooves kicked up the accumulated snow as they galloped past, bypassing the main road to take a shortcut straight to Mushroom Village. The village had fifty acres of individual mushroom greenhouses and another fifty acres of mixed greenhouses for mushrooms and fire mushrooms. Although the arable land was limited, the income was substantial. Mushrooms were an indispensable part of any meal.

The expanded cultivation of fire mushrooms provided a steady supply of magic potions for Liszt's potion consumption.

Thus, his concern for Mushroom Village was second only to the Thorn Garden.

At this moment, the serfs in Mushroom Village were busy inspecting their greenhouses. Just yesterday, the lord had come to inspect the area and issued orders for each household to check for potential hazards in their greenhouses and to pay attention to any issues arising from the cultivation of fire mushrooms.

"Have you found any problems?"

Upon arriving, Liszt directly asked the overseer of Mushroom Village. He had inspected the mixed greenhouses for mushrooms and fire mushrooms yesterday but did not find the cold-loving fire mushrooms rewarded by the smoke quest.

The overseer answered cautiously, "My lord, a few serfs' greenhouses have pillars that have been infested by insects. We have already applied to the prefecture for carpenters to replace the new pillars... Additionally, Bob the Crooked's fire mushrooms froze to death because he forgot to close the door."