Chapter 478: Liszt’s Pharmacy

The luncheon was sumptuous.

Even though the food at Tulip Castle wasn’t exactly to Liszt’s taste, he still devoured a ton of magical beast meat and various dairy products.

"During the war of the pioneering decree, I was starving every day. Now that I’m back, I can finally eat my fill." Rubbing his belly, he put down his fork with satisfaction.

Penelope said with a smile, "From now on, we must not let a sky knight go hungry. The Tulip family might not measure up to the great nobles, but we can certainly provide enough food."

Mary also smiled and said, "If the castle’s food suits your taste, you can eat as much as you want."

All eyes were on Liszt.

The Earl, a little envious, said, "Mother, I didn’t have a proper meal during the battles either."

"You’re past your growing years, but Liszt still is. Every time I see him, he’s taller. Are you 1.9 meters now?" Penelope casually dismissed the Earl and shifted the topic back to Liszt.

Liszt shook his head, "About 1.89 meters, and I think I’ve stopped growing. I believe my final height will be around 1.9 meters."

Levis said enviously, "1.9 meters is enough. Being too tall can make others uncomfortable." He was only 1.85 meters, now a head shorter than Liszt.

Lvera smiled and said, "In our family, Liszt has been favored by the glory of knighthood since birth. You’ve inherited all the best traits from the Tulip and Longtaro families—height, looks, and talent. I was so jealous of you as a kid, but now, I can’t even catch up to your shadow."

"I think Levis, Lvera, and Lytton have all inherited the family’s talents. As long as they have enough resources, they all have the potential to become sky knights," Liszt replied.

A little praise didn’t cost anything, so he was happy to encourage his siblings in such an atmosphere.

...

In the afternoon, Gort arrived from Flower Town.

"My lord, I was thrilled to hear you’ve become a sky knight. I nearly lost my mind with excitement," he said with exaggerated flattery as soon as he met Liszt. "When I joined you in Flower Town, I knew you were favored by the glory of knighthood, a son of honor!"

Liszt maintained his smile.

Gort’s flattery poured out like a river, endless: "In under two years, you’ve achieved what many nobles never do in a lifetime. A sky knight at only seventeen—this is truly a great joy for all the people of Black Horse Island!"

If not stopped, Gort might’ve gone on for half an hour. Liszt had to interrupt: "Advisor Gort, becoming a sky knight is worth celebrating, but now I’m more interested in the situation of the territory. During the two months I was away, has my corn spirit bug hatched? How are things in the territory?"

"The corn spirit bug hasn’t hatched yet, but it has reached the final stage of the pupal phase, motionless. We don’t know if it’ll evolve successfully, but it hasn’t decayed or disappeared. We believe the time for it to break out of the pupa will come soon."

"That’s good!"

Hearing this news, Liszt finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He’d been worried about the corn spirit bug for a while. The pupal phase of a spirit bug is a critical point—failure turns it to ashes; success, and the spirit bug emerges. Now, although the corn spirit bug hasn’t emerged, it hasn’t turned to ashes either; it’s still striving to complete its evolution.

"What about other matters?"

"The new spirit bug near the rubber tree has produced a lot of seedlings around its roots. Blair has already sent serfs to plant them within the influence range of the spirit bug before the heavy snow arrives. It looks like these seedlings, under the spirit bug’s influence, will make it through the winter."

Gort is now barely a qualified territory advisor, keeping most situations in mind.

Overall, there hasn’t been much change in the territory over the past two months, and there hasn’t been any significant progress in the various industries—the lack of serfs means that the key industries can only barely be maintained, let alone other industries that haven’t yet developed.

"Between the two batches of serfs, a total of over 800 have been lost. The actual number of serfs who arrived safely is 16,316. Temporarily, 8,000 serfs are settled in Flower Town, and 8,000 are settled in Port Town, but they haven’t been assigned work or housing yet."

"Do we have enough houses for them to live in?"

"According to your instructions before you joined the pioneering decree, the carpentry workshop urgently produced a batch of 'bunk beds'. This way, eight serfs can live in one wooden house, just barely fitting everyone to withstand the severe cold, but there is still a shortage of clothing, and many serfs are still suffering from the cold."

"Let residents with spare clothing contribute their spare garments first, and then urgently purchase cotton clothes from other places. The serfs were transported back at great cost. Losing some during the voyage is one thing, but once they arrive on the territory, I hope not a single one of them will die from hunger or cold."

"My lord, I will do my utmost to arrange it."

"Not just your best, it must be accomplished," Liszt said seriously, pushing the responsibility for solving the problem onto Advisor Gort and other officials. In fact, the root of the problem was his own greed, bringing too many serfs, which led to the shortage of warm clothing.

Advisor Gort thought for a moment and said, "My lord, if we rush to purchase clothing, I'm afraid the prices of all cotton clothes and quilts on Coral Island will rise significantly."

"Even if the prices rise, we must buy them. Don't be afraid of spending money, Advisor Gort. Let me handle the finances. What you need to do is follow my instructions and complete the construction of the territory. The money we spend now will yield multiple returns in the future. Black Horse Island and Flower Town have numerous profitable industries."

"I understand," Advisor Gort nodded. "This winter, I will ensure all the officials in the territory are mobilized, and we will spare no effort to carry out your orders, my lord."

As a superior,

Liszt now rarely gets involved in frontline work; he only needs to command the officials of the territory well.

After a detailed conversation with Advisor Gort, he stayed overnight at Tulip Castle, having a long night conversation with Levis, Lvera, and Lytton, exchanging cultivation insights.

He held nothing back.

He explained all the problems he encountered in cultivation that he could think of, and also revealed some scientific methods to assist in cultivation to his siblings. After all, the progress in their strength would not harm him in any way; they all share the same bloodline.

The growth of the family would provide shelter for everyone.

"Mana cultivation requires methods, and taking pills also requires methods. The reason for my rapid cultivation progress is nothing more than being good at summarizing and concluding."

Liszt spoke like a teacher, "Your main concern must be taking pills. Tonight, I will focus on explaining how to take pills... My knowledge of taking pills comes from my father, grandfather, and a large number of books I purchased myself... Everyone's way of taking pills is different, but with careful observation, you will find common principles."

He had the servants bring paper and pens.

He spoke and drew on the table: "This set of common principles, you can call it 'Liszt's Pillology', a specialized study of taking pills... Always record your sensations after taking pills, learn to flexibly make tables and draw curves, and finally find the most suitable dosage."

He spoke very seriously.

Levis and the other two listened very attentively, their eyes occasionally lighting up, perhaps thinking that learning Liszt's Pillology would allow them to quickly advance to sky knight like Liszt.

They were destined not to know.

How many treasures Liszt has, and what kind of adventures he has had. The role that scientific pill-taking can play in the process of advancing to sky knight probably accounts for less than one-tenth.